Patent Publication Number: US-2013230418-A1

Title: Fuel supply apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-46101 filed on Mar. 2, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a fuel supply apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND 
     JP-2005-155602A (US 2005/0100461) describes a fuel supply apparatus which supplies fuel discharged from a fuel pump to a cooling passage defined in a flange so as to cool a control circuit disposed on the flange. 
     In JP-2005-155602A, a tube is provided between the fuel pump and the flange so as to supply fuel to the cooling passage. Further, a connector is provided between the fuel pump and the flange to connect the fuel pump and the flange with each other. That is, both of the connector and the tube are provided between the flange and the fuel pump, so the structure of the fuel supply apparatus becomes complicated. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an example of the present disclosure, a fuel supply apparatus supplying fuel from a fuel tank to a fuel-consuming device includes an electric pump, a control circuit, a lid component, and a connection component. The electric pump is disposed in the fuel tank, and includes a pressure raising part which raises a pressure of the fuel in the fuel tank, and a fuel outlet part which flows out the fuel having the pressure raised by the pressure raising part. The control circuit controls electric power supplied to the electric pump. The lid component covers an opening of the fuel tank, and has a circulation part and an installation part. The circulation part defines a circulation space in which the fuel flowing from the fuel outlet part circulates. The installation part has a first surface facing the circulation space, and a second surface to which the control circuit is arranged. The connection component is formed into a cylindrical shape to connect the lid component and the electric pump with each other, and defines a communicating path inside. The fuel outlet part and the circulation space communicate with each other through the communicating path. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a fuel supply apparatus according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the fuel supply apparatus of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view illustrating the fuel supply apparatus of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a pump unit of the fuel supply apparatus of the first embodiment; and 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view illustrating a fuel supply apparatus according to a second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereafter referring to drawings. In the embodiments, a part that corresponds to a matter described in a preceding embodiment may be assigned with the same reference numeral, and redundant explanation for the part may be omitted. When only a part of a configuration is described in an embodiment, another preceding embodiment may be applied to the other parts of the configuration. The parts may be combined even if it is not explicitly described that the parts can be combined. The embodiments may be partially combined even if it is not explicitly described that the embodiments can be combined, provided there is no harm in the combination. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I of  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II of  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , a fuel supply apparatus  100  is mounted in a fuel tank  200  for a vehicle, and supplies fuel to an internal combustion engine  300  (fuel-consuming device) outside the fuel tank  200 . An up-and-down direction in  FIGS. 1 and 2  substantially corresponds to a vertical direction when the vehicle is located on a plane surface. 
     The fuel supply apparatus  100  has a flange  10 , a subtank  20 , a covering  30 , an adjustment mechanism  40 , a pump unit  50 , a residual quantity detecting element  70 , and a controller  80 . The subtank  20 , the covering  30 , the adjustment mechanism  40 , the pump unit  50 , and the residual quantity detecting element  70  are arranged at specified positions, respectively, in the fuel tank  200 . 
     The flange  10  is made of resin, and has a disc shape, as shown in  FIG. 3 . The flange  10  is fitted with an opening  200   b  defined in a top plate  200   a  of the fuel tank  200 , and closes the opening  200   b.  The flange  10  has a fix portion  11  to which a pillar  41  of the adjustment mechanism  40  is fixed. Further, the flange  10  has an installation part  13  above the fix portion  11 , and a control circuit  81  of the controller  80  is mounted to the installation part  13 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the flange  10  has a fuel delivery tube  14  and an electric connector  15 . The fuel delivery tube  14  supplies fuel discharged from the pump unit  50  to the engine  300  outside the fuel tank  200 . The electric connector  15  includes a terminal for making electric connection between the residual quantity detecting element  70  and outside. Thereby, the residual quantity detection signal of the residual quantity detecting element  70  is outputted to the outside through the electric connector  15 . 
     The subtank  20  is made of resin, and has a based cylinder shape. The subtank  20  is accommodated in the fuel tank  200 , and is located on a bottom  200   c  of the fuel tank  200 . A jet pump  21  is arranged on a bottom  20   a  of the subtank  20 . The jet pump  21  has an introductory passage  22  and a jet nozzle  23 . The introductory passage  22  causes the inside of the fuel tank  200  and the inside of the subtank  20  to communicate with each other. The jet nozzle  23  injects fuel discharged from a pressure regulator  68  of the pump unit  50  toward the introductory passage  22 . When the fuel is injected, a negative pressure lower than an atmospheric pressure occurs in the introductory passage  22 . Therefore, fuel in the fuel tank  200  is transported into the subtank  20  through the introductory passage  22 . The subtank  20  stores the fuel. 
     The covering  30  is made of resin, and has a based cylinder shape. The covering  30  is arranged in a manner that a base part of the covering  30  is located on the upper side. An opening edge of the covering  30  is fitted with an opening edge of the subtank  20 . Thereby, the opening of the subtank  20  is closed by the covering  30 . The covering  30  has a first holding part  31 , a second holding part  32  and an accommodation part  33 . The first holding part  31  holds the pump unit  50  in the fuel tank  200 , and the second holding part  32  holds the residual quantity detecting element  70  in the fuel tank  200 . The accommodation part  33  has a based cylinder shape and accommodates the pillar  41 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the adjustment mechanism  40  has an intermediate part  42  and an elastic component  45  in addition to the pillar  41 . The pillar  41  is made of metal, and has a long cylindrical shape. The pillar  41  is inserted in the accommodation part  33 , and is slidaly movable in the axial direction relative to the accommodation part  33 . 
     The intermediate part  42  is made of resin, and has a double tube shape. The intermediate part  42  is coaxially accommodated by the accommodation part  33  in a state where the pillar  41  is inserted between an inner tube  43  and an outer tube  44  of the intermediate part  42 . An engaging nail  43   a  is projected from the inner tube  43 , and engages with the pillar  41 , thereby fixing the intermediate part  42  to a lower end part  41   b  of the pillar  41 . 
     Moreover, the intermediate part  42  is slidingly fitting to a double thread  33   a  extended in the axial direction on the inner circumference face of the accommodation part  33 . Thus, the intermediate part  42  is regulated from having relative rotation in the circumference direction and is allowed to have axial movement relative to the accommodation part  33 . The subtank  20 , the covering  30 , the pump unit  50 , and the residual quantity detecting element  70  are integrated with each other and are movable in the axial direction relative to the pillar  41  and not rotatable in the circumference direction of the pillar  41 . 
     The pillar  41  is fixed to the fix portion  11  when an engaging nail  11   g  projected from the fix portion  11  is engaged with an upper end  41   a  of the pillar  41 . Thus, a unit is constructed by integrating the flange  10 , the subtank  20 , the covering  30 , the pump unit  50 , and the residual quantity detecting element  70  which are connected with each other through the pillar  41 . 
     A lower part of the pump unit  50  is accommodated in the subtank  20 , and an upper part of the pump unit  50  is projected from the covering  30 . As shown in 
       FIG. 4 , the pump unit  50  has an electric pump  54 , a suction filter  51 , a fuel filter  61 , a flexible tube  67  in addition to the pressure regulator  68  and the residual quantity detecting element  70 . 
     The electric pump  54  is located on the upper side of the suction filter  51 , and has an inlet port  54   a,  a discharge port  54   b  and a vapor exhaust port  54   c.  The inlet port  54   a  and the vapor exhaust port  54   c  face downward, and the discharge port  54   b  faces upward. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the electric pump  54  has a pressure raising part  55  which raises a pressure of the fuel drawn from the inlet port  54   a.    
     The pressure raising part  55  has a rotation member  56  and a pump chamber  57 . The rotation member  56  is driven by an electric motor  58  and is accommodated in the pump chamber  57  which communicates with the inlet port  54   a,  the discharge port  54   b  and the vapor exhaust port  54   c.  The rotation member  56  is a disc-shaped impeller having plural blade grooves arranged in the circumference direction, and is located inside the pump chamber  57  in a state where the axis direction substantially corresponds with the up-and-down direction. 
     The electric motor  58  is electrically connected with the control circuit  81  of the controller  80  through a flexible wiring  60  which can be bent flexibly. The electric motor  58  rotates the rotation member  56  using electric power supplied from the control circuit  81 . When the rotation member  56  is rotated, fuel is drawn from the inlet port  54   a  through the suction filter  51  into the subtank  20 . Further, the pressure of fuel is raised the blade groove of the rotation member  56  in the pump chamber  57 , and the pressure-raised fuel is discharged from the discharge port  54   b.    
     Moreover, vapor (air) occurs in the fuel drawn from the inlet port  54   a,  because of the rotation of the rotation member  56 . The air, which affects the pressure raising, is discharged with the fuel from the vapor exhaust port  54   c  communicating with the pump chamber  57 . 
     The suction filter  51  is located on the most bottom part of the pump unit  50 . The suction filter  51  is connected with the inlet port  54   a  of the electric pump  54 , and removes a relatively large foreign matter from fuel to be drawn by the electric pump  54  from the subtank  20 . 
     The suction filter  51  has a core component  52  and a filter-medium sheet  53 . The core component  52  is made of resin, and has a based cylinder shape. The filter-medium sheet  53  covers the outer side of the core component  52 . A portion of the electric pump  54  having the inlet port  54   a,  the vapor exhaust port  54   c  and the pump chamber  57  is coaxially accommodated on the inner circumference side of the peripheral wall of the core component  52 . In this state, an upper end of the peripheral wall of the core component  52  is mounted to a filter case  62  of the fuel filter  61 . 
     Moreover, a fuel passage connected to the inlet port  54   a  penetrates the bottom wall part of the core component  52 . Furthermore, a discharge passage  52   a  also penetrates a center section of the bottom wall part around the fuel passage. Due to the discharge passage  52   a,  fuel located between the lower end part of the electric pump  54  and the bottom wall part of the core component  52  flows downward. Thereby, the fuel in the pressure raising state, which contains air, is discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c  between the lower end part of the electric pump  54  and the bottom wall part of the core component  52 , and then is discharged from the discharge passage  52   a.    
     The filter-medium sheet  53  may be constructed by, for example, fibrous nonwoven cloth having single layer or multi layers, mesh cloth, or filter paper. Alternatively, the filter-medium sheet  53  may be constructed by layering at least two kinds of the nonwoven cloth, the mesh cloth, and the filter paper. The filter-medium sheet  53  is arranged to cover the outer side of the core component  52 . Moreover, a clearance is generated between the core component  52  and the peripheral wall part and the bottom wall part of the filter-medium sheet  53  in the state where the filter-medium sheet  53  covers the outer side of the core component  52 . Furthermore, the filter-medium sheet  53  has a hole defining the discharge passage  52   a.  The filter-medium sheet  53  is fixed to the core component  52  made of resin by welding or bonding. 
     Fuel drawn from the inside of the subtank  20  toward the inlet port  54   a  of the electric pump  54  is filtered by the filter-medium sheet  53  of the suction filter  51 , and is led to the inlet port  54   a  through the fuel passage of the core component  52 . Furthermore, fuel discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c  is discharged outside from the discharge passage  52   a  after staying between the bottom wall part and the electric pump  54  in the core component  52 . 
     The fuel filter  61  is arranged to cover the electric pump  54  from the outer circumference side and the upper side. The filter case  62  of the fuel filter  61  is made of resin, and has a double tube constructed by an inner pipe  63  and an outer pipe  64 . The electric pump  54  is coaxially arranged on the inner circumference side of the inner pipe  63 . A filter element  65  of the fuel filter  61  is made of, for example, a honeycomb-shaped filter medium which is accommodated between the inner pipe  63  and the outer pipe  64 . 
     A space between the inner pipe  63  and the outer pipe  64  communicates with the discharge port  54   b  of the electric pump  54  on the upstream side of the filter element  65  in the fuel flow, and communicates with a fuel outlet  66  of the fuel filter  61  on the downstream side of the filter element  65  in the fuel flow. The fuel outlet  66  is connected with the fuel delivery tube  14  through a flexible tube  67  which can be bent flexibly. Thus, fuel discharged from the discharge port  54   b  is supplied to the fuel delivery tube  14  from the fuel outlet  66  with a state where minute foreign matters has been removed by the filter element  65 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the pressure regulator  68  is located adjacent to the side of the fuel filter  61  in the pump unit  50 . The pressure regulator  68  is connected with the fuel outlet  66  of the fuel filter  61 , and a part of the fuel to be supplied to the fuel delivery tube  14  flows into the pressure regulator  68 . Thereby, the pressure regulator  68  controls the pressure of fuel flowing toward the fuel delivery tube  14 , and discharges the surplus fuel generated at the pressure controlling time to the jet nozzle  23  of the jet pump  21 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the residual quantity detecting element  70  is arranged outside of the subtank  20  by being held by the holding part  32  of the covering  30 . The residual quantity detecting element  70  is, for example, made of a sensor gauge, and is electrically connected with the terminal of the electric connector  15  through a flexible wiring  72  which can be bent flexibly. When electric power is supplied from the terminal, the residual quantity detecting element  70  detects the fuel residual quantity in the fuel tank  200  based on rotation angle of an arm  71  which is integrally provided with a float floating in fuel in the fuel tank  200 . 
     The controller  80  is arranged outside of the fuel tank  200  and is provided to the flange  10 . The controller  80  has the control circuit  81  and a covering  82 . The control circuit  81  controls the electric power supply to the electric pump  54 . The control circuit  81  is disposed on the installation part  13  of the flange  10 . The covering  82  is provided to the flange  10  to cover the control circuit  81 . 
     The covering  82  is made of resin, and, as shown in  FIG. 2 , has an electric connector  83  which communicates with outside by exchanging signals such as control signal for controlling the electric power supply to the electric pump  54 . The electric connector  83  includes a terminal for electrically connecting the control circuit  81  with the outside. The control circuit  81  is constructed by an integrated circuit (IC), capacitor, etc., and controls the electric power supply to the electric pump  54  based on the control signal received through the terminal of the electric connector  83 . 
     Details of the flange  10 , the adjustment mechanism  40 , and the pump unit  50  will be explained. 
     The flange  10  has the installation part  13  and the fix portion  11 . The installation part  13  is made of polyacetal (POM) as a base material, which contains glass fiber, ferrite powder, etc. having a heat conductivity higher than that of the POM. The installation part  13  has the rectangle shape, as shown in  FIG. 3 , and the control circuit  81  is disposed on the second surface  13   b  of the installation part  13  outside the fuel tank  200 . 
     On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the first surface  13   a  of the installation part  13  inside the fuel tank  200  faces the circulation space  12 . Moreover, the first surface  13   a  has a fin  13   c  projected downward. For example, the fin  13   c  has a grid pattern in the first embodiment. 
     The fix portion  11  is made of POM and has a concave portion  11   a  and a pipe part  11   f.  The concave portion  11   a  is formed under the installation part  13 . The concave portion  11   a  has a pipe wall  11   b  and a bottom wall  11   c.  The pipe wall  11   b  is projected in a cylindrical shape downward from the peripheral edge part of the fin  13   c.  The bottom wall  11   c  covers the lower end part of the pipe wall  11   b.    
     The concave portion  11   a  has an opening part  11   d,  and the installation part  13  is arranged to cover the opening part  11   d.  The opening part  11   d  and the installation part  13  are joined with each other by welding. Due to the installation part  13  and the fix portion  11 , the circulation space  12  is defined inside the concave portion  11   a,  that is, the circulation space  12  is defined on the inner circumference space of the pipe wall  11   b.    
     The pipe part  11   f  extends downward from the bottom wall  11   c.  The inside space of the concave portion  11   a  communicates with an outside space of the fix portion  11  through the pipe part  11   f.  The upper end  41   a  of the pillar  41  is press-fitted into the pipe part  11   f.  The pipe part  11   f  has the engaging nail  11   g  which engages with the pillar  41 , when the upper end  41   a  is press-fitted. Moreover, the bottom wall  11   c  has a communication hole  11   e  through which the circulation space  12  and the inside space of the fuel tank  200  communicate with each other, and the communication hole  11   e  is located adjacent to the pipe part  11   f.    
     The adjustment mechanism  40  will be described in details. The pillar  41  has a communicating path  41   c  inside to introduce fuel to the circulation space  12  of the fix portion  11 . The pillar  41  is provided coaxially with the pipe part  11   f  of the fix portion  11 . The inner tube  43 , which is placed on the inner circumference side of the pillar  41 , has a bottom part  43   b.  The bottom part  43   b  has a cylindrical support part  43   c  extending from the bottom part  43   b  toward the bottom  33   b  of the accommodation part  33 . 
     The support part  43   c  supports the upper end of the elastic component  45 . The bottom  33   b  of the accommodation part  33  has a cylindrical support part  33   c  extending toward the bottom part  43   b  of the inner tube  43 . The support part  33   c  supports the lower end part of the elastic component  45 . Due to the inner tube  43  and the accommodation part  33 , a predetermined space is defined between the bottom part  43   b  of the inner tube  43  and the bottom  33   b  of the accommodation part  33 . The predetermined space communicates with the inside of the pillar  41  through the support part  43   c,  and communicates with the subtank  20  through the support part  33   c.  That is, the communicating path  41   c  communicates with the inside of the subtank  20  through the space between the bottom part  43   b  and the bottom  33   b.    
     The pump unit  50  will be described in details. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the pump unit  50  has a flexible tube  69  which can be bent flexibly. An end of the flexible tube  69  is connected to the discharge passage  52   a,  and the other end is connected to the support part  33   c.  Thereby, fuel containing the air flows from the discharge passage  52   a  into the accommodation part  33  through the flexible tube  69 . 
     When a person inputs a signal to start the combustion engine  300 , a control device of the combustion engine  300  outputs a control signal to start the fuel supply apparatus  100 . When the control signal is input into the controller  80 , the control circuit  81  supplies electric power to the electric pump  54  based on the inputted control signal, thereby driving the electric pump  54  to rotate the rotation member  56 . Fuel is drawn from the inlet port  54   a,  and the pressure of the fuel in the pump chamber  57  is raised. The fuel filter  61  removes a foreign matter from the fuel discharged from the discharge port  54   b  after the pressure is raised in the pump chamber  57 , and the pressure of the fuel is controlled by the pressure regulator  68 . Then, the fuel is supplied to the combustion engine  300  from the fuel delivery tube  14 . 
     The fuel supplied to the combustion engine  300  from the fuel delivery tube  14  is changed depending on the operational status of the combustion engine  300 . For example, when the combustion engine  300  is in idol operational status, the fuel consumption amount of the combustion engine  300  is smaller than that in a state where the vehicle is accelerated. Therefore, most of the fuel supplied from the electric pump  54  is discharged into the subtank  20  rather than the pressure regulator  68 . At this time, the fuel whose pressure is in the raising state and containing air is also discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c.  A certain amount of the fuel is discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c,  not depending on the fuel consumption amount of the combustion engine  300 . 
     The fuel discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c  flows into the flexible tube  69  through the discharge passage  52   a.  The fuel flows into the space between the accommodation part  33  and the intermediate part  42 , and reaches the communicating path  41  c of the pillar  41 . Furthermore, the fuel which reached the communicating path  41   c  flows into the circulation space  12  through the pipe part  11   f  of the fix portion  11 . The fuel containing air and flowing into the circulation space  12  is discharged from the communication hole  11   e.  Thereby, a flow of the fuel is generated in the circulation space  12 . 
     When the fuel flowing into the circulation space  12  contacts the fin  13   c  of the installation part  13 , heat generated in the control circuit  81  will be absorbed by the fuel, so the control circuit  81  will be cooled. Then, the fuel is discharged from the communication hole  11   e  with air. 
     According to the first embodiment, the fuel pumped from the electric pump  54  is introduced into the circulation space  12  defined in the flange  10  through the communicating path  41   c  partitioned by the pillar  41 . Therefore, a passage portion such as tube, which introduces fuel from the electric pump  54  to the circulation space  12 , can be eliminated. Thus, the control circuit  81  which is disposed on the flange  10  can be cooled with the simple and easy structure. 
     Because the communication hole  11   e  is defined in the fix portion  11 , the flow of fuel can be generated in the circulation space  12 , thus, the fuel flowing into the circulation space  12  can be restricted from staying in the circulation space  12 . Thus, the control circuit  81  can be securely cooled. 
     Moreover, the second surface  13   b  of the installation part  13  facing the circulation space  12  has the fin  13   c.  Therefore, the surface area of the second surface  13   b  can be increased. As a result, the cooling property can be raised. 
     Furthermore, the heat mover whose heat conductivity is higher than that of the base material (POM) of the installation part  13  is mixed in the POM, so the heat exchanging performance can be increased. As a result, the cooling efficiency can be raised. Moreover, the same resin (POM) is used for the base material of the installation part  13  and the fix portion  11 . Therefore, the connection strength between the installation part  13  and the fix portion  11  can be raised to define the circulation space  12 . Therefore, the sealing property of the circulation space  12  can be raised. 
     Furthermore, the vapor fuel (fuel containing air) is introduced from the vapor exhaust port  54   c  to the circulation space  12  while the pressure of fuel is being raised, at this time, a predetermined discharge amount of fuel is secured irrespective of the fuel consumption amount of the combustion engine  300 . Therefore, the cooling effect is securable irrespective of the fuel consumption amount of the combustion engine  300 . 
     The vapor exhaust port  54   c  discharges a part of the fuel whose pressure is being raised such that air is contained in the fuel. Generally, a common electric pump secures the increase in the pressure of the fuel by discharging the fuel containing air. Whenever the electric pump is driven, the fuel containing air is generated regardless of the fuel consumption amount of the engine  300 . 
     Moreover, the fuel flowing out of the circulation space  12  through the communication hole  11   e  contacts the external wall surfaces  41   d  of the pillar  41 , and then flows downward along the external wall surface  41   d.  Thus, the fuel which flowed into the circulation space  12  is discharged from the communication hole  11   e.  Therefore, the fuel in the fuel tank  200  can be restricted from being foamed, compared with a case where the fuel directly falls into the fuel in the fuel tank  200 . 
     The communication hole  11   e  has the hole size in a manner that the amount of fuel discharged from the communication hole  11   e  becomes larger than or equal to the amount of the vapor fuel discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c.  Therefore, fuel can be appropriately discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c  with reliability. Thus, air which affects the pressure raising in the pump chamber  57  can be suitably discharged from the electric pump  54 , so the pressure-raising property of the electric pump  54  can be secured. 
     The flange  10  may correspond to a lid component, and the fix portion  11  may correspond to a circulation part. The pillar  41  may correspond to a connection component. The vapor exhaust port  54   c  may correspond to a fuel outlet part and a vapor fuel discharge part. 
     Second Embodiment 
     In the first embodiment, the control circuit  81  is cooled by introducing the fuel discharged from the vapor exhaust port  54   c  to the circulation space  12 . In contrast, in a second embodiment, a fuel supply apparatus  100   a  cools the control circuit  81  by introducing fuel from the fuel outlet  66  to the circulation space  12 . 
     The second embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 5 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , in the fuel supply apparatus  100   a,  the pillar  41  is press-fitted to the pipe part  11   f  of the flange  10 . Further, an end of a flexible tube  67   a  is connected to the lower end part  41   b  of the pillar  41 . The other end of the flexible tube  67   a  is connected to the fuel outlet  66 . Moreover, the flange  10  has a fuel passage  16  (fuel delivery part) through which the fuel delivery tube  14  and the circulation space  12  communicate with each other. 
     According to the second embodiment, the fuel flowing from the discharge port  54   b  of the electric pump  54  flows into the communicating path  41   c  of the pillar  41  through the fuel outlet  66  and the flexible tube  67   a.  The fuel flows into the circulation space  12  of the flange  10 , and cools the control circuit  81 . Then, the fuel is supplied to the combustion engine  300  through the fuel passage  16  and the fuel delivery tube  14 . Therefore, a passage portion such as tube, which introduces fuel out of the fuel tank  200  from the electric pump  54 , can be eliminated, so as to supply the fuel to the combustion engine  300 . Thus, the structure of the fuel supply apparatus  100   a  can be simplified. 
     In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the fin  13   c  may be formed in the installation part  13 , and the heat mover with high heat conductivity may be mixed in the base material (POM) of the installation part  13 . 
     Furthermore, the fix portion  11  and the installation part  13  may be welded with each other by using the same resin material as base material, so as to raise the connection strength. In the second embodiment, fuel is introduced into the circulation space  12  from the fuel outlet  66  where the fuel pressure is higher than that of the vapor fuel of the first embodiment. However, in this case, the sealing property of the circulation space  12  is securable by raising the connection strength. 
     In the second embodiment, the discharge port  54   b  may correspond to a fuel outlet part and a fuel discharge part. 
     Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.