JP3426429B2 - Connection structure between fuel cap and fuel supply pipe - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air chamber of a fuel cap and an outer space when the fuel cap is attached to a fuel supply pipe connected to a fuel tank at an angle. And a structure for fastening a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe, wherein an air passage communicating with the fuel supply pipe is always located above. 2. Description of the Related Art A fuel cap is attached to an upper end of a fuel supply pipe for supplying fuel to a fuel tank of a vehicle. A conventional fuel cap is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, the fuel cap 1 includes an outer lid 2, an inner lid 3, a packing 4, and a cap spring 5. The outer lid 2 and the inner lid 3 are thin plates. Is formed by pressing. As shown in FIG. 10, the outer lid 2 has a cylindrical outer peripheral portion 7 surrounding the fuel supply pipe 6 at a predetermined interval from the outside when the fuel cap 1 is mounted. ,
A ceiling portion 8 is provided to close the upper end of the outer peripheral portion 7. The ceiling 8 of the outer lid 2 has a central portion 8a
b, and has a hat shape protruding slightly upward from the ceiling portion 8.
A protruding portion 8c that protrudes in an arc shape and extends radially at a location
It is provided so as to be connected to the peripheral wall of the central portion 8a (see FIG. 8). [0006] As shown in Fig. 10, the inner lid 3 has an outer peripheral portion 9 which can be fitted into the fuel supply pipe 6 at the time of mounting.
The outer peripheral portion 9 is formed in a dish shape with a bottom portion 10 for closing the lower end thereof, and a flange 11 provided on the outer peripheral edge of the upper end of the outer peripheral portion 9. At the center of the bottom 10 is a truncated hollow conical projection 10a projecting to near the height of the flange 11.
Is formed, and an air vent hole 12 is formed at the top of the protrusion 10a.
Is provided. The bottom 10 has a circumferential direction of 120
Projections 10 b protruding in an arc shape and extending radially are provided at three places at intervals of degrees so as to be connected to the peripheral wall of the bottom 10. The inner lid 3 is fitted into the outer lid 2, and the upper surface of the flange 11 of the inner lid 3 is integrally joined to the lower surface of the peripheral portion 8b of the ceiling 8 of the outer lid 2 by welding or the like. , The space surrounded by the outer lid 2 and the inner lid 3 becomes an air chamber 13,
An air passage 14 is formed between the inside of the protruding portion 8 c of the ceiling 8 of the outer lid 2 and the flange 11 of the inner lid 3. The packing 4 is formed in the shape of a thin plate ring and is fitted over the outer peripheral portion 9 of the inner lid 3.
The lower surface of the flange 11 of the inner lid 3 and the upper sealing surface 6a of the fuel supply pipe 6 are brought into contact with each other to seal the fuel tank. The cap spring 5 has a plate shape, and has three arm-shaped locking pieces 5a radially arranged at intervals of 120 degrees in the circumferential direction. They are connected by rivets or the like. The widths of the tips of the three locking pieces 5a in the circumferential direction of the inner lid 3 are each formed at W1. The projecting portion 8c formed on the ceiling 8 of the outer lid 2 and the locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5 are disposed so as to overlap in plan view, and the locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5 and the inner lid are provided. 3, the protrusion 10b of the bottom 10 is displaced in the circumferential direction by approximately 60 degrees in plan view (FIGS. 9, 1).
1). Fuel supply pipe 6 to which fuel cap 1 is attached
12 is shown in detail, and the fuel supply pipe 6 is attached to the upper surface of the fuel tank 15 in an inclined state. Thus, the upper end sealing surface 6a provided at the upper end of the fuel supply pipe 6
A notch 6b of width W1 + α (α is a minute amount) in the circumferential direction so that the tip of the locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5 in the fuel cap 1 can be inserted at an interval of approximately 120 degrees in the circumferential direction.
Is formed, one of the notches 6b is located at the uppermost portion of the upper end of the fuel supply pipe 6, and the other two notches 6b are located diagonally below. On the inner peripheral side of the upper seal surface 6a, there is provided a folded portion 6c slightly inserted in the axial direction of the fuel supply pipe 6 along the upper seal surface 6a and the notch 6b. The folded portion 6c is provided with each notch 6 in FIG.
b, the depth is gradually increased as it moves clockwise from the end.
At a position separated by 0 degrees, the folded portion 6c is stepped and extends further downward, and a stopper 6d is formed in the stepped portion. This configuration is such that when the fuel cap 1 is mounted on the upper end of the fuel supply pipe 6, the locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5 is bent by the lower end of the folded portion 6c.
This is for bringing the fuel cap 1 into close contact. When the fuel cap 1 is mounted on the upper end of the fuel supply pipe 6, the tip of the locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5 in the fuel cap 1 is inserted into the notch 6b at the upper end of the fuel supply pipe 6, and the cap spring 5 When the upper surface of the locking piece 5a is positioned slightly lower than the lower end of the folded portion 6c,
The fuel cap 1 is rotated clockwise in FIG. In this case, since the folded portion 6c gradually becomes deeper as it moves in the circumferential direction clockwise from the notch 6b, the locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5 is bent by the lower end of the folded portion 6c, 5a is locked by a stopper 6d. The locking piece 5 of the cap spring 5
The fuel cap 1 is securely mounted on the upper end of the fuel supply pipe 6 by the resilience a. At this time, the packing 4 is attached to the flange 1 of the inner lid 3.
1 between the lower surface and the upper sealing surface 6a of the fuel supply pipe 6 to be slightly compressed.
Is sealed. Inside the fuel tank 15, there are a fuel supply pipe 6, a gap between the cap spring 5 and the bottom 10 of the inner lid 3, an air vent hole 12, an air chamber 13, an air passage 14, and an inner periphery of the outer lid 2. Since it communicates with the outside through the gap between the outer periphery of the fuel supply pipe 6 and the outside, the pressure in the fuel tank 15 can be made equal to the external pressure. [0019] As shown in FIG.
When the conventional fuel cap 1 is mounted on the upper end of the conventional fuel supply pipe 6, one of the protruding portions 8c provided on the peripheral portion 8b of the ceiling portion 8 of the outer lid 2 always comes to the lower position. One of the passages 14 is always located below, and the lower part of the fuel cap is easily contaminated. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as its object to make sure that the projection 8c, that is, the air passage 14 always comes upward, so that the fuel cap is not contaminated. According to the present invention , a fuel cap includes an outer lid and an inner lid integrally joined to the outer lid, and an air chamber is formed by the outer lid and the inner lid. Formed,
The inner lid is provided with an air vent hole that can communicate with the inside of the fuel tank, and between the outer lid and the inner lid, an air passage is provided so that the air chamber and the outside communicate with each other. A cap spring having a plurality of arm-shaped locking pieces disposed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the inner lid and extending in the radial direction is attached, and a required one of the plurality of locking pieces of the cap spring is provided. The width of the locking piece in the circumferential direction of the inner lid is formed wider than the width of the other locking pieces in the circumferential direction of the inner lid, and is formed on the upper seal surface of the fuel supply pipe that is inclined and attached to the fuel tank. A plurality of notches are formed at substantially the same intervals as the circumferential direction of the locking pieces so that the locking pieces can be inserted in the axial direction of the fuel supply pipe. out width in the required notches circumferential direction, a width of a wide locking piece of the width can inserted, the remaining notch circumferentially The width of the fuel supply pipe is such that a narrow locking piece can be inserted, but a wide locking piece cannot be inserted. A folded portion in which a stopper is formed at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction is provided while being inserted to a predetermined position, and a locking piece of a cap spring of the fuel cap is inserted into a notch formed in a sealing surface at an upper end of a fuel supply pipe. by the planted fuel cap is rotated by a predetermined angle, the locking piece is configured such that the air passage when engaged with the stopper provided on the folding portion is positioned on the upper side of the fuel supply pipe, if the cap
At the tip of each locking piece, a vertical part extending vertically and a vertical part
A horizontal portion extending toward the center of the inner lid at the lower end of the inner cover . In the present invention, when the fuel cap is mounted on the fuel supply pipe, the air passage is located at an upper position, which is advantageous for the contamination of the fuel cap. Further, since a vertical portion extending downward and a horizontal portion extending toward the center of the inner lid at the lower end of the vertical portion are provided at the tip of each locking piece of the cap spring, the circumferential direction of the fuel cap is provided. It can be visually checked whether the position is correct, and the upper end sealing surface of the fuel supply pipe is not damaged. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which the same components as those shown in FIGS. 8 to 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the present embodiment, the fuel cap 1
Among the components constituting the above, the inner lid 3 and the packing 4 have exactly the same configuration as the conventional one, but the outer lid 2 and the cap spring 5 have slightly different configurations from the conventional one. That is, a single protruding portion 8c is provided radially in the peripheral portion 8b of the ceiling portion 8 of the outer lid 2 so as to be continuous with the outer peripheral portion of the central portion 8a. The cap spring 5 is not flat but is provided horizontally at the lower end of the vertical portion 5b and the lower end of the vertical portion 5b extending downward from the tip of each locking piece 5a so as to face the center of the inner lid 3. Is formed in a three-dimensional shape having a predetermined height H with
One of the locking pieces 5a provided at intervals of about 120 degrees in the circumferential direction has a width W2 in the circumferential direction larger than the width of the other locking pieces 5a (W2> W1). . The locking piece 5a having a width W1 is formed to have a width W1 for both the vertical portion 5b and the horizontal portion 5c, and the locking piece 5a having a width W2 is formed to have a width W2 for both the vertical portion 5b and the horizontal portion 5c (FIG. 2, 4). The projection 8c formed on the ceiling portion 8 of the outer lid 2 and the locking piece 5a having the width W2 of the cap spring 5 are positioned approximately 80 degrees clockwise with respect to the projection 8c in a plan view. The locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5 and the inner lid 3 are shifted.
The protruding portion 10b formed on the bottom portion 10 is displaced in the circumferential direction by approximately 60 degrees in plan view (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 6, of the three notches 6b formed on the upper end sealing surface 6a of the fuel supply pipe 6, the width of the uppermost notch 6b is equal to the width of the other notch 6b. W1
W2 + α (W2 + α> W1 + α) larger than + α. When the fuel cap 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on the upper end of the fuel supply pipe 6, the locking piece 5a having a width W2 is used.
Does not match the notch 6b of the width W2 + α, the horizontal portion 5c below the locking piece 5a of the cap spring 5
As shown in (2), it comes into contact with the upper end sealing surface 6a of the fuel supply pipe 6 to be in a floating state. Therefore, by visually observing the floating state, it can be confirmed that the circumferential position of the fuel cap 1 is not at a correct position with respect to the fuel supply pipe 6. Further, since the contact between the horizontal portion 5c and the upper end sealing surface 6a is flat, the upper end sealing surface 6a is not damaged, and good sealing performance can be maintained. When the locking piece 5a having the width W2 matches the notch 6b having the width W2 + α, the locking piece 5a having the width W1 matches the notch 6b having the width W1 + α. For this reason, the cap spring 5 and the inner lid 3 of the fuel cap 1 are inserted into the fuel supply pipe 6,
The packing 4 is sandwiched between the upper sealing surface 6 a of the fuel supply pipe 6 and the lower surface of the flange 11 of the inner lid 3. Then, when the fuel cap 1 is rotated approximately 60 degrees clockwise in FIG.
Each of the locking pieces 5a is pushed and bent by the inclination of the lower end of the folded portion 6c of the fuel supply pipe 6, and the fuel cap 1 is attached to the fuel supply pipe 6 by the elastic force of the cap spring 5. At this time, the projection 8c provided on the peripheral portion 8b of the ceiling portion 8 of the outer lid 2 comes to the uppermost position of the fuel supply pipe 6, so that the air passage 14 is also located at the uppermost position. Therefore, there is no possibility that the lower side of the fuel cap becomes dirty. The inside of the fuel tank 15 is the same as in the conventional case.
Fuel supply pipe 6, gap between cap spring 5 and bottom 10 of inner lid 3, air vent hole 12, air chamber 13, air passage 1
4. Since it communicates with the outside through a gap between the inner periphery of the outer lid 2 and the outer periphery of the fuel supply pipe 6, the pressure in the space inside the fuel tank 15 can be made equal to the outside pressure. The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [0038] According to the fastening part structure of the fuel cap and the fuel supply pipe of the present invention, in order to position the always air passage upper side when the fuel cap is attached to the fuel supply pipe, the fuel there is no possibility of the cap lower dirt, also scratch the upper sealing surface of the fuel supply pipe with whether the circumferential position of the fuel cap is in the correct position can be confirmed by <br/> visually when mounting There can be various excellent effects such as no.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a fuel cap used in an embodiment of a fastening portion structure between a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe according to the present invention, which is disassembled into respective parts. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fuel cap used in an embodiment of a fastening portion structure between a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrows III-III in FIG. 2; 4 is a view in the direction of arrows IV-IV in FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a fastening portion structure between a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe according to the present invention, in which the fuel cap is mounted on the fuel supply pipe at a correct position with respect to the circumferential direction of the fuel supply pipe. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when the image is not provided. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fuel supply pipe used in the embodiment of the fastening portion structure between the fuel cap and the fuel supply pipe according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the fuel cap is attached to the fuel supply pipe in the embodiment of the fastening portion structure between the fuel cap and the fuel supply pipe according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional fuel cap used in an example of a fastening portion structure between a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe, which is disassembled into components. FIG. 9 is a plan view of a fuel cap used as an example of a conventional structure of a fastening portion between a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe. FIG. 10 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows XX in FIG. 9; FIG. 11 is a view taken in the direction of arrows XI-XI in FIG. 10; FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a fuel supply pipe used for an example of a conventional fastening portion structure between a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which a fuel cap is attached to a fuel supply pipe in an example of a conventional structure for fastening a fuel cap to a fuel supply pipe. [Description of Signs] 1 Fuel cap 2 Outer lid 3 Inner lid 5 Cap spring 5a Locking piece 5b Vertical section 5c Horizontal section 6 Fuel supply pipe 6a Upper end sealing surface 6b Notch 6c Folded section 6d Stopper 12 Air vent hole 13 Air chamber 14 Air passage 15 Fuel tank W1, W2, W1 + α, W2 + α Width

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] The fuel cap includes an outer lid and an inner lid integrally joined to the outer lid, and an air chamber is formed by the outer lid and the inner lid. The inner lid is provided with an air vent hole that can communicate with the inside of the fuel tank, and between the outer lid and the inner lid, an air passage is provided so that the air chamber and the outside communicate with each other. A cap spring having a plurality of arm-shaped locking pieces disposed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the inner lid and extending in the radial direction is attached, and a required one of the plurality of locking pieces of the cap spring is provided. The width of the locking piece in the circumferential direction of the inner lid is formed wider than the width of the other locking piece in the circumferential direction of the inner lid, and is formed on the upper seal surface of the fuel supply pipe that is inclined and attached to the fuel tank. Can be inserted into the fuel supply pipe in the axial direction at substantially the same interval as the engagement piece in the circumferential direction. Yo plurality of notches are formed, the width of the plurality of notches out the required notch circumferentially wider engagement of the width
The width of the remaining notch in the circumferential direction is such that a narrow locking piece can be inserted, but a wide locking piece cannot be inserted. On the inner peripheral side of the upper end seal surface of the pipe, there is provided a folded portion which is inserted into the fuel supply pipe to a predetermined position and has a stopper formed at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction, and the cap spring is locked in the fuel cap. By inserting a piece into a notch formed in a seal surface at the upper end of the fuel supply pipe and rotating the fuel cap by a predetermined angle, the air passage is formed when the locking piece is locked by a stopper provided in the folded portion. vertical but configured to be positioned on the upper side of the fuel supply pipe, the tip of the engaging pieces of the cap spring, which extends downwardly
The horizontal part extending toward the center of the inner lid at the lower end of the part and the vertical part
A structure for fastening a fuel cap and a fuel supply pipe, the structure being provided.