JP2005240609A - Pressure regulator device and fuel supply device using it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pressure regulator device, preventing contact between a slip-off preventing member for preventing a pressure regulator from slipping off a holding member and another member to the utmost, thereby preventing the slip-off preventing member from slipping off from the holding member and provide a fuel supply device using it. <P>SOLUTION: This pressure regulator device 40 includes: a regulator holder 42; a pressure regulator 50; and a clip 60, wherein the regulator holder 42 is fitted to a sub-tank lid of the fuel supply device. With the clip 60 inserted in an insert port 46 of the regulator holder 42, an edge part 46a of the insert port 46 on the opposite side to the direction of inserting the clip 60 is located on the opposite side to the inserting direction more than the clip 60. The clip 60 is locked in the insert port 46 in the direction of slipping off the pressure regulator 50 from the regulator holder 42. The insert port 46 is provided with a cutout 47, and an edge part 61 of the clip 60 is exposed to the cutout 47. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pressure regulator that holds a pressure regulator that regulates fluid pressure with a holding member, and a fuel supply device that uses the pressure regulator.

  As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a pressure regulator that regulates fluid pressure is known. When such a pressure regulator is attached to, for example, another device, it is conceivable to hold the pressure regulator with a holding member and attach the holding member to the device. Then, a clip or the like is inserted into the holding member to prevent the pressure regulator from dropping from the holding member.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-176761

However, if the pressure regulator is held by the holding member and the clip comes into contact with another member while the clip is inserted into the holding member to prevent the pressure regulator from dropping from the holding member, the clip will come off the holding member. There is. When the clip comes out of the holding member, the pressure regulator may drop from the holding member.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and prevents the drop-off preventing member, which prevents the pressure regulator from dropping from the holding member, from contacting the other member as much as possible, and the drop-off preventing member comes off the holding member. An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure regulating device that prevents this and a fuel supply device using the same.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the state where the drop-off prevention member is inserted into the holding member, the edge on the opposite side to the direction in which the drop-off prevention member is inserted into the insertion port of the holding member into which the drop-off prevention member is inserted is It is located on the opposite side of the insertion direction from the drop-off prevention member. That is, the drop-off prevention member does not protrude from the insertion port of the holding member to the side opposite to the insertion direction. Therefore, the side opposite to the insertion direction of the drop-off prevention member can be prevented from coming into contact with other members, and the drop-off prevention member can be prevented from coming out of the insertion port. This prevents the drop-off prevention member from falling out of the holding member and prevents the pressure regulator from dropping off from the holding member even if the pressure adjustment device comes into contact with another member when the pressure adjustment device is transported, for example. it can.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the insertion port of the holding member into which the drop-off prevention member is inserted is cut out so that the edge of the drop-off prevention member is exposed. By hooking the drop-off prevention member at the location, the drop-off prevention member can be pulled out from the holding member, and the pressure regulator can be easily taken out from the holding member.

According to the invention described in claim 3, since the drop-off prevention member is formed in a U-shape with the edge opposite to the insertion direction closed, it is exposed to the notch formed in the insertion port of the holding member. The fall-off prevention member can be easily pulled out from the holding member by hooking the U-shaped closed portion.
According to the invention described in claim 4, since the corner of the insertion port is formed in an R shape, even if the corner of the insertion port collides with another member, the collision force between the insertion port and the other member can be reduced. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to the insertion port.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the side opposite to the insertion direction of the drop-off prevention member can be prevented from coming into contact with other members, and the drop-off prevention member can be prevented from coming out of the insertion port. Therefore, for example, when a pump module with a pressure regulator attached is inserted into the fuel tank, even if the insertion port of the holding member contacts the periphery of the fuel tank opening, the side opposite to the insertion direction of the drop-off prevention member is the fuel. Contact with the tank can be prevented. Thereby, when the pump module to which the pressure regulator is attached is inserted into the fuel tank, it is possible to prevent the drop-off prevention member from coming off from the holding member, and to prevent the pressure regulator from dropping from the holding member.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A fuel supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel supply device 10 includes a lid member 12, a sub tank 30, a sub tank lid 32, a pressure regulating device 40, a jet pump 70, a sender gauge 80, and the like. The sub tank 30, the sub tank lid 32, the jet pump 70, and the sender gauge 80 constitute a pump module and are accommodated in the fuel tank 1.

  An opening 1 a is formed in the upper wall of the fuel tank 1 formed of resin, and the resin lid member 12 of the fuel supply device 10 closes the opening 1 a of the fuel tank 1. Other components of the fuel supply device 10 are accommodated in the fuel tank 1. A discharge pipe 14, an electrical connector 15, a fuel filter 20, and the like are assembled to the lid member 12. Fuel discharged from a fuel pump (not shown) accommodated in the sub-tank 30 is supplied to the outside of the fuel tank 1 from the discharge pipe 14 through the bellows tube 22 and the fuel filter 20 from the coupling portion 38 coupled to the discharge port of the fuel pump. Is done. The fuel filter 20 passes through the bellows tube 22 and removes foreign matters in the fuel supplied from the fuel pump and supplies it to the discharge tube 14.

  The lid member 12 and the sub tank 30 are coupled by a stay 16. As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the stay 16 is inserted into the insertion portion 13 of the lid member 12, and as shown in FIG. 2, the claw 17 provided at the other end of the stay 16 is a rod-like fitting portion 31 of the sub tank 30. The stay 16 is coupled to the lid member 12 and the sub tank 30 by being fitted to each other. The spring 18 shown in FIG. 3 urges the lid member 12 and the stay 16 in directions away from each other. The sub tank 30 is always pressed against the bottom inner wall of the fuel tank 1 by the biasing force of the spring 18.

  The sub tank 30 is made of resin, and a fuel pump (not shown) is installed horizontally in the sub tank 30. As shown in FIG. 2, a fuel introduction pipe (not shown), which is a fuel inlet of the sub tank 30, protrudes to the side of the sub tank 30 and is integrally formed with resin at the bottom of the sub tank 30. The sub tank lid 32 closes the upper opening of the sub tank 30.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the pressure adjusting device 40 includes a regulator holder 42 that is a holding member, a pressure regulator 50, and a clip 60 that is a drop-off preventing member. The regulator holder 42 is integrally formed of resin and is attached to the sub tank lid 32 (see FIG. 2).
The regulator holder 42 is provided with an inflow pipe 43 and an outflow pipe 44. As shown in FIG. 3, fuel is introduced from the fuel filter 20 through the bellows pipe 24 to the inflow pipe 43 of the pressure regulator 40, and is supplied from the fuel filter 20 to the outside of the fuel tank 1 through the discharge pipe 14. The pressure of the fuel to be adjusted is adjusted by the pressure regulator 50. Excess fuel is discharged from the pressure regulator 50 from the outflow pipe 44. This surplus fuel is supplied from the outflow pipe 44 to the jet pump 70.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the inner diameter of the inner wall 45 of the regulator holder 42 decreases toward the back side, which is the insertion direction of the pressure regulator 50. As shown in FIG. 1, an insertion port 46 for inserting the clip 60 is formed on the opening side of the regulator holder 42 into which the pressure regulator 50 is inserted. In a state where the clip 60 is inserted into the insertion port 46, the edge 46a of the insertion port 46 opposite to the direction in which the clip 60 is inserted is opposite to the insertion direction of the edge 61 of the clip 60 opposite to the insertion direction. Is located. That is, the height of the insertion port 46 is higher than the height of the clip 60 in a state where the clip 60 is inserted into the insertion port 46.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the clip 60 is formed in a U shape in which an edge 61 on the opposite side to the insertion direction is closed. The clip 60 is inserted into the insertion port of the regulator holder 42 in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the pressure regulator 50 and is fitted to the pressure regulator 50 with an elastic force. Then, the clip 60 is locked to the insertion port 46 in a direction in which the pressure regulator 50 is dropped from the regulator holder 42. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the pressure regulator 50 from dropping from the regulator holder 42.

A cutout 47 is formed in the insertion port 46, and the edge 61 of the clip 60 is exposed in the cutout 47. The corner 48 of the insertion port 46 is formed in an R shape.
As shown in FIG. 2, the jet pump 70 has a jet nozzle 72. The jet nozzle 72 injects surplus fuel discharged from the pressure regulator 50. By injecting fuel from the jet nozzle 72 toward the fuel introduction pipe of the sub tank 30, a suction pressure that is a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure is generated around the injected fuel. The fuel in the fuel tank 1 is sucked by this suction pressure and introduced into the sub tank 30 from the fuel introduction pipe.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sender gauge 80 includes a sensor unit 81, an arm 82, and a float 83. The sensor unit 81 detects the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 1 by the movement of the float 83 connected to the sensor unit 81 via the arm 82.
Here, the edge of the clip 60 opposite to the insertion direction in a state where the clip 60 is inserted into the regulator holder 112 that holds the pressure regulator 50 as in the pressure regulating device 110 of the comparative example of the present embodiment shown in FIG. The configuration in which the part 61 protrudes on the opposite side to the insertion direction of the regulator holder 112 will be compared with this embodiment.

  With the pressure regulator 50 held in the regulator holder 112 and the pressure regulator 110 with the clip 60 inserted in the regulator holder 112 is attached, the fuel supply device 100 is inserted from the opening 1a of the fuel tank 1 as shown in FIG. In this case, since the edge 61 of the clip 60 protrudes from the regulator holder 112 on the side opposite to the insertion direction, the edge 61 of the clip 60 comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the opening 1a, and the clip 60 comes out of the regulator holder 112. There is. If the clip 60 comes out of the regulator holder 112, the pressure regulator 50 may fall off the regulator holder 112.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, in a state where the clip 60 is inserted into the insertion port 46 of the regulator holder 42, the edge portion 46 a of the insertion port 46, which is opposite to the insertion direction of the clip 60, is inserted into the clip 60 rather than the clip 60. Since it is located on the opposite side to the direction, it is possible to prevent the clip 60 from contacting other members other than the pressure adjusting device 40 as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the clip 60 from coming out of the regulator holder 42 in contact with other members. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the pressure regulator 50 from dropping from the regulator holder 42.

In this embodiment, since the notch 47 is formed in the insertion port 46 of the regulator holder 42 so that the edge 61 of the clip 60 is exposed, the edge 61 of the clip 60 is hooked with a jig to regulate the regulator holder 42. The clip 60 can be easily pulled out from. Therefore, the pressure regulator 50 can be easily taken out from the regulator holder 42 when the pressure regulator 50 is replaced.
Further, since the shape of the clip 60 is U-shaped with the edge 61 closed, the clip 60 can be easily pulled out from the insertion port 46 by hooking one part of the edge 61 of the clip.

In this embodiment, the direction in which the clip 60 is inserted into the insertion port 46 and the direction in which the pressure regulator 50 is inserted into the regulator holder 42 are orthogonal to each other. That is, the direction in which the pressure regulator 50 drops off from the regulator holder 42 is different from the direction in which the clip 60 comes out of the regulator holder 42. Therefore, even when the pressure regulator 50 receives a force in the drop direction opposite to the insertion direction, the clip 60 is locked to the insertion port 46 in the direction in which the pressure regulator 50 is dropped from the regulator holder 42, thereby It is possible to prevent the pressure regulator 50 from falling off.
Further, since the corner portion 48 of the insertion port 46 of the regulator holder 42 is formed in an R shape, even if the corner portion 48 of the insertion port 46 collides with another member, the shape of the corner portion 48 can reduce the collision force. it can.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, the pressure regulator 40 having the regulator holder 42, the pressure regulator 50, and the clip 60 is used for the fuel supply device 10, and the fuel pressure is regulated by the pressure regulator 50. The pressure adjusting device 40 may be used as a pressure adjusting device for pressure adjustment.
In the above embodiment, the notch 47 is formed in the insertion port 46 so that the edge 61 of the clip 60 is exposed. However, the notch 47 is not formed in the insertion port 46 and the edge 61 of the clip 60 is inserted into the insertion port. The structure which is not exposed to may be sufficient.

Further, the shape of the drop-off preventing member is not limited to the U-shape of the present embodiment, and any shape may be used as long as the pressure regulator can be prevented from dropping from the holding member.
In this embodiment, the structure which accommodates a fuel pump in the sub tank 30 was employ | adopted as a pump module of a fuel supply apparatus, and the pressure regulation apparatus 40 was attached to the sub tank lid. In addition to this, the pressure adjusting device may be attached to any member as long as it is a member constituting the pump module of the present embodiment. Further, as the fuel supply device, a pump module having a fuel pump may be directly accommodated in the fuel tank without using a sub tank. In this case, the pressure regulator may be attached to a pump case that supports the fuel pump, for example, a filter case of a fuel filter that covers the periphery of the fuel pump.

(A) is a front view of the pressure regulation device by one Embodiment of this invention, (B) is a B direction arrow directional view of (A), (C) is a C direction arrow directional view of (A). is there. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the fuel supply device by this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2. (A) is a side view which shows the clip of this embodiment, (B) is a B direction arrow directional view of (A). It is sectional drawing which shows the assembly | attachment process of a pressure regulating device, (A) shows the process of inserting a pressure regulator in a regulator holder, (B) shows the process of inserting a clip in a regulator holder, (C) is assembly. Fig. 2 shows the pressure regulating device completed. (A) is a front view of the pressure regulator by a comparison form, (B) is a B direction arrow view of (A), (C) is a C direction arrow view of (A). It is explanatory drawing which looked at the insertion state of the fuel supply apparatus to the fuel tank by a comparison form from the inside of the fuel tank.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fuel supply device, 30 Subtank, 40 Pressure regulation device, 42 Regulator holder (holding member), 46 Insertion opening, 46a Edge, 47 Notch, 48 Corner | angular part, 50 Pressure regulator, 60 Clip (drop-off prevention member), 61 Edge

Claims (5)

A pressure regulator that regulates the fluid pressure;
A holding member for holding the pressure regulator;
A drop-off prevention member that is inserted into the holding member and prevents the pressure regulator from dropping from the holding member by being locked to the holding member in a direction in which the pressure regulator is dropped from the holding member.
With
The holding member has an insertion port for inserting the drop-off prevention member, and in a state where the drop-off prevention member is inserted into the holding member, an edge portion of the insertion port opposite to the insertion direction of the drop-off prevention member is The pressure adjusting device is located on the opposite side of the insertion direction from the drop-off preventing member.   The pressure adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein a part of the insertion port is cut out so that the edge of the drop-off preventing member is exposed.   The pressure regulating device according to claim 2, wherein the drop-off prevention member is formed in a U shape with the edge portion closed.   The pressure adjusting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a corner portion of the insertion port is formed in an R shape. A pump module housed in a fuel tank and pressurizing and discharging the fuel in the fuel tank;
The pressure regulating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the holding member is attached to the pump module, and the pressure regulator regulates the fuel pressure discharged from the pump module.
A fuel supply device comprising:

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