KR20090053343A - A process of a wiper contact with gauging amount of fuel for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an automobile fuel amount indicator gauge having excellent performance stability by applying a wiper contact material having high corrosion resistance, fuel resistance, and chemical resistance, and at the same time, provide an economical manufacturing method in terms of manufacturing cost.

Vehicle, fuel, gauge, plot, electrode, substrate, wiper plate, contact, gold, platinum, palladium, cladding, spot welding, riveting, cross bar )

Description

Method for manufacturing wiper contact of vehicle fuel level detection device {A process of a wiper contact with gauging amount of fuel for vehicle}

The present invention relates to providing a manufacturing method that significantly reduces manufacturing costs while using a high-quality material that provides stable performance in manufacturing a wiper contact point applied to a fuel level gauge (detection device) indicating the fuel amount of an automobile.

The present invention relates to a fuel gauge for a vehicle, and more particularly, the material forming the contact point of the wiper (WIPER) of the fuel level gauge, because of the use of precious metal to prevent the variation of resistance to improve the operating efficiency, while the expensive material of precious metal It is to provide a manufacturing method that significantly reduces the manufacturing cost in order to solve the difficulty that the use is limited due to the large cost burden due to the rising manufacturing cost.

In general, a vehicle fuel gauge is a device mounted inside the fuel tank to measure and display the amount of fuel.

The fuel gauge for the vehicle is provided with a float that rises and falls according to the level of fuel stored in the fuel tank, a wiper connected to the plot and interlocked when the plot is raised and lowered, and corresponding to the wiper. Is made of a substrate which detects a variable resistance value when the contact of the sequential contact with the outer surface moves.

In the vehicle fuel gauge having such a structure, when the plot is raised and lowered according to the level of fuel, the wiper is interlocked and rotates to sequentially move the contact with a plurality of electrodes disposed on the substrate. The cumulative resistance value of the connected resistance layer is changed, and the amount of fuel can be recognized by detecting it.

As such, since the resistance value is detected by the actual contact between the contact of the wiper and the electrode of the substrate, the contact and the electrode should be made of a conductive material.

In the case of the contacts, silver (Ag) alloys or copper (Cu) alloys having excellent conductivity, slidability, and low electrical resistance are mainly used.

In general, in the case of contacts, a small amount of palladium (Pd) is alloyed with silver (Ag) or copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), or zinc (Zn) is added to other silver (Ag). It is used to maintain wear and slidability by maintaining a constant hardness.

However, in the case of the contact point as described above, due to chemical reactions such as sulfur or oxidized components contained in the vehicle fuel, abnormal corrosion resistance is generated and thus it is impossible to indicate an accurate fuel level.

Also, these days, the quality of fuels and major component fuels of various countries are different.In addition to gasoline and diesel fuels, fuels such as alcohol-containing gasoline (E20 ~ 25), alcohol main fuel (E85), biodiesel, etc. Even the need for a fuel gauge with corrosion resistance and durability is required.

Therefore, in some cases, using a precious metal such as gold (Au) as a contact material to improve the quality stability of the gauge, but due to the expensive material of the precious metal there is a problem of limitation that can not be limited.

As shown in Fig. 1, the conventional coupling method using riveting is a wiper plate using a riveting process after assembling each contact point (b) into a hole drilled in the wiper plate (a). The manufacturing cost is increased because of the method of combining the contact with (c).

Reference diagram 1

Reference Figure 1 (a) (b) (c) is a riveting process diagram of the conventional bonding method of the WIPER and the contact

Automotive fuel gauge (fuel amount detection device) of the present invention is a plot (FLOAT) sliding according to the fuel level in the fuel tank, the contact portion of the wiper installed in connection with the arm (ARM) moving in accordance with the operation of the plot, the contact is sliding The conductor electrode and the conductor electrode consist of a printed substrate.

As the material of the contact portion that is commonly used, silver (Ag) alloy, copper (Cu) alloy, nickel (Ni) alloy, and zinc (Zn) alloy are mainly used. In this case, corrosion occurs in the sulfur-containing fuel, and the chemical and corrosion resistance is insufficient in various fuels such as biodiesel and alcohol-based fuels that do not contain sulfur, resulting in unstable fuel instruction.

In general, the reason for using the above-described silver, copper, nickel and zinc alloys as a contact material of the wiper is excellent in conductivity, small in electrical resistance, excellent in slidability, and the price of palladium (Pd) or gold (Au) This is because it is not expensive compared to precious metals such as platinum (Pt) and is sufficiently economical.

Therefore, in some fuel gauges, when a contact sliding the conductor electrode is made of palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), or gold (Au) or alloyed with a main component thereof, general gasoline and diesel oil are used. In addition, biodiesel, alcohol fuels (E20 ~ 25, E85, etc.), and even highly oxidized crude fuels are chemically stable and have excellent corrosion resistance and fuel resistance.

However, since gold (Au), platinum (Pt), and palladium (Pd) are expensive materials classified as precious metals, the manufacture of wiper contacts for fuel gauges using precious metals compares with those of silver, copper, nickel, and zinc. Since the manufacturing cost is more than 20 times, the manufacturer is reluctant to use it and there is a limit that is used only in some high-end vehicles.

Therefore, in the present invention, only a portion of the contact directly contacting the conductor electrode when manufacturing a contact, using a precious metal for a certain thickness considering abrasion, and the lower portion of the alloy is composed of a relatively inexpensive copper, nickel, zinc alloy base metal ( BASE METAL)  If used, the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

In this case, the cladding method is used when joining the precious metal used for the contact point and the base metal, and the contact point is manufactured in the form of a cross bar, compared to the conventional method of manufacturing one contact point separately. When welding this contact and wiper plate, spot welding can be used to significantly reduce manufacturing costs.

In other words, by using the cladding method and the spot welding method that have been used as separate processes in other fields at the same time, the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced, and the wear resistance and the production time can be reduced.

According to the present invention, the method of manufacturing a wiper contact of a fuel amount detecting device for automobiles can reduce manufacturing costs while using precious metals, thereby lowering manufacturing costs, and increasing wear resistance, which is an essential element of a vehicle fuel amount detecting device, and slidability. It can make a good, it has the effect which can shorten a manufacturing time.

In addition, the manufacture of wiper contacts made of precious metals ensures that the various fuels used in the world meet corrosion resistance, fuel resistance, durability and chemical resistance. However, in order to make up for the disadvantage that the manufacturing cost is high because it is a precious metal, only a certain thickness of the worn part is in direct contact with the conductor electrode, and the basic metal at the bottom thereof is relatively inexpensive copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), Alloys such as zinc (Zn) are combined in the cladding method to produce a cross bar shape, and when welding with wiper plate, spot welding method rather than the traditional riveting method By applying this, the manufacturing cost can be significantly lowered.

With reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the structure of the fuel gauge for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a structural diagram schematically showing a structure of a fuel gauge for a vehicle, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a contact of a wiper contacts an electrode disposed on a substrate of the fuel gauge for a vehicle shown in FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a contact of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a method of cutting a contact made of a cross bar before bonding to a wiper plate and spot welding using a welding electrode. 5 shows the state in which the spot welded on the wiper plate at the same time as cutting the contact point manufactured in FIG. 4 in a continuous process, and FIG. 6 shows the precious metal and the base metal. Figure 7 is a process diagram briefly showing a cladding (CLADDING) method of bonding to each other, Figure 7 shows a cross-shaped cladding material (CLAD MATERIAL) shape prepared through the process of FIG.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the vehicle fuel gauge 1 proposed by the present invention includes a substrate 3 provided on a support plate 2 mounted inside the fuel tank T, and the substrate ( 3) a main component series of gold (Au), platinum (Pt), and palladium (Pd) formed on the resistive layer 4 disposed on the substrate 3 and formed on the substrate 3 and extending from the resistive layer 4 A plurality of electrodes 5 formed of an alloy of the plurality of electrodes and contacts 6 provided to be hinged to the support plate 2 and sequentially contacting the plurality of electrodes 5 during the hinge movement. (6) is provided in the inside of the fuel tank (T), the wiper (7) made of gold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt) -based metal components, and the fuel tank (T), and descends according to the level of the fuel, And a plot 9 connected to the wiper 7 to interlock the wiper 7.

In the vehicle fuel gauge having such a structure, the support plate 2 is provided inside the fuel tank (T).

The wiper 7 is connected by the plot 9 and the arm 11 so that when the plot 9 moves up and down according to the level of the fuel, the wiper 7 interlocks with each other on the substrate 3. Will move.

The substrate 3 is disposed on the surface of the support plate 2 so as to correspond to the wiper 7. The substrate 3 comprises a conventional substrate, preferably a ceramic substrate. In addition, the resistance layer 4 disposed on the substrate 3 is continuously formed at the edge of the substrate 3 and is formed of a material having an appropriate resistance value.

In addition, the plurality of electrodes 5 are discontinuously arranged by extending in parallel from the resistive layer 4, respectively.

Thus, when the wiper 7 is interlocked with the plot 9 and rotated on the substrate 3, the contact 6 of the wiper 7 sequentially contacts the plurality of electrodes 5 arranged discontinuously. A cumulative resistance value is detected from each of the resistance layers 4 which are continuously moved and continuously arranged, and the controller (not shown) calculates the amount of fuel and displays it on the instrument panel 3 based on the detected resistance value.

On the other hand, as described above, in the case of applying the expensive material of gold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt) as the material of the contact 6, the manufacturing cost increases significantly.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the precious metals 8 such as gold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and the like are contacted only at a portion where the contact 6 contacts the conductor electrode 5 (see FIG. 2). The main alloy is used, and in the case of the base metal 10, the cost is relatively low, and copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc, which are conventionally used for contacts, are used. An alloy containing (Zn) as a main component is used to make a clad material (14) bonded with a precious metal using a joining method called cladding. The clad material is made in the form of a cross bar.

6 and 7 show a cladding bonding method and a clad material in the form of a cross bar in which a precious metal and a base metal are bonded using the bonding method.

In the present embodiment, preferably, the precious metal portion 8 of the contact is made by adding 100% by weight of palladium, or corrosion resistant metal within 10% for proper hardness.

In the case of the base metal 10 bonded to the noble metal, copper (Cu) is preferably manufactured by adding nickel (Ni) or zinc (Zn) within 30% by weight.

In addition, in consideration of the wear margin of the precious metal portion, the precious metal portion secures more than 0.2mm, and the appropriate hardness formed by the rolling effect through the cladding increases the wear resistance and maintains the slidability.

In general, the contact and the wiper plate (PLATE) in the coupling method in the past, mainly used the riveting (RIVETTING) method (see reference 1), in the present invention is manufactured by spot welding (SPOT WELDING).

As shown in Fig. 1, the conventional coupling method using riveting is a wiper using a riveting process after assembling each contact point (b) into a hole drilled in the wiper plate (PLATE)-(a). The manufacturing cost increases because the number of processes required to combine the plate and the contact (c) is large.

However, in the present invention, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the spot welding 18 method does not need to pierce the hole on the wiper plate, and even in the case of the contacts individually. Instead of manufacturing, it is manufactured in the shape of a cross bar (see Fig. 7), and the cut 17 (see Fig. 7) is made to fit the contact size through a cutting process (see Fig. 4) immediately before the spot welding process. At the same time, the cut contact 6 (see Fig. 4) is directly joined to the wiper plate by the spot welding 18 (see Fig. 4) using the welding electrode 19 (see Fig. 4). Compared to the conventional method using RIVETTING (refer to reference 1), the number of required processes is small and simplified, so that the manufacturing time is much shorter, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

In addition, in the present invention, since the contact is manufactured in the form of a cross bar (CROSS BAR) to form the contact by cutting, the size of the contact compared to the conventional riveting (RIVETTING) method 50% (two minutes) 1) Since it can be reduced to a degree, it requires less expensive precious metals, and manufacturing cost is significantly reduced.

That is, in the present invention, by minimizing the requirements of precious metal materials by applying the size reduction method and the cladding method of the contact point, it is manufactured by producing a cross bar (CROSS BAR) -type contact material and cutting and applying spot welding at the same time. Since the process is simplified, it is economically stable compared to the conventional method in terms of performance stability and manufacturing cost.

1 is a structural diagram schematically showing a structure of a fuel gauge for a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a wiper contact contacts an electrode disposed on a substrate of the vehicle fuel gauge illustrated in FIG. 1.

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a contact of the present invention.

4 illustrates a method of cutting a contact made of a cross bar before bonding to a wiper plate and a spot welding method using a welding electrode.

FIG. 5 illustrates a state in which spot welding is performed on a wiper plate while cutting the contact manufactured in FIG. 4 in a continuous process.

FIG. 6 is a process chart briefly showing a cladding method for bonding a precious metal and a base metal to each other. FIG.

FIG. 7 illustrates a crossbar shaped clad material (CLAD MATERIAL) shape manufactured through the process of FIG. 6.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: vehicle fuel gauge, 2: support plate,

3: substrate, 4: resistive layer,

5: electrode, 6: contact,

7: wiper, 8: plot

Claims (4)

The vehicle fuel gauge 1 includes a substrate 3 provided on the support plate 2, a resistance layer 4 disposed on the substrate 3, and the substrate 3 inside the fuel tank T. It is disposed on the () is formed extending from the resistance layer (4) is provided to be hinged to the support plate (2), and has a contact point (6) to sequentially contact the plurality of electrodes (5) during the hinge movement, The contact 6 is provided in the wiper 7 made of a palladium-based metal component, and inside the fuel tank T, and moves up and down depending on the level of fuel. The contact 6 is connected to the wiper 7 and is connected to the wiper. A vehicle fuel gauge comprising a plot (8) for interlocking (7), In the precious metal portion 8 of the contact 6, one of the precious metals is prepared by adding a corrosion resistant metal in an amount of 1 to 10% by weight to maintain an appropriate hardness at 100% by weight of palladium or 90 to 99% by weight of palladium. In the case of the base metal (10) bonded to and manufactured by adding (Ni) or zinc (Zn) to 10 to 30% by weight of 70 to 90% by weight of copper (Cu) as a main component and the contact point (6) Method of manufacturing a wiper contact of a vehicle fuel amount detection device, characterized in that using the cladding technique when joining the precious metal portion (8) and the base metal (10). The method of claim 1, Considering the wear margin of the precious metal portion 8 of the contact 6, the precious metal portion 8 maintains corrosion resistance and fuel resistance by securing 0.2 mm or more, and has an appropriate hardness formed by a rolling effect through cladding. The method of manufacturing a wiper contact of a vehicle fuel amount detection device characterized in that to increase the wear resistance and to maintain slidability. The method of claim 1, The clad material (20) made of the contact bar (CROSS BAR) in the form of a cross bar (CAD MATERIAL) 20 is cut through the cutting process to fit the contact size (17) and at the same time the cut contact (6) By directly welding to the wiper 7 by spot welding 18 using the welding electrode 19, the manufacturing time is shortened, and the manufacturing cost can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Method of manufacturing wiper contacts. The method of claim 1, The contact 6 is manufactured in the form of a cross bar, and the shape is formed by cutting the contact, and the size thereof can be reduced to 50% compared to the contact applied to the riveting method. Manufacturing method of wiper contact of automobile fuel amount detection device, characterized by less precious metals, significantly reducing manufacturing cost

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