JP3296113B2 - Sealing structure of the exposed part of the fuel tank of the car - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for sealing an exposed portion of a fuel tank of an automobile, and more particularly to a structure for sealing an exposed portion of a fuel tank disposed in a trunk room of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A fuel tank for an FR vehicle is usually arranged in a trunk room. In this case, a connector for connecting the fuel tank and the pipe is provided below the fuel tank in order to improve the assembling property of the pipe parts. There is one attached to the side (Invention Association Technical Report No. 87-4997). The outline is shown in FIG. A hole 1 is formed in the floor 11 of the vehicle body located below the fuel tank 10.
2 is opened, and the collector 13 is attached to the fuel tank 10 by the plate nut 14 and the bolt 15 arranged in the fuel tank 10 so that the connector 13 enters the hole 12. As a result, the peripheral portion 16 of the fuel tank 10 to which the connector 13 is attached is exposed in the hole 12. In order to prevent water from entering the vehicle body and the fuel tank from the exposed peripheral edge portion 16, a vent cover 17 is disposed between the floor 11 and the fuel tank 10, and the vent cover 17 and the fuel tank 10 are connected to each other. The sealing material 18 is provided between the vent cover 17 and the fuel tank 10, and the sealing material 1 is provided between the vent cover 17 and the fuel tank 10.
9 and the connector 13 and the fuel tank 10
And a sealing material 20 interposed therebetween.

[0003]

Since the peripheral portion 16 of the fuel tank 10 surrounded by the seal member 19 is exposed to the outside of the vehicle body, it is necessary to apply a rust-proof coating to the exposed portion. In addition, a plurality of types of seals 18, 19, and 20 are required in addition to the vent cover 17, and the number of parts is increased.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sealing structure for an exposed portion of a fuel tank of an automobile, in which rust-proof coating on a fuel tank exposed to a hole in a floor can be eliminated and the number of parts can be reduced. It is in.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an exposed portion of a fuel tank in which a connector for piping is mounted so as to enter a hole formed in a floor of a vehicle body, and a peripheral portion of the mounted connector is exposed in the hole. And a single vent cover made of an elastic body sized to substantially cover the exposed portion, the vent cover being closely fixed to the periphery of the hole. A first seal portion, a mounting hole through which the connector penetrates, and a second seal portion closely fixed to the connector and the fuel tank at a periphery of the mounting hole.

[0006]

The first seal portion of the vent cover is fixed in close contact with the periphery of the hole in the floor of the vehicle body, while the connector penetrates the mounting hole, and the second seal portion of the vent cover is connected to the connector and the fuel. Fix it closely to the tank.
As a result, the portion exposed to the hole of the fuel tank is covered by the vent cover below, and is shut off from the outside of the vehicle body.

Since the fuel tank has no portion exposed to the outside, it is not necessary to apply a rust-proof coating to the fuel tank. Nevertheless, since the fuel tank is covered by the vent cover, rust prevention performance can be improved. In the case of anti-rust coating, the fuel tank is placed in a considerably high temperature atmosphere during the drying process, and as a result, it is necessary to maintain the heat resistance of the components placed inside the fuel tank, especially the resin parts. According to the present invention without rust coating, it is possible to reduce the heat-resistant grade of a resin component, and to take measures such as replacing a metal component with a resin component, thereby reducing costs. In this way, the rust prevention coating process of the fuel tank itself and the accompanying drying process can be eliminated, so that the cost of the fuel tank can be reduced, and the cost of the components arranged inside the fuel tank can be reduced. It is possible.

Since the fuel tank is covered with a single elastic vent cover to prevent water from entering the vehicle body from the exposed portion and into the fuel tank, the number of parts is greatly reduced.

Since the connector is located below the fuel tank, the assemblability of components connected to the connector can be improved.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sealing structure according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, seals an exposed portion 31 of a fuel tank 30 below and has a single vent cover 32. Fuel tank 30
The connector 34 is attached so that the pipe connector 34 enters a hole 37 formed in the floor 36 of the vehicle body, and the attached peripheral portion is exposed to the hole 37.
It is 1. That is, the exposed portion 31 is a portion that is exposed to the outside unless covered by the vent cover 32.

The vent cover 32 is made of, for example, EPDM.
And has a size that substantially covers the exposed portion 31. That is, when the vent cover 32 is projected onto the fuel tank 30, the dimensional relationship is such that the exposed portion 31 is included in the projection plane of the vent cover 32. The vent cover 32 has a hole 37 as shown in FIGS.
Seal part 40 fixed closely to the peripheral edge 38 of
And a mounting hole 41 through which the connector 34 penetrates, and a second seal portion 42 which is fixed closely to the connector 34 and the fuel tank 30 around the mounting hole 41.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first seal portion 40 and the second seal portion 42 of the vent cover 32 are thicker than the other portions, and this thickness extends over the entire circumference. The first seal part 40 includes the retainer 46 and the floor 3
6 and is fixed to the floor 36 by four fastenings with bolts 48 and nuts 50. On the other hand, the second seal portion 42 applies the second seal portion 42 to the exposed portion 31 of the fuel tank, and allows the connector 34 having a structure known per se to penetrate the mounting hole 41 and the hole of the fuel tank 30. By screwing a bolt 52 into the connector 34 and screwing it into a plate nut 54 inside the fuel tank 30, the connector 34 is sandwiched between the flange 35 of the connector 34 and the exposed portion 31 of the fuel tank 30.
It is fixed to.

As in the above embodiment, the first seal portion 40
The thickness of the second seal portion 42 is made larger than that of the other portions, the first seal portion 40 is formed by a retainer 46 as shown in FIG. 3, and the second seal portion 42 is formed by a circular flange portion of the connector 34. Preferably, it is tightened by 35. According to this, the first sealing portion 40 and the second
The seal portion 42 has a seal surface that spreads over the entire circumference, and is sufficiently separated from the opposing sealed surface.
In addition, it can be completely intimate and can prevent water from entering for a long time.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the retainer 46 can be formed of an iron plate or other metal plate or plastic in an annular shape having an annular contact surface 56 having a shape corresponding to the first sealing surface 40. It is preferable that the retainer 46 be provided with a flange portion 57 that is folded downward to increase rigidity. In order to fix the first seal portion 40 of the vent cover 32 to the peripheral edge 38 of the hole 37 without using the retainer 46, the first seal portion 40 may be fitted to the peripheral edge 38 of the hole, and a double-sided adhesive tape may be used. Although it can be used, it is preferable to use the retainer 46 since a sufficient sealing surface can be secured for a long period of time.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 shows a positioning projection 43 projecting downward from a part of the outer peripheral edge of a second seal portion 42 of a vent cover 32, a first seal portion 40 and a second seal portion 42. And a slack portion 44 that protrudes downward in a downward direction. When the connector 34 is inserted through the mounting hole 41, the hole of the fuel tank 30 cannot be confirmed from the outside. Therefore, the positioning protrusion 43 is pushed by the connector 34, and the vent cover 32 is deformed to slightly move the position of the connector 34 back and forth, left and right. Displace and fit. At this time, the deformation of the vent cover 32 is facilitated by the slack portion 44. The gap between the connector 34 and the plate nut 54 is sealed by an O-ring 60.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, there are two connector mounting holes 41, so that the connector 34 is connected to the fuel tank 30 as shown in FIG. Instead, one mounting hole 41 is provided in the vent cover 32,
One connector 34 may be connected to the fuel tank 30.

As described above, a pipe is connected to the connector 34 attached to the fuel tank 30, as is known per se, and this pipe is led to the engine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a sealing structure of an exposed portion of a fuel tank of an automobile according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vent cover.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a retainer.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional structure for sealing a fuel tank exposed portion of an automobile.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 fuel tank 31 exposed part 32 vent cover 34 connector 36 floor 37 hole 38 peripheral edge 40 first seal part 41 mounting hole 42 second seal part 46 retainer

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A structure in which said connector is mounted so that a piping connector enters a hole formed in a floor of a vehicle body, and a peripheral portion of the mounted portion seals a lower part of an exposed portion of a fuel tank exposed to the hole. A single vent cover made of an elastic body having a size substantially covering the exposed portion,
The vent cover has a first seal portion fixed closely to the periphery of the hole, a mounting hole through which the connector penetrates, and the connector at the periphery of the mounting hole and closely fixed to the fuel tank. A sealing structure for an exposed portion of a fuel tank of an automobile, comprising: