JP2013096323A - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel supply device which has a small number of part items and can be miniaturized.SOLUTION: The fuel supply device includes: a housing 10 having a fuel suction port 16 which is opened near the bottom part in a tank 20 for storing fuel and sucks fuel and a fuel ejection port 13 which ejects the sucked fuel to the outside of the tank 20; and a pump for sucking and ejecting the fuel and a motor for driving the pump which are stored in the housing 10. The fuel suction port 16 is disposed so as to be directly opened to the housing 10 and, therefore, the number of part items is reduced and the device is miniaturized.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel supply device that supplies fuel to a fuel injection device of an internal combustion engine, for example.

  A conventional fuel supply apparatus is, for example, an axial piston type positive displacement pump that is an inline fuel pump that sucks and pressurizes fuel from a fuel tank through a pipe and supplies the fuel to a fuel injection valve. The fuel in the pipe connecting the fuel pump was susceptible to the layout of the vehicle. For this reason, the temperature of the fuel sucked by the fuel pump is likely to rise due to heat reception. In some cases, vapor is generated due to fuel vaporization, and due to the vapor mixture in the sucked fuel, the pump discharge rate decreases, and the fuel supply amount to the fuel injection valve In some cases, the engine speed decreased and the engine rotation failed (Patent Document 1).

Another conventional fuel supply device is a non-volumetric fuel pump that is installed in a tank and boosts fuel by rotation of an impeller driven by a motor. The fuel pump is connected to a motor stator and a fuel tank. An example is shown in which a flange portion for fixing is integrally formed by molding, and a pressure regulating valve and a check valve are formed in the flange portion. In this configuration, when the fuel pump is mounted on the lower surface of the tank (FIG. 4 in the literature), the fuel intake port of the pump is disposed at a high position relatively far from the tank bottom in the fuel tank, and the suction filter is Since it is necessary to configure the tank so as to reach the bottom of the tank, the outer shape of the fuel pump is increased, and the mounting workability to the fuel tank is reduced. In addition, a pressure regulating valve and a check valve are configured in the flange part, and the bearing part is arranged outside the tank with respect to the fuel tank, so the volume of the part that protrudes from the tank increases, so the tank layout to the vehicle body It was necessary to secure a large space for this purpose (Patent Document 2).

  Further, another conventional fuel supply device is disclosed that is mounted from the bottom of the tank. In this configuration, the fuel intake port to the pump is on the bottom side of the tank, the discharge port is disposed above the tank, and the pressurized fuel is guided to the union outside the tank by the discharge pipe in the tank. In this case, it is necessary to route the discharge pipe in the tank, which increases the number of components. Also, a space for piping is required, and as a result, the diameter of the pump mounting flange increases, so it is necessary to secure a large pump mounting surface of the tank, which leads to an increase in the size of the tank and a decrease in the degree of freedom of the shape layout. (Patent Document 3).

JP 2011-89501 A JP2009-222055 Patent No. 3772630

  Conventional fuel supply devices have problems such as receiving heat from the fuel, increasing the size of the device due to an increase in the number of components, and resulting reduction in the degree of freedom in layout of the vehicle.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can be configured with a small number of parts, achieves downsizing of the device itself, and prevents heat received by the fuel supplied to the fuel injection device. An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device that can increase the degree of freedom of layout on a vehicle.

  A fuel supply device according to the present invention includes a fuel intake port that opens near the bottom of a tank that stores fuel and sucks fuel, a fuel discharge port that discharges the sucked fuel out of the tank, and the housing A pump that is housed in the pump and sucks and discharges the fuel, and a motor that is housed in the housing and drives the pump.

  In the fuel supply device of the present invention, the housing located near the bottom of the tank is opened to serve as a fuel inlet, so that the number of components can be reduced and the fuel supply device can be reduced in size. The fuel can be taken directly from the fuel intake port opened in the housing, and fuel heat reception can be prevented.

It is a sectional side view of the fuel supply apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a bottom view of the fuel supply apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a sectional side view of the fuel supply apparatus of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a bottom view of the fuel supply apparatus of Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
First, an outline of the fuel system will be described. The fuel system includes a fuel tank, a fuel supply device, a pressure adjustment device, a fuel injection device, and a control unit. The fuel supply device is driven by the drive signal from the control unit, and sucks and discharges fuel from the fuel tank via the filter. The discharged fuel is adjusted to a predetermined pressure by the pressure adjusting device, passes through the high-pressure fuel pipe, and is supplied to the fuel injection device. In the fuel injection device, the injection timing and the injection amount are controlled by the drive signal from the control unit based on the rotational speed and load of the engine, and the fuel is injected into the intake pipe. The present invention relates to a fuel supply device of the fuel system.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a fuel supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows a sectional view along an axial direction of a motor. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the fuel supply device is inserted into and fixed to a tank hole (hole) 20 a formed in the bottom surface of the tank 20 for storing fuel from the outside to the inside of the tank. And used. Fuel is stored inside the tank 20, and the tank inner wall surface portion indicated by reference numeral 20b is a bottom surface portion in the tank 20 on the side filled with fuel.

  Here, the fuel supply device of the present invention has a fuel inlet 16 that opens near the bottom of the tank 20 for storing fuel and sucks the fuel, and a fuel outlet 13 that discharges the sucked fuel out of the tank 20. A housing 10 that is housed in the housing 10 and sucks and discharges fuel (internal configuration of a pump unit P described later); a motor that is housed in the housing 10 and drives the pump (inside the motor unit M described later) It has a configuration provided with a configuration.). Further, the fuel inlet 16 is configured by an opening provided in a side surface portion (substantially cylindrical outer peripheral portion) of the substantially cylindrical housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 10 is formed in, for example, a substantially cylindrical shape, and one end side (upper side in FIG. 1) of the cylinder is a motor part M, and the other end side is a pump part P (lower side in FIG. 1). ). Further, the housing 10 has a configuration in which a motor storage portion 10a and a pump storage portion 10b are coupled by a flange 10c formed on a coupling surface portion between them.
Here, the motor part M has a configuration in which the stator 1 and the rotor 2 are mainly housed in the motor housing part 10a. The stator 1 around which the coil is wound is integrated with the bearing 3 together with the motor housing portion 10a by molding, and a flange portion for coupling with the pump portion P is also formed by molding.
The rotor 2 includes a shaft 4, a magnet 5, and a plate 6. The plate 6 is fixed to the tip of the shaft 4 while being inclined by a predetermined angle. The magnet 5 is formed in a substantially ring shape, and a plurality of poles are magnetized on the outer periphery thereof.
From the stator 1, the energized phase is switched by a control signal from a control unit (not shown) to generate a rotating magnetic field, the rotor 2 rotates in synchronization with this, and the plate 6 performs a peristaltic motion. Perform side reciprocation.

The pump part P has a configuration in which the piston 7, the cylinder 8, the plate 9, the suction valve 11a, the discharge valve 11b, the spring 12, and the like are housed in the pump housing part 10b. Plural pistons 7 are arranged at an equal pitch. Further, a flange portion for coupling with the motor unit M is also formed in the pump storage unit 10b.
The fuel that has flowed into the pump through the fuel suction port 16 is reciprocated in the axial direction by the plate 6 that is rotated as the shaft 4 rotates, so that the fuel flows into the lower side of the piston 7 through the suction valve 11a. The pressure is increased by being fed into the pressure increasing chamber provided, and is pumped to the discharge port 13a protruding to the outside of the tank 20 through the discharge valve 11b and discharged to the outside from the fuel discharge port 13.
Further, the pump part P has a built-in pressure adjustment valve for adjusting the pressure of the discharged fuel, and surplus fuel from the pressure adjustment valve is discharged from the inside of the pump into the tank 20 and returned.

  As shown in the example of FIG. 1, a motor portion M is disposed on one end side of a cylindrical housing 10, and a pump portion P is disposed on the other end side, and the housing 10 is fitted in the bottom surface portion of the tank 20 along the axial direction. Then, the motor unit M is housed inside the tank 20, and the pump unit P is disposed so as to straddle the inside and outside of the tank 20. The fuel suction port 16 is provided in the housing (pump housing portion 10 b) that covers the pump unit P in the tank 20, and the motor unit M is disposed on the inner side of the tank 20 than the fuel suction port 16. .

  When the fuel inlet 16 is configured by an opening provided near the bottom of the tank 20 of the housing 10, the internal piping (pipe from the bottom of the tank to the fuel supply device main body), which has been necessary in the past, is unnecessary, and the fuel Problems such as fuel discharge failure due to vaporization due to heat reception can be prevented, and the number of components can be reduced.

Thus, when the fuel supply device is fitted and fixed to the tank 20, the diameter of the tank hole 20 a for fitting provided on the bottom surface of the tank 20 is reduced so that the seal portion with the tank 20 can be made as small as possible. Is preferable in terms of layout. In order to make the tank hole 20a as small as possible, it is effective that the overall shape of the fuel supply device is an elongated cylinder, and the planar shape of the opening of the tank hole 20a is circular.
Further, in order to reduce the portion of the fuel supply device that protrudes outside the tank 20 as much as possible and to ensure the degree of freedom of layout outside the tank 20, the housing 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape as described above, and becomes one end side. It is effective to arrange all the motor parts M in the tank 20.

Further, it is assumed that impurities mixed in the fuel are accumulated at the bottom of the tank 20. Therefore, the fuel inlet 16 is formed by opening the housing 10 at a portion slightly above the bottom surface of the tank 20, that is, on the inner side of the tank 20 than the bottom surface of the tank 20. By adopting such a configuration, impurities in the fuel accumulate below the fuel intake port 16 and are less likely to be taken into the pump from the fuel intake port 16.
Furthermore, the fuel inlet 16 is provided at a plurality of locations on the side surface of the pump storage portion 10b. In the case of a fuel supply device mounted on a vehicle, in order to allow fuel to flow into the pump even when the tank 20 is tilted, such as traveling on an uphill road with a small amount of remaining fuel in the tank 20, It is desirable that at least one of the fuel inlets 16 is disposed rearward with respect to the vehicle traveling direction.
With such a structure in which at least one of the plurality of fuel inlets 16 is opened rearward in the vehicle traveling direction, the influence of the inclination of the tank 20 can be eliminated and fuel can be sucked easily, and the pump can be operated. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the accompanying fuel circulation from being hindered, and to ensure a stable operation of the fuel supply device.

Further, the pump housing portion 10 b which is the pump-side housing 10 is provided with a flange portion (tank fixing flange portion) 14 for fixing to the tank 20 between the fuel suction port 16 and the fuel discharge port 13. It is done. When the housing 10 is substantially cylindrical, the flange portion 14 is formed as a ring-shaped flat plate portion (substantially flat plate portion) that spreads outward from the outer peripheral portion of the pump storage portion 10b.
Here, the flange portion 14 has an annular groove portion 15 surrounding the tank hole portion 20a at a joint surface portion with the tank 20, and a rubber elastic member 17 (O-ring or the like) is fitted into the groove portion 15. Inserted. Via this elastic member 17, the tank hole 20 a for insertion into the housing opened in the tank 20 is sealed. In this case, since the sealing is performed between the flat surfaces via the elastic member 17, the surface pressure by the elastic member 17 needs to be generated uniformly in the circumferential direction, and the flange portion 14 and the tank 20 are fixed at an equal pitch. This is done by fastening, for example, four fixed bolts arranged.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the fuel supply apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is a ring-shaped substantially flat plate that protrudes from the outer peripheral portion of the substantially cylindrical housing 10 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction so as to have a predetermined width. The portion is provided as a flange portion 14. The ring-shaped flat plate portion of the flange portion 14 is provided with, for example, four fastening holes (screw holes) 14 a for fixing screws to the bottom surface of the tank 20.
In addition, a terminal 19 for supplying power to the motor is insert-molded in the pump storage portion 10b of the housing 10, and a connector portion 18, a flange portion 14, and a fuel discharge port 13 extending to the outside of the tank 20 are provided. It is integrally formed by resin molding.

In the above example, it has been described that the portion where the fuel supply device is inserted into the tank 20 is the bottom surface portion of the tank 20, but it is sufficient that the fuel suction port 16 can be provided near the bottom of the tank 20. It is also possible to arrange by inserting it into the side surface portion (side wall surface). In that case, the insertion direction of the housing is a direction perpendicular to the mounting plane on the side surface of the tank, and the housing is inserted from the outside of the tank 20 toward the inside.
Further, the bottom surface portion or the side surface portion of the tank 20 to which the fuel supply device is attached is not limited to a surface portion perpendicular to the vertical direction or a surface portion along the vertical direction, but may be a flat surface portion that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. It goes without saying that it is good.

  According to the fuel supply device of this configuration, the one that protrudes outside the tank 20 in which the fuel is stored is one end of the pump storage portion 10b located on the fuel discharge port 13 side of the housing 10 with the flange portion 14 as a boundary. The space required for mounting on the vehicle can be reduced.

  Further, according to the fuel supply apparatus of this configuration, the opening portion directly opened on the side surface portion of the substantially cylindrical housing 10 is used as the fuel intake port 16, and the high pressure piping inside the tank, which has been conventionally required, can be installed. Since no turning is required, the number of components can be reduced and the diameter of the fuel supply device can be reduced. Further, since the volume of the fuel supply device occupying the tank 20 is reduced as the diameter is reduced, the tank volume can be used effectively for fuel filling.

  Furthermore, since the fuel supply device of this configuration has a substantially cylindrical shape with a reduced diameter, the tank hole 20a for inserting the housing 10 can be reduced to the outermost diameter of the fuel supply device, The tank plane portion for mounting the fuel supply device can be reduced, and the mounting layout of the fuel supply device and the degree of freedom of the tank shape can be increased. Also, the workability of inserting the fuel supply device into the tank 20 is improved.

  Further, in the conventional fuel supply device arranged in-line, the motor unit radiates heat to the outside air, whereas in the fuel supply device of this configuration, the motor unit M is arranged on the inner side of the tank 20, The heat generated by the motor can be dissipated to the fuel stored in the tank 20, the temperature rise of the motor unit M can be suppressed, and the heat received from the motor to the discharged fuel can be suppressed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment described above, the seal portion of the tank 20 is the flat portion of the flange portion 14 of the housing 10. In the second embodiment, the case where the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical housing 10 is used will be described. Further, in the second embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a case where the fuel supply device is fitted into the side surface portion of the tank 20 will be described as an example. In FIG. 3, a tank inner wall surface portion indicated by reference numeral 20 c on the right side of the tank 20 is a side surface portion in the tank 20 on the side filled with fuel. As in the case of the first embodiment, the fuel inlet 16 is located at the bottom of the tank regardless of whether the fuel supply device is attached to the tank 20 at the bottom of the tank or at the side near the bottom of the tank. Needless to say, if they are arranged in the vicinity, they can be arranged on either side.

  As shown in the side sectional view of the fuel supply device in FIG. 3, a flange portion 30 is provided between the fuel intake port 16 and the fuel discharge port 13 in the pump housing portion 10 b of the housing 10. On the outer periphery of the housing 10 located between the flange portion 30 and the fuel inlet 16, an annular groove portion 31 is formed at a portion where a tank hole portion 20 a for inserting the housing 10 opened in the tank 20 contacts. The tank hole 20a is sealed through a rubber elastic member 32 (O-ring or the like) provided and inserted into the groove 31.

  According to the fuel supply device of this configuration, the seal of the tank hole 20a serving as the housing 10 insertion portion is constituted by the radial seal on the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the housing 10, and therefore the surface pressure required for the seal in the seal portion is The shape of the inlay portion between the tank 20 and the housing 10 can be managed. Therefore, the fuel supply device can be fixed to the tank 20 with, for example, two symmetrically arranged fixing bolts (less in number than the first embodiment) at the flange portion 30. FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the housing 10 according to the second embodiment, and reference numeral 30a denotes a fastening hole for inserting a fixing bolt.

  In the housing 10 of the above-described first embodiment, it is necessary to provide the fastening hole 14a with the tank 20 and the groove 15 for inserting the elastic member 17 in the flat portion of the flange portion 14. On the other hand, in Embodiment 2, since the groove part 31 for fitting the elastic member 32 is formed in the outer peripheral part of the housing 10 so as to be dug down in the axial direction, the groove part forming region is formed in the flange part 30. It is not necessary to ensure the above, and it is only necessary to provide the fastening hole 30 a in the flat portion of the flange portion 30. Therefore, the outer diameter of the flange part 30 required for sealing can be made smaller than that of the first embodiment. Therefore, it is possible to mount the tank even on the side surface of the tank where it is relatively difficult to secure a flat portion necessary for mounting the fuel supply device.

Here, when the fuel supply device is mounted on the side surface portion of the tank 20, vertical vibration and engine vibration associated with vehicle travel propagate, and a load due to vertical vibration acts on the fuel supply device. The fuel supply device may be bent in the flange portion 30 by being shaken using a fixing member such as a fixing bolt provided in the flange portion 30 as a fulcrum, but as shown in the second embodiment, By adopting a radial seal configuration in the inlay portion between the tank 20 and the outer peripheral surface of the housing 10 of the fuel supply device, the reliability of the seal portion can be enhanced even with respect to the vibration described above.

  In the above example, it has been described that the flange portion 30 is provided in the housing 10 of the fuel supply device and the portion is fastened and fixed to the tank 20 by the fixing bolt at this portion. However, the seal of the tank hole portion 20a is described. Can be configured by press-fitting the outer peripheral portion of the housing 10 into the tank hole portion 20a without using a fixing bolt. In this case, regarding the shape of the fitting portion between the housing 10 and the tank 20, it is necessary to manage the processing accuracy more strictly, but the portion corresponding to the flange portion 30 can be omitted, and the fixing bolt is not necessary.

1 stator,
2 rotor,
3 bearings,
4 shaft,
5 Magnet,
6 plates,
7 piston,
8 cylinders,
9 plates,
10 housing,
10a motor housing,
10b Pump storage section,
10c flange,
11a Suction valve,
11b Discharge valve,
12 Spring,
13 Fuel outlet,
13a discharge port,
14, 30 Flange (tank fixing flange),
14a, 30a fastening holes,
15, 31 groove,
16 Fuel inlet,
17, 32 elastic member,
18 Connector part,
19 Terminal,
20 tanks,
20a Tank hole (hole),
20b, 20c tank inner wall surface,
M motor section,
P Pump part.

Claims (11)

  A fuel suction port that opens near the bottom of a tank for storing fuel and sucks the fuel; a housing having a fuel discharge port that discharges the sucked fuel to the outside of the tank; and the fuel that is housed in the housing sucks the fuel; A fuel supply apparatus comprising a pump for discharging, a motor housed in the housing and driving the pump.   2. The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the fuel inlet is configured by an opening provided in a side surface of the substantially cylindrical housing.   The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the motor is disposed on an inner side of the tank than the fuel suction port.   The said housing is provided with the flange part for fixing with the said tank between the said fuel inlet and the said fuel outlet, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Fuel supply device.   3. The fuel supply device according to claim 2, wherein the fuel intake port is opened so as to be positioned on the inner side of the tank with respect to the bottom surface of the tank, and is provided at a plurality of locations on the side surface of the housing. .   5. The fuel supply apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the housing has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the flange portion is formed as a ring-shaped substantially flat plate portion extending outward from an outer peripheral portion of the housing.   The substantially flat plate portion of the flange portion has an annular groove portion in a joint surface portion with the tank, and a hole portion for insertion of the housing opened in the tank via an elastic member disposed in the groove portion. The fuel supply device according to claim 6, wherein:   The outer peripheral portion of the housing has an annular groove at a portion where the hole for housing insertion that is opened in the tank abuts, and the hole is sealed through an elastic member disposed in the groove. 7. The fuel supply device according to claim 6, wherein:   The housing includes a motor housing portion surrounding the motor and a pump housing portion surrounding the pump. The pump housing portion is insert-molded with a terminal for supplying power to the motor, The fuel supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the connector portion extending outward, the flange portion, and the fuel discharge port are integrally formed by resin molding.   The fuel supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the housing is fitted and fixed to the bottom surface of the tank from the outside to the inside of the tank.   The fuel supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the housing is fitted and fixed to a side surface portion of the tank from the outside to the inside of the tank.

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