JP2006138260A - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel supply device capable of preventing plugging of a dust filter compared with a conventional one. <P>SOLUTION: (1) The fuel supply device has a fuel tank; an inlet pipe 30 provided with an oil filler port; an atmospheric line 40 communicating with the fuel tank through a canister and provided with the dust filter 42 on the line; a breather line 50 connected to the fuel tank and connected to the atmospheric line 40 on the fuel tank side rather than a part where the dust filter 42 is provided; a switching valve 60 allowing the breather line 50 and the atmospheric line 40 to communicate with each other when opened. (2) An open port part 43 on the atmosphere side of the atmospheric line 40 is disposed near the oil filler port of the inlet pipe 30, and the dust filter 42 is provided at the open port part 43. (3) The breather line 50 is connected to the atmospheric line 40 near the part where the dust filter 42 is provided. (4) The switching valve 60 is opened when an oil feed gun 80 is inserted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an automobile fuel supply device.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-252071 discloses a fuel supply apparatus in which a dust filter is provided on an air line around a fuel filler port of an inlet pipe.

However, the conventional fuel supply apparatus has the following problems.
The amount of air flowing from the open side of the air line to the fuel tank through the air line is a large flow rate (several tens of liters per minute) due to engine purge, but the air line is moved from the fuel tank to the open port side. The amount of air flowing is a small flow rate (several liters per minute or less) as the positive pressure is generated in the fuel tank. Therefore, the dust stacked on the atmosphere side surface of the dust filter cannot be removed with the air flow rate that flows from the fuel tank to the opening side of the atmosphere line. As a result, atmospheric dust accumulates on the atmospheric side of the dust filter, causing the dust filter to become clogged and increase ventilation resistance.
In particular, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-252071, since the dust filter is disposed around the oil filler opening, the atmospheric side of the dust filter faces obliquely upward, and the dust side is exposed to the atmospheric side of the dust filter. Since dust continues to accumulate, dust tends to be stacked on the air side surface of the dust filter.
It is conceivable to prevent an increase in ventilation resistance by using a dust filter as a regular replacement part or a large-sized part. However, in the case of using regular replacement parts, the cost increases. Further, when a large-sized component is used, the cost is increased and the degree of freedom in mounting is also reduced.
JP 2003-252071 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-205396

The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the dust filter is clogged.
The objective of this invention is providing the fuel supply apparatus which can prevent conventionally that a dust filter is clogged.

The present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.
(1) a fuel tank;
An inlet pipe with a filler opening;
An atmospheric line in which a dust filter is provided on the line communicating with the fuel tank via a canister;
A breather line connected to the fuel tank and connected to the air line on the fuel tank side of the part where the dust filter is provided;
A switching valve in which the breather line and the atmospheric line communicate with each other when the valve is opened;
A fuel supply device.
(2) The fuel supply device according to (1), wherein an opening on the atmosphere side of the atmosphere line is disposed in the vicinity of a fuel filler opening of the inlet pipe, and the dust filter is provided in the opening.
(3) The fuel supply device according to (2), wherein the breather line is connected to the atmospheric line in the vicinity of a portion where the dust filter is provided.
(4) The fuel supply device according to (1), wherein the switching valve is opened when a fuel gun for supplying fuel to the inlet pipe is inserted.

In the fuel supply device of the above (1), the breather line and the atmospheric line can be communicated with each other during refueling by opening the switching valve during refueling. Therefore, by opening the switching valve at the time of refueling, a large amount of air that was in the fuel tank at the time of refueling flows from the breather line to the atmospheric line and exits to the atmosphere through the dust filter. As a result, the dust accumulated on the atmosphere side of the dust filter at the time of refueling can be blown off (can be removed), and clogging of the dust filter can be prevented conventionally.
In the fuel supply device of (2) above, even when dust tends to accumulate on the atmosphere side of the dust filter, dust accumulated on the atmosphere side of the dust filter can be removed.
In the fuel supply device of (3) above, the air that has passed through the breather line passes through the dust filter with a high-speed flow. Therefore, the effect of removing dust is high.
In the fuel supply device of (4) above, since the switching valve opens when the fuel gun is inserted, the breather line and the atmospheric line can be communicated during fueling.

A fuel supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel supply device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a dust filter 42 on a line communicating with the fuel tank 20 through a fuel tank 20, an inlet pipe 30 having a fuel filler port 31, and a canister 41. , An air line 40 connected to the fuel tank 20 and connected to the air line 40 on the fuel tank 20 side of a portion where the dust filter 42 is provided, and the breather line 50 and the air line 40 when the valve is opened. And a switching valve 60 communicating with each other.

A fuel pump 21, a suction filter 22, and a fuel gauge device 23 are disposed in the fuel tank 20. Foreign matter in the fuel in the fuel tank 20 is removed by the suction filter 22. The fuel from which the foreign matter has been removed is pumped up by the fuel pump 21 and injected from the injector 71 to the intake manifold 72 through the fuel main line 70.
The fuel gauge device 23 includes a float 23a and an arm 23b that holds the float 23a. The position where the float 23a is present is taken out as an electrical signal. The extracted electrical signal is used for information on a fuel gauge arranged on an instrument panel which is an interior member of the vehicle.

  The inlet pipe 30 is a pipe for supplying fuel to the fuel tank 20. The oil filler port 31 of the inlet pipe 30 opens obliquely upward. A cap 32 is detachably attached to the fuel filler port 31. A check valve 33 that prevents the fuel in the fuel tank 20 from flowing back through the inlet pipe 30 and flowing from the fuel tank 20 toward the fuel filler 31 is provided at the end of the inlet pipe 30 opposite to the fuel filler 31. It has been.

  The atmospheric line 40 is provided to alleviate pressure fluctuations generated in the fuel tank 20 by introducing air into the fuel tank 20 through the atmospheric line 40 or exhausting air from the fuel tank 20 through the atmospheric line 40. It is done. The pressure fluctuation includes, for example, a negative pressure caused by fuel consumption, a temperature drop, an engine purge, or a positive pressure caused by fuel vapor generation due to a temperature rise or fuel fluctuation.

  The canister 41 adsorbs the fuel vapor evaporated from the fuel tank 20 with the activated carbon 41a, and reduces the release of the fuel vapor to the atmosphere through the atmosphere line 40. A part or all of the canister 41 is located in the fuel tank 20. The fuel vapor adsorbed by the canister 41 is sent to the engine 75 through the purge line 74 using the intake pipe negative pressure when the purge valve 73 is open, and is used for combustion. At that time, a large amount of air (several tens of liters per minute) is sucked through the atmospheric line 40. In the figure, reference numeral 76 is a throttle valve, and 77 is an air cleaner.

  The opening 43 on the atmosphere side of the atmosphere line 40 is disposed around (near) the fuel filler 31 of the inlet pipe 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the opening opening 43 opens obliquely upward. A dust filter 42 is provided at the opening 43. Since the dust filter 42 is provided in the opening part 43 opened obliquely upward, the air side surface 42a of the dust filter 42 faces obliquely upward, and dust A tends to accumulate on the air side surface 42a of the dust filter 42.

  The dust filter 42 is provided to remove dust, dust, and dirt in the atmosphere that enters the fuel tank 20 from the atmosphere line 40. The dust filter 42 may be a foam made of urethane or the like, and may be a nonwoven fabric such as polyester, a filter paper, or the like. By setting an appropriate amount of activated carbon (not shown) in the dust filter 42, diffusion of fuel vapor to the atmosphere during refueling may be reduced.

The breather line 50 is provided to reduce the pressure in the fuel tank 20 during refueling. As shown in FIG. 1, the breather line 50 is connected to the upper wall or upper end of the side wall of the fuel tank 20.
The inner diameter of the general diameter portion 50 a of the breather line 50 is larger than the inner diameter of the general diameter portion 40 a of the atmospheric line 40 and smaller than the inner diameter of the general diameter portion 30 a of the inlet pipe 30. The breather line 50 is connected to the atmospheric line 40 in the vicinity of a portion where the dust filter 42 is provided. The connecting portion between the breather line 50 and the atmospheric line 40 is provided with a partition wall 51 extending in the direction of reducing the cross-sectional area of the communication path between the breather line 50 and the atmospheric line 40 as shown in FIG. Yes.

The switching valve 60 is provided at a connection portion between the atmospheric line 40 and the breather line 50. The switching valve 60 may be an electromagnetic valve or a mechanically operated valve (in the illustrated example, a case of a mechanically operated valve is shown). When the switching valve 60 is an electromagnetic valve, for example, a switch signal for opening a fuel lid (not shown), a sensor for detecting that the cap 32 has been removed, and the like can be operated from closing to opening the valve.
Hereinafter, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the switching valve 60 is a mechanically operated valve will be described as an example.
The switching valve 60 has a head portion 61 and a shaft portion 62.

The head 61 can contact the side of the air line 40 of the partition wall 51. When the head 61 is in contact with the partition wall 51, the breather line 50 and the atmospheric line 40 are not in communication. The head 61 is in the atmospheric line 40 and does not enter the breather line 40.
The shaft portion 62 extends from the head 61 to the inlet pipe 30 side. The shaft portion 62 is inserted through the breather line 50 and protrudes into the inlet pipe 30. The front end surface in the protruding direction of the shaft portion 62 is an inclined surface 62a that inclines in a direction in which the amount entering the inlet pipe 30 increases as the distance from the oil filler port 31 of the inlet pipe 30 increases. The inclined surface 62a can be brought into sliding contact with the tip of the fuel gun 80 when the fuel gun 80 is inserted into the inlet pipe 30. When the fueling gun 80 is inserted into the inlet pipe 30, the tip part of the fueling gun 80 and the inclined surface 62 a are in sliding contact with each other, so that the shaft part 62 moves in a direction to come out of the inlet pipe 30.
The switching valve 60 is always urged by a valve urging spring 63 in a direction in which the head 61 is pressed against the partition wall 51. The valve urging spring 63 is made of a coil spring, for example. However, the valve urging spring 63 is not limited to a coil spring.

Here, the operation and action of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
(A) Normal time (except when refueling)
The head 61 of the switching valve 60 is pressed against the partition wall 51 by the biasing force of the valve biasing spring 63. The head 61 is in contact with the partition wall 51. A shaft portion 62 of the switching valve 60 enters the inlet pipe 30. Since the switching valve 60 is in the closed state, the breather line 50 and the atmospheric line 40 are not in communication (independent).
When the internal pressure of the fuel tank 20 is a negative pressure, the air from which dust or dirt has been removed by the dust filter 42 passes through the atmospheric line 40 and flows into the fuel tank 20 through the canister 41.
When the internal pressure of the fuel tank 20 is positive, the air in the fuel tank 20 flows out from the open port 43 through the atmospheric line 40 after the fuel vapor is removed by the canister 41. Since the air flow rate during normal pressure relief is about several liters per minute, the dust A stacked on the atmospheric side surface 42a of the dust filter 42 cannot be sufficiently removed.

(B) During refueling When the refueling gun 80 is inserted into the inlet pipe 30, the tip of the refueling gun 80 comes into sliding contact with the inclined surface 62 a of the shaft portion 62 of the switching valve 60, and the switching valve 60 is attached to the valve biasing spring 63. Push away against power. When the switching valve 60 is pushed away, the head 61 is separated from the partition wall 51 (the switching valve 60 is opened), and the breather line 50 and the atmospheric line 40 are communicated. When refueling in this state, a large amount of air of several tens of liters per minute flows out of the fuel tank 20 from the fuel tank 20 at a high flow rate. A large amount of air that has flowed out of the fuel tank 20 flows into the atmospheric line 40 from the breather line 50 and passes through the dust filter 42. At that time, the dust A accumulated on the air side surface 42a of the dust filter 42 is blown off.
Note that the air line 50 may be closed by providing a valve (not shown) different from the switching valve 60 during refueling, and the flow rate of air flowing from the breather line 50 to the dust filter 42 may be increased.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the embodiment of the present invention, since the switching valve 60 is opened at the time of refueling, a large amount of air that was in the fuel tank 20 at the time of refueling flows into the atmospheric line 40 from the breather line 50 and exits to the atmosphere through the dust filter 42. As a result, the dust A that has accumulated on the air side surface 42a of the dust filter 42 at the time of refueling can be blown off (can be removed), and the clogging of the dust filter 42 can be prevented from the conventional level. Therefore, stable ventilation resistance can be ensured even if the dust filter 42 is not designated as a regular replacement part or a large size part. Therefore, compared with the case where the dust filter 42 is designated as a regular replacement part or a large-sized part, effects such as an increase in the degree of mounting freedom and cost reduction can be obtained.
In particular, since the dust filter 42 is provided in the open port portion 42 disposed in the vicinity of the fuel filler port 31, dust A tends to accumulate on the atmospheric side surface 42 a of the dust filter 42, but the fuel supply device 10 of the embodiment of the present invention. According to this, dust A can be blown away. Therefore, even when dust A tends to accumulate on the atmospheric side surface 42a of the dust filter 42, the dust A accumulated on the atmospheric side surface 42a of the dust filter 42 can be removed.

Further, since the breather line 50 is connected to the atmospheric line 40 in the vicinity of the portion where the dust filter 42 is provided, the air passing through the breather line 50 passes through the dust filter 42 at a high speed.
Further, since the breather line 50 is connected to the atmospheric line 40 in the vicinity of the portion where the dust filter 42 is provided, the switching valve 60 can be pushed away by the fuel gun 80 when the fuel gun 80 is inserted into the fuel filler port 31. Therefore, the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the switching valve 60 is composed of an electromagnetic valve.

1 is a configuration diagram of a system provided with a fuel supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the switching valve of the fuel supply apparatus of this invention Example, and its vicinity.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fuel supply apparatus 20 Fuel tank 30 Inlet pipe 31 Refueling port 32 Cap 40 Atmospheric line 41 Canister 42 Dust filter 42a Dust filter atmospheric side 43 Atmospheric line opening 50 Breather line 60 Switching valve 61 Switching valve head 62 Switching Valve shaft 63 Valve urging spring 70 Fuel main line 74 Purge line 80 Lubrication gun A Dust

Claims (4)

A fuel tank,
An inlet pipe with a filler opening;
An atmospheric line in which a dust filter is provided on the line communicating with the fuel tank via a canister;
A breather line connected to the fuel tank and connected to the air line on the fuel tank side of the part where the dust filter is provided;
A switching valve in which the breather line and the atmospheric line communicate with each other when the valve is opened;
A fuel supply device.   2. The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein an opening on the atmosphere side of the atmosphere line is disposed in the vicinity of a fuel filler of the inlet pipe, and the dust filter is provided in the opening.   The fuel supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the breather line is connected to the atmospheric line in the vicinity of a portion where the dust filter is provided. The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the switching valve opens when a fuel gun for supplying fuel to the inlet pipe is inserted.

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