JP7152128B2 - Fuel filler structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fuel filler opening structure including an inlet box provided inside a fuel filler opening and a lock member for locking a lid that opens and closes the fuel filler opening.

Vehicles such as automobiles are provided with a fuel filler opening for supplying fuel in the vehicle body. In general automobiles, a refueling opening is often provided on the side of the rear portion of the vehicle body. Inside the refueling opening, an inlet box is provided so as to open toward the outside of the vehicle. Further, the inlet box is provided with a lock member for locking a lid that opens and closes the fuel supply opening.

Patent Literature 1 describes that a lid lock mechanism that locks the lid is fixed to the inlet box by screwing. The lid lock mechanism described in Patent Literature 1 includes a lock pin projecting retractably from a lock body, a threaded portion into which the lock pin is inserted, and a nut screwed onto the threaded portion. The lid lock mechanism is attached to the inlet box by interposing the attachment bracket between the lock body and the side wall of the inlet box and inserting the threaded portion into the attachment hole of the side wall. Then, by screwing a nut from inside the inlet box onto the threaded portion protruding from the mounting hole, it is screwed and fixed to the side wall.

JP 2014-88110 A

Conventionally, the operation of attaching a lock member to an inlet box is performed by the following procedure. A cylindrical member into which a lock pin is inserted is inserted from the inside of the vehicle into a through hole provided in the inlet box with a lock bracket interposed therebetween. As a result, the lock member is arranged so that the cylindrical member protrudes to the outside of the vehicle of the inlet box. After that, a nut is tightened from the outside of the inlet box to the externally threaded portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member to fix the lock member.

In the case of a compact vehicle in which the position of the refueling opening is close to the back door opening in the rear part of the vehicle body, the installation of the locking member is performed by one worker. Specifically, a worker puts one hand through the back door opening to place the lock member on the vehicle inner side of the inlet box. While supporting the lock bracket with one hand, the worker tightens the nut from the outside of the inlet box with the other hand. Therefore, in a compact car, one worker simultaneously positions the locking member and tightens the nut. However, in the case of a large-sized vehicle, the position of the refueling opening is far from the back door opening, and the operator may not be able to reach it. Therefore, in such a vehicle, the lock member is temporarily arranged on the vehicle inner side of the inlet box, and the nut is tightened in the next step. In that case, it is necessary to provisionally arrange the lock member so that it does not come off from the inlet box until the next step. Also, the lock bracket may rotate together when the nut is tightened in the next step.

Therefore, from the viewpoint of mounting workability of the lock member, it is desirable to be able to prevent co-rotation of the lock bracket due to the tightening of the nut while allowing the lock member to be temporarily arranged in the inlet box.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a fuel filler opening structure which has a simple structure and is excellent in the workability of attaching a lock member to an inlet box.

A fuel filler opening structure according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
A refueling opening provided on the side of the vehicle body,
an inlet box that is provided inside the fuel supply opening and that opens toward the outside of the vehicle;
and a locking member that locks a lid that opens and closes the fuel filler opening,
The lock member is
a lock bracket attached to the vehicle interior side of the inlet box;
a tubular member having a male threaded portion on its outer peripheral surface, the male threaded portion penetrating through the lock bracket and the inlet box and protruding outwardly of the inlet box;
a lock pin that is inserted into the tubular member and can advance and retreat toward the vehicle exterior side of the inlet box;
a nut screwed to the male threaded portion;
The lock bracket is
a base extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle and penetrating through the cylindrical member;
a claw portion extending from an upper portion of the base portion in a direction intersecting the base portion;
The inlet box is
a through hole into which the cylindrical member is inserted;
a first wall portion provided above the through hole and on which the claw portion is hung;
a second wall portion that abuts on the claw portion of the lock bracket that is rotated together by the threaded connection of the nut.

The fuel filler opening structure described above has a first wall portion on which the lock bracket of the lock member has a claw portion, the inlet box to which the claw portion is hooked, and a second wall portion that abuts on the claw portion. Therefore, in the operation of attaching the lock member, by hooking the claw portion of the lock bracket on the first wall portion, the lock member can be temporarily arranged so as not to come off from the inlet box. Further, after the lock member is temporarily arranged, when the nut is screwed to the male threaded portion of the tubular member, the pawl contacts the second wall portion, thereby preventing co-rotation of the lock bracket. Therefore, the above fuel filler opening structure has a simple configuration in which the lock bracket is provided with the claw portion and the inlet box is provided with the first wall portion and the second wall portion, and the workability of attaching the lock member to the inlet box is excellent.

In addition, the above fuel filler opening structure has the first wall portion and the second wall portion above the through hole where the rigidity locally decreases in the inlet box, thereby improving the rigidity. Therefore, deformation of the inlet box caused by the through holes can be effectively suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a fuel filler opening structure according to Embodiment 1 as seen from the outside of a vehicle. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the fuel filler opening structure according to Embodiment 1 as viewed from the inside of the vehicle. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the essential parts of the fuel filler opening structure according to Embodiment 1, viewed from the inside of the vehicle. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the main part of the inlet box that constitutes the fuel filler opening structure according to Embodiment 1, viewed from the inside of the vehicle. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the shape of the first wall portion of the inlet box that constitutes the fuel filler opening structure according to the first embodiment.

A specific example of the fuel filler opening structure according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same names. In the following description, "front", "rear", "up", "down", "left", and "right" refer to directions relative to the front of the vehicle. do. In the drawing, arrows "FR" indicate the front of the vehicle, "RR" the rear of the vehicle, "UP" the upper side of the vehicle, and "LWR" the lower side of the vehicle. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, but is indicated by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of claims. .

[Embodiment 1]
"overall structure"
A refueling opening 10 shown in FIG. 1 is provided on the side surface of the rear portion of the vehicle body. A fuel filler opening structure 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes an inlet box 2 provided inside a fuel filler opening 10 and a lock member 3 that locks a lid (not shown) that opens and closes the fuel filler opening 10 . One of the features of the fuel filler opening structure 1 is that the lock member 3 has a claw portion 34 on the lock bracket 31 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the inlet box 2 has a first wall portion 21 and a second wall portion 25 .

In this example, a refueling opening 10 (FIG. 1) is formed on the left side of the vehicle body. The inlet box 2 is a cup-shaped member that opens toward the outside of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. An opening 2a is provided at the bottom of the inlet box 2, and a fuel supply pipe extending from a fuel tank (not shown) is arranged through the opening 2a. A lid (not shown) for opening and closing the refueling opening 10 is attached to the vehicle body. The lid is a plate-shaped member that closes the oil supply opening 10 . In the case of this example, the front end of the lid is connected to the front side of the inlet box 2 via, for example, a hinge, and the rear end of the lid is configured to open to the outside of the vehicle. The rear end of the lid is provided with a locking hole that engages with a lock pin 5 projecting from the inlet box 2, and the lid is locked by the lock pin 5 in a closed state. Below, the inlet box 2 and the lock member 3 that constitute the fuel filler opening structure 1 will be described in detail.

<Lock member>
The lock member 3 is arranged on the vehicle inner side of the inlet box 2, as shown in FIG. The lock member 3 includes a lock bracket 31, a tubular member 4, a lock pin 5, and a nut 6, as shown in FIGS.

(lock bracket)
The lock bracket 31 is attached to the inner side of the inlet box 2, as shown in FIGS. The lock bracket 31 has a base portion 32 extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 4, the base portion 32 is formed with a through hole 33 through which the cylindrical member 4 is passed. The base portion 32 is arranged to face the side surface 2b of the inlet box 2 where the through hole 20 (FIG. 5) is provided. The through hole 33 of the base 32 and the through hole 20 of the inlet box 2 are positioned so as to overlap each other. In this example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the lock bracket 31 has a side plate portion 35 formed by bending the end portion of the base portion 32 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction toward the vehicle rear side.

(claw)
The lock bracket 31 has a claw portion 34 extending from the upper portion of the base portion 32 in a direction crossing the base portion 32, as shown in FIG. In this example, the claw portion 34 protrudes from the upper portion of the base portion 32 toward the front of the vehicle. The claw portion 34 is hung on a first wall portion 21 provided on the inlet box 2, which will be described later.

(cylindrical member)
The cylindrical member 4 is a cylindrical member having a male threaded portion 41 on its outer peripheral surface, as shown in FIG. The tubular member 4 passes through the lock bracket 31 and the inlet box 2 and has a male screw portion 41 protruding outside the inlet box 2 . Specifically, the cylindrical member 4 is inserted into the through hole 33 of the base portion 32 and the through hole 20 of the inlet box 2 and protrudes outside the inlet box 2 . A flange portion 42 is provided at the end portion of the tubular member 4 on the inner side of the vehicle. The base portion 32 is sandwiched between the flange portion 42 and the side surface 2 b of the inlet box 2 .

(lock pin)
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lock pin 5 is inserted into the tubular member 4 and provided so as to be able to move forward and backward toward the vehicle outer side of the inlet box 2 . The tip of the lock pin 5 is exposed from the tubular member 4 and protrudes outside the inlet box 2 as shown in FIG. In this example, as shown in FIG. 3, a rocking member 51 is provided for the side plate portion 35 . The swinging member 51 is supported so as to swing around a shaft 52 . The rocking member 51 has a downwardly extending first piece 53 and a rearwardly extending second piece 54 . The first piece 53 is connected to the base end of the lock pin 5 . On the other hand, the lock cable 7 is connected to the second piece 54 . A torsion spring 55 is attached to the shaft 52 . The torsion spring 55 urges the base end of the lock pin 5 connected to the first piece 53 forward toward the inlet box 2 . Therefore, normally, the tip of the lock pin 5 protrudes to the outside of the inlet box 2 . When the lock cable 7 is pulled, the second piece 54 is pulled, the swing member 51 rotates, and the first piece 53 swings backward. As a result, the lock pin 5 moves rearward and the tip of the lock pin 5 retreats into the cylindrical member 4 .

(nut)
As shown in FIG. 4 , the nut 6 is threadedly coupled to the male threaded portion 41 of the tubular member 4 from the vehicle outer side of the inlet box 2 . When the nut 6 is tightened to the male threaded portion 41, the lock bracket 31 (base portion 32) sandwiched between the flange portion 42 and the inlet box 2 tends to rotate clockwise when viewed from the tip side of the lock pin 5 ( The arrows in FIG. 3 indicate co-rotating directions).

<Inlet box>
The inlet box 2, as shown in FIG. 5, has a through hole 20 into which the cylindrical member 4 (FIG. 4) is inserted. In this example, the through hole 20 is provided in the side surface 2b of the inlet box 2 on the vehicle rear side. In the inlet box 2, the portion where the through hole 20 is formed is a concave portion 2c (FIG. 1) that is recessed from the outside of the vehicle toward the inside of the vehicle, and the side surface 2b is a flat surface. Therefore, when the inlet box 2 is viewed from the outside of the vehicle, a through hole 20 is provided at a location corresponding to the bottom surface of the recess 2c. The rigidity around the through-hole 20 is increased by the recess 2c. 3 and 5, the inlet box 2 has a first wall portion 21 and a second wall portion 25 provided above the through hole 20. As shown in FIGS.

(first wall/second wall)
The first wall portion 21 is hooked with the claw portion 34 of the lock bracket 31 as shown in FIG. The second wall portion 25 abuts on the claw portion 34 of the lock bracket 31 that rotates together with the nut 6 by screwing. The first wall portion 21 is provided along a direction (vehicle width direction) intersecting the projecting direction of the claw portion 34 . The second wall portion 25 is provided along the projecting direction of the claw portion 34 (vehicle front-rear direction). In this example, the first wall portion 21 protrudes upward from the upper surface 2u formed by the recess 2c (FIG. 1). The second wall portion 25 is adjacent to the surfaces of the first wall portion 21 and the inlet box 2 on the vehicle interior side, and extends upward from the upper surface 2u. The first wall portion 21, the second wall portion 25, the upper surface 2u, and the vehicle-interior surface of the inlet box 2 form a recessed space that is open at least upward. By integrally forming the first wall portion 21 and the second wall portion 25 on the upper surface 2u so as to form such a concave space, the rigidity of the side surface 2b of the inlet box 2 can be improved. .

Furthermore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. It has a stepped portion 23 whose upper surface is notched at the base end portion on the side of the second wall portion 25 .

(others)
As another configuration of the fuel filler opening structure 1, as shown in FIG. may In this example, an engaging piece having an engaging hole 37 is provided in the lower portion of the base portion 32 .

{Action and effect}
Mainly referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the effects of the fuel filler opening structure 1 of this example will be described. In the operation of attaching the lock member 3 , the claw portion 34 of the lock bracket 31 can be hung on the first wall portion 21 . As a result, the lock member 3 can be temporarily arranged so as not to come off from the inlet box 2 . Further, when the nut 6 is screwed to the male threaded portion 41 of the cylindrical member 4 after the lock member 3 is temporarily arranged, the pawl portion 34 comes into contact with the second wall portion 25, thereby preventing co-rotation of the lock bracket 31. can be prevented. Therefore, the fuel filler opening structure 1 has a simple structure and is excellent in workability of attaching the lock member 3 to the inlet box 2 .

In this example, as shown in FIG. 6, the first wall portion 21 has an inclined portion 22 and a stepped portion 23 . Therefore, when hooking the claw portion 34 on the first wall portion 21 from the vehicle inner side of the inlet box 2 , the claw portion 34 can be guided along the inclined portion 22 to the stepped portion 23 . Therefore, the work of arranging the lock member 3 is easy to perform.

Further, stress acts on the inlet box 2 through the lock member 3 when the lock cable 7 is operated. By providing the first wall portion 21 and the second wall portion 25 above the through hole 20 where the rigidity of the inlet box 2 is locally reduced, the rigidity is improved. Therefore, deformation of the inlet box 2 caused by the through holes 20 can be effectively suppressed.

Furthermore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion 27 of the inlet box 2 is configured to engage with the engagement hole 37 provided in the lock bracket 31 (base portion 32). Therefore, rattling of the lock member 3 with respect to the inlet box 2 can be effectively suppressed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 refueling port structure 10 refueling opening 2 inlet box 2a opening 2b side surface 2c recessed portion 2u upper surface 20 through hole 21 first wall portion 22 inclined portion 23 stepped portion 25 second wall portion 27 projecting piece 3 locking member 31 locking bracket 32 base 33 Through hole 34 Claw portion 35 Side plate portion 37 Engagement hole 4 Cylindrical member 41 Male screw portion 42 Flange portion 5 Lock pin 51 Swing member 52 Shaft 53 First piece 54 Second piece 55 Torsion spring 6 Nut 7 Lock cable

Claims (1)

A refueling opening provided on the side of the vehicle body,
an inlet box that is provided inside the fuel supply opening and that opens toward the outside of the vehicle;
and a locking member that locks a lid that opens and closes the fuel filler opening,
The lock member is
a lock bracket attached to the vehicle interior side of the inlet box;
a tubular member having a male threaded portion on its outer peripheral surface, the male threaded portion penetrating through the lock bracket and the inlet box and protruding outwardly of the inlet box;
a lock pin that is inserted into the tubular member and can advance and retreat toward the vehicle exterior side of the inlet box;
a nut screwed to the male threaded portion;
The lock bracket is
a base extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle and penetrating through the cylindrical member;
a claw portion extending from the upper portion of the base portion in a direction intersecting the base portion;
The inlet box is
a through hole into which the tubular member is inserted;
a first wall portion provided above the through-hole and on which the claw portion is hung;
a second wall portion that abuts on the claw portion of the lock bracket that is rotated together by a screw connection of the nut.

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