JP4310244B2 - Vehicle fuel tank - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle fuel tank in which a fuel pump module in which a pump, a motor, a strainer, a filter, a pressure regulating valve, a liquid level sensor and the like are integrally assembled is disposed inside a tank body.

Such a vehicle fuel tank is known, for example, from Patent Documents 1 and 2 below. In this type of conventional fuel tank, a pump, a motor, a strainer, a filter, a pressure regulating valve, a liquid level sensor, and the like are integrally assembled on the lower surface of a lid member that detachably closes an opening formed on the upper surface of the tank body. After fixing the fuel pump module and inserting the fuel pump module into the tank body from the opening, the fuel pump module is supported in the tank body by fixing the lid member to the opening.
JP-A-6-123261 JP 2003-120453 A

  By the way, in order to reliably supply fuel while minimizing the influence of the inclination of the fuel level due to the inclination of the vehicle body and the inclination of the fuel level due to acceleration, deceleration, turning, etc. of the vehicle, a fuel pump module is installed in the tank. It is desirable to arrange at an appropriate position near the center of the main body. On the other hand, from the lid member that closes the opening of the tank body, a feed pipe that supplies fuel to the engine and a lead wire connected to the motor and the liquid level sensor are drawn out. In order to avoid interference with other members, there is a restriction on the position where the lid member is provided.

  However, in the above conventional one, since the lid member and the fuel pump module are integrated, it is difficult to arrange both of them at an optimal position. Therefore, it is conceivable to separate the lid member and the fuel pump module. However, if this is done, an additional means for fixing the fuel pump module to a predetermined position of the tank body is required, and the assembly work of the fuel pump module increases. There's a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to facilitate the assembly of the fuel pump module while ensuring the degree of freedom of the position of the fuel pump module and the position of the opening of the tank body. And

To achieve the above object, according to the invention described in claim 1, and a tank body having an opening on the upper surface, and a detachable lid member for closing the opening of the tank body, the lid member a fuel pump module disposed on the bottom wall inner surface of the tank body at a position displaced laterally from directly below, and connect the lid member and the fuel pump module, a direction away the fuel pump module to the lid member and a J-shaped resilient member for biasing and supporting against the fuel pump module that is inserted into the tank body through the opening in the bottom wall inner surface of the tank body by the resilient force of the resilient member a fuel tank for a vehicle, wherein the resilient member includes a first portion extending obliquely downward above said fuel pump module upper end is connected to the lid member toward the opposite side, the lower end of the first portion Lower extend obliquely downward toward the contiguous and the fuel pump module side across the inverting bent portion is connected to the fuel pump module, wherein more that constituted a long second portion than the first portion A vehicular fuel tank is proposed.

 According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the structure of claim 1, there is proposed a vehicle fuel tank characterized in that the elastic member is constituted by a leaf spring.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the structure of claim 1, there is proposed a vehicle fuel tank characterized in that the elastic member is constituted by a torsion spring.

  In addition, the leaf | plate spring 31 and the torsion spring 34 of an Example respond | correspond to the elastic member of this invention.

According to the configuration of the first aspect, the lid member that closes the opening on the upper surface of the tank body is removed, and the fuel pump module and the J-shaped bullet member are inserted into the tank body from the opening. By urging the fuel pump module in the direction away from the lid member by the elastic force of the fuel pump module, the fuel pump module is pressed against and supported by the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tank body. The position of the fuel tank can be freely set to improve the design flexibility of the fuel tank, and the fuel pump module can be easily assembled, and the deformation of the tank body due to the change in internal pressure is absorbed. The fuel pump module can reliably follow the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tank body. In particular, the elastic member is connected to the lid member at its upper end and extends obliquely downward toward the opposite side of the fuel pump module, and is connected to the lower end of the first portion with an inverted bent portion sandwiched between the first member and the fuel member. lower extend obliquely downward is connected to the fuel pump module towards the pump module side, it is configured more and longer second portion than the first portion, the side of the fuel pump module from just below the lid member allowed disposed offset position in Runode can and the lid member and the fuel pump module be employed thin the tank body to avoid the interference.

In addition, since the elastic member formed by bending in this way has a large allowable stroke, a common unit composed of a lid member, a leaf spring, and a fuel pump module should be applied to tank bodies having different heights. Can increase versatility and contribute to cost reduction.

  According to the configuration of the second aspect, since the elastic member is constituted by a leaf spring, the fuel pump module can be reliably pressed and supported on the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tank body with a simple structure, and the leaf spring is deformed. Since the rigidity in the direction orthogonal to the direction is high, the lateral movement of the fuel pump module can be prevented.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the resilient member is constituted by the torsion spring, the fuel pump module can be pressed against the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tank body with a simple structure and can be reliably supported. Further weight reduction is possible compared to.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fuel tank, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an assembly procedure of a fuel pump module. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which this embodiment is applied to tank bodies having different heights.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle fuel tank T includes a tank body 11 that is blow-molded with a synthetic resin, and is a cap that is screw-coupled to a cylindrical opening 11a that protrudes from the upper surface on one end side thereof. 12, the elastic seal member 13 and the disc-shaped flange 10a of the lid member 10 are sandwiched and fixed. The fuel pump module 14 is arranged at a position slightly closer to the other end than the central portion of the tank body 11 that is laterally separated from the opening 11a.

  As is apparent from FIG. 2, the fuel pump module 14 is disposed in the reservoir 16 communicating with the internal space of the tank body 11, the strainer 17 disposed at the bottom of the reservoir 16, and the central portion of the reservoir 16. The motor-integrated fuel pump 18 and a liquid level sensor 19 for detecting the fuel level in the tank body 11 are provided. The liquid level sensor 19 includes a sensor main body 20 composed of a potentiometer fixed to the upper surface of the reservoir 16, an arm 21 that is swingably supported by the sensor main body 20, and a float 22 provided at the tip of the arm 21. Is done.

  An annular filter 24 is accommodated in a filter housing 23 integrally formed on the lower surface of the lid member 10, and a joint 25 extending from the fuel pump 18 is connected to a joint 27 provided on the filter housing 23 via a first fuel hose 26. The internal space of the filter 24 is connected to the engine via a joint 28 protruding from the upper surface of the lid member 10 and a feed pipe (not shown). Further, a pressure regulating valve 29 connected to the internal space of the filter 24 is provided on the lower surface of the filter housing 23, and the pressure regulating valve 29 is connected to the inside of the reservoir 16 via the second fuel hose 30.

The lower surface of the filter housing 23 and the upper surface of the fuel pump module 14 are connected by a J-shaped leaf spring 31. The leaf spring 31 includes a short first portion 31b and a long second portion 31c that extend in substantially the same direction across the reverse bending portion 31a, and the tip of the first portion 31b is a fulcrum pin 32 on the lower surface of the filter housing 23. The tip of the second portion 31 c is pivotally supported on the upper surface of the fuel pump module 14 by the fulcrum pin 33. The leaf spring 31 has a first portion 31b that extends obliquely downward toward the opposite side of the fuel pump module 14, and a second portion 31c that is connected to the lower end of the first portion 31b with the inverted bent portion 31a interposed therebetween. By extending obliquely downward toward the fuel pump module 14, the fuel pump module 14 is disposed at a position shifted laterally from directly below the lid member 10. Further, the leaf spring 31 urges the fuel pump module 14 in a direction away from the lid member 10 and presses it against the bottom wall inner surface 11 b of the tank body 11.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

  When the fuel pump 18 is driven, the fuel in the reservoir 16 is pumped up through the strainer 17, and the fuel is supplied to the outer peripheral side of the filter 24 in the filter housing 23 through the first fuel hose 26. The fuel filtered through the filter 24 from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side is supplied to the engine via a joint 28 provided on the lid member 10 and a feed pipe (not shown). At this time, the fuel that has passed through the filter 24 is regulated by the pressure regulating valve 29, and the surplus fuel is returned from the pressure regulating valve 29 to the reservoir 16 through the second fuel hose 30.

  Now, in order to mount the fuel pump module 14 in the tank body 11, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the fuel pump module 14 and the plate are removed from the opening 11a from which the lid member 10 is removed. The spring 31 is inserted into the tank body 11, and the fuel pump module 14 is slid along the bottom wall inner surface 11 b of the tank body 11. Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the fuel pump module 14 reaches a predetermined position, the lid member 10 is fixed to the opening 11a.

  As described above, the fuel pump module 14 and the lid member 10 are not rigidly connected but connected via the flexible leaf spring 31. The fuel pump module 14 is connected to the tank body 11 by the elastic force of the leaf spring 31. For example, the fuel pump module 14 is moved to the center portion of the tank body 11 by adjusting the lengths of the first portion 31b and the second portion 31c of the J-shaped leaf spring 31. It is possible to freely set the position of the fuel pump module 14 and the position of the opening 11a, such as by arranging the opening 11a at the end of the tank body 11, and the design flexibility of the fuel tank T is increased. improves. Further, since the fuel pump module 14 is disposed at a position shifted from directly below the lid member 10, the fuel pump module 14 does not interfere with the lid member 10 even when the height of the tank body 11 is low.

  Moreover, when the fuel pump module 14 separated from the lid member 10 is fixed to the tank body 11, the fuel pump module 14 is fixed using the elastic force of the leaf spring 31 without using a fixing member such as a bolt. It is very easy to attach and detach. Moreover, even if the internal pressure of the tank body 11 changes due to the temperature change and the tank body 11 expands or contracts in the vertical direction, the elastic force of the leaf spring 31 ensures that the fuel pump module 14 is secured to the bottom wall inner surface 11b of the tank body 11. Can be followed.

Further, since the leaf spring 31 has a high rigidity in a direction orthogonal to the deformation direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1), the displacement of the fuel pump module 14 due to vibration or the like can be effectively suppressed. . Further, since the leaf spring 31 formed by bending in this way has a large allowable stroke, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the leaf spring 31 is composed of the lid member 10, the leaf spring 31 and the fuel pump module 14. This unit can be applied to the tank main body 11 having various heights, and it is possible to improve versatility and contribute to cost reduction.

  Next, second to fourth embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The plate spring 31 of the first embodiment is pivotally supported by the filter housing 23 and the fuel pump module 14 at both ends by fulcrum pins 32, 33, 33, but the second embodiment shown in FIG. The first portion 31b is fixed to the filter housing 23 so as not to swing. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the second portion 31c of the leaf spring 31 is fixed to the fuel pump module 14 so as not to swing. In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the first and second portions 31b and 31c of the leaf spring 31 are fixed to the filter housing 23 and the fuel pump module 14 so as not to swing.

  As the number of the fulcrum pins 32, 33, 33 increases, the degree of freedom of angular displacement of the leaf spring 31 with respect to the lid member 10 and the fuel pump module 14 increases. By eliminating 33, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and contribute to cost reduction. Even if the fulcrum pins 32, 33, 33 are not provided, the leaf spring 31 itself can be elastically deformed, so that there is no problem in the assembly.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the leaf spring 31 is used as a resilient member, but in the fifth embodiment, a pair of torsion springs 34 and 34 are juxtaposed as a resilient member. Each of the torsion spring 34 which forms a J-shape, sandwiching the inverting bent portion 34a and a short first portion 34b and a long second portion 34c extending substantially in the same direction, of the first part 3 4 b The tip is fixed to the lower surface of the filter housing 23, and the tip of the second portion 3 4 c is fixed to the upper surface of the fuel pump module 14. In addition, the torsion spring 34 has a first portion 34b extending obliquely downward toward the opposite side of the fuel pump module 14, and a second portion 34c connected to the lower end of the first portion 34b with an inverted bent portion 34a interposed therebetween. However, by extending obliquely downward toward the fuel pump module 14 side, the fuel pump module 14 is disposed at a position shifted laterally from directly below the lid member 10.

  The function of the torsion spring 34 is the same as that of the leaf spring 31, but can be further reduced in weight compared to the leaf spring 31. Further, by arranging the pair of torsion springs 34 and 34 side by side, the lateral rigidity can be increased and the movement of the fuel pump module 14 can be prevented.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, although in the embodiment is provided with a filter 24 and pressure regulating valve 29 to the cover member 10 side, be provided them to the fuel pump module 14 side have good.

  The fuel pump module 14 may have a float valve.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fuel tank according to a first embodiment. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. Explanatory drawing of assembly procedure of fuel pump module The figure which shows the example which applied the present Example to the tank main body from which height differs Longitudinal sectional view of the fuel tank according to the second embodiment Vertical section of a fuel tank according to the third embodiment Vertical section of a fuel tank according to the fourth embodiment Longitudinal sectional view of the fuel tank according to the fifth embodiment Perspective view of torsion spring

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cover member 11 Tank main body 11a Opening part 11b Bottom wall inner surface 14 Fuel pump module 31 Leaf spring (elastic member)
31a Inversion bending part
31b 1st part
31c 2nd part 34 Torsion spring (elastic member)
34a Inversion bending part
34b first part
34c second part

Claims (3)

A tank body (11) having an opening (11a) on the upper surface;
The opening of the tank body (11) and the detachable lid member for closing the (11a) (10),
A fuel pump module (14) disposed on the bottom wall inner surface (11b) of the tank body (11) at a position shifted laterally from directly below the lid member (10) ;
The lid member (10) and connecting said fuel pump module (14), said lid member (10) said fuel pump module (14) J-shaped resilient member for biasing in a direction away against ( 31, 34),
The opening tank body from (11a) (11) wherein the fuel pump module that is inserted into the (14) bottom wall inner surface of the tank body by the resilient force of the resilient member (31, 34) (11) (11b) A vehicle fuel tank that is supported by being pressed against
The elastic member (31, 34) has a first portion (31b, 34b) that is connected to the lid member (10) at an upper end and extends obliquely downward toward the opposite side of the fuel pump module (14). The first bent portion (31b, 34b) is connected to the lower end of the first bent portion (31b, 34b) with the inverted bent portion (31a, 34a) interposed therebetween, and extends obliquely downward toward the fuel pump module (14). And a second part (31c, 34c) that is longer than the first part (31b, 34b) .   2. The vehicle fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is constituted by a leaf spring (31).   2. The vehicle fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the resilient member comprises a torsion spring (34).

Images