JPH038966B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a fuel inlet pipe of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a structure for mounting a fuel inlet pipe on a vehicle such as an automobile. When an external force is applied that attempts to forcibly displace the fuel inlet pipe and the outer skin of the vehicle body, such as when The present invention also relates to a cap installed at the inlet of a fuel inlet pipe that is prevented from coming off by touching the outer panel side of a vehicle body.

[Prior art and its problems]

BACKGROUND ART Vehicles such as automobiles are constructed so that a portion near the inlet of a fuel tank inlet pipe mounted within the vehicle body is supported by penetrating through the outer panel of the vehicle body. Naturally, it is required that the connection between the pipe and the outer panel of the vehicle body be reliable. However, on the other hand, when some external force acts to forcibly displace the pipe relative to the outer skin of the vehicle body, the connection is released to prevent unreasonable force from acting on the tank or the pipe,
As a result, it is required from the viewpoint of safety to eliminate the risk of damage to the tank, pipes, joints thereof, and the like. Furthermore, when the connection between the outer panel of the vehicle body and the pipe is released, consideration must be given to prevent the cap attached to the inlet of the pipe from touching the outer panel of the vehicle body and coming off. Traditionally, in order to meet such technical requirements,
For example, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-67521, when a load exceeding a set value is applied to the bottom of the fuel inlet pipe (filler pipe) and filler base, the pipe is separated from the filler base. Some products have an easy-to-break part formed thereon. In such a conventional tank, when some force is applied to forcibly displace the pipe relative to the outer skin of the vehicle body, the connection is broken by breaking the filler base at the easy-to-break part. Although it is possible to prevent excessive force from acting on the tank or the pipe, the cap attached to the tip of the pipe may come into contact with the outer panel of the vehicle body or the portion of the filler base left behind. There is a possibility that the cap may be removed from the inlet of the pipe. In addition, since the stress that tends to break the easy-to-break part is dispersed over the entire length of the easy-to-break part, it is especially important to shake the pipe so that it is forced against the outer skin of the vehicle, centering on the connection between the pipe and the filler base. When the material is moved, the easy-to-break portion is relatively unlikely to break. When some kind of force is applied that tries to forcibly displace the tank or the pipe relative to the outer skin of the car body, the connection between the pipe and the outer skin of the car body is broken and an unreasonable force is applied to the tank or the pipe. In order to prevent this, and also to prevent the cap from coming off when the joint is released, the outer periphery of the inlet of the fuel inlet pipe is Some types include a surrounding protector, and a rubber seal fitted around the periphery of the protector is screwed to the inner periphery of the filler base. However, in this conventional method, the screw is inserted into a U-shaped slit cut from the periphery of the rubber seal.
There is a risk that the rubber seal may come off the filler base due to loosening of the screws or vibrations of the vehicle body, and there is also a risk that the rubber seal may be damaged due to fatigue due to relative displacement between the vehicle body outer plate and the above-mentioned pipe due to vehicle body vibrations.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was conceived under the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a fuel inlet pipe mounting structure that satisfies all of the above technical requirements. That is, under normal conditions, the outer skin of the vehicle body and the fuel inlet pipe are reliably and firmly joined to prevent relative displacement, but on the other hand, the pipe is forced to be displaced relative to the outer skin of the vehicle body. When some kind of force is applied, ensure that the connection is released to prevent excessive force from being applied to the tank or pipe, and also ensure that the cap does not come off due to contact with the outer skin of the vehicle when the connection is released. An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel inlet pipe mounting structure that can prevent the above problems.

[Means to achieve the purpose]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures. That is, in the present invention, a collar-shaped bracket is provided in the vicinity of the entrance of the fuel inlet pipe, and an opening with a larger diameter than the bracket is formed in the outer panel of the vehicle body, and the bracket is fixed to the peripheral edge of the opening. An inner peripheral portion of an annular resin support plate is fixed to the bracket, and a thin wall portion is formed on the support plate in opposition to a cutting edge provided at the peripheral edge of the bracket.

[Actions and effects of the invention]

In the present invention, the pipe and the vehicle body outer plate are connected via the resin support plate, so that under normal conditions, the vehicle body outer plate and the fuel inlet pipe can be reliably connected to each other to prevent relative displacement. , tightly coupled. In addition, since a thin wall portion is formed on the support plate so as to face the cutting edge provided on the peripheral edge of the bracket, it is difficult to forcibly displace the fuel inlet pipe and the outer skin of the vehicle body relative to each other. When an external force is applied, the force that tends to break the thin-walled portion can be reliably concentrated on the thin-walled portion by the cutting edge provided at the peripheral edge of the bracket, which is more reliable and more effective than before. It is possible to prevent the thin wall portion from being easily broken and applying excessive force to the tank or the pipe. Furthermore, when the thin wall portion is torn, the bracket provided at the inlet of the pipe prevents the cap from coming into contact with the outer periphery of the vehicle body or the supporting plate left behind. It can prevent it from coming off due to contact with the outer side of the vehicle body. As described above, although the inlet pipe is normally supported reliably and firmly on the outer skin of the vehicle body, in an emergency the fuel inlet pipe and the fuel inlet pipe are fixed by breaking the support plate in an emergency. Since it is possible to prevent excessive force from being applied to the fuel tank and its connections, they will not be damaged by such force, and there is no risk of fuel leakage due to such damage. In addition to being removed, this prevents the cap from coming off due to contact with the outer periphery of the vehicle body or the support plate left behind, which improves safety by eliminating the risk of fuel leakage due to the cap coming off. A very desirable structure is obtained from this point of view.

[Explanation of Examples]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the fuel tank 1 is constructed by fixing a flange portion 5 to a cross member 3 extending between a pair of left and right side members 2 via a suitable bracket 4 with screws 6. and is supported by the vehicle body. An inlet connecting pipe 7 is provided at the upper side of the fuel tank 1, and a fuel inlet pipe 9, which is fixed to the outer panel 8 of the vehicle body as will be described later, is connected to the inlet connecting pipe 7. It is connected via a hose 10. At the time of refueling, fuel poured from the pipe is sent into the tank 1 from the inlet connecting pipe 7 via the hose 10. The mounting structure for the fuel pipe 9 according to the present invention is, for example, as shown in FIG. An opening 14 having a larger diameter than the bracket 11 is formed in the back wall 13 of the fuel inlet box 12 formed by this, and a screw 1 is inserted around the periphery of the opening 14.
An inner peripheral portion 17 of an annular resin support plate 16 fixed at 5 is fixed to the bracket 11 with screws 18. Further, the support plate 16 includes a bracket 11.
An annular thin-walled portion 20 is formed opposite the peripheral edge of. A cutting edge portion 21 is provided at the peripheral edge of the bracket 11 so as to protrude into the thin wall portion 20 thereof. Although the cutting edge portion 21 may be formed to have the same height in the circumferential direction, the thin wall portion 21 may be formed at the same height in the circumferential direction. In order to reduce the contact area with the surface, it is preferable to form it into a triangular waveform, as shown in FIG. 3, for example. In addition, the code 22 is
This is a cap for covering the entrance of the pipe 9. Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. In a normal state, the car body outer plate 8 and the pipe 9 are connected via the resin support plate 16, so that the pipe 9 is reliably prevented from being displaced relative to the car body outer plate 8. and can be firmly installed. In this state, the relative displacement of the tank 1 with respect to the pipe 9 is absorbed by the bending of the hose 10. When the vehicle body skin 8 is deformed inwardly by an unexpected external force, the hose 10
Displacement of the car body outer plate 8 and the pipe 9 relative to the tank 1 is absorbed between the pipe 8 and the tank 1 due to the bending of the car body outer plate 8 and the pipe 9. I have never experienced a situation where force was applied. On the other hand, when the vehicle body outer panel 8 is deformed to the outside of the vehicle body by an unexpected external force, or when the vehicle body outer panel 8 is deformed so as to be largely twisted around the flange 11 with respect to the pipe 9, etc. Since the flange 11 is drawn inward or swung together with the box 9 relative to the outer panel 8 of the vehicle body, the cutting edge 21 connected to the periphery of the flange 11 cuts into the thin wall portion 20 of the support plate 16. be brought into contact with. At this time, stress that tends to break the support plate 16 is concentrated on the thin wall portion 20;
This stress concentration is further concentrated on the portion of the thin wall portion 20 that contacts the cutting edge portion 21, so that the thin wall portion 20 is
It will be broken through by 1. As the cutting edge portion 21 breaks through the thin wall portion 20, stress concentration in the thin wall portion 20 is further advanced, and the thin wall portion 20 is further concentrated.
0 will definitely be broken. In particular, when the vehicle body outer plate 8 is deformed so as to be largely twisted around the flange 11 of the pipe 9, stress is concentrated on the side where the cutting edge 21 of the thin wall portion 20 bites. This ensures that the portion 20 is broken. Furthermore, when the support plate 16 breaks as described above, at least the breakage occurs and the pipe 9
The bracket 11 prevents the pipe 9 and the cap 22 attached to its inlet from coming into direct contact with the vehicle body outer plate 8 side, while the side of the pipe 9 and the vehicle body outer plate 8 side may be in strong contact with each other. cap 2
2 will come into contact with the vehicle body outer plate 8 side and be removed. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment; for example, the above-mentioned bracket 11
It may be formed into a cup shape to cover the inlet of the pipe 9 and the cap 22 attached thereto. Further, the thin portion 20 may be formed not in an annular shape but in a quadrilateral shape, in a plurality of concentric circular arc shapes, or in a group of appropriately arranged small holes. The cutting edge portion 21 may have a saw blade shape, a needle blade shape, or a knife shape.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main parts of an automobile to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a developed view of the cutting edge thereof. 8... Vehicle body outer plate, 9... Fuel inlet pipe, 11... Bracket, 14... Opening,
16...Support plate, 17...Inner peripheral part of support plate, 20
... Thin wall part, 21 ... Cutting edge part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A collar-shaped bracket is provided near the entrance of the fuel inlet pipe, and an opening with a larger diameter than this bracket is formed in the outer panel of the vehicle body, and an annular resin support is fixed around the opening. A fuel inlet pipe installation for a vehicle, characterized in that an inner peripheral part of the plate is fixed to the bracket, and a thin part is formed in the support plate so as to face a cutting edge provided on the peripheral edge of the bracket. structure.