JP2011116209A - Arrangement structure of canister - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an arrangement structure of a canister for arranging the canister under a rear seat. <P>SOLUTION: In the arrangement structure of the canister, the canister 50 connected to a fuel tank 20 for a vehicle V via a vapor passage to adsorb vapor in the fuel tank 20 is arranged under a floor panel of the vehicle V. The fuel tank 20 has a notch 20S with a shape in accordance with the canister 50. The canister 50 is arranged in this notch 20S and fixed onto the floor panel. Besides, a vehicle front surface and both side surfaces of the canister 50 are covered with the fuel tank 20, and an exhaust pipe is arranged in the vehicle downward side of the canister 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a canister arrangement structure that adsorbs evaporated fuel from a fuel tank and prevents discharge to the outside.

  The fuel that evaporates from the fuel tank is temporarily adsorbed by an adsorbent such as activated carbon, and the evaporated fuel is desorbed (purged) from the adsorbent by the negative pressure generated during engine operation, and supplied to the engine intake system. Various canisters have been proposed in which the release of evaporated fuel into the atmosphere is prevented.

  Such a canister needs to be mounted not only on a vehicle equipped with only an internal combustion engine (engine) but also on a hybrid vehicle combining an engine and a motor, for example, from the viewpoint of environmental measures. In the case of such a hybrid vehicle, a high-potential battery for supplying electric power to a traveling motor is disposed at the rear of the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3707734 (FIG. 2)

  However, in a hybrid vehicle in which a high potential battery is mounted at the rear of the vehicle, it is necessary to place a fuel tank in the space under the rear seat and to pass an exhaust pipe below the fuel tank. It was difficult to secure a space for placing the canister in the space.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a canister arrangement structure in which a canister can be arranged under a rear seat.

  The present invention relates to a canister arrangement structure in which a canister for adsorbing the vapor of the fuel tank is arranged under a vehicle floor panel, which is connected to the fuel tank for the vehicle by a vapor passage, and the canister And the canister is disposed in the notch, and the canister is attached to the floor panel.

  According to this, since the canister can be disposed in the space formed by notching a part of the fuel tank into a shape corresponding to the canister, the canister can be disposed under the rear seat. . In addition, by cutting out the fuel tank along the shape of the canister, it is possible to prevent a significant reduction in the capacity of the fuel tank. In addition, notching a fuel tank means forming the hollow part which can arrange | position a canister in a fuel tank.

  Further, the vehicle front surface and both side surfaces of the canister are covered with the fuel tank.

  According to this, since the canister is covered with the fuel tank, it is possible to absorb the impact caused by the swing of the canister by contacting the fuel tank when the vehicle swings and the canister swings. become. That is, even if the canister swings in the space of the notch and hits the fuel tank, the fuel tank can absorb the impact.

  In addition, an exhaust pipe for exhaust gas exhaust to the atmosphere is disposed in the vehicle downward direction of the canister.

  According to this, since the exhaust pipe is disposed on the lower side of the canister, it becomes possible to protect the canister from being grounded when, for example, the vehicle gets over the step.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the canister arrangement | positioning structure which can arrange | position a canister under a backseat can be provided.

It is a schematic plan view when the canister arrangement structure according to the present embodiment is applied to a vehicle. It is a schematic side view when the canister arrangement structure according to the present embodiment is applied to a vehicle. It is a perspective view which shows the canister arrangement structure which concerns on this embodiment. It is a bottom view which shows the arrangement structure of the canister which concerns on this embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view in the AA line of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an example of the canister arrangement structure according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following, a vehicle V (so-called e-4WD) in which front wheels are driven by an engine and rear wheels are driven by a motor will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a drive system. You may apply to the vehicle which mounts the high voltage battery for driving an engine and a traveling motor in the front part, and driving a traveling motor in the rear part. In this embodiment, a two-box type vehicle will be described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a three-box type vehicle, and a vehicle in which a space for installing a canister can not be provided before and after the fuel tank. If there is, it is not limited to the above-mentioned type of vehicle. In the following description, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “upper”, and “lower” are directions based on the vehicle body 1 of the vehicle V unless otherwise specified. It shall be shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body 1 is a vehicle V fixing member to which an engine 10, a fuel tank 20, a rear wheel drive unit 30, an exhaust system 40, a canister 50, and the like are fixed. , Cross members 3, 3, 3, 3, floor panel 4 (see FIG. 2) and other frame members and panel members. As for the exhaust system 40, only the rear side of the vehicle V is illustrated.

  The side frames 2 are a pair of left and right skeleton members extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 1 and are disposed on the left and right outer sides of the fuel tank 20.

  The cross member 3 is a skeletal member constructed so as to be orthogonal to the left and right side frames 2, and a plurality of cross members 3 are provided in front of and behind the fuel tank 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the floor panel 4 is a member that constitutes the floor surface of the vehicle V, is formed of a metal flat plate member such as a steel plate, and includes a side frame 2 (see FIG. 1) and a cross member 3 (see FIG. 2). 1). Further, the floor panel 4 is formed, for example, at a position where the surface 4a on which the front seat ST1 is placed is lowest, and the surface 4b on which the rear seat ST2 is placed is located above the surface 4a and It has a stepped portion 4b1, and a surface 4c located rearward of the rear seat ST2 is located above the surface 4b, and has a stepped portion 4c1 protruding upward. Is formed.

  A fuel tank 20 and a canister 50, which will be described later, are disposed in a space communicating with the outside of the vehicle located below the step portion 4b1 formed in the floor panel 4, and a space communicating with the outside of the vehicle located below the step portion 4c1. A rear wheel drive unit 30 which will be described later is disposed.

  The engine 10 is supplied with the fuel in the fuel tank 20 and generates a driving force for driving the front wheels FW, and is composed of, for example, an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel tank 20 is a hollow flat container made of a synthetic resin for storing liquids such as gasoline and light oil, and the center portion 20 a in the vehicle width direction (left and right direction) is left and right. It has a saddle shape that swells above both side portions 20b and 20c. Therefore, a concave portion 20a1 curved upward is formed in the lower portion of the center portion 20a in the vehicle width direction of the fuel tank 20, and a convex portion 20a2 protruding upward is formed in the upper portion of the central portion 20a.

  The fuel tank 20 has a substantially trapezoidal shape when viewed from above, and both end edges in the vehicle width direction (left-right direction) are located in the vicinity of the pair of side frames 2 and 2 (FIG. 1). The front end edge in the front-rear direction is positioned in the vicinity of the cross member 3A (3), and the rear end edge is positioned in the vicinity of the front end edge of the subframe SF on which the rear wheel drive unit 30 is mounted (see FIG. (See FIG. 1).

  Further, the fuel tank 20 has a notch 20S (a depression formed in a concave shape from the rear end edge to the front, which is notched forward from the rear end edge to the front at the center in the vehicle width direction. Part). Further, the notch 20S has a shape that is open so as to penetrate in the vertical direction (vertical direction). The notch 20S is formed in a space that can accommodate a canister 50 to be described later, and is substantially U-shaped when viewed from above by a front surface 20s1, a left surface 20s2, and a right surface 20s3 that are continuous in the horizontal direction. (Refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4).

  Further, on the upper surface of the fuel tank 20, pump modules 21, 21 and a fuel cut valve 22 incorporating a float valve that closes when the tank is full are provided (see FIGS. 1 and 3). In addition, the pipe etc. which connect the fuel tank 20 and the fuel filler opening are omitted.

  The pump module 21 includes a suction filter for removing foreign matter in the fuel (not shown), a fuel pump for sending fuel from the fuel supply pipe P1 to the injector 6, and a fuel level gauge for detecting the fuel level in the fuel tank 20. It is equipped with a vent relief valve. The pump module 21 houses these devices in a unit case and is installed in the upper part of the fuel tank 20. One pump module 21 is connected to the other pump module 21 in the fuel tank 20 via a pipe (not shown), and the fuel sucked by the other pump module 21 passes through the pipe. These are sent to the engine 10 through one pump module 21 and the fuel supply pipe P1.

  The fuel tank 20 is fixed to the vehicle body 1 by flat tank bands B1 and B2 provided on the left and right. That is, the tank bands B1 and B2 are stretched from the bottom side of the fuel tank 20 in the front-rear direction, and the upright portions b1 and b1 bent upward at the front end portion are bolted to the lower surface of the cross member 3A (3). The standing parts b2 and b2 which are fixed via the upper end and bent upward at the rear end are fixed to the lower surface of the floor panel 4 via bolts (see FIG. 4). The other ends of the tank bands B1, B2 are not limited to the floor panel 4, and may be fixed to a cross member (not shown).

  The rear wheel drive unit 30 is a power source for driving the rear wheels RW and RW of the vehicle V, and includes a drive motor 31 (see FIG. 2), a high voltage battery 32, a differential gear (not shown), and the like. These are collected and attached to the subframe SF, and the subframe SF is fixed to the side frames 2 and 2 of the vehicle body 1.

  The drive motor 31 is composed of a three-phase AC synchronous motor or the like, and converts DC power from the high voltage battery 32 into AC power via a PDU (Power Drive Unit) 8 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) equipped with an inverter. After being driven. The driving force from the drive motor 31 is transmitted to the rear wheels RW and RW via a reduction mechanism, a clutch, etc. (not shown).

  The high voltage battery 32 is made of a rechargeable battery such as nickel metal hydride or lithium ion, and is fixed to the center in the vehicle width direction on the subframe SF. The high voltage battery 32 is connected to the PDU 8 via a battery wire (not shown) arranged along the front-rear direction of the vehicle V, and the PDU 8 is a three-phase arranged along the front-rear direction of the vehicle V. It is connected to a drive motor 31 at the rear of the vehicle via a line.

  The exhaust system 40 is connected to the exhaust manifold of the engine 10 and is formed such that exhaust pipes 41A and 41B branched in the middle extend in the front-rear direction and communicate with the atmosphere (outside air) at the rear end of the vehicle V. Has been. A catalytic converter (not shown) is provided upstream of the exhaust pipes 41A and 41B before branching. The catalytic converter has a function of purifying harmful components such as HC, CO, and NOx contained in the exhaust gas.

  Each exhaust pipe 41A, 41B has auxiliary silencers (so-called pre-chambers) 42A, 42B and main silencers 43A, 43B in order from the upstream side, and is supported by the vehicle body 1 via a plurality of support members (not shown). ing.

  The auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B suppress noise (noise) caused by exhaust gas from the engine 10 passing through the exhaust pipes 41A and 41B, respectively, and are formed in a cylindrical shape by a heat-resistant metal plate such as stainless steel. In addition, a part of the exhaust pipes 41A and 41B is configured as a part whose diameter is larger than the diameter of the exhaust pipes 41A and 41B.

  The main silencers 43A and 43B further suppress noise caused by exhaust gas discharged from the auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B, respectively, and are formed of a heat-resistant metal plate such as stainless steel (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 1). (See FIG. 2). The main silencers 43A and 43B are partitioned into a plurality of spaces using, for example, partition plates or pipes, and ensure output in the high speed rotation region of the engine 10 during acceleration traveling or high speed traveling. Further, the engine 10 is configured to ensure quietness in the low-speed rotation region during idling or low-speed running and to reduce exhaust noise.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary silencers 42 </ b> A and 42 </ b> B are disposed so as to pass through the recess 20 a 1 at the center in the vehicle width direction of the fuel tank 20 with the axial direction thereof in the front-rear direction. Further, the auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B are arranged so that the entirety thereof is positioned below the vertical direction of the fuel tank 20 (see FIG. 5). Thus, by arranging the auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B in two, it becomes possible to suppress the height of the auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B, and to secure the installation space for the canister 50 to be described later. It is possible.

  The canister 50 captures the vaporized fuel (vapor) in the fuel tank 20 and temporarily stores it, thereby preventing the vaporized fuel from being released into the atmosphere. The air is taken out by the air sucked by the intake negative pressure and supplied to the intake manifold 7 of the engine 10.

  Further, the canister 50 has a main case 51 and a sub case 52 (see FIG. 3) each formed in a cylindrical shape (cylindrical shape or rectangular tube shape) with a synthetic resin or the like, and a filter box (not shown). . The main case 51 and the sub case 52 are arranged so that the respective axial directions are directed in the front-rear direction of the vehicle V and are aligned in the vehicle width direction so as to be located in the notch portion 20S of the fuel tank 20. .

  In the canister 50, the front surface 51a of the main case 51 and the front surface 52a of the sub case 52 (the vehicle front surface of the canister 50) are opposed to the front surface 20s1 of the cutout portion 20S of the fuel tank 20 (see FIG. 4). Further, the side surface 51b of the main case 51 is disposed so as to face the left side surface 20s2 of the cutout portion 20S, and the side surface 52b of the sub case 52 is disposed to face the right side surface 20s3 of the cutout portion 20S. Further, the right side surface 20s3 of the notch portion 20S and the side surface 52b of the canister 50 have a slight gap G2 so that the left side surface 20s2 of the notch portion 20S forms a slight gap G1 with the side surface 51b of the canister 50. The shape of the notch 20S is set so as to be formed. By setting the gaps G1 and G2 small, it is possible to suppress the capacity reduction of the fuel tank 20.

  The main case 51 and the sub case 52 are filled with an adsorbent such as activated carbon for adsorbing evaporated fuel (vapor) introduced from the fuel tank 20. Further, the canister 50 is connected on the rear end side by a communication portion 54 in which the inside of the main case 51 and the inside of the sub case 52 communicate.

  The main case 51 is connected to the fuel tank 20 via an evaporated fuel introduction pipe (vapor passage) P3 (see FIG. 3). The evaporative fuel introduction pipe P3 is connected to a fuel cut valve 22 formed on the convex portion 20a2 of the central portion 20a of the fuel tank 20 in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 3). The main case 51 is connected to the engine 10 side via a purge pipe P2.

  In this way, the notch portion 20S is formed in the center of the vertical fuel tank 20 in the vehicle width direction, and the canister 50 is disposed in the notch portion 20S, whereby the fuel tank 20, the canister 50, The length of the evaporative fuel introduction pipe P3 that connects the two can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced, the weight can be reduced, and the permeation amount of the evaporative fuel can be reduced.

  The filter box (not shown) prevents foreign substances contained in the atmosphere from entering the sub chamber of the sub case 52, and a known filter (not shown) is accommodated therein. The filter box is connected to the sub case 52 via a pipe (not shown) and has an opening (not shown) communicating with the atmosphere. In addition, the filter box can be provided in the upper part or the lower part of the main case 51 and the sub case 52 so that it may be accommodated in the notch part 20S, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the canister 50 housing (main case 51, sub case 52) is provided with a bracket 55 for mounting a canister at the rear end and a bracket 56 at the front end. Each bracket 55, 56 is formed with a bolt insertion hole (not shown) through which a fixing bolt is inserted so as to penetrate in the vertical direction.

  On the other hand, the brackets 55 and 56 provided on the canister 50 are fixed via fixing members 5a and 5b fixed to the lower surface of the floor panel 4 and bolts and nuts (not shown). At this time, the lower surface 50a of the canister 50 is set to have substantially the same height as the lower surface 20a3 (see FIG. 5) of the central portion 20a of the fuel tank 20.

  In FIG. 5, only the sub case 52 of the canister 50 is shown, but the main case 51 is also provided with a bracket on the housing, and this bracket is bolted through a fixing member fixed to the floor panel 4. And fixed with nuts. Further, the lower surface of the main case 51 at this time is also set to the same height position as the lower surface 50a of the sub case 52.

  As a result, the auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B (exhaust pipes 41A and 41B) can be arranged below the canister 50. Specifically, the auxiliary silencer 42B is located below the main case 51 of the canister 50, and the auxiliary silencer 42A is located below the sub case 52 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

  As described above, according to the canister arrangement structure of the present embodiment, the fuel tank 20 is configured to have the notch (depression) 20S having a shape corresponding to the canister 50, and this notch 20S. Since the canister 50 is disposed on the floor panel 4 and the canister 50 is attached to the floor panel 4, the canister 50 can be disposed even if the canister 50 cannot be secured before and after the fuel tank 20. Can be secured. In addition, since the shape of the notch 20S is made to correspond to the canister 50, it is possible to prevent the capacity of the fuel tank 20 from being significantly reduced.

  Further, according to the canister arrangement structure of the present embodiment, the canister 50 is notched so that the vehicle front surface (front surfaces 51a, 51b) and both side surfaces (side surfaces 51b, 51b) of the canister 50 are covered with the fuel tank 20. Since the canister 50 contacts the fuel tank 20 when the vehicle V swings and the canister 50 also swings during traveling, the impact at the contact of the canister 50 is caused by the fuel tank 20. It becomes possible to absorb.

  Further, according to the canister arrangement structure of the present embodiment, the exhaust pipes 41A and 41B (auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B) are disposed on the lower side of the canister 50. For example, when the vehicle gets over a step For example, the ground protection of the canister 50 can be achieved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the canister 50 is not limited to being disposed in the cutout portion 20S formed in the central portion 20a of the fuel tank 20, and the cutout portion may be disposed on the right side or the left side of the central portion 20a of the fuel tank 20. Good.

  Further, the position of the cutout portion 20S is determined so that only the main case 51 of the canister 50 is positioned above the auxiliary silencers 42A and 42B and the sub case 52 is located away from the auxiliary silencers 41 and 41B. Also good.

  The method of fixing the canister 50 to the floor panel 4 to the vehicle body 1 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and a plurality of elongated plate members are bridged from the bottom side of the canister 50 in the vehicle width direction. Thus, both end portions of the plate-like member may be fixed to the floor panel 4 on both the left and right sides of the canister 50.

4 Floor panel 20 Fuel tank 20S Notch 41A, 41B Exhaust pipe 42A, 42B Auxiliary silencer 50 Canister 51 Main case 51a Front (vehicle front)
51b Left side (side)
52 Sub case 52a Front (vehicle front)
52b Right side (side)
P3 Evaporative fuel introduction pipe (vapor passage)
V vehicle

Claims (3)

A canister arrangement structure in which a canister for adsorbing the vapor of the fuel tank is arranged under a vehicle floor panel, connected to the fuel tank for the vehicle by a vapor passage,
The fuel tank has a notch having a shape corresponding to the canister, the canister is arranged in the notch, and the canister is attached to the floor panel.   2. The canister arrangement structure according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle front surface and both side surfaces of the canister are covered with the fuel tank.   3. The canister arrangement structure according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust pipe for discharging exhaust gas to the atmosphere is disposed in a vehicle lower direction of the canister.

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