Marine fuel system with spill control feature

摘要

A spill resistant fuel supply system (16) for a marine engine (12). The system (16) includes a generally sealed housing (46) in which is disposed a vapor separator (26), a high pressure pump (28) and/or a suction pump (24). The housing (46) prevents fuel that might leak from these components from openly collecting in the marine vessel (10). The housing (46) includes one or more walls (48, 50, 52) formed with included air columns (58) which act as thermal barriers to reduce the amount of heat energy transferred from the outside in. The included air columns (58) are preferably arrayed in side-by-side fashion and closed at both ends to trap air therein.

主权项

1. A spill resistant fuel supply system for a marine engine, the fuel supply system comprising:
a vapor separator having:
a vapor separator housing that encloses a vapor separator chamber that is configured to receive liquid fuel from a fuel tank via a supply line, anda vent valve device configured to enable fuel vapor to escape from the vapor separator chamber; a high pressure pump configured to pump fuel under positive pressure from the vapor separator chamber to an internal combustion engine; a containment housing that includes surrounding walls that enclose a containment space that (i) contains the vapor separator and the high pressure pump and (ii) is configured to contain fuel leaked from the vapor separator and from the high pressure pump, wherein the containment space is isolated by the vapor separator housing from the vapor separator chamber, and wherein at least one of the walls is an insulating wall, and wherein the insulating wall extends in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction that are perpendicular to each other; a laterally-extending series of openings along a laterally-extending edge of the insulating wall; chambers that are within the insulating wall and elongated in the longitudinal direction and spaced apart in the lateral direction, wherein each of the chambers extends longitudinally from a respective one of the openings to a closed end of the respective chamber; a series of plugs, each plug being inserted in a respective one of the openings to seal the opening, leaving an air space that extends, within the respective chamber, from the respective plug to the closed end of the respective chamber; and a strip that gangs the plugs together, with a spacing between adjacent plugs that matches a spacing between adjacent openings, to facilitate inserting the plugs into the openings simultaneously, wherein the strip is attached to each plug at an end of the plug that projects longitudinally-away from the closed end of the respective chamber.