Patent ID: 7503314

Claim:
A fuel supply system for an outboard marine engine, said fuel supply system including: an outboard marine engine powered by liquid fuel, said engine including a fuel injection system; a remote fuel tank for containing liquid fuel; a vapor separator directly affixed to said engine and communicating with said remote fuel tank via a supply line, said vapor separator having an enclosed interior chamber for collecting a volume of liquid fuel and fuel vapors; a suction pump disposed along said supply line for transferring the liquid fuel under negative pressure from said remote fuel tank to said interior chamber of said vapor separator; a high pressure pump for transferring liquid fuel under positive pressure from said interior chamber to said fuel injection system of said engine; said vapor separator including a vent valve device communicating with said interior chamber for permitting the escape of fuel vapors trapped in said interior chamber; said vent valve device including a generally tubular casing having an enclosed top end permeated by an escape passage, and a float slidably disposed within said casing for movement toward and away from pressing engagement with said escape passage, and a sealing feature for perfecting a fluid and vapor tight seal between said float and said escape passage when said float is pressing thereagainst; said vent valve device including a biasing element operatively interposed between said casing and said float for urging said float toward said escape passage; wherein said float has a weight and said biasing element has a reaction force insufficient to overcome said weight force of said float along a normal vector gravitational direction; and said reaction force of said biasing element being sufficient to overcome said weight force of said float along a skewed vector gravitational direction, with said skewed vector displaced greater than about 25 degrees from said normal vector gravitational direction.