JP2005059743A - Outer structure for fuel tank - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an outer structure for a fuel tank capable of enhancing an assemblability of arrangement members such as pipes at lower cost as compared with a conventional structure. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel tank 1 is formed by superposing flanges 4, 5 provided on division parts of an upper tank panel 2 and a lower tank panel 3 respectively and is constituted by installing a protector cover 14 from the flange 5 along an outer surface of the lower tank panel 3. Further, Fuel hoses 19-21 arranged along the fuel tank 1 are arranged so as to cross the tip ends of the flanges 4, 5. Holders 16-18 for holding the fuel hoses 19-21 are integrally formed to the protector cover 14 and are arranged at positions exceeding the tip ends of the flanges 4, 5. Insertion holes for inserting the fuel hoses 19-21 from a side surface direction of the holders 16-18 are formed on the holders 16-18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an exterior structure of a fuel tank in which electric wiring such as a fuel hose and an electromagnetic pump disposed in the fuel tank is arranged.

According to Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-40332, FIG. 10 is a fuel hose holding portion disposed in a corner portion of a fuel tank, and FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the holding portion. In the fuel tank 51, an upper tank panel 52 and a lower tank panel 53 are vertically divided into two, and flanges 52a and 53a formed on the panels 52 and 53 are overlapped to form a container shape. A long hole-shaped through hole 55 is formed at a location of the flange portions 52 a and 53 a located at the corner of the fuel tank 51, and a plurality of pipes 56 a to 56 c are inserted into the through hole 55. A grommet 57 is mounted between the pipes 56a to 56c.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-40332 (refer to claims for utility model registration, see FIGS. 1 and 2).

  The reason why the grommet 57 is attached to the through hole 55 through which the pipes 56a to 56c are inserted is to prevent the pipes 56a to 56c and the edge of the through hole 55 from contacting each other due to vibration of the vehicle body. However, in order to hold the pipes 56 a to 56 c, it takes time to pass the plurality of pipes 56 a to 56 c through the grommet 57 and to attach the grommet 57 to the through hole 55. Moreover, it is necessary to form the through-hole 55 for letting piping 56a-56c pass to flange 52a, 53a of the fuel tank 51, and also the grommet 57 was needed as another component. Further, in order to pass the pipes 56a to 56c through the through hole 55, the pipes 56a to 56c have to be passed in the longitudinal direction from the ends thereof.

  This invention is made in view of such a situation, and is providing the exterior structure of the fuel tank which can improve the assembly workability | operativity of routing members, such as piping, cheaper than the conventional structure. .

In order to achieve the above object, the fuel tank exterior structure of the present invention is provided with a fuel tank that is divided into two vertically by an upper tank panel and a lower tank panel in each of the divided portions of the upper tank panel and the lower tank panel. In the outer structure of the fuel tank, which is formed by overlapping the flanges, and the protector cover is mounted along the outer surface of the lower tank panel from the flange, the routing member routed along the fuel tank is disposed at the tip of the flange. The holder that holds the routing member is integrally formed with the protector cover, and the holder is disposed at a position beyond the tip of the flange, and the holder is routed. An insertion port for inserting the member from the side of the holder was formed.
The exterior structure of the fuel tank is formed by forming a protruding length of the flange formed around the upper tank panel and the lower tank panel by a wide portion having a long protruding length and a narrow portion having a short protruding length, A fuel tank mounting part was formed in the wide part, and the holder part was formed in the narrow part.
Further, in the exterior structure of the fuel tank, the holder is disposed so as to intersect at right angles to the tip of the flange, and the insertion port of the holder is formed at a position opposite to the flange of the holder.
Furthermore, the fuel tank exterior structure has a locking portion that prevents the routing member from coming off at the insertion port of the holder.

The fuel tank exterior structure of the present invention is formed by overlapping a fuel tank that is vertically divided by an upper tank panel and a lower tank panel by overlapping flanges provided at each of the divided portions of the upper tank panel and the lower tank panel, In the exterior structure of the fuel tank in which a protector cover is mounted along the outer surface of the lower tank panel from the flange, the routing member routed along the fuel tank is made to intersect the tip of the flange. In addition to routing, a holder for holding the routing member is formed integrally with the protector cover, the holder is disposed outside the tip of the flange, and the routing member is inserted into the holder from the side of the holder. Since the mouth is formed, the number of parts and cost can be reduced by forming the holder on the protector cover. The decline. Moreover, since the insertion port for inserting the routing member from the side surface of the holder is formed, the working time for the routing of the routing member can be shortened.
The exterior structure of the fuel tank has a wide portion and a narrow portion formed in the flange formed around the upper tank panel and the lower tank panel, a fuel tank mounting portion is formed in the wide portion, and the narrow portion has the above-described structure. Since the holder portion is formed, by disposing the holder in a narrow portion where the width of the flange is narrowed, the holder does not protrude outward as compared with the wide portion of the flange, and becomes compact. The weight of the fuel tank can be reduced by disposing the holder in the narrow part and reducing the wide part.
In the fuel tank exterior structure, the holder is arranged so as to intersect the tip of the flange, and the insertion port of the holder is formed at a position opposite to the flange of the holder. By making it cross | intersect, a flange comes to be located in the back surface of a holder, and the contact of the front-end | tip part of a flange and a routing member can be prevented reliably.
Further, since the outer structure of the fuel tank is formed with a locking portion that prevents the routing member from coming off at the insertion port of the holder, the locking portion prevents the routing member from coming off.

Hereinafter, an exterior structure of a fuel tank according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification, front, rear, left and right are used in a state where the fuel tank is attached to the vehicle, and are matched with the front, rear, left and right directions of the vehicle body. Note that the direction of the arrow F in the figure is directed to the front side of the vehicle body.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fuel tank of a vehicle such as an automobile, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the fuel tank as seen from the upper tank panel side, and FIG. 3 is a view of the interior of the lower tank panel of the fuel tank from above. FIG.
The fuel tank 1 formed by overlapping the middle shape vertically is composed of an upper tank panel 2 on the upper side and a lower tank panel 3 on the lower side, and the upper tank panel 2 and the lower tank panel 3 are each integrally molded. It is formed. And the flanges 4 and 5 protruded in the horizontal direction outer side in the state which made the fuel tank 1 level in the whole circumference | surroundings of those joint parts.

  A central projecting portion 6 is formed in the upper central portion of the upper tank panel 2 so as to be provided with a fuel pump mounting portion 6a and slightly projecting upward, and from the front side portion of the upper tank panel 2 to the inside of the fuel tank 1 Beads 8 and 9 were formed which were recessed on the side and extended to the rear central projection 6. The other bead 7 has a rear end bent toward the center protruding portion 6 of the upper tank panel 2. This is because when the bead 7 is extended straight to the central protruding portion 6, the angle X shown in FIG. 2, which is a portion where the bead 7 and the central protruding portion 6 intersect, becomes an extremely acute angle, and it becomes difficult to mold that portion during molding. .

  Therefore, the corner X is prevented from becoming an extremely acute angle, and the rear tank end portion of the bead 7 is bent toward the center protruding portion 6 to increase the corner X, thereby facilitating the molding of the upper tank panel 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (shown in the design drawing), the central bead 8 is made larger than the depth of the beads 7 and 9 on both sides thereof to reinforce the central portion of the fuel tank 1. The beads 7 and 9 on both sides were formed to the same depth. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower tank panel 3 is provided with beads 10 to 12 extending in the front-rear direction in the center of the fuel tank 1 in the vehicle width direction, and formed on the front and rear end sides as shown in FIG. The beads 10 and 12 are protruded inward of the upper fuel tank 1 with respect to the reference surface of the lower tank panel 3, and the bead 11 located at the center is protruded to the outside of the lower lower tank panel 3. Further, the bead 11 forms a gentle radius of curvature R in the front-rear direction, and strengthens the rigidity of the central portion of the lower tank panel 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, flanges 4 and 5 are formed on the entire peripheries of the upper tank panel 2 and the lower tank panel 3, and the wide portions 4 a to 4 are formed at positions corresponding to the flanges 4 and 5. 4f, 5a to 5f are formed. And the attachment holes a1-a4 of the fuel tank 1 with respect to the vehicle body side are formed in the wide parts 4a-4f, 5a-5f of these both panels 2,3. Among these mounting holes a1 to a4, the mounting hole a1 is a 8.5 mm diameter round hole, the mounting hole a2 is a 8.5 × 11 mm long hole, and the mounting holes a3 and a4 are 11 mm diameter round holes. Thus, it is formed larger than the other mounting holes a1 and a2. The fastening bolts used for these mounting holes a1 to a4 are of the same diameter.

  In order to attach the fuel tank 1 to the vehicle body, first, the fuel tank 1 is temporarily fixed with a bolt at the position of the attachment hole a1, and then the bolts are fastened in the order of the attachment holes a2, a3, and a4. First, the fixing hole a1 having a small diameter is temporarily fixed to minimize the displacement of the entire fuel tank 1. Next, the long hole a2 is bolted. Since the long hole 2 is long in the front-rear direction, the positional deviation of the fuel tank 1 in the front-back direction can be absorbed. Therefore, in the mounting hole a2, if the left and right (vehicle width) directions on the short axis side of the long hole 2 are matched, the bolt can be fastened. Finally, the mounting holes a3 and a4 are fastened. These holes a3 and a4 are formed large and can absorb the displacement of the fuel tank 1. Thus, by making the mounting holes a3 and a4 larger than the diameter of the screw fastening hole (not shown) on the vehicle body side, the fuel tank 1 can be mounted smoothly by absorbing a slight displacement.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface of the flange 5 of the lower tank panel 3 is reinforced with a common gusset 22 as shown in FIG. The gusset 22 is bent into an L shape and is formed by a protruding portion 22a and a vertical wall 22b extending in the horizontal direction. The protruding portion 22a is brought into contact with the lower portion of the flange 5 of the lower tank panel 3, and the vertical wall 22b is formed in the lower tank. The panel 3 is in contact with the side surface. An attachment hole 22c is formed in the gusset 22, and the diameter of the attachment hole 22c is a round hole having the same diameter as the largest diameter a3 (a4 is the same as a3) of the attachment holes a1 to a3 of the fuel tank 1. Yes. Thus, the common gusset 22 can be used for any of the mounting holes a1 to a3.

As shown in FIG. 1, a resin protector cover 14 shown in FIG. 7 is attached from the front flange 5 of the lower tank panel 3 along the side of the lower tank panel 3. The protector cover 14 covers a part of the bottom surface from the front surface side of the fuel tank 1 and plays a role of protecting the fuel tank 1 from a spring stone or the like.
FIG. 7 shows the entire protector cover 14. The protector cover 14 includes a front surface portion 14a that covers the front portion of the fuel tank 1, a side surface portion 14b that covers the left front corner portion of the fuel tank 1, and a bottom surface portion 14c that covers the bottom of the fuel tank. The protector cover 14 is formed with two cylindrical boss mounting portions 23 to 25 formed with the tip side facing downward on the front end side of the protector cover 14 and one on the side portion side. Specifically, the boss mounting portion 23 disposed on the side surface portion 14b of the protector cover 14 is disposed at the corner portion of the fuel tank 1 and formed at a position corresponding to the mounting hole b1 of the flanges 4 and 5. The remaining boss mounting portions 24, 25 are provided on the front end surface 14 a of the protector cover 14 and are formed at positions corresponding to the mounting holes b 2, b 3 provided on the front flanges 4, 5 of the fuel tank 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the boss cover 23 to 25 is disposed below the flanges 4 and 5 and the protect cover 14 is attached by screws 30 from above the flanges 4 and 5.

  As shown in FIG. 1, connection ports 19 a to 21 a are provided in the attachment portion 6 a of the electromagnetic pump of the fuel tank, and the fuel hoses 19 to 21 are connected. Of the fuel hoses 19 to 21, one fuel hose 19 is an evaporation hose for absorbing vaporized gasoline, and the other fuel hose 20 is a feed hose for feeding to the engine, and the remaining hoses The fuel hose 21 is a return hose (this may be omitted) for returning gasoline returned from the engine to the tank. These fuel hoses 19 to 21 pass through the upper surfaces of the fuel tank 1 from the connection ports 19a to 21a, intersect the flanges 4 and 5 at a portion located at the left front corner portion of the fuel tank 1, and are connected to the engine side. Are connected to the transfer pipes 19b to 21b.

As shown in FIG. 7, the protector cover 14 is formed with projecting pieces 15 positioned on the flanges 4 and 5 of the left front corner portion of the fuel tank 1. The protruding piece 15 is in contact with the lower surface of the flange 5 and substantially corresponds to the shape of the flanges 4 and 5. Three holders 16 to 18 for holding the fuel hoses 19 to 21 are formed at the tip of the protruding piece 15 by integral molding. The holders 16 to 18 are arranged side by side with respect to the front ends of the flanges 4 and 5, have a substantially cylindrical cross-sectional shape, and have a shape in which a slit is formed in the vertical direction (or a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape). Is formed.
Each holder 16-18 has the axial direction in the cylindrical shape oriented in a direction that intersects at a substantially right angle to the direction in which the fuel hoses 19-21 are arranged, that is, the extending direction of the flanges 4,5.

  The holders 16 to 18 are formed so that the tip ends of the flanges 4 and 5 are positioned at the intermediate portion of the height position of the holder, and the inner peripheral surfaces of the holders 16 to 18 are held by the fuel hoses 19 to 21. It is a contact surface. The small-diameter holders 17 and 18 are formed with substantially V-shaped retaining portions 17a and 18a in which one end portion on the opening side of the holders 17 and 18 is folded inward at an acute angle. As shown in FIG. 7, a bead 27 extending in the vehicle width direction is formed on the bottom surface portion 14 c of the protector cover 14.

With this structure, in order to hold the fuel hoses 19 to 21 in the holders 16 to 18, the fuel hoses 19 to 21 are moved from the side surfaces of the fuel hoses 19 to 21 to the insertion ports 16 b to 18 b of the holders 16 to 18. It is made to hold | maintain to each corresponding holder 16-18 so that it may push in to the tank 1 side. Since the small diameter holders 17 and 18 are formed with retaining portions 17a and 18a, the fuel hoses 20 and 21 are held so as to get over the retaining portions 17a and 18a. Since the retaining portions 17a and 18a are formed in a leaf spring shape and face the inside of the holders 17 and 18, they serve as a guide when the fuel hoses 20 and 21 are inserted, and the fuel hoses 20 and 21 are retained. The insertion can be smoothly performed along the portions 17a and 18a. After the fuel hoses 20 and 21 are inserted, the distal end portions of the retaining portions 17a and 18a come into contact with and lock the outer peripheral surfaces of the fuel hoses 20 and 21.
The reason why the large diameter holder 16 is not secured is that the fuel hose 19 is softer and more elastic than the other fuel hoses 20, 21, and the fuel hose 19 itself is easily bent and is held by the holder 16. This is because the holder 16 largely surrounds the fuel hose 19 and the holding angle in the circumferential direction is 180 degrees or more. In addition, both the front-end | tip parts 16a of the holder 16 are formed so that it may open largely outwards on both sides, and the mounting | wearing at the time of insertion of the fuel hose 19 is made easy.

  Since the protector cover 14 is formed by integrally forming the holders 16 to 18 at the time of molding, the manufacturing cost of the protector cover 14 is higher than that of the conventional protector. However, in this embodiment, unlike the conventional case, the through hole for passing the fuel hose is not formed in the flange formed in the fuel tank, and the protective grommet attached to the through hole is not required. Therefore, when these are subtracted, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Further, unlike the conventional case, there is no need to pass the hose through the grommet and the insertion hole, the holders 16 to 18 are substantially cylindrical, and the insertion ports 16b to 18b are formed on the side surfaces. The fuel hoses 19 to 21 can be inserted from the side portion, and the fuel hose arrangement work becomes easy. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, since the holders 16 to 18 are vertically crossed with respect to the flanges 4 and 5 at the tips of the flanges 4 and 5, the holders 16 to 18 serve as partition walls, and the flanges 4 and 5 and the fuel hose 19 etc. are reliably prevented from contacting.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention as well as the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the fuel hose is held by the holder, but in addition to the fuel hose, a wire harness such as an electromagnetic pump disposed in the fuel tank 1, a hose arranged along the fuel tank 1, It is possible to form and hold a holder for fixing a wire or the like.
Moreover, although the axial direction of the substantially cylindrical holders 16 to 18 is formed so as to intersect the flanges 4 and 5 at right angles, the orientation of the holders 16 to 18 may be inclined with respect to the flanges 4 and 5. .

  As an application example of the present invention, it can be widely applied to fuel tanks for vehicles such as automobiles.

1 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance of a fuel tank that employs a fuel tank exterior structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the fuel tank shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which looked at the inside of the lower tank panel which forms the lower side of the fuel tank shown in FIG. 1 from upper direction. It is a figure which shows the bead formed in the upper tank panel of a fuel tank, Comprising: It is sectional drawing of the AA line direction in FIG. It is a figure which shows the bottom part shape of a fuel tank, Comprising: It is sectional drawing of the BB line direction in FIG. It is a gusset attached to a fuel tank, (a) is a top view of a gusset, (b) is a front view, (c) is sectional drawing of the CC line direction in (a). It is a perspective view which shows the whole external appearance of the protector cover based on this invention with which the fuel tank of FIG. 1 is mounted | worn. It is a top view of the holder part currently formed in the protector cover shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which passes along the holder currently formed in the protector cover shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which arranged the fuel hose outside the conventional fuel tank. It is sectional drawing of the DD line direction in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel tank 2 Upper tank panel 3 Lower tank panel 4,5 Flange 4a-4f, 5a-5f Wide part 6 Center protrusion part 7-9 Bead formed in the upper tank panel 10-12 Bead formed in the lower tank panel 14 Protector cover 15 Projection piece 16-18 Holder 16b-18b Insertion port 17a, 18a Detachment part 19-21 Fuel hose 22 Gazette 22c Attachment hole 23-25 Boss attachment part a1-a4 Attachment hole b1-b3 Attachment hole

Claims (4)

A fuel tank that is divided into two parts by an upper tank panel and a lower tank panel is formed by overlapping flanges provided at each of the divided parts of the upper tank panel and the lower tank panel, and extends from the flange along the outer surface of the lower tank panel. In the exterior structure of the fuel tank equipped with a protector cover,
The routing member that is routed along the fuel tank is routed so as to intersect the tip of the flange, and a holder that holds the routing member is formed integrally with the protector cover. An exterior structure of a fuel tank, characterized in that an insertion port is formed on the outside of the front end of the flange, and an insertion port is formed in the holder for inserting a routing member from the side of the holder. A wide portion and a narrow portion are formed in the flange formed around the upper tank panel and the lower tank panel, a fuel tank mounting portion is formed in the wide portion, and the holder portion is formed in the narrow portion. The fuel tank exterior structure according to claim 1. 3. The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the holder is disposed so as to intersect with a front end portion of the flange, and an insertion port of the holder is formed at a position opposite to the flange. Exterior structure. The fuel tank exterior structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a locking portion that prevents the routing member from coming off is formed at an insertion port of the holder.

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