JP5777970B2 - Fuel tank equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel tank device installed in a fuel tank.

  In order to supply fuel to the internal combustion engine, a fuel pump is provided in the fuel tank, and a fuel pressure adjusting valve is provided on the discharge side of the fuel pump in order to adjust the fuel pressure. The excess fuel at the fuel pressure adjusting valve is returned again into the fuel tank (disclosed in Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2000-120502 A

However, the fuel returned from the fuel pressure adjusting valve to the fuel tank contains a large amount of bubbles, and these bubbles adhere to the bottom of the case inside the fuel tank, for example, a canister provided in the fuel tank. The air bubbles attached in this way gather and grow gradually, and when the size reaches a certain size, the air bubbles peel off from the surface of the fuel tank device. At this time, peeling sound is generated. In particular, when the fuel tank is mounted on an automobile, since the quietness of recent automobiles has been improved, the above-described peeling noise becomes a problem as noise.
In view of such a problem, an object of the present invention is to suppress peeling noise by suppressing the size of bubbles when peeling from the surface of a device in a fuel tank.

The first invention of the present invention is on the surface of the fuel tank internal device installed in the fuel tank, and suppresses the size of the bubbles when the bubbles accumulated in the recess are separated from the recess where the bubbles in the fuel accumulate. The fuel tank device is provided with means for performing the operation.
According to the first invention, since the size of the bubble is suppressed by the means for suppressing the size of the bubble at the time of peeling, the sound accompanying the peeling can be suppressed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the device in the fuel tank is a filter that filters the fuel taken into the case with a filter paper in the case. A fuel inlet to be taken in is formed so as to correspond to the entire lower surface of the filter paper, the fuel inlet is formed by being divided into a plurality along the lower surface of the filter paper, and the lower surface of the filter paper is made into the recess, and surrounds the fuel inlet An opening leading to at least a part of the fuel inlet is formed on the outer peripheral side of the case.
According to the second aspect of the invention, even if bubbles are mixed into the fuel inlet on the lower surface of the case and bubbles are accumulated in the concave portion, the mixed air bubbles are accumulated in the concave portion because the fuel inlet is opened on the outer peripheral side of the case. Most of it flows out of the opening. For this reason, the magnitude | size of the bubble peeled from a recessed part is suppressed, and the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.
Moreover, since air bubbles do not accumulate in the recesses on the lower surface of the filter paper, the area where the lower surface of the filter paper is covered with air bubbles can be suppressed, and mixing of gas into the fuel passing through the filter can be suppressed.
Furthermore, although the filter paper whose lower surface is covered with bubbles does not function as a filter medium, as described above, the area where the lower surface of the filter paper is covered with bubbles can be suppressed, so that the functional degradation of the filter paper can be suppressed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a partition rib is provided in the concave portion, and the concave portion is divided into a plurality of regions.
Before bubble separation occurs, the bubble rises beyond the height of the bank surrounding the periphery of the recess due to surface tension, and if the size of the bubble exceeds the limit of surface tension, separation occurs all at once. At this time, if the surface area of the bubbles rising due to the surface tension is small, the size of the bubbles to be peeled can be reduced. According to the third invention, since the inside of the recess is divided into a plurality of regions, the bubbles accumulated in the recess are dispersed in the plurality of regions, and the surface area of the dispersed bubbles is compared with the case where the bubbles are collected in one recess. The bubbles that are reduced and peeled off can be reduced. Therefore, the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or third aspect of the present invention, a communication passage that connects the inside and the outside of the recess is provided in the bank that surrounds the periphery of the recess, and the communication path is formed in a part of the bank. It is provided and formed larger than the size connected by the surface tension of the bubbles.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the height of the communication passage from the bottom surface of the recess is made lower than the height from the bottom surface of the recess portion of the bank, so that the bubbles are peeled off through the communication channel before peeling off the bank. The Therefore, the size of the bubbles is regulated to a size determined by the width of the communication path, and it is possible to suppress the sound accompanying peeling.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the communication path is formed by partially reducing a height from the bottom surface of the recess of the bank portion.
According to the fifth aspect, since the communication path is formed at the tip of the bank portion, compared to the case where the communication path is formed closer to the bottom surface of the recess than the tip of the bank portion, the communication path is formed. It is possible to suppress a decrease in the strength of the bank part.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth or fifth aspect, the height of the partition rib from the bottom surface of the recess is lower than the height from the bottom surface of the recess of the bank portion, and the minimum height from the bottom surface of the recess of the communication path. Or higher than the minimum height.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the state where the bubbles are peeled from the communication path of one region of the divided concave portion, more bubbles are supplied to the one region, and the region adjacent to the partition rib is exceeded. When the bubble moves to the recess, the bubble is also peeled from the communication path of the recess in the adjacent region. Therefore, the peeled bubble can be dispersed and the bubble can be reduced. Therefore, the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, a plurality of the communication passages are provided in a ring direction of the bank portion.
According to the seventh aspect, since the bubbles are peeled from the plurality of communication passages, the individual bubbles released from the communication passages can be made small even if the total amount of the bubbles to be peeled is the same. As compared with the case where large bubbles are peeled off, the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed. Further, in a state where the fuel tank is tilted even slightly, bubbles are peeled from a part of the communication path close to the fuel surface in the fuel tank. The size of the bubbles peeled at that time can be reduced as compared with the case where the fuel tank is not inclined and is in a horizontal state. This is because when the fuel tank is inclined, the height from the bottom surface of the recessed portion of the part of the communication path is substantially lowered due to the inclination, and the bubbles are peeled off before they grow greatly. Therefore, the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.

1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view from the other direction of the said 1st Embodiment. It is a section explanatory view of the bottom part of the canister case in the 1st embodiment. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the bottom part of the canister case similar to FIG. 3. It is a front view of the filter in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view of the filter similar to FIG. It is the VII-VII sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the said 2nd Embodiment. It is another effect explanatory drawing of the said 2nd Embodiment. It is a front view of the filter in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view of the filter similar to FIG. It is the XII-XII sectional view taken on the line in FIG.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a fuel pump 4, a canister case 1, and a fuel gauge float 5 are attached to a fuel tank (not shown) for an automobile as a unit by a mounting bracket 3. .
As is well known, the fuel pump 4 sucks fuel in a fuel tank and supplies it to an internal combustion engine (not shown). A filter 8 is disposed on the suction side of the fuel pump 4 and fuel pressure is adjusted on the discharge side. Valve 6 is connected. The fuel pressure adjusting valve 6 adjusts the fuel pressure supplied from the fuel pump 4 to the internal combustion engine to a set value. The excess fuel adjusted by the fuel pressure adjusting valve 6 is returned to the fuel tank through the fuel return pipe 7.
The float 5 is provided by using the side wall of the fuel pump 4, detects the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank, and displays the remaining amount of fuel on a meter (not shown) installed in the passenger compartment based on the detection signal. It is configured as follows.
The canister case 1 is provided on the mounting bracket 3 so as to occupy about half the area of the lower surface of the circular mounting bracket 3 and is formed in a semi-cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. 3, activated carbon 11 is accommodated in two chambers in the canister case 1, and the fuel vapor contained in the gas phase in the fuel tank is adsorbed by the activated carbon 11. Yes.

The positional relationship between the canister case 1 and the fuel return pipe 7 is arranged such that the return port 71 of the fuel return pipe 7 is located below the lower cover 2 of the canister case 1. The fuel returned from the fuel return pipe 7 contains a large amount of bubbles, and some of the bubbles released from the return port 71 adhere to the lower cover 2 of the canister case 1.
On the other hand, the lower cover 2 of the canister case 1 is formed to protrude toward the inside of the canister case 1 in order to restrict the movement of the activated carbon 11 inside. As a result, a recess is formed on the lower surface of the lower cover 2. For this reason, the bubbles released from the return port 71 of the fuel return pipe 7 are accumulated in the recess, and when the amount of the bubbles exceeds the outer peripheral rib 21 which is the bank portion of the recess, the bubbles are separated. And move from the liquid layer to the gas phase in the fuel tank. At this time, peeling sound is generated, and if the size of the bubbles is large, the peeling sound also increases, which adversely affects the quietness of the automobile.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the recess is divided into a plurality of regions by the first partition rib 23 and the second partition rib 24. For this reason, the bubbles are dispersed and accumulated in each region, and when the bubbles are separated beyond the outer peripheral rib 21 of each region, the size of the bubbles is smaller than that when the concave portion is not divided, and the separation is performed. The sound is also reduced. That is, when the concave portion is not divided into a plurality of regions, the bubble rises beyond the height of the outer peripheral rib 21 due to the surface tension before the bubble is peeled off, and the bubble size exceeds the surface tension limit. Peeling occurs at a stretch. At this time, if the surface area of the bubbles rising due to the surface tension is small, the size of the bubbles to be peeled can be reduced. When the inside of the recess is divided into a plurality of regions as described above, the bubbles accumulated in the recess are dispersed in the plurality of regions, and the surface area of the dispersed bubbles is compared to the case where the bubbles are collected in one recess. The bubbles that are reduced and peeled off can be reduced. Therefore, the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.

The outer peripheral rib 21 corresponding to each region is formed with a notch 25 as a communication path. Each notch 25 is formed by reducing the height of the outer peripheral rib 21 from the bottom surface 22 of the recess over a predetermined range, and the width and height thereof are determined by the surface tension of the bubbles accumulated in the recess. Is set so as not to be connected.
Therefore, when the air bubbles accumulated in each region exceed the height of the notch 25, the air bubbles are peeled off, and the size of the air bubbles to be peeled is determined by the width of the notch 25. Will be. Therefore, compared with the case where the notch 25 is not provided, the size of the bubble to be peeled can be further reduced, and the peeling sound can be suppressed.
Moreover, in this embodiment, the notch 25 which is a communicating path is formed in the front-end | tip of the outer periphery rib 21 as mentioned above. The communication path may be a round hole that penetrates and opens from the front end of the outer peripheral rib 21 toward the bottom surface 22 of the recess so as to communicate with the inside and outside of the recess. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the strength reduction of the outer peripheral rib 21.

The height of the first partition rib 23 from the recess bottom surface 22 is the same as that of the outer peripheral rib 21, and the height of the second partition rib 24 from the recess bottom surface 22 is lower than the first partition rib 23, The height of the notch 25 is equivalent to the height from the bottom surface 22 of the recess. As a result, in the state where the bubbles are peeled from the cutout portion 25 in one region of the divided concave portion, the amount of bubbles supplied to the one region increases, and the region adjacent to the second partition rib 24 is exceeded. When the bubble moves to the recess, the bubble is also peeled from the notch 25 of the recess in the adjacent region, so that the peeled bubble can be dispersed and the bubble can be reduced. Therefore, the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.
The same function can be achieved even if the height of the second partition rib 24 is a height between the height of the first partition rib 23 and the height of the notch 25.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the first and second partition ribs 23 and 24 are provided in the concave portion surrounded by the outer peripheral rib 21 and the inside of the concave portion is divided into a plurality of regions has been shown. Instead, the recess surrounded by the outer peripheral rib 21 may be present alone. In that case, the number of notch portions 25 that are communication paths may be one, or a large number may be formed as in the embodiment. However, when a large number of the cutout portions 25 are formed, the bubbles are peeled from the plurality of cutout portions 25, so that even if the total amount of bubbles to be peeled is the same, the individual pieces peeled off from the cutout portions 25 are the same. Bubbles can be made smaller, and sound associated with peeling can be suppressed compared to the case where large bubbles are peeled off. Further, in a state where the fuel tank is tilted even slightly, bubbles are peeled from a part of the notch 25 near the fuel surface in the fuel tank. The size of the bubbles peeled at that time can be reduced as compared with the case where the fuel tank is not inclined and is in a horizontal state. This is because when the fuel tank is inclined, the height of the part of the notch 25 from the bottom surface of the recess is substantially lowered due to the inclination, and the bubbles are peeled off before they grow large. Therefore, the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.
In the first embodiment, the canister case 1 corresponds to the fuel tank internal device in the present invention. Moreover, the 1st and 2nd division ribs 23 and 24 are equivalent to the means to suppress the magnitude | size of the bubble in this invention, and the notch part 25 is also equivalent to the means to suppress the magnitude | size of the bubble in this invention.

<Second Embodiment>
FIGS. 5-7 shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and 2nd Embodiment shows the case where the filter 8 of FIGS. 1 and 2 which shows the said 1st Embodiment is used as the apparatus in a fuel tank. However, the filter 80 of FIGS. 5 to 7 has a different external shape from the filter 8 of FIGS.
The filter 80 includes a filter paper 83 housed in a resin case, and the case includes a case upper portion 81 and a case lower portion 82. The filter 80 has a rectangular shape as a whole, and a sealed space 831 is formed inside in the middle. A mounting portion 84 for connecting the sealed space 831 to the fuel pump 4 is liquid-tightly attached to the upper portion of the filter paper 83. For this reason, the fuel sucked up by the fuel pump 4 is filtered by the filter paper 83.
The periphery of the filter paper 83 has a pointed shape in all directions, and each pointed end portion 832 having a pointed shape is sandwiched between overlapping portions of the case upper portion 81 and the case lower portion 82.
The case upper part 81 and the case lower part 82 are provided with a locking mechanism between them so as to be coupled to each other with the pointed end part 832 of the filter paper 83 sandwiched therebetween. That is, a ring-shaped locking portion 811 is integrally formed on the case upper portion 81 so as to cover the case lower portion 82. The case upper portion 82 and the case upper portion 81 correspond to the locking portion 811. A hook portion 821 that engages from the inside is integrally formed with the locking portion 811 in a state where the lower portion 82 is overlapped.

The through hole 812 that is the central part of the case upper part 81 and through which the attachment part 84 passes is formed larger than the outer diameter of the attachment part 84, and the filter paper 83 passes through the outer peripheral side of the attachment part 84 of the through hole 812. The fuel is allowed to flow toward
A plurality of fuel inlets 822 are also formed on the lower surface of the case lower part 82, and fuel flows into the filter paper 83 through these fuel inlets 822.
In FIGS. 5 to 7, reference numerals 824 denote protrusions that are formed to protrude from the four corners of the lower surface of the case lower portion 82, and are for securing a gap between the case lower portion 82 and the fuel tank bottom surface.
As a result of the fuel inlet 822 being formed on the lower surface of the case lower part 82 as described above, a concave portion is formed on the lower surface of the filter paper 83 in which bubbles generated in the fuel are retained due to various causes. When bubbles accumulate in the recess, gas is mixed with the fuel into the fuel pump 4 through the filter paper 83, and the fuel pumping performance of the fuel pump 4 is reduced.
In addition, the bubbles that have accumulated in the concave portion and stayed before being sucked into the filter paper 83 increase, and if they overflow and peel from the fuel inlet 822 of the case lower portion 82, a peeling sound is generated. This peeling sound increases as the size of the bubble to be peeled increases as described above.

In the second embodiment, a plurality of openings 823 are formed corresponding to each fuel inlet 822 on the outer peripheral side of the recess formed by the filter paper 83 and the case lower part 82, and the filter paper 83 is passed through the fuel inlet 822. Bubbles adhering to the surface are not accumulated in the recess, but are discharged to the outer peripheral side of the case lower part 82 through the opening 823.
Bubbles attached to the center of the bottom surface of the filter paper 83 are unlikely to be discharged from the opening 823 because the filter paper 83 in that portion is a flat surface. However, as shown in FIG. 8, when the vehicle tilts or the fuel fluctuates, the bubbles flow upward along the bottom surface of the filter paper 83 and are discharged from the opening 823 as indicated by an arrow. In FIG. 8, T indicates the bottom surface of the fuel tank.
For this reason, in the recess formed by the bottom surface of the filter paper 83 and the case lower part 82, the bubbles entering from the fuel inflow port 822 do not grow greatly, adversely affect the fuel pumping performance of the fuel pump 4, or It can suppress that peeling sound becomes large.

On the other hand, since the filter 80 is provided along the bottom of a fuel tank (not shown), the filter 80 is mixed with the fuel and is also exposed to moisture remaining at the bottom of the fuel tank. That is, there is a problem that water enters the bottom surface of the filter paper 83 from the fuel inlet 822 and adversely affects the performance of the fuel pump 4 as in the case of the bubbles described above.
In the second embodiment, since the opening 823 is formed in the case lower part 82 as described above, when the fuel flows on the lower surface of the filter 80 due to vehicle inclination or fuel oscillation as shown in FIG. At the same time, water flows out from the opening 823 as indicated by an arrow, and the above-mentioned problem is solved. In FIG. 9, T indicates the bottom surface of the fuel tank.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the opening 823 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the case lower portion 82 even if the bubbles enter the fuel inlet 822 of the case lower portion 82 and the bubbles accumulate in the recess. Therefore, most of the mixed bubbles are discharged from the opening 823 without collecting in the recess. For this reason, the magnitude | size of the bubble peeled from a recessed part is suppressed, and the sound accompanying peeling can be suppressed.
In addition, since bubbles do not collect in the recesses on the lower surface of the filter paper 83, the area where the lower surface of the filter paper 83 is covered with bubbles can be suppressed, and the mixing of gas into the fuel passing through the filter 80 can be suppressed. it can.
Furthermore, although the filter paper 83 whose lower surface is covered with bubbles does not function as a filter medium, as described above, the area where the lower surface of the filter paper 83 is covered with bubbles can be suppressed, so that the functional deterioration of the filter paper 83 is suppressed. Can do.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment described above in that the opening 823 is formed by a notch 825. Since the third embodiment is the same as the second embodiment in other configurations, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.
The notch 825 is formed by notching the outer peripheral side wall of the fuel inlet 822 formed on the bottom surface of the case lower part 82. The notch 825 is also an opening similar to the opening 823 in the second embodiment, and air bubbles and water flowing in from the filter paper 83 are discharged from the notch 825, and the same operation as described with respect to the opening 823 in the second embodiment is performed. Demonstrate the effect.
In the second and third embodiments, the opening 823 and the notch 825 correspond to the means for suppressing the bubble size in the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the appearance and configuration described in the above embodiment, and various modifications, additions, and deletions can be made without changing the gist of the present invention. For example,
1. The recess for storing the bubbles includes a place other than the bottom surface as long as it is the surface of the component in the fuel tank. Further, the components in the fuel tank are not limited to the canister case and the filter, and include a fuel pump and others.
2. The communication path does not necessarily have to be provided in the bank portion of each partitioned recess.
3. The fuel tank internal device of the present invention is not limited to an automobile.

1 Canister case 11 Activated carbon 12 Filter 2 Lower cover 21 Outer peripheral rib (bank)
22 recessed part bottom face 23 1st division rib 24 2nd division rib 25 Notch part (communication path)
3 Mounting bracket 4 Fuel pump 5 Float 6 Fuel pressure regulating valve 7 Fuel return pipe 71 Return port 8 Filter 80 Filter 81 Case upper part 82 Case lower part 83 Filter paper 822 Fuel inlet 823 Opening 825 Notch

Claims (7)

Means for suppressing the size of bubbles when the bubbles accumulated in the recesses are provided in the recesses where the bubbles in the fuel accumulate on the surface of the fuel tank internal device installed in the fuel tank. An in- fuel tank device characterized in that partition ribs are provided therein and the inside of the recess is divided into a plurality of regions . A means for suppressing the size of bubbles when the bubbles accumulated in the recesses are provided in a recess where the bubbles in the fuel accumulate on the surface of the fuel tank internal device installed in the fuel tank, The in-tank device is a filter that filters the fuel taken into the case with the filter paper in the case, and a fuel inlet for taking the fuel into the case is formed on the lower surface of the case so as to correspond to the entire lower surface of the filter paper, The fuel inlet is divided into a plurality along the lower surface of the filter paper, and the recess is formed in the lower surface of the filter paper. At least a part of the fuel inlet is formed on the outer peripheral side of the case surrounding the fuel inlet. An in-fuel tank device characterized in that an opening for communication is formed. Means for suppressing the size of bubbles when the bubbles accumulated in the recesses are provided in the recesses where the bubbles in the fuel accumulate on the surface of the fuel tank internal device installed in the fuel tank. the bank portion surrounding the communication passage is provided for communicating the inside and outside of the recess, with the communication passage is provided in a portion of the bank portion, the communicating path joint technique by the surface tension of a bubble pixel A fuel tank device characterized by being formed larger than the size of the gap to be obtained . Oite to claim 1, the bank portion surrounding the recess, the communication passage is provided for communicating the inside and outside of the recess, with the communication passage is provided in a portion of the bank portion, the communicating passage one fuel tank apparatus characterized by being larger than the size of the gap to obtain joint technique by the surface tension of the bubble pixel. 5. The fuel tank internal device according to claim 3 , wherein the communication path is formed by partially lowering a height from a bottom surface of the recess of the bank portion. In Claim 4 or 5, the height from the crevice bottom of the partition rib is lower than the crevice bottom from the crevice bottom of the above-mentioned bank part, and is the same as the minimum height from the crevice bottom of the above-mentioned communicating path, or higher than the above-mentioned minimum height A fuel tank device characterized by being set. 7. The fuel tank internal device according to claim 3 , wherein a plurality of the communication passages are provided in a ring direction of the bank portion.

Images