JPS6031709B2 - fuel tank cap - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a lock-type fuel tank cap used, for example, in a filler port of a fuel tank of an automobile or the like.

In recent vehicles, fuel systems have become more airtight as a measure to prevent environmental pollution, and as a result, when the temperature rises, the internal pressure of the tank increases considerably due to the vaporized fuel inside the tank.

Therefore, when the cap is removed from the filler neck during refueling, the internal pressure of the tank often causes the cap to be blown off or the fuel in the tank to blow out, resulting in a dangerous situation. Therefore, in the conventional cap, claws b, b are provided on the side of the cap body a as shown in FIG. In order to prevent the above-mentioned blowback of gasoline that occurs when the internal pressure of the tank is high, even if one of these two-stage claws comes off, the other claw g will not engage with the end surface e of the cam wall d. This is done by trying not to unravel it.

However, in this two-stage claw type cap, a large gap is created between the filler neck b and the cap when the cap is opened as shown in the figure, and the cap lacks integrity as a measure against gasoline blowback.

Furthermore, recently proposed screw-in caps have latch members on the inner wall surface of the outer shell of the lid and claws on the upper side of the inner body to control the tightening torque. In this cap, the internal body and the claws protruding from the upper part are made of synthetic resin such as polyacetal or nylon, so there are differences in temperature between cold and warm regions, winter and summer, or night and day. As the physical properties of the synthetic resin change significantly, the torque value fluctuates, making it impossible to control the torque at a constant level.Furthermore, bending force is constantly acting on the synthetic resin pawl, resulting in poor durability. There is also a problem in that if the pawl portion is worn or damaged, it is virtually impossible to repair or replace it.

Further, since the shape of the claw portion is complicated, a complicated process is required to form the claw portion. Furthermore, since the claw protrudes horizontally from the upper side of the main body and is received by the latch member on the inner wall surface of the outer shell, the diameter of the outer shell inevitably becomes larger, which makes it difficult to use in a limited space. This may be inconvenient for the cap used. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the defects of such secondary caps, and to provide a cap that does not pose any danger when the cap is removed, is highly durable, has no problems in terms of strength, and is advantageous in terms of space factor. A plate-shaped body is provided between the cap body and the handle part, and rotates together with the handle member, and is always rotated toward the cap body, and the cam part, which rotates as the key is inserted and turned, is connected to the key. A one-way rotating pawl formed in a cylinder and having a negative end of a lock piece resiliently abutted on the cam portion, and a lock piece that protrudes as the key is rotated is formed on an end surface of the plate-shaped body. The lock piece is located between the cap body and the handle portion, and the rotational force of the handle portion is transmitted to the cap body side through the plate-like body and the lock piece.

Hereinafter, a fuel tank cap according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a cap A according to the present invention. A handle member 3 made of synthetic resin is layered on the handle member 3, a lock portion 4 is inserted into the center position of the cap body 2 through which the handle member 3 is inserted, and an iron is inserted into the lower end recess 5 of the cap body 2. It has a valve mechanism 6 attached thereto.

This cap body 2 has a male threaded portion 7 on the side surface, and this threaded portion 7 is screwed into a male threaded portion 8 formed on the filler neck 1.
It is equipped with a ring 9 that seals the oil filler port.

The handle portion village 3 is placed on the upper surface of the cap body 2, and its skirt portion 10 is attached to the peripheral wall 11 of the cap body 2.
A plate-shaped body 13 made of synthetic resin is provided between the handle portion 3 and the circumferential groove 11 of the cap body 2, so that the portion 13 is always positioned downward, that is, the cap body 2. It is elastically tested by a spring 14 toward the main body side.

As shown in FIG. 2, this plate-like body 13 is a hollow, thin-walled disk, and on the outer periphery of the disk portion 15 of this plate-like body 13 is a rising engaging piece 16 that rises toward the handle member 3. These rising engagement pieces 16 are provided in four places, and these rising engagement pieces 16 are loosely inserted into the recess 17 of the handle member 3, so that when the handle portion village 3 is rotated, the plate-like body 13 is rotated by the engagement pieces 16. ing.

Further, on the disc part 15 of this plate-shaped body 13, unidirectional rotating pawls 18 (eight places) formed by cutting and raising the disc part 15 are formed at equal intervals. The lock piece 28 is designed to move forward and backward. Next, a key case 20 covers the outer periphery of a metal key cylinder 19 having a key insertion hole (not shown) at the top, and the lock part 4 is opened in this key case 20 by inserting and rotating the key 21. A tumbler 23 provided on the cylinder 19 side protrudes from the stopper hole 22 and engages with the cap body 2.

In particular, a cam portion 24 is provided at the upper end portion of the key cylinder 19.
is formed, and one end of the lock piece 28 is elastically abutted on this cam portion 24 by a screw 27 interposed between the projecting piece 25 and the end wall 26 of the cap body 2, and this cam portion 24
By rotating the lock piece 28, the lock piece 28 is projected so as to be positioned between the sardine claws 18, as shown in FIG. 2, against the force of the spring 27. That is, when the key 21 is not inserted, the lock piece 28 is in the retracted position as shown in FIG. Only member 3 rotates, and key 2
1 is inserted and rotated, the lock piece 28 is positioned between the rotation claws 18 and engaged. Therefore, when the handle member 3 is rotated, the rising engagement piece 16, the rotation claw 18, and the lock piece 28 The cap body 2 also rotates via the filler neck 1, and the cap A is removed from the filler neck 1.

In addition, the valve groove 6 is formed by providing a seat plate 29 in the lower end recess 5 of the cap body 2, and drilling a through hole 30 in the central flat part 29a of the seat plate 29, offset from the center. The lower heat sink is made of a stripable material such as rubber), with a through hole 31 in the center.
Diaphragm 32, which has been opened, is being arranged.

The peripheral green part of the tire flam 32 is pressed and held together with the seat plate 29 by the toe of the bowl body 33 from the lower part.
An annular protrusion 34 is formed around the through hole 31 at the center, and a bulge 35 that bulges downward is provided between the protrusion 34 and the surrounding green part.

A valve plate 37 resiliently pressed by a spring 36 is in contact with the lower surface of the tagoyaphram 32, and this valve plate 37 is centered on the through hole 3.
It has a through hole 38 that is approximately the same shape as 1.

The bowl body 33 is provided with a through hole 39 in the center, and its outer peripheral portion is iron-bonded to the inner peripheral wall of the recess 5.

The above description has been about a negative pressure valve mechanism that sucks in atmospheric air when the internal pressure of the tank decreases, but this valve mechanism may also be a positive pressure valve mechanism that releases air into the atmosphere when the internal pressure of the tank is high.

Next, the effect will be explained.

When attaching this cap A to filler neck 1,
The key 21 is inserted into the lock part 4 and rotated, and the lock piece 28 is projected by the cam part 24 against the spring 27 and positioned between the one-way rotation claws 18.

If the cap body 2 is screwed into the filler neck 1 in this state, the rotational force of the handle member 3 is transmitted to the rising engagement piece 16 that engages with the recess 17, and the one-way rotation claw 18 of this engagement piece 16 The lock piece 28 is rotated and screwed together with the cap body 2 via.

In this case, since the lock piece 28 is placed against the back side of the one-way rotation pawl 18, when the rotation threading reaches a certain force, the lock piece 28 will move beyond the pawl 18. , the cap will move with a clicking sound, and the tightening force will not exceed a certain value, and the cap will not be damaged due to over-tightening.

When the key is removed after this insect accumulation is complete.

The lock piece 28 returns to its original position by the action of the spring 27 and is removed from between the rotating claws 18. Therefore, even if the handle member 3 is rotated in this state, the rotation pawl 18 simply slides on the cap body 2, and the cap body 2 does not rotate and does not come off the filler neck 1. On the other hand, when removing the cap A from the filler neck 1, insert the key 21 and turn it.
4 places the lock piece 28 between the rotating claws 18,
When the handle member 3 is rotated in this state, the tip of the claw rotates the cap body 2 via the lock piece 28, thereby unscrewing the filler neck 1 and the cap body 2.

In the above embodiment, the filler neck 1 and the cap body 2 are screwed together, but the present invention is not limited to this in any way. The guide surface is provided with notches at two opposing locations, and the guide surface is further folded inward to form a sloping cam wall from the notches, and a stopper is provided at the end thereof, and A locking piece is provided on the outer circumferential side wall of the cap body to protrude outward in the radial direction, and the locking piece is inserted between the notches to insert the cap body into the filler neck, and the cap is inserted into the filler neck. It goes without saying that the above-described handle member and lock portion may be incorporated into a device in which the cap is attached to the filler neck by rotating the cap until it contacts the stopper. As described above, according to the present invention, a plate-shaped body is provided between the cap body and the handle member, which rotates together with the handle member and is always repelled toward the cap body, so that the plate-shaped body is provided between the cap body and the handle member, and the plate-shaped body is always repelled toward the cap body side. A cam part that rotates with the rotation of the key is formed in the key cylinder, and one end of the lock piece is elastically abutted on the cam part, and the lock piece that protrudes with the rotation of the key is attached to the plate-shaped body. It is positioned between the one-way rotating pawls formed on the end surface, and the rotational force of the handle member is transmitted to the cap body side through the plate-shaped body and the lock piece, so that the tightening torque exceeds a certain value. It will never be,
Moreover, since no bending force is constantly applied to the one-way rotating pawl, there is no problem in durability, and the shape of the plate-shaped body is simple, and its diameter can be as small as 4 mm. This not only makes it easier to manufacture the plate-like body, but also improves the cuff. The overall size has been reduced, and the cap has extremely excellent effects, such as completely eliminating dangerous situations such as gasoline blowback and cap scattering, which occur with conventional caps.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a cap according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the D-0 line in Figure 1, and
The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along line mm in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional cap. A...Fuel tank cap, 1...
Filler neck, 2...Cap body, 3...
...Handle member, 4...Lock part, 6...
... Valve mechanism, 7 ... Male thread, 8 ... Female thread, 13 ... Plate-shaped body, 16 ... Mountain-climb locking part, 18 ... ...One-way rotation claw, 19...
...Key cylinder, 21...Key, 24...Cam part,
27...'Imitate, 28...Rock piece. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A handle member is rotatably mounted on a cap body which is screwed to close a filler neck forming a filler neck, and the handle member is inserted and fitted into the center position of the cap body. In a lock-type fuel tank cap with a key and a key cylinder inserted into the cap, a plate-shaped body is provided between the cap body and the handle member, which rotates together with the handle member and is constantly repelled toward the cap body. A cam portion is provided in the key cylinder and rotates as the key is inserted and rotated, and one end of the lock piece is resiliently abutted on the cam portion, and the lock piece protrudes as the key is rotated. is positioned between one-way rotary pawls formed on the end surface of the plate-like body, and the rotational force of the handle member is transmitted to the cap main body side via the plate-like body and the lock piece. Cap for fuel tank. 2. The fuel tank cap according to claim 1, wherein the cap main body and the handle member are made of synthetic resin.