JP2022103311A - Canister protection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a canister protection structure which can effectively prevent a canister from receiving an impact from a propeller shaft during a side collision of a vehicle.

SOLUTION: A connection part 71 which is connected to a pipe is provided at a rear part of a canister 70. A canister protection structure includes a protection cover 80 attached to the canister 70 through a bracket 90. The protection cover 80 has a side wall part 81 which covers a side surface facing a propeller shaft 5 of the canister 70 in a vehicle width direction. Further, a rear end of the side wall part 81 extends to the vehicle rear farther than the connection part 71.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a canister protection structure.

Conventionally, there is known a canister protection structure in which a canister is fixed to the lower surface of a fuel tank, and the side surface and the lower surface of the canister are covered with a protective member to protect the canister from impacts and flying stones caused by a collision with an obstacle. (See Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-162539

However, in the conventional technique described in Patent Document 1, when a collision load acts on the rear wheels inward in the vehicle width direction at the time of a side collision of the vehicle, the differential device and the propeller shaft at the rear of the vehicle are displaced. Therefore, the displaced propeller shaft may come into contact with the canister, and the canister may be impacted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a canister protection structure that can effectively prevent the canister from being impacted by the propeller shaft at the time of a side collision of the vehicle. It is something to do.

The present invention comprises a fuel tank located at the bottom of the vehicle and extending in the vehicle width direction, a propeller shaft extending below the fuel tank and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a lower surface of the fuel tank, the propeller shaft and the vehicle. A canister protection structure comprising a canister attached via a bracket at a position facing each other in the width direction, wherein a connecting portion connected to a pipe is provided at the rear of the canister, and the canister is described as described above. It comprises a protective cover attached via a bracket, the protective cover having a side wall covering a side surface of the canister facing the propeller shaft in the vehicle width direction, and a rear end of the side wall having the connecting portion. It is characterized by extending to the rear of the vehicle.

As described above, according to the above invention, it is possible to effectively prevent the canister from receiving an impact from the propeller shaft at the time of a side collision of the vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the rear part of a vehicle provided with a canister protection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the rear part of a vehicle provided with a canister protection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a rear view of a vehicle provided with a canister protection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the canister and the protective cover of the vehicle provided with the canister protection structure according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a bottom view of the canister, and FIG. 6B is a rear view of the canister. FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing an example of a displacement mode of the propeller shaft at the time of a side collision of a vehicle provided with a canister protection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a bottom view showing another example of the displacement mode of the propeller shaft at the time of a side collision of a vehicle provided with a canister protection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The canister protection structure according to the embodiment of the present invention is arranged at the lower part of the vehicle, and includes a fuel tank extending in the vehicle width direction, a propeller shaft extending below the fuel tank and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a fuel tank. It is a canister protection structure equipped with a canister attached via a bracket on the lower surface facing the propeller shaft in the vehicle width direction, and a connecting portion connected to a pipe is provided at the rear of the canister. It comprises a protective cover provided and attached to the canister via a bracket, the protective cover having a side wall covering the side facing the propeller shaft of the canister in the vehicle width direction, the rear end of the side wall being a connecting portion. It is characterized by extending to the rear of the vehicle. Thereby, the canister protection structure according to the embodiment of the present invention can effectively prevent the canister from being impacted by the propeller shaft at the time of a side collision of the vehicle.

Hereinafter, the protective structure of the canister according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 8 are views showing a protective structure of a canister according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 1 to 8, in the up / down / front / rear / left / right directions, the width direction of the vehicle is the left / right direction and the height direction of the vehicle is the up / down direction when the traveling direction of the vehicle is the front and the backward direction is the rear.

First, the configuration will be described. In FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a pair of side members 2 and 3 on the left and right sides, and the side members 2 and 3 are arranged apart from each other in the width direction of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the vehicle width direction). There is. Further, the side members 2 and 3 extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1.

The side members 2 and 3 extend from the vicinity of the front end portion of the vehicle 1 (not shown) to the vicinity of the rear end portion. The side members 2 and 3 are formed by molding a steel plate into a rail shape having a rectangular cross section, and are responsible for loads in each directions of extension, contraction, bending and twisting.

The vehicle 1 includes a front cross member 7 and a rear cross member 8. The side members 2 and 3 are connected to the front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8. The front cross member 7 is arranged in front of the rear cross member 8. The front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8 are made of a circular pipe material and extend in the vehicle width direction.

As described above, the vehicle 1 has a so-called ladder frame structure in which the side members 2 and 3 are connected in a ladder shape by the front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8. A plurality of cross members (not shown) are provided in front of the front cross member 7, and the side members 2 and 3 are also connected by these cross members.

A power train (not shown) is provided in front of the front cross member 7, and the power train includes an engine (not shown) and a transmission that shifts and outputs the rotational speed of a crankshaft (not shown) of the engine. To.

Further, a transfer device (not shown) is installed between the front cross member 7 and the power train, and the output shaft of the transmission is connected to the transfer device via a front propeller shaft (not shown).

The front end portion 5A of the propeller shaft 5 is connected to the rear end portion of the transfer device. A differential device 62 is connected to the rear end portion 5B of the propeller shaft 5 via a joint 61. The differential device 62 transmits the power of the propeller shaft 5 to the rear wheels (not shown) via the left and right drive shafts on the rear side (not shown) so as to be differentially rotatable.

As a result, the rotation of the engine is transmitted to the transmission and the transfer device, and is transmitted from the transfer device to the differential device 62. Further, the power transmitted to the transfer device is transmitted to the front wheels via a front propeller shaft (not shown) and a front differential device. In this way, the vehicle 1 is configured as a four-wheel drive vehicle. The vehicle 1 is a part-time 4WD vehicle that can switch between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive in the transfer.

In FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, upper members 10 and 20 are provided between the pair of side members 2 and 3 and between the front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8, and the upper members 10 and 20 are provided. Extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The front ends of the upper members 10 and 20 are connected to the front cross member 7. The rear ends of the upper members 10 and 20 are connected to the rear cross member 8.

The upper members 10 and 20 are formed by molding a steel plate into a rail shape having a U-shaped cross section, and are responsible for loads in each directions of extension, contraction, bending, and twisting. That is, the upper members 10 and 20 are configured as a part of the frame of the vehicle 1, and together with the side members 2, 3 and the front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8, bear the load in each direction acting on the vehicle 1.

Floor panels (not shown) are arranged above the upper members 10 and 20. A fuel tank 40 is provided below the upper members 10 and 20. The fuel supplied to the engine is stored in the fuel tank 40.

The fuel tank 40 is formed as a rectangular parallelepiped having a long side in the vehicle width direction as a whole, and extends in the vehicle width direction. On the right side surface of the fuel tank 40, a refueling pipe 46 for replenishing the fuel tank 40 with fuel from the outside is provided.

The fuel tank 40 is located below the pair of upper members 10 and 20, between the pair of side members 2, 3 and between the front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8. The fuel tank 40 is arranged at the lower part of the vehicle 1.

That is, the fuel tank 40 is surrounded by the side members 2 and 3 in the vehicle width direction, and is surrounded by the front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8 in the front-rear direction. A fuel pump 51 is provided on the upper surface of the fuel tank 40.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of fixed belts 55 and 56 are connected to the front and rear ends of the pair of upper members 10 and 20. The fixed belts 55 and 56 are arranged at positions overlapping the upper members 10 and 20 in a plan view, that is, directly below the upper members 10 and 20.

The fixing belts 55 and 56 extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle along the lower surface of the fuel tank 40, and fix the fuel tank 40 in a state of being pressed against the upper members 10 and 20. Therefore, the fuel tank 40 is supported by the front cross member 7 and the rear cross member 8 in a state of being pressed against the upper members 10 and 20 by the fixing belts 55 and 56.

The upper member 20 and the fixed belt 56 extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle in a plan view. On the other hand, the upper member 10 and the fixed belt 55 extend at an angle with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle in a plan view. In other words, the pair of upper members 10 and 20 are arranged at an angle rather than in parallel. Similarly, the pair of fixed belts 55 and 56 are also arranged at an angle.

Thereby, the displacement of the position of the fuel tank 40 can be regulated by the upper members 10, 20 and the fixed belts 55, 56 in both the vehicle front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction, and the vibration due to the running of the vehicle 1 or the vehicle 1 can be restricted. It is possible to prevent the fuel tank 40 from being displaced due to an impact at the time of a collision.

The propeller shaft 5 passes under the fuel tank 40 and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. A center tunnel 48, which is a recess for avoiding interference with the propeller shaft 5, is provided on the lower surface of the fuel tank 40. The propeller shaft 5 passes through the center tunnel 48. The center tunnel 48 is provided on the right side of the center of the lower surface of the fuel tank 40 in the left-right direction.

The bottom of the fuel tank 40 is formed deeply on the left side of the center tunnel 48 and shallowly formed on the right side of the center tunnel 48. In the fuel tank 40, the lower surface of the shallow bottom portion 43 having a shallow bottom portion is arranged above the lower surface of the deep bottom portion 42 having a deep bottom portion in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

A canister 70 is attached to the lower surface of the shallow bottom portion 43 of the fuel tank 40 via a bracket 90. The canister 70 is arranged at a position facing the propeller shaft 5 in the vehicle width direction. In other words, the canister 70 is arranged at the same position in the vertical direction of the vehicle as the propeller shaft 5. In this embodiment, the canister 70 is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped as a whole.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, a protective cover 80 is attached to the canister 70 via the bracket 90. The protective cover 80 has a side wall portion 81, and the side wall portion 81 covers a side surface (left side surface) facing the propeller shaft 5 of the canister 70 in the vehicle width direction. The side wall portion 81 extends in parallel with the side surface (left side surface) facing the propeller shaft 5 of the canister 70 in the vehicle width direction (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

The side wall portion 81 is provided with a bulging portion 82 that bulges toward the propeller shaft 5. The bulging portion 82 has a contact surface 82B which is a plane facing the propeller shaft 5 at the initial position before the displacement at an angle.

The contact surface 82B is arranged at a position farthest from the side wall portion 81 of the bulging portion 82, and extends along the radial direction centered on the front end portion 5A of the propeller shaft 5. In other words, the contact surface 82B is arranged at the position closest to the propeller shaft 5 in the bulging portion 82. Further, the contact surface 82B extends in a direction in which the propeller shaft 5 comes into surface contact with the propeller shaft 5 when the propeller shaft 5 rotates toward the canister 70 about the front end portion 5A at the time of a side collision of the vehicle 1.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the propeller shaft 5 is arranged on the side of the canister 70 in the vehicle width direction. Further, the canister 70 is arranged in an inclined posture with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle so as to be separated from the propeller shaft 5 toward the rear of the vehicle.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the bulging portion 82 is continuous with the front flat surface 82A, which is a plane continuous with the front end of the contact surface 82B and the side wall portion 81, and with the rear end of the contact surface 82B and the side wall portion 81. It has a rear flat surface 82C, which is a flat surface to be formed. The front flat surface 82A extends in parallel with the propeller shaft 5.

In FIGS. 1, 7, and 8, the joint 61 is connected to the rear end portion of the propeller shaft 5. Further, in FIG. 8, the boundary 83 between the rear flat surface 82C and the side wall portion 81 is arranged at the same position or in front of the front end 61A of the joint 61 in the vehicle front-rear direction.

In FIG. 5, a connecting portion 71 connected to a pipe (not shown) is provided at the rear portion of the canister 70. The rear end of the side wall portion 81 has a bent portion 84 that bends toward the opposite side (right side) of the propeller shaft 5.

In FIGS. 5, 6 (A) and 6 (B), the bracket 90 includes a flat plate portion 91 extending along the upper surface of the canister 70 and an extending portion 92 extending downward from the end portion of the flat plate portion 91. Have. A protective cover 80 is fixed by a fastener 97 in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the extending portion 92. The extending portion 92 is arranged with a gap between the extending portion 92 and the canister 70.

Next, the action and effect will be described. When another vehicle or the like collides with the rear side surface of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, also referred to as a side collision), the collision load is connected to the drive shaft via a rear wheel (not shown) and a drive shaft connected to the rear wheel. It acts on the differential device. Then, the differential device 62 that has received the collision load is displaced in the load direction. That is, the differential device 62 is displaced in the vehicle width direction.

When the differential device 62 is displaced in the vehicle width direction, the propeller shaft 5 connected to the differential device 62 via the joint 61 is displaced so as to rotate about the front end portion 5A as shown in FIG. 7. do. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the propeller shaft 5 moves in parallel while maintaining the posture (see FIG. 8).

In such a case, according to the protective structure of the canister of the present embodiment, the protective cover 80 is provided on the canister 70 via the bracket 90, and the protective cover 80 is aligned with the propeller shaft 5 of the canister 70 in the vehicle width direction. It has a side wall portion 81 that covers the facing side surfaces. Further, the side wall portion 81 is provided with a bulging portion 82 that bulges toward the propeller shaft 5.

As a result, when the vehicle 1 collides sideways, the propeller shaft 5 rotates (see FIG. 7) or translates (see FIG. 8) due to the impact, so that the propeller shaft 5 moves to the canister 70 side.

Then, when the propeller shaft 5 is about to come into contact with the canister 70, the propeller shaft 5 comes into contact with the bulging portion 82 of the protective cover 80 covering the canister 70 to absorb the impact, so that the impact given to the canister 70 is alleviated. be able to. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the canister 70 from being impacted by the propeller shaft 5 when the vehicle collides with the side.

According to the protective structure of the canister of this embodiment, the bulging portion 82 has a contact surface 82B which is a flat surface facing the propeller shaft 5 at an angle. The contact surface 82B is arranged at a position farthest from the side wall portion 81 of the bulging portion 82, and extends along the radial direction centered on the front end portion 5A of the propeller shaft 5.

As a result, when the propeller shaft 5 rotates about the front end portion 5A at the time of a side collision of the vehicle 1, the contact surface 82B can receive the load from the propeller shaft 5 over the entire plane. Therefore, the load due to the contact with the propeller shaft 5 can be distributed over the entire plane surface of the contact surface 82B, and the impact at the time of a side collision of the vehicle can be mitigated.

According to the canister protection structure of this embodiment, the propeller shaft 5 is arranged on the side of the canister 70 in the vehicle width direction. Further, the canister 70 is arranged in an inclined posture with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle so as to be separated from the propeller shaft 5 toward the rear of the vehicle.

As a result, even if the propeller shaft 5 moves to the canister 70 side, it becomes difficult for the propeller shaft 5 to come into direct contact with the canister 70. Further, even when the propeller shaft 5 comes into contact with the canister 70, the propeller shaft 5 comes into contact with the protective cover 80 before it comes into contact with the canister 70, and the contact with the bulging portion 82 of the protective cover 80 causes an impact. It can be relaxed and can effectively protect the canister 70.

According to the protective structure of the canister of this embodiment, the bulging portion 82 has a front flat surface 82A which is a plane continuous with the front end and the side wall portion 81 of the contact surface 82B, and the rear end and the side wall of the contact surface 82B. It has a rear flat surface 82C, which is a flat surface continuous with the portion 81. The front flat surface 82A extends in parallel with the propeller shaft 5.

As a result, when the propeller shaft 5 moves in parallel during a side collision of the vehicle 1, the load from the propeller shaft 5 can be received on the front flat surface 82A over the entire plane, the load can be dispersed, and the impact can be mitigated.

According to the protective structure of the canister of this embodiment, the joint 61 is connected to the rear end portion of the propeller shaft 5. Further, the boundary 83 between the rear flat surface 82C and the side wall portion 81 is arranged at the same position or in front of the front end 61A of the joint 61 in the vehicle front-rear direction.

As a result, when the propeller shaft 5 is displaced in parallel as shown in FIG. 8 and comes into contact with the protective cover 80 during a side collision of the vehicle 1, the corner of the front end 61A of the joint 61 comes into contact with the rear flat surface 82C. This can be prevented, and the load due to contact with the corner of the front end 61A of the joint 61 can be prevented from concentrating on the rear flat surface 82C. Therefore, the load from the propeller shaft 5 can be dispersed and received by the bulging portion 82, and the canister 70 can be effectively protected.

According to the protective structure of the canister of this embodiment, a connecting portion 71 connected to the pipe is provided at the rear of the canister 70. The rear end of the side wall portion 81 has a bent portion 84 that bends toward the side opposite to the propeller shaft 5.

In this way, by providing the bent portion 84 that bends toward the opposite side to the propeller shaft 5 at the rear end portion of the side wall portion 81 of the protective cover 80, the rear end portion of the propeller shaft 5 is connected via the joint 61. The distance between the differential device 62 and the protective cover 80 can be widened. This makes it possible to prevent the joint 61 or the differential device 62 from strongly contacting or interfering with the protective cover 80 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle 1.

Further, even when the connection between the propeller shaft 5 and the differential device 62 is cut at the time of the side collision of the vehicle 1 and the differential device 62 comes into contact with the bent portion 84, the bent portion 84 can be elastically deformed. The impact can be mitigated. Therefore, the canister 70 can be effectively protected.

According to the canister protection structure of this embodiment, the bracket 90 has a flat plate portion 91 extending along the upper surface of the canister 70 and an extending portion 92 extending downward from the end portion of the flat plate portion 91. Further, a protective cover 80 is fixed in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the extension portion 92, and the extension portion 92 is arranged with a gap between the extension portion 92 and the canister 70.

As a result, after the bulging portion 82 is deformed to the limit by the impact from the propeller shaft 5, the extending portion 92 of the bracket 90 can absorb the impact while being deformed in the direction of the canister 70.

Further, since the gap is provided between the extension portion 92 and the canister 70, it is possible to prevent the protective cover 80 and the extension portion 92 from coming into contact with the canister 70 even after the extension portion 92 is deformed. As a result, the canister 70 can be effectively protected.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. All such modifications and equivalents are intended to be included in the following claims.

1 ... vehicle, 5 ... propeller shaft, 40 ... fuel tank, 61 ... fitting, 61A ... front end, 70 ... canister, 71 ... connection, 80 ... protection Cover, 81 ... side wall, 82 ... bulge, 82A ... front flat surface, 82B ... contact surface, 82C ... rear flat surface, 83 ... boundary, 84. .. Bending part, 90 ... bracket, 91 ... flat plate part, 92 ... extending part

Claims (4)

A fuel tank located at the bottom of the vehicle and extending in the width direction of the vehicle,
A propeller shaft that passes under the fuel tank and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle,
A canister protection structure comprising a canister attached via a bracket on the lower surface of the fuel tank at a position facing the propeller shaft in the vehicle width direction.
A connecting portion to be connected to the pipe is provided at the rear of the canister.
The canister is provided with a protective cover attached via the bracket.
The protective cover has a side wall portion that covers a side surface of the canister facing the propeller shaft in the vehicle width direction.
A canister protection structure characterized in that the rear end of the side wall portion extends to the rear of the vehicle with respect to the connecting portion. The protective structure for a canister according to claim 1, wherein the rear end of the side wall portion has a bent portion that bends toward the side opposite to the propeller shaft. A differential device is connected to the rear end of the propeller shaft via a joint.
The protective structure for a canister according to claim 2, wherein the bent portion is arranged at the same position with respect to the front end of the differential device in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The propeller shaft is arranged on the side of the canister in the vehicle width direction.
Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the canister and the side wall portion are arranged in an inclined posture with respect to the vehicle front-rear direction so as to be separated from the propeller shaft toward the rear of the vehicle. Canister protection structure described in section.

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