JP7209437B2 - Inlet pipe mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inlet pipe mounting structure for fixing an inlet pipe to a rear side member via a bracket.

Patent Literature 1 discloses an oil supply pipe attachment structure in which an oil supply pipe (inlet pipe) is attached to a rear side frame (rear side member) extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle via a bracket. In this mounting structure, the joint strength of the joint member (for example, brazing material) that joins the inlet pipe and the bracket is made lower than the strength of the inlet pipe. Due to the difference in strength, when an external force is applied to the inlet pipe due to a collision of a vehicle or the like, the connecting member is destroyed first and the inlet pipe comes off the bracket, thereby preventing the inlet pipe from being destroyed.

JP 2013-103626 A

The inlet pipe generally includes a vertical section extending downward in the vehicle vertical direction from a fuel filler port provided in a rear side panel, and a horizontal section extending inward in the vehicle width direction from the lower end of the horizontal section. is connected to a fuel tank (see FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1).

When a following vehicle with a high minimum ground clearance collides with the rear of the preceding vehicle, the front part of the following vehicle rushes into the upper side of the vehicle than the rear side members of the preceding vehicle, and the rear side panels of the preceding vehicle are largely displaced forward of the vehicle. One end of the inlet pipe for the forward vehicle is fixed to a fuel filler opening provided on the rear side panel. Therefore, in the inlet pipe, as the rear side panel is displaced, the vertical section extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle is largely rotated toward the front side of the vehicle about the axis of the horizontal section extending in the vehicle width direction as the rotation axis. When the bracket is fixed to the horizontal section, the horizontal section does not rotate, so the rotation of the vertical section may damage the inlet pipe.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the inlet pipe is detached from the bracket due to a vehicle collision or the like, so damage to the inlet pipe due to the rotation of the vertical section can be prevented. However, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the inlet pipe is no longer fixed to the rear side member due to a vehicle collision or the like, and the freed inlet pipe undergoes unexpected displacement or deformation, which may rather damage the inlet pipe. be.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an inlet pipe mounting structure that can prevent the inlet pipe from being damaged in the event of a collision from the rear of the vehicle with a simple structure.

An inlet pipe mounting structure according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
An inlet pipe that connects the fuel filler port of the vehicle body and the fuel tank,
a bracket for fixing the inlet pipe to the rear side member,
The inlet pipe is
a first section that traverses the vehicle lower side of the rear side member in the vehicle width direction;
a second section extending from a vehicle width direction outer end of the first section to the fuel filler port located on the vehicle upper side of the rear side member,
The bracket is
a first fixing portion fixed to the rear side member;
a second fixing portion fixed to the first section;
A fragile portion having a locally reduced strength is provided in a region on the side of the first fixing portion in the vicinity of the second fixing portion.

In the above-described inlet pipe mounting structure, when the second section of the inlet pipe rotates toward the front of the vehicle about the axis of the first section of the inlet pipe due to a collision from the rear of the vehicle, the second section follows the rotation. One section can also be rotated. This is because there is a difference in rigidity in the vicinity of the second fixing portion of the bracket. Specifically, this is because there is a difference in rigidity that the rigidity of the fragile portion in the vicinity of the second fixing portion is lower than the rigidity of the second fixing portion. Due to this difference in rigidity, when the second section of the inlet pipe rotates and an external force acts on the first section to rotate the first section toward the front of the vehicle in the event of a collision from the rear of the vehicle, the weakened portion with low rigidity acts as a starting point for the second section. The bracket is deformed so as to wrap around the first section of the inlet pipe from the side of the second fixed part. This deformation of the bracket allows the inlet pipe itself, including the region fixed to the bracket, to rotate to a certain degree, thereby preventing damage to the inlet pipe.

In the inlet pipe mounting structure described above, when the vehicle is hit from behind, the inlet pipe rotates due to the deformation of the bracket, but remains fixed to the rear side member via the bracket. Therefore, unexpected displacement and deformation of the inlet pipe can be suppressed.

In the above inlet pipe mounting structure, the inlet pipe itself can be rotated by providing the fragile portion in the vicinity of the second fixing portion of the bracket. Therefore, the above inlet pipe mounting structure can be used by simply modifying an existing bracket, and there is no need to prepare a new bracket having a completely different structure. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the cost and weight of the bracket itself and the inlet pipe mounting structure, and a decrease in productivity.

FIG. 1 shows an inlet pipe mounting structure according to an embodiment, where (A) is a top view and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line (B)-(B) of (A). FIG. 2 is a side view of the inlet pipe mounting structure of the embodiment. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the behavior of the inlet pipe mounting structure of the embodiment at the time of a collision from the rear of the vehicle, where (A) shows the behavior before the collision and (B) shows the behavior after the collision.

An inlet pipe mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same names. In the following description, "front", "rear", "upper", and "lower" refer to directions relative to the front of the vehicle. The arrow RR indicates the rear side, the arrow UP indicates the upper side in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the arrow LWR indicates the lower side. In the following description, the center side in the width direction of the vehicle is defined as "inside" and the outside as "outside", and in the drawings, arrow IN indicates the inside (center side) in the width direction of the vehicle, and arrow OUT indicates the outside.

〔overall structure〕
An inlet pipe mounting structure 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as mounting structure 1) of the embodiment includes an inlet pipe 2 and a bracket 3, as shown in FIGS. The inlet pipe 2 connects a fuel filler opening of the vehicle body (not shown) and a fuel tank. Bracket 3 fixes inlet pipe 2 to rear side member 5 (FIG. 2). The bracket 3 has a second fixing portion 32 fixed to the inlet pipe 2 . One of the features of the mounting structure 1 of the embodiment is that the bracket 3 is provided with a fragile portion 33 near the second fixing portion 32 . The rear side member 5 is arranged to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, as shown in FIG.

[Inlet pipe]
The inlet pipe 2 connects a fuel filler port provided in the rear side panel (not shown) and a fuel tank (not shown) provided inside the rear side member 5, and the fuel injected from the fuel filler port is delivered to the fuel tank. It is a flow pipe that leads. The fuel tank and the inlet pipe 2 are connected via a short rubber pipe (not shown). The inlet pipe 2 extends rearward in the vehicle longitudinal direction from the fuel tank, then extends outward from the inner side of the rear side member 5 to cross the vehicle lower side of the rear side member 5, and further extends from the rear side member 5 from this outer end. also extends to the fuel filler port located on the upper side of the vehicle. A first section 21 (FIG. 1) is a section of the inlet pipe 2 that extends across the vehicle lower side of the rear side member 5 in the vehicle width direction. A second section 22 ( FIG. 2 ) is a section extending to a fuel filler port located on the upper side of the vehicle than 5 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the first section 21 extends in a direction intersecting with the rear side member 5 (FIG. 2) when viewed from above. In this example, the first section 21 extends substantially along the width direction of the vehicle and in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rear side member 5 when viewed from above. The first section 21 does not necessarily extend along the horizontal plane. The first section 21 may have a bent part in the middle of the longitudinal direction.

The first section 21 is arranged with a predetermined spacing H from the rear side member 5 (see FIG. 2). The gap H can be appropriately selected to the extent that a gap can be formed that allows the first section 21 to rotate toward the front side of the vehicle so as to approach the rear side member 5 . It is more preferable that the above-mentioned interval H is such that a gap can be formed so that the first section 21 does not collide with the rear side member 5 by the rotation of the first section 21 . The rotation of the first section 21 will be detailed later.

The second section 22 has a section extending in a direction intersecting with the rear side member 5 in a side view, as shown in FIG. 2 . In this example, the second section 22 extends obliquely with respect to the rear side member 5 in a side view, and obliquely extends with respect to the vehicle up-down direction (vertical direction). The second section 22 may extend along the vertical direction. The second section 22 may have a bend in the middle of the longitudinal direction.

〔bracket〕
Bracket 3 is a member for holding inlet pipe 2 to rear side member 5 . The bracket 3 includes a first fixing portion 31 fixed to the rear side member 5 and a second fixing portion 32 fixed to the first section 21 of the inlet pipe 2 . In this example, the bracket 3 extends from the inner side to the outer side in the vehicle width direction as it goes from the front side to the rear side in the vehicle longitudinal direction (see FIG. 1), and extends from the upper side to the lower side in the vertical direction of the vehicle (see FIG. 1). See FIG. 2) is a plate material. The first fixing portion 31 and the second fixing portion 32 are formed along the surfaces of the rear side member 5 and the first section 21, respectively. The first fixing portion 31 is arranged on the front side in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the second fixing portion 32 is arranged on the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction. The first fixing portion 31 is fixed to the vehicle lower surface of the rear side member 5 , and the second fixing portion 32 is fixed to the vehicle lower surface of the first section 21 . The first fixing portion 31 is fixed to the rear side member 5 by fastening with the bolt 4 . The second fixing part 32 is fixed to the first section 21 by joining by brazing or welding. For welding, a known welding method such as arc welding can be used. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the joint area between the second fixing portion 32 and the inlet pipe 2 is cross-hatched.

The bracket 3 has a fragile portion 33 in a region near the second fixing portion 32 on the side of the first fixing portion 31 . The weakened portion 33 is locally weaker than other areas of the bracket 3 , especially the second fixing portion 32 . The fragile portion 33 is a starting point at which the bracket 3 wraps around the first section 21 from the second fixing portion 32 side when an external force acts on the first section 21 to rotate toward the front side of the vehicle due to the rotation of the second section 22 . becomes. The rotation of the first section 21 and the second section 22 will be detailed later.

It is preferable that the fragile portion 33 is close to, or even adjacent to, the second fixing portion 32 . The closer the fragile portion 33 is to the second fixing portion 32, the closer the bracket 3 is to the inlet pipe 2 when an external force acts on the first section 21 to rotate it toward the front side of the vehicle (counterclockwise in FIG. 2). It is easy to wrap around the section 21 quickly and effectively.

In this example, the bracket 3 has a bead portion 34 along its longitudinal direction. The bead portion 34 is formed by bending a portion of the plate material that constitutes the bracket 3 by press molding, and has a concave cross section (see FIG. 1(B)). In this example, the bead portion 34 is formed in a concave shape that bulges downward in the vehicle vertical direction. Further, in this example, the bead portion 34 is provided at the central portion of the bracket 3 in the width direction. The fragile portion 33 can be formed by partially crushing the bead portion 34 as shown in FIG. 1(B).

[Action]
The operation of the mounting structure 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 schematically shows the behavior of the mounting structure 1 at the time of collision from the rear of the vehicle, and the inlet pipe 2 and the bracket 3 are simplified.

The inlet pipe 2 before the collision is fixed to the second fixing portion 32 of the bracket 3 and fixed to the rear side member 5 via the bracket 3 as shown in FIG. 3(A). In the inlet pipe 2 before the collision, the second section 22 extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle. When a following vehicle with a high minimum ground clearance collides from the rear of the vehicle, the second section 22 rotates toward the front of the vehicle about the axis of the first section 21 as a rotation axis, as shown in FIG. 3(B). Due to the rotation of the second section 22, an external force acts on the first section 21 to rotate it toward the front side of the vehicle (counterclockwise in FIG. 3), and the first section 21 rotates counterclockwise (in FIG. 3B). It tries to rotate in the direction of the white arrow). At this time, the bracket 3 deforms so as to wrap around the first section 21 from the second fixing portion 32 side with the fragile portion 33 as a starting point. This deformation of the bracket 3 allows the inlet pipe 2 to follow the rotation of the second section 22 and also the first section 21 to rotate. Since the first section 21 rotates while winding around the bracket 3, it rotates so as to be displaced toward the front side of the vehicle and to be displaced toward the upper side of the vehicle.

〔effect〕
When the second section 22 of the inlet pipe 2 rotates toward the front of the vehicle about the axis of the first section 21 of the inlet pipe 2 due to a collision from the rear of the vehicle, the mounting structure 1 follows the rotation. Since the first section 21 can also rotate, damage to the inlet pipe 2 can be prevented. At this time, although the inlet pipe 2 rotates, it remains fixed to the rear side member 5 via the bracket 3 . Therefore, since the mounting structure 1 can suppress unexpected displacement and deformation of the inlet pipe 2, damage to the inlet pipe 2 can be prevented.

By providing the bracket 3 with the bead portion 34, the bracket 3 can be reinforced. By partially crushing the bead portion 34, the fragile portion 33 can be easily formed. In this case, the existing bracket may be simply modified by providing the bead portion 34 and the fragile portion 33, and there is no need to newly prepare a bracket having a completely different configuration. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the cost and weight of the bracket 3 itself and a deterioration in productivity.

In the mounting structure 1 described above, the second fixing portion 32 of the bracket 3 is fixed to the surface of the first section 21 of the inlet pipe 2 on the lower side of the vehicle. That is, in the mounting structure 1, the inlet pipe 2 is supported by the bracket 3 from below in the vertical direction of the vehicle (this form is called lower support). Therefore, in the mounting structure 1, compared to the case where the inlet pipe 2 is supported so as to be suspended from the upper side in the vertical direction of the vehicle via the bracket 3 (this form is called suspension support), the inlet pipe 2 is easily supported firmly, and the inlet pipe 2 is easily prevented from falling off from the rear side member 5.例文帳に追加When the inlet pipe 2 is supported on the lower side, the first section 21 of the inlet pipe 2 rotates toward the front of the vehicle so as to approach the rear side member 5 in the event of a collision from the rear of the vehicle (see FIG. 3B). . At this time, if the first section 21 is arranged with a predetermined gap H (FIG. 2) with respect to the rear side member 5, the rotation of the first section 21 is not hindered, and the first section 21 is positioned near the rear side member. Hitting 5 is also easy to suppress.

The present invention is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of equivalents to the scope of the claims. For example, the following modifications are possible in the above-described embodiments.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the weak portion is formed by partially crushing the bead portion formed on the bracket. Alternatively, the weakened portion can be formed by locally thinning the plate thickness of the bracket. Since the fragile portion has locally lower strength than the second fixing portion, a configuration that can form a difference in rigidity in the vicinity of the second fixing portion can be appropriately selected.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the first fixing portion is arranged on the front side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the second fixing portion is arranged on the rear side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the inlet pipe is supported on the lower side. . Alternatively, the first fixing portion may be arranged on the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the second fixing portion may be arranged on the front side in the vehicle front-rear direction. In this case, the brackets are arranged so as to extend from the inside to the outside in the vehicle width direction and extend from the top to the bottom in the vehicle up-down direction as they go from the rear side to the front side in the vehicle front-rear direction. The second fixing portion is fixed so as to cover the surface of the first section on the upper side of the vehicle. That is, the inlet pipe is suspended and supported by the rear side member via the bracket. Due to this form of the bracket, in the event of a collision from the rear of the vehicle, the bracket can be deformed so as to wrap around the first section from the side of the second fixed portion with the fragile portion as a starting point, and the first section can be rotated.

1 Inlet Pipe Mounting Structure 2 Inlet Pipe 21 First Section 22 Second Section 3 Bracket 31 First Fixed Part 32 Second Fixed Part 33 Weak Part 34 Bead Part 4 Bolt 5 Rear Side Member

Claims (1)

An inlet pipe that connects the fuel filler port of the vehicle body and the fuel tank,
a bracket for fixing the inlet pipe to the rear side member,
The inlet pipe is
a first section that traverses the vehicle lower side of the rear side member in the vehicle width direction;
a second section extending from a vehicle width direction outer end of the first section to the fuel filler port located on the vehicle upper side of the rear side member,
The bracket is
It is made up of planks,
a first fixing portion fixed to the rear side member;
a second fixing portion fixed to the first section;
a fragile portion with locally reduced strength in a region on the side of the first fixing portion in the vicinity of the second fixing portion ;
The fragile portion is provided on the front side or the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the second fixing portion so as to serve as a starting point for the bracket to wrap around the first section in the event of a collision from the rear of the vehicle.
Inlet pipe mounting structure.

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