GB2337234A

GB2337234A - Fluid reservoir

Info

Publication number: GB2337234A
Application number: GB9810532A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Burt
Original assignee: Textron Automotive U K
Current assignee: Textron Automotive U K
Priority date: 1998-05-15
Filing date: 1998-05-15
Publication date: 1999-11-17
Also published as: GB9810532D0; WO1999059851A1

Abstract

A fluid reservoir for location on a bumper of a vehicle comprises a fluid reservoir module 1 having a generally "L" shaped cross section, a first portion 9 of the fluid reservoir module 1 forming one part of the "L" being intended to be mounted over the bumper beam 3 of a vehicle with a second portion 13 of the fluid reservoir module 1 forming the other part of the "L" being intended to be located behind the bumper beam 3.

Description

2337234 FLUID RESERVOIR FOR LOCATION ON A PRIMARY ENERGY MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM.

This invention relates to a fluid reservoir for location on a primary energy management system.

Screen wash and other refillable reservoirs have been traditionally located in the engine compartment of most automotive vehicles, particularly cars and small to medium sized vans. With modern car and like construction, the space in the engine compartment has become more and more limited because of increasing demands to be made of it in the way of additional components such as turbochargers and air conditioning systems. Also, it is necessary, due to the restricted room available to make each reservoir a custom shape for each vehicle. Therefore it is eminently desirable to move whatever components can be located satisfactorily elsewhere.

One such item is the various fluid reservoirs, particularly those used for holding wash liquid for washing windscreens or headlights.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a fluid reservoir which can be situated elsewhere in the vehicle, and, in the present case, situated in a position on a primary energy management system, i.e. the bumper arrangements, of a vehicle.

According to the invention, there is provided a fluid reservoir for location on a primary energy management system of a vehicle comprising a fluid reservoir module having a generally "L" shaped cross section, a first portion of the fluid reservoir module forming one part of the V being intended to be mounted over the bumper beam of a vehicle with a second portion of the fluid reservoir module forming the other part of the "L" being intended to be located behind the bumper beam.

The first portion of the fluid reservoir module may have a front face forming the free end of the said one part of the "L", the front face having a convexly curved outline corresponding to the profile of the bumper beam. The front face may be provided with indentations which form baffles within the fluid reservoir module.

The first potion of the fluid reservoir module may be tapered to approaching zero at each end and may be provided in theses areas with fixing holes for attachment to the body of a vehicle The fluid reservoir module may contain one or more recesses for mounting fluid distribution pumps and have outlets aligned with the pump inlets.

Where the fluid reservoir module is intended to be mounted over and behind the front bumper beam of a vehicle, it may have indentations in its upper surface for mounting headlight washer jets.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fluid reservoir module with ancillary equipment, in accordance with the invention and parts of a front bumper and bumper beam with which it is to be located; Figure 2 is a plan view of the fluid reservoir module of figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the front of a motor vehicle showing the fluid reservoir module of figures 1 and 2 in situ on the bumper beam; Figure 4 is a sectional view of the bumper, bumper beam and fluid reservoir module of figures 1 nad 2 in the fully assembled state; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a detail of the fluid reservoir module showing the electrical component layout; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a car body showing the layout of the pipework from the fluid pumps of the fluid reservoir to the respective jet locations, and Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view of an overcentre snap arrangement suitable for retaining components on the fluid reservoir module.

In the embodiment shown, the invention is applied to a fluid reservoir for containing screen wash liquid for washing the front and rear windscreens and optionally the head lights of a car for mounting over and behind the front bumper beam of a vehicle.

Referring firstly to figures 1 to 4, the fluid reservoir module 1, often called a Uwash bottle", can be seen, together with the front bumper beam 3 and bumper 5 together with ancillary equipment shown in an exploded view (figure 1) in plan view (figure 2), assembled on a vehicle (figure 3) and in cross section on a vehicle (figure 4).

The fluid reservoir module 1 comprises a specially shaped container 7. To this end it is of generally "L" shaped cross-section (as can be seen particularly in figure 4) with a first portion 9 forming one part of the 'U' and being arranged to be located on the upper surface 11 of the bumper beam 3. A second portion 13 of the container 7, forming the other part of the "L" is arranged to be located behind the bumper beam 3 between it and the vehicle body 15. As can be particularly seen in figure 2, the front face 19 of the fluid reservoir module 1 is curved to follow the shape of the bumper beam 3 Baffles, formed by indentations 17 in the front face 19 of the first portion 9 of the container 7, are located in the container 7 to reduce end to end movement of the fluid in the fluid reservoir module 1 when forces act on the vehicle in which it is mounted, such as when cornering.

Further indentations 19 are provided in the rear face 21 of the container 7 to house fluid pumps 25, 27 and 29 which may be secured therein by any suitable method such as the snap fitting arrangement shown in figure 6.

To this end, the indentations 19 have apertures 31 which are aligned, with the interspersion of sealing grommets, with inlet apertures (not shown) on the pumps 25, 27 and 29.

In the present example, pump 25 feeds jets for washing the front windscreen of the vehicle, pump 27 feeds jets for washing the rear screen and pump 29 feeds jets for washing the headlamps as will be described hereafter in connection with figure 5. The pumps 25, 27 and 29 are located at the lowest positions on the fluid reservoir module 1 so as to ensure that maximum fluid capacity can be used.

A third set of indentations 33 is provided in the upper surface 35 of the first portion 9 of the container 7 to house head lamp washer jets 37 of any suitable type, such as telescopic jets.

Provision is also made for the retention of a composite electrical connector 39. This provision comprises a spring arm 41 and a locating boss 43 molded on to rear face 21 of the container 7 of the fluid reservoir module 1.

Filling of the fluid reservoir module 1 is carried out through a filler spout 45 which is closed by a cap 47. As can be seen in figure 3, the filler spout 45 may suitably extend through the front bulkhead of the vehicle so as to be accessible from within the engine compartment 49 when the bonnet (not shown) is raised.

Figures 3 and 4 show clearly the location of the fluid reservoir module 1 around the bumper beam 3. As will also be observed, the bumper 5 itself will fit over both the bumper beam 3 and the fluid reservoir module 1 so as to cover and hide both the beam 3 and the module 1. The fluid reservoir module 1 is fastened, not to the bumper beam 3, but to the front of the vehicle 15. To this end, the first portion 9 of the container 7 is tapered at its ends 51 and 53 to approaching zero and is provided with fixing apertures 55 in these regions whereby the fluid reservoir module 1 can be bolted to the vehicle. Additional fixing is provided by two apertured flanges 57 (figure 1) located at the lower edge of the second portion 13 of the container 7.

Figure 5 shows a detail of the rear face 21 of the second portion 13 of the container 7 showing the arrangement of the electrical components and pump assemblies. The power supplied to the fluid pumps 25, 27 and 29 is channeled through a two part composite connector 39 which allows a single operation to connect the power of the vehicle to the pumps. The female half 73 of the composite connector 39 is connected to the respective pumps 25, 27 and 29 prior to the assembly of the fluid reservoir module 1 onto the vehicle.

1 1.

1 i The male part 75 of the composite connector 39 is fixed to the fluid reservoir module 1 by the resilient arm 41 as previously stated, the connector 39 being further retained by means of the locating boss 43 which mates with a corresponding recess 77 in the main body of the male connecting part 75. The male connecting part 75 is connected to the vehicle wiring harness indicated at 85.

In figure 5, only the pump 27 is shown, its electrical connections to the power supply from the composite connector 39 being shown at 81 and its pipework connection being shown at 83.

Figure 6 shows an example of the paths which may be followed by the pipework supplying washing fluid to the washer nozzles. As shown, three separate paths are provide. One, shown in broken lines at 91, feeds the nozzle 93 for the rear windscreen 95. A second, shown in full lines at 97, feeds the two nozzles 99 for the front windscreen 101 while a third, shown in dotted lines at 103, feeds the two nozzles 105 for the head lamps. Each of these paths is fed by a single one of the pumps 25, 27 and 29 as detailed earlier.

Thus, the pipework 91 for the rear screen 95 runs from its pump to the outer edge of the fluid reservoir module 1 then up and around the headlamp cluster 92 along the outside of the engine compartment 49 and through the bulkhead. It then proceeds up the adjacent A post, behind the roof lining to the rear of the vehicle. The pipework 91 then passes to the rear door 107 and so to the spray jet 93.

The front windscreen pipework 97 is fed from its pump to the outer edge of the fluid reservoir module 1, then up around the headlamp cluster 92 and along the outside of the engine compartment 49 to the bulkhead. From here it passes beneath the cowl 98 to the spray jets 99.

The pipework 103 for the headlights is fed from its pump around the fluid reservoir module 1 and is connected to jet inlet bosses on the telescopic power jet units 37.

Figure 7 shows a suitable form of overcentre snap connector 111 which can be used both for mounting the pumps 25, 27 and 29, and, in a different size, for retaining the pipework 91, 97 and 103. Thus the connector 111 is in the form of a resiliently formed strap 113 having a loop 115 to surround the member 117 being held thereby. As can be seen, the loop 105 has an opening 119 which is somewhat smaller than the member 117 so that it can be snapped onto the member 117, thus retaining it in the loop 115. the strap 113 itself is fastened, suitably by its ends, to the structure to which the member 117 is to be secured.

It will be appreciated that the above describes only one embodiment of a fluid reservoir module and many other possibilities exist within the scope of the i appended claims. For example, the routing of the various pipework will depend on the particular construction of the vehicle on which the invention is used. In some cases, only two of the pumps will be needed where, for example, no headlamp washers are provided. On a saloon car, which does not have a rear wash wipe system only one pump may be required.

While in the example described the fluid reservoir module is located in the front bumper construction, it must be appreciated that the fluid reservoir module could equally easily be located on the rear bumper with appropriate modification to the pipework. It is also to be observed that the location of the fluid reservoir module on and behind the bumper beam may well enhance the performance of the bumper beam in crash conditions.

In a further alternative one pump may carry out more than one function. Thus the function of front windscreen washer and headlamp washer may be combined.

It will also be understood that while the fluid reservoir described has been for the windscreen and headlight washing fluid, the fluid reservoir could be used as a reservoir for any other liquids which may be required to be topped up. It is even feasible to imagine that in some circumstances, more than one fluid reservoir could be provided, each containing a fluid for different purposes. Thus, the fluid reservoir module could be divided into a number of sealed compartments, each with its own filling arrangements and, where required, its own pump(s). Furthermore, the filling arrangements may be located in any suitable position, such as outside the vehicle, suitably under a panel in one of the wings.

1 1

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A fluid reservoir for location on a primary energy management system of a vehicle comprising a fluid reservoir module having a generally "L" shaped cross section, a first portion of the fluid reservoir module forming one part of the "L" being intended to be mounted over the bumper beam of a vehicle with a second portion of the fluid reservoir module forming the other part of the "L" being intended to be located behind the bumper beam.

2. A reservoir as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first portion of the fluid reservoir module has a front face forming the free end of the said one part of the "L", the front face having a convexly curved outline corresponding to the profile of the bumper beam.

3. A reservoir as claimed in claim 2, wherein the front face is provided with indentations which form baffles within the fluid reservoir module.

4. A reservoir as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the first portion of the fluid reservoir module is tapered to approaching zero at each end and is provided in theses areas with fixing holes for attachment to the body of a vehicle

5. A reservoir as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fluid reservoir module contains one or more recesses for mounting fluid distribution pumps.

6.. A reservoir as claimed in claim 5, wherein the fluid reservoir module contains outlets aligned with the pump inlets.

7. A reservoir as claimed in any preceding claims, wherein the fluid reservoir module is intended to be mounted over and behind the front bumper beam and has indentations in its upper surface for mounting headlight washer jets.

8. A fluid reservoir substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.