JP3376885B2 - Filler tube fixing structure for automotive fuel tank - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filler tube fixing structure for an automobile fuel tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The filler tube of a fuel tank for an automobile is detachably fixed to the filler base on the vehicle body panel side for safety measures in the event of a vehicle collision.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional filler tube fixing structure. The fuel tube 1 (see FIG. 5) has a tubular shape on the outer periphery of the filler tube 2 in the vicinity of the open end 3 of the filler tube 2. The metal filler cap protector 10 is fixed by brazing.

The filler cap protector 10 has a height capable of protecting the filler cap 5 screwed on the open end 3 of the filler tube 2.

A cylindrical boot 11 made of an elastic material such as rubber or soft synthetic resin is detachably fitted and fixed to the upper edge of the filler cap protector 10.
The flange portion 11a at the upper end periphery is fastened and fixed by the screw 13 via the retainer 12 onto the peripheral portion of the opening 8a of the filler base 8 provided in the refueling window portion 7 of the vehicle body panel 6.

As described above, the filler cap protector 10 and the edge of the opening 8a of the filler base 8 are connected to the elastic boot 1.
1 makes it possible to absorb relative displacement between the filler base 8 and the opening end 3 of the filler tube 2 due to vibrations during vehicle traveling, and to open the filler base 8 and the filler tube 2 at the time of a vehicle collision. When the relative displacement amount with respect to the end 3 becomes large, the elastic boot 11 stretches and absorbs this displacement amount, or the elastic boot 11 is separated from the filler cap protector 10 to prevent a collision load from acting on the filler tube 2. At the same time, the filler cap protector 10 prevents the filler cap 5 from interfering with the vehicle body panel 6 and coming off the opening end 3.

Further, this filler cap protector 1
A drain port 10a is provided in the lower corner of the bottom of 0 to allow the fuel to spill out of the vehicle from the drain port 10a through the drain tube 14 when the fuel spills into the filler cap protector 10 during refueling. Is done.

[0008]

As described above, the filler cap protector 10 and the opening 8a of the filler base 8 are provided.
When the edge is connected via the elastic boot 11, the disposition position of the opening end 3 of the filler tube 2 by the length (height) of the elastic boot 11 is larger than that of the opening 8 a of the filler base 8. The length of the filler tube 2 is restricted to be short so as to be set inside the panel 6.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the height dimension H from the full restriction position of the fuel tank 1 restricted by the in-tank protruding end of the vent tube 4 to the opening end 3 of the filler tube 2 is relatively low. Therefore, if the fuel tank nears full when refueling with a refueling gun (not shown), the fuel bubbles rising in the filler tube 2 easily touch the sensor for auto stop provided in the refueling gun. ,
The refueling gun is automatically stopped before the fuel tank 1 is full, which causes a problem that the refueling operation must be repeated many times.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the height at which the filler tube is provided at the open end of the filler tube, that is, the upward protruding length of the filler tube, as much as possible without impairing the safety in the event of a vehicle collision. Provided is a filler tube fixing structure for an automobile fuel tank capable of improving refueling workability.

[0011]

According to the invention of claim 1, the opening end of the filler tube of the fuel tank is arranged at substantially the same height as the opening of the filler base provided in the refueling window of the vehicle body panel. In addition, while a flange member is fixedly provided at a position near the opening end on the outer periphery of the filler tube, a cylindrical filler cap protector is inserted from the outside of the filler base into the opening of the filler base and fastened and fixed to the flange member. Surrounding the filler cap, the flange formed by bending on the upper edge of the filler cap protector is placed on the opening edge of the filler base via an elastic sealing material, and the flange of the filler cap protector is bent. It is characterized in that the molding base is provided with an easily breakable portion in which the flange portion can be broken and separated by a load of a predetermined value or more.

According to the invention of claim 2, in the intermediate position of the body portion of the filler cap protector of claim 1,
It is characterized in that the body portion is provided with an easily breakable portion that can be broken and separated in the vertical direction by a load of a predetermined value or more.

According to the invention of claim 3, claims 1 and 2 are provided.
The easily breakable part described in (1) is a notch formed in a ring shape.

In the invention of claim 4, claims 1 to 3
The filler cap protector described in 1 above is characterized in that a drain port is provided in a lower corner of the bottom.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the opening end of the filler tube is arranged at substantially the same height position as the opening of the filler base, the opening of the filler tube is opened from the fuel tank full regulation position. The height to the end can be made as large as possible, and even if the fuel tank fills up near the fuel tank and fuel bubbles rise in the filler tube when the fuel is refueled, these fuel bubbles are used for the automatic stop of the fuel gun. It becomes difficult to reach the sensor of, and as a result, more fuel can be refueled by one refueling operation, and refueling workability can be improved.

Further, the filler cap protector is inserted into the opening from the outside of the filler base and fastened and fixed to the flange member of the filler tube, so that the flange portion at the upper end peripheral edge of the filler cap protector is located above the opening peripheral edge portion of the filler base. Since the elastic sealing material can be placed in a state of being appropriately compressed and deformed, the sealing performance around the opening can be ensured, and the relative displacement between the opening end of the filler tube and the filler base due to vibration during traveling of the vehicle, etc. Can be appropriately absorbed by the elastic sealing material.

In addition, when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the flange portion of the filler cap protector during a vehicle collision, the easily breakable portion provided on the bending molding base portion of the flange portion is broken and the flange portion is quickly separated. Since it is possible to prevent the collision load from acting on the filler tube, it is possible to sufficiently secure the safety at the time of collision.

Further, since the flange portion of the filler cap protector need not be fixed with a dedicated retainer, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be obtained advantageously.

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, when a load of a predetermined value or more acts in the body portion of the filler cap protector in the radial direction or the axial direction during a vehicle collision, the body Since the easily breakable part provided in the part is also broken, the body part can be quickly separated in the vertical direction,
It is possible to prevent the opening end of the filler base from interfering with the filler cap protector and causing the collision input to act on the filler tube, so that the safety at the time of collision can be further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects, the easily breakable portion can be easily formed by engraving the notch in an annular shape. Therefore, the filler cap protector is molded. It is possible to improve the property.

According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effects of claims 1 to 3, since the filler cap protector is provided with the drain port, it is possible to obtain the spilled fuel dischargeability comparable to the conventional one. .

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings by attaching the same reference numerals to the same parts as those in the conventional structure.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, an opening end 3 of a filler tube 2 of a fuel tank 1 (see FIG. 5) is provided with an opening 8 of a filler base 8 provided in a refueling window 7 of a vehicle body panel 6.
It is formed to have an upward protruding length that is substantially the same height position as a, and a metal flange member 15 is brazed and fixed to a position near the opening end 3 on the outer periphery of the filler tube 2.

Reference numeral 16 is a filler cap protector for protecting the filler cap 5 screwed onto the open end 3 of the filler tube 2, and is formed in a cylindrical shape with an appropriate synthetic resin material having relatively high hardness (for example, containing glass fiber). There is.

The filler cap protector 16 has an insertion hole 17 formed in the inner bottom thereof, and a flange portion 18 having a diameter sufficiently larger than the opening 8a of the filler base 8 is bent and formed at the upper end peripheral edge. This flange 18
In the bending-molded base portion, a notch 19 is formed as an easily breakable portion which is ruptured when the load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the flange portion 18 in the vertical direction so that the flange portion 18 can be ruptured and separated.

The filler cap protector 16 is inserted from the outside of the filler base 8 into the opening 8a, and the inner bottom is placed on the flange member 15 of the filler tube 2 with the sealing material 22.
It is fastened and fixed by a weld nut 23 and a bolt 24 via a through hole, and has an arbitrary height capable of surrounding and protecting the filler cap 5 in a state of being attached to the flange member 15.

A sealing material holding portion 20 is formed on the lower surface of the flange portion 18, and, for example, independent foaming is provided between the sealing material holding portion 20 and the peripheral portion of the opening 8a of the filler base 8. An elastic seal material 21 made of an elastic material such as rubber or soft synthetic resin is interposed, and the elastic seal material 21 and the flange portion 18 and the filler are fixed by fastening and fixing the elastic seal material 21 on the flange member 15 at the bottom. The flange portion 18 is fixed to the filler base 8 by being appropriately compressed with the base 8.

Further, a drain port 25 is provided at a lower corner of the bottom of the filler cap protector 16 so that when the fuel spills into the filler cap protector 16 during refueling, the drain port 25 It can be quickly discharged to the outside of the vehicle through the drain tube 14.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 9 denotes a filler lid which is openably and closably attached to the refueling window 7 of the vehicle body panel 6.

According to the structure of the above embodiment, the open end 3 of the filler tube 2 is the opening 8 of the filler base 8.
Since it is formed to have an upward protruding length that is substantially the same height position as a, the height dimension H from the full restriction position of the fuel tank 1 restricted by the vent tube 4 shown in FIG. Can be made as large as possible, and even if the fuel tank 1 becomes nearly full at the time of refueling and the fuel bubble rises in the filler tube 2, this fuel bubble is inserted into the opening end 3 and is not shown in the figure. It becomes difficult to reach the sensor for the automatic stop of the refueling gun, and as a result, more fuel can be refueled by one refueling operation, and refueling workability can be improved.

Further, the filler cap protector 16 is inserted into the opening 8a from the outside of the filler base 8 and fastened and fixed to the flange member 15 of the filler tube 2, so that the flange portion 18 of the filler cap protector 16 is fixed to the filler base 8. Since the elastic sealing material 21 can be placed on the peripheral portion of the opening 8a in a state of being appropriately compressed and deformed, the sealing performance around the opening 8a can be ensured, and the filler tube 2 due to vibration during traveling of the vehicle or the like. The relative displacement between the open end 3 and the filler base 8 can be appropriately absorbed by the elastic sealing material 21.

Moreover, when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the flange portion 18 of the filler cap protector 16 in a vehicle collision, the easily breakable portion 19 provided on the bending molding base portion of the flange portion 18 is broken and the flange portion 18 is broken. Since the portion 18 can be quickly separated and the collision load on the filler tube 2 can be avoided, it is possible to sufficiently secure the safety at the time of collision.

Furthermore, since the flange portion 18 of the filler cap protector 16 does not have to be fixed by a dedicated retainer as in the conventional case, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be obtained advantageously.

Particularly, in the present embodiment, the easily breakable portion 19 described above is used.
Since the notch can be easily formed by engraving the notch in an annular shape, the moldability of the filler cap protector 16 can be improved.

Further, since the filler cap protector 16 is provided with the drain port 25, it is possible to obtain the spilled fuel dischargeability comparable to the conventional one.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is the same as that shown in FIGS.
The basic structure is the structure of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and a notch 19A as an easily breakable portion that can be fractured and separated in the vertical direction at a middle position of the body of the filler cap protector 16 by a load of a predetermined value or more. Is formed in a ring shape.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, when a load of a predetermined value or more acts in the body portion of the filler cap protector 16 in the radial or axial direction during a vehicle collision, the body Breakable part 19 provided in the part
Since A can also be broken and the body part can be quickly separated in the vertical direction, it is possible to avoid that the edge of the opening 8a of the filler base 8 interferes with the filler cap protector 16 and the collision input acts on the filler tube 2. You can
The safety at the time of collision can be further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view illustrating a fuel tank.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 fuel tank 2 Filler tube 3 open end 5 Filler cap 6 Body panel 7 Refueling fenestration 8 Filler base 8a opening 15 Flange member 16 Filler cap protector 18 Flange 19, 19A Easy breaking part (notch) 21 Elastic seal material

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-67521 (JP, A) Actually open 6-71246 (JP, U) Actually open 59-190629 (JP, U) Actually open 47- 29013 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60K 15/04

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A filler tube opening end of a fuel tank is arranged at substantially the same height as an opening of a filler base provided in a refueling fenestration portion of a vehicle body panel, and a flange is provided at a position near the opening end of the outer periphery of the filler tube. While the member is fixed, a cylindrical filler cap protector is inserted into the opening of the filler base from the outside of the filler base and fastened and fixed to the flange member to fix the filler cap.
It surrounds, and a flange portion which is bent formed into an upper end periphery of the filler cap protector was placed through the elastic sealing member onto the filler based opening edge, and a predetermined value to the bending mold base of the flange portion of the filler cap protector A structure for fixing a filler tube in a fuel tank for an automobile, characterized in that an easily breakable portion is provided which allows the flange portion to be broken and separated by the above load. 2. An easily rupturable portion capable of being ruptured and separated in a vertical direction by a load of a predetermined value or more is provided at an intermediate position of the body portion of the filler cap protector. Fixed structure for filler tube of fuel tank for automobiles. 3. The filler tube fixing structure for an automobile fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the easily breakable portion is a notch formed in an annular shape. 4. The filler tube fixing structure for an automobile fuel tank according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a drain port is provided at a corner below the bottom of the filler cap protector.