JP5271047B2 - Canister mounting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mounting structure of a canister wherein workability of mounting on a vehicle body is improved. <P>SOLUTION: A first through-hole 13 for insertion of a mounting bolt 4, and a second through-hole 14 adjacent to the first through-hole 13 are formed respectively in a mounting base 11 of the canister to be screwed down on the vehicle body. The first through-hole 13 and the second through-hole 14 are allowed to communicate with each other by a first slit 16 narrower than both the through-holes 13, 14. In case of collision of the vehicle body, the mounting bolt 4, while spreading out the first slit 16, breaks in the second through-hole 14 to prevent a canister body 5 filled with activated carbon from being broken. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mounting structure for mounting a canister to a vehicle body, and more particularly to a mounting structure for a canister that prevents scattering of an evaporated fuel adsorbent accommodated in the canister when a vehicle body collides.

  In general, automobiles powered by gasoline are equipped with a canister that adsorbs and holds the evaporated fuel generated in the fuel tank, and this canister is placed in a deformation area of the vehicle body that is actively collapsed by an external impact load. May be placed. In such a case, the canister is damaged due to the deformation region being crushed and deformed at the time of the collision of the vehicle body, and the evaporated fuel adsorbent contained in the canister may be scattered outside the canister. Therefore, for example, a canister mounting structure described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

In the canister mounting structure described in Patent Document 1, the canister is installed in the rear overhang portion, which is the deformation region, of the vehicle body, and the rear suspension is used to actively disconnect the vehicle body when the rear overhang portion is crushed. While the rear part of the canister is fixed to the vehicle body by the lowering member, the front part of the canister is fixed to the vehicle body by the front suspension member formed by bending a metal plate into a U-shape. When the rear overhang is crushed by a rear collision, the rear suspension member causes the rear portion of the canister to fall off the vehicle body, and the canister is tilted rearward while the front suspension member is deployed. The load is not input to the canister.
JP 2001-248502 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the front suspension member and the rear suspension member are interposed between the canister and the vehicle body, the number of parts increases and the installation work becomes complicated. It is not preferable.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides a canister mounting structure that improves the mounting workability to the vehicle body while preventing the canister from being damaged at the time of a vehicle body collision. It is an object.

According to the first aspect of the present invention , a plurality of mounting bases project integrally from a canister main body containing a vaporized fuel adsorbent among the canisters so as to project to the outside of the canister main body. Each mounting base is superposed on the support on the vehicle body , and the canister is suspended from the support on the vehicle by tightening and fixing the mounting base on the support on the vehicle with a mounting bolt that passes through the mounting base. It is the mounting structure of the supported canister .
Then, the attachment bolt whereas metallic cylindrical spacer is fitted, the mounting base includes a first through-hole in which the spacer is inserted, formed adjacent to the first through hole a second through hole, and the narrow first slit than the first through-hole and their two through holes in communication with the second through-hole, and the first through a both sides of the first slit A locking claw formed at a position that becomes a boundary between the hole and the second through-hole, and formed on a portion of the first through-hole on the side opposite to the second through-hole and opened to the outside. 1 and possess a narrow second slit, the than the slit.
In addition, the mounting base is held in a gap formed between the head of the mounting bolt and the support portion on the vehicle body side by the spacer inserted into the first through hole, and the mounting bolt is a spacer. together they have enabled enters the second through hole, and expanding the first slit while bending it to the second through-hole side to press the locking pawl the mounting bolts with spacers into the second through hole by entering, it is characterized in that the attachment bolt is adapted to slide relative movement relative to the mounting base with a spacer.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a normal state, the mounting bolt is not properly passed through the first slit together with the spacer, and the canister is properly fixed. If abnormal external force to the canister is applied through, the mounting bolts by expanding the first slit with the spacer enters the second through hole, relatively the attachment bolts to the mounting base with spacers By sliding, the external force input to the canister body containing the evaporated fuel adsorbent is at least relieved.
In this case, the holding force for holding the mounting bolt in the first through hole can be adjusted by setting the shape of the locking claw as necessary.

Further , since the spacer mainly bears the fastening force of the mounting bolt , the mounting bolt can slide smoothly with respect to the mounting base when an abnormal external force is applied due to a collision of the vehicle body.

Further, as in the invention described in claim 2, when the mounting bolt enters the second through hole, the canister falls off due to a catch between the head of the mounting bolt and the outer peripheral edge of the second through hole. When the vehicle body collides, the canister can be held on the vehicle body even after the vehicle body collision while alleviating the external force input to the canister body.

  More specifically, the canister is disposed in a deformation region of the vehicle body that is crushed by an impact load from the outside, and the first through hole and the second through hole are formed side by side in the collapse direction of the deformation region. In this case, the mounting bolt enters the second through hole when the deformation region is crushed, and the canister body can be prevented from being damaged.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the simple structure in which the mounting base portion is bolted to the support portion on the vehicle body side prevents at least the external force input to the canister body at the time of a vehicle collision to prevent the damage. This makes it possible to dramatically improve canister installation workability.

Also, at the time of collision of the vehicle body, the mounting bolts to become so smoothly slide relative to the mounting base with the spacers, can be more effectively alleviate an external force inputted to the canister body.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the canister is held by the vehicle body even after the collision of the vehicle body, so that the canister body can be prevented from being damaged due to dropping off from the vehicle body.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a canister mounted on a vehicle body as a more specific embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a canister as viewed from below. 1 and the following drawings, arrow F indicates the front of the vehicle body.

  The canister 1 shown in FIG. 1 is disposed at the rear of the vehicle body, and includes a first cross member 2 provided on the front side of the canister 1, a second cross member 3 provided on the rear side of the canister 1, Each is fixed with a mounting bolt 4. In other words, the canister 1 is supported by being suspended from the vehicle body using the cross members 2 and 3 as support portions. If no cross member is present in the portion of the vehicle body where the canister 1 is disposed, a bracket functioning as a support portion may be provided on the vehicle body side and the canister 1 may be screwed to the bracket. It is also possible to place the canister 1 close to the side member of the vehicle body and screw the canister 1 using the side member as a support portion.

  Both cross members 2, 3 are disposed across the left and right rear side members (not shown), and a fuel tank (not shown) is arranged on the front side of the first cross member 2. A region on the front side of the first cross member 2 in the rear portion of the vehicle body is configured to be highly rigid as a difficult deformation region to protect a fuel tank (not shown), while the first cross member 2 in the rear portion of the vehicle body. The rear side region is configured as a crushable zone (deformation region) that is actively crushed to absorb the impact at the time of rear collision.

  As shown in FIG. 2 in addition to FIG. 1, the canister body 5 of the canister 1 includes a case 6 containing activated carbon (not shown) that is an evaporated fuel adsorbent, a cap 7 that closes the opening of the case 6, have. The case 6 and the cap 7 are each formed of a synthetic resin material, and are fixed to each other by welding, for example.

  The case 6 has a first housing portion 6a and a second housing portion 6b each having a bottomed rectangular tube shape, and activated carbon is filled in each of the housing portions 6a and 6b. Moreover, both the accommodating parts 6a and 6b are mutually connected by the rib 6c for a reinforcement, and the case 6 is exhibiting the substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole.

  A charge port 8 connected to a fuel tank (not shown) and a purge port 9 connected to an intake passage of an engine (not shown) are provided at the bottom of the first housing 6a, respectively. At the bottom of the accommodating portion 6b, an atmospheric port 10 that is opened to the atmosphere is provided. The first accommodating portion 6a and the second accommodating portion 6b communicate with each other through a connection passage formed in the cap 7, and a substantially U-shaped passage that is folded back with the connection passage is formed inside the canister body 5. .

  As is well known, evaporative fuel generated in a fuel tank (not shown) when the vehicle is stopped is introduced into the canister body 5 from the charge port 8, and the evaporated fuel is adsorbed by the activated carbon in the housing portions 6a and 6b. On the other hand, when the engine is in operation, the evaporated fuel adsorbed on the activated carbon with the atmosphere introduced from the atmosphere port 10 is desorbed, and the evaporated fuel is supplied to the intake passage of the engine (not shown) through the purge port 9.

  On the other hand, mounting bases 11 project from two sides in the vehicle width direction on the side surface of the canister body 5 on the front side of the vehicle body, and two sides in the vehicle width direction on the side surface of the canister body 5 on the rear side of the vehicle body. A mounting base 11 is projected from each location. In other words, the mounting base 11 is provided on each side of the canister 1 in the crushing direction of the above-described crushable zone. Each mounting base 11 is formed integrally with the case 6 with a synthetic resin material, and has a flat plate shape that is substantially rectangular in plan view. The shape of each mounting base 11 may be appropriately set according to the positional relationship between the cross members 2 and 3 and the canister body 5, and each mounting base 11 may be L-shaped or U-shaped, for example. Also good. In the present embodiment, the mounting bases 11 project from the side surfaces of the canister body 5 on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. However, the mounting bases 11 are provided from other surfaces of the canister body 5 as necessary. It is also possible to project.

  Each mounting base 11 is formed with a mounting hole 12 through which the mounting bolt 4 is inserted. The mounting base 11 on the front side of the vehicle body is formed on the bottom surface 2a of the first cross member 2, and the mounting base 11 on the rear side of the vehicle body is formed. They are superposed on the bottom surface 3 a of the second cross member 3. The mounting bolts 4 that pass through the mounting holes 12 of the mounting bases 11 are screwed into the screw holes 2b and 3b of the cross members 2 and 3, respectively.

  Specifically, the mounting holes 12 of the mounting bases 11 are formed in a deformed circular hole shape so as to prevent the canister main body 5 from being damaged when the rear surface of the vehicle body collides. The mounting hole 12 of the mounting base 11 on the front side of the vehicle body and the mounting hole 12 of the mounting base 11 on the rear side of the vehicle body are formed symmetrically in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body with the same basic shape. Since the mounting structure for the cross members 2 and 3 is basically the same, FIG. 3 shows details of the mounting hole 12 formed in the mounting base 11 on the rear side of the vehicle body as a representative example, and FIG. The attachment structure with respect to the 2nd cross member 3 of the side attachment base 11 is shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the mounting hole 12 is adjacent to the first through hole 13 having a substantially circular shape in plan view and the case 6 side of the first through hole 13, that is, the inside of the crushable zone described above in the collapse direction. And a second through hole 14 formed as described above. A metal collar 15 as a cylindrical spacer is inserted into the first through hole 13, and the shaft portion 4 a of the mounting bolt 4 is inserted through the collar 15. The outer diameter of the collar 15 is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the first through hole 13.

  The mounting bolt 4 has a head portion 4b with a flange portion 4c, and a mounting base portion 11 is formed in a gap formed with a collar 15 between the flange portion 4c of the head portion 4b and the bottom surface 2a of the second cross member 3. Is held. That is, the collar 15 bears the fastening force by the mounting bolt 4, thereby preventing the mounting base 11 made of synthetic resin from creeping due to the fastening force. In FIG. 4, the gaps between the flange 4c and the mounting base 11 of the mounting bolt 4 and between the bottom surface 3a of the second cross member 3 and the mounting base 11 are exaggerated. In order to prevent the canister 1 from rattling, it is preferable to set the length of the collar 15 so that the gap between them is substantially zero when the mounting bolt 4 is tightened.

  On the other hand, a part of the first through hole 13 on the second through hole 14 side of the outer periphery is slit with a first slit 16 that is narrower than both the through holes 13, 14. Both through holes 13 and 14 communicate with each other. Further, a part of the outer periphery of the first through hole 13 on the side opposite to the second through hole 14 is slit by a second slit 17 that is narrower than the first slit 16.

  On the other hand, the second through hole 14 has a deformed long hole shape extending in the crushing direction of the crushable zone, and leaves a locking claw 18 having a predetermined width on both the left and right sides of the first slit 16. Left and right groove portions 19 extending along the outer periphery of the first through hole 13 are provided.

  That is, between the groove portions 19 and the first through-holes 13, both locking claws 18 that serve as boundaries between the first through-holes 13 and the second through-holes 14 are formed so that their tips are separated from each other. By making the first through hole 13 and the second through hole 14 communicate with each other by the first slit 16 formed between the both locking claws 18, the mounting bolt 4 can enter the second through hole 14 together with the collar 15. ing. In addition, the external shape of the 2nd through-hole 14 is set to the shape which the head 4b of the attachment bolt 4 cannot pull out.

  More specifically, the holding force for holding the collar 15 in the first through hole 13 is adjusted by the size of the width dimension b of both the locking claws 18 and the width dimension a of the first slit 16, and the force exceeding the holding force is adjusted. When added, the collar 15 enters the second through hole 14. Since the fastening force of the mounting bolt 4 is borne by the collar 15 as described above, the fastening force does not affect the holding force. Further, the relative displacement allowable amount between the collar 15 and the mounting base 11 is set by the size of the length dimension c of the second through hole 14.

  The operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5A, the collar 15 is first penetrated by both the locking claws 18 in a normal state. Since it is held in the hole 13, the collar 15 is not detached from the first through-hole 13 due to vibration during normal running, and an appropriate fixed state is maintained.

  On the other hand, at the time of a rear collision of the vehicle body, a rear side member (not shown) is buckled by an impact load applied from the rear portion of the vehicle body, and the crushable zone at the rear portion of the vehicle body is crushed. Thereby, the space | interval between both the cross members 2 and 3 is narrowed.

  Then, the distance between the screw hole 2b of the first cross member 2 and the screw hole 3b of the second cross member 3 is such that the first through hole 13 of the mounting base 11 on the front side of the vehicle body and the mounting base 11 on the rear side of the vehicle body. Since the distance is shorter than the distance from the first through hole 13, the collar 15 slides in the mounting hole 12 and enters the second through hole 14 as shown in FIG.

  That is, when both the locking claws 18 are pressed against the collar 15 with a force exceeding the holding force, the both locking claws 18 bend toward the groove portion 19 side, and the first slit 16 is expanded. It will enter the second through hole 14 through the expanded first slit 16. And the external force input into the canister main body 5 is remarkably eased by the relative displacement of the collar 15 and the mounting base 11 in this way.

  Further, when the mounting bolt 4 enters the second through hole 14 in this way, the flange portion 4c of the mounting bolt 4 is caught by the outer peripheral edge portion of the second through hole 14, and the canister 1 is suspended from the vehicle body. Will be retained. It should be noted that when both the locking claws 18 are bent toward the groove portion 19 side, the both locking claws 18 may be broken in some cases, but even in this case, the flange 4c of the mounting bolt 4 is 2 is caught on the outer peripheral edge of the through-hole 14, and the canister 1 is prevented from falling off.

  The behavior of the mounting bolt 4 is the same for the mounting bolt 4 inserted through the mounting base 11 on the front side of the vehicle body.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the canister 1 can be damaged at the time of a rear collision by a simple structure in which the mounting bases 11 provided on the front and rear sides of the canister body 5 are screwed to the cross members 2 and 3, respectively. Therefore, it is possible to dramatically improve the mounting workability of the canister 1 by reducing the number of parts and the number of mounting work steps, and there is an advantage that the cost is advantageous.

  Further, since the fastening force of the mounting bolt 4 does not affect the holding force for holding the mounting bolt 4 in the first through hole 13, it is not necessary to strictly manage the fastening force of each mounting bolt 4, The canister 1 can be attached more easily. In addition, when the vehicle body collides, the mounting bolt 4 smoothly slides with respect to the mounting base 11 without being obstructed by the fastening force of the mounting bolt 4, so that the external force input to the canister body 5 can be made more effective. Can be relaxed.

  Further, since the locking claws 18 that form the boundaries between the first through holes 13 and the second through holes 14 are formed between both the groove portions 19 and the first through holes 13, the width of both the locking claws 18. There is an advantage that the holding force for holding the mounting bolt 4 in the first through-hole 13 can be easily adjusted by the size b and the width a of the first slit 16.

  In the present embodiment, the length c of the second through hole 14 is set to be relatively small. However, the second cross member 3 is displaced toward the first cross member 2 when the crushable zone is crushed. When the amount of displacement to be performed is relatively large, the length c of the second through hole 21 in the mounting hole 20 may be set to be relatively long as in the modification shown in FIG.

The side view which shows the attachment structure of a canister as embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the canister by itself as seen from the downward side. The principal part enlarged view of the canister shown in FIG. The principal part enlarged view of the mounting structure of the canister shown in FIG. The figure which shows the behavior of the attachment bolt in the attachment hole at the time of a rear surface collision. The figure which shows the modification of the attachment hole shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Canister 2 ... 1st cross member (support part)
3. Second cross member (supporting part)
4 ... Mounting bolt
5 ... Canister body 4b ... Mounting bolt head 11 ... Mounting base 13 ... First through hole 14 ... Second through hole 15 ... Collar (spacer)
16 ... 1st slit
17 ... 2nd slit 18 ... Locking claw 20 ... Mounting hole 21 ... 2nd through-hole

Claims (2)

Among the canisters, a plurality of mounting bases are integrally protruded from a resin canister main body that accommodates the evaporated fuel adsorbent so as to project outside the canister main body, and each of these mounting bases is supported on the vehicle body side. is polymerized, the mounting base with a mounting bolt inserted through the mounting base by fastened to the supporting portion of the vehicle body, the canister is the mounting structure of the canister that is suspended supporting the supporting portion of the vehicle body to There ,
While the mounting bolt is fitted with a metal cylindrical spacer,
The mounting base,
A first through hole through which the spacer is inserted;
A second through hole formed adjacent to the first through hole ;
A narrow first slit than those two through-holes in communication between the first through-hole and the second through hole,
Locking claws formed on both sides of the first slit and at the boundary between the first through hole and the second through hole,
A second slit that is formed in a portion of the first through hole on the side opposite to the second through hole and opened to the outside, and narrower than the first slit,
If you are have a,
The spacer inserted into the first through hole holds the mounting base in the gap formed between the head of the mounting bolt and the support on the vehicle body side,
The mounting bolt can enter the second through hole together with the spacer,
By the attachment bolt enters the first slit while bending it by pressing the locking pawl together with the spacer to the second through-hole side to the expansion to the second through hole, the mounting base the attachment bolts with spacers The canister mounting structure is characterized in that it slides relative to the can . When the mounting bolt enters the second through hole, the canister is prevented from falling off by being caught between the head of the mounting bolt and the outer peripheral edge of the second through hole. The canister mounting structure according to claim 1.

Images