JP3624946B2 - Refueling port unit for automatic refueling support - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fuel filler unit suitable for fueling a vehicle such as an automobile with a robot fueling device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, in order to save labor in refueling work, a so-called refueling system has been adopted in which a refueling nozzle connected to an oil feed pump is attached to a robot arm, and the refueling nozzle of an automobile fuel tank is detected by a sensor and the refueling nozzle is automatically inserted into the fuel tank. A robot is about to be introduced.
In order to smoothly perform fueling by such a fueling robot, it is necessary that the tip of the fueling nozzle can be reliably positioned and inserted into the insertion port of the automobile fuel tank.
[0003]
For this reason, as seen in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-503994, it has been proposed to attach an adapter to an insertion port of an existing automobile fuel tank.
That is, this adapter is fixed to the fuel filler port by screwing, and is attached to the substantially cylindrical first member having a lid that is opened by inserting a nozzle, and is attachable to and detachable from the first member. And a second member provided with a funnel-shaped guide member.
At the time of mounting, the first member is screwed and fixed to the fuel filler opening of the fuel tank, and then the second member is mounted on the protruding portion of the first member so that the fuel nozzle can be easily inserted into the guide member. It requires a work to rotate and position.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
For this reason, at the time of attachment, the operation | work which mounts | wears two members, a 1st member and a 2nd member in order, is needed, and it has the problem that attachment is complicated.
In addition, since the lid is attached to the first member, there is a problem that the opening and closing direction of the lid is not constant and the resistance increases when the fuel nozzle is inserted when screwed into the fuel filler port of the fuel tank. .
Furthermore, in order to guide the refueling nozzle to a predetermined position, it is necessary to attach a marker that allows the robot to detect the refueling port, but it also requires the work of attaching the marker, which has the problem that the work becomes complicated. Yes.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic refueling support refueling port unit that is extremely easy to attach and detach and that can smoothly insert and move a refueling nozzle. Is to provide.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such a problem, in the fuel filler unit for automatic fueling support of the present invention, a cylindrical portion that can be screwed into the fuel filler port of the fuel tank at one end and a diameter larger than that of the fuel filler port at the other end. And a base provided with a flange formed with at least one elastically deformable convex portion in the vicinity of the surface, a tapered opening for guiding a fueling nozzle, a tooth portion engaged with the convex portion, And a guide member provided with a lid that is urged so as to always seal the opening and is opened by insertion of a fueling nozzle. The guide member is connected to the base by the convex portion and the tooth portion. It is assembled | attached so that rotation to a direction is possible, and it attaches or detaches integrally with the said fuel filler opening.
[0006]
[Action]
When the guide member of the automatic oil supply support oil supply port unit is gripped and screwed into the oil supply port, it is sealed with a ring-shaped packing. Furthermore, only the guide member is rotated in the same direction, and the position of the guide member is adjusted so that the lid body becomes a predetermined position.
Further, when the guide member is gripped and rotated in the reverse direction, the base unit rotates together with the guide member without rotating freely, so that the entire unit can be easily removed regardless of the friction caused by the packing. .
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, details of the present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an automatic refueling support oil supply port unit according to the present invention, which is composed of a base 2 and a guide member 3, and the guide member 3 is always sealed by a lid 4. A recessed portion 5 for inserting the lubrication nozzle is formed.
[0008]
As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic refueling support refueling port unit 1 is made of a metal having a relatively low hardness instead of the tip of the rising pipe 30 communicating with the fuel tank, that is, the cap for sealing the fuel refueling port 31 of the fuel tank It is fixed by screwing a screw 6 of the base 2 made of a material such as aluminum. The base portion 2 is configured to include a flange 7 and a cylindrical portion 8 larger than the diameter of the oil filler opening at one end, and a thread 6 is formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 8.
[0009]
The concave portion 5 of the guide member 3 is formed in a tapered shape so as to guide the tip of the fueling nozzle to the cylindrical portion 8 of the base portion 2, and an elliptical opening surface 9 is formed at the bottom thereof. On the back surface side of the opening surface 9, a shaft 10 is provided at one end on the long axis side in parallel with the opening surface, and the lid body 4 is attached via an urging means 11 such as a spring. The opening surface 9 is preferably selected so that the size on the long axis side can cover the trajectory in the vertical direction in the insertion step of the fueling nozzle, and the size on the single shaft side is selected to be about the outer shape of the fueling nozzle.
[0010]
As a result, when the fueling nozzle is inserted or the fuel tank is in a depressurized state due to a decrease in temperature, the valve is rotated by the shaft 10 against the urging means 11 and opened due to an increase in temperature. When the fuel in the fuel tank evaporates and the pressure rises, and at all times, the valve is kept closed to prevent the hydrocarbon gas from evaporating or leaking out of the fuel.
[0011]
The guide member 3 is made of a polymer material or the like that can absorb an impact caused by a collision with the oil supply nozzle and is made of an oil-resistant material such as nylon resin (registered trademark), and can be rotated in one direction. Pre-installed.
[0012]
As for the guide member 3, the outer side of the recessed part 5 is formed as the plane part 13, and the recessed part 14 for embedding a marker is provided there. The recess 14 is formed at a location that is relatively fixed with respect to the shaft 10 that supports the lid 4. As the marker, a magnetic body that does not require driving power, an autoregressive reflector, a transponder, an optically recognizable seal, or the like can be used.
[0013]
FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional structure of the base portion 2 and the guide portion 3 in an engaged state. An annular groove 16 is provided on the surface of the flange 7 of the base portion 2, and at least one engaging member 17 is an annular groove. 16 is fixed. The engaging member 17 is configured such that a convex portion 17a and a leg portion 17b are integrally formed by injection molding of a polymer or the like, and the convex portion 17a is configured to be elastically deformable with respect to the leg portion 17b.
[0014]
On the other hand, teeth 18 having slopes 18b and walls 18a are formed at a constant pitch on the inner peripheral surface of the guide member 3 at positions facing the protrusions 17a of the engaging member 17. With such a configuration, when the guide member 3 is rotated in the screwing direction, the convex portion 17a is elastically deformed when exceeding a predetermined torque, that is, a torque necessary for fastening the unit 1 to the fuel filler port 31. Get over the slope 18b of the tooth portion 18.
When it is rotated in the reverse direction, it abuts against the wall 18a of the tooth portion 18 and transmits a rotational force in cooperation with the stopper portion 17c of the engaging member 17. As a result, the base 2 rotates, so that the automatic oil supply assisting oil supply port unit 1 can be removed from the oil supply port 31.
[0015]
The guide member 3 configured as described above is incorporated into the base portion 2, and the retaining member 19 for retaining is attached to the back surface 3 a of the guide member 3 so as to cover the flange 7, and the annular packing 15 is fitted to the back surface of the flange 7. When installed, it will be completed as an automatic refueling port unit.
[0016]
The automatic refueling support refueling port unit 1 configured as described above is aligned with the screw groove 32 of the refueling port 31 in the same manner as in the case of removing the cap sealing the fuel tank and mounting the fuel tank cap. When the member 3 is rotated in the screwing direction, the base portion 2 is driven by the guide member 3 by the friction between the convex portion 17 a of the engaging member 17 and the tooth portion 18 of the base portion 2 and is fixed to the oil supply port 31.
In this state, the refueling port 31 and the back surface of the flange 7 are elastically contacted with the refueling port 31 via the packing 15 to maintain an airtight state, and the lid 4 is maintained in the closed state by the biasing means 11. Therefore, fuel leakage and hydrocarbon volatilization are prevented.
[0017]
When the automatic refueling support refueling port unit 1 is fixed, when the guide member 3 is further rotated in the same direction, the convex portion 17a easily gets over the wall 18a of the tooth portion 18, and the guide member 3 becomes the base portion. Click to rotate relative to 2. Thus, when the guide member 3 is further rotated and aligned in the same direction so that the shaft 10 supporting the lid 4 is positioned at the uppermost position, the marker body is also in a position where the automatic fueling device can be easily recognized. Set.
[0018]
Therefore, when refueling is executed by the automatic refueling device, the marker body is located as close as possible to the fuel filler port 31, so that the tip of the fuel nozzle can be guided to the opening region of the unit 1 with high accuracy. Since the body is buried in the recess 14, the oil supply nozzle is reliably guided to the riser pipe 30 by sliding in the tapered recess 5 without being obstructed by the marker body.
[0019]
On the other hand, in the process of inserting the oil supply nozzle, the oil supply nozzle contacts the guide member 3 made of a polymer material. When the fueling nozzle further moves in this state, the top of the lid 4 is rotatably supported by the shaft 10, so that it receives the pressing force due to the movement of the fueling nozzle and resists the biasing means 11. Open the valve. After that, since the opening surface 9 is formed as an ellipse that is long in the vertical direction, it moves smoothly regardless of the curve of the fueling nozzle and is set at a predetermined position.
[0020]
Furthermore, in the state set in the position which can be refueled, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner periphery of the opening of the base 2 is exposed from the opening surface 9 of the guide member 3, and the opening surface 9 is formed in an elliptical shape. Therefore, there is some play in the vertical direction with respect to the fuel nozzle 40, and the fuel nozzle 40 comes into contact with the metal base 2 located in the vicinity of the fuel filler port 31, more specifically, the flange 7. It is surely grounded. As a result, static electricity generated during refueling is reliably released to the ground, and ignition during refueling is reliably prevented.
[0021]
When removing the automatic oil refueling assisting filler port unit 1, if the guide member 3 is rotated in the direction opposite to that at the time of attachment, the stopper portion 17 c of the convex portion 17 a comes into contact with the wall 18 a of the tooth portion 18. The relative movement between the guide member 3 and the base portion 2 is prevented, and the base portion 2 follows the rotation of the guide member 3. Therefore, even if the unit 1 is fastened to the oil supply port 3 with a strong frictional force by the packing 15, the unit 1 can be easily and reliably detached from the oil supply port 31.
[0022]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the oiling nozzle suitable for the automatic oiling device is inserted has been described. However, even when the oiling nozzle 50 of the manual oiling device is inserted as shown in FIG. As described above, static electricity generated during refueling is reliably released to the ground, and ignition during refueling is reliably prevented.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the position of the guide member can be adjusted such that the guide member is gripped and screwed into the oil filler port, and further the guide member is rotated in the same direction so that the marker is in a predetermined position. Further, when the guide member is gripped and rotated in the reverse direction, the base portion rotates together with the guide member without rotating freely, and the entire unit can be easily removed regardless of the friction caused by the packing.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of an embodiment of an automatic oiling support oil supply port unit of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an embodiment of an automatic fuel supply assisting fuel inlet unit of the present invention is attached to a fuel inlet of a fuel tank.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a structure of an engaging portion between a base portion and a guide constituting an automatic oil supply assisting oil supply port unit in a cross section taken along line AA in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an oil supply nozzle suitable for an automatic oil supply device is inserted into an oil supply port equipped with an automatic oil supply support oil supply port unit.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an oil supply nozzle of a manual oil supply device is inserted into an oil supply port to which an automatic oil supply support oil supply unit is mounted.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Oil supply port unit for automatic oil supply support 2 Base part 3 Guide member 4 Cover body 5 Recessed part 6 Thread 7 Flange 8 Cylindrical part 9 Opening surface 10 Shaft 11 Energizing means 13 Flat part 15 Packing 16 Annular groove 17 Engaging member 17a Convex Part 17b Leg part 17c Stopper part 18 Tooth part 18a Wall 18b Slope 30 Rising pipe 31 Refueling port 40 Refueling nozzle 50 Refueling nozzle

Claims (6)

A cylindrical portion that can be screwed into the fuel filler opening of the fuel tank at one end, and a flange having a diameter larger than that of the fuel filler opening at the other end and at least one elastically deformable convex portion formed near the surface. The base,
A tapered opening that guides the fueling nozzle, a tooth part that engages with the convex part, and a lid that is energized so as to always seal the opening and that opens when the fueling nozzle is inserted are provided. A guide member;
An automatic oil supply assisting oil supply port unit comprising: the guide member mounted to the base portion so as to be rotatable in one direction by the convex portion and the tooth portion; The automatic refueling support refueling port according to claim 1, wherein an opening surface of the opening is formed in a substantially elliptical shape, and the lid body is rotatably attached to one end of the long surface direction of the opening surface. unit. The fuel filler unit for automatic fueling support according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is formed as a separate member from the base portion. The automatic lubrication according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is made of a polymer material, the base portion is made of a metal material, and the opening of the guide member is formed larger than the opening diameter of the base portion. Refueling port unit for support. The guide member is formed of a polymer material, and the base portion is made of a metal material, and is assembled to the guide member so as to be rotatable by a pressing member that protrudes in the radial direction from the rear surface of the flange. The fuel filler unit for automatic fueling support according to claim 1. The automatic fueling support fueling port according to claim 1, wherein a marker for guiding the fueling nozzle is provided on the surface of the guide member so as to be in a fixed positional relationship with respect to the attachment region of the lid. unit.

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