JP2004137985A - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel supply device which is equipped with a jet pump for transferring fuel and easily follows up variation of the height of a fuel tank. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel supply device 10 is installed in one tank part of the fuel tank having a plurality of tank parts. A coil spring 23 urges a pump module 20 to the bottom of an inner side of the fuel tank. Even if a resin-made fuel tank expands or contracts by change of internal pressure or change of fuel amount due to temperature change, the bottom part of a sub tank 30 is always pushed to the bottom of the inner side of the fuel tank by urging force of the coil spring 23. The jet pump 50 for transferring fuel is installed at the outer peripheral side of the sub tank 30. A nylon piping 58 connects an introduction port 52 of the jet pump 50 which the fuel is introduced from other tank part, and an introduction port 28 of a flange member 11 by a suction pressure generated by the jet pump 50. The jet pump 50 is supported on the flange member 11 with the nylon piping 58. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fuel supply device in which the distance between a pump module and an attachment member attached to a fuel tank changes according to the height of the fuel tank.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Some fuel tanks have a plurality of tanks due to restrictions on the location of the fuel tank. Each tank part is connected by a connection part shallower than the bottom of the tank part. A pump module is installed in a so-called in-tank type fuel supply device in which a pump module is installed in a fuel tank having a plurality of tank portions and the fuel in the fuel tank is sucked and discharged by a fuel pump of the pump module. It is known to use a fuel transfer jet pump to transfer fuel from one tank section to another tank section. The pump module is supported by a flange member attached to the fuel tank, and the transferred fuel is transferred to the fuel transfer jet pump through the flange member.
[0003]
In a configuration in which the distance between the flange member and the pump module is fixed and the flange member supports the pump module, when the fuel tank expands and contracts due to a change in temperature or fuel amount and the height of the fuel tank changes, the height of the fuel tank is changed. The fuel supply cannot follow the change of the fuel supply.
[0004]
Therefore, in order to follow the change in the height of the fuel tank, it is known that the pump module is urged away from the flange member by the urging force of an elastic member such as a coil spring, and the pump module is pressed against the inner bottom surface of the fuel tank. Have been. In the case where the pump module has a sub-tank and the fuel pump sucks the fuel in the sub-tank, the sub-tank is pressed against the inner bottom surface of the fuel tank. When the height of the fuel tank changes, the elastic member expands and contracts, and the distance between the flange member and the pump module changes.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the fuel supply device in which the distance between the flange member and the pump module is made variable by the expansion and contraction of the elastic member, when the jet pump for transferring fuel is attached to the pump module, the distance between the flange member and the pump module changes. The distance between the member and the fuel transfer jet pump changes. Therefore, in order to transfer fuel to the fuel transfer jet pump through the flange member, it is necessary to connect the flange member and the fuel transfer jet pump with a flexible pipe such as a bellows pipe. However, when the height of the fuel tank is reduced and the distance between the flange member and the pump module is reduced, a space in which the bellows tube is bent cannot be secured, and the fuel supply device cannot follow a change in the height of the fuel tank. is there.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device that includes a jet pump for transferring fuel and that easily follows changes in the height of a fuel tank.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the fuel supply device of the first aspect of the present invention, when the height of the fuel tank changes due to the elastic member biasing the pump module in a direction away from the mounting member, the distance between the mounting member and the pump module is reduced. Change. However, since the fuel transfer jet pump is installed on the mounting member and does not move relative to the mounting member, the distance between the mounting member and the fuel transfer jet pump changes even if the distance between the mounting member and the pump module changes. do not do. Therefore, the length of the connecting portion connecting the transfer fuel inlet of the mounting member and the transfer fuel inlet of the jet pump for transferring fuel is unchanged. Therefore, the connecting portion connecting the transfer fuel inlet of the mounting member and the transfer fuel inlet of the jet pump for transferring fuel does not hinder the movement of the fuel supply device following the change in the height of the fuel tank.
According to the fuel supply device of the second aspect of the present invention, the pump module includes the sub-tank accommodated in the fuel tank. Therefore, even if the fuel amount in the fuel tank is reduced, the fuel pump of the pump module operates in the sub-tank. Fuel can be inhaled.
[0007]
In the configuration in which the jet pump for fuel transfer is installed on the mounting member, if the jet pump is installed between the mounting member and the pump module, the distance between the mounting member and the pump module is reduced, or the elastic member is If the length of the fuel transfer jet pump along the biasing direction increases, the fuel transfer jet pump may interfere with the pump module.
[0008]
In contrast to the configuration in which the jet pump is installed between the mounting member and the pump module, in the fuel supply device according to claims 3 and 4 of the present invention, the jet pump for transferring fuel is located on the side of the sub tank. Therefore, even if the distance between the mounting member and the pump module is reduced or the length of the fuel transfer jet pump along the biasing direction of the elastic member is increased, the fuel transfer jet pump is Do not interfere with parts inside.
[0009]
According to the fuel supply device according to the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, the transfer fuel introduction port formed in the attachment member and the transfer fuel introduction port of the jet pump face in the biasing direction of the elastic member. The transfer fuel inlet of the mounting member and the transfer fuel inlet of the jet pump can be easily connected by a pipe extending in the biasing direction. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is reduced.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a plurality of examples showing an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show a fuel supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. A flange member 11 as a mounting member of the fuel supply device 10 is locked and mounted on an upper wall of a fuel tank (not shown) integrally formed of resin, and other components of the fuel supply device 10 are accommodated in the fuel tank. I have. The fuel tank may be formed of metal or the like in addition to the resin. The fuel tank has other tank parts in addition to the tank part in which the fuel supply device 10 is installed. The tank portions are connected to each other by a connecting portion shallower than the bottom of the tank portion.
[0011]
The flange member 11 and the pump module 20 are connected by a metal shaft 22. The coil spring 23 as an elastic member urges the pump module 20 in a direction away from the flange member 11, that is, on the inner bottom surface of the fuel tank. In a state where the fuel supply device 10 is assembled to the fuel tank, even if the resin fuel tank expands and contracts due to a change in internal pressure or a change in the amount of fuel due to a change in temperature, the urging force of the coil spring 23 causes the pump module 20 The bottom of the sub tank 30 is constantly pressed against the inner bottom surface of the fuel tank.
[0012]
A discharge pipe 14, a return pipe 15, a transfer pipe 16, and an electric connector 18 are attached to the flange member 11. The discharge pipe 14 is a pipe that discharges fuel discharged from a fuel pump (not shown) accommodated in the sub tank 30 to the outside of the fuel tank. The pump module 20 is a module in which the sub-tank 30, the fuel pump, the fuel filter 40, and the like are modularized, and moves integrally. The return pipe 15 is a pipe for returning surplus fuel from the engine side into the fuel tank. The bellows pipe 24 branches in two directions in the sub-tank 30, and connects a return pump 15 with a jet pump 50 for fuel transfer and a jet pump 60 for the sub-tank described later. The electric connector 18 is electrically connected to the fuel pump and the liquid level gauge 70 by a lead wire 19, supplies a drive current to the fuel pump, and outputs a detection signal of the liquid level gauge 70 described later.
[0013]
The sub tank 30 and the fuel filter 40 are connected by fitting a claw 44 formed on a filter case 42 of the fuel filter 40 into a fitting window 32 of the sub tank 30. One end of the shaft 22 is inserted into a bottomed cylindrical portion 11 a formed on the flange member 11, and the other end of the shaft 22 is inserted into a cylindrical portion 46 of the filter case 42. The pump module 20 is movable in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 22 with respect to the flange member 11.
[0014]
The jet pump 50 for fuel transfer is installed on the outer peripheral side of the sub tank 30. The length of the jet pump 50 along the biasing direction of the coil spring 23 is longer than the distance between the flange member 11 and the pump module 20. The introduction port 52 of the jet pump 50 as a transfer fuel introduction section faces the introduction port 28 as a transfer fuel introduction section formed in the flange member 11 in the biasing direction of the coil spring 23. The nylon pipe 58 extends in the biasing direction of the coil spring 23 and is connected to the inlet 28 and the inlet 52. Since the inlet 52 and the inlet 28 face each other in the biasing direction of the coil spring 23, the inlet 52 and the inlet 28 can be easily connected by the nylon pipe 58 without bending the nylon pipe 58.
[0015]
When the nylon pipe 58 is connected to the inlet 28 and the inlet 52, the inner peripheral side of the nylon pipe 58 is locked to a plurality of annular steps formed on the outer peripheral wall of the inlet 28 and the inlet 52, and both inlet ports are connected. The nylon pipe 58 is prevented from coming off from the inside. Therefore, the jet pump 50 is supported on the flange member 11 by the nylon pipe 58.
[0016]
The jet pump 50 generates a negative suction pressure by injecting fuel supplied from the return pipe 15 through the bellows pipe 24. With this suction pressure, the jet pump 50 sucks the fuel in the other tank portion of the fuel tank through the transfer pipe 16, the inlet 28, the nylon pipe 58, and the inlet 52, and the fuel supply device 10 is installed from the outlet 54. Transfer the fuel into the tank.
[0017]
The jet pump 60 for the sub-tank generates a negative suction pressure by injecting fuel supplied from the return pipe 15 through the bellows pipe 24 to the jet pump 60. With this suction pressure, the jet pump 60 sucks the fuel in the tank portion where the fuel supply device 10 is installed, and supplies the fuel into the sub tank 30.
The liquid level gauge 70 measures the amount of fuel in the tank in which the fuel supply device 10 is installed by rotating the float 72 in accordance with the height of the fuel in the fuel tank.
[0018]
Since the bottom of the sub-tank 30 of the pump module 20 is constantly pressed against the inner bottom surface of the fuel tank by the urging force of the coil spring 23, the resin-made fuel tank expands and contracts due to a change in internal pressure due to a temperature change or a change in fuel amount. When the height of the fuel tank changes, the distance between the flange member 11 and the pump module 20 changes following the change in the height of the fuel tank. In this embodiment, the jet pump 50 for transferring fuel is supported on the flange member 11 by the nylon pipe 58 and is independent of the pump module 20. Further, the jet pump 50 is located on the outer peripheral side of the sub tank 30. Even if the height of the fuel tank changes and the distance between the flange member 11 and the pump module 20 changes, the jet pump 50 does not interfere with the pump module 20. Therefore, the fuel supply device 10 can easily follow the change in the height of the fuel tank.
[0019]
In this embodiment, the flange member 11 and the jet pump 50 are connected by a nylon pipe 58. Alternatively, the flange member and the fuel transfer jet pump may be connected by snap fitting, ultrasonic welding, hot plate welding, or die slide injection.
[0020]
In the present embodiment, the jet pump 50 for fuel transfer is installed on the outer peripheral side of the sub tank 30, but may be installed on the inner peripheral side. The fuel returned from the engine was used as the fuel injected by the jet pump 50 for transferring fuel. In addition, a part of the discharged fuel discharged from the fuel pump of the pump module may be used as the injected fuel.
[0021]
In the fuel supply device of the present invention, when the length of the fuel transfer jet pump along the biasing direction of the coil spring 23 is short, the flange member 11 is supported in a state where the flange member 11 supports the fuel transfer jet pump. A jet pump for fuel transfer may be provided between the fuel cell and the pump module 20.
[0022]
Further, as the fuel supply device of the present invention, a configuration in which the fuel pump directly draws the fuel in the fuel tank without using the sub-tank may be employed. In this case, for example, a pump module component such as a fuel filter other than the sub tank may be urged in a direction away from the flange member, that is, toward the inner bottom surface of the fuel tank.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a fuel supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view as seen in the direction of arrow II in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 fuel supply device 11 flange member (mounting member)
20 pump module 22 shaft 23 coil spring (elastic member)
28 Inlet (transferred fuel introduction section)
30 Sub-tank 50 Jet pump 52 Inlet (transfer fuel introduction part)
58 Nylon piping

Claims (6)

An attachment member attached to the fuel tank,
A pump module that is housed in the fuel tank and sucks and discharges fuel in the fuel tank;
An elastic member for urging the pump module in a direction away from the mounting member,
A jet pump for fuel transfer installed on the mounting member,
A fuel supply device comprising: The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the pump module includes a sub-tank accommodated in a fuel tank, and the elastic member urges the sub-tank in a direction away from the mounting member. The fuel supply device according to claim 2, wherein the jet pump is located on a side of the sub tank. The fuel supply device according to claim 3, wherein a length of the jet pump along a biasing direction of the elastic member is longer than a distance between the mounting member and the pump module. The transfer fuel introduction section of the mounting member and the transfer fuel introduction section of the jet pump face each other in the biasing direction, and the transfer fuel introduction sections are connected to each other by a pipe extending in the bias direction. The fuel supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The fuel supply device according to claim 5, wherein the pipe is made of nylon.

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