Patent ID: 6857419

Claim:
A vapor separator for a fuel pump assembly of an internal combustion engine comprising: a hollow chamber having a side wall surrounding an interior and a top wall and a bottom wall enclosing said interior to form an enclosed chamber; a fuel intake communicating into said chamber, said intake connected to a source of fuel so that fuel can be introduced into said chamber; a fuel outlet from said chamber communicating with the fuel pump assembly so that fuel from said chamber can be conveyed to the fuel pump assembly and pumped into a fuel delivery system of the internal combustion engine; a hollow tube configured into a coil having a plurality of loops, said coil dimensioned to fit within the interior of said chamber, and positioned within said chamber, said tube having first and second ends extending through a wall of said chamber for connection to respective coolant supply and discharge members; a source of coolant liquid communicating with the first end of said tube so that coolant can flow through said hollow tube coil within said chamber from the first end to the second end thereby removing heat from said chamber; said hollow tube having a generally continuous internal diameter between said first and second ends, and said tube coil being formed without sharp bends whereby coolant flowing through said hollow tube is maintained at generally constant velocity therealong; a fuel return intake into said chamber, said fuel return intake connected to receive heated excess fuel from the fuel delivery system of the internal combustion engine, said heated fuel being cooled by coolant flowing through said coil within said chamber to reduce the temperature of the heated fuel and to condense fuel vapor created by said heated fuel before being conveyed to the fuel pump assembly.