A fuel tank includes a tank main body configured to reserve a quantity of fuel therein and an oil feed tube fitted to the tank main body to form a fuel feed port. The fuel feed tube has a tip end configured to protrude inwardly of the tank main body, and the tip end is positioned below the upper limit level of the fuel. At a location of the fuel feed tube above the upper limit level, a vent hole is formed to communicate between the interior of the tank main body and the interior of the oil feed tube.

A multiple fuel tank purge system and method includes providing a pair of fuel tanks, including a main fuel tank for containing impure fuel and a separate, auxiliary fuel tank that contains commercial canned fuel. The engine runs on the impure fuel from the main fuel tank while the engine is in normal use, and then employs a shutdown cycle that switches to the commercial canned fuel from the auxiliary fuel tank for some pre-set time period. This arrangement allows the engine to be purged of the impure fuel (by burning the impure fuel during the shutdown cycle) and replaced by the commercial pre-mixed fuel before the engine is finally shut down. The system may further include a novel fuel cap with a fuel line, a tank within a tank fuel container, and/or an electronically actuated shutdown cycle mechanism.

A funnel system for a gas tank that can be stored within the gas tank during operation of a machine such as a lawnmower or snow blower. Upon removing the cap of the gas tank in a first embodiment, a funnel is moved toward an open position as the funnel is biased toward the open position. Once fuel is added to the gas tank, a guide member of the cap is utilized to force the funnel toward the closed position and then secured to the gas tank. A second embodiment utilizes a separate guide member, separate from the cap to move the funnel to and from the open position to the closed position.

An in-tank fuel pump assembly and mounting system is disclosed which may be configured for mounting inside a fuel tank. The assembly includes a pump housing, pump mounted to the housing, and pressure relief valve. The housing may comprise upper and lower pump housing units coupled together. The upper housing unit is configured for mounting to a tank opening, which in one implementation may be the fuel fill opening. The lower housing unit extends into the tank to approximately the bottom of the tank. A fuel fill fluid pathway is created through the housing for adding fuel to the tank while the pump assembly remains in situ. The upper housing unit may include a removable fuel cap. The pump housing may include an integral vapor trap.

A combined force- and temperature-sensing array includes an array of drive plates, an array of sense plates corresponding the drive plates, and a layer of dielectric material separating the drive and sense plates. A diode with a forward junction voltage is connected between at least one of the drive plates and at least one of the sense plates. A multiplexer is operative to select between an electrical pulse or an electrical current for delivery to the at least one drive plate. Circuitry is provided for sensing an applied force resulting from a change in capacitance between the at least one drive plate and the at least one sense plate when the electrical pulse is delivered, and for sensing a temperature resulting from a change in the forward junction voltage of the diode when the current is delivered. The sensor array may be provided as a shoe insert for diabetics with neuropathy.

A closure device for a fluid container, in particular a hydraulic tank, having a base (4), which can be attached to the container opening thereof, and a cover part (2), which encloses a ventilation and/or a filter device (36), is held on the base (4) so as to be freely rotatable in a functional unlocking position and, in a further functional locking position, permits the container opening to be unlocked by means of a safety device (48, 50, 58) while connecting the cover part (2) to the base (4), is characterized in that the safety device (48, 50, 58) can be actuated by a device generating a magnetic field (62), which device establishes the further locked functional position of the cover (2) and the base (4) by means of magnetic force.

The present invention relates to a tank cap including a lever member that is constrained from moving to the standing position contrary to the intention of the operator. The tank cap comprises a slide member disposed in the cap body so as to be adjacent to the lever member, and provided with a cam contact portion that is to come into contact with a cam portion of the lever member, and a coil spring disposed between the slide member and the bottom of the cap body. The resilience of the coil spring causes the cam contact portion to press the cam portion and retains the retracted position.

An in-tank fuel pump assembly and mounting system is disclosed which may be configured for mounting inside a fuel tank. The assembly includes a pump housing, pump mounted to the housing, and pressure relief valve. The housing may comprise upper and lower pump housing units coupled together. The upper housing unit is configured for mounting to a tank opening, which in one implementation may be the fuel fill opening. The lower housing unit extends into the tank to approximately the bottom of the tank. A fuel fill fluid pathway is created through the housing for adding fuel to the tank while the pump assembly remains in situ. The upper housing unit may include a removable fuel cap. The pump is capable of pressurizing the fuel to pressures suitable for use in fuel injection type engines. A resiliently deformable in-tank fuel filter may be coupled to the pump.

A valve member provides for the flow of vapors from a fuel tank of an internal combustion engine to escape the fuel tank. The valve member may include a valve and a boss or spacer. The valve is configured to selectively control the flow of vapor from the fuel tank. The boss or spacer is positioned in a predetermined relationship to the valve, and the boss or spacer prevents a deformation of the valve from disrupting the selectively controlled flow of vapor from the fuel tank.

A closure system including a filler neck, a guide socket arranged inside the filler neck, a closure cap to be introduced between the filler neck and the guide socket and which is fastenable to the filler neck and an annular seal to be received in an annular groove of the closure cap and which is secured to an inner face of the filler neck. The annular seal is arranged between the filler neck and the guide socket such that a nozzle placed between the filler neck and the guide socket does not reach thereto.