JPH0932679A - Fuel supply device of internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure durability of a fuel filter for a long period of time by restraining expansion of a filter case by working pressure of fuel of the fuel filter. SOLUTION: A fuel pump 22 to discharge fuel in a fuel tank 23 to a fuel supply passage to an internal combustion engine from a fuel discharge port 10 by sucking fuel in the fuel tank 23 and raising pressure of it, a fuel filter 15 arranged in the middle of the fuel supply passage and a holding case 16 equipped with the fuel pump 22 and the fuel filter 15 and arranged in the fuel tank 23 are furnished. An expansion restraining material 51 to restrain its expansion is provided in a filter case to expand by fuel working pressure of the fuel filter 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to a fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine in an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-123261, fuel in a fuel tank is sucked and pressure is increased from a fuel discharge port to an internal combustion engine. Of the fuel supply passage, a fuel filter disposed on the way of the fuel supply passage, and a case equipped with the fuel pump and the fuel filter and disposed in the fuel tank. . In such a fuel filter in the fuel supply device, a synthetic resin case (also referred to as a resin case) is used as a filter case for housing the filter element.
May be adopted. Specifically, for example, when the fuel filter is installed alone in the engine room, a metal pressure-resistant case is used for the purpose of preventing fuel leakage, but it is placed in the fuel tank like the above fuel supply device. In some fuel filters, a resin case may be used because a minute fuel leak can be tolerated and the temperature inside the fuel tank does not rise.

[0003]

In the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine described above, when a resin case is adopted as the filter case, the filter may be changed by the passage of time due to the fuel, substances contained in the fuel, stress due to pressure, and the like. It is expected that the strength will decrease. Therefore, if the fuel use pressure in the fuel filter is high (for example, 2.5 kg / cm ² or more in the case of the fuel injection system), the use pressure may cause the filter case to expand, which may cause breakage at extreme times.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to suppress the expansion of the filter case due to the working pressure of the fuel of the fuel filter. An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine, which can ensure long-term durability of the filter.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is to provide a fuel pump for sucking and boosting the fuel in a fuel tank and discharging it from a fuel discharge port to a fuel supply passage to an internal combustion engine. A fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a fuel filter arranged on the way of the fuel supply passage; and a holding case equipped with the fuel pump and the fuel filter and arranged in the fuel tank. The filter case which expands due to the working pressure is provided with an expansion suppressing material for suppressing the expansion. According to the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine of the first aspect, the expansion suppressing member suppresses the expansion of the filter case due to the fuel use pressure of the fuel filter. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine according to the first aspect, the outer cylinder of the fuel pump also serves as an expansion suppressing member. According to the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine of the present invention, since the expansion of the filter case due to the fuel use pressure of the fuel filter is suppressed by using the outer cylinder of the fuel pump, a dedicated part as an expansion suppressing material is not used. It's done.
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the fuel supply device for the internal combustion engine according to the first aspect, the filter case is made of synthetic resin. According to the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine of the third aspect, by adopting the synthetic resin case, it is advantageous in weight reduction and cost reduction as compared with the metal case.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine according to the third aspect, the expansion suppressing material is made of a conductive material. According to the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine of the fourth aspect, the discharge of static electricity charged in the synthetic resin case is promoted by the expansion suppressing member made of a conductive material.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments 1 to 9 of the present invention will be described in order. [Embodiment 1] Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the fuel supply system. Note that FIG. 1 shows the internal configuration in an easy-to-understand manner and does not match the actual arrangement state shown in FIG. The fuel supply device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a holding case 16, a fuel pump 22, and a high-pressure side fuel filter 1.
5, the pressure regulator 29, and other accessories and the like are provided as a module, and each module is attached to the fuel tank 23. For convenience of explanation, the holding case 16, the fuel pump 22, the fuel filter 15, and the pressure regulator 29 will be described in this order.

The holding case 16 is made of synthetic resin and has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom. The holding case 16 is provided with a substantially disc-shaped synthetic resin bracket 2 that covers the upper opening. Holding case 1
6 is formed in a stepped cylindrical shape whose diameter is reduced from the upper stage to the lower stage of the upper, middle, and lower three stages.
a, a middle storage 16b and a lower storage 16c. Further, the wall thickness of the bracket 2 is thicker than the wall thickness of the holding case 16, and has sufficient rigidity to support the holding case 16 equipped with the above various components. However, holding case 1
The caliber and the wall thickness of 6 are not limited to this and may be determined as necessary. The holding case 16 and the bracket 2 are made of, for example, polyacetal or nylon.

The mounting structure of the bracket 2 to the holding case 16 will be described. An appropriate number (for example, three) of fitting windows 9 each having a rectangular shape are opened at the upper end of the holding case 16. On the other hand, on the lower surface of the bracket 2, an annular bracket case 7 that can be fitted into the holding case 16 is integrally formed. On the outer peripheral surface of the bracket case 7, holding projections 8 that can be engaged with the fitting windows 9 are formed in correspondence with the number and forming positions of the fitting windows 9. The holding projection 8 engages with the fitting window 9 by utilizing the bending deformation of the holding case 16 accompanying the insertion of the bracket case 7 into the holding case 16 to prevent the bracket 2 and the holding case 16 from coming off. There is.

The bracket 2 is attached to the fuel tank 23, and its mounting structure will be described.
A case insertion opening 38 through which the holding case 16 can be inserted is formed in the upper surface plate of the fuel tank 23, and the peripheral edge of the opening 38 is the tank flange 5. The bracket 2 is inserted into the fuel tank 23 through the opening hole 38, and then the bracket 2 is placed on the tank flange 5 via the annular packing 4 so as to close the opening hole 38. 3 is fixed to the fuel tank 23 by fastening it to the tank flange 5 with screws (not shown) or the like. The fuel tank 23 is mounted in, for example, an automobile vehicle.

Next, the fuel pump 22 will be described. The fuel pump 22 is an in-tank type electric motor that sucks fuel from the fuel intake port 39 at the lower end of the fuel pump 23 while being immersed in the fuel in the fuel tank 23, boosts the pressure, and discharges the fuel from the fuel discharge port 10 at the upper end. A fuel pump is used. The lower portion of the fuel pump 22 is loosely fitted into the lower storage portion 16c of the holding case 16, and is vertically housed in the central portion of the middle storage portion 16c. A peripheral portion of the bottom of the fuel pump 22 including the fuel intake port 39 is exposed from an opening hole (reference numeral omitted) of the bottom plate of the holding case 16. A pump inlet filter 20 for filtering the fuel to be sucked is attached to the fuel suction port 39. The pump inlet filter 20 is in contact with the bottom plate 23a of the fuel tank 23. The bottom of the fuel pump 22 has a holding case 16
Is elastically supported to the bottom plate via cushion rubber 21. The harness 36 pulled out from the upper end surface of the fuel pump 22 is electrically connected to a terminal 40 in a connector 35 integrally formed with the bracket 2. A connector for wiring side connection outside the tank is connected to the connector 35.

Next, the fuel filter 15 connected to the downstream side of the fuel pump 22 will be described. The fuel filter 15 has a substantially cylindrical shape into which the fuel pump 22 is inserted with almost no space, and is fitted into the middle-stage storage portion 16b of the holding case 16 and placed on the lower surface of the storage portion 16b. . Since the fuel filter 15 is arranged on the high pressure side with respect to the pump inlet filter 20, it is also called a high pressure side fuel filter. The fuel filter 15 includes a cylindrical filter element 19 and a synthetic resin filter lower body 1 having an open top surface that houses the element 19.
3 and a filter upper body 11 made of synthetic resin, which is joined to the upper surface of the lower body 13 via a joining portion 12 formed by welding of resin to close the upper surface of the lower body.
The filter lower body 13 and the filter upper body 11 form a filter case (reference numeral omitted) for housing the filter element 19. The filter lower body 13 and the filter upper body 11 are made of, for example, polyacetal or nylon.

The filter upper body 11 has an annular seal portion 24 that abuts the upper surface of the filter element 19.
have. Further, an outer cylindrical portion of the filter case forming the outer peripheral wall of the filter lower body 13 (reference numeral 17 in FIG.
Is attached) and the outer peripheral surface of the filter element 19,
Further, gaps 41 and 42 as fuel passages are provided respectively between the inner cylindrical surface of the filter case forming the inner peripheral wall of the lower body 13 (reference numeral 18 in FIG. 1) and the inner peripheral surface of the filter element 19. ing. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the filter upper body 11 is provided with a substantially U-shaped filter communication passage 43. The filter communication passage 43 has a filter fuel inlet 1 communicating with the fuel discharge port 10 of the fuel pump 22 at one end and communicates with the inner gap 42 of the filter lower body 13 at the other end. The plug 44 attached to the filter upper body 11
Covers the hole 45 opened when the lateral passage of the filter communication passage 43 is formed.

The fuel discharge port 10 of the fuel pump 22 and the filter fuel inlet port 1 of the filter upper body 11
And the fuel discharge port 10 as shown in FIG.
Is a cylindrical insertion port, and the filter fuel inlet port 1 is a cylindrical receiving port, and is directly connected in a loosely fitted state by a brazing joint. An O-ring 14 is interposed between the fitting portion between the fuel discharge port 10 and the filter fuel inlet 1. Further, the O-ring 14 is installed on the upper end surface of a cylindrical spacer 46 fitted in the fuel discharge port 10.
Further, a rubber cap 47 having a hole is fitted on the tip of the fuel discharge port 10.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, the lower end surface of the rod-shaped stopper 6 protruding from the lower surface of the bracket 2 is in contact with the upper surface of the fuel filter 15 which moves upward due to the discharge pressure of the fuel discharged from the fuel pump 22. The fuel filter 15 is contacted and the upward movement of the fuel filter 15 is restricted. However, when mounting the bracket 2 to the case 16, considering manufacturing errors and the like,
A gap is provided between the upper surface of the fuel filter 15 and the lower end surface of the stopper 6. Further, the filter upper body 11 is formed with a filter fuel outlet 25 which communicates with the outer gap 41 of the filter lower body 13 and is open on the upper surface. Therefore, the filter lower body 13 has a filter case outer cylinder portion 17
A cylindrical metal expansion suppressing material 51 surrounding the outer peripheral surface of is formed by insert molding. However, the expansion suppressing member 51 is not limited to insert molding, but similar effects can be obtained by fitting or the like. The expansion suppressing member 51 is made of a conductive material such as iron, stainless steel, or aluminum. A sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 5 in a schematic view. In FIG. 5, the internal structures of the fuel filter 15 and the fuel pump 22 are omitted.

Next, the pressure regulator 29 connected to the downstream side of the fuel filter 15 will be described. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, the pressure regulator 29 is joined to a metal regulator case 53 by caulking a joint end of the case 53. The internal space formed by the regulator case 53 and the holder 54 is adjusted by the diaphragm 31 interposed therebetween to adjust the pressure adjusting chamber 26.
And the atmosphere open chamber 55. A valve 56 and a spring shell 57 are attached to the center of the diaphragm 31. The valve 56 is used in the pressure regulation chamber 26.
Of the valve seat 58 on the holder 54 side due to the flexural deformation of the diaphragm 31. The valve 56 has a communication hole 59 that connects the pressure adjusting chamber 56 and the atmosphere opening chamber 55 when the valve is opened. A valve 56 is provided between the spring shell 57 and the regulator case 53.
A diaphragm spring 30 that presses against the valve seat 58 is interposed. A return fuel conduit 27 that communicates with the internal space of the fuel tank 23 is connected to the return fuel outlet 28 opened in the regulator case 53. A seal ring 63 for maintaining airtightness between the joint surface between the holder 54 and the diaphragm 31 and the joint surface between the valve 56 and the diaphragm 31 is provided.
a and 63b are interposed.

The holder 54 has a pressure regulator communication passage 32 which linearly communicates in the vertical direction, and a branch passage 60 which communicates the communication passage 32 with the pressure adjusting chamber 26. A pressure regulator fuel inlet 61 is formed at the lower end of the pressure regulator communicating passage 32 of the holder 54, and a pressure regulator fuel outlet 62 is formed at the upper end of the communicating passage 32.

The pressure regulator fuel inflow port 61 of the pressure regulator 29 and the filter fuel outflow port 25 of the fuel filter 15 are the cylindrical fuel outlet of the pressure regulator fuel inflow port 61 and the cylindrical fuel port of the filter fuel outflow port 25. It is directly connected by the Suruinrou joint. An O-ring 34a is interposed between the fitting portion between the pressure regulator fuel inlet 61 and the filter fuel outlet 25. The pressure regulator fuel outlet 62 is connected to the main pipe 33 of the bracket 2 which will be described later.

The pressure regulator 29 is a valve 56 when the pressure of the feed fuel flowing through the pressure regulator communication passage 32 is lower than the total pressure of the pressure (atmospheric pressure) in the fuel tank 23 and the elastic force of the diaphragm spring 30. Is closed, and when the temperature is higher than that, the valve 56 is opened, so that excess fuel is stored in the fuel tank 23 through the atmosphere opening chamber 55, the return fuel outlet 28 and the return fuel conduit 27 through the communication hole 59 of the valve 56. By returning to, the fuel pressure of the fed fuel is adjusted to be always constant.

Next, the main pipe 33 of the bracket 2 connected to the downstream side of the pressure regulator 29 will be described. The main pipe 33 communicates the fuel supply passages inside and outside the fuel tank 23, and has a bracket fuel inlet 64 opening to the bottom surface of the bracket 2 and a line connecting port 65 opening to the side on the bracket 2 in a substantially inverted manner. An L-shaped fuel passage is formed. The line connection port 65 is connected to a fuel line (not shown) connected to a delivery pipe having a fuel injector attached thereto.

The bracket fuel inlet 64 of the bracket 2 and the pressure regulator fuel outlet 62 of the pressure regulator 29 have the pressure regulator fuel outlet 62 as a cylindrical outlet and the bracket fuel inlet 64 as a cylindrical receiver. Directly connected by brazing joint. The pressure regulator fuel outlet 6
An O-ring 34b is interposed between the fitting portion of the bracket 2 and the bracket fuel inlet 64. Further, in FIG. 1, the connection between the pressure regulator 29 and the bracket 2 is
It is fulfilled at the same time when the bracket 2 is attached to the holding case 16. With this, pressure regulator 2
9 is held in a state of being sandwiched between the fuel filter 15 and the bracket 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, a fuel gauge sender gauge 66 is provided on the side of the holding case 16.
Is attached. The sender gauge 66 includes a float 67 and an arm 68.

In the above-described fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine, the fuel in the fuel tank 23 is sucked and boosted by the fuel pump 22 as the engine operates. The sucked fuel is filtered through the pump inlet filter 20 to remove dust in the fuel. The fuel discharged from the fuel discharge port 10 of the fuel pump 22 is filtered from the filter communication passage 43 of the fuel filter 15 through the filter element 19, so that fine dust in the fuel that cannot be removed by the pump inlet filter 20. After the pressure is removed, the pressure regulator communication passage 32 of the pressure regulator 29,
It is fed to the engine through the main pipe 33 of the bracket 2 and further through the fuel line. At this time, the pressure of the feed fuel delivered from the main pipe 33 is adjusted by the pressure regulator 29 so that it is always constant. The flow of fuel is shown by arrows in FIG. The passage through which the fuel discharged from the fuel discharge port 10 of the fuel pump 22 flows is collectively referred to as the fuel supply passage.

According to the above fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine, the expansion suppressing member 51 suppresses the expansion of the filter case outer cylinder portion 17 due to the fuel usage pressure of the fuel filter 15, so that the synthetic resin filter case is temporarily aged. Thus, even if the strength is lowered by the fuel or the substances contained in the fuel, it is possible to prevent the filter case outer cylinder portion 17 from being damaged due to expansion, and it is possible to ensure the long-term durability of the fuel filter 15. . In addition, by suppressing the expansion of the filter case outer cylinder part 17 by the expansion suppressing material 51, there is also an additional effect that the fuel filter 15 can be easily removed and reinserted from the middle stage storage part 16b of the holding case 16 at the time of component replacement. Is recognized. Further, the expansion suppressing material 51 is attached to the filter case outer cylinder portion 17.
Since the filter case outer cylinder portion 17 is provided with
Since the strength of the filter case is secured, the filter case can be made compact by thinning the wall thickness of the filter case outer cylinder portion 17 or eliminating the addition of the reinforcing ribs, and by extension, the fuel tank 23 It is possible to increase the fuel storage amount and improve the mountability on the fuel tank 22.

Further, since the fuel pump 22 is inserted into the fuel filter 15 having a cylindrical shape with almost no gap, the outer cylinder (usually a metal cylindrical material) of the fuel pump 22 also serves as an expansion suppressing material. More specifically, since the expansion of the filter case inner cylinder portion 17 in the cylinder direction due to the fuel usage pressure of the fuel filter 15 can be suppressed by the outer cylinder of the fuel pump 22, the synthetic resin filter case may temporarily change fuel or its fuel due to aging. Even if the strength decreases due to the contained substances and the like, it is possible to prevent the filter case inner tubular portion 18 from being damaged due to expansion, and to ensure the long-term durability of the fuel filter 15. As described above, since the expansion of the filter case inner cylinder portion 18 is suppressed by using the outer cylinder of the fuel pump 22, a dedicated component as an expansion suppressing member (for example, a metal cylindrical body to be inserted into the filter case inner cylinder portion 18). It is possible to avoid inconveniences such as an increase in the number of parts and weight as compared with the case of using.

Further, since the resin case is adopted as the filter case of the fuel filter 15, it is advantageous in weight reduction and cost reduction as compared with the metal case. Further, since the expansion suppressing material 51 is made of an electrically conductive material, discharge of static electricity that charges the synthetic resin filter case is promoted by the expansion suppressing material 51, so that the charging potential of the filter case can always be lowered. it can. Further, according to the first embodiment, since the fuel pump 22 is surrounded by the fuel filter 15, it is possible to obtain a soundproof effect by preventing the emission of pump noise.

[Second Embodiment] A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6, which is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a fuel supply device. Since the second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, the changed portions will be described in detail, and the portions having the same or substantially the same configuration as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals. Therefore, duplicate description will be omitted. It should be noted that the same explanation is applied to the following embodiments as well, and the duplicated description is omitted. In the second embodiment, the fuel filter 15 according to the first embodiment has a substantially crescent-shaped fuel filter 151 that surrounds almost half of the outer peripheral surface of the fuel pump 22.
It is what Along with this, the expansion suppressing member 51 is also an expansion suppressing member 511 that surrounds both the fuel filter 151 and the fuel pump 22, and the middle-stage storage portion 16b of the holding case 16 also has a shape that surrounds the expansion suppressing member 511. In the present embodiment, since the expansion suppressing member 511 and the outer cylinder of the fuel pump 22 face the filter case that expands due to the fuel usage pressure of the fuel filter 151, the expansion of the filter case is suppressed.

[Third Embodiment] A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7, which is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of a fuel supply device. In the third embodiment, the cylindrical fuel filter 152 is provided with a cylindrical expansion suppressing member 512 surrounding the outer peripheral surface of the filter 151. The holding case 16 includes a filter storage portion 16d and a pump storage portion 1
6e is formed, and the fuel filter 152 and the fuel pump 22 are housed in the housings 16d and 16e, respectively. In this case, unlike the first and second embodiments, since the fuel filter 152 has a cylindrical shape, the outer cylinder of the fuel pump 22 does not also serve as an expansion suppressing member.

[Fourth Embodiment] A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8 which is a sectional view of an essential part of a fuel supply device. In the fourth embodiment, the fuel filter 15 is provided in the middle storage portion 16b of the holding case 16 in the first embodiment.
The expansion suppressing member 51 is a cylindrical expansion suppressing member 513 that surrounds the middle-stage housing portion 16b of the holding case 16 while inserting the expansion suppressing member 51 in a substantially dense manner. According to the fourth embodiment, the expansion suppressing member 513 and the middle-stage storage portion 16b of the holding case 16 suppress the expansion of the filter case to the outside due to the fuel usage pressure. In this case, the middle storage part 16b of the holding case 16 plays an auxiliary role of the expansion suppressing material.

[Fifth Embodiment] A fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9 showing a cross-sectional view of a main part of a fuel supply device. In the fifth embodiment, as in the fourth embodiment, the middle storage unit 1 of the holding case 16 in the second embodiment is provided.
6b, the fuel pump 22 and the fuel filter 151 are inserted in a substantially dense manner, while the expansion suppressing member 511 is held in the case 1
6, a cylindrical expansion suppressing member 5 surrounding the middle storage portion 16b
14 is used.

[Sixth Embodiment] A sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10, which is a sectional view of an essential part of a fuel supply apparatus. In the sixth embodiment, like the fourth embodiment,
While the fuel filter 152 is inserted into the filter housing portion 16d of the holding case 16 according to the third embodiment almost densely, the expansion suppressing member 512 is provided with the expansion suppressing member 512.
6d is a cylindrical expansion suppressing member 515 that surrounds 6d.

[Seventh Embodiment] A seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11 showing a cross-sectional view of a main part of a fuel supply device. In the seventh embodiment, the expansion suppressing member 51 (511 to 515) in the first to sixth embodiments and the filter case outer cylinder portion 17 (or the holding case 16) of the fuel filter 15 (151, 152) facing the expansion suppressing member 51 (511 to 515). The uneven surface 50 is provided on the contact surface with. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress axial deformation of the filter case (or holding case 16) of the fuel filter 15 due to the mutual bite relationship of the uneven surface 50.

[Embodiment 8] Embodiment 8 will be described with reference to FIG. 12, which is a sectional view of an essential part of a fuel supply device. In the eighth embodiment, the through hole 50a is formed in the expansion suppressing member 51 (511 to 515) in the first to sixth embodiments, and the fuel filter 15 (151, 152) is formed in the expansion suppressing member (511 to 515). The filter case outer cylinder portion 17 (or the holding case 16) is insert-molded so that the case molding resin is hard to be inserted into the through hole 50a. According to the present embodiment, since the resin for molding the case is hard to be inserted into the through hole 50a, it is possible to obtain a stronger press-in relationship as compared with the seventh embodiment, and the filter of the fuel filter 15 (151, 152) can be obtained. Case outer cylinder part 17 (or holding case 1)
The deformation in 6) in the axial direction can be effectively suppressed.

[Ninth Embodiment] A ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13 showing an explanatory sectional view of a fuel supply device. As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 13, in the ninth embodiment, the pressure regulator 29 in the first embodiment is eliminated. For example, there is a case where the pressure regulator 29 is provided in the fuel supply passage outside the fuel tank 23. The bracket 2 is provided with a cylindrical bracket fuel inlet 70 as an outlet in place of the bracket fuel inlet 64 of the receiving port. The bracket fuel inlet 70 is a filter fuel flow of the fuel filter 15. It is directly connected to the outlet 25 by a brazing joint having an O-ring 34a interposed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the shape of the expansion suppressing material is not limited to the cylindrical shape, and may be a shape that partially surrounds a necessary portion. In addition to the metal cylindrical material, a metal plate-shaped material, a synthetic resin having high strength, or the like can be used as the expansion suppressing material. Further, the expansion suppressing material can be obtained by winding a wound yarn or a fiber cloth having high strength around the filter case. Further, when the filter case and the holding case of the fuel filter 15 are made of resin, the expansion suppressing material can be insert-molded in the case, but may be a separate body from the case. Further, the filter case and the holding case of the fuel filter 15 may be metal cases instead of resin cases. Further, in Embodiments 1 and 2, the outer cylinder of the fuel pump 22 is also used as the expansion suppressing member, but a dedicated expansion suppressing member may be provided instead of the outer cylinder.

[0035]

According to the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine of claim 1, the expansion suppressing member suppresses the expansion of the filter case due to the fuel use pressure of the fuel filter, and the damage of the case wall due to the expansion can be prevented. The long-term durability of the fuel filter can be secured. According to the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine of claim 2, when the expansion of the filter case due to the fuel usage pressure of the fuel filter is suppressed by using the outer cylinder of the fuel pump, when a dedicated part as an expansion suppressing material is used. It is possible to avoid problems such as an increase in the number of parts and weight as compared with. According to the fuel supply device for the internal combustion engine of the third aspect, by adopting the synthetic resin case, it is possible to reduce the weight and cost as compared with the metal case. According to the fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine of claim 4, since the discharge of static electricity that charges the synthetic resin case is promoted by the expansion suppressing material made of a conductive material, the charge potential of the filter case can always be lowered. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel supply device showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the fuel supply device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a peripheral portion of a fuel discharge port of a fuel pump.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a pressure regulator.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of main parts of a fuel supply device showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a fuel supply device showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of main parts of a fuel supply device showing a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a fuel supply device showing a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a fuel supply device showing a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a fuel supply device showing a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a fuel supply device showing an eighth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a fuel supply device showing a ninth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Fuel Discharge Port 15, 151, 152 Fuel Filter 16 Holding Case 22 Fuel Pump 23 Fuel Tank 51, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515 Expansion Suppression Material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fuel pump for sucking fuel in a fuel tank, boosting the pressure of the fuel, and discharging the fuel from a fuel discharge port to a fuel supply passage to an internal combustion engine, a fuel filter disposed on the fuel supply passage, and the fuel. In a fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine, which comprises a holding case that is equipped with a pump and a fuel filter and is arranged in the fuel tank, an expansion for suppressing the expansion of a filter case that expands due to the fuel usage pressure of the fuel filter. A fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine, characterized in that a suppressor is provided. 2. The fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the outer cylinder of the fuel pump also serves as an expansion suppressing member. 3. The fuel supply device for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the filter case is made of synthetic resin. 4. The fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine according to claim 3, wherein the expansion suppressing material is made of a conductive material.