JPH07277255A - Vehicle fuel tank made of resin - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a fuel filler port to which a fuel cap provided with a lock mechanism can be adapted from the standpoints of strength and structure. CONSTITUTION:A tank inlet 26 comprises a dent 23 formed at the apex of a fuel tank main body 13a molded integrally from a plastic resin, an opening 24 provided through the dent 23, and an inlet main body 27 having an oil filler port 27a therein and integrated or molded integrally with an outer flange 28 formed thereabove. The inlet main body 27 is inserted into the opening 24 of the dent 23 and the outer flange 28 is secured in the dent 23, and a fuel cap 31 is freely removably mounted on the oil filler port 27a of the inlet main body 27.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular resin fuel tank, and more particularly to a vehicular resin fuel tank having a fuel filling port.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Fuel tanks used in vehicles such as motorcycles are conventionally made of metal or resin. In particular, those made of resin are generally molded integrally by blow molding or rotational molding of a plastic resin, are lightweight and have a large degree of freedom in shape,
It is often used in competition vehicles, especially off-road motorcycles.

By the way, the fuel tank is provided with a fuel filler port, which is liquid-tightly closed by a fuel cap. FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an example of a fuel filler port of a resin fuel tank.

As shown in FIG. 6, a resin fuel tank 1
In general, the fuel filler port 2 is projected from the fuel tank 1 to be integrally molded, and the fuel cap 4 is screwed to the thread groove (or screw thread) 3 integrally molded to the fuel filler port 2. is there.

[0005]

Conventionally, since the fuel tank made of resin was allowed to be used only in competition vehicles, it was not necessary to provide the fuel cap with a lock mechanism.

However, the resin fuel tank, which is lightweight and has a large degree of freedom in shape, may be adopted in vehicles for general public road use in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to install a lock mechanism on the fuel cap for safety of handling and crime prevention measures, but a fuel cap with a lock mechanism has been applied to the conventional fuel filler port due to its strength and structure. It was difficult to do.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a resin fuel tank for vehicles having a fuel filler port to which a fuel cap having a lock mechanism in terms of strength and structure can be applied. The purpose is to

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular resin fuel tank having a structure in which the fuel filler port is securely attached.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a vehicle-made resin fuel tank according to the present invention has a fuel tank body integrally formed with a plastic resin as described in claim 1. A recess is formed at the top of the tank, and an opening is provided in this recess.On the other hand, the inlet main body provided with the oil supply port and the outer flange formed on the upper part are integrally or integrally molded to form a tank inlet. The inlet body is inserted into the opening of the recess, the outer flange is fixed to the recess, and the fuel cap is detachably attached to the oil supply port of the inlet body.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, as described in claim 2, a locking groove is formed on one of the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the recess and the outer peripheral surface of the inlet body, and the other is formed. A protrusion is provided on the base and the protrusion is locked in the locking groove.

[0011]

In the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, a recess is formed at the top of the fuel tank body integrally formed of a plastic resin, and the recess is provided with an opening while the inlet body is provided with a fuel filler port. And an outer flange formed on the upper part of the tank are integrally or integrally molded to form a tank inlet, the inlet body is inserted into the opening of the recess, and the outer flange is fixed to the recess. Since the fuel cap is detachably attached to the fuel filler port of the inlet body, it is possible to apply a fuel cap having a lock mechanism in terms of strength and structure.

Further, since the engaging groove is formed on one of the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the recess and the outer peripheral surface of the inlet main body, and the protrusion is provided on the other, the protruding groove is engaged with the engaging groove. The tank inlet can be installed securely.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a left side view showing an example of an off-road motorcycle as a vehicle to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, the motorcycle 11 has a body frame 12, and a fuel tank 13 is provided above the body frame 12. In addition, the body frame 12
An engine 14 is mounted in the lower center part of the.

A head pipe 15 is provided in front of the body frame 12, and a steering mechanism 16 is provided on the head pipe 15. The steering mechanism 16 includes a front fork 1 that rotatably supports front wheels 17.
8 and the handlebar 19 are provided, and the handlebar 19
As a result, the front wheels 17 are steered so as to be rotatable left and right.

On the other hand, a swing arm 21 is pivotally attached to a pivot shaft 20 which is provided at a lower center of the body frame 12 so as to swing around the pivot shaft 20, and a rear wheel 22 is rotated at a rear end of the swing arm 21. Freely supported.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main portion II shown in FIG. 1, and is a vertical sectional view of the first embodiment of the top portion of the fuel tank 13.

The main body 13a of the fuel tank 13 is integrally molded of a plastic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene by blow molding or rotational molding. A recess 23 is formed at the top of the fuel tank 13. While an opening 24 is provided in the recess 23,
A nut 25 is embedded in the bottom of the recess 23.

A tank inlet 26 is inserted into the opening 24 of the recess 23. The tank inlet 26 is formed by integrally or integrally molding an inlet main body 27 having an oil supply port 27a and an outer flange 28 formed on an upper portion of the inlet main body 27. It is formed by casting of steel, die casting of aluminum alloy, zinc alloy, or the like, or welding of a metal material press-molded product.

Then, the outer flange 28 is fixed to the recess 23 by a fixing means such as a bolt 29. A packing material 30 is interposed between the outer flange 28 and the recess 23.

The fuel supply port 27a of the inlet body 27 is closed by the fuel cap 31. The fuel cap 31 is composed of, for example, a disk-shaped lid portion 32 and a lock mechanism 34 in which, for example, a cylinder lock 33 is installed.
A pair of left and right lock pins 35, for example, are provided in the lower portion of the lock mechanism 34 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction, and are constantly urged by a spring 36 in the outer peripheral direction. Then, the lock pin 35 biased in the outer peripheral direction causes the inlet main body 27 to
The fuel cap 31 is locked by being locked to the lower edge portion 27b. On the other hand, by rotating the cylinder lock 33 using a key (not shown), the lock pin 35 is housed in the lock mechanism 34, and the fuel cap 31
The lock state of is released. The back surface of the lid 32 of the fuel cap 31 and the inlet body 2
A packing material 37 is interposed between the upper edge portion 27c of the fuel tank 13 and the upper edge portion 27c of the fuel tank 7 to keep the fuel tank 13 liquid-tight.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the second embodiment of the top of the fuel tank 13. And, FIG. 4 shows I of FIG.
5 is a sectional view taken along line V-IV, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4. The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the inner peripheral surface of the opening 24 provided in the recess 23 is extended downward in the drawings to form an extended portion 38. A hook-shaped locking groove 39, for example, is formed on the inner peripheral surface 38a of the extended portion 38.
A plurality of the locking grooves 39 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, for example.

On the other hand, on the outer peripheral surface of the inlet main body 27, a portion of the opening 24 facing the extending portion 38 is expanded in the radial direction so as to be close to the inner peripheral surface 38a of the extending portion 38.
A protrusion 40 is provided at a portion corresponding to the locking groove 39.
Then, when the tank inlet 26 is inserted into the opening 24, the protrusion 40 of the inlet main body 27 is fitted into the locking groove 39, and in the embodiment, the outer flange 28 is locked after being rotated clockwise to be locked. It is fixed to the concave portion 23 by a fixing means such as a bolt 29.

The opening 24 provided in the recess 23
The protrusion 40 may be provided on the inner peripheral surface 38a of the extended portion 38, and the locking groove 39 may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inlet body 27.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

As described above, the tank inlet 26 is provided separately from the fuel tank 13, and the tank inlet 26 is integrally or integrally formed of, for example, a metal material to increase the strength of the inlet main body 27. Since the lock pin 35 of the lock mechanism 34 can be locked to the lower edge portion 27b of the inlet body 27, the fuel cap 31 including the lock mechanism 34 can be applied to the fuel tank 13 of the present invention.

The opening 24 provided in the recess 23
The extending portion 38 is formed on the inner peripheral surface, and the protrusion 40 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the inlet body 27 is locked in the locking groove 39 formed in the extending portion 38, whereby the tank inlet 26 can be attached easily. The liquid tightness is improved, and the inlet body 27 is securely attached.

Although the tank inlet 26 is made of a metal material in the above embodiment,
You may shape | mold using the resin material etc. which have the strength of a metal material.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the fuel tank 13 of the motorcycle 11, but
It can be applied to any vehicle that uses a resin tank.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the tank for storing fuel, but can be applied to any resin tank for storing lubricating oil, cooling water, or the like.

[0033]

As described above, according to the resin fuel tank for a vehicle according to the present invention, a concave portion is formed at the top of the fuel tank body integrally molded with the plastic resin, and the concave portion is opened. While providing a portion, an inlet main body having an oil supply port and an outer flange formed on the upper part of the inlet main body are integrally or integrally molded to form a tank inlet, and the inlet main body is inserted into the opening of the recessed portion. At the same time, since the outer flange is fixed to the recessed portion and the fuel cap is detachably attached to the oil supply port of the inlet body, it is possible to apply a fuel cap having a locking mechanism in terms of strength and structure.

Further, since the engaging groove is formed on either one of the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the recess and the outer peripheral surface of the inlet main body and the projection is provided on the other, the projection is engaged with the engaging groove. The tank inlet can be installed securely.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a left side view of an off-road motorcycle showing an embodiment of a vehicle-made resin fuel tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a top portion of a fuel tank in which a main portion II shown in FIG. 1 is enlarged.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a second embodiment of the top of the fuel tank.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an example of a fuel filler port of a conventional resin fuel tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Motorcycle 13 Fuel Tank 13a Fuel Tank Main Body 23 Recessed Cavity 24 Opening of Recessed Cavity 26 Tank Inlet 27 Inlet Main Body 27a Inlet Body Refueling Port 28 Outer Flange 31 Fuel Cap 34 Lock Mechanism 38 Opening Extension 38a Extension Inner peripheral surface 39 Locking groove 40 Protrusion

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fuel tank main body integrally formed of a plastic resin is provided with a recess at the top, and an opening is provided in the recess, while an inlet main body having a fuel filler port and an outer portion formed above the inlet main body are provided. A tank inlet is formed by integrally or integrally molding with a flange, the inlet body is inserted into the opening of the recessed portion, the outer flange is fixed to the recessed portion, and a fuel is supplied to the oil supply port of the inlet body. A resin fuel tank for vehicles, which has a cap that is detachably attached. 2. A locking groove is formed on one of the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the recess and the outer peripheral surface of the inlet main body, and a projection is provided on the other, and the projection is locked in the locking groove. Item 1. The resin fuel tank for vehicles according to Item 1.