JP3266991B2 - Automotive canister - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a canister for an automobile, which suppresses the emission of fuel vapor into the atmosphere, and more particularly to a canister which has a long service life and requires few components.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, the upper part of a fuel tank of an engine is opened to the atmosphere in order to always keep the pressure in the tank at atmospheric pressure. However, in a vehicle or the like, when the ambient temperature is high, such as when the vehicle is parked under the scorching sun, the fuel evaporates vigorously, and the evaporated fuel is released into the atmosphere from the above-mentioned atmosphere opening port, causing air pollution.

In order to prevent such air pollution, a canister is conventionally connected to an air opening of a fuel tank, and a fuel adsorbent such as activated carbon (hereinafter simply referred to as adsorbent) is filled in the canister. When the fuel vapor in the tank attempts to escape to the atmosphere, the fuel vapor is adsorbed by the adsorbent, and only the pressure is released from the atmosphere opening port (atmosphere port) formed in the canister.

[0004] The connecting portion between the fuel tank and the canister is connected to the intake side of the engine, and during the operation of the engine, the evaporated fuel adsorbed by the adsorbent is introduced into the intake system to regenerate the adsorbent. I have. As shown in FIG. 7, the canister 90 contains an adsorbent 81 inside a case 91 and has a connection port to a fuel tank 92.
3 and a purge port 9 having a connection to the engine 94
5 and an atmospheric port 96.

[0005] Between the ports 93, 95, 96 and the adsorbent 81, filters 97, 98 are provided. The filters 97 and 98 capture dust and adsorbent powder and the like. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 911 denotes
It is a support for supporting the filter 98.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a spring for pressing the filter 97 to fix the adsorbent 81 and a pressing plate.

[0006]

However, the conventional canister 90 shown in FIG. 7 has the following problems. The first point is that when the filter 98 is used for a long time, the filter 98 particularly on the atmospheric port side is clogged with dust, and the airflow resistance increases. This has become a particularly important issue as the guaranteed driving distance of automobiles increases. To increase the dust collection capacity of the atmosphere side filter 98, the filter 98
May be increased, but in the conventional method, the filter area is limited by the cross-sectional area of the case.

The second problem is that the spring 912 and the holding plate 913 are used to fix the adsorbent 81, and the number of parts is large. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and has as its object to provide an inexpensive automobile canister having a filter having a high capability of capturing airborne dust and having a small number of parts.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a canister for an automobile in which an adsorbent is stored in a case, wherein the case includes an atmosphere port opened to the atmosphere and a tank port connected to a fuel tank. and it has a purge port connected to the intake port of the engine, also odor in the case
In addition, a bottom plate with a large number of ventilation holes
And a flat filter on the adsorbent side.
Then, the adsorbent is stored on the flat filter, and
Bottom plate and the flat plate and the wave crests of the sheet-like filter of corrugated shape formed alternately concave and convex portions between the flat filters
Arranged on the filter with its wave bottom abutting on the bottom plate
The elastic repulsion of the corrugated sheet filter itself.
Press down the adsorbent through the above flat filter
An automotive canister characterized by the above configuration .

The most remarkable point in the present invention is that a gap between the bottom plate on the air port side and the flat filter on the adsorbent side is provided.
A corrugated sheet-like filter in which concave portions and convex portions are formed alternately is arranged, and the sheet-like filter itself has an elastic repulsion force.
That is , the adsorbent on the flat filter is pressed down . In the wave shape, repetitions of wave peaks (convex portions) and wave bottoms (concave portions) appear in only one direction at equal intervals (Fig. 2), and those in two directions (vertical and horizontal directions) (Fig. 5) and those concentrically spreading (FIG. 4).

Further, the interval between the wave peaks (wave bottoms) is not necessarily required to be constant, may be irregular, and the wave peak height and the wave bottom depth do not necessarily have to be constant.
Further, as described above, since the uneven portion is formed, the ventilation area of the atmosphere-side filter is larger than the plane projection area of the atmosphere-side filter (cross-sectional area in the ventilation flow direction in the case).

A second invention of the present application is a canister for an automobile in which an adsorbent is stored in a case, wherein the case includes an atmosphere port opened to the atmosphere, a tank port connected to a fuel tank, and an engine. has and inlet and connected purge port, also, the sheet-like filter of corrugated shape formed alternately concave <br/> portion and the convex portion is in the case, one side of the Abut the bottom of the case against the inner wall of the case
And contact the adsorbent on the other side.
Filled, elastic elasticity of the corrugated sheet filter itself
An automobile canister characterized by having a structure in which the adsorbent is pressed down by an elastic force .

In the second invention, the most remarkable point is that a corrugated sheet filter is disposed between the inner wall of the canister and the adsorbent, and the wave bottom of the sheet filter is connected to the inner wall of the case. The structure is such that the adsorbent is pressed down by the elastic repulsion of the corrugated sheet filter by being disposed in contact with the sheet . That is, the wave crest-shaped filter is arranged with the wave crest facing the center of the case and the wave bottom facing the inner wall (see FIGS. 1 and 6). The shape of the waves and the like are the same as in the first invention.

The corrugated sheet has a pressure applied in the amplitude direction of the wave, that is, a force that elastically repels a force in the direction of crushing the wave peak. In other words, when the end of the sheet is fixed and a vertical force for crushing the wave peak is applied, an elastic force repelling the force is generated (see FIG. 3).

The elastic repulsive force of the corrugated sheet is used to suppress the adsorbent from moving. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the filter can be directly interposed between the case and the adsorbent to suppress the adsorbent. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 1, a configuration may be adopted in which the pressure of the adsorbent is withheld via another sheet (reference numeral 215).

[0015]

[Operation and Effect] The atmosphere side filter in the first invention is
It has a corrugated plate shape having concave portions and convex portions. Therefore, the area of the sheet is greatly increased as compared with the conventional flat filter (FIG. 7). This is because the corrugated plate has a significantly larger surface area than a simple curved surface such as a spherical surface. Therefore, the amount of dust that can be captured by the filter greatly increases, and the ventilation resistance decreases for the same amount of captured dust. The corrugated sheet filter is
The corrugated plate is disposed between the flat plate filter and the bottom plate.
The flat sheet filter is formed by the elastic repulsion of the sheet filter itself.
Press the adsorbent through the filter. With this, adsorption
Suppress the movement of the agent. Therefore, as in the past,
The need for an adsorbent pressing member such as a ring or a holding plate is eliminated. Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an inexpensive canister for an automobile that has extremely high dust collection capability at the atmospheric port, has a small number of parts, is inexpensive, and can withstand long-distance running of the automobile.

Further, since the second invention has a corrugated filter in which concave portions and convex portions are alternately formed, when the outer edge portion of the filter is fixed, the filter moves in the vertical direction (wave peak and wave bottom). It has strong elasticity in the direction of the drop with respect to. That is, the spring 912 shown in FIG.
And the pressing plate 913 has the same effect as the filter 97 does.

Therefore, if the atmosphere-side filter according to the present invention is arranged on the inner surface of the case of the canister, the effect of suppressing the movement of the adsorbent and fixing the adsorbent is obtained. Therefore, the adsorbent pressing members such as the spring 912 and the pressing plate 913 in the conventional example become unnecessary. As described above, when the corrugated filter is used as an atmosphere-side filter, the life of the canister is greatly extended. As described above, according to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide an inexpensive automobile canister having a filter having a high capability of capturing airborne dust and having a small number of components.

[0018]

【Example】

Embodiment 1 An automobile canister according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a canister 10 for an automobile in which an adsorbent 81 is accommodated in a case 12. The case 12 has an air port 13 open to the atmosphere on one surface, a tank port 14 connected to a fuel tank 92, and a purge port 15 connected to an intake port of the engine 94 on another surface. And

The ports 13 to 15 and the adsorbent 81
, Dust collecting filters 20 and 21 are interposed therebetween. The air filter 21 interposed between the air port 13 and the adsorbent 81 alternates between the concave portion 211 and the convex portion 212. A corrugated sheet filter 210 having a corrugated sheet shape is formed.

Hereinafter, each of them will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, an atmosphere port 13 is formed at the bottom 121 of the case 12 of the canister 10, and a tank port 14 and a purge port 15 are formed at the top 122. The tank port 14 is connected to the upper surface of the fuel tank 92, and the purge port 15 is connected to an intake port of the engine 94. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 941 denotes a throttle valve.

The bottom 121 of the case 12 has a ventilation hole 12
And a bottom plate 123 having a large number of holes 4 formed therein.
An air-side filter 21 is provided on 3. The atmosphere-side filter 21 is a flat filter 215 having a flat shape.
And a sawtooth wave-shaped corrugated filter 210 shown in FIG. The corrugated filter 210 has a one-dimensional corrugated shape in which the crest and wave bottom change only in one direction.

The upper portion of the atmosphere side filter 21 is filled with an adsorbent 81, and a flat filter 20 is interposed between the adsorbent 81 and the upper surface of the case 12. Each of the filters 20, 210, and 215 is a filter made of a nonwoven fabric, and the adsorbent 81 is activated carbon.

Next, the operation and effect of the canister 10 of this embodiment will be described. In the atmosphere-side filter 21, a main filter that comes into direct contact with the outside air and absorbs dust is a corrugated plate filter 210. This corrugated plate 210 is provided with
1 and a convex portion 212. Therefore, the ventilation area is the projected area of the corrugated filter 210, that is, the case 12
Is larger than the cross-sectional area in the ventilation flow direction. As described above, the corrugated filter 210 in this example has a large area and therefore has a large dust holding ability. Therefore, even when used for a long period of time, the ventilation resistance is not increased and the service life is long.

Further, since the corrugated plate filter 210 has a corrugated plate shape, it has an elastic repulsive force against pressure from above. That is, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), in a state where the side edge portion is restrained and subjected to pressure Fg from above, causing repulsion F _R as shown in FIG. (B).
The repulsive force F _R is generated and the sealing force Fh for pressing the inner wall 125 of the case 12, a reaction force -Fg resisting the pressure Fg.

That is, the corrugated plate filter 210 itself has a spring effect, and the spring 912 (FIG. 7) for holding the adsorbent 81 and the holding plate 913 are unnecessary as in the conventional example. Therefore, the number of parts is small and the configuration is simple, and the cost is low. As described above, according to this example, it is possible to provide an inexpensive automobile canister having a filter having a high capability of capturing airborne dust and having a small number of parts.

The corrugated sheet filter 210 of this embodiment is an example of a one-dimensional corrugated sheet whose wave crest and wave bottom change only in one direction. However, the wave crest and wave bottom are changed in two orthogonal directions. May be changed (see FIG. 5).

Also, instead of having a sawtooth wave shape as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the corrugated filter 216 may have a sine wave shape. FIG. 5 (b) shows BB,
It is shown that both the CC cross-sectional views show the same cross-sectional shape. Further, as shown in FIG.
The same effect can be obtained even if the corrugated plate 7 is formed concentrically. Embodiment 2 As shown in FIG. 6, this embodiment is an example in which the air-side filter 22 in Embodiment 1 is composed of only the corrugated plate filter 221 and does not have the flat plate filter (215 in FIG. 1). That is, the adsorbent 81 is directly placed on the corrugated filter 221. Then, the adsorbent 81 is filled to every corner while applying vibration or the like, and the adsorbent 81 is fixed so as not to move. Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a canister according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an air filter according to the first embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are an enlarged view (a) and a partial enlarged view (b) of the atmosphere filter unit in FIG. 1;

4A is a perspective view of an air filter having another shape according to the first embodiment, and FIG.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of another air filter according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of each of the filters BB and CC.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a canister according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional canister.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10. . . Canister, 12. . . Case, 13. . . Atmospheric port, 21. . . Atmospheric filter, 210, 216, 217, 221. . . Corrugated plate filter, 81. . . Adsorbent,

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Tokuda 1-1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi Japan Inside Denso Co., Ltd. (56) References Japanese Utility Model Showa Sho 62-169245 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int) .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F02M 25/08 311

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A canister for an automobile having an adsorbent stored in a case, wherein the case is connected to an atmosphere port opened to the atmosphere, a tank port connected to a fuel tank, and an intake port of an engine. A purge port is provided.
A bottom plate with many holes is provided, while a flat plate is
Filter and adsorb on the flat filter
Agent was housed, also the wave crests of the sheet-like filter of corrugated shape formed alternately concave and convex portions between the bottom plate and the flat filter
The wave bottom of the flat filter is abutted against the bottom plate.
The corrugated sheet filter itself has an elastic repulsive force.
Press down the adsorbent through the flat filter.
An automobile canister characterized by being formed . 2. An automobile key containing an adsorbent in a case.
A canister, wherein the case is open to the atmosphere.
Air port and tank port connected to fuel tank
And a purge port connected to the intake port of the engine.
AndAlso, in the above case Waves with alternating concave and convex portions
Plate-shaped sheet filter, The wave bottom on one sideUp
Inner wall of the caseAnd place it on the other side
Is filled by contacting the above adsorbent, Due to the elastic repulsion of the corrugated sheet filter itself
R Characterized by a structure that holds down the adsorbent
Automotive canister.