JPH08118974A - Fuel tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the number of parts and to simplify assembly work to connect an inlet pipe to a fuel tank main body. CONSTITUTION: An installation hole 23 is formed on a tank sidewall 22 of a fuel tank main body 21, a seal member 40 is installed in this installation hole 23, and the other end part of an inlet pipe is inserted into a fitting hole 40a of the seal member 40. The seal member 40 is double seal structured between itself and the inlet pipe. A first ring projected part 44a of a first ring seal part 44 is sealed as it is fit in a ring recessed part 35 formed of a ring falling stopper part 33 and a ring positioning part 34 of the inlet pipe. A second ring seal part 46 is sealed between itself and an outer peripheral surface of the inlet pipe by a second ring projection 46a as well as it is projectively provided cylindrically from an installation base part 41 to the inside of the fuel tank main body 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fuel tank in which a fuel injection pipe is connected to a fuel tank body of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a fuel tank of this type, FIG.
Is known. FIG. 4 is an external view showing the fuel tank main body 102 and the fuel injection pipe connecting mechanism connected to the tank side wall 103 in an exploded manner. The fuel injection pipe connection mechanism is an inlet pipe 112 provided with a fuel injection port 112a for inserting a fuel gun (not shown).
An inlet hose 116 is connected to the inlet pipe 112 via a clamp 114, and further connected to the fuel tank main body 102 via a lower pipe 118 and a gasket flange 120. In addition,
At the top of the inlet pipe 112, the fuel tank body 1
A blister pipe 122 that is connected to 02 and bypasses the inlet pipe 112 and the like is connected.

The inlet hose 116 connected to the other end of the inlet pipe 112 is formed into a bellows made of a blend material mainly composed of butadiene / acrylonitrile copolymer (NBR) and is formed in a bellows. The purpose of this is to absorb the impact when a twisting force is applied in the direction of arrow and the vibration during traveling.

[0004]

However, the above fuel injection pipe connecting mechanism requires the inlet hose 116 for absorbing impact, in addition to the inlet pipe 112.
Moreover, a large number of parts such as the clamp 114, the lower pipe 118, the gasket flange 120, and bolts for fastening them are required for the assembly, which causes a large number of work steps and hinders cost reduction. was there.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. To connect the fuel injection pipe to the fuel tank body, the number of parts is reduced and the number of assembling steps is simplified. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel tank which realizes cost reduction.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a fuel tank in which a fuel injection pipe for injecting fuel is attached to a fuel tank main body and is formed on a wall surface of the fuel tank main body. And a mounting base that is fitted and mounted on the inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole,
A seal member having a fitting hole into which the fuel injection pipe is fitted and fixed to the mounting base, and an annular step is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the other end of the fuel injection pipe, and the inner peripheral portion of the fitting hole of the seal member. Forming a first annular seal portion that fits into an annular step portion of the fuel injection pipe, extending cylindrically from the mounting base portion of the seal member into the fuel tank body, and at the outer peripheral portion of the fuel injection pipe. It is characterized in that a second annular seal portion for closely contacting and sealing is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of annular projections, which are in close contact with and continuous with the outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection pipe, are provided on the inner peripheral portion of the second annular seal portion according to the first aspect.

[0008]

In the present invention, the outer peripheral portion of the mounting base of the seal member is fitted and mounted in the mounting hole formed in the wall surface of the fuel tank body, and the fuel injection pipe is fitted and fixed in the fitting hole provided in the mounting base. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection pipe is doubly sealed by the first and second annular seal portions provided on the seal member. That is, the first annular seal portion formed on the inner peripheral portion of the fitting hole of the seal member is positioned and fitted to the annular step portion formed on the outer peripheral portion of the other end of the fuel injection pipe to remove the fuel injection pipe. It not only performs a stopping action, but also seals against the outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection pipe.

Further, the second annular seal portion of the seal member is
The tip of the fuel injection pipe is closely attached to the outer peripheral surface for sealing. Since the second annular seal portion is cylindrically extended from the mounting base into the fuel tank body, it is supported by the fuel tank body of the mounting base even if a force is applied to the fuel injection pipe in a swinging direction. It has a high sealing property with respect to the fuel injection pipe by elastically deforming so as to follow the fuel injection pipe centering on the part where

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of annular projections are formed on the second annular seal portion to further enhance the sealing performance with respect to the fuel injection pipe.

[0011]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in order to further clarify the structure and operation of the present invention described above.

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a fuel tank 20 mounted on a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel tank 20
Includes a fuel tank body 21 and a fuel injection pipe connecting mechanism 30 connected to the tank side wall 22. The fuel injection pipe connecting mechanism 30 includes an inlet pipe 31 having a fuel injection port 31a and a seal member 40 that seals between the fuel tank body 21 into which the other end of the inlet pipe 31 is inserted.

Next, the connection structure between the fuel tank body 21 and the other end of the inlet pipe 31 will be described. First, the inlet pipe 31 side will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the inlet pipe 31 is an iron or resin pipe whose surface is plated or painted, has a fuel passage 31b inside, and its tip portion projects into the fuel tank main body 21. It has a sharp point 31c.

An annular fitting portion 32 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the tip of the inlet pipe 31. Ring fitting part 3
2, an annular retaining portion 33 and an annular positioning portion 34 are formed as annular step portions in parallel with each other, and an annular recess 35 is provided between them. The tip end side of the annular retaining portion 33 has a sloped portion 33 that is tapered gently toward the tip.
It is a. The annular positioning portion 34 is formed in an annular step portion slightly higher than the annular retaining portion 33.

Fuel tank body 21 and inlet pipe 3
1 has a fitting hole 40a into which the inlet pipe 31 is fitted, and has an annular mounting base 41 and the mounting base 41 and the fuel tank main body 21.
And an extended base portion 42 extending inside. The seal member 40 is formed of a rubber material having normal gasoline resistance, and is made of, for example, a butadiene-based rubber, a butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer (NBR, H-NB).
R), vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FKM) which is a fluorine compound rubber, and the like.

An outer peripheral mounting groove 41a is formed on the outer periphery of the mounting base 41 of the seal member 40. The outer peripheral mounting groove 41a is fitted in the mounting hole 23 formed in the fuel tank body 21. The inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole 23 is
A bent portion 22a bent to enhance the sealing area with the outer peripheral mounting groove 41a of the seal member 40, the mountability, and the durability.
It has become. Therefore, by fitting the bent portion 22a of the mounting hole 23 into the outer peripheral mounting groove 41a, the mounting hole 23 of the fuel tank main body 21 and the outer peripheral portion of the seal member 40 are sealed.

Further, the seal member 40 includes a first annular seal portion 44 provided on the inner circumference of the mounting base portion 41 and the extended base portion 4.
2 and a second annular seal portion 46 formed in 2.
The first annular seal portion 44 includes a first annular protrusion 44a, and the first annular protrusion 44a is formed so as to fit in an annular recess 35 formed in the outer peripheral portion of the inlet pipe 31. ing. Therefore, by fitting the first annular protrusion 44 a into the annular recess 35 of the inlet pipe 31, the inner peripheral portion of the seal member 40 and the inlet pipe 31.
And are sealed.

Further, the extended base portion 42 of the seal member 40 is provided.
Has a cylindrical shape protruding into the fuel tank main body 21, and has a second annular seal portion 46 formed at its tip. The inner surface of the tip of the second annular seal portion 46 is formed into three rows of second annular protrusions 46a. This second annular protrusion 4
6a closely contacts and seals the outer peripheral surface of the inlet pipe 31.

Next, the operation of attaching the inlet pipe 31 to the fuel tank body 21 using the seal member 40 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the seal member 4
The outer peripheral mounting groove 41a of the fuel tank main body 21
3, and the seal member 40 is attached to the fuel tank main body 21. Then, the other end of the inlet pipe 31 is inserted into the fitting hole 40a of the seal member 40. At this time,
Since the annular retaining portion 33 of the inlet pipe 31 is an inclined portion 33a inclined from the tip portion, it easily press-fits over the first annular protrusion 44a of the first annular seal portion 44 to get over it. Then, the annular recess 35 of the inlet pipe 31
The first annular protrusion 44a is fitted in the. At this time, the second
The second annular protrusion 46 a of the annular seal portion 46 is press-fitted while being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the inlet pipe 31. As a result, the work of inserting the inlet pipe 31 into the seal member 40 is completed.

Therefore, according to the above structure, the seal member 40 has a double seal structure in which the outer peripheral surface of the inlet pipe 31 is sealed by the first annular seal portion 44 and the second annular seal portion 46. There is. At this time, the first annular seal portion 44 of the seal member 40 has the inlet pipe 3
The inlet pipe 31 is retained and positioned by fitting into the annular recess 35 formed between the annular retaining portion 33 and the annular positioning portion 34. Therefore, even if a force in the direction of arrow a is applied to the inlet pipe 31, the inlet pipe 31 is prevented from rattling or coming off from the fuel tank main body 21.

Further, the seal member 40 has a double seal structure of the first annular seal portion 44 and the second annular seal portion 46 with respect to the inlet pipe 31, so that the inlet pipe 31 will not be affected by a collision of the vehicle. Even when the force in the arrow direction b is applied and the inlet pipe 31 swings around the first annular seal portion 44, the second annular seal portion 46 is moved.
Is elastically deformed following the inlet pipe 31 centering around the mounting base 41 and maintains a state of being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the inlet pipe 31, so that high sealing performance can be obtained even in such a case.

Therefore, the inlet hose for absorbing the impact applied to the inlet pipe 31 as described in the prior art can be eliminated, and the lower pipe, the clamp, etc. for connecting the inlet hose can be eliminated. Therefore, the assembling work associated with the reduction of the number of parts can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

Further, since the seal member 40 is shorter and smaller than the inlet hose described in the prior art, the amount of fuel permeation due to the swelling property of rubber may be regulated within the standard value. This is easy, and therefore the amount of expensive fluororubber and other materials having excellent gasoline resistance can be reduced, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be carried out in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention, and the following modifications can be made.

In the above embodiment, the first member is provided on the seal member 40 side.
Although the first annular projection 44a of the annular seal portion 44 is formed and the annular recess 35 is formed on the inlet pipe 31 side, the present invention is not limited to this, and the annular recess is provided on the seal member side and the annular projection is provided on the inlet pipe side. It may be formed, and its configuration is not particularly limited.

In the assembling work, as described above, after the seal member 40 was attached to the fuel tank body 21, the inlet pipe 31 was inserted into the fitting hole 40a of the seal member 40. Regardless, the inlet pipe 31 is previously fitted into the fitting hole 40a of the seal member 40.
The sealing member 40 may be assembled in the fuel tank main body 21 after being inserted therein and integrated.

[0027]

As described above, according to the fuel tank of the present invention, in addition to providing the seal member with the first annular seal portion that closely seals the outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection pipe, the mounting base portion of the seal member is provided. By providing a second annular seal portion that extends in the direction from the inside of the fuel tank to the outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection pipe and closely seals, the second annular seal portion follows the rocking of the fuel injection pipe and is elastic. Since it is deformed, it has a high sealing property with respect to the fuel injection pipe.

Therefore, it is not necessary to interpose the inlet hose as described in the prior art in the connection structure between the fuel tank body and the fuel injection pipe in order to absorb the movement in the swinging direction applied to the fuel injection pipe. The number of parts can be reduced and the assembling work can be simplified.

Further, according to the second aspect, by forming a plurality of annular protrusions on the second annular seal portion, it is possible to further improve the sealing property with respect to the fuel injection pipe.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a fuel tank 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a seal member 40 and its peripheral portion of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the inlet pipe 31 is inserted into the seal member 40.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a mounting structure of a conventional fuel tank inlet pipe 112.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 ... Fuel tank 21 ... Fuel tank main body 22 ... Tank side wall 22a ... Bend part 23 ... Mounting hole 30 ... Fuel injection pipe connection mechanism 31 ... Inlet pipe 31a ... Fuel injection port 31b ... Fuel passage 31c ... Sharp part 32 ... Annular fitting Mating part 33 ... Annular retaining part 33a ... Inclined part 34 ... Annular positioning part 35 ... Annular recess 40 ... Seal member 40a ... Fitting hole 41 ... Mounting base 41a ... Outer peripheral mounting groove 42 ... Extended base 44 ... First annular seal part 44a ... 1st annular protrusion 46 ... 2nd annular seal part 46a ... 2nd annular protrusion

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fuel tank having a fuel injection pipe for injecting fuel into a fuel tank main body, wherein the mounting hole is formed in a wall surface of the fuel tank main body, and is fitted and mounted on an inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole. A seal member having a mounting hole for fitting and fixing a fuel injection pipe to the mounting base portion, and a ring step is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the other end of the fuel injection pipe. A first annular seal portion that fits into the annular step portion of the fuel injection pipe is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the fitting hole of the above, and is extended cylindrically from the attachment base portion of the seal member into the fuel tank main body. A fuel tank characterized in that a second annular seal portion is provided, which tightly seals the outer peripheral portion of the fuel injection pipe. 2. The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the inner peripheral portion of the second annular seal portion has a plurality of continuous annular protrusions that are in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection pipe.