Gerotor fuel pump having primary and secondary inlet and outlet portings

Abstract

The present invention involves a gear assembly of a fuel pump for improved supply of fuel to an automotive engine from a fuel tank. The assembly includes an inner gear and an outer gear matingly cooperating with the inner gear for rotation about an axis. The assembly further includes a pump cover including a cover surface adjacent the inner and outer gears and a pump body including a body surface adjacent the inner and outer gears opposite the pump cover. The cover surface has a primary inlet porting and a secondary outlet porting formed thereon and separated between seal areas. The body surface of the pump body includes a primary outlet porting and a secondary inlet porting separated between seal areas. In use, the inlet portings and the outlet portings of the pump body and the pump cover cooperate together, respectively, such that fuel entering through the inlet portings pass therethrough at a rate at which the gear assembly moves. Also, the outlet portings of the pump body and the pump cover cooperate together to allow fuel to pass therethrough at the rate at which the gear assembly moves.

1 . A gear assembly of a fuel pump for supplying fuel to an automotive engine from a fuel tank, the assembly comprising: 
 an inner gear;    an outer gear matingly cooperating with the inner gear for rotation about an axis;    a pump cover including a cover surface adjacent the inner and outer gears, the cover surface having an inlet aperture formed therethrough, the cover surface having a primary inlet porting and a secondary outlet porting formed thereon, the primary inlet porting being formed from the inlet aperture at a first inlet end and radially extending therealong at a second inlet end, the secondary outlet porting radially extending between first and second outlet ends;    a pump body including a body surface adjacent the inner and outer gears opposite the pump cover, the body surface having an outlet aperture formed therethrough, the body surface having a primary outlet porting and a secondary inlet porting formed thereon, the primary outlet porting being formed at the outlet aperture and in alignment with the secondary outlet porting, the primary and secondary inlet portings being configured to allow fuel to pass therethrough at a rate at which the gear assembly moves, the primary outlet porting radially extending therealong in alignment with the secondary outlet porting, the secondary inlet porting being in alignment with the primary inlet porting.    
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary and secondary outlet portings are configured to allow fuel to pass therethrough at the rate at which gear assembly rotates.  
     
     
         3 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the inner gear has a substantially disc shape with an outside camming surface and having an inner gear cover face and an inner gear body face.  
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 3  wherein the outer gear has an annular wall having an inside camming surface to matingly cooperate with the outside camming surface of the inner gear for rotation about an axis, the outer gear having an outer gear cover face and an outer gear body face.  
     
     
         5 . The assembly of  claim 4  wherein the cover surface is adjacent the inner gear cover face and the outer gear cover face.  
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the inner gear has a substantially disc shape with an outside camming surface and having an inner gear cover face and an inner gear body face, the inner gear having a center aperture formed therethrough defining an axis of rotation perpendicular to the inner gear cover face and the inner gear body face.  
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 6  wherein the outer gear has a substantially planar shape, the outer gear including an annular wall having an inside camming surface slidably engaging about the outside camming surface to matingly cooperate with the inner gear for rotation about the axis, the outer gear having an outer gear cover face and an outer gear body face.  
     
     
         8 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary inlet porting has a radial width increasing toward the second inlet end.  
     
     
         9 . The assembly of  claim 8  wherein the primary inlet porting has a first depth at the first inlet end and decreasing toward the second inlet end to a second depth.  
     
     
         10 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary inlet porting has a first varying width and a first varying depth.  
     
     
         11 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary inlet porting has a depth of about 4.0 millimeters at the first inlet end and decreasing to about 2.0 millimeters at the second inlet end.  
     
     
         12 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the secondary outlet porting has a depth of about 1.0 millimeters.  
     
     
         13 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the secondary outlet porting has a substantially constant depth.  
     
     
         14 . The assembly of  claim 4  wherein the body surface is adjacent the inner gear body face and the outer gear body face.  
     
     
         15 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary outlet porting has a radial width decreasing toward the second outlet end.  
     
     
         16 . The assembly of  claim 15  wherein the primary outlet porting has a third depth at the first outlet end and increasing to the second outlet end to a fourth depth.  
     
     
         17 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary outlet porting has a second varying width and a second varying depth.  
     
     
         18 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary outlet porting has a depth of about 2.0 millimeters at the first outlet end and increasing to about 4.0 millimeters at the second outlet end.  
     
     
         19 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the secondary inlet porting has a depth of about 1.0 millimeters.  
     
     
         20 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the secondary inlet porting has a substantially constant depth.  
     
     
         21 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the primary inlet porting and the secondary outlet porting of the pump cover and the primary outlet porting and the secondary inlet porting of the pump body are separated by seal areas.  
     
     
         22 . The assembly of  claim 21  wherein each of the seal areas is about 0.93 pitch length of the inner gear.  
     
     
         23 . A gear assembly for a fuel pump for supplying fuel to an automotive engine from a fuel tank, the assembly comprising: 
 an inner gear including a substantially disc shape with an outside camming surface and having an inner gear cover face and an inner gear body face;    an outer gear including an annular wall having an inside camming surface to matingly cooperate with the outside camming surface of the inner gear for rotation about an axis, the outer gear having an outer gear cover face and an outer gear body face;    a pump cover including a cover surface adjacent the inner gear cover face and the outer gear cover face, the cover surface having an inlet aperture formed therethrough, the cover surface having a primary inlet porting and a secondary outlet porting formed thereon, the primary inlet porting being formed from the inlet aperture at a first inlet end and radially extending therealong at a second inlet end, the secondary outlet porting radially extending between first and second outlet ends; and    a pump body including a body surface adjacent the inner gear body face and the outer gear body face, the body surface having an outlet aperture formed therethrough, the body surface having a primary outlet porting and a secondary inlet porting formed thereon, the primary outlet porting being formed at the outlet aperture and in alignment with the secondary outlet porting, the primary outlet porting radially extending therealong in alignment with the second outlet end, the secondary inlet porting being in alignment with the primary inlet porting, the primary and secondary inlet portings being configured to allow fuel to pass therethrough at a rate at which the gear assembly rotates;    
     
     
         24 . The assembly of  claim 22  wherein the primary and secondary outlet portings are configured to allow fuel to pass therethrough at the rate at which the gear assembly rotates.  
     
     
         25 . A gerotor fuel pump for supplying fuel to an automotive engine from a fuel tank, the fuel pump comprising: 
 a pump housing;    a motor mounted within the housing and having a shaft extending therefrom;    an inner gear disposed within the housing;    an outer gear disposed within the housing and matingly cooperating with the inner gear for rotation about an axis;    a pump cover mounted within an end of the housing and including a cover surface adjacent the inner and outer gears, the cover surface having an inlet aperture formed therethrough, the cover surface having a primary inlet porting and a secondary outlet porting formed thereon, the primary inlet porting being formed from the inlet aperture at a first inlet end and radially extending therealong at a second inlet end, the secondary outlet porting radially extending between first and second outlet ends;    a pump body mounted within the housing and having a bore through which the shaft extends, the pump body including a body surface adjacent the inner and outer gears opposite the pump cover, the body surface having an outlet aperture formed therethrough, the body surface having a primary outlet porting and a secondary inlet porting formed thereon, the primary outlet porting being formed at the outlet aperture and in alignment with the secondary outlet porting, the primary and secondary inlet portings being configured to allow fuel to pass therethrough at a rate at which the gear assembly rotates, the primary outlet porting radially extending therealong in alignment with the secondary outlet porting, the secondary inlet porting being in alignment with the primary inlet porting.    
     
     
         26 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary and secondary outlet portings are configured to allow fuel to pass therethrough at the rate at which the gear assembly rotates.  
     
     
         27 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the inner gear has a substantially disc shape with an outside camming surface and having an inner gear cover face and an inner gear body face.  
     
     
         28 . The fuel pump of  claim 27  wherein the outer gear has an annular wall having an inside camming surface to matingly cooperate with the outside camming surface of the inner gear for rotation about an axis, the outer gear having an outer gear cover face and an outer gear body face.  
     
     
         29 . The fuel pump of  claim 28  wherein the cover surface is adjacent the inner gear cover face and the outer gear cover face.  
     
     
         30 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the inner gear has a substantially disc shape with an outside camming surface and having an inner gear cover face and an inner gear body face, the inner gear having a center aperture formed therethrough defining an axis of rotation perpendicular to the inner gear cover face and the inner gear body face.  
     
     
         31 . The fuel pump of  claim 30  wherein the outer gear has a substantially planar shape, the outer gear including an annular wall having an inside camming surface slidably engaging about the outside camming surface to matingly cooperate with the inner gear for rotation about the axis, the outer gear having an outer gear cover face and an outer gear body face.  
     
     
         32 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary inlet porting has a radial width increasing toward the second inlet end.  
     
     
         33 . The fuel pump of  claim 32  wherein the primary inlet porting has a first depth at the first inlet end and decreasing toward the second inlet end to a second depth.  
     
     
         34 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary inlet porting has a first varying width and a first varying depth.  
     
     
         35 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary inlet porting has a depth of about 4.0 millimeters at the first inlet end and decreasing to about 2.0 millimeters at the second inlet end.  
     
     
         36 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the secondary outlet porting has a depth of about 1.0 millimeters.  
     
     
         37 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the secondary outlet porting has a substantially constant depth.  
     
     
         38 . The fuel pump of  claim 28  wherein the body surface is adjacent the inner gear body face and the outer gear body face.  
     
     
         39 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary outlet porting has a radial width decreasing toward the second outlet end.  
     
     
         40 . The fuel pump of  claim 39  wherein the primary outlet porting has a third depth at the first outlet end and increasing to the second outlet end to a fourth depth.  
     
     
         41 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary outlet porting has a second varying width and a second varying depth.  
     
     
         42 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary outlet porting has a depth of about 2.0 millimeters at the first outlet end and increasing to about 4.0 millimeters at the second outlet end.  
     
     
         43 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the secondary inlet porting has a depth of about 1.0 millimeters.  
     
     
         44 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the secondary inlet porting has a substantially constant depth.  
     
     
         45 . The fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the primary inlet porting and the secondary outlet porting of the pump cover and the primary outlet porting and the secondary inlet porting of the pump body are separated by seal areas.  
     
     
         46 . The fuel pump of  claim 45  wherein each of the seal areas is about 0.93 pitch length of the inner gear.  
     
     
         47 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the inlet portings have a first pitch value and the outlet portings have a second pitch value, wherein the first pitch value is greater than the second pitch value.  
     
     
         48 . The assembly of  claim 47  wherein the first pitch value and the second pitch value are at a pitch value ratio of about 3:2.  
     
     
         49 . The gear assembly of  claim 23  wherein the inlet portings have a first pitch value and the outlet portings have a second pitch value, the first pitch value being greater than the second pitch value.  
     
     
         50 . The gear assembly of  claim 49  wherein the first pitch value and the second pitch value are at a pitch value ratio of about 3:2.  
     
     
         51 . The gerotor fuel pump of  claim 25  wherein the inlet portings have a first pitch value and the outlet portings have a second pitch value, the first pitch value being greater than the second pitch value.  
     
     
         52 . The gerotor fuel pump of  claim 51  wherein the first pitch value and the second pitch value have a pitch value ratio of about 3:2.