JP2003161218A - Fuel supply unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact fuel supply unit of high spacial efficiency and suitably applied in a small-sized car. <P>SOLUTION: In this fuel supply unit wherein a lower bracket plate 32 is connected to an upper bracket plate 31 mounted on a fuel tank 18 to close its opening part 23, through three support rods 33 suspended in a fuel tank 18, and a fuel pump 25 is mounted on the lower bracket plate 32, three support rods 33 are arranged on a concentric cycle C with the lower bracket plate 32 in a state that each interval between adjacent support rods is irregular. The fuel pump 25 is mounted on the lower bracket plate 32 at a part of the narrowest interval between the adjacent support rods 33, and a fuel filter 27 for filtering discharged fuel of the fuel pump 25 is mounted on the lower bracket plate 32 at a part of the widest interval between the adjacent support rods 33. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fuel supply unit suitable for a small vehicle such as a motorcycle, and more particularly to an upper bracket plate attached to a fuel tank so as to close an opening provided in the fuel tank. A fuel supply in which a lower bracket plate is connected through three supporting rods hanging from the upper bracket plate through the opening into the fuel tank, and a fuel pump for pumping the fuel in the fuel tank is mounted on the lower bracket plate. Regarding the improvement of the unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such a fuel supply unit is already known, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-53537.

[0003]

In the fuel supply unit disclosed in the above publication, since the fuel pump is arranged within the inscribed circle of the three support rods, there is a dead gap between the adjacent support rods. There is a lot of space, and space efficiency is low.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide the fuel supply unit which has high space efficiency, is compact, and can be effectively applied to small vehicles.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an upper bracket plate attached to a fuel tank so as to close an opening provided in the fuel tank.
A lower bracket plate is connected to the upper bracket plate through three openings through the opening into the fuel tank, and a fuel pump for pumping the fuel in the fuel tank is mounted on the lower bracket plate. In the fuel supply unit, the three support rods are arranged concentrically with the lower bracket plate and the adjacent support rods are arranged at unequal intervals, and the fuel pump is attached to the lower bracket plate at the narrowest space between the adjacent support rods. The first feature is that the fuel filter is installed on the lower bracket plate and is installed on the lower bracket plate to filter the fuel discharged from the fuel pump at a position where the support rod has the widest interval.

According to the first feature, the fuel pump is installed on the lower bracket plate at the position where the support rods have the narrowest adjacent intervals. The fuel pump can be reliably supported by the two support rods on both sides of the fuel pump, and the bending moment of the lower bracket plate due to the fuel pump can be reduced, and the lower bracket plate can be made thinner and thus lighter in weight. it can.
In addition, by disposing the fuel filter at the widest interval between the support rods, it is possible to install a relatively large capacity fuel filter, reduce the flow path resistance, and filter a large amount of fuel. be able to. Moreover, the space between the support rods is used for installing the fuel pump and the fuel filter, so that the dead space on the lower bracket plate is reduced, the space efficiency is improved, and the fuel supply unit is made compact. be able to.

In addition to the first characteristic, the present invention has a second characteristic that a fuel remaining amount sensor is installed on the lower bracket plate between the remaining supporting rods.

According to the second feature, by disposing the remaining fuel amount sensor between the remaining supporting rods, dead spaces are eliminated from all the supporting rods, so that space efficiency is further enhanced and the fuel efficiency is improved. It is possible to effectively reduce the size of the supply unit.

Further, in addition to the first or second feature, the present invention has a third feature in that the fuel filter is formed in a fan shape in cross section along the peripheral edge of the lower bracket plate.

According to the third feature, it is possible to more effectively utilize the widest space between the support rods adjacent to each other and to employ a fuel filter having a larger capacity.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on an embodiment of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle equipped with the fuel supply unit of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of FIG.
Is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4, and FIG.
7 is a vertical sectional view of the fuel filter in the fuel supply unit, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG.

First, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a scooter type motorcycle as a small vehicle, the body frame 2 of which is a head pipe 2a, and a down tube portion extending downward from the rear surface of the head pipe 2a at a steep angle. 2b,
A floor support portion 2c horizontally extending rearward from the lower end of the down tube portion 2b, a pillar portion 2d vertically rising from the rear end of the floor support portion 2c, and the pillar portion 2d.
Rear rail part 2 extending rearward and upward from the upper end of the
and the front pipe 3f on the head pipe 2a.
A steering fork of a front fork 4 which pivotally supports is supported so as to be steerable. A suspension link 5 is elastically supported on the upper end of the pillar portion 2d, and a power unit 6 is suspended on the suspension link 5 via a pivot 7 so as to be vertically swingable. Then, the rear cushion 8 is attached between the power unit 6 and the rear rail portion 2e.

The power unit 6 includes an engine 9 in which a cylinder portion 9a is tilted forward in a nearly horizontal state, and the engine 9
A continuously variable transmission 10 integrally connecting a rearwardly extending mission case 10a to one side of the transmission case 10a, and a rear wheel 3r, which is a drive wheel, is pivotally supported at the rear end of the mission case 10a.

A luggage box 15 is mounted on the rear rail portion 2e for accommodating a large luggage such as a helmet. An upper front end of the luggage box 15 has a passenger seat 16 which also serves as a lid of the box 15.
Is hinged so that it can be opened and closed. .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fuel tank 18 is inserted into a large opening 17 provided at the center of the floor support portion 2c, and the flange 18a protruding from the peripheral wall of the fuel tank 18 is provided. It is fixed to the upper surface of the floor support portion 2c by a plurality of bolts 19. On the ceiling wall 18b of the fuel tank 18 which is arranged substantially horizontally, a tank cap 21 for opening and closing a fuel filler port 20 opening there is provided.
And a fuel supply unit 22 for supplying fuel to the engine 9.
And are attached. At that time, the fuel supply unit 22
Are arranged at the front of the fuel tank 18, that is, at a position closer to the front than the tank cap 21.

The step floor 12 supported by the floor supporting portion 2c is disposed so as to cover the fuel tank 18, and the tank cap 21 and the fuel supply unit 22 are provided in the upper protruding portion 12a formed at the center thereof. The projecting portion from the upper surface of the fuel tank 18 is accommodated.

Now, the fuel supply unit 22 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

4 to 6, an upper bracket plate 31 is screwed to the ceiling wall of the fuel tank 18 so as to close the opening 23 provided therein. Between the upper bracket plate 31 and the lower bracket plate 32, which is connected via three support rods 33, 33, 33 hanging from the upper bracket plate 31 into the fuel tank 18 through the opening 23, the fuel in the fuel tank 18 is An electric fuel pump 25 that is immersed in the fuel oil to pump up the fuel, a fuel strainer 26 connected to an intake port 25a of the fuel pump 25,
A fuel filter 27 that communicates with the discharge port 25b of the fuel pump 25, a pressure regulator 28 that adjusts the discharge pressure of the fuel pump 25, and a fuel remaining amount sensor 29 are attached, and thus the fuel supply unit 22 is configured.

The upper and lower bracket plates 31, 32 are
Both of them are made of synthetic resin and have a circular shape, but the lower bracket plate 32 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the opening 23 of the fuel tank 18 so that the lower bracket plate 32 can pass through the opening 23. On the lower surface of the upper bracket plate 31, an annular seal member 3 that surrounds the opening 23 and closely contacts the ceiling wall of the fuel tank 18.
4 is fitted and three connecting bosses 31 integrally formed with the upper bracket plate 31 inside the seal member 34.
The upper ends of the three support rods 33, 33, 33 are mold-bonded to a, 31a, 31a.
The lower end of 33 is fitted into the three connecting holes 32a, 32a, 32a of the lower bracket plate 32, and the clip 35,
It is fixed to the lower bracket plate 32 by 35, 35.

At this time, the three support rods 33, 33, 33
Is a concentric circle C with the lower bracket plate 32 (see FIGS. 6 and 8).
(Refer to FIG. 3), the support rods 33, 33, 33 are arranged above each other with unequal intervals. The fuel pump 25 is located at the narrowest space between the support rods 33, 33, 33, the fuel filter 27 is located at the widest space between the support rods 33, 33, 33, and the remaining fuel amount sensor 29 remains. Support rod 3
3 and 33, respectively.

The fuel pump 25 has a vertically long cylindrical shape and has a suction pipe 25a at its lower end and a discharge pipe 25b at its upper end.
Respectively, the suction pipe 25a penetrates the lower bracket plate 32 and is connected to the fuel strainer 26 fixed to the lower surface of the lower bracket plate 32, and the discharge pipe 25b is an L-shaped communication pipe. Fuel filter 2 through 36
7 inlet pipe 27a.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the fuel filter 27 is provided with a synthetic resin filter housing 37 having a sectoral cross section along the peripheral edge of the lower bracket plate 32. The filter housing 37 includes a housing body 37a having an open upper end surface and a housing lid body 37b welded to the upper end surface of the housing body 37a. The housing lid body 37b includes the inlet pipe 27a and the outlet pipe. Two
7b is formed, and the outlet pipe 27b is formed in the outlet pipe 27b.
A one-way valve 38 that prevents the reverse flow of fuel from the side to the filter housing 37 side is mounted.

A filter element 39 is housed in the housing main body 37a so as to intervene between the inlet pipe 27a and the outlet pipe 27b, and the fuel flowing from the inlet pipe 27a into the filter housing 37 toward the outlet pipe 27b is filtered. It is supposed to do.

In FIGS. 4 and 7, the pressure regulator 28 is attached to the bottom of the filter housing 37. This pressure regulator 28 has an upper and lower inlet pipe 28.
a and an outlet pipe 28b, the inlet pipe 28a is fitted into the mounting boss 27c at the bottom of the filter housing 37, and the outlet pipe 28b is fitted into the support hole 32b of the lower bracket plate 32. Further, the pressure regulator 28 is provided with a mounting flange 40 on the upper portion, and the mounting flange 40 is provided on the bottom surface of the filter housing 37 by a bolt 41 mold-bonded to the filter housing 37 and a nut 42 screwed to the bolt 41. Fixed.

The upper bracket plate 31 is integrally formed with the fuel take-out pipes 30 projecting from the upper and lower surfaces thereof.
The lower end of the fuel take-out pipe 30 is fitted into the outlet pipe 27b of the fuel filter 27.

Thus, the fuel filter 27 and the pressure regulator 28 have the upper and lower bracket plates 31, 32.
The fuel pump 25 is held between the fuel filter 27 and the lower bracket plate 32.

The fuel level sensor 29 includes a sensor housing 45 attached to the lower bracket plate 32, a float support arm 46 swingably supported by the sensor housing 45 and extending rearward of the vehicle, and a float support arm 46. And a potentiometer 48 which is housed in the sensor housing 45 and converts the rotation angle of the float support arm 46 into the amount of electricity as the remaining fuel amount in the fuel tank 18.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the upper bracket plate 31
A wiring coupler 50 is formed in the wiring coupler 50, and lead wires (not shown) connected to the electric fuel pump 25 and the fuel level sensor 29 are connected to the inner ends of a plurality of connection terminals 50a and 50b provided therein. It An external wiring coupler (not shown) connected to a power switch and a fuel level indicator is connected to the wiring coupler 50.

In the above, the housing 45 of the fuel pump 25, the fuel filter 27 and the fuel level sensor 29 is
It is arranged in the range of the vertical projection plane of the lower bracket plate 32.

In FIG. 9, an intake passage member 52 having an intake passage 52a connected to an intake port 51 of the cylinder portion 9a of the engine 9 is bolted to the upper surface of the cylinder portion 9a.
A fuel injection valve 53 for injecting fuel toward the downstream side of the intake port 51 is attached to the intake passage member 52, and a cup-shaped fuel connector 54 is fitted to the upper end portion where the fuel inlet opens. In the fuel connector 54, a stay 54a protruding from the rear wall is fixed to a fixed position of the intake passage member 52 with a bolt 56. Further, the fuel connector 54 is provided with a connecting pipe 54b protruding rearward or obliquely rearward of the vehicle, and both ends of a flexible fuel conduit 58 are firmly connected to the connecting pipe 54b and the fuel take-out pipe 30 of the fuel supply unit 22. Connected to. In this case, in particular, the upstream end of the fuel conduit 58 is detachably connected to the fuel takeoff pipe 30 via a joint 59.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

During operation of the engine 9, the fuel pump 25
The fuel in the fuel tank 18 is sucked through the fuel strainer 26, the pressure is increased, and the fuel is discharged to the fuel filter 27. The fuel is filtered by the fuel filter 27 and then supplied to the fuel injection valve 53 through the fuel take-out pipe 30 and the fuel conduit 58 in sequence. During that time, when the discharge pressure of the fuel pump 25 exceeds a predetermined value, the pressure regulator 28 operates to directly discharge the fuel of the excess pressure into the fuel tank 18. Therefore, it is not necessary to connect a special fuel return pipe to the fuel tank 18 to the pressure regulator 28, and the structure can be simplified.

By the way, the fuel pump 25, the fuel filter 27, the pressure regulator 28 and the fuel remaining amount sensor 29.
Are installed on the lower bracket plate 32 by being connected to the upper bracket plate 31 via the three supporting rods 33, 33, 33, and therefore their weights are reduced by the three supporting rods via the lower bracket plate 32. The three support rods 33, 33, 33 are supported by the support rods 33, 33, 33 on the concentric circle C with the lower bracket plate 32.
The support rods 33, 3 are arranged with unequal intervals of the 33.
Since the fuel pump 25 is disposed at the position where the space between the adjacent fuel cells 3, 33 is narrowest, the fuel pump 25 having the relatively small diameter but the heaviest in the fuel supply unit 22 is provided with two fuel pumps 25 adjacent to each other. Make sure that the support rods 33, 33 support the
The bending moment of the lower bracket plate 32 due to the fuel pump 25 can be reduced, and the lower bracket plate 32 can be made thinner and thus lighter in weight.

Further, since the fuel filter 27 is disposed at the position where the support rods 33, 33, 33 have the largest adjacency between them,
A relatively large capacity fuel filter 27 can be installed,
A large amount of fuel can be filtered while lowering the flow path resistance. In this case, in particular, since the fuel filter 27 is formed in a fan shape in cross section along the peripheral edge of the lower bracket plate 32, the space between the support rods 33, 33 can be used more effectively, and a larger capacity of fuel can be obtained. The filter 27 can be adopted.

Moreover, the space between all the support rods 33, 33, 33 is defined by the fuel pump 25 and the fuel filter 2.
7 and the remaining fuel level sensor 29 are installed,
Dead space on the lower bracket plate 32 is eliminated,
The space efficiency can be improved, and the fuel supply unit 22 can be made compact.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0038]

As described above, according to the first feature of the present invention, the fuel pump is installed on the lower bracket plate at the position where the three support rods have the narrowest adjoining intervals. , The fuel pump, which has the relatively small diameter but is the heaviest, is securely supported by the two support rods on both sides of the fuel pump, and the bending moment of the lower bracket plate by the fuel pump is reduced, and the lower bracket plate has a thin wall. It is possible to reduce the weight and the weight. In addition, by arranging the fuel filter in the widest space between the three support rods,
A relatively large-capacity fuel filter can be installed, and a large amount of fuel can be filtered while lowering the flow path resistance. Moreover, the space between the support rods is used for installing the fuel pump and the fuel filter, so that the dead space on the lower bracket plate is reduced, the space efficiency is improved, and the fuel supply unit is made compact. be able to.

According to the second feature of the present invention, the remaining fuel amount sensor is provided between the remaining support rods, so that dead spaces are eliminated from all the support rods, and space efficiency is improved. Further, it is possible to further increase the size and effectively reduce the size of the fuel supply unit.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the fuel filter is formed in a fan shape in cross section along the peripheral edge of the lower bracket plate, the widest space between adjacent support rods can be used more effectively. ， A larger capacity fuel filter can be adopted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle including a fuel supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of FIG.

3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a fuel filter in the fuel supply unit.

8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG.

9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

18 ... Fuel tank 22 ... Fuel supply unit 23 ... Opening 25 ... Fuel pump 27 ... Fuel filter 28 ... Pressure regulator 29 ... Remaining fuel amount sensor 31 ... Upper bracket plate 32 ... Lower bracket plate 33 ... Support rods C: Concentric circle with the lower bracket plate

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) B62J 39/00 B62J 39/00 J F02M 37/00 301 F02M 37/00 301L (72) Inventor Seiho Hosoya 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama, Ltd. Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Nobuhiro Shimada 1-4-1, Chuo, Wako, Saitama (72) Inventor Shunji Akamatsu 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama, Ltd. Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Osamu Suzuki Osamu Suzuki, Kakuda, Kakuda, Miyagi Prefecture 197-1 Keihin Kakuda Development Center, Inc. (72) Inventor, Mineo Torikai 197-1 Kakuda Jiryu, Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture Keihin Kakuda Development Center Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Toshihiko Naito Kakuda Jryu 197-1, Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture Ceremony Company Keihin Kakuda Development Center

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An upper bracket plate (31) attached to a fuel tank (18) so as to close an opening (23) provided therein, and the upper bracket plate (3).
1) through the opening (23) to the fuel tank (1
8) The lower bracket plate (32) is connected through three supporting rods (33, 33, 33) which hang down inside, and the fuel in the fuel tank (18) is pumped up onto the lower bracket plate (32). In a fuel supply unit having a fuel pump (25) attached, three support rods (33, 33, 3)
3) are arranged on the concentric circle (C) with the lower bracket plate (32) with the adjacent intervals of the support rods (33, 33, 33) being unequal, and the support rods (33, 33, 33) are adjacent to each other. The fuel pump (25) is installed on the lower bracket plate (32) at the narrowest space, and the fuel discharged from the fuel pump (25) is filtered at the widest space adjacent to the support rods (33, 33, 33). A fuel supply unit, characterized in that a fuel filter (27) is installed on the lower bracket plate (32). 2. The fuel supply unit according to claim 1, wherein a fuel level sensor (29) is installed on the lower bracket plate (32) between the remaining support rods (33, 33). 、 Fuel supply unit. 3. The fuel supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the fuel filter (27) is formed in a fan shape in cross section along the peripheral edge of the lower bracket plate (32).