The present invention relates to a fuel pump (1) which comprises a pump housing (2), a delivery element (3) for delivering fuel, a heat-generating actuator (4) for actuating the delivery element (3), a first fuel path (5) which leads from an inlet (20) to a delivery space (7), and a second fuel path (6) which leads from the inlet (20) past the heat-generating actuator (4) to a first housing opening (21), wherein the first housing opening (21) is arranged above the inlet (20) in the vertical direction (V). The present invention also relates to a fuel pump arrangement which comprises a fuel pump (1) according to the invention and a fuel tank (10) in which the fuel pump (1) is at least partially and preferably entirely arranged. The present invention also relates to a method for operating a fuel pump (1).

The present invention relates to a fuel pump (1) which comprises a pump housing (2), a delivery element (3) for delivering fuel, a heat-generating actuator (4) for actuating the delivery element (3), a first fuel path (5) which leads from an inlet (20) to a delivery space (7), and a second fuel path (6) which leads from the inlet (20) past the heat-generating actuator (4) to a first housing opening (21), wherein the first housing opening (21) is arranged above the inlet (20) in the vertical direction (V). The present invention also relates to a fuel pump arrangement which comprises a fuel pump (1) according to the invention and a fuel tank (10) in which the fuel pump (1) is at least partially and preferably entirely arranged. The present invention also relates to a method for operating a fuel pump (1).

A fuel supply device has a cover member which is attached to an opening of a fuel tank, a pump unit provided with a pump, and a connecting portion for connecting the cover member and the pump unit. The fuel supply device has a connecting shaft which is formed on either one of the connecting portion or the pump unit, and a connecting hole which is formed on the other. The fuel supply device has a guide mechanism which can guide the pump unit. The guide mechanism includes a first guide portion formed at the connecting portion and a second guide portion formed at the pump unit. One of the first guide portion or the second guide portion includes a protruding portion which protrudes in a position spaced apart from the connecting shaft. The other guide portion is formed to restrict a movable range of the protruding portion.

A fuel supply device has a cover member which is attached to an opening of a fuel tank, a pump unit provided with a pump, and a connecting portion for connecting the cover member and the pump unit. The fuel supply device has a connecting shaft which is formed on either one of the connecting portion or the pump unit, and a connecting hole which is formed on the other. The fuel supply device has a guide mechanism which can guide the pump unit. The guide mechanism includes a first guide portion formed at the connecting portion and a second guide portion formed at the pump unit. One of the first guide portion or the second guide portion includes a protruding portion which protrudes in a position spaced apart from the connecting shaft. The other guide portion is formed to restrict a movable range of the protruding portion.

A fuel supply device has a cover member which is attached to an opening of a fuel tank, a pump unit comprising a pump, and a connecting portion configured to connect the cover member and the pump unit. A connecting shaft which is formed to one of the two connected members of the connecting portion is inserted into a connecting hole which is formed to the other of the two such that the pump unit is connected to be relatively movable to the connecting portion. The pump unit includes an upper base on which the pump is placed, and a lower base which contacts to the fuel tank. The upper base and the lower base are coupled through attachments whereby an engagement portion of the upper base is fitted into a recessed portion formed on the side of the lower base. The recessed portion has a pair of planes opposing to each other and oriented toward a bottom surface of the lower base from a predetermined position. The recessed portion is further configured such that an interval between a pair of the planes is gradually increased toward the bottom surface.

A fuel supply device has a cover member which is attached to an opening of a fuel tank, a pump unit comprising a pump, and a connecting portion configured to connect the cover member and the pump unit. A connecting shaft which is formed to one of the two connected members of the connecting portion is inserted into a connecting hole which is formed to the other of the two such that the pump unit is connected to be relatively movable to the connecting portion. The pump unit includes an upper base on which the pump is placed, and a lower base which contacts to the fuel tank. The upper base and the lower base are coupled through attachments whereby an engagement portion of the upper base is fitted into a recessed portion formed on the side of the lower base. The recessed portion has a pair of planes opposing to each other and oriented toward a bottom surface of the lower base from a predetermined position. The recessed portion is further configured such that an interval between a pair of the planes is gradually increased toward the bottom surface.

A fuel supply device includes a filter device, a pump, a suction pipe, and a bubble removing device. The filter device includes a first filter that filters a fuel, a filter chamber surrounded by the first filter, and a filter opening that is in fluid communication with the filter chamber. The pump has a pump suction port for drawing the fuel from the filter chamber. The suction pipe fluidly connects the filter opening to the pump suction port. The bubble removing device is disposed in at least one of the filter device and the suction pipe. The bubble removing device includes a valve device that is configured to discharge a bubble contained in the fuel to the internal space of the fuel tank, and a foreign matter regulator that is disposed between the valve device and the internal space and that regulates or prevents a foreign matter contained in the fuel from flowing into the fuel supply device.

A fuel supply device includes a filter device, a pump, a suction pipe, and a bubble removing device. The filter device includes a first filter that filters a fuel, a filter chamber surrounded by the first filter, and a filter opening that is in fluid communication with the filter chamber. The pump has a pump suction port for drawing the fuel from the filter chamber. The suction pipe fluidly connects the filter opening to the pump suction port. The bubble removing device is disposed in at least one of the filter device and the suction pipe. The bubble removing device includes a valve device that is configured to discharge a bubble contained in the fuel to the internal space of the fuel tank, and a foreign matter regulator that is disposed between the valve device and the internal space and that regulates or prevents a foreign matter contained in the fuel from flowing into the fuel supply device.

A fuel supply device includes a fuel pump, a filter case, a fuel passage, a discharge passage, and a residual pressure holding valve. A communication port opens at a shifted position of the fuel passage that is positionally shifted from the residual pressure holding valve toward the discharge passage. The fuel passage includes an outside passage part through which fuel flows from the communication port toward the discharge passage, and an inside passage part that throttles a flow of fuel flowing from the communication port toward the residual pressure holding valve more than the outside passage part. When a passage cross-sectional area of the inside passage part is converted into a passage cross-sectional area of a circular pipe, D which is a passage diameter of the circular pipe, and L which is a length of the inside passage part satisfy a relational expression of L/D≧3.

A communication port opens at a shifted position of a fuel passage that is positionally shifted from an inside residual pressure holding valve toward an outside residual pressure holding valve. The fuel passage includes an outside passage part through which the fuel to be discharged into an internal-combustion engine flows from the communication port toward the outside residual pressure holding valve, and an inside passage part that throttles a flow of fuel flowing from the communication port toward the inside residual pressure holding valve more than the outside passage part. When a passage cross-sectional area of the inside passage part is converted into a passage cross-sectional area of a circular pipe, D which is a passage diameter of the circular pipe, and L which is a length of the inside passage part satisfy a relational expression of L/D≧3.