Patent Abstract:
To provide a fuel supply system in which fuel stored in a fuel storage tank formed in a housing main body can be supplied by a high-pressure pump provided in the housing main body in spite of a rapid acceleration or a rapid deceleration of an engine, two types of connectors, which is a first connector having a low-pressure pump having a connection port for a fuel supply pipe from a fuel tank and a second connector having no pump, can be selectively attached via a common connector mounting part formed on a wall surface of a housing main body, and by using a housing having therein the commonly used high-pressure pump, a fuel supply system using an external pump and a fuel supply system using no external pump can be respectively manufactured in accordance with the purpose of use.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to and is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/293,595 filed Jun. 2, 2014. It also claims priority to JP Patent Application Nos. 2015084790, 2015084791, and 2015084792 filed on Apr. 17, 2015. This application incorporates by reference in its entirety each of the above-identified applications. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to an improvement of a fuel supply system provided in the middle of a fuel supply pipe, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,871 and JP 2013-516576 W (PCT/US2011/020454), to supply liquid fuel stored in a fuel tank to an engine. 
         [0003]    When supplying the liquid fuel stored in the fuel tank to the engine, it is necessary to continuously supply fuel even if there is a rapid acceleration or a rapid deceleration, and it is also necessary to prevent evaporation of the fuel due to high temperatures generated by operation of the engine. 
         [0004]    In order to address this issue, conventionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,871 proposes an engine control module equipped with two pumps in a reserve tank, for example. This engine control module is provided in the reserve tank with a first fuel pump as a draw-up pump for drawing up the fuel from a fuel tank to a reserve tank and a second fuel pump for feeding the fuel drawn-up into the reserve tank into a fuel rail of the engine at a higher pressure; thus, the engine control module has advantages of saving pipes for a fuel pipe, easy manufacturing, and further prevention of fuel leakage. However, this prior art has two fuel pumps disposed in the reserve tank, and thus has issues that assembly and mounting are cumbersome and the production cost is high. 
         [0005]    In order to solve these problems, JP 2013-516576 W (PCT/US2011/020454) proposes a vapor separator (fuel pump). As shown in  FIG. 7 , a vapor separator (see  FIG. 6 ) is proposed in which there is disposed in the reserve tank RT a high-pressure pump P 2  for feeding the fuel drawn-up in the reserve tank RT into the fuel rail of an engine at a higher pressure and there is disposed a low-pressure fuel pump P 1  which is constituted by a pulse pump for drawing up the fuel from the fuel tank to the reserve tank RT and is integrally formed on the outside of the reserve tank RT, for example; thus, the vapor separator can be assembled more easily and be provided at a lower price. 
         [0006]    However, this fuel supply system (vapor separator) is a system, in which the pulse pump as the low-pressure pump P 1  is formed on a housing H having the reserve tank RT integrally and indivisibly, and which has to have two pumps; thus, there is a big problem that the fuel supply system cannot be applied to a system which supplies a sufficient amount of fuel to the engine by using, for example, the reserve tank RT and the second high-pressure pump P 2  even when the rapid acceleration or the rapid deceleration occurs. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention relates to improvement to a conventional fuel supply system having a reservoir provided in the middle of the fuel supply pipe to supply the stored liquid fuel in the fuel tank to the engine, and an object of the invention is to provide a fuel supply system which is useful for many purposes and is excellent in cost. 
         [0008]    The present invention includes: a housing configured to have a lid body airtightly covering an opening formed in an upper surface of a housing main body which forms a fuel storage tank which doubles as a reservoir, and configured to have, in a sidewall of the housing main body, a fuel intake port communicating with the fuel storage tank; a high-pressure pump provided in the housing main body to supply fuel stored in the fuel storage tank to an engine; and a connector which is integrally attachable to the sidewall of the housing main body, the connector including: a fuel-feeding port configured to be in touch with and communicate with the fuel intake port formed in the wall surface when the fuel-feeding port is attached to the sidewall; and a connection port configured to communicates with the fuel-feeding port and to accept a fuel supply pipe from a fuel tank, wherein the connector includes a two types of connectors including a first connector having a low-pressure pump and a second connector having no pump, and wherein the two types of connectors is selectively attachable via a common connector mounting part formed on the sidewall of the housing main body. Thus, by using a common housing in which a high-pressure pump is installed, a fuel supply system using an external pump and a fuel supply system using no pump can be manufactured. 
         [0009]    Further, a configuration is made such that in the fuel storage tank formed in the housing main body, there is provided a float having a regulator function for keeping a liquid surface of the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank at a predetermined position; thus, the regulator function can be installed in a small space. 
         [0010]    Further in the present invention, the fuel intake port formed in the wall surface of the housing main body is formed above a liquid surface of the stored fuel; thus, even in the case that the external pump is not used, the fuel can be taken in, by free fall, from the fuel tank into the fuel storage tank formed in the housing main body. 
         [0011]    The high-pressure pump can be easily and securely installed in the housing main body by a lower part of the high-pressure pump being held by pressure against a holding member which is provided on a bottom part of a fuel storage part of the housing main body, is formed of a resilient material, and has a flow passage communicating with the fuel storage part, in such a manner that a suction port is opened to the flow passage. In addition, a blitz type filter is provided on the holding member provided on a bottom part of a fuel storage part of the housing main body in such a manner that a feed-out port is opened to a flow passage, and a lower part of the high-pressure pump is held by pressure in such a manner that a suction port is opened to the flow passage; thus, a plurality of components can be fixed with the single holding member. 
         [0012]    Still further, the high-pressure pump includes a connection electrode on an upper part thereof, and the connection electrode is provided to penetrate through the lid body; thus, it can be easy to install the pump and secure airtightness of the housing, whereby the number of components is reduced, and electric connection and electrical maintenance are simple. In addition, because the housing main body and the lid body are fixed to each other with a spring clip, assembly and disassembly are easy and the airtightness of the housing can be maintained. 
         [0013]    In addition, a threaded hole, which is of threaded holes formed in the wall surface of the housing main body to receive fixing bolts for fixing a first connector having a low-pressure pump and is formed on a bottom part, and a drain reservoir formed to be recessed in a bottom surface of the housing main body are communicated with each other through a drain passage having a smaller diameter than the threaded hole; and drain (water or impurities contained in the fuel) stored in the drain reservoir can be discharged through the threaded hole and the drain passage, whereby the drain stored in the bottom part in the housing main body is easily made to discharge from outside of the housing. 
         [0014]    In addition, a positioning pin is integrally provided protrudingly at a predetermined position on an opening edge of the housing main body, and a positioning hole which fits the positioning pin is formed in a flange of the lid body to be in contact with and opposed to the opening edge of the housing; thus, it goes without saying that sealing can be easily and surely done, and because the positioning pin protrudingly provided on the housing main body is fixed at a predetermined fitting position, the action of fixing the lid body on the housing main body can also be provided. 
         [0015]    Further, in the case that a holding member holding a regulator used in the present invention is in an arched shape as a whole and has leg parts protrudingly provided on lower surfaces of both ends of the holding member, the both ends being configured to be placed on support plates each of which is protrudingly provided on each of mutually opposing inner wall surfaces of the fuel storage tank, on a part of a surface of a holding member main body which has a length long enough for at least one end part to be close to the inner wall surface of the fuel storage tank, there is formed on an upper end surface a receiving surface on which a holding flange protrudingly provided on a circumferential wall of a pressure regulating unit main body of a regulator, and a regulator receiving part made up of a recessed part for holding the regulator with a space between the regulator receiving part and a return port of the regulator; and an extra fuel discharge passage in a gutter shape communicating with the space of the regulator receiving part is formed in the surface of the holding member main body from the regulator receiving part to the end part close to the inner wall surface of the fuel storage tank, since extra fuel from the regulator is returned to the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank along the inner wall surface of the fuel storage tank from a tip of the extra fuel discharge passage, it is possible to eliminate the fluctuation of the amount of the stored fluid caused by the disturbance of the liquid surface due to the extra fuel from the regulator flowing down into the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank, whereby the fuel can be stably supplied to the engine by the high-pressure pump. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a fuel supply system of a first embodiment of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a state that two types of connectors which are a first connector and a second connector are disassembled; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a state that the first connector of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  is attached; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a state that the second connector of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  is attached; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a vertical cross sectional view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a vertical cross sectional view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  at a different position; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of a conventional fuel supply system; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a state that two types of connectors of a first connector and a second connector are removed in a second embodiment showing the fuel supply system of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a state that the first connector of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  is attached; 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a state that the second connector of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  is attached; 
           [0026]      FIG. 11  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 12  is a vertical cross-sectional view, at a different position, of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 13  is a sectional view of a housing bottom part in a state that a drain passage of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  is formed; 
           [0029]      FIG. 14  is a sectional view of the housing bottom part at a state before the drain passage of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  is formed; 
           [0030]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view showing a fuel supply system of the present invention in a third embodiment; 
           [0031]      FIG. 16  is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 15 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 17(   a ) is a partial perspective view showing a main part before a positioning pin in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 15  is caulked; 
           [0033]      FIG. 17(   b ) is a partial sectional view showing the main part before the positioning pin in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 15  is caulked; 
           [0034]      FIG. 18(   a ) is a diagram showing a partial perspective view of the main part after the positioning pin in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 15  is caulked; 
           [0035]      FIG. 18(   b ) is a diagram showing a partial sectional view of the main part after the positioning pin in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 15  is caulked; 
           [0036]      FIG. 19  is an enlarged perspective view showing the positioning pin of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 15 ; 
           [0037]      FIG. 20  is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment showing a fuel supply system of the present invention; 
           [0038]      FIG. 21  is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 20  in a state the lid body is removed; 
           [0039]      FIG. 22  is a perspective view of a regulator and a holding member for the regulator used in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 20 ; 
           [0040]      FIG. 23  is a transverse sectional view at a lower part of the lid body in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 20 ; 
           [0041]      FIG. 24  is a transverse sectional view in a state that the holding member and the regulator are removed in  FIG. 23 ; 
           [0042]      FIG. 25  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 20 ; and 
           [0043]      FIG. 26  is a vertical cross-sectional view of a vicinity of a communication passage which is formed in the lid body and open to atmospheric air in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 20 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0044]      FIGS. 1 to 6  show a first embodiment which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and a fuel supply system as the present invention is configured with: a housing  1  which has a lid body  2  airtightly covering an opening  13  of a housing main body  11  having an opening in an upper surface, a bottom, and a fuel storage tank  12  formed therein; a high-pressure pump  3  provided in the housing main body  11  for discharging fuel stored in the fuel storage tank  12  through a fuel discharge pipe  21  formed in the lid body  2 ; a first connector  4  which is detachably and integrally attached on one wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11  and to which a fuel pipe (not shown) is connected from a fuel tank (not shown) and which have a low-pressure pump  41  constituted by, for example, a low-pressure diaphragm pulse pump for supplying into the fuel storage tank  12  in the housing main body  11 ; and a second connector  5  which is detachably and integrally attached on the one wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11  and to which a fuel pipe is connected from the fuel tank (not shown) and which have no pump for supplying into the fuel storage tank  12  in the housing main body  11 . Note that the low-pressure pump  41  is a pump similar to a conventional low-pressure pump of this type in which a pulsing motion from, for example, a crankcase of the engine is used. 
         [0045]    Thus, any one of the first connector  4  and the second connector  5  is selected and used. 
         [0046]    In more detailed description, the high-pressure pump  3  is installed to be held by pressure and to be fit in a mounting recess  61  of a holding member  6  which is installed on the bottom part of the housing main body  11 , is formed of a resilient material such as synthetic rubber, and has a flow passage  62  on a bottom part thereof communicating with the fuel storage tank  12 , such that a suction port  31  provided at the lower end of the high-pressure pump  3  is opened to the flow passage  62  and such that electrode part  32  formed at an upper end of the high-pressure pump  3  sticks out through the lid body  2  so that an electric connection can be made outside the housing  1 . 
         [0047]    In addition, on another mounting recess  63  which is formed on the holding member  6  and communicate with the flow passage  62 , a blitz type filter  7  is also installed such that a feed-out port  71  is opened to the flow passage  62 . 
         [0048]    Further, in the wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11 , a mounting part is formed to detachably attach, with a fixing bolt  51 , the first connector  4  having the low-pressure pump  41  or the second connector  5 , and there is formed a fuel intake port  15  with which, specifically when the first connector  4  or the second connector  5  is attached, a feed-out port  42  of the low-pressure pump  41  of the first connector  4  or a supply port  52  of the second connector  5  is airtightly fit. In addition, the fuel intake port  15  is positioned at least above a liquid surface of the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank  12 , and the fuel intake port  15  communicates with the fuel storage tank  12  through a fuel passage  16  and a valve body  17  which are provided in the housing main body  11  and the lid body  2 . 
         [0049]    In the lid body  2 , there is provided a float  8  for determining a liquid surface position of the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank  12 . In the float  8 , there is provided a regulator  9 , in a penetrating manner, communicating between the fuel storage tank  12  and the fuel discharge pipe  21  which is disposed in the lid body  2  and is connected to a feed-out port  33  of the high-pressure pump  3 . 
         [0050]    In the present embodiment, the lid body  2  is fixed with a plate-like spring clip  10 , and assembly and disassembly are thus easy. 
         [0051]    The present fuel supply system having the above configuration is assembled by using any one of the first connector  4  having a low-pressure pump  41  or the second connector  5  having no pump, in accordance with the purpose of use. Of course, the connecter can be replaced with the other connector after once attached. 
         [0052]    The assembled present embodiment is fixed to an engine, a vehicle body, or the like (not shown) via a mounting part  18  protrudingly provided on the housing  1 . The fuel introduced through the first connector  4  or the second connector  5  from the fuel tank (not shown) is introduced through the fuel intake port  15  formed in the wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11  and further through the fuel passage  16  formed in the lid body  2  and the valve body  17  into the fuel storage tank  12  and is stored up to a predetermined liquid surface by the float  8 . At the same time, the high-pressure pump  3  is operated to discharge the fuel in the fuel storage tank  12  through the fuel discharge pipe  21 . 
         [0053]      FIGS. 8 to 14  show a second embodiment of the present invention, and in the second embodiment, a drain reservoir  19  is formed to be recessed in a bottom part of a fuel storage tank  12  formed in a housing main body  11 ; and in order to fix, for example, a lower part of a first connector  4  having a low-pressure pump  41 , the threaded hole  20   a , which is of threaded holes for fixing bolts  51  formed in a wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11  and is formed in a bottom part, and the drain reservoir  19  formed to be recessed in the bottom surface of the housing main body  11  are communicated with each other through a drain passage  20  having a smaller diameter than the threaded hole  20   a.    
         [0054]    Therefore, drain (water or impurities contained in the fuel) stored in the drain reservoir  19  can be discharge through the threaded hole  20   a  and the drain passage  20  by pulling out a fixing bolt  51   a , whereby the drain stored in the bottom part in the housing main body  11  can be very easily made to discharge from outside of the housing  1 . 
         [0055]    In particular, in the present configuration, in the case that the second connector  5  having no pump as shown in  FIG. 10  is used, the fixing bolt  51   a  can be used only for draining; however, the present configuration can be applied to the case that the first connector  4  having the low-pressure pump  41  shown in  FIG. 9  is used. 
         [0056]    In the second embodiment, the threaded hole  20   a  for the first connector  4  having the low-pressure pump  41  is made in the wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11  to have a predetermined length in correspondence to the position at which the drain reservoir  19  is formed in the bottom part of the housing main body  11  as shown in  FIG. 14 , and next the drain passage  20  having a smaller diameter than the threaded hole  20   a  is easily made by additional machining, and because the drain passage  20  has a smaller diameter than the threaded hole  20   a , the function of the threaded hole  20   a  is never impaired. 
         [0057]      FIGS. 15 to 19  show a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, a housing  1  has: a housing main body  11  in which a fuel storage tank  12  is formed; and a lid body  2  which hermetically covers an opening  13  of the housing main body  11  through a packing  300  by using spring clips  10 . In the housing  1 , a positioning pin  101  is integrally provided protrudingly at a predetermined position on an opening edge  100  of the housing main body  11 , and a positioning hole  201  which fits the positioning pin  101  is formed on a flange  200  of a lid body  2  which is in contact with and opposed to the opening edge  100  of the housing. 
         [0058]    Therefore, a positioning hole  201  formed in the lid body  2  is inserted into the positioning pin  101  protrudingly provided in the opening edge  100  of the housing main body  11 , in a process of putting the lid body  2  on the housing main body  11 , so that the lid body  2  is mounted at a predetermined position of the housing main body  11 . 
         [0059]    Next, the lid body  2  is fixed on the housing main body  11  with separately provided fixing devices, for example, spring clips  10 , and the positioning pin  101  protrudingly provided on the opening edge  100 , of the housing main body  11 , protruding from the positioning hole  201  formed in the lid body  2  as shown in  FIG. 17(   a ) is caulked as shown in  FIG. 18(   a ), whereby a swelling caulked part  105  is generated to seal. 
         [0060]    With the third embodiment, it goes without saying that sealing can be easily and surely done, and because the positioning pin  101  protrudingly provided on the housing main body  11  is fixed at a predetermined fitting position, the action of fixing the lid body  2  on the housing main body  11  can also be realized. 
         [0061]    Then, if the lid body  2  is intentionally opened after being sold, the caulked part  105  should be broken; thus, it is easy to check that the lid body  2  was opened, and if the lid body  2  was opened and the caulked part  105  was broken, it is impossible to caulk again. 
         [0062]    In addition, as shown in  FIG. 19 , the positioning pin  101  is constituted of a large diameter part  102  formed on a base end side and a small diameter part  103  formed on a tip side from the base end side, and in the positioning hole  201  in which the positioning pin  101  is fit, there are continuously formed a large diameter part  202  and a small diameter part  203  to fit the positioning pin  101  as shown in  FIG. 17(   b ) and  FIG. 18(   b ), and the two parts having the different diameters surely fit and support, whereby the lid body  2  can be surely disposed at an accurate position. 
         [0063]    In particular, in the third embodiment, the large diameter part  102  of the positioning pin  101  has a circular cross-section, and the small diameter part  103  formed on the tip side from the large diameter part  102  has a semi-circular cross-section in which the large diameter part is cut away by a half of a diameter of the large diameter part for a predetermined height in the vertical direction; thus, the large diameter part  102  and the small diameter part  103  can be previously formed by integrally molding, however, may be formed by other processing methods such as cutting work. 
         [0064]    In addition, in the third embodiment, because central axial lines of the large diameter part  102  and the small diameter part  103  constituting the positioning pin  101  and central axial lines of the large diameter part  202  and the small diameter part  203  of the positioning hole  201  are out of alignment, the lid body  2  can be disposed at a very precise position. 
         [0065]    Note that caulking is performed by using conventional well-known method such as hitting or the like when the positioning pin  101  is made of metal, and thermal melting method when the positioning pin  101  is made of synthetic resin; therefore, the material does not need to be specifically limited. 
         [0066]    Further, the third embodiment describes the case that the positioning pin  101  is formed on the housing main body  11  and the positioning hole  201  is formed in the lid body  2 ; however, it goes without saying that, to the contrary, the third embodiment can be similarly practiced in the case (not shown) that the positioning pin  101  is formed on the lid body  2  and the positioning hole  201  is formed in the housing main body  11 . 
         [0067]    Still further, in the third embodiment, fixing effect of the lid body  2  can be improved by caulking the positioning pin  101 , and when the number of the positioning pin  101  is increased, not only is the positioning accuracy of the lid body  2  on the housing main body  11  is improved, but also the fixing effect is improved. Therefore, the positioning pin  101  can be used as a fixing device, for example. 
         [0068]      FIGS. 20 to 26  show a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and a fuel supply system in the present embodiment has: a housing  1  having a lid body  2  which hermetically covers an opening  13  of a housing main body  11  which has a bottom and the opening  13  on an upper surface and in which a fuel storage tank  12  is formed; a fuel pump (high-pressure pump)  3  which takes in fuel stored in the fuel storage tank  12  disposed in the housing main body  11  from a suction port  31  through a filter  7  and discharges the fuel from a fuel discharge pipe  21  formed on the lid body  2  of the housing main body  11 ; and a connector (second connector)  5  which is integrally and detachably mounted on one wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11  and has a supply port  52  for supplying the fuel into the fuel storage tank  12  of the housing main body  11  through a fuel pipe (not shown) connected to a fuel tank (not shown). 
         [0069]    Note that, the fuel pump (high-pressure pump)  3  is disposed such that electrode parts  32  formed on the upper end of the fuel pump (high-pressure pump)  3  are protruded from the lid body  2  to be able to be electrically connected outside the housing  1 . 
         [0070]    In addition, on the wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11 , the connector (second connector)  5  is detachably mounted with fixing bolts  51 , and the fuel is supplied to the fuel storage tank  12  from a fuel intake port  15  disposed above at least a liquid surface of the fuel stored in fuel storage tank  12 . 
         [0071]    Further, in the fuel storage tank  12 , there is disposed a float  8  which has a mechanism for determining the liquid surface position of the fuel stored in fuel storage tank  12 , and the float  8  is swingably attached with a hinge  81  disposed, on the inner wall surface of the lid body  2 , at a position above an inner wall surface  121  of the fuel storage tank  12 . 
         [0072]    Still further, in the fuel storage tank  12 , a holding member  400  disposed above the float  8  in the fuel storage tank  12  holds a regulator  9  in which pressure regulating ports  92  are connectingly provided on the upper part of a pressure regulating unit main body  91  containing therein a pressure regulating member (not shown) and in which a return port  93  is connectingly provided at the lower part of the pressure regulating unit main body  91 , wherein the pressure regulating ports  92  are being connected to the fuel discharge pipe  21  on the lid body  2  of the housing main body  11 . 
         [0073]    In more detail, a holding member  400  holding a regulator  9  used in the present embodiment has the holding member main body  404  which is in an arched shape as a whole and has leg parts  401  and  402  protrudingly provided on lower surfaces of both ends of the holding member main body  404  as shown in  FIG. 22 , the leg parts  401  and  402  being configured to be placed on support plates  123  and  124  each of which is protrudingly provided on each of mutually opposing inner wall surfaces  121  and  122  of the fuel storage tank  12 . The holding member main body  404  has a length long enough for at least one end part  403  thereof to be close to the inner wall surface  121  of the fuel storage tank  12 . On a part of a surface of the holding member main body  404 , there is formed on an upper end surface a receiving surface  405  on which a holding flange  94  protrudingly provided on a circumferential wall of the pressure regulating unit main body  91  of the regulator  9 , and a regulator receiving part  406  made up of a recessed part for holding the regulator  9  with a space (not shown) between the regulator receiving part  406  and the recessed part of the return port  93  of the regulator  9 ; and an extra fuel discharge passage  407  in a gutter shape communicating with the space of the regulator receiving part  406  is formed in the surface of the holding member main body  404  from the regulator receiving part  406  to the end part  403  close to the inner wall surface  121  of the fuel storage tank  12 . 
         [0074]    In the embodiment having the above configuration is assembled such that the lid body  2  is fixed on the housing main body  11  with the plate-like spring clips  10 , and is used being fixed on an engine, a vehicle body, or the like (not shown) through the mounting part  18  protrudingly provided on the housing  1 ; the fuel from the fuel tank (not shown) flows into fuel storage tank  12  through the connector (second connector)  5  mounted on the wall surface  14  of the housing main body  11  with the fixing bolts  51  as described above, is led into the fuel storage tank  12  through a fuel tank (not shown) and a valve body  17  disposed in the lid body  2 , and is then stored up to a predetermined liquid surface by the float  8 ; and the fuel pump (high-pressure pump)  3  concurrently operates to discharge the fuel in the fuel storage tank  12  from the fuel discharge pipe  21 . 
         [0075]    Thus, when a fluid pressure in a fuel supply pipe  2  is higher than a predetermined value, the regulator  9  operates to flow extra fuel from pressure regulating ports  92  connected to the fuel supply pipe  2  to the return port  93  so that the extra fuel is returned into the fuel storage tank  12 ; thus, the fuel at a predetermined pressure is supplied to the engine. In this operation, because the regulator  9  is held on a novel holding member  400  in the present embodiment, the fuel does not directly flow down to the liquid surface of the fuel as in conventional arts, whereby the liquid surface is not disturbed. 
         [0076]    That is to say, in the present embodiment, the extra fuel flowing out from the return port  93  of the regulator  9  does not directly go down on the liquid surface of the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank  12  as in conventional arts, but the extra fuel is stored, returning from the regulator receiving part  406  of the holding member  400  through the extra fuel discharge passage  407  and along the inner wall surface  121  of the fuel storage tank  12  from the end part  403 , whereby there is no chance for the extra fuel flowing down from the regulator  9  to disturb the liquid surface, and as a result, the supply of fuel from the fuel pump (high-pressure pump)  3  does not become unstable due to the disturbance of the liquid surface. In addition, in the present embodiment, because the extra fuel flows down along the inner wall surface  121  on the hinge  81  side which affects less the oscillation of the float  8 , the float  8  is not likely to oscillate, whereby supply can be more stable. 
         [0077]    In addition, in the present embodiment, because the holding member  400  has an arched shape as a whole, the holding member  400  is therefore strong against load, and because the holding member  400  has the receiving surface  405  on which the holding flange  94  protrudingly provided on the circumference of the pressure regulating unit main body  91  of regulator  9  is placed, the holding member  400  can surely support the regulator  9 . 
         [0078]    Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 26 , in the holding member  400 , on the holding member main body  404 , there is a supporting shaft  409  which has a predetermined height and is erected in correspondence to the position of a communication passage  22  which is formed in the lid body  2  and open to atmospheric air; and on a tip surface of the supporting shaft  409 , there is formed a receiving surface  408  for receiving a ball  24  which is used as a stopper and is inserted in an engaging recessed part  23  formed in a base end of the communication passage  22 . 
         [0079]    With this arrangement, in a case that the housing  1  is laterally overturned, the ball  24  used as a stopper disposed on the receiving surface  408  closes the communication passage  22  open to atmospheric air so as to prevent the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank  12  from spilling out.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1