JPH0686181B2 - Automotive fuel tank vapor discharge device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automotive fuel tank, and more particularly to a vapor discharge device for a fuel tank made of a resin material.

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of fuel tanks for automobiles, the vapor generated by the vapor pipe is stored in the tank so that the internal pressure of the tank will not rise and the fuel supply will be hindered by the generation of vapor, and the tank body will not be deformed. It is designed to be pulled out of the main body for processing.

This will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Reference numeral 21 denotes a tank body, and a separator 22 is arranged in an upper space S of the tank body 21. The bottom wall and the upper wall of the separator 22 are formed with communication holes 23, 24, and the sidewall has a vapor pipe that penetrates the side wall of the tank main body 21, specifically, the upper shell 21a and projects outside the tank main body 21. 25 is provided, and the vapor pipe 25 is connected to and connected to a canister (not shown). Both the separator 22 and the vapor pipe 25 are attached to the upper shell 21a via brackets 26 and 27 welded and fixed to the upper shell 21a. Being hugged by. 21b indicates Roacier. In this way, the tank book 21
By disposing the separator 22 in the inside and arranging the vapor pipe 25 projecting from the separator 22 to the outside of the tank main body, the generated vapor accumulated in the upper space S is
4 flows into the separator 22 and is pulled out of the tank body 21 by the vapor pipe 25. Even if the separator 22 is covered with fuel and the fuel flows into the separator 22 from the communication holes 23, 24 during cornering of the vehicle, sudden braking, sudden start, or climbing up and down, the fuel is discharged from the communication hole 23 of the lower wall. It is possible to prevent the fuel from flowing out of the tank body 21 as it is by draining the fuel. This similar structure is disclosed, for example, in JP-A-57-37016, JP-A-56-60625,
It is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-57218.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The tank body 21 is made of a metal panel.
It consists of Roasiel 21b, Atsupachiel 21a,
Before joining the Roasiel 21b, the separator 22,
By subassembling the vapor pipe 25 to the atpasier 21a, or with only the brackets 26 and 27 attached, the separator 22 and the vapor pipe 25 can be attached from the large-diameter working hole (not shown) formed in the atpasier 21a. It can be installed in the tank body 21 relatively easily.
However, in order to post-assemble the separator and the vapor pipe into the tank body blow molded with a resin material as in recent years, it is necessary to form a large-diameter working hole in the upper wall of the tank body. The required strength of can not be maintained.

Therefore, in the present invention, the separator and the vapor pipe can be arranged without deteriorating the strength of the resin tank main body, and moreover, the separator and the vapor pipe can be attached outside the tank main body to improve the assembling workability. A vapor discharge device for a vehicle fuel tank is provided.

Means for Solving Problems A separator receiving part and a bead part communicating with the separator receiving part are provided in an upper wall of a tank main body made of a resin material, and a separator communicating with an upper space of the tank main body and the separator are provided. A vapor pipe communicating with the separator is housed in the separator receiving portion and the bead portion outside the tank body, and is buried under the upper wall surface of the tank body.

Action Vapor generated in the upper space of the tank body is drained to the outside of the tank body via the separator and vapor pipe arranged outside the tank body.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a tank main body, and the tank main body 1 is blow-molded with an appropriate resin material. A separator receiving portion 2 is recessed on one side of the upper wall of the tank body 1, and a bead portion 3 communicating with the separator receiving portion 2 is recessed toward the other side. Separator mounting seats 4 are formed stepwise on a pair of opposed side portions of the separator receiving portion 2, and hook parts 5 are provided on the separator mounting seats 4 so as to project therefrom. Meanwhile, the bead part 3
Also, connectors 6 and 7 communicating with the upper space S of the tank body 1 are projectingly provided at arbitrary portions on the upper side wall of the tank body 1 on the side where the separator receiving portion 2 is formed.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a separator made of a resin material. A flange 9 is integrally formed on the peripheral side wall of the separator, and a mounting hole 10 is formed in the flange 9 corresponding to the separator mounting seat 4. Is housed in the separator receiving portion 2, the mounting hole 10 is engaged with the hook 5 and is fixedly placed on the separator mounting seat 4, and is buried under the upper wall surface of the tank body 1. A pair of connectors 11 and 12 communicating with the inside of the separator 8 are projectingly provided on an upper portion of one side wall of the separator 8 facing the bead portion 3, and a bottom portion of the separator 8 is provided on a lower side of the opposite side wall. A connector 13 communicating with the inside is provided in a protruding manner.

Then, the connectors 6 and 11 are connected by the first vapor pipe 14, the second vapor pipe 15 connected to the canister (not shown) is connected to the connector 12, and the first and second vapor pipes 14 and 15 are connected to the bead portion 3. It is stored and buried under the upper wall surface of the tank body 1. The connector 7 and the connector 13 are connected by a drain pipe 16.

According to the apparatus of the above embodiment, the upper space S of the tank body 1 is
The paper generated in the above flows into the separator 8 through the first vapor pipe 14 or the first vapor pipe 14 and the drain pipe 16, and is led out from the separator 8 through the second vapor pipe 15 to a canister (not shown) for processing. Even if the fuel in the tank body 1 moves and the fuel flows into the separator 8 through the drain pipe 16 or the first vapor pipe 14, the fuel is immediately returned into the tank body 1 by the drain pipe 16. Here, separator 8, first and second vapor pipes 14, 1
In both cases, the separator 5 can be mounted on the separator receiving portion 2 and the bead portion 3 outside the tank body 1, so that the assembling work can be performed very easily. Moreover, since the separator 8, the first and second vapor pipes 14 and 15 are arranged so as to be buried below the upper wall surface of the tank body 1 as described above, interference with or damage to other vehicle-mounted components is avoided. be able to. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the tank main body 1 can be disposed in contact with the lower surface of the vehicle body floor F by the belt clamp C, and the ground clearance of the tank main body 1 can be increased to avoid road surface interference more effectively. You can do it.

Although the connector 7 is projected on the upper side wall of the tank body 1 in the above embodiment, it is projected on the concave bottom of the separator receiving part 2 and is connected to the connector 13 of the separator 8 by the drain hose. It is also possible to prevent any of the drain hoses from protruding outside the tank body.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a separator 8A made of a resin material.
On the upper wall, a connector (17) is projected, while on the lower wall, a drain pipe (18) also serving as a vapor pipe is projected in one direction.

Also, on the lower side of the flange 9A on one side wall of this separator 8A,
In addition, a communication hole 19 is formed in the upper portion near the flange 9A. On the other hand, an opening 20 somewhat larger than the outer shape of the separator 8A is formed in the bottom of the separator receiving portion 2A formed on the upper wall of the tank body 1A. The separator 8A has a drain pipe 18 and a flange 9A, and the lower half of the separator 8A is inserted into the opening 20 and stored in the separator receiving portion 2A.
The entire circumference of 9A is fixed onto the peripheral portion of the opening 20 by welding or bonding, and the separator 8A is embedded and arranged below the upper wall surface of the tank body 1A. Further, the vapor pipe 15 connected to a canister (not shown) is connected to the connector 17, and the vapor pipe 15 is stored in the bead portion 3A on the upper wall of the tank body 1A,
It is buried below the upper wall of 1A.

In this embodiment, the paper generated in the upper space S of the tank body 1A has a communication hole through the gap between the separator 8A and the edge of the opening 20.
Or through the communication hole 19 and the drain pipe 18
Through the vapor pipe 15 to the canister (not shown) and processed. Tank body 1A
Even if the fuel inside moves and flows into the separator 8A through the drain pipe 18 or the communication hole 19, it is immediately returned to the inside of the tank body 1A by the drain pipe 18. Here, according to the present embodiment, as in the case of the above-described embodiments, the tank main body 1A can be disposed in contact with the lower surface of the vehicle body floor F by the belt clamp C, and the vapor introduction into the separator 8A and the fuel can be performed. Can be drained inside the tank main body 1A, and there is no need for biping to connect the tank main body 1A and the separator 8A, which makes piping work extremely easy and also improves safety. . Also,
Although an opening 20 is formed in the separator receiving portion 2A for assembling the separator 8A, the opening 20 has a relatively small opening area such that the substantially lower half of the separator 8A can be inserted, and the opening Flange 9A of separator 8A around 20
Since the entire circumference is reinforced by welding or adhesion, the strength of the tank body 1A does not decrease.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, since the separator and the vapor pipe are both housed in the separator receiving portion and the bead portion which are recessed in the upper wall of the tank body, the assembly of the separator and the vapor pipe is performed. It can be performed outside the tank body to significantly improve workability. Moreover, unlike the case where a separator or vapor pipe is built in the tank body, it is not necessary to open a large-diameter work hole in the tank body upper wall. It does not slightly reduce the strength of the tank made. Also, since both the separator and vapor pipe are buried under the upper wall of the tank body, even if these separator and paper pipe are installed outside the tank body, they are protected from interference with other functional parts and chipping. It is possible to obtain the same security as the tank built-in type. Moreover, since there is no protrusion on the top wall of the tank body, belt mounting is possible with the tank body in contact with the bottom surface of the vehicle body floor, which can improve the mounting work of the tank body. The ground clearance can be increased as much as possible, and the road surface interference of the tank body can be more effectively avoided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a separation perspective view showing a different example of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional device. 1,1A …… Tank body, 2,2A …… Separator receiving part, 3,3A
…… Bead part, 8,8A …… Separator, 14,15 …… vapor pipe, S …… Upper space.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A separator receiving portion and a bead portion communicating with the separator receiving portion are provided in an upper wall of a tank main body made of a resin material, and the separator communicates with an upper space of the tank main body and the separator. A vapor discharging device for a fuel tank for an automobile, characterized in that the vapor pipe is housed in the separator receiving portion and the bead portion outside the tank body, and is buried under the upper wall surface of the tank body.