JP2013091447A - Fuel sensor unit, fuel tank structure, and fuel sensor unit mounting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel sensor unit having a fuel sensor mounted on a base of a lower face of a fuel tank, and a harness extended from the fuel sensor shortened, thus allowing measurement accuracy of the fuel sensor to be kept high, to provide fuel tank structure having the fuel sensor unit, and to provide a fuel sensor unit mounting method by which the fuel sensor unit is mounted to the fuel tank.SOLUTION: A sub cup 20 is disposed on the basis of a bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14, and an in-tank canister 22 is installed on the basis of an upper wall 14U thereof. The sub cup 20 and the in-tank canister 22 are slidable through a slide support 26. The fuel sensor unit 32 is fixed to the slide support 26, and are slidable downward together with the slide support 26, so that the harness 46 becomes short.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel sensor unit, a fuel tank structure, and a fuel sensor unit mounting method.

  As a structure of a fuel sensor provided in a fuel tank of an automobile, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lead wire (between an electrode attached with reference to the lower surface of the fuel tank and a transmitter attached with reference to the upper surface of the fuel tank) The structure connected with the harness) is described. The electrode and the transmitter move up and down (slide) via a support bar and the like.

  However, in the structure of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to first place the electrode with reference to the lower surface of the fuel tank, and then slide the transmitter or the like downward to attach the upper surface of the fuel tank to the reference. For this reason, since a harness becomes long and it becomes easy to produce interference between harnesses by bending, it becomes difficult to raise the measurement accuracy in a fuel sensor.

JP-A-5-223624

  In consideration of the above-described facts, the present invention provides a fuel sensor unit in which the fuel sensor is mounted with the lower surface of the fuel tank as a reference, and the measurement accuracy of the fuel sensor can be maintained high by shortening the harness extending from the fuel sensor. It is an object to obtain a fuel tank structure including a sensor unit and a fuel sensor unit mounting method for mounting the fuel sensor unit on the fuel tank.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the lower member disposed in the fuel tank with reference to the lower surface of the fuel tank, and the liquid level of the fuel in the fuel tank can be detected, and the lower member is disposed in the fuel tank. A fuel sensor mounted at the mounting position by approaching the mounting position with the lower surface of the fuel tank as a reference by sliding relative to the lower member in a state where the fuel sensor is disposed at the predetermined position, and the fuel sensor at the mounting position The upper member is slidable with respect to the lower member while being mounted on the upper surface of the fuel tank and is attached to the fuel tank at the mounting position by approaching the mounting position with respect to the upper surface of the fuel tank, and extends from the fuel sensor. And a harness attached to the upper member.

  This fuel sensor unit is mounted on the fuel tank by, for example, the fuel sensor unit mounting method according to claim 7.

  That is, first, in the arranging step, the lower member is arranged inside the fuel tank with reference to the lower surface of the fuel tank.

  Since the fuel sensor slides with respect to the lower member in a state where the lower member is disposed at a predetermined position of the fuel tank (lower member disposed state), in the sliding step, the fuel sensor is slid with respect to the lower member. Mount in the mounting position. Further, since the upper member slides relative to the lower member when the fuel sensor is mounted at the mounting position (fuel sensor mounted state), in the sliding process, the upper member is slid relative to the lower member to the mounting position. Move.

  Therefore, the fuel sensor has not reached the mounting position in the lower member arrangement state. For this reason, the distance between the fuel sensor and the upper member is shorter than the configuration in which the fuel sensor is mounted at the mounting position in the lower member arrangement state. Although the harness extends from the fuel sensor and is attached to the upper member, the length of the harness (the length from the fuel sensor to the upper member) can be shortened. Thereby, since interference caused by bending of the harness can be suppressed, it is possible to increase the measurement accuracy with the fuel sensor.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the fuel sensor is fixed to the upper member.

  This fuel sensor unit is mounted on the fuel tank by, for example, the fuel sensor unit mounting method according to claim 8.

  That is, the fuel sensor is fixed to the upper member. Therefore, in the sliding step, the fuel sensor can be slid with respect to the lower member at the same time by the operation of sliding the upper member with respect to the lower member, and the fuel sensor unit can be easily mounted on the fuel tank.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the upper member is attached to the upper surface of the fuel tank, and the slide member is slidably attached to the upper attachment member. And the fuel sensor is fixed to the slide member

  Therefore, the fuel sensor can be slid by sliding the slide member with respect to the upper mounting member constituting the upper member. Compared to the configuration in which the fuel sensor is directly fixed to the upper mounting member, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the fuel sensor is increased.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the fuel sensor according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the fuel sensor detects a fuel level in the fuel tank; A property detecting unit for detecting the fuel property in the fuel tank, and a reinforcing member that reinforces the liquid level detecting unit and increases rigidity.

  The liquid level detection unit can detect the fuel level in the fuel tank, and the property detection unit can detect the fuel property in the fuel tank.

  Reinforcing the liquid level detection part with a reinforcing member to increase the rigidity can prevent the liquid level detection part from being inadvertently deformed in the fuel tank and increase the measurement accuracy at the liquid level detection part. become.

  In addition, no reinforcing member is attached to the property detection unit, and the rigidity is lower than that of the liquid level detection unit. For this reason, it becomes easy to arrange | position with the desired attitude | position in the desired position in a fuel tank. For example, even when the property detection unit is bent with respect to the liquid level detection unit, the arrangement becomes easy.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the fuel tank includes a guide member that guides the property detection unit along the bottom surface of the fuel tank in the fuel tank.

  By the guide member, the property detection unit can be guided along the bottom surface of the fuel tank and can be easily arranged at a desired position along the bottom surface of the fuel tank.

  The invention described in claim 6 includes a fuel tank capable of storing fuel therein, and the fuel sensor unit described in any one of claims 1 to 5 mounted in the fuel tank.

  Since it has the fuel sensor unit of any one of Claims 1-5, the length of a harness can be shortened and it becomes a fuel tank structure with a high measurement precision in a fuel sensor.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the fuel sensor can be mounted with the lower surface of the fuel tank as a reference, and the measurement accuracy of the fuel sensor can be maintained high by shortening the harness extending from the fuel sensor.

It is explanatory drawing which shows especially the fuel tank structure by which the fuel sensor unit of 1st Embodiment of this invention is mounted by an internal structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of mounting the fuel sensor unit of 1st Embodiment of this invention in a fuel tank. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of mounting the fuel sensor unit of 1st Embodiment of this invention in a fuel tank. It is a front view which shows the electrostatic capacitance sensor unit which comprises the fuel sensor unit of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which expands partially and shows the sub-cup lower part in the fuel tank structure of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the subcup in the fuel tank structure of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows especially the fuel tank structure by which the fuel sensor unit of the comparative example is mounted by an internal structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of mounting the fuel sensor unit of a comparative example in a fuel tank. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of mounting the fuel sensor unit of a comparative example in a fuel tank.

  FIG. 1 shows a fuel tank structure 12 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 to 3 sequentially show steps for mounting the fuel sensor unit 18 on the fuel tank 14.

  The fuel tank structure 12 has a fuel tank 14 that can contain fuel therein. The fuel tank 14 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape as a whole. A fuel sensor unit 18 is disposed in the fuel tank 14.

  A sub cup 20 is disposed in the fuel tank 14. The sub cup 20 is formed in a cup shape having an open upper surface. A fuel pump (not shown) is provided in the sub cup 20. By driving the fuel pump, fuel can be sent to the engine or the like through a fuel delivery pipe (not shown).

  The sub cup 20 is disposed in contact with the bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14 (based on the bottom wall 14L), and is an example of the lower member of the present invention. A fuel inflow hole (not shown) is formed in the side wall of the sub cup 20. When the fuel flows in from the fuel inflow hole, it is possible to store a predetermined amount or more of fuel in the sub cup 20. For example, even when the fuel is unevenly distributed in the fuel tank 14 due to the inclination of the fuel tank 14 or the like, the fuel is stored in the sub-cup 20, so that the fuel in the sub-cup 20 can be sucked up by the fuel pump. is there.

  An in-tank canister 22 is provided in the fuel tank 14. An adsorbent such as activated carbon is accommodated in the in-tank canister 22. The gas containing the evaporated fuel component generated in the fuel tank 14 flows into the in-tank canister 22 and the evaporated fuel component is adsorbed by the adsorbent.

  The in-tank canister 22 is connected to an atmospheric communication pipe and a purge pipe (not shown). The gas in which the evaporated fuel component is adsorbed by the in-tank canister 22 is released from the atmosphere communication pipe to the atmosphere. Further, the purge pipe is connected to the engine, and the evaporated fuel component adsorbed by the adsorbent can be desorbed (purged) by applying a negative pressure generated by driving the engine to the in-tank canister 22. It is.

  On the upper part of the in-tank canister 22, a flange plate 22 </ b> F is provided that projects laterally from the in-tank canister 22. By this flange plate 22F, the in-tank canister 22 is attached with the upper wall 14U of the fuel tank 14 as a reference.

  A sensor circuit 24 is provided on the flange plate 22F. The sensor circuit 24 is electrically connected to the capacitance sensor unit 32 and a harness 46 as will be described later.

  In the present embodiment, the sub-cup 20 and the in-tank canister 22 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction when mounted on the fuel tank 14. The sub-cup 20 and the in-tank canister 22 have the same width.

  A slide column 26 is interposed between the sub cup 20 and the in-tank canister 22. As can be seen from FIG. 1, when the fuel sensor unit 18 is viewed from the front in a state where it is mounted on the fuel tank 14, the sub-cup 20 and the in-tank canister 22 are located on the opposite side with respect to the slide column 26. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in a state before being mounted on the fuel tank 14, the sub-cup 20 is on the lower side and the in-tank canister 22 is on the upper side.

  Both the sub-cup 20 and the in-tank canister 22 are formed with slide rails 20R and 22R that hold the slide column 26 slidably. The slide column 26 slides in the vertical direction with respect to the sub cup 20. Further, the in-tank canister 22 also slides in the vertical direction with respect to the slide column 26. As a result, the in-tank canister 22 slides up and down with respect to the sub-cup 20 via the slide column 26.

  A compression coil spring 28 is interposed between the flange plate 22F of the in-tank canister 22 and the slide column 26. The compression coil spring 28 urges the slide column 26 downward, but is held at a predetermined holding position where the lower end of the slide column 26 is positioned above the bottom wall 14L of the sub cup 20 by a stopper (not shown). (Refer to FIG. 2).

  The in-tank canister 22 can be moved downward relative to the slide column 26 against the urging force of the compression coil spring 28.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a contact piece 26 </ b> S extends at the lower end of the slide column 26 in parallel with the bottom wall 14 </ b> L of the fuel tank 14. Since the contact area when the slide column 26 comes into contact with the bottom wall 14L is increased by the contact piece 26S and the contact surface pressure is lowered, the durability of the fuel tank 14 is improved.

  The slide column 26 and the in-tank canister 22 constitute an example of the upper member of the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a capacitance sensor unit 32 is fixed to the slide column 26. The capacitance sensor unit 32 includes a property sensor 34 arranged along the bottom wall 14L in the fuel tank 14 and a vertical direction in the fuel tank 14 (perpendicular to the bottom wall 14L in the illustrated example). Between the liquid level sensor 36 to be arranged, the property sensor 34 and the liquid level sensor 36, a curved portion 38 where no electrode is formed and a harness 46 positioned above the liquid level sensor 36 are provided.

  Particularly in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the capacitance sensor unit 32 has a base 40 formed in a long shape as a whole by a bendable insulator such as a resin film. A plurality of electrodes are arranged on the surface of the base 40 at predetermined positions in the longitudinal direction of the base 40. A property sensor 34 and a liquid level sensor 36 are formed on one base 40 in accordance with the position of this electrode. In other words, the property sensor 34 and the liquid level sensor 36 are integrated to form the capacitance sensor unit 32. When the fuel tank 14 is mounted, the base 40 is bent at a predetermined position (the position of the curved portion 38) at a substantially right angle.

  The plurality of electrodes have different capacitance values between a portion in contact with the fuel and a portion not in contact with the fuel. Also, the capacitance value varies depending on the type of fuel in contact. Using the difference in capacitance value, a signal corresponding to the width of the fuel contact range in the capacitance sensor unit 32 and a signal corresponding to the type of fuel can be output.

  Here, since the property sensor 34 is disposed along the bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14, even if the amount of fuel in the fuel tank 14 is small, the entire property sensor 34 can be immersed in the fuel. High nature. Therefore, the property sensor 34 can detect the fuel concentration in the fuel tank 14 by utilizing the fact that the capacitance varies depending on the type of fuel in contact.

  On the other hand, the liquid level sensor 36 is disposed in the fuel tank 14 along the vertical direction. For this reason, the length of the portion immersed in the fuel changes according to the amount of fuel in the fuel tank 14, and the capacitance also takes different values. By utilizing this, the amount of fuel in the fuel tank 14 can be detected.

  A terminal 44 is provided at the upper end of the capacitance sensor unit 32. The terminal 44 is electrically connected to the sensor circuit 24 attached on the flange plate 22F. The properties sensor 34 and liquid level sensor 36 signals are sent to the sensor circuit 24. The sensor circuit 24 may be attached to a place other than the flange plate 22F, for example, on the upper wall 14U. In this case, a part of the harness 46 is attached to the flange plate 22F, and the terminal 44 and The sensor circuit 24 is connected by a conducting wire or the like.

  In the capacitance sensor unit 32, the liquid level sensor 36 is fixed to the slide column 26 in the present embodiment. That is, the portion of the liquid level sensor 36 is reinforced by the slide column 26 and has high rigidity. On the other hand, the bending portion 38 and the property sensor 34 are located below the slide column 26 and are not reinforced, and thus are easily deformed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the sub-cup 20 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape opened upward as a whole, but a part of the peripheral wall 48 is formed in a planar shape to serve as a guide wall 50. A pair of holding plates 52 extends from both sides of the guide wall 50 with a gap that is slightly wider than the thickness of the capacitance sensor unit 32 between the guide wall 50 and the guide wall 50. When the capacitance sensor unit 32 is slid downward along with the slide column 26 with respect to the sub cup 20 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), the capacitance sensor unit 32 is interposed between the guide wall 50 and the holding plate 52. It is guided downward while being held.

  As can be seen from FIG. 6, the holding plate 52 is located only on both side portions of the capacitance sensor unit 32 in the width direction (arrow W1 direction) and is not located in the center portion. On the other hand, the slide column 26 is located at the center portion in the width direction of the capacitance sensor unit 32 (liquid level sensor 36). Therefore, the slide column 26 and the holding plate 52 do not inadvertently interfere with each other while the capacitance sensor unit 32 slides downward. In the present embodiment, the interval D1 between the holding plates 52 is set to be slightly wider than the width W2 of the slide column 26, and the holding plate 52 also has an effect of guiding the slide of the slide column 26. It is said that.

  In FIG. 6, for convenience of illustration, the capacitance sensor unit 32 is located above the guide wall 50, but actually, even if the capacitance sensor unit 32 is not yet mounted on the fuel tank 14, the capacitance sensor The lower part of the unit 32 is held between the guide wall 50 and the holding plate 52.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an accommodation wall 54 is formed below the guide wall 50, which is continuous from the guide wall 50 and parallel to the bottom wall 20 </ b> L of the sub-cup 20. A space between the wall 54 is an accommodating portion 56. Furthermore, the tip of the bottom wall 20L is curved upward, and is a guide piece 58 that guides the lower end portion of the capacitive sensor unit 32 that has slid downward along the bottom wall 14U to the accommodating portion 56. Has been. When the capacitance sensor unit 32 slides downward, the guide piece 58 guides the property sensor 34 and the bending portion 38 of the capacitance sensor unit 32 to the housing portion 56 while being bent.

  The fuel sensor unit 18 includes the sub-cup 20, the in-tank canister 22, the slide column 26, the capacitance sensor unit 32 (harness 46), the sensor circuit 24, and the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an insertion port 16 is formed in the approximate center of the upper wall 14 </ b> U of the fuel tank 14. The size (opening diameter) of the insertion port 16 is such that one of the sub-cup 20 and the in-tank canister 22 can be inserted into the fuel tank 14, but it is not possible to insert both of them simultaneously. ing. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the insertion port 16 is closed by the flange plate 22 </ b> F when the fuel sensor unit 16 is mounted on the fuel tank 14.

  Next, the operation of the fuel sensor unit 18 of the present embodiment will be described together with a method for mounting the fuel sensor unit 18 on the fuel tank 14.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sub cup 20 is inserted into the fuel tank 14 from the insertion port 16. Then, the sub cup 20 is brought into contact with the bottom wall 14 </ b> L of the fuel tank 14. At this time, a part of the slide column 26 also enters the fuel tank 14. Also, in the capacitance sensor unit 32, the entire property sensor 34 and a part of the liquid level sensor 36 enter the fuel tank 14. However, the lower ends of the slide column 26 and the liquid level sensor 36 are not in contact with the bottom wall 14 </ b> L of the fuel tank 14. The capacitance sensor unit 32 is substantially linear without being bent by the bending portion 38 or the property sensor 34. The lower part of the capacitance sensor unit 32 is accommodated between the guide wall 50 and the holding plate 52 (see FIG. 6).

  In this state, the in-tank canister 22 is not located above the insertion port 16. Therefore, as indicated by an arrow L1, the fuel sensor unit 18 is shifted in the lateral direction (leftward in FIG. 2), and the in-tank canister 22 is moved above the insertion port 16.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the in-tank canister 22 is pushed downward and inserted into the fuel tank 14 from the insertion port 16. At this time, the lower ends of the slide column 26 and the liquid level sensor 36 are not in contact with the bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14, and can slide downward. A compression coil spring 28 is interposed between the slide column 26 and the flange plate 22F, and the slide column 26 is urged downward. Therefore, the slide column 26 and the capacitance sensor unit 32 slide downward together with the in-tank canister 22 simply by pushing the in-tank canister 22 downward.

  In this way, while the capacitance sensor unit 32 slides downward, the property sensor 34 and the bending portion 38 are guided by the guide piece 58 in order and are guided to the housing portion 56. However, since the liquid level sensor 36 of the capacitance sensor unit 32 is reinforced by the slide column 26, the shape can be stably maintained without being inadvertently deformed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the property sensor 34 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 56 and the lower end of the liquid level sensor 36 with the slide support 26 (contact variation 26 </ b> S) in contact with the bottom wall 14 </ b> L of the fuel tank 14. Is mounted at a predetermined mounting position with reference to the bottom wall 14 </ b> L of the fuel tank 14.

  Thereafter, as indicated by an arrow L2 in FIG. 1, the in-tank canister 22 is further slid downward against the urging force of the compression coil spring 28, and the flange plate 22F is attached to the upper wall 14U of the fuel tank 14.

  Here, FIG. 7 shows a state in which the fuel sensor unit 82 of the comparative example is mounted on the fuel tank 14. 8 to 9 sequentially show the steps of mounting the fuel sensor unit 82 of the comparative example on the fuel tank 14. In the fuel sensor unit 82 of the comparative example, the capacitance sensor unit 32 is fixed to the sub cup 20 (lower member) instead of the slide column 26. Other than this, the configuration is the same as that of the fuel sensor unit 18 of the present embodiment.

  In the fuel sensor unit 82 of the comparative example, the lower end of the slide column 26 and the lower end of the capacitance sensor unit 32 (the liquid level sensor 36) are also in the fuel tank with the sub cup 20 in contact with the bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14. 14 is in contact with the bottom wall 14L.

  Then, after the fuel sensor unit 82 is shifted in the lateral direction as indicated by the arrow L3, the in-tank canister 22 is slid downward (see FIG. 9), and the flange plate 22F is attached to the upper wall 14U of the fuel tank 14.

  In the fuel sensor unit 82 of the comparative example, as can be seen from FIG. 7, since the capacitance sensor unit 32 is fixed to the sub cup 20, the harness 46 is substantially extended (linearly formed). The length of the state is longer than that in the above embodiment. Therefore, in a state where the in-tank canister 22 is attached at a predetermined attachment position, the extra length portion 46Z (substantial slack portion length) of the harness 46 is also increased.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the capacitance sensor unit 32 is fixed to the slide column 26 (a component of the upper member in the present invention). In the state shown in FIG. 2, the capacitance sensor unit 32 (the liquid level sensor 36) is not in contact with the bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14, and the length when the harness 46 is fully extended is It is shorter than the structure. Therefore, in the state where the in-tank canister 22 is slid downward and attached to a predetermined attachment position, the extra length portion 46Z of the harness 46 is also shorter than that of the comparative example. Thereby, in this embodiment, the interference etc. resulting from the bending | flexion of the surplus length part 46Z of the harness 46 can be suppressed, and the measurement precision in the electrostatic capacitance sensor unit 32 can be made high.

  With the fuel sensor unit 32 mounted at a predetermined position in the fuel tank 14, the sub tank 20 and the in-tank canister 22 can be slid up and down via the slide column 26. Therefore, for example, when the upper wall 14U and the lower wall 14L approach or separate according to changes in the internal pressure of the fuel tank 14, the state where the sub cup 20 is disposed at the position relative to the bottom wall 14L is maintained. Further, the in-tank canister 22 also maintains the position with respect to the upper wall 14U.

  In the above description, the capacitance sensor unit 32 is fixed to the slide column 26 constituting a part of the upper member of the present invention. However, the capacitance sensor is connected to the in-tank canister 22 which is another member of the upper member. The unit 32 may be fixed. That is, even in this case, since the slide column 26 and the capacitance sensor unit 32 are not in contact with the bottom wall 14L in a state where the sub cup 20 is in contact with the bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14, the harness 46 Can be shortened. When the capacitance sensor unit 32 is fixed to the slide column 26 as in the above embodiment, the slide column 26 has a higher degree of freedom in shape and position than the in-tank canister 22. The degree of freedom increases.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the capacitance sensor unit 32 may not be fixed to the upper member. In short, if the configuration in which the capacitance sensor unit 32 does not contact the bottom wall 14L in a state where the sub cup 20 is in contact with the bottom wall 14L of the fuel tank 14 is realized, it is compared with the configuration in which the capacitance sensor unit 32 contacts the bottom wall 14L. Thus, the length of the harness 46 can be shortened. However, if the capacitance sensor unit 32 is fixed to the upper member, the capacitance sensor unit 32 can also be slid downward simultaneously with the operation of sliding the upper member downward. The process of sliding only the capacitance sensor unit 32 downward can be omitted, and mounting on the fuel tank 14 is facilitated.

  In the above description, the sub-cup 20 is used as the lower member of the present invention. In short, any member may be used as long as it is disposed in the fuel tank 14 with the lower surface (bottom wall 14L) of the fuel tank 14 as a reference. For example, a fuel filter disposed along the bottom wall 14L or a frame-like member that holds the fuel filter may be used as the lower member.

  As an upper member of the present invention, an example in which the in-tank canister 22 and the slide column 26 are configured is described above, but the upper member is not limited thereto. For example, a detection member or a valve other than the fuel sensor arranged in the fuel tank 14 may be used as the upper member.

  The shape of the capacitance sensor unit 32 is not limited to the one described above. For example, a structure in which the liquid level sensor 36 and the property sensor 34 are bent at substantially right angles when mounted on the fuel tank 14 may be employed. However, if these two sensors are formed at a substantially right angle in advance as in this structure, the shape sensor 34 is limited in order to prevent the property sensor 34 from interfering with the sub-cup 20 or the like when sliding downward. On the other hand, as in the above embodiment, the property sensor 34 is substantially linear with the liquid level sensor 36 before being mounted on the fuel tank 14, and the property sensor 34 changes its posture during the mounting (or after mounting) to change the liquid. If the structure is perpendicular to the position sensor 36, it is difficult to interfere with the sub-cup 20 when sliding downward, so that the degree of freedom in shape increases.

  Further, the fuel sensor of the present invention may have a shape having only the liquid level sensor 36 without the property sensor 34.

12 Fuel tank structure 14 Fuel tank 14U Upper wall (upper surface of fuel tank)
14L bottom wall (lower surface of fuel tank)
18 Fuel sensor unit 20 Sub cup (lower member)
22 In-tank canister (upper mounting member, upper member)
24 sensor circuit 26 slide support (sliding member, upper member, reinforcing member)
32 Capacitance sensor unit 34 Property sensor (Property detector)
36 Liquid level sensor (liquid level detector)
46 Harness 46Z Extra length portion 58 Guide piece (guide member)

Claims (8)

A lower member disposed in the fuel tank with respect to the lower surface of the fuel tank;
The fuel level in the fuel tank can be detected, and the lower member slides with respect to the lower member in a state where the lower member is disposed at a predetermined position of the fuel tank, so that the mounting position with reference to the lower surface of the fuel tank A fuel sensor mounted at the mounting position close to
The upper member is slidable with respect to the lower member while the fuel sensor is mounted at the mounting position, and is attached to the fuel tank at the mounting position by approaching the mounting position with respect to the upper surface of the fuel tank. When,
A harness extending from the fuel sensor and attached to the upper member;
A fuel sensor unit.   The fuel sensor unit according to claim 1, wherein the fuel sensor is fixed to the upper member. The upper member is
An upper attachment member attached to the upper surface of the fuel tank;
A slide member slidably attached to the upper attachment member;
Have
The fuel sensor unit according to claim 2, wherein the fuel sensor is fixed to the slide member. The fuel sensor includes a liquid level detection unit that detects a fuel level in the fuel tank, and a property detection unit that detects a fuel property in the fuel tank,
The fuel sensor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a reinforcing member that reinforces the liquid level detection unit and increases rigidity.   5. The fuel sensor unit according to claim 3, further comprising a guide member that guides the property detection unit along the bottom surface of the fuel tank in the fuel tank. A fuel tank capable of containing fuel, and
The fuel sensor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is mounted on the fuel tank;
Having fuel tank structure. A fuel sensor unit mounting method for mounting the fuel sensor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in a fuel tank,
An arrangement step of arranging the lower member inside the fuel tank with reference to a lower surface of the fuel tank;
A slide step of mounting the fuel sensor in the mounting position by sliding the fuel sensor relative to the lower member, and mounting the fuel sensor in the mounting position by sliding the upper member;
A fuel sensor unit mounting method comprising: A fuel sensor unit mounting method according to claim 7 for mounting the fuel sensor unit according to claim 2 in a fuel tank,
A fuel sensor unit mounting method in which the upper member is slid relative to the lower member in the sliding step.

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