JPH0869832A - Connector installing structure for fuel tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform connector installing work in a single operation without requiring a special equipment and a space. CONSTITUTION: An installing cylinder 23 is penetratingly fixed to a cover plate 20 of a tank. A locking window 27 is opened in a circumferential surface of the installing cylinder 23. An elastic locking member 30 is arranged on a stepped surface 29 of an internal connecting part 4 of a connector 1. In the elastic locking member 30, the tip of a pin 31 formed by insert molding by downward projecting from the stepped surface 29 is bent, and a lock part 32 is formed. When the connector 1 is inserted in the installing cylinder 23, an inclined part 33 of the lock part 32 strikes on a corner part 40 on an inside surface of the installing cylinder 23, and is pushed in while causing bending deformation inward, and when it is completely pushed in, the elastic locking member 30 outward opens, the lock part 32 is fitted in the locking window 27, and the connector 1 is installed so that slipping-out becomes impossible.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a fuel tank connector which is mounted on the wall surface of a fuel tank of an automobile or the like and is used for connecting an electric device in the tank and an external power source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a mounting structure for a fuel tank connector of this type, the structure described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-211577 has been known. This will be described below with reference to FIG. The connector 51 is formed in a substantially L shape,
At both ends thereof, male connecting portions 52 and 53 which are separately fitted to the mating female connectors are provided. On the other hand, a mounting port 55 is formed on the lid plate 54 of the fuel tank, and a sleeve 56 is fixed by brazing through the mounting port 55. Then, the connecting portion 52 on the inner side of the connector 51 is watertightly fitted in the sleeve 56 via the seal ring 57, and the tongue piece 58 provided at the lower end of the sleeve 56 is caulked to be formed on the outer periphery of the connector 51. The connector 51 is attached so as not to come off by being bitten into the engaging step portion 59.

[0003]

However, the conventional equipment requires a high caulking equipment, and therefore the equipment cost is high. In addition, it is necessary to provide a space for accommodating the caulking jig in the tank, but there is a tendency for the fuel tank itself to be downsized, and in addition, a fuel supply pump or pipe is required near the caulking place. Further, since various devices such as a fuel gauge are provided, it has become extremely difficult to secure such a space for caulking. Of course, there were a number of drawbacks, such as the extra work required for caulking, which made the mounting work troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure which enables a connector mounting operation to be performed by one-touch operation without requiring special equipment or space.

[0005]

The fuel tank connector mounting structure of the present invention has been completed in order to achieve the above object, and a wall of the fuel tank has a mounting cylinder into which the connector is inserted. While being provided so as to penetrate, an elastic locking member that extends substantially along the insertion direction of the connector is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the connector, and this elastic locking member is capable of flexural deformation inward. At the same time, the mounting cylinder is provided with a locking portion that locks the connector in a non-pullable manner by the elastic locking member engaging with the elastic force.

[0006]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. When the connector is inserted into the mounting cylinder, the connector is inserted while the elastic locking member flexes and deforms inwardly against the elastic force. When the connector is inserted by a predetermined amount, the elastic locking member engages with the locking portion of the mounting cylinder by the restoring elastic force, so that the connector is fixed to the mounting cylinder, that is, the tank wall surface so as not to come off.

[0007]

That is, according to the present invention, the connector can be mounted by a one-touch operation by simply inserting it into the mounting cylinder provided on the wall surface of the tank, and the connector can be mounted easily and efficiently. Further, unlike the conventional caulking type, no special equipment is required, so it is possible to reduce the cost, and it is not necessary to provide a special space for mounting the connector in the tank. The degree of freedom in arranging the device in the tank is increased, and there is an effect that the fuel tank can be downsized.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a fuel tank connector, which is made of synthetic resin and is formed into a substantially L-shape. The connector 1 is provided with a plug body portion 2 whose upper surface side is gradually expanded in diameter, and the lower surface side of the plug body portion 2 has a tubular inner connection portion 4 having a smaller diameter than the plug body portion 2.
Is formed, and a cylindrical external connection portion 5 is formed on the upper surface side so as to be orthogonal to the axis of the plug portion 2. The internal connector 4 is for fitting a female connector 6 (shown by a chain line in FIG. 4) connected to the electric device side arranged in the fuel tank, and one external connector 5 is The other female connector 7 (illustrated by the chain line in FIG. 4) connected to the external power source is fitted. In the connector 1, male terminal pins 9, which are also bent in an L shape, are embedded by insert molding with both ends projecting into the internal connection portion 4 and the external connection portion 5, respectively.

The external shape of the internal connecting portion 4 of the connector 1 is a stepped shape in which a large diameter portion 11 is formed on the upper end side and a small diameter portion 12 is formed on the lower end side, and a part of the peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 12 is formed. A lock hole 13 is opened at the side, and a slit 14 is opened at the side of the lock hole 13 along the axial direction from the lower end edge of the internal connection portion 4. Then, the mating female connector 6 provided with a locking projection (not shown) on the outer peripheral surface is pushed inward through the slit 14 while expanding and deforming the lower end side of the internal connection portion 4 to cause the locking projection. The part is fitted into the lock hole 13 to be fitted and connected.

One of the external connection parts 5 is formed with a pair of guides 16 and a lock projection 17 arranged between the guides 16 on the upper surface thereof, and the mating female connector 7 is formed as described above. The guide 16 or the like is used as a guide to push the external connector 5 to the outside, and a locking hole (not shown) provided in the female connector 7 is fitted into the lock projection 17 for fitting connection.

Next, the structure of the portion for attaching the fuel tank connector 1 to the fuel tank will be described. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 is a cover plate that is attached to the upper surface of the fuel tank, and a mounting hole 21 is opened in the cover plate 20, and a mounting cylinder 23 into which the connector 1 is inserted is mounted in the mounting hole 21. It is designed to be used. The mounting cylinder 23 has a stepped cylindrical shape in which a small diameter portion 25 is connected to a lower end side of the large diameter portion 24, and an upper end side of the large diameter portion 24 has the above-mentioned connector 1
The expanded portion 24 opened obliquely upward in accordance with the outer shape of the plug body portion 2
It is a. The plug 2 of the connector 1 is tightly fitted to the upper end of the large diameter portion 24 of the mounting cylinder 23 (see FIG. 4). The mounting cylinder 23 is inserted into the mounting hole 21 from the upper surface side of the cover plate 20, and the root portion of the expanded portion 24a is abutted against the rim of the mounting hole 21 and brazed at that portion, whereby the mounting cylinder 23 penetrates the cover plate 20 and is fixed. Then, the small diameter portion 25 of the mounting cylinder 23
A locking window 27 for locking the connector is opened on the peripheral surface of the.

On the other hand, the connector 1 has a stepped surface 29 on the side opposite to the side where the lock hole 13 of the internal connection portion 4 is provided.
An elastic locking member 30 is provided on the top. This elastic locking member 30 is formed by a metal elongated pin 31. At first, as shown in FIG. The connection portion 4 is provided so as to project downward along the axial direction.

After the connector 1 is molded, as shown in FIG. 2, the protruding end of the pin 31 is bent outward and obliquely upward,
Further, it is bent horizontally toward the inside. As a result, a triangular lock portion 32 projecting outward so that it can be fitted into the locking window 27 of the mounting cylinder 23 is formed. Further, on the peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 12 of the internal connecting portion 4 of the connector 1, at the position corresponding to the inside of the elastic locking member 30, the slit 36 for releasing the elastic locking member 30 is formed.
Is cut along the axial direction.

An O-ring 38 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 11 of the internal connecting portion 4 of the connector 1, and the O-ring 38 is fitted on the lower end side of the large-diameter portion 24 of the mounting cylinder 23 when the connector 1 is fitted. The seal between the connector 1 and the mounting cylinder 23 is ensured by being compressed with the inner peripheral surface.

The present embodiment has the above-mentioned structure, and the mounting procedure will be described below. First, the O-ring 38 is fitted under the plug body portion 2 of the connector 1. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the internal connection portion 4 of the connector 1 is inserted into the mounting cylinder 23 from the upper surface side by aligning the elastic locking member 30 with the locking window 27 of the mounting cylinder 23.

When the connector 1 is partially inserted, the inclined portion 33 of the lock portion 32 of the elastic locking member 30 is
The corner 40 of the stepped portion on the inner surface of the mounting cylinder 23 is abutted. When it is continuously pushed in, as shown in FIG. 3, the elastic locking member 30 is guided by the inclined portion 33 and flexes inward while escaping into the slit 36 against the elastic force, and the lock portion 32 is attached. It is pushed in while riding on the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 25 of the cylinder 23 and making sliding contact therewith.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the plug body portion 2 of the connector 1 is pushed into the large diameter portion 24 of the mounting cylinder 23 until it is tightly fitted, the lock portion 32 of the elastic locking member 30 is mounted. Corresponding to the inside of the locking window 27 of the cylinder 23, the elastic locking member 30 is opened outward by the restoring elastic force, and the lock portion 32 is locked by the locking window 2.
Insert into 7 Thereby, the horizontal portion 3 of the lock portion 32
4 is locked to the upper edge of the locking window 27, and the connector 1 is mounted in the mounting cylinder 23 so as not to come off. Along with that, O
The ring 38 is the large diameter portion 11 of the internal connection portion 4 of the connector 1.
Is mounted in a compressed state between the outer peripheral surface of the mounting cylinder 23 and the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 24 of the mounting cylinder 23, and the mounting cylinder 23 and the connector 1 are watertightly sealed.

Finally, in the internal connection portion 4 of the connector 1,
A female connector 6 drawn from the electric device side in the fuel tank is fitted and connected, and a female connector 7 drawn from the external power source side is fitted and connected to the external connection portion 5.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
When the fuel tank connector 1 is attached to the lid plate 20 of the fuel tank, the attachment cylinder 2 provided with the connector 1 on the lid plate 20
It can be attached by a one-touch operation by inserting it into the connector 3, and the connector 1 can be attached easily and efficiently. Further, unlike the conventional caulking type, no special equipment is required for mounting the connector 1, so that the equipment cost can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a special space for mounting the connector in the fuel tank, and the degree of freedom in arranging various devices such as a pump, a pipe, and a fuel gauge in the tank is increased. Since such a space is unnecessary, the fuel tank itself can be downsized.

Also, the elastic locking member 30 itself has a simple structure formed by bending the straight pin 31, and only the locking window 27 is opened in the one mounting cylinder 23. Since the entire mounting structure can be made extremely simple, it can be handled at low cost.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) The elastic locking member 30 may be formed as a separate piece in advance, and may be press-fitted and mounted on the connector 1 later. (2) When the elastic locking member 30 is flexibly deformed,
If an escape space that does not interfere with the outer peripheral surface of the connector 1 is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the connector 1 and the outer peripheral surface of the connector 1,
The relief slit 36 cut in the above is not always necessary. (3) Further, instead of the structure in which the lock portion 32 of the elastic locking member 30 is fitted into the locking window 27, the small diameter portion 25 of the mounting cylinder 23 is used.
It is also possible to shorten the length in advance and lock the lock portion 32 of the elastic locking member 30 to the lower edge thereof.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention in a molded state.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an initial stage of a connector mounting operation.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an intermediate stage of a connector mounting operation.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view at a completion stage of a connector mounting operation.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector for fuel tank 20 ... Lid plate (wall surface of fuel tank) 23 ... Mounting cylinder 27 ... Locking window (locking part) 30 ... Elastic locking member 32 ... Locking part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wall of a fuel tank is provided with a mounting cylinder through which a connector is inserted, while an outer peripheral surface of the connector is provided with an elastic locking member extending substantially along the insertion direction of the connector. The elastic locking member is provided so that it can be bent and deformed inward, and the connector is fixed to the mounting cylinder by the elastic locking member that is elastically engaged. A structure for mounting a connector for a fuel tank, characterized in that a locking portion is provided.