JP4228225B2 - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel supply device that supplies fuel in a fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank.

There is known an in-tank type fuel supply apparatus in which a pump module having a fuel pump for discharging fuel is installed in a fuel tank (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Among such fuel supply devices, there is known one in which a pump module is installed so as to be relatively movable with respect to a lid member that covers the opening of the fuel tank. When the pump module is installed so as to be movable relative to the lid member, the fuel tank expands due to a change in internal pressure or a change in fuel amount due to a temperature change by providing a spring that biases the pump module away from the lid member. And even if it shrinks, the relative position of the pump module with respect to the bottom inner wall of the fuel tank can be maintained.

When the pump module is installed so as to be relatively movable with respect to the lid member, the pipe connecting the pump outlet and the fuel outlet for leading the fuel out of the fuel tank provided on the lid member can be freely adjusted according to the relative movement of the two. Need to bend.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-63133

However, if the pipe bends freely, when the pump module moves relative to the cover member, the pipe bends to the pump module side and interferes with the pump module, causing abnormal noise, or in the worst case, the pipe There is a risk that the engine will not start due to damage.
The present invention has been created in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device in which a pipe connecting the pump module does not interfere with the pump module even when the pump module moves relative to the lid member. To do.

According to invention of Claims 1-6, the piping which bends freely is assembled | attached in the state twisted in the circumferential direction of piping. Twisting a pipe bend freely in the circumferential direction of the pipe, when the direction of the force approaching the lid member and the pump module is applied from both ends in the pipe, in the direction in which the intermediate portion between the ends of the pipe does not interfere with the pump module The pipe can be twisted and assembled so as to bend . By assembling the piping in this way, even if the pump module moves relative to the lid member and the piping is bent, the bent piping does not interfere with the pump module.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the end of the pipe connected to the fuel outlet port is connected to the fuel outlet port in a posture inclined with respect to the relative movement direction of the lid member and the pump module. When it is inclined with respect to the relative movement direction and connected to the fuel outlet, the pipe can be bent in a specific direction by adjusting the twist angle. For this reason, even if it does not investigate to which direction it bends for every piping, the direction to bend can be prescribed by the twist angle, and piping can be assembled efficiently.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the bending portion can be adjusted by increasing the rigidity of the specific portion. For this reason, when it is not desired to bend a specific part by the relationship with the position where the other component is arrange | positioned, it can avoid bending by making the rigidity of the said specific part high.
According to invention of Claim 5, the edge part of a length direction does not bend. For this reason, interference with piping and the other component arrange | positioned in the edge part vicinity of piping can be prevented.

According to invention of Claim 6, the intermediate part of a length direction does not bend. For this reason, interference with piping and the other component arrange | positioned in the intermediate part vicinity of piping can be prevented.
In the present invention, the “intermediate portion” of the pipe means a portion excluding both ends of the pipe.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the fuel supply device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The fuel supply device 1 is installed inside a fuel tank (not shown) and supplies fuel inside the fuel tank to an external engine (not shown). The fuel supply device 1 includes a flange 11 as a lid member, a pump module 10, a bellows tube 24 as a pipe, and the like.

  The flange 11 closes an opening (not shown) opened in the upper wall of the fuel tank. The flange 11 has a disk shape, and includes a press-fit portion 17 and a fuel outlet for leading the fuel in the fuel tank out of the fuel tank. A connecting portion 44 for connecting the bellows tube 24 extends in a cylindrical shape from the fuel outlet. As shown in FIG. 1, the flange 11 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and the connection portion 44 extends vertically from the flange 11, so that it is connected to the connection portion 44 at the end of the bellows tube 24. The end 24a that is connected is inclined with respect to the vertical line. Here, the vertical line direction is a direction in which the pump module 10 and the flange 11 move relative to each other. One end of a shaft 21 that supports the sub tank 12 is press-fitted into the press-fitting portion 17. The other end of the shaft 21 is loosely inserted into a support portion 22 installed in the sub tank 12. The support portion 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the shaft 21. As a result, the pump module 10 and the flange 11 can be relatively moved in the vertical direction. The spring 23 installed on the outer peripheral side of the shaft 21 has one end in contact with the flange 11, and the other end in contact with the support portion 22 of the sub-tank 12, so that the flange 11 and the sub-tank 12 are separated from each other. We are adding power. As a result, even if the fuel tank that houses the pump module 10 expands or contracts due to a change in internal pressure due to a temperature change or a change in the amount of fuel, the bottom 12a of the sub tank 12 is always pressed against the bottom of the fuel tank by the pressing force of the spring 23. It is done.

  The pump module 10 includes a sub tank 12, a support portion 22, a jet pump 30, a fuel pump 13, a filter case 14, a suction filter 15, a pressure regulator 16, a holder 45 (see FIG. 4), and the like. The sub tank 12 is accommodated in the fuel tank. The fuel pump 13 has a motor (not shown) and a rotating member such as an impeller that is driven to rotate by the motor. When the rotating member is driven by the motor, a suction pressure is formed, and the fuel that has passed through the suction filter 15 is sucked into the fuel pump 13. The suction filter 15 removes relatively large foreign matters contained in the fuel. The fuel pump 13 pressurizes and discharges the sucked fuel. The filter case 14 accommodates a fuel filter 14a. The fuel filter 14 a is installed on the discharge side of the fuel pump 13 and removes relatively small foreign matters contained in the fuel discharged from the fuel pump 13. The fuel discharged from the fuel pump 13 and passing through the fuel filter 14 a is supplied to the pressure regulator 16. The pressure regulator 16 adjusts the pressure of the fuel that has passed through the fuel filter 14a to a constant pressure. The jet pump 30 includes a throat portion 31 and a nozzle portion 40. The throat part 31 and the nozzle part 40 are installed facing each other outside the sub tank 12, and the throat part 31 connects the outside and the inside of the sub tank 12. The fuel pressurized by the fuel pump 13 passes through the fuel filter 14a, then flows into the pressure regulator 16, and is adjusted to a constant pressure. At this time, surplus fuel by adjusting the pressure by the pressure regulator 16 is discharged to the fuel passage 41 of the nozzle portion 40. In the nozzle portion 40, the fuel that has flowed into the fuel passage 41 is injected from the nozzle 42 toward the throat portion 31.

  The bellows tube 24 connects the holder 45 connected to the pressure regulator 16 and the fuel outlet of the flange 11. The fuel that has passed through the holder 45 is supplied to the transfer jet pump in the fuel tank via the bellows tube 24 that forms the discharge passage and the outside of the fuel tank.

Next, details of the bellows tube 24 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the bellows tube 24 of the first embodiment. As shown, the bellows tube 24 of the first embodiment has no bellows formed at the end 24a on the side connected to the flange 11, and the rigidity of the end 24a is higher than the rigidity of the intermediate portion. The length of the end portion 24 a is longer than the length of the connection portion 44. The bellows tube 24 has no bellows at the end 24b on the side connected to the holder 45, and the rigidity of the end 24b is higher than the rigidity of the intermediate portion. When the rigidity of the end portion is increased, the end portion does not bend, so that it is possible to reliably prevent interference with components arranged near the end portion of the bellows tube 24. The bellows tube 24 of the first embodiment can be elastically deformed. When any force is applied, the bellows tube 24 is elastically deformed and bent. When the force is not applied, the bellows tube 24 returns to a linear posture. The bellows tube 24 may not be elastically deformable. For example, when bent, the bent posture may be maintained unless a force for returning to the linear posture is applied from the outside.

Next, assembly of the bellows tube 24 will be described.
4A is a schematic diagram showing the bellows tube 24 before twisting, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram seen from the X direction shown in FIG. 4A. 5A is a schematic diagram showing the bellows tube 24 after twisting, and FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram seen from the X direction shown in FIG. 5A.
First, the holder 45 is rotated 90 degrees from the normal position as shown in FIGS. The regular position means the position shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B). Here, 90 degrees is an angle obtained experimentally as an angle at which the bellows tube 24 bends in a direction not interfering with the pump module 10. When the end portion 24a of the bellows tube 24 is inclined and connected, the bending direction of the bellows tube 24 is determined according to the twisting angle. For this reason, the torsion angle at which the bellows tube 24 and the pump module 10 do not interfere with each other is experimentally obtained, and by twisting only the obtained angle, the bellows tube 24 is bent in a direction not to interfere with the pump module 10. be able to. Therefore, for example, when producing a plurality of fuel supply devices 1, it is not necessary to check the bending direction for each bellows tube 24, and the bellows tube 24 can be efficiently assembled. The twisting angle can be appropriately selected according to the characteristics of the bellows tube 24, the inclination of the flange 11, and the like.

Next, the one end 24 a of the bellows tube 24 is attached to the connection portion 44 (see FIG. 2) so as not to rotate relative to the flange 11.
Next, the other end 24b is attached to the holder 45 so as not to be relatively rotatable.
Next, the holder 45 is rotated 90 degrees in the Y direction shown in FIG. As a result, the bellows tube 24 is twisted 90 degrees in the circumferential direction of the bellows tube 24 and assembled.

Next, the bending of the bellows tube 24 when the pump module 10 moves relative to the flange 11 will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the bending of the bellows tube 24. 1A is a schematic diagram showing the bellows tube 24 when viewed from the X direction shown in FIG. 2, and shows the bellows tube 24 when the pump module 10 is not moved relative to the flange 11. Yes. FIG. 1B is also a schematic diagram showing the bellows tube 24 when viewed from the X direction shown in FIG. 2, and shows the bellows tube 24 when the pump module 10 is relatively moved in the direction approaching the flange 11. . In the present embodiment, the bellows tube 24 is gently bent toward the front side of the paper when the pump module 10 is not relatively moved. The front side of the drawing is a direction in which the bellows tube 24 and the pump module 10 do not interfere with each other. Since the bellows tube 24 is easily bent in the bending direction, the interference between the bellows tube 24 and the pump module 10 can be more reliably reduced by bending the bellows tube 24 gently in front of the sheet. The bellows tube 24 is twisted at an angle that does not interfere with the pump module 10, that is, an angle that bends toward the front side of the paper, and is gently bent in advance toward the front side of the paper, so that the pump module 10 approaches the flange 11. When it is relatively moved, it bends to the front side of the paper as shown in FIG. Therefore, the bellows tube 24 and the pump module 10 do not interfere with each other.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the direction in which the bellows tube 24 bends. Each of the bellows tubes 24 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B shows the bellows tube 24 when viewed from the same direction as FIG. The bellows tube 24 shown in FIG. 6 (A) shows the bellows tube 24 in the same state as FIG. 1 (A), and the bellows tube 24 shown in FIG. 6 (B) has the bellows tube in the same state as FIG. 1 (B). 24 is shown schematically. As shown in FIG. 6B, the bellows tube 24 bends to the right side of the drawing when viewed from the same direction as in FIG. 2, and therefore does not interfere with the components of the pump module 10 (not shown) located on the front side or the back side of the drawing.

  According to the fuel supply device 1 of the first embodiment described above, the bellows tube 24 is assembled while being twisted in the circumferential direction. When the bellows tube 24 that bends freely is twisted in the circumferential direction of the bellows tube 24, when the force in the direction in which the flange 11 and the pump module 10 approach each other acts on the bellows tube 24, the bellows tube 24 bends in a certain direction. . Accordingly, the bellows tube 24 is twisted and assembled so that the bending direction does not interfere with the pump module 10, so that the pump module 10 moves relative to the flange 11 and the bellows tube 24 is bent even if the bellows tube 24 is bent. 24 does not interfere with the pump module 10. As a result, it is possible to prevent the bellows tube 24 and the pump module 10 from interfering with each other to generate abnormal noise, or the bellows tube 24 to be damaged and the engine cannot be started.

(Second embodiment)
A bellows tube 51 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
As with the bellows tube 24 of the first embodiment, the bellows tube 51 of the second embodiment is not formed with bellows at both ends, and further has no bellows formed at the intermediate portion 51a.

  According to the bellows tube 51 of the second embodiment, the bending position can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the intermediate portion 51a where the bellows is not formed. Therefore, for example, when the intermediate portion 51a is bent and interferes with other components, the bending of the intermediate portion 51a can be prevented by increasing the rigidity of the intermediate portion 51a.

(Other embodiments)
In the plurality of embodiments described above, the bellows tube has a portion where the bellows is not formed. However, the bellows tube may be entirely bellows without providing a portion where the bellows is not formed.
Moreover, although the bellows pipe is used as piping in several embodiment mentioned above, piping should just bend freely, for example, you may use a resin hose as piping.

It is a side view which shows the bending of the bellows tube which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel supply apparatus which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a mimetic diagram of a bellows tube concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is the schematic diagram before twisting of the bellows tube which concerns on 1st embodiment, (B) is the schematic diagram seen from the X direction shown to (A). (A) is the schematic diagram after twisting the bellows tube which concerns on 1st embodiment, (B) is the schematic diagram seen from the X direction shown to (A). It is a schematic diagram which shows the direction where the piping which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention bends. It is a schematic diagram of the bellows tube which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel supply apparatus, 10 Pump module, 11 Flange (lid member), 24 Bellows pipe (pipe), 51 Bellows pipe (pipe)

Claims (6)

A fuel supply device for supplying fuel in a fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank,
A lid member that covers an opening of the fuel tank and has a fuel outlet for leading the fuel out of the fuel tank;
A pump module which is installed in the fuel tank so as to be movable relative to the lid member and discharges fuel in the fuel tank;
A pipe that bends freely to connect the fuel outlet and the pump module, the pipe leading the fuel discharged from the pump module to the fuel outlet,
And when the pipe receives a force that relatively moves in a direction in which the lid member and the pump module approach each other from both ends of the pipe, an intermediate portion between the both ends of the pipe faces in a certain direction. A fuel supply device , wherein the pipe is assembled in a state of being twisted in advance in the circumferential direction so as to bend .   2. The end of the pipe connected to the fuel outlet is connected in a posture inclined with respect to a relative movement direction of the lid member and the pump module. Fuel supply device.   The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the pipe is a bellows tube.   4. The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the pipe has a rigidity in a part of a length direction higher than that of another part.   The fuel supply device according to claim 4, wherein the part is an end portion in a length direction of the pipe.   The fuel supply device according to claim 4, wherein the part is an intermediate portion in a length direction of the pipe.

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