JP7256994B2 - breather cover - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a breather cover that covers the tip of a breather hose.

Patent Document 1 describes a breather device for a fuel tank. The fuel tank is supported on the side surface of the chassis frame via a pair of front and rear tank stays and is restrained and held by a fixing band. A breather hose is connected to each vent through an elbow pipe. Each breather hose is fitted through a branch pipe to an attachment hole at the upper end of the tank stay. The proximal end of the branch pipe has a clip structure, and can be easily fitted by simply inserting it into the mounting hole. On the side where the base end of the branch pipe is open at the upper end of the tank stay, a cover covering the upper and lower sides (open on the side) is provided to prevent rainwater from entering the base end of the branch pipe. It is designed to avoid sucking such as.

JP 2019-1435 A

In the breather device disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to attach the breather hose to the attachment hole of the tank stay, it is necessary to provide a branch pipe between the breather hose and the attachment hole of the tank stay, which increases the number of parts. There is a possibility that In order to reduce the number of parts, it is conceivable to directly insert the breather hose into the mounting hole of the tank stay. The end of the breather hose may contact the cover (breather cover) and the end opening of the breather hose may be blocked by the breather cover, so it is necessary to properly set the insertion length of the breather hose to the breather cover . For this reason, for example, marking a predetermined position on the breather hose and inserting the breather hose into the breather cover side to the marked position may complicate the work of inserting the breather hose into the breather cover side. have a nature.

Accordingly, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a breather cover that reduces the number of parts and allows easy insertion of a breather hose into the breather cover.

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a breather cover that is fixed to a vehicle body and covers the tip side of a breather hose extending from a fuel tank of the vehicle, comprising a hose insertion port and an inner peripheral surface of the cover. and a vent opening. The hose insertion opening opens to one side in a predetermined direction to allow insertion of the breather hose. The inner peripheral surface of the cover extends continuously from the hose insertion port to the other side in the predetermined direction to partition the internal space. The ventilation opening opens the interior space downward. The inner peripheral surface of the cover has two opposing surfaces that linearly extend from the hose insertion port to the other side and approach each other toward the other side. The distance between the ends of the two opposing surfaces on the other side is set shorter than the outer diameter of the breather hose. The internal space is composed of a hose insertion space on one side of the hose contact position where the tip of the breather hose inserted from the hose insertion port abuts on two opposing surfaces, and a hose insertion space on the other side of the hose contact position. and an insertion space. The ventilation opening communicates the hose non-insertion space in the interior space with the exterior space below.

In the above configuration, the inner circumferential surface of the cover continuously extending from the hose insertion port to the other side in the predetermined direction is two opposing surfaces that extend linearly from the hose insertion port to the other side and approach each other toward the other side. and the distance between the other ends of the two opposing surfaces is set to be shorter than the outer diameter of the breather hose. contacts two opposing surfaces at a predetermined position (hose contact position). In this way, the insertion length of the breather hose is defined by the contact between the tip of the breather hose and the two opposing surfaces of the breather cover. Unlike the case where the breather hose is inserted to the breather cover side to the position, it is only necessary to insert the breather hose to the position where the tip of the breather hose contacts the two opposing surfaces of the breather cover. The insertion work can be easily performed.

Also, since the breather hose is directly inserted into the breather cover, there is no need to provide another member between the breather cover and the breather hose. Therefore, the number of parts can be suppressed.

A second aspect of the present invention is the breather cover of the first aspect, comprising a fixed plate portion, a first plate portion, a second plate portion, and a third plate portion. The fixed plate portion is fixed to the mounting surface upright on the vehicle body side. The first plate portion extends in a direction away from the mounting surface by bending from an edge of the fixed plate portion that extends vertically along the mounting surface. The second plate portion faces the mounting surface by bending from the edge of the first plate portion in the direction away from the mounting surface in the direction opposite to the fixed plate portion. The third plate portion bends from the edge of the second plate portion on the side opposite to the first plate portion toward the surface to be attached and comes close to or contacts the surface to be attached. The first plate portion, the second plate portion, and the third plate portion define an internal space with the mounting surface. The hose insertion port is formed between the mounting surface and the upper edges of the first plate portion, the second plate portion, and the third plate portion. The ventilation opening is formed between the mounting surface and the lower edges of the first plate portion, the second plate portion, and the third plate portion. The two opposing surfaces are inner surfaces facing each other of the first plate portion and the third plate portion and extend continuously from the hose insertion port to the vent opening.

In the above configuration, the first plate portion extends away from the mounting surface, the second plate portion is bent from the edge of the first plate portion to face the mounting surface, and the third plate portion is the second plate. Bend from the edge of the part to the mounting surface side. That is, the first plate portion, the second plate portion, and the third plate portion are formed to have a U-shaped cross section extending in the vertical direction, and the open side of the U-shaped cross section is closed by the mounting surface on the vehicle body side. In this way, one side of the internal space is defined by the mounting surface on the vehicle body side. ), the material cost of the breather cover can be reduced.

In addition, the breather cover can be easily formed because it can be formed by bending a single plate.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and easily perform the work of inserting the breather hose into the breather cover side.

1 is a side view of a vehicle to which a breather cover according to one embodiment of the invention is applied; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the fuel tank of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is an external view of the breather cover fixed to the side member, viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction; 4 is an enlarged view of IV of FIG. 3; FIG. It is a perspective view of a breather cover. 3A and 3B are external views of the breather cover, in which (a) is viewed from outside in the vehicle width direction, (b) is viewed from above, and (c) is viewed from behind.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each figure, FR indicates the front of the vehicle, UP indicates the upper side, and IN indicates the inner side in the vehicle width direction. Further, in the following description, the front-rear direction means the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the left-right direction means the left-right direction when the vehicle faces forward.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 to which a breather cover 10 according to this embodiment is applied has a fuel tank 3 outside a body frame 2 in the vehicle width direction. The body frame 2 includes a pair of left and right side members 4 extending in the front-rear direction on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 1, and a plurality of crosses extending in the vehicle width direction between the left and right side members 4 and connecting the left and right side members 4 to each other. and members (not shown). Vehicle width direction outside surfaces (mounting surfaces) 4a of the left and right side members 4 stand upright on the outside of the vehicle body frame 2 in the vehicle width direction.

In the present embodiment, the fuel tank 3 is arranged outside the left side member 4 in the vehicle width direction, and is attached to the left side member 4 (hereinafter referred to as a simply referred to as "side member 4"). The fuel tank 3 is formed in a substantially box shape, and a breather device 7 for adjusting the internal pressure in the fuel tank 3 to be constant is attached to the upper surface 3a thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the breather device 7 is connected to one end 8a of a breather hose 8 that communicates the internal space and the external space of the fuel tank 3 with each other. The other end (tip) 8b of the breather hose 8 is inserted inside a breather cover 10 fixed to the vehicle width direction outer surface 4a of the side member 4 (on the vehicle body side). The breather hose 8 is fixed by a band clip 9 to the vehicle width direction outer surface 4 a of the side member 4 with the other end 8 b inserted inside the breather cover 10 . The opening of the other end 8 b of the breather hose 8 is opened downward while being inserted into the breather cover 10 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the breather cover 10 is a cover for covering the other end 8b of the breather hose 8 and preventing rainwater from entering the fuel tank 3 from the other end 8b of the breather hose 8. A fixing plate portion 11 fixed in surface contact with the vehicle width direction outer side surface 4 a of the side member 4 , and a cover main body portion 12 integrally formed with the fixing plate portion 11 and having a U-shaped cross section are provided. The fixed plate portion 11 is a plate portion that intersects with the vehicle width direction, has two vertically aligned bolt insertion holes 31, and is fixed to the side member 4 by bolts 13 that are inserted through the bolt insertion holes 31. be. A rear edge 15 of the fixed plate portion 11 extends vertically (vertically in this embodiment) along the vehicle width direction outer surface 4a of the side member 4 . The cover main body 12 is formed to have a U-shaped cross section that is open inward in the vehicle width direction and extends in the vertical direction, and defines an internal space 14 that extends in the vertical direction. The cover body portion 12 includes a front plate portion (first plate portion) 16 that bends from a rear edge 15 of the fixed plate portion 11 and extends outward in the vehicle width direction, and an outer edge 17 of the front plate portion 16 in the vehicle width direction. An outer plate portion (second plate portion) 18 that extends rearward by bending from the outer plate portion 18 and a rear plate portion (third plate portion) 20 that extends inward in the vehicle width direction by bending from a rear edge 19 of the outer plate portion 18 . Configured. The front plate portion 16 extends linearly in the vertical direction while being perpendicular to the vehicle width direction outer surface 4 a of the side member 4 . The outer plate portion 18 is arranged substantially parallel to the vehicle width direction outer surface 4a of the side member 4, and is spaced outward in the vehicle width direction from the vehicle width direction outer surface 4a of the side member 4. It faces the outer surface 4a. A rear edge 19 of the outer plate portion 18 extends linearly from above toward the lower front direction while being inclined with respect to the vertical direction. The rear plate portion 20 is perpendicular to the vehicle width direction outer surface 4a of the side member 4 and extends linearly downward and forward while being inclined with respect to the vertical direction. A vehicle width direction inner edge 21 of the rear plate portion 20 extends linearly along the vehicle width direction outer surface 4a of the side member 4 from above toward the lower front direction while being inclined with respect to the vertical direction. . That is, the open side (vehicle width direction inner side) of the U-shaped cross section of the cover body portion 12 is closed by the vehicle width direction outer side surface 4a of the side member 4, and the cover inner peripheral surface 24 of the cover body portion 12 is closed by the side member. An internal space 14 is defined between the inner space 14 and the outer side surface 4a in the vehicle width direction. The cover inner peripheral surface 24 of the cover body portion 12 includes a rear surface (opposing surface) 25 of the front plate portion 16 , an inner surface 26 of the outer plate portion 18 in the vehicle width direction, and a front surface (opposing surface) 27 of the rear plate portion 20 . Consists of The inner space 14 of the cover main body 12 has a diameter that decreases in the front-rear direction from the top to the bottom, is opened upward by an upper end opening (hose insertion port) 22 of the cover main body 12, and is opened upward by a lower end opening of the cover main body 12 ( It is opened downward by a ventilation opening 23 . That is, the upper end edge of the cover body portion 12 (the upper end edge of the front plate portion 16, the outer plate portion 18, and the rear plate portion 20) defines the upper end opening 22 between the outer side surface 4a of the side member 4 in the vehicle width direction. The lower edge of the cover main body 12 (the lower edge of the front plate 16, the outer plate 18, and the rear plate 20) defines a lower end opening 23 between the side member 4 and the outer side surface 4a of the side member 4 in the vehicle width direction. do. The distance L1 (see FIG. 6C) between the inner side surface 26 in the vehicle width direction of the outer plate portion 18 and the outer side surface 4a in the vehicle width direction of the side member 4 is greater than the outer diameter D of the breather hose 8 (see FIG. 4). too long. The rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 continuously extend from the upper end opening 22 to the lower end opening 23 and face each other, and are closer to each other from the top to the bottom. A separation distance L2 (see FIG. 4) between the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 at the upper end opening 22 of the cover body portion 12 is longer than the outer diameter D of the breather hose 8, and is longer than the outer diameter D of the cover body portion. A distance L3 (see FIG. 4 ) between the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 at the lower end opening 23 of 12 is shorter than the outer diameter D of the breather hose 8 . A separation distance L1 between the vehicle width direction inner side surface 26 of the outer plate portion 18 and the vehicle width direction outer side surface 4a of the side member 4 is longer than the outer diameter D of the breather hose 8, and at the upper end opening 22 of the cover body portion 12. Since the separation distance L2 between the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 is longer than the outer diameter D of the breather hose 8, the upper end opening 22 of the cover body portion 12 serves as a breather to the internal space 14. Allows insertion of hose 8.

When the breather hose 8 is inserted into the lower internal space 14 from the upper end opening 22 of the breather cover 10 fixed to the vehicle width direction outer surface 4 a of the side member 4 , the other end 8 b of the breather hose 8 is inserted into the upper end opening of the breather cover 10 . 22 and the lower end opening 23 (hereinafter referred to as "hose contact position 28"; the position indicated by the dashed line 28 in FIG. 4), the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the rear plate portion 20, and downward insertion is restricted up to the hose contact position 28. As shown in FIG. That is, the internal space 14 of the breather cover 10 has a hose insertion space 14a into which the breather hose 8 is inserted and a hose non-insertion space 14b into which the breather hose 8 is not inserted. The distance between the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 at the hose contact position 28 is approximately the same length as the outer diameter D of the breather hose 8 . The hose insertion space 14a is a space above (one side) the hose contact position 28 in the internal space 14 of the breather cover 10, and the hose non-insertion space 14b is below the hose contact position 28 (other side). side). The lower end opening 23 of the cover main body 12 communicates the hose non-insertion space 14b of the breather cover 10 with the lower external space 30, and opens the hose non-insertion space 14b downward. In this embodiment, with the breather hose 8 inserted into the breather cover 10 , the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 of the cover main body 12 linearly contacts the outer peripheral surface 29 of the breather hose 8 , and the cover main body 12 The front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 contacts the outer peripheral surface 29 of the breather hose 8 at the other end 8b of the breather hose 8 .

In the breather cover 10 configured as described above, the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 are closer to each other from the top to the bottom, and the front surface of the lower end opening 23 of the cover main body portion 12 is closed. A clearance L3 between the rear surface 25 of the plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 is shorter than the outer diameter D of the breather hose 8 . Therefore, when the breather hose 8 is inserted into the internal space 14 from the upper end opening 22 of the cover main body 12 , the tip 8 b of the breather hose 8 is positioned at the hose abutment position 28 so that the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface of the rear plate portion 20 . 27. In this manner, the contact between the tip 8b of the breather hose 8 and the two opposing surfaces of the breather cover 10 (the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20) prevents the breather hose 8 from being pushed to the breather cover 10. Since the insertion length L4 (see FIG. 4) is defined, for example, a predetermined position (position corresponding to the upper end opening 22) of the breather hose 8 is marked, and the breather hose 8 is moved to the position of the mark on the breather cover. Unlike the case where the breather hose is inserted to the 10 side, the breather hose is inserted to a position (hose contact position 28) where the tip 8b of the breather hose 8 contacts the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 of the breather cover 10 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 (hose contact position 28). 8 can be easily inserted into the breather cover 10 side.

Also, since the breather hose 8 is directly inserted into the breather cover 10 side, there is no need to provide another member (for example, another member for positioning) between the breather cover 10 and the breather hose 8 . Therefore, the number of parts can be suppressed.

The breather cover 10 has a cover main body portion 12 with a U-shaped cross section, and the open side of the U-shaped cross section is closed using the vehicle width direction outer surface 4 a of the side member 4 . In this manner, one side of the internal space 14 of the breather cover 10 (the inner side in the vehicle width direction in this embodiment) is defined by the outer side surface 4a of the side member 4 in the vehicle width direction. The material cost of the breather cover 10 can be reduced compared to the case of forming the breather cover 10 (where the inner plate portion or the like facing the outer plate portion 18 is provided in the breather cover 10).

Moreover, since it can be formed by bending one plate, the breather cover 10 can be formed easily.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced, and the operation of inserting the breather hose 8 into the breather cover 10 can be easily performed.

In this embodiment, the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 of the breather cover 10 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 are arranged so as to be close to each other from the upper end opening 22 to the lower end opening 23, but this is not limitative. not something. For example, the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 are arranged to be close to each other from the upper end opening 22 to a predetermined intermediate position below the hose contact position 28 and above the lower end opening 23 . However, the predetermined intermediate position to the lower end opening 23 may be arranged substantially parallel to each other, or may be spaced apart downward. In this case, the "two opposing surfaces" of the present invention are areas above the predetermined intermediate positions of both the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20. As shown in FIG.

Further, in this embodiment, the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 of the breather cover 10 is extended along the insertion direction of the breather hose 8 (hereinafter referred to as the "hose insertion direction"; in this embodiment, the vertical direction). Although the front surface 27 of the portion 20 is inclined with respect to the hose insertion direction, the present invention is not limited to this. 27 may extend along the direction of hose insertion. Alternatively, both the rear surface 25 of the front plate portion 16 and the front surface 27 of the rear plate portion 20 may be inclined with respect to the hose insertion direction.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the internal space 14 of the cover main body 12 of the breather cover 10 is vertically extended and the breather hose 8 is inserted into the internal space 14 from the upper end opening 22 of the breather cover 10, but this is not the only option. not a thing For example, the internal space 14 of the cover main body 12 of the breather cover 10 is extended in the front-rear direction (the direction intersecting the vertical direction), and the breather hose 8 is inserted from the opening (hose insertion port) on one side of the breather cover 10 in the front-rear direction. It may be inserted into space 14 . In this case, the opening on the other side in the front-rear direction of the cover body 12 of the breather cover 10 (opening corresponding to the lower end opening 23 according to the present embodiment) is closed, and the ventilation opening opens the hose non-insertion space 14b downward. may be provided in the cover main body 12, and the hose non-insertion space 14b and the lower external space 30 may communicate with each other through the ventilation opening.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cover main body 12 is composed of three plate portions 16, 18, 20 (the front plate portion 16, the outer plate portion 18, and the rear plate portion 20), but it is not limited to this. Instead, for example, in addition to the three plate portions 16, 18, and 20, an inner plate portion or the like facing the outer plate portion 18 may be provided, and the four plate portions may be configured in a cylindrical shape having a rectangular cross section. Alternatively, the cover main body portion 12 may be formed in a tubular shape having a circular cross-section having a tapered inner peripheral surface (inner peripheral surface of the cover) whose diameter decreases downward. Even if the cover main body portion 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section, the two opposing surfaces that extend from the hose insertion opening to the other side (downward in this embodiment) and face each other in the radial direction are the same as the hose insertion opening. They extend linearly downward from the mouth and come closer to each other as they go downward.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the contents of the above embodiments, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. In other words, all other embodiments, examples, operation techniques, etc. made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are naturally included in the scope of the present invention.

For example, the member for fixing the breather cover 10 is not limited to the side member 4, and the breather cover 10 is attached to a bracket (such as a bracket 5 for fixing the fuel tank 3) for fixing other members. May be fixed.

A breather cover according to the present disclosure can be widely applied to various vehicles.

1: Vehicle 3: Fuel tank 4: Side member 4a: Outer surface of side member in vehicle width direction (surface to be mounted)
8: Breather hose 8b: Other end (tip) of breather hose
10: Breather cover 11: Fixed plate portion 14: Internal space 14a: Hose insertion space 14b: Hose non-insertion space 16: Front plate portion (first plate portion)
18: Outer plate portion (second plate portion)
20: Rear plate portion (third plate portion)
22: Upper end opening (hose insertion port)
23: Lower end opening (ventilation opening)
24: Inner peripheral surface of cover 25: Rear surface (facing surface) of front plate portion
27: Front surface of rear plate (opposing surface)
30: External space

Claims (2)

A breather cover that is fixed to the vehicle body and covers the tip side of a breather hose extending from a fuel tank of the vehicle,
a hose insertion port that opens to one side in a predetermined direction and allows insertion of the breather hose;
an inner peripheral surface of the cover that extends continuously from the hose insertion port to the other side in the predetermined direction and defines an inner space;
a ventilation opening that opens the internal space downward,
The inner peripheral surface of the cover has two opposing surfaces that linearly extend from the hose insertion port to the other side and approach each other toward the other side,
The distance between the ends of the two opposing surfaces on the other side is set to be shorter than the outer diameter of the breather hose,
The internal space includes a hose insertion space on one side of the hose contact position where the tip of the breather hose inserted from the hose insertion port contacts the two opposing surfaces, and a hose insertion space on the one side of the hose contact position. and a hose non-insertion space on the other side,
A breather cover, wherein the ventilation opening communicates the hose non-insertion space of the internal space with an external space below. The breather cover according to claim 1,
a fixing plate portion fixed to the mounting surface standing upright on the vehicle body side;
a first plate portion that bends from an edge of the fixed plate portion that extends vertically along the mounting surface and extends in a direction away from the mounting surface;
a second plate portion facing the mounting surface by bending an edge of the first plate portion in a direction away from the mounting surface in a direction opposite to the fixing plate portion;
a third plate portion that bends from the edge of the second plate portion opposite to the first plate portion toward the mounting surface side to approach or contact the mounting surface;
The first plate portion, the second plate portion, and the third plate portion define the inner space with the mounting surface,
The hose insertion port is formed between the mounting surface and the mounting surface by upper edges of the first plate portion, the second plate portion, and the third plate portion,
The ventilation opening is formed between the mounting surface and the mounting surface by lower edges of the first plate portion, the second plate portion, and the third plate portion,
The breather cover, wherein the two opposing surfaces are inner surfaces of the first plate portion and the third plate portion that face each other, and extend continuously from the hose insertion opening to the ventilation opening.

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