Fuel supply apparatus for aircraft engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10358980-B2
Application number	US-201615050800-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2016
Priority date	Aug 30, 2013
Publication date	Jul 23, 2019
Grant date	Jul 23, 2019

Abstract

Two systems of a first pump unit and a third pump unit that supply fuel of a fuselage fuel tank, and a second pump unit and a fourth pump unit that supply fuel of fuel tanks in both right and left wings are provided corresponding to a left-wing engine and a right-wing engine, respectively. A supply source of the fuel to be supplied to the left-wing engine or the right-wing engine is switched by switching of the pump unit to be turned on.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel supply apparatus for an aircraft, the apparatus comprising:
a first pump unit configured to supply fuel from a fuselage fuel tank of the aircraft to a first engine provided in a left wing of the aircraft;
a second pump unit configured to supply fuel from fuel tanks in both wings of the aircraft to the first engine;
a third pump unit configured to supply the fuel from the fuselage fuel tank to a second engine provided in a right wing of the aircraft;
a fourth pump unit configured to supply the fuel from the fuel tanks in the both wings to the second engine; and
a computer configured to selectively switch the pump units that supply the fuel to each engine, respectively, wherein
each pump unit has a booster and a measuring unit;
the booster includes:
a centrifugal pump and a gear pump configured to boost and supply fuel to a corresponding engine of the first engine and the second engine, and
an electric motor configured to rotationally drives the centrifugal pump and the gear pump; and

the measuring unit is configured to measure a supply amount of the fuel to the corresponding engine.

2. The fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first ejector pump including:
a suction port connected to the fuselage fuel tank,
a supply port connected to an outlet of the centrifugal pump in the third pump unit, and
a discharge port connected to a first fuel supply path from the fuel tanks in the both wings to the second pump unit,

the first ejector pump being configured to supply fuel from the fuselage fuel tank to the first fuel supply path, when the fuel is supplied from the second pump unit to the first engine, and the fuel is supplied from the third pump unit to the second engine; and
a second ejector pump including:
a suction port connected to the fuselage fuel tank,
a supply port connected to an outlet of the centrifugal pump in the first pump unit, and
a discharge port connected to a second fuel supply path from the fuel tanks in the both wings to the fourth pump unit,

the second ejector pump being configured to supply fuel from the fuselage fuel tank to the second fuel supply path from the fuel tanks in the both wings to the fourth pump unit, when the fuel is supplied from the fourth pump unit to the second engine, and the fuel is supplied from the first pump unit to the first engine.

3. The fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring unit includes:
a fixed orifice,
a pressurizing valve provided in parallel to the fixed orifice, and
a differential pressure gauge which measures a differential pressure between an upstream side and a downstream side of a parallel flow passage of the fixed orifice and the pressurizing valve.

Assignees

• Ihi Corp

Inventors

• Morioka Noriko
• Oyori Hitoshi

Classifications

• B64D37/14

  Filling or emptying (transferring fuels to adjust aircraft trim B64C17/10) · CPC title

• F02C7/236 Primary

  Fuel delivery systems comprising two or more pumps · CPC title

• B64D37/20

  Emptying systems · CPC title

• B64C11/305

  characterised by being influenced by other control systems, e.g. fuel supply · CPC title

• F02C9/42

  specially adapted for the control of two or more plants simultaneously · CPC title