JP5286132B2 - Filler tube body fixing structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a filler tube body fixing structure in a fuel piping system of an automobile, and more particularly to an improved structure of a bracket for attaching a filler tube to a vehicle body.

Filler tubes in automobile fuel piping systems are bolted to the vehicle body by brackets. As a method of bolt attachment, for example, in Patent Document 1, the bracket is composed of two parts, and has a structure in which a filler tube is sandwiched and bolted. Instead of a two-part sandwiched structure, the bracket is a single part and the filler tube is welded or brazed. Since the filler tube is disposed close to the vehicle body, large deformation of the vehicle body due to a vehicle collision causes the vehicle body to abut against the filler tube. The contact of the deformed vehicle body with the filler tube causes a relative displacement between the vehicle body and the filler tube. In order to prevent damage to the filler tube against such relative displacement, the strength of the bracket is designed so that the bracket itself is deformed or broken by relative displacement, and consideration is given so that the filler tube is not damaged. Yes.
JP 2007-216935 A

  In the prior art, the bracket has a low rigidity with respect to the filler tube body, and the bracket is positively deformed at the time of collision. For this reason, the bracket is first deformed with respect to the relative displacement at the time of collision, and the filler tube itself is hardly affected by the relative displacement at the time of collision, and the filler tube itself is not easily damaged. However, in the case of a collision in which the vehicle body above the bracket is deformed, the filler tube is sandwiched and rotated (twisted) in the vehicle body, and the rigidity of the bracket is low, so the twist is directly applied to the filler tube below the bracket. The tip (lower end) side of the filler tube was greatly displaced. A hose to the fuel tank is connected to the tip of the filler tube, and a large displacement of the tip of the filler tube has a concern that the hose to the fuel tank may be damaged by interference with other parts of the vehicle. Such a problem can be countered by suppressing the deformation of the vehicle body at the time of the collision, which is the root cause, but for that purpose, it is necessary to increase the rigidity of the side members of the vehicle body skeleton, etc. Cost burden increases.

  The present invention aims to solve this problem only by the structure of the bracket, and in the past, while securing the function of the existing bracket to protect the filler tube itself by damaging itself by the relative displacement at the time of collision, It is devised so that the bracket also has a function of suppressing the rotational displacement of the filler tube.

  According to the present invention, in the structure in which the filler tube is bolted to the vehicle body by the bracket, the bracket is welded to the filler tube along the circumferential direction, and along the direction intersecting the axis of the filler tube. A filler tube extending and welded to the first support portion, wherein the weld strength of the first support portion relative to the filler tube is greater than the weld strength of the second support portion relative to the first support portion A vehicle body fixing structure is provided.

  It is preferable that the welding length of the 1st support part with respect to a filler tube exceeds 180 degree | times along the circumference of a filler tube. In this case, it is preferable that the first support portion has a divided structure (separate piece) in the circumferential direction and an integrated structure by welding. Although the intermediate portion of the first support portion in the longitudinal direction of the filler tube is separated from the opposing surface of the filler tube, the welding to the filler tube is performed at both end portions, and the intermediate portion can be spaced from the filler tube. Further, the second support portion is composed of a plurality of plate members, and each plate member is welded to the first support portion at one end thereof, and the other end of each plate member can be configured as a bolt mounting portion for the vehicle body.

  When a force is applied to the filler tube to rotate around its axis due to the upper part of the filler tube being sandwiched by the vehicle body, the filler tube is twisted and deformed at the upper part of the bracket by setting the welding strength of the first support to the filler tube. In this case, the filler tube is not displaced in order to suppress the displacement of the hose below the filler tube and prevent interference with other parts, while the second support for the first support portion is provided for relative displacement between the vehicle body and the filler tube. Since the welded part of the part becomes the weakest part, the filler tube can be protected from damage by first damaging the bracket at the weakest part.

  By making the weld length of the first support portion of the bracket to the filler tube exceed 180 degrees, it is possible to prevent the filler tube from being greatly distorted from the circular cross section when the filler tube is twisted due to deformation due to collision. Damage to the tube can be prevented.

  By welding the first support portion of the bracket to the filler tube at both ends and floating the intermediate portion, the weld portion can be limited to the minimum size that can ensure the desired weld strength, and the cavity portion because the weld portion is small It is possible to make the entire surface mutually melted state in which there is no existence, and to eliminate the concern of crevice corrosion.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a filler tube assembly according to the present invention as viewed from the side of a vehicle body in a vehicle-mounted state. FIG. 2 is a view of the filler tube assembly of FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow II. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1 and shows the structure of the bracket of the present invention. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a filler tube, which is made of a material such as stainless steel having a predetermined thickness. In this embodiment, the filler tube is attached to the rear portion of the vehicle body, and FIG. 1 shows the filler tube 10 viewed from the side of the vehicle body in the state of attachment to the vehicle body. In FIG. 1, the filler tube 10 includes an intermediate portion 10-1, an upper portion 10-2 (FIG. 2) bent about 45 degrees from the intermediate portion 10-1 to the rear of the vehicle body, and a front portion of the vehicle body from the intermediate portion 10-1. And a lower side portion 10-3 bent approximately 90 degrees (FIG. 2). An end portion 10-4 of the upper portion 10-2 of the filler tube 10 is expanded in diameter, and a cap protector 12 is welded to the expanded diameter end portion 10-4. The filler tube 10 has one end of a fuel hose 14 attached to the open end of the lower side portion 10-3, and the other end of the fuel hose 14 extends to a fuel tank (not shown).

  Like the filler tube 10, a breather tube 16 made of stainless steel or the like having a predetermined thickness is fixed at one end to the enlarged end portion 10-4 of the filler tube 10 and the other end is a fuel liquid in a fuel tank as is well known. It opens to the space above the surface and achieves the function of constantly ventilating the space. The breather tube 16 is disposed along the entire length of the filler tube 10 as shown in FIG. 1, and an attachment part for connecting the outer circumferences by welding so that the filler tube 10 includes the breather tube 16 as one assembly in the middle. 18, 18 'are provided.

  In FIG. 1, 20 represents the whole bracket of this invention, and the bracket 20 is a component for bolting the filler tube to the vehicle body. The bracket 20 is shown in FIG. 2 (FIG. 2 is a view of the filler tube assembly of FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow II (front of the vehicle body). For simplicity, the lower part of the breather tube 10 and the breather tube mounting parts 18, 18 'is comprised from the 1st support part 22 and the 2nd support part 24, as shown in FIG. The first support portion 22 is formed of a stainless steel plate or the like, and extends in the circumferential direction over a wraparound angle range exceeding 180 degrees along the outer periphery of the filler tube 10 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. A cylindrical shape in which a part of the angle range is interrupted is exhibited. Although the 1st support part 22 may be 1 piece, in order to make the wraparound arrangement | positioning exceeding 180 degree | times of the 1st support part 22 in the outer periphery of the filler tube 10 easy, it shall be set as the division | segmentation structure of multiple pieces which is less than 180 degree | times. In this case, the divided portions are integrated by welding. In this embodiment, the first support portion 22 is composed of two pieces, and in FIGS. 4 and 5, L indicates a dividing surface into two pieces, and this dividing surface is in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, that is, the filler tube axis. It extends in a direction, and is assembled as a first support portion 22 by welding two adjacent opposing divided surfaces over the entire length in this direction. The dividing line L of the first support portion 22 is also schematically shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the first support portion 22 abuts against the opposite surface of the filler tube at both end portions 22-1 along the longitudinal direction of the filler tube 10 (see FIG. 5), but the intermediate portion 22-2 is The filler tube 10 is spaced from the facing surface. Both end portions 22-1 of the first support portion 22 are welded to the opposing surface of the filler tube 10 (see FIG. 5). The welding length is set so that the welding strength of the first support portion 22 with respect to the filler tube is larger than the torsional rigidity of the filler tube 10. As described above, the first support portion 22 has a wraparound arrangement exceeding 180 degrees on the outer periphery of the filler tube 10, and the weld length (angle α in FIG. 5) in the circumferential direction also exceeds 180 degrees.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second support portion 24 extends from the first support portion 22 in a direction intersecting the axis of the filler tube 10, that is, a normal direction in this embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the second support portion 24 is composed of a pair of bracket plates (plate members of the present invention) 26, 28, and one ends 26-1, 28- of the bracket plates 26, 28. 1 is welded to the opposing surface (circumferential surface) of the first support portion 22, and the other end is formed with a triangular shaped overhanging portion 26-2, 28-2 for bolting to a part of the vehicle body, for example, a side member. To do. The overhang portions 26-2 and 28-2 form bolt holes 30 and 32 for bolts screwed into the vehicle body. The bolt holes 30 and 32 are also shown in FIG. 1, and are inserted into the bolt holes 30 and 32 and bolted to the side members 36 indicated by imaginary lines, whereby the filler tube assembly for the side members 36 is shown in FIG. The attachment in the state shown in is performed. The mounting state of the overhang portions 26-2 and 28-2 of the bracket plates 26 and 28 with respect to the side member 36 is also shown in FIG. 2, and the mounting bolt is represented by an imaginary line 27. By configuring the second support portion 24 with the two bracket plates 26 and 28, the degree of freedom in design when attaching to different parts of the vehicle body is increased. Instead of configuring the second support portion 24 with a pair of bracket plates (the plate material of the present invention) 26, 28, the bracket plate may be a single-piece structure, and the two-piece structure of the first support portion described above. Therefore, it is possible to adopt a structure in which the piece on one side and the bracket plate are integrated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the end portion 26-1 of the bracket plate 26 to be welded to the first support portion 22 is separated into bifurcated portions 26-1A and 26-1B in this embodiment. -1A and 26-1B are welded to the opposing surface of the first support portion 22. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5, the end portion 28-1 of the bracket plate 28 to be welded to the first support portion 22 is also divided into the bifurcated portions 28-1A and 28-1B, and the respective portions 28-1A and 28-1 are separated. -1B is welded to the opposing surface of the first support 22. The portions 28-1A and 28-1B are weld lengths in the circumferential direction of βA and βB with respect to the opposing surface of the first support portion 22, and the total weld length is βA + βB = β. Further, the end portion 26-1 of the bracket plate 26 shown in FIG. 4 also has a total circumferential direction of the bifurcated welded portions 26-1A and 26-1B to the facing surface of the first support portion 22 divided into the forked portion. The weld length is β. And the welding length (beta) (FIG. 5) of the circumference direction with respect to the 1st support part 22 of the 2nd support part 24 which consists of a pair of bracket plates 26 and 28 is the 1st support part 22 (the both ends 22 of that) with respect to a filler tube. -1), which is shorter than the circumferential welding length α. Therefore, the welding strength of the second support 24 to the first support 22 is less than the weld strength of the first support 22 to the filler tube. The bifurcated structure of the end portions 26-1, 28-1 of the bracket plates 26, 28 is not essential.

  The structure composed of the two end portions 22-1 in contact with the filler tube facing surface of the first support portion 22 and the intermediate portion 22-2 spaced apart from the filler tube facing surface is limited in the welded portion. By making the entire surface of the welded part completely melted together, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of voids that cause the required crevice corrosion, while by setting the size of the welded part appropriately, the required welding The strength is advantageous in that it can be ensured.

  The filler tube 10 is bolted to the side member 36 by the intermediate bracket 20, and the upper portion of the filler tube 10 far from the fixing portion has a free cantilever structure. Therefore, when a part of the vehicle body due to a rear collision, for example, a tire house is deformed, the upper portion of the filler tube 10 is sandwiched between the vehicle bodies, and a force as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1 is applied, the force applied to the upper portion of the filler tube 10 A rotates the filler tube 10 around its central axis (arrow B in FIG. 1). If the torsional force applied to the filler tube 10 is transmitted to the lower end portion 10-3 as it is, the fuel hose 14 connected thereto is greatly displaced and interferes with other parts of the vehicle body, causing the fuel hose 14 to be damaged or disconnected. Although there was a concern, in the present invention, welding of the welded portion of the bracket 20 to the filler tube 10 (both ends 22-1 of the first support portion 22 of the bracket 20) is compared with the torsional rigidity of the filler tube 10. The weld length (angle α in FIG. 5) of welded portion 22-1 is set so that the strength is increased. Therefore, although the filler tube 10 receives a twisting force B due to the deformation of the tire house due to the rear collision, the deformation occurs, but this twisting deformation is stopped at the part of the bracket 20 and the part 10-3 of the filler tube 10 below the bracket 20. (FIG. 2) is not communicated, and therefore the portion 10-3 (FIG. 2) of the filler tube 10 below the bracket 20 is not displaced or the amount thereof is suppressed even when displaced, and the filler tube 10 is connected to the filler tube 10. It is possible to prevent the hose 14 to the fuel tank from being damaged by interfering with other parts of the vehicle, or the hose 14 to fall out of the filler tube 10, thereby preventing fuel leakage. Moreover, the wraparound angle in the circumferential direction of the first support portion of the bracket 20 welded to the filler tube 10 is 180 degrees or more. If the wraparound angle is less than 180 degrees, the torsion of the filler tube causes the cross section to deform greatly from a true circle to an elliptical circle, and a large force is applied to the filler tube at the weld, which may cause breakage. By taking the angle to exceed 180 degrees, it is possible to substantially maintain a circular cross section against twisting and to prevent the filler tube 10 from being broken at the welded portion.

  On the other hand, with respect to the relative displacement between the vehicle body and the filler tube (relative displacement between the filler tube 10 and the side member 36 in FIG. 1) due to the force applied to the filler tube 10 from the vehicle body side at the time of collision, the first relative to the filler tube 10 is applied. Compared with the welding strength of the welded portion of the support portion 22 (both ends 22-1 of the first support portion 22 of the bracket 20), the welded portion of the second support portion 24 with respect to the first support portion 22 (the bracket plates 26, 28). The welding length is set so that the welding strength of the end portions 26-1A, 26-1B, 28-1A, 28-1B) is reduced (relative to the welding length α of the first support portion 22 (FIG. 5)). Because the weld length β of the second support portion is shortened), the welded portions 26-1A, 26-1B; 28-1A, 28-1B of the second support portion 24 with respect to the first support portion 22 are the weakest parts. In the event of a collision, the bracket will first be damaged at this location 26-1A, 26-1B; 28-1A, 28-1B Ri, more since the force is not transmitted to the filler tube 10, it is possible to protect the filler tube 10 from damage.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Filler tube 12 ... Cap protector 14 ... Fuel hose 16 ... Breather tube 20 ... Bracket 22 ... The 1st support part of a bracket
22-1 ... Both ends 24 of the first support part ... The second support part of the bracket
26, 28 ... Bracket plate constituting the second support part of the bracket
26-1A, 26-1B; 28-1A, 28-1B ... End of bracket (welded part)
36 ... Car body α ... Welding length (angle) of the first support part of the bracket
βA, βB ... Welding length (angle) of second support part of bracket

Claims (7)

  In the structure in which the filler tube is bolted to the vehicle body by a bracket, the bracket is extended along a direction intersecting the axis of the filler tube, a first support portion welded to the filler tube along a circumferential direction, A filler tube body fixing structure comprising a second support portion welded to one support portion, wherein the weld strength of the first support portion with respect to the filler tube is greater than the weld strength of the second support portion with respect to the first support portion.   2. The filler tube vehicle body fixing structure according to claim 1, wherein the weld length in the circumferential direction of the first support portion with respect to the filler tube exceeds 180 degrees along the circumference of the filler tube.   3. The filler tube vehicle body fixing structure according to claim 2, wherein the first support portion has a divided structure in the circumferential direction, and the divided portions are integrated by welding of opposing surfaces of the adjacent divided portions.   In the invention according to claim 3, the first support part abuts against the filler tube facing surface at both ends along the filler tube axis direction, and the welding of the first support part to the filler tube is performed, and the first support part The middle part of the filler tube body fixing structure is spaced from the filler tube.   5. The filler tube vehicle body fixing structure according to claim 4, wherein the welding of the second support portion to the first support portion is performed at an intermediate portion of the filler tube.   In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the welding of the second support part to the first support part is performed along a circumferential direction, and the circumferential direction of the first support part to the filler tube is set. The filler tube vehicle body fixing structure whose welding length is longer than the welding length of the 2nd support part with respect to a 1st support part.   The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second support portion is composed of a plurality of plate members, each plate member is welded to the first support portion at one end thereof, and the other end of each plate member is A filler tube vehicle body fixing structure that constitutes a bolt mounting portion for the vehicle body.

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