Patent ID: 6843268
Filing Date: 2005-01-18
Classification: F16K,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for inhibiting fuels from flowing out of fuel tanks, the apparatus comprising: a housing fixed to a top of a fuel tank, and having an evaporator opening at a top thereof and a fuel opening at a bottom thereof, the evaporator opening communicating with a canister, the fuel opening enabling a liquid fuel held in the fuel tank to enter the housing; a double-floating valve accommodated in the housing, and comprising a lower float, an upper float and a ring-shaped valve seat, the lower float floating on the liquid fuel and moving up and down in accordance with up-and-down movements of a level of the liquid fuel, the upper float held on a top surface of the lower float so as to be movable up and down relatively with respect to the lower float and having a minor-diameter valve hole opened or closed by the lower float, the valve seat held to a top surface of the upper float and opening or closing the evaporator opening by the up-and-down movements of the upper float accompanied by the up-and-down movements of the lower float; and a cover disposed above the evaporator opening, covering the housing, communicating with the canister, and having a cylinder-shaped liquid receptacle disposed on an inner surface of the cover facing the evaporator opening, protruding toward the evaporator opening and having a diameter larger than an inside diameter of the valve hole, whereby detecting that the fuel tank is filled up with the liquid fuel by increasing a gas pressure within the fuel tank when the level of the liquid fuel within the fuel tank fully closes the fuel opening, and closing the evaporator opening with the valve sheet by moving the double-floating valve upward when the level of the liquid fuel rises abnormally.