JP6095520B2 - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel supply device that is held in an opening of a fuel tank such as a two-wheeled vehicle to send fuel out of the fuel tank.

  A conventional fuel supply device includes a stator part formed by covering a core made of a magnetic material around which a coil is wound with a resin material, and a coil that is rotatably disposed on the inner peripheral side of the core. Then, it has a rotor portion that rotates in response to the magnetic field formed in the core. An impeller fixed to a rotating shaft of the rotor; a pump case that rotatably accommodates the impeller; a pump portion that includes a housing that holds the pump case on its outer peripheral side and is coupled to the stator portion; and a stator portion And a flange portion for fixing the fuel pump to the container by being fixed to the container so as to cover the opening provided in the container. The stator portion includes a bearing holding portion that holds a bearing that is rotatably fitted to and supported by one end side of the rotating shaft, and the bearing holding portion is formed by molding. The flange portion is formed integrally with the stator portion when the stator portion is molded. A suction filter is attached to the suction port of the pump case. The flange portion is formed with a flow path through which fuel pressurized by the pump is pumped to the engine. In addition, the flow path branches off inside the flange, and the fuel that is not consumed by the engine among the pumped fuel returns to the tank via the pressure regulator installed at the end of the flow path branched as surplus fuel. Is done.

  In a pressure regulator constituting a conventional fuel supply device, an integral type formed by utilizing a part of a flow path formed in a flange (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and separately from the flange. There is a separate type that exists (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2009-2222055 A JP 2008-138785 A

  The conventional fuel supply apparatus is configured as described above. For example, in the technique of Document 1, the fuel pressure in the fuel pipe leading to the engine depends on the dimensional accuracy of each component constituting the pressure regulator. Since there is no mechanism for adjusting the pressure for each individual, there is a problem that the fuel pressure varies greatly. In addition, since the seat surface of the valve part is a part of the resin flange, the shape of the seat surface is not stabilized due to volume shrinkage from molding to cooling or swelling due to fuel immersion, and fuel pulsation and noise There was a problem that cavitation as a factor was likely to occur. Further, in the technique of Document 2, a separate valve housing is required, so that the cost cannot be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a fuel supply device capable of regulating the pressure regulator for each individual pressure regulator with an inexpensive structure and excellent in quietness. And

In the fuel supply apparatus according to the present invention, the pump unit that sends the fuel stored in the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank, the motor unit that drives the pump unit, the pump unit and the motor unit are integrally formed, and the pump A fuel passage for delivering fuel from the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank, a flange portion provided in the middle of the fuel passage and having a return passage for returning the fuel flowing through the fuel passage to the fuel tank, and a pressure regulator provided in the return passage The pressure regulator includes a housing formed in the flange portion to form a return flow path, a valve body provided to face the fuel inlet of the return flow path, and the valve body as a fuel in the return flow path. a spring for supporting with a resilient force against the inlet, retaining the spring, and the expansion and contraction direction of the spring to the housing moves Comprising a holder which is held with a region capable, the inner peripheral surface of the housing, and larger than the inner diameter of the upstream portion located inside diameter of the downstream portion located downstream of the return flow path upstream of the return flow path It is formed in a two-stage structure, and the region is a downstream portion of the housing, and the holder is provided in the downstream portion of the housing, and the downstream portion is plastically deformed so that the position of the holder in the spring expansion / contraction direction Is adjusted .

  According to the fuel supply device of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a fuel supply device that is inexpensive and excellent in pressure regulation and quietness.

  The objects, features, and effects of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description and drawings in the following embodiments.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the fuel supply apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the fuel supply apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. 1 which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. 1 which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol shall show the same or an equivalent part.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fuel supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fuel supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG.

  First, the configuration of the fuel supply device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4, for example, in a motorcycle, a fuel supply device 100 is suspended in an opening 2 a of a fuel tank 2 (shown by partial breakage) that stores fuel 1, and includes a pump unit 30, The motor unit 40 is a driving source of the pump unit 30 and the flange unit 50 is an attachment member to the fuel tank 2.

The pump unit 30 is configured by housing an impeller 5 as a rotating member in the pump base 3 and the pump cover 4 (see FIG. 3). The type of pump configured in this way is a so-called turbine pump.
The impeller 5 formed in a disk shape is accommodated so as to be sandwiched from both the front and back sides by the pump base 3 and the pump cover 4, and the center portion engages with a shaft 10 a of the rotor portion 10 to be described later. The shaft 10a is supported by a bearing 6 fixed to the shaft 6 so as to be rotatable.

The pump base 3 and the pump cover 4 are covered with an outer peripheral surface by a pump case 7 made of, for example, a cylindrical metal pipe. A suction port 4a for sucking the fuel 1 in the fuel tank 2 is disposed on the fuel tank 2 side (lower side in FIG. 1) of the pump cover 4, and dust in the fuel 1 is filtered into the suction port 4a. A suction filter 8 is attached to the housing via a cylindrical pump holder 12.
C-shaped pump flow paths 30 a are formed on the surfaces of the pump base 3 and the pump cover 4 facing the impeller 5, respectively. The fuel 1 in the fuel tank 2 is absorbed by a suction filter 8 coupled to the pump cover 4. After being filtered, it flows in from the suction port 4 a, is pressurized while flowing through the pump flow path 30 a by the rotation of the impeller 5, and is pumped to the motor unit 40 side.

The fuel pressure-fed from the pump unit 30 to the motor unit 40 side passes between the stator unit 9 and the rotor unit 10 which will be described later, and is supplied to the fuel passage 14d through a communication channel 14f formed in the flange unit 50 which will be described later. Is done.
The motor unit 40 employs a brushless motor. The motor unit 40 is fitted in the center with a stator core 9a made of a magnetic material and a stator unit 9 made of a coil 9b wound around the stator core 9a, and a plastic magnet molded into a cylindrical shape. It is comprised by the rotor part 10 which consists of the inserted shaft 10a.

In the stator unit 9, the current flowing in the coil 9b wound around the stator core 9a is controlled, so that the magnetic poles formed in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the stator core 9a are switched.
The rotor portion 10 in which the shaft 10a is rotatably supported by the bearing 6 is rotatably installed on the inner periphery of the stator core 9a, and forms different magnetic poles alternately in the rotation direction on the outer peripheral surface facing the stator core 9a. Is magnetized.

  The stator core 9a is formed by adhering a plurality of magnetic steel plates laminated in the axial direction. The stator core 9a is provided with an insulator 9c made of an insulating material so as to cover the surface, and a coil 9b is wound around the insulator 9c. The coil 9b is supplied with a three-phase alternating current from a control device (not shown), and is star-connected, for example, so as to generate a rotating magnetic field in the circumferential direction, and is connected to three load terminals 13a, 13b, and 13c described later.

  Stator core 9a, stator portion 9 including coil 9b, and load terminals 13a, 13b, 13c electrically connected to coil 9b are integrally formed by housing 11 formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polyacetal resin, for example. Inserted and molded, the resin does not directly contact the coil 9b by being filled with a resin material, and the corrosion of the coil 9b can be prevented even when deteriorated fuel or low quality fuel is used.

  The housing 11 is provided with a storage portion 11a in which the pump portion 30 is inserted and stored, and an engagement convex portion 11b disposed to hold the pump portion 30 is provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof. . After the pump portion 30 is housed in the housing portion 11 a, the engagement recess 12 a disposed in the pump holder 12 which is a pump portion holding means formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polyacetal resin is engaged with the housing 11. By being fitted to the convex portion 11b (shown by an arrow in FIG. 2), it is held by the motor portion 40.

The engaging protrusions 11b are disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 11 of the motor unit 40 at a pitch of approximately 120 degrees, and the engaging recesses 12a are disposed on the inner periphery of the pump holder 12 at a pitch of approximately 120 degrees. The joint portion has a so-called snap-fit structure formed so as to be fitted to each other. The housing 11 and the pump holder 12 can be easily attached and detached, and the pump portion 30 is securely held by the motor portion 40.
An O-ring 19 that is an airtight member for maintaining oil tightness is inserted between the housing 11 and the pump portion 30, and this O-ring 19 is formed at the bottom of the housing portion 11 a of the housing 11. Housed in the recessed groove 11a1, the pump part 30 is brought into contact with the O-ring 19 to be in an airtight state.

The flange portion 50 houses a discharge pipe 14a for sending pressurized fuel to an engine (not shown) through a fuel pipe (not shown), and power terminals 17a, 17b, 17c for supplying power to the coil 9b. The connector part 14b which is an electric power supply means is comprised from the flange 14 etc. which were integrally shape | molded by thermoplastic resin materials, such as PPS resin (polyphenylene sulfide resin) or POM resin (polyacetal resin), for example. The flange 14 is formed in a flat plate shape orthogonal to the axial direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1), is fitted into the circular opening 2 a of the fuel tank 2, and the flat plate portion is connected to the outer surface of the fuel tank 2. The gasket 17 is fixed to the fuel tank 2 by fastening with a fixing bracket (not shown) in a state where the packing 17 is sandwiched therebetween and in close contact.
A communication passage 14f is formed in the center of the flange 14 to allow the fuel filtered by the discharge filter 18 to communicate with the fuel passage 14d.

  A check valve 15 is disposed in the middle of the fuel passage 14d. The check valve 15 includes a valve body 15a, a valve seat 15b, and a valve spring 15c. The valve spring 15c is a coil spring, and is in a compressed state when the check valve 15 is attached. The valve body 15a is in contact with the valve seat 15b by the elastic force of the valve spring 15c, and the fuel passage acting on the valve body 15a by the fuel pressure discharged from the pump unit 30 during operation of the fuel supply device 100. The force in the direction toward the downstream side (the left side in FIG. 1) of 14d overcomes the elastic force of the valve spring 15c, the valve body 15a leaves the valve seat 15b, and the fuel flows to the discharge pipe 14a.

On the other hand, when the fuel supply device 100 is stopped, the fuel passage 14d is blocked by the check valve 15 because the valve body 15a is in contact with the valve seat 15b by the elastic force of the valve spring 15c. Therefore, the fuel in the fuel passage 14d on the downstream side of the check valve 15 and the fuel pipe (not shown) connected to the discharge pipe 14a does not return to the fuel tank 2 via the fuel supply device 100 and remains there. And the pressurized fuel pressure is also maintained.
Therefore, at the next engine start, the fuel is immediately supplied to the engine so that the engine can be started quickly.

Further, a pressure regulator 16 is disposed in the fuel passage 14d downstream of the check valve 15 in the direction of the fuel tank 2 (downward in FIG. 1). The configuration of this pressure regulator will be described later. Further, a flange side coupling portion 14g formed so that the housing side coupling portion 11c of the housing 11 can be coupled is extended to the flange 14 of the flange portion 50, and the end surfaces of the flange side coupling portion 14g and the housing side coupling portion 11c are extended. Then, the housing 11 and the flange 14 are clamped in the vertical direction in FIG.
Further, on the outer periphery of the flange side coupling portion 14g, when the flange side coupling portion 14g is coupled to the housing side coupling portion 11c, the power terminals 17a, 17b are electrically connected to the load terminals 13a, 13b, 13c via connectors. 17c are disposed.

  A discharge filter 18 for filtering the fuel 1 delivered to the outside of the fuel tank 2 is disposed inside the flange side coupling portion 14g. The discharge filter 18 is a filter medium formed in a chrysanthemum tube shape or a roll shape, and is arranged concentrically with respect to the cylindrical shape of the rotor portion 10. The fuel that has flowed between the stator core 9a and the rotor portion 10 flows to the discharge filter 18 in the direction of arrow A, arrow B, arrow C, and arrow D, but flows uniformly in the circumferential direction of the discharge filter 18. Therefore, there is an effect that the pressure loss is reduced.

  In addition, a communication passage 14 f is disposed substantially at the center of the discharge filter 18. Since the rotor portion 10, the discharge filter 18, and the communication passage 14f are formed in a straight line, the fuel passes smoothly, so the pressure loss is reduced. Moreover, the filter medium of the discharge filter 18 is made of non-woven fabric, and has better filtration performance than a mesh filter or the like.

The pressure regulator 16 includes a valve body 16a, a valve seat 16b, a spring 16c, a holder 16d, and a guide 16e. Guide 16e is held by the spring 16c, the spring 16c is held by a holder 16d. In this case, a coil spring is used as the spring 16c. When the pressure regulator 16 is attached, the spring 16c is in a compressed state. The pressure regulator 16 adjusts the fuel pressure delivered from the fuel supply device 100 to a desired pressure. Here, the desired pressure is the fuel pressure required from the engine side. In the pressure regulator 16, the contact / separation state between the valve body 16a and the valve seat 16b is determined based on the magnitude relationship between the force acting on the valve body 16a by the fuel pressure and the elastic force of the spring 16c.

Next, the operation of the fuel supply apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described.
A drive current is supplied from a control circuit (not shown) to the coil 9b via the power supply terminals 17a, 17b, 17c and the load terminals 13a, 13b, 13c from the connector part 14b, and a rotating magnetic field is applied to the opposing surface facing the rotor part 10 of the stator part 9. Is generated.

  The rotor unit 10 rotates following the rotating magnetic field of the stator unit 9, the impeller 5 engaged with the shaft 10a of the rotor unit 10 also rotates, and a swirling flow is generated in the C-shaped pump flow path 30a. The fuel 1 in the fuel tank 2 flows into the pump unit 30 from the suction port 4a provided in the pump cover 4 via the suction filter 8, and is boosted while flowing in the pump flow path 30a by the rotation of the impeller 5. Pumped to the portion 40 side (above the pump portion 30 in FIG. 1).

The fuel 1 pumped to the motor unit 40 side passes between the stator core 9a and the rotor unit 10 and is formed in the flange unit 50 via the discharge filter 18 as indicated by arrows AD shown in FIG. It flows into the communication passage 14f and further supplied to the fuel passage 14d. The fuel flowing into the fuel passage 14d is adjusted to a desired pressure by the pressure regulator 16 and discharged from the discharge pipe 14a to an internal combustion engine such as a vehicle engine (not shown).
While the fuel supply device 100 is stopped, the fuel in the fuel passage 14d on the downstream side and the fuel pipe (not shown) connected to the discharge pipe 14a is held at a pressurized fuel pressure by the action of the check valve 15. The

That is, when the fuel pressure in the fuel passage 14d is lower than the desired pressure, the valve body 16a contacts the valve seat 16b and the pressure regulator 16 is closed. When the fuel pressure in the fuel passage 14d exceeds the desired pressure, the valve body 16a is separated from the valve seat 16b, the pressure regulator 16 is opened, and a part of the fuel in the fuel passage 14d passes through the pressure regulator 16. Returning to the inside of the fuel tank 2, that is, the low pressure region, the fuel pressure in the fuel passage 14d is maintained at a desired pressure.
There is a gap through which the fuel can flow on the outer periphery (large diameter portion) of the guide 16e and the inner peripheral surface (inner diameter portion) of the return flow path 80. As shown by the arrows in FIG. Surplus fuel flows from the fuel to the fuel tank 2 side.
Since the holder 16d is provided with a hole through which the fuel can pass, the surplus fuel that has passed through the valve body 16a flows downstream through the hole as shown by an arrow in FIG.
A through hole 14e is provided at a position corresponding to the pressure regulator 16 on the fuel tank 2 side of the housing 16f of the pressure regulator 16 that constitutes the return flow path 80 formed in a part of the flange portion 50. The fuel discharged from the pressure regulator 16 is returned into the fuel tank 2 through the through hole 14e which is the return port.

The pressure regulator 16 has a valve seat 16b and a valve body 16a from the downstream side in a return flow path 80 (see FIG. 4) in which a part of the flange portion extends in a cylindrical shape, and a guide 16e that holds the valve body 16a at the tip. The spring 16c and the holder 16d for holding them are assembled. The guide 16e is held by a spring 16c, and the spring 16c is held by a holder 16d. The holder 16d is formed with a through portion through which the rear end portion of the guide 16e penetrates and a hole through which fuel can pass. The valve seat 16b is fixed by press-fitting a metal member (for example, stainless steel) or by means of integral molding with the flange portion. In the initial stage of assembly, the holder 16d has a region E (see FIG. 4) that can move in the expansion / contraction direction of the spring 16c, that is, the axial direction of the pressure regulator 16, that is, a “movable margin”. Lightly press-fit into the 80 inner diameter portion or temporarily fixed by means such as a jig. This region E can be formed in a predetermined range. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the region E is formed such that the inner diameter of the downstream portion of the housing 16f forming the return flow path 80 is larger than the inner diameter of the upstream portion. It has a two-stage structure. After that, for example, the return flow path 80 of the flange made of thermoplastic resin is plastically deformed by pressing with a caulking, that is, a jig having a shape along the return flow path 80, and the position of the holder 16 d in the region E is slightly changed. By performing the adjustment, it is possible to adjust the pressure regulator for each individual pressure regulator so that the inside of the fuel pipe has a desired fuel pressure. The holder 16d is preferably made of a resin having a heat resistant temperature higher than that of the flange 14, or may be a metal.

As described above, according to the fuel supply device of the first embodiment of the present invention, the pressure load of the pressure regulator due to the dimensional variation of the pressure regulator component, the component assembly variation, etc., that is, the fuel pressure in the fuel pipe It is possible to suppress the variation and adjust the pressure for each pressure regulator so that the fuel pressure in the fuel pipe becomes a desired fuel pressure. That is, a desired (set) fuel pressure is determined for each vehicle. For example, when 294 kPa is the fuel pressure of the vehicle, a desired fuel for each individual pressure regulator is obtained by using a pressure sensor in the pressure regulator manufacturing process. The pressure can be set.
Further, by making the valve seat 16b made of metal, the accuracy of the roundness of the part is high, and the volume (dimension) does not change even in the fuel immersion state, and the dimension of the valve portion can be stabilized. Become.
Further, the metal valve seat 16b has a feature of being press-fitted in the direction from the downstream side to the upstream side.
That is, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cavitation in the valve part, which causes pulsation and noise, and as a result, it is possible to realize a fuel supply apparatus that is inexpensive and excellent in quietness because only the valve seat 16b is added.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the embodiment can be appropriately changed within the scope of the invention.

1 fuel, 2 fuel tank, 2a opening, 14 flange, 14a discharge pipe, 16 pressure regulator, 16a valve body, 16b valve seat, 16c spring, 16d holder, 16e guide, 16f housing, 30 pump part, 40 motor part, 50 flange portion, 80 return flow path, 100 fuel supply device.

Claims (3)

A pump unit for sending fuel stored in the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank;
A motor unit for driving the pump unit;
A fuel passage that is formed integrally with the pump portion and the motor portion, and sends fuel from the pump portion to the outside of the fuel tank, and fuel that flows in the fuel passage and is provided in the middle of the fuel passage to the fuel tank. A return flow path, a flange portion held in an opening provided in the fuel tank;
In a fuel supply device having a pressure regulator provided in the return flow path,
The pressure regulator is
A housing formed in the flange portion and constituting the return flow path;
A valve body provided to face the fuel inlet of the return flow path;
A spring that supports the valve body with elasticity against the fuel inlet of the return flow path;
A holder that holds the spring and is held in the housing with a region that can move in the expansion and contraction direction of the spring ;
The inner peripheral surface of the housing is formed in a two-stage structure in which the inner diameter of the downstream portion located downstream of the return flow path is larger than the inner diameter of the upstream portion located upstream of the return flow path, The region is a downstream portion of the housing, and the holder is provided in the downstream portion of the housing, the downstream portion is plastically deformed, and the position of the holder in the direction of expansion and contraction of the spring is adjusted. A fuel supply device. The fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flange portion is made of resin, and the housing holding the holder is plastically deformable . The fuel supply device according to claim 1 , further comprising a metal valve seat that is provided at a fuel inlet of the return flow path and contacts the valve body .

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