JP2006130939A - Fuel tank - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform feeding of a fuel into a tank without removing a tank cap from a tank body and to prevent losing of the tank cap. <P>SOLUTION: In the fuel tank, a support cylinder body 14 opened to a fuel feeding port 13 is arranged in the tank body 10. An inwardly projected projection 17 is provided on the support cylinder body 14, the tank cap 21 for closing the fuel feeding port 13 is mounted to a distal end of an inner cylinder body 20 movably attached into the support cylinder body 14 and a fuel pouring port 23 is formed. A guide groove 25 engaged with the projection 17 is formed on the support cylinder body 14 and the inner cylinder body 20 is guided by the projection 17 and the guide groove 25 and is moved between a full opening position where the fuel pouring port 23 is exposed to the outside and a full closing position where the tank cap 21 closes the fuel feeding port 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel tank that stores fuel supplied to an engine such as a general-purpose engine.

  General-purpose engines are widely used as power sources for generators, power sprayers and mowers. As a fuel tank for storing fuel supplied to an engine such as a general-purpose engine, for example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped container having a top wall, a bottom wall, front and rear, left and right side walls is used. An oil supply port for injecting fuel into the fuel tank is opened in the top wall, and an oil supply nozzle can be inserted into the oil supply port for refueling. A tank cap is detachably attached to the fuel filler port to prevent leakage of fuel and entry of foreign matters such as dust.

When refueling by removing the tank cap from the fuel filler port, the tank cap may be accidentally dropped on the ground to get dirty or lost. Conventionally, in order to prevent the tank cap from being lost, there is a fuel tank in which a locking body having a diameter larger than that of the fuel filler port is incorporated in the fuel tank and the locking body and the tank cap are connected by a string body. 1.
JP 2003-83187 A

  However, in this fuel tank, if the string body is disposed at the center of the fuel filler port, it is difficult to insert the fuel filler nozzle, which obstructs the fueling operation. If the string body that connects the tank cap and the locking body is formed of a highly rigid rod-shaped member, it is necessary to provide a long locking body in order to secure a sufficient working space around the opening of the fuel filler port when fueling. This cannot be achieved depending on the depth of the tank.

  On the other hand, if the locking body is made of a chain or resin wire, the tank cap is suspended from the filler port or held with one hand when refueling. In the former case, the outer periphery of the fuel tank is used. Dust adhering to the surface may adhere to the string body or tank cap and enter the fuel tank. In the latter case, one hand is blocked and the refueling operation cannot be performed smoothly. In addition, after refueling, an operation of returning the locking body from the refueling port into the fuel tank is generated, which is complicated.

  An object of the present invention is to allow fuel to be supplied into a tank without separating the tank cap from the tank body, and to prevent the tank cap from being lost.

  Another object of the present invention is to prevent foreign matters from being mixed into the fuel tank during the refueling operation.

  A fuel tank according to the present invention is a fuel tank that stores fuel supplied to an engine, and is attached to a tank body that stores fuel, and a support cylinder that communicates with a fuel filler opening formed in the tank body; An inner cylinder that is movably mounted in the support cylinder, has a tank cap that closes the fuel filler opening at the tip, and has a fuel spout formed at the tip, and one of the support cylinder and the inner cylinder A protrusion provided on the support cylinder and the other of the support cylinder and the inner cylinder. The protrusion is engaged with the protrusion, and the protrusion is engaged with the inner cylinder so that the fuel spout is exposed to the outside. The tank cap has a guide groove for guiding between the tank cap and a fully closed position for closing the fuel filler opening.

  In the fuel tank according to the present invention, a fully open engaging portion that engages and fixes the inner cylindrical body when the inner cylindrical body is in the fully opened position is connected to one end portion of the guide groove. Features.

  In the fuel tank of the present invention, a full-close engaging portion that engages and fixes the inner cylinder when the inner cylinder is in the fully-closed position is connected to the other end of the guide groove. It is characterized by doing.

  In the fuel tank of the present invention, the guide groove is formed to be inclined in the circumferential direction from one end to the other end of the guide groove, and the inner cylinder is moved between the fully open position and the fully closed position. The inner cylinder is sometimes rotated.

  The fuel tank according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the guide grooves and the protrusions are provided.

  According to the present invention, the movement range of the inner cylinder provided with the tank cap is restricted by the engagement of the protrusion and the guide groove with respect to the support cylinder that supports the inner cylinder so as to be movable. It is possible to prevent the tank cap from being lost without being detached from the tank body. When refueling, fuel can be injected into the tank body by pulling out the tank cap and the inner cylinder from the tank body and exposing the fuel spout to the outside. At that time, since the tank cap does not come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tank main body, there is no possibility that dust adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the tank main body will adhere to these members and enter the fuel tank.

  According to the present invention, when the tank cap is operated to the fully open position, the projection engages with the fully opening engaging portion of the guide groove, and the fuel cap is pulled out to the outside of the tank main body so that the tank cap is in the fully open position. Since it can hold | maintain to a tank main body via a cylinder, an operator can insert a fuel supply nozzle into the inside of an inner cylinder from a fuel pouring opening using both hands, and can perform a fuel supply operation | work smoothly.

  According to the present invention, when the tank cap is operated to the fully closed position, the protrusion engages with the fully closed engaging portion of the guide groove and can apply a tightening force to the tank cap. The opening can be securely closed by the tank cap, and fuel can be prevented from leaking from the fuel tank when the engine is used.

  A guide groove for restricting the range of movement of the inner cylinder relative to the support cylinder, and a full-open engagement part and a full-close engagement part provided respectively in connection with the guide groove are provided on either the inner cylinder or the support cylinder. Protrusions formed and engaged therewith can be formed on either one.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a general-purpose engine, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. The general-purpose engine shown in the figure is a single-cylinder four-cycle general-purpose engine used for driving a generator or the like, and a cylinder 3 is provided in a crankcase 2 in which a crankshaft 1 is rotatably incorporated. An engine body is formed by the crankcase 2 and the cylinder 3, and the crankshaft 1 is rotationally driven by a piston that reciprocates in the cylinder 3. The crankcase 2 is provided with a recoil starter 4 for starting the engine as shown in FIG. 2, and the crankshaft 1 is rotated by manually operating the recoil knob 5 to start the engine. Above the engine body, there is a fuel tank 6 for storing fuel supplied to the engine, an air cleaner 7 for cleaning air supplied to the engine, and exhaust noise of exhaust gas discharged from the combustion chamber. A muffler 8 is attached for reduction.

  The illustrated fuel tank 6 has a tank body 10 composed of a lower case 9a and an upper case 9b formed by pressing a sheet metal. The lower case 9a includes a bottom plate and front, rear, left and right side walls integrated with the bottom plate, and has a cross-sectional cup shape that opens upward. The upper case 9b includes a top wall and left and right side walls integrated with the top wall, and has a cross-sectional cup shape that opens downward. Each side wall of the lower case 9a and the upper case 9b is inclined in a direction that widens toward the opening side, and a flange bent so as to protrude outward is formed at the opening side edge of each side wall. . The lower case 9a and the upper case 9b are abutted at the respective openings, and the overlapping flanges of the cases 9a and 9b are welded by beam welding or the like, or the upper case 9b side flange is bent to the lower case 9a side flange. When caulking, both cases 9a and 9b are joined at the flange 11 to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped tank body 10 having a fuel storage chamber therein. The fuel tank 6 is attached to the engine body by fastening bolts 12 attached to the bottom wall of the lower case 9a, and the fuel stored in the tank wall 10 is supplied to the engine via the carburetor. An outlet (not shown) is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a portion of the fuel filler opening of the fuel tank, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a partially cutaway inside of the upper case of the fuel tank, and FIG. FIG. 5B is a partially cutaway front view of the fuel tank when the cap is fully closed, and FIG. 5B is a partially cutaway front view of the fuel tank when the tank cap is fully opened.

  A circular refueling port 13 for injecting fuel into the tank body 10 is formed on the top wall of the upper case 9b. A support cylinder 14 communicating with the refueling port 13 is fixed in the tank body 10. Yes. A flange 15 that is fixed around the fuel filler 13 is provided at one end of the support cylinder 14, and the other end communicates with a fuel storage chamber in the tank body 10.

  An inner cylinder 20 is mounted in the support cylinder 14 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. A tank cap 21 is attached and fixed to the tip of the inner cylinder 20, and the tip of the inner cylinder 20 is The rear end communicates with the fuel storage chamber. An annular packing 22 that is in close contact with the flange 15 and closes the oil supply port 13 is incorporated in the tank cap 21 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a fuel spout 23 exposed to the outside when the inner cylinder 20 is pulled out from the tank body 10 to the fully open position is formed at the tip of the inner cylinder 20. By inserting the fuel filler nozzle 24, fuel can be injected into the tank body 10 via the inner cylinder 20. As shown in FIG. 3, two fuel spouts 23 are formed in the inner cylinder 20 so as to face each other.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (A), the inner cylindrical body 20 is restricted by moving the inner cylindrical body 20 between the fully closed position of the tank cap 21 and the fully opened position of the tank cap 21 shown in FIG. 5 (B). In order to prevent the tank cap 21 and the tank body 10 from being detached, as shown in FIG. 4, two mounting holes 16 are formed at the other end of the support cylinder 14 so as to face each other. A cam pin, that is, a protrusion 17 is attached to each of the protrusions 17, and each protrusion 17 protrudes radially inward. As shown in FIG. 4, each protrusion 17 has a pin body 18 having a circular cross section and a head 19 having a larger diameter than the pin body 18 and is fixed to the support cylinder 14 by welding or caulking.

  The inner cylinder 20 is formed with guide grooves 25 for engaging the respective protrusions 17, and the inner cylinder 20 is moved to a fully closed position where the tank cap 21 closes the fuel filler opening 13 as shown in FIG. When inserted, the projection 17 relatively moves to the fully closed position on the upper end side of the guide groove 25. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the inner cylinder 20 is pulled out to the fully open position where the tank cap 21 is separated from the fuel filler port 13 and the entire fuel spout 23 is exposed to the outside, the lower end portion of the guide groove 25 The protrusion 17 is relatively moved to the fully open position on the side, and the protrusion 17 is in contact with the fully open position of the guide groove 25, thereby preventing the inner cylinder 20 from being pulled out further.

  FIG. 6A is a development view showing the inner surface of the inner cylinder 20, and each guide groove 25 extends in the longitudinal direction, that is, the axial direction of the inner cylinder 20 and is inclined in the circumferential direction. When the cylindrical body 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape, each guide groove 25 is spiral. A fully open engaging portion 26 is formed in communication with the fully open position on the lower end side of the guide groove 25, and the fully open engaging portion 26 is oriented substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction. A fully closing engagement portion 27 is formed in communication with the fully closed position on the upper end portion side of the guide groove 25, and this fully closing engagement portion 27 extends to the opposite side with respect to the fully opening engagement portion 26. In addition, it is inclined toward the lower end of the inner cylinder 20, that is, toward the fully opening engaging portion 26.

  Since the guide groove 25 is inclined as described above, when the inner cylinder 20 is pulled out and inserted, the inner cylinder 20 is rotated by being guided by the fixed protrusion 17. When the operator holds the tank cap 21 in his hand and moves the inner cylinder 20 from the fully closed position to the fully open position, the guide groove 25 rotates the tank cap 21 counterclockwise when viewed from the top surface, and fully moves from the fully open position. When it is moved to the closed position, it is inclined to rotate clockwise. When the inner cylinder 20 is moved until the fully closed position of the guide groove 25 reaches the position of the protrusion 17 and the packing 22 is in contact with the fuel filler port 13, the inner cylinder 20 is further rotated in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 5A, the protrusion 17 is engaged in the full-close engagement portion 27 of the guide groove 25. Since the full-close engaging portion 27 is inclined as described above, the packing 22 is elastically contracted by the engaging rotation, a tightening force is applied to the flange 15, and the oil supply port 13 is reliably sealed by the packing 22. The In addition, since the full-close engagement portion 27 is inclined as described above, it is necessary to slightly contract the packing 22 in order to open the tank cap 21, and the tank cap 21 must be applied unless a rotational force exceeding a predetermined value is applied. Is not opened, it is possible to reliably prevent the tank cap 21 from being inadvertently opened.

  On the other hand, when the inner cylindrical body 20 is further rotated in the same direction after being pulled out to the fully open position as shown in FIG. 5B, the protrusion 17 is engaged in the fully opening engaging portion 26 of the guide groove 25. Thus, even if the drawing operation is finished in this state, the inner cylinder 20 is prevented from moving by its own weight and entering the tank body 10, so that the inner cylinder 20 with the fuel spout 23 exposed to the outside is prevented. Thus, the fuel can be smoothly injected into the tank body 10 from the fuel filler nozzle 24 without the operator holding it. If the guide groove 25 is formed straight in the axial direction without being inclined in the circumferential direction, the inner cylinder 20 is not rotated when the inner cylinder 20 is moved between the fully closed position and the fully opened position. First, the protrusion 17 is rotated when it is engaged with the fully opening engaging portion 26 or the fully closing engaging portion 27. Further, when the inner cylinder 20 is rotated from the fully open state to the fully closed state by tilting the fully opening engaging portion 26, rotational resistance due to its own weight may be applied to the operator.

  FIG. 6B is a development view of the inner cylinder 20 according to another embodiment. The inner cylinder 20 has one guide groove 25 and one fuel spout 23 formed therein. ing. Thus, the number of the guide grooves 25 and the fuel spouts 23 can be set arbitrarily.

  FIG. 7A is a partially cutaway front view of a fuel tank according to another embodiment of the present invention in a fully closed state of the tank cap, and FIG. 7B is a view of FIG. It is a partially cutaway front view of the fuel tank shown to A).

  A protrusion 17 is fixed to the inner cylinder 20 in the fuel tank 6, and the protrusion 17 protrudes radially outward. On the other hand, a guide groove 25 with which the protrusion 17 engages is formed in the support cylinder 14, and this guide groove 25 is inclined in the opposite direction of the above-described guide groove 25, and the guide groove 25 is fully opened at its upper end. A fully-opening engaging portion 26 is formed continuously with the position, and a fully-closing engaging portion 27 is formed continuously with the fully closed position of the lower end portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a cam pin formed by a protrusion 17 is provided on one of a support cylinder 14 fixed to the tank body 10 and an inner cylinder 20 that is movably mounted inside the support cylinder 14. Since the second cam as the cam groove formed by the guide groove 25 with which the projection 17 engages is provided on the other side, the inner cylinder 20 is connected to the support cylinder 14. Accordingly, the movement range is restricted between the fully open position and the fully closed position of the tank cap 21, and the tank cap 21 is prevented from being lost without being removed. Further, the tank cap 21 can be fixed at the fully opened position and the fully closed position by the rotation of the inner cylindrical body 20 by the fully opening engaging portion 26 and the fully closing engaging portion 27 provided continuously to the guide groove 25. it can.

  When the guide groove 25 is formed in the inner cylindrical body 20, the lower end portion in FIG. 6 becomes the fully opening engagement portion 26 and the upper end portion becomes the fully closing engagement portion 27, whereas FIG. In this case, the lower end portion shown in FIG. 7 becomes the full-close engagement portion 27, and the upper end portion becomes the full-open engagement portion 26.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the illustrated case, the support cylinder 14 is fixed to the top wall of the tank body 10, but is fixed to the bottom wall or to the side wall via an auxiliary member extending toward the side wall. May be. Further, a strainer for preventing foreign matter from entering inside the inner cylinder 20 may be arranged. This fuel tank 6 is not only a general-purpose engine fuel tank used as a drive source for generators, power sprayers, mowers, etc., but also an internal combustion engine fuel tank mounted on a buggy or a small ship, It can be widely applied as a fuel tank for supplying fuel to a heater such as a heater. The shape of the tank main body 10 is not limited to the shape shown in the figure, and can be any shape corresponding to the engine to be mounted. You may make it incline and attach in the main body.

It is a front view which shows an example of a general purpose engine. It is a top view of FIG. It is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a portion of a fuel filler port of a fuel tank. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the inner side of the upper case of the fuel tank. (A) is a partially cutaway front view of the fuel tank when the tank cap is fully closed, and (B) is a partially cutaway front view of the fuel tank when the tank cap is fully opened. (A) is an expanded view which shows the inner surface of an inner side cylinder, (B) is an expanded view which shows the inner surface of the inner side cylinder which is other embodiment of this invention. (A) is a partially cutaway front view of a fuel tank according to another embodiment of the present invention when the tank cap is fully closed, and (B) is the fuel shown in (A) when the tank cap is fully open. It is a partially cutaway front view of a tank.

Explanation of symbols

6 Fuel tank 10 Tank main body 13 Refueling port 14 Support cylinder 17 Protrusion 20 Inner cylinder 21 Tank cap 23 Fuel spout 25 Guide groove 26 Engagement part for full opening 27 Engagement part for full closure

Claims (5)

A fuel tank for storing fuel supplied to an engine,
A support cylinder that is mounted in a tank body that stores fuel and communicates with a fuel filler port formed in the tank body;
An inner cylinder that is movably mounted in the support cylinder, a tank cap that closes the fuel filler opening is attached to the tip, and a fuel spout is formed at the tip;
A protrusion provided on one of the support cylinder and the inner cylinder;
The other end of the support cylinder and the inner cylinder is formed to extend in the vertical direction, the protrusion engages with the inner cylinder, and the fuel cap is exposed to the outside. A fuel tank having a guide groove for guiding between a fully closed position for closing a fuel filler opening.   2. The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein a fully-open engaging portion that engages and fixes the inner cylinder when the inner cylinder is in the fully-open position is connected to one end of the guide groove. A fuel tank characterized by that.   3. The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein a full-close engagement portion that engages and fixes the inner cylinder when the inner cylinder is in the fully closed position is the other end of the guide groove. A fuel tank characterized by being formed continuously.   The fuel tank according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the guide groove is formed to be inclined in a circumferential direction from one end to the other end of the guide groove, and the inner cylindrical body is set to the fully opened position. The fuel tank, wherein the inner cylinder is rotated when moving between the fully closed positions. The fuel tank according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of the guide grooves and the protrusions are provided.

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