JP2001047874A - Check valve and fuel tank using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a check valve capable of reducing the number of parts and having a simple shape and a fuel tank using the same. SOLUTION: This check valve 30 is mounted on an inner wall face of a fuel tank 10 having a tank main body 12 storing fuel and in the vicinity of a discharge port of a fuel pouring pipe in which fuel is discharged into the tank main body 12. The check valve 30 has a seat face 33b formed along a peripheral fringe part of the discharge port 22b and is provided with a fixing member 32 for fixing it on the inner wall face and a valve plate 40. The check valve 30 is fixed on a side wall part 15 of the tank main body 12 by the fixing member 32 by welding.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a check valve for preventing fuel vapor in a tank body from being released to the atmosphere, and a fuel tank using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as fuel tanks for automobiles,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a fuel cell equipped with a check valve for preventing fuel vapor accumulated in a tank main body at the time of refueling from being released to the atmosphere. FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a fuel tank equipped with a conventional check valve. As shown in FIG.
00 is the oil supply mechanism 1 on the side wall 104 of the tank body 102.
10 is provided. The lubrication mechanism 110 includes a lower pipe 112 screwed and fixed to the side wall 104, a bellows-shaped inlet hose 114 attached to a distal opening of the lower pipe 112, and an inlet filler connected to the distal opening of the inlet hose 114. The fuel cell system includes a pipe 116 and a fuel cap 118 attached to a filler port 116a of the inlet filler pipe 116.

Further, a discharge port 112a of a lower pipe 112 is provided.
Is equipped with a check valve 120. This check valve 12
0 is for preventing fuel vapor in the tank from being released to the atmosphere during refueling. The check valve 120 is shown in FIG.
7, the outer peripheral portion 112 of the lower pipe 112
b, a support fitting 122 welded and fixed to
A valve body 126 rotatably supported by a shaft 124 through a shaft 124 and closing the discharge port 112 a of the lower pipe 112.
And a coil spring 128 supported by the shaft body 124 to bias the valve body 126 in the valve closing direction.

In the above configuration, when the fuel cap 118 is removed and fuel is supplied from the fuel supply port 116a, the fuel opens the valve body 126 of the check valve 120 against the urging force of the coil spring 128, and It is supplied into the main body 102. When refueling of the fuel tank 100 is completed, the check valve 1
The valve 20 is closed to prevent the fuel vapor in the tank body 102 from being released to the outside air.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Such a check valve 12 is described.
In order to attach the support pipe 122 to the lower pipe 11
2 and is fixed to the outer periphery of the valve body 12 by the shaft 124.
6 and the coil spring 128 are attached to the support fitting 122,
Further, the end of the shaft body 124 is swaged. As a result, the valve body 126 is supported to be openable and closable in a state where the valve body 126 is urged by the coil spring 128. Such an attaching operation is performed by the support fitting 122.
There is a problem that the work of welding the outer periphery of the lower pipe 112 is troublesome. Further, the check valve 120 has been required to further reduce the number of parts, simplify the configuration, and reduce the cost.

As a conventional technique for solving this problem, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-268092, a check valve having a thin metal valve plate is attached to a discharge port of a lower pipe. Configurations are also known. But,
In the technology disclosed in the publication, the mounting member for mounting to the discharge port is formed in a cylindrical shape for mounting on the pipe, so that there is a problem that the configuration is complicated and the shape itself is easily enlarged.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a check valve having a small number of parts and a simple shape and a fuel tank using the same.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is directed to an inner wall surface of a fuel tank having a tank body for storing fuel,
And a check valve mounted near a discharge port of a fuel injection pipe through which fuel is discharged into the tank body, wherein the check valve has a seat surface formed along a peripheral portion of the discharge port, and is fixed to the inner wall surface. And a closing portion that opens and closes the discharge port by being attached to and detached from the sheet surface, an arm portion connected to the closing portion, and an arm portion connected to the arm portion and attached to the fixing member. The closing portion, the arm portion and the mounting portion are integrally formed from an elastic thin plate, and the arm portion applies a biasing force in a direction of seating the closing portion on the seat surface. In addition to this, it is characterized in that the closing portion is opened when the pressure of the fuel is received by the closing portion during refueling.

In the check valve according to the present invention, the valve plate mounted on the fixing member opens and closes the discharge port of the fuel injection pipe.
The valve plate is configured such that the closing portion, the arm portion, and the mounting portion are integrally formed using a thin plate having elasticity, and the valve plate is attached to the fixing member at the mounting portion, and is connected to the closing portion via the arm portion. It has. The arm portion acts as a spring that applies a biasing force in a direction in which the closing portion is seated on the seat portion, and causes the closing portion to open by tilting the closing portion when a fluid force is applied to the closing portion. Here, since the arm portion urges the closing portion in the direction of seating on the seat portion, the check valve can obtain excellent sealing performance when the valve is closed.

Further, since the check valve is directly fixed to the inner wall surface of the tank main body by the fixing member, as described in the related art, it is not necessary to mount the check valve on the fuel injection pipe, but to form the check valve. It can be formed in a flat plate shape that can be mounted on the inner wall surface, and the fixing member can have a simple configuration. In addition, since the fixing member may be configured to support a thin valve plate, the thickness can be reduced.

Further, since the check valve is constituted by a thin valve plate, a simple structure does not require a spring for opening and closing the valve plate and a mechanism for mounting the spring. Can be.

Here, as a preferred embodiment of the valve plate, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which a closing portion is formed in a disk shape and the arm portion is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the closing portion.

As a preferred mode of the fixing member, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which an outer periphery of the seat surface is provided, and an annular protection step is provided which protrudes inward of the tank body to protect the closing portion. . This annular protective step can prevent the valve plate made of a thin elastic plate from being deformed when the check valve is mounted on the inner wall surface of the tank body.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a fuel tank 10 of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, partially cut away.
As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel tank 10 includes a tank main body 12 for storing fuel and a fuel supply mechanism 20 for supplying fuel into the tank main body 12 as a fuel injection pipe of the present invention. The tank body 12 is a metal tank upper part 1.
3 and the tank lower part 14 are integrally formed by welding the flange parts 13a and 14a. The refueling mechanism 20 is connected to a lower pipe 22 that is welded and fixed to the side wall 15 of the tank lower part 14, a bellows-shaped inlet hose 24 that is attached to a distal opening of the lower pipe 22, and a distal opening of the inlet hose 24. Inlet filler pipe 26 and inlet filler pipe 26
And a fuel cap 28 attached to the fuel filler port.

The tip of the lower pipe 22 is aligned with an opening 15a formed in the side wall 15 and is welded to the outer surface of the side wall 15 via a flange 22a. An opening 15 is provided on the inner surface of the side wall portion 15.
The check valve 30 aligned with a is mounted. The check valve 30 opens when fuel is supplied, and is closed when fuel is not supplied.

When fuel is supplied from an oil supply gun (not shown) into the inlet filler pipe 26 by opening the fuel cap 28 and the fuel is supplied to the inlet filler pipe 26 by the configuration of the fuel supply mechanism 20, the fuel is supplied to the check valve via the inlet hose 24 and the lower pipe 22. 3
When it reaches 0, it is opened and fed into the tank body 12. On the other hand, when the fuel is not supplied, the check valve 30 is in a closed state, and thus has a function of preventing the release of fuel vapor to the atmosphere even when the fuel cap 28 is removed.

Next, the structure and operation of the check valve 30 will be described in detail. 2 is a plan view showing the check valve 30 viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is before assembling the check valve 30 in FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the state of FIG. As shown in these figures, a check valve 30 is provided with a metal disc-shaped fixing member 32.
And one end of the fixing member 32 and the valve opening 33
a that opens and closes a.

The fixing member 32 includes a mounting body 33 welded to the side wall 15 of the tank body 12 and the mounting body 3.
3 and a mounting engagement portion 34 protruding from one end. The mounting body 33 has an opening 15 in the tank body 12.
The above-mentioned valve opening 33a connected to a is formed. The valve opening 33a has a straight edge 33c as shown by a broken line in FIG.
It has an arc shape with the edge of the chord as a chord. This valve opening 33a
Has a seat surface 33b on which the valve plate 40 is seated. Further, an annular protection step 33d is provided on the outer peripheral side of the seat surface 33b so as to protrude toward the inside of the tank body 12. The annular protection step portion 33d is provided with a valve plate 4 as described later, except for the mounting engagement portion 34.
It is formed in the shape of a mountain range to protect 0.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Is protruded from the end of the mounting body 33 in an L-shape.
An engagement recess 34a is provided for inserting one end of the valve plate 40 between itself and the upper surface of the mounting body 33. Further, an engagement hole 34b for preventing the valve plate 40 from being removed is formed in the attachment main body 33 located below the attachment engagement portion 34.

Next, the configuration of the valve plate 40 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the valve plate 40 is formed by cutting a thin plate with a press to integrally form a closing portion 41, an arm portion 42, and a mounting portion 44 as a leaf spring. The closing portion 41 has substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the seat surface 33b at the periphery of the valve opening 33a, and is formed so as to open and close the valve opening 33a by being attached to and detached from the seat surface 33b. The closing part 41 is formed by a straight part 41a and an arc part 41b. A semi-annular arm portion 42 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the closing portion 41 with a predetermined gap S therebetween.
Is provided. The arm portion 42 is connected to the closing portion 41 on both sides of the closing portion 41. The valve plate 40 shown in FIG. 3 shows a state where the solid line is closed and a state where the dashed line is open.

The valve plate 40 has a mounting portion 44 extending from the center of the arm portion 42. The mounting portion 44 is a rectangle protruding from the central portion of the arm portion 42, and a substantially central portion thereof is a standing piece 44a cut and raised in a U-shape. The mounting portion 44 is provided with the fixing member 3.
2 is supported by the second mounting engagement portion 34. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, from the state before the valve plate 40 is attached to the fixing member 32, the engagement recess 34 of the fixing member 32 is formed.
Insert the mounting part 44 into a. At this time, the standing piece 44a
The valve plate 40 is attached in a state where it is compressed by the engaging recess 34a and inserted into the engaging hole 34b so that the valve plate 40 is prevented from being pulled out of the fixing member 32 at one end thereof.

Next, the operation of the check valve 30 will be described. At the time of refueling, the fuel that has entered from the refueling port of the refueling mechanism 20 flows to the discharge port 22 b through the lower pipe 22 and pushes the closing portion 41 of the valve plate 40. The valve plate 40
Since the attachment portion 44 is attached to the attachment engagement portion 34 of the fixing member 32, when the closure portion 41 is pushed by the fuel as shown by the dashed line in FIG. The valve opening 3
Open 3a. Thereby, the fuel flows out into the tank body 12. When the force applied to the closing portion 41 by the fuel becomes lower than the urging force of the arm portion 42, the closing portion 41
Is smoothly released from the seat surface 33b by the linear portion 41a, so that the valve opening 33a is smoothly closed without being caught on the seat surface 33b.

Therefore, according to the check valve 30, the closing portion 41 of the valve plate 40 is connected to the mounting portion 44 through the thin arm portion 42, whereby the closing portion 41 is connected.
Opens the valve opening 33a by inclining the arm 42,
A large space is formed with respect to the valve opening 33a, and fuel can flow out through a passage having a large area.

Next, the operation of mounting the check valve 30 in the tank body 12 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 5, from the mounting portion 44 side of the valve plate 40, the mounting engagement portion 3
4 into the engagement recess 34a. Thereby, the standing piece 4
4a is compressed in the engagement recess 34a,
By protruding into b, the valve plate 40 is integrally assembled to the fixing member 32. This standing piece 44a is
The valve plate 40 functions to prevent the fixing member 32 from coming off.

The tank upper part 13 and the tank lower part 14
The fixing member 32 of the check valve 30 is positioned in the opening 15a of the side wall portion 15 of the tank lower part 14 in a state where is not joined. In this state, the fixing member 32 is moved to the side wall portion 15.
Spot welding. Spot welding, for example,
This is performed at approximately three places (indicated by a welded portion Wd1 in FIG. 2) at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the fixing member 32. Thereby, the check valve 30 is attached to the side wall 15 of the tank lower part 14. Thereafter, the upper tank portion 13 and the lower tank portion 14 are connected to the flange portion 1.
The tank body 12 is formed by welding at 3a and 14a.

According to the check valve 30 of this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) On the side wall 15 of the tank body 12,
The check valve 30 can be mounted on the side wall 15 only by welding the fixing member 32 integrally assembled with the valve plate 40, and the mounting operation is easy.

(2) The check valve 30 is composed of two parts, the fixing member 32 and the valve plate 40. Compared with the check valve described in the related art, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. be able to.

(3) Since the annular protection step 33d provided on the outer periphery of the valve plate 40 protrudes from the valve plate 40 to the inside of the tank main body 12, the welding operation and the transportation operation of the fixing member 32 are performed. It is possible to prevent the valve plate 40 from being touched and deformed, and to achieve a reliable sealing operation of the valve plate 40.

(4) The work of assembling the valve plate 40 to the fixing member 32 can also be performed by press-fitting the mounting portion 44 of the valve plate 40 into the engaging recess 34a of the fixing member 32. In addition, since the standing piece 44a is engaged with the engagement hole 34b, the removal from the fixing member 32 can be reliably performed.

(5) The valve plate 40 has an arm 42
Since a spring portion having a small width generates a force in the valve closing direction, it is easy to set a small valve opening force while ensuring high sealing performance.

6 to 8 show a check valve 30B according to another embodiment, FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the check valve 30B, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a state before the check valve 30B is assembled. Check valve 3
OB differs from the first embodiment in the mounting structure of the valve plate 40B. That is, the mounting portion 44B of the valve plate 40B includes the grip portion 44Bc formed in a U-shape so as to bypass the end of the fixing member 32B. The lower piece 44Bb of the grip portion 44Bc has a standing piece 44Ba.
Has been cut and raised.

To assemble the valve plate 40B to the fixing member 32B, as shown in FIG.
By pressing the end of the fixing member 32B into the holding portion 44Bc. Thereby, the grip portion 44Bc of the valve plate 40B grips the end of the fixing member 32B. At this time, after the standing piece 44Ba is pushed down, the fixing member 3
2B into the engagement hole 34Bb. Thereby, the valve plate 40B is assembled to the fixing member 32B. The check valve 30B, in which the valve plate 40B and the fixing member 32B are integrated, is attached to the tank main body 12 by being welded to the side wall 15 of the tank main body 12 at the outer periphery of the fixing member 32B. You. According to the check valve 30B according to this embodiment, since the lower piece 44Bb is sandwiched between the side wall 15 and the fixing member 32B, the valve plate 40B
Is securely held even if it receives a large force due to the flow of fuel.

9 to 11 show a check valve 30C according to another embodiment, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the check valve 30C, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 in FIG. , FIG.
1 is an explanatory diagram showing a state before the check valve 30C is assembled.
The check valve 30C differs from the first embodiment in the mounting structure of the valve plate 40C. The valve plate 40C has a mounting portion 44C at an end thereof, and is mounted by welding to the fixing member 32C. That is, in order to attach the valve plate 40C to the fixing member 32C, the valve plate 4
This is performed by spot welding the mounting portion 44C of 0C to the fixing member 32C. FIG. 9 shows the welded portion by Wd2. The check valve 30C in which the valve plate 40C and the fixing member 32C are integrated with each other is welded to the side wall 15 of the tank body 12 at the outer periphery of the fixing member 32C.
It is mounted on the tank body 12. The valve plate 40C
It is preferable to use a positioning member for positioning the valve plate 40C to the fixing member 32C in order to weld to the fixing member 32C.

12 to 15 show a check valve 30D according to another embodiment, FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the check valve 30D, and FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 in FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a state before the check valve 30D is assembled, and FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the check valve 30D. The check valve 30D is characterized in that it has a mounting structure applicable to the tank body 12 made of resin. That is,
The check valve 30D includes a fixed member 50 having a valve opening 50a.
And a valve plate 40D mounted on the fixing member 50. The fixing member 50 is made of a synthetic resin such as polyacetal or polyamide having fuel oil resistance. The fixing member 50 extends in a rectangular shape from an outer circumference of one end of the mounting body 52 and supports the valve plate 40D. And is integrally formed with the supporting portion 54. Also,
An annular protective projection 56 is formed along the outer edge of the mounting body 52 and the support 54. The annular protection projection 56 is provided to project downward in the drawing so as to protect the valve plate 40D.

The mounting body 52 along the valve opening 50a
On the inner peripheral side, three mounting claws 58 are provided at 120 intervals in the circumferential direction so as to project upward in the figure. Mounting claw 58
Is for attaching the check valve 30D to the side wall 15 of the tank body 12 by engaging with the peripheral edge 15b of the opening 15a of the side wall 15. Further, a valve claw 59 for holding the valve plate 40D is provided on the support portion 54 of the mounting body 52.
One is formed. On the other hand, the valve plate 40D includes a valve-side mounting portion 45D, and a holding hole 45Da for engaging with the valve claw 59 is formed in the valve-side mounting portion 45D.

In order to assemble the valve plate 40D with the fixing member 50, as shown in FIG. 14, the valve claws 59 of the fixing member 50 are pushed into the holding holes 45Da of the valve plate 40D. The valve claw 59 expands at a position beyond the holding hole 45Da to hold the valve plate 40D. This allows
The valve plate 40D is held by the fixing member 50.

In order to attach the check valve 30D thus assembled to the tank main body 12, the mounting claw 58 of the fixing member 50 is inserted into the opening 15a of the tank main body 12, and is engaged with the peripheral edge 15b of the opening 15a. Let it.

According to the configuration of the check valve 30D, since the fixing member 50 is formed of a resin material, it can be applied to the resin tank body 12 which cannot be welded. Moreover, the valve plate 40D can be securely mounted on the fixing member 50 in a state where the valve plate 40D is positioned on the support portion 54 of the fixing member 50 by the valve claw 59.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.

(1) The closing portion of the valve plate can take various shapes in accordance with the shape of the fuel passage. In addition to the above-described circle and the divided sector, the polygonal shape such as a triangle and a quadrangle can be used. May be formed.

(2) Although stainless steel was used as the material for the valve plate, the material is not limited to this, and any material having spring characteristics may be used, for example, resin.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a fuel tank 10 of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, partially cut away.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the check valve 30 as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing, in an enlarged manner, a state before the check valve 30 of FIG. 3 is assembled.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of attaching the valve plate 40 to the fixing member 32.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a check valve 30B according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view illustrating a state before a check valve 30B according to another embodiment is assembled.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a check valve 30C according to another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state before a check valve 30C according to another embodiment is fixed to a side wall of a tank body.

FIG. 12 shows a check valve 30D according to still another embodiment.
FIG.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state before the check valve 30D is fixed to the side wall of the tank body.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a check valve 30D.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a fuel tank equipped with a conventional check valve.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a conventional check valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Fuel tank 12 ... Tank main body 13 ... Tank upper part 14 ... Tank lower part 13a, 14a ... Flange part 15 ... Side wall part 15a ... Opening 15b ... Peripheral part 20 ... Oil supply mechanism 22a ... Flange part 22b ... Discharge port 22 ... Lower pipe 24 ... Inlet hose 26 ... Inlet filler pipe 28 ... Fuel cap 30 ... Check valve 30B ... Check valve 30C ... Check valve 30D ... Check valve 32 ... Fixing member 32B ... Fixing member 32C ... Fixing member 33 ... Mounting body 33a ... Valve Opening 33b: Seat surface 33c: Straight edge portion 33d: Annular protective step 34: Mounting engagement portion 34a: Engagement recess 34b: Engagement hole 34Bb: Engagement hole 40: Valve plate 40B: Valve plate 40C: Valve plate 40D Valve plate 41 Closing part 41a Linear part 41b Arc part 42 Arm part 44 Mounting part 4 4a ... standing piece 44B ... mounting part 44Ba ... standing piece 44Bb ... lower piece 44Bc ... gripping part 44C ... mounting part 45D ... valve side mounting part 45Da ... holding hole 50 ... fixing member 50a ... valve opening 52 ... mounting body 54 ... supporting part 56: annular protective projection 58: mounting claw 59: valve claw S: predetermined gap Wd1, Wd2: welded portion

Claims (4)

[Claims] A check valve mounted on an inner wall surface of a fuel tank having a tank body for storing fuel and near a discharge port of a fuel injection pipe through which fuel is discharged into the tank body; A fixing member having a sheet surface formed along a peripheral portion of the outlet, and fixing to the inner wall surface; a closing portion that opens and closes a discharge port by being attached to and detached from the sheet surface; And an attachment portion connected to the arm portion and attached to the fixing member, wherein the closing portion, the arm portion, and the attachment portion are integrally formed from a thin plate having elasticity. The arm portion applies a biasing force in a direction in which the closing portion is seated on the seat surface, and is configured to open the closing portion when fuel pressure is received by the closing portion during refueling. Check valve. 2. The check valve according to claim 1, wherein the closing portion is formed in a disk shape, and the arm portion is arranged on an outer peripheral side of the closing portion. 3. The check valve according to claim 1, wherein the fixing member surrounds an outer periphery of the seat surface, and protrudes inward of the tank body to protect the closing portion. Check valve with step. 4. The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the check valve is fixed to an inner wall surface of the tank body by a fixing member.