JP6115341B2 - Vehicle fuel tank - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle fuel tank including a fuel pump.

  A metal pump support is joined to the inner surface of the fuel tank, and a fuel pump for supplying fuel to the engine is disposed on the pump support. The fuel pump includes an urging means such as a spring that can be vertically expanded and contracted, and the surface of the fuel pump is always pressed against the inner surface of the fuel tank via the pump support. This prevents the fuel pump from directly contacting and rubbing the inner surface of the fuel tank, while allowing the fuel pump to follow the deformation due to the internal pressure fluctuation of the fuel tank and the fuel's own weight, so that the fuel can be sucked out reliably. Yes.

  Regarding this type of fuel tank, the present inventor has applied for an invention according to Patent Document 1 on December 21, 2010. In the invention disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a pump support is joined to a raised portion (the raised portion 112 in Patent Literature 1) that protrudes inside the fuel tank. Thereby, the rigidity of a fuel tank can be improved and it can suppress that a high stress arises in the location which spot-welded the pump support. Further, when the fuel tank is placed, it is possible to prevent the spot-welded portion from being rubbed and peeled off. As exemplified in Patent Document 1, a conventional pump support (support member) has a hat-shaped cross section (pulse wave shape).

JP 2012-131368 A

  Recently, further cost reduction is required, and further improvement is desired.

  In addition, the steel plate pump support has burrs when it is punched out with a press. Conventionally, the burred surface is the non-joint surface (the surface opposite to the joint surface) and is joined to the inner surface of the fuel tank. It was. This is because if the surface on which the burrs are generated is used as a bonding surface, a gap may be formed between the inner surface of the fuel tank and a bonding failure may occur. Further, the inner surface of the fuel tank is in contact with the burrs and rubbed to prevent the rust-proof plating on the inner surface from peeling off. However, in this case, the fuel pump pressed against the non-joint surface is always in contact with the burr. For this reason, the pressed surface of the resin fuel pump is rubbed due to the vibration of the vehicle or the drive of the fuel pump, and the fine powder generated by the rubbing may cause clogging of the fuel pump filter (fuel filter). It was.

  It should be noted that the burr of the steel plate can be removed by cutting or the like. However, in that case, the cost increases significantly due to processing costs and the like. In addition, the size of the pump support can be made larger than the surface to which the fuel pump is pressed, so that the fuel pump does not come into contact with the burr generated at the outer peripheral end of the pump support. However, in that case, the cost and weight increase significantly due to the increase in size of the pump support.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular fuel tank with improved product quality while achieving further cost reduction.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a typical configuration of the present invention includes a fuel tank for a vehicle, and a fuel pump that is inserted into the fuel tank and pumps fuel from the fuel tank, and an inner surface of the fuel tank. A metal pump support that supports one end of the inserted fuel pump, and the pump support is folded back to the inside of the base from both ends of the base, to which the one end of the fuel pump is pressed. It has an extending base part and two folded parts spaced apart, and the folded part is joined to the inner surface of the fuel tank.

  According to such a configuration, the shape of the pump support can be made smaller than the conventional pump support having a hat-shaped cross section. Thereby, the size of the inner surface of the fuel tank to which the pump support is joined, that is, the size of the seat surface can be reduced, and the degree of freedom of the shape of the fuel tank can be increased.

  The said base part is good to have a hole for letting a spot welding gun pass in the part facing the said folding | returning part.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to perform spot welding through the spot welding gun through the hole formed in the base, and it is possible to avoid complication of the manufacturing / assembly process. In addition, the hole can have a role of positioning the spot welded portion of the pump support. Further, such holes contribute to weight reduction.

  The pump support is made of a metal plate subjected to press punching, and a surface on which burrs are generated by press punching may be an inner surface.

  According to such a configuration, the burr generated when the steel plate is punched with a press does not contact the inner surface of the fuel tank or the fuel pump. Therefore, rubbing with the burr can be prevented, and the product quality and quality of the fuel tank can be improved. Further, since it is not necessary to remove burrs, an increase in cost can be suppressed. Moreover, since it can be set as the state which does not contact a burr | flash without increasing the magnitude | size of a pump support, the increase in cost and weight can be suppressed.

  The portion where the folded portion is joined to the inner surface of the fuel tank may be within a range in which a region of the base portion where one end of the fuel pump is pressed is projected onto the inner surface of the fuel tank.

  According to such a configuration, since the respective spot weld locations are close to each other, it is possible to improve the surface rigidity of the inner surface of the fuel tank, that is, the seat surface, to which the pump support is joined. In addition, the stress on the spot welding location due to the force with which the fuel pump is pressed can be made compressive by eliminating the shear stress component. Therefore, the durability of spot welding can be improved.

  The base portion may be a rectangular flat plate, and the length of each side of the base portion may be smaller than the diameter of the substantially circular surface of the fuel pump pressed against the base portion.

  According to such a configuration, the shape of the pump support can be significantly reduced as compared with the conventional pump support having a hat-shaped cross section.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the fuel tank for vehicles which improved the productability, achieving the further reduction of cost can be provided.

It is a perspective view of the fuel tank for vehicles concerning this embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of the tank main body of the fuel tank for vehicles of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the fuel pump of the vehicle fuel tank of FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a figure which shows the pump support of FIG. It is a figure which shows the pump support concerning a comparative example. It is a figure which compares the magnitude | size of the pump support of FIG. 5, and the magnitude | size of the pump support of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the pump support of FIG. 5 is spot-welded. It is a figure which compares the magnitude | size of the bottom face of the pump support of FIG. 5, and a fuel pump.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle fuel tank (hereinafter simply referred to as “fuel tank 100”) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel tank 100 includes a tank body 102 made of a steel plate and a fuel pump 104 that is inserted into the tank body 102 and pumps fuel from the tank body 102. The fuel tank 100 is a fuel tank for automobiles, in particular, four-wheeled vehicles, and is installed, for example, at the bottom of the four-wheeled vehicle.

  FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tank body 102 of the fuel tank 100 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the tank body 102 includes an upper panel 106 that constitutes the upper side thereof and a lower panel 108 that constitutes the lower side thereof, and these flanges are joined together by seam welding or the like.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the fuel pump 104 of the fuel tank 100 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel pump 104 is inserted into the tank body 102 through an opening 110 formed in the upper panel 106 and assembled to the upper panel 106.

  4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the fuel tank 100 is a so-called sub-tankless fuel tank, and one end, that is, the bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104 is placed on the inner surface of the tank body 100, that is, the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108 by a biasing means such as a spring. It is energized towards.

  Here, when the bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104 comes into direct contact with the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108, the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108 is rubbed. Therefore, a steel plate pump support 116 is disposed between them. . The bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104 is pressed against the pump support 116. In other words, the pump support 116 supports the bottom surface 112 of the inserted fuel pump 104. Thus, the fuel pump 104 can follow the deformation due to the internal pressure fluctuation of the tank main body 102 and the own weight of the fuel while preventing the rubbing of the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108 so that the fuel can be sucked out reliably.

  FIG. 5 shows the pump support 116 of FIG. FIG. 5A is a schematic view of the pump support 116 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the side, and FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the pump support 116.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the steel plate pump support 116 is formed by press punching (peripheral cutting, drilling) and the outer peripheral ends and holes 118, 120, 122, 124 (FIG. 5 (b)). Burr 126 is produced at the edge of the reference. When the burr 126 is removed by cutting or the like, the cost is significantly increased due to processing costs or the like.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing a pump support 216 according to a comparative example. 6A and 6B are views corresponding to FIG. 5A of the pump support 216, and FIG. 6C is a perspective view of the pump support 216.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the pump support 216 according to the comparative example is also made of a steel plate, and the outer peripheral end and the holes 218, 220, Burrs 226 are generated at the edges of 222 and 224 (see FIG. 6C). Hereinafter, the pump support 216 and the pump support 116 of the present embodiment will be described in comparison.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, in the pump support 216 according to the comparative example, if the surface where the burr 226 is generated is the bonding surface (lower side), a gap is generated between the bottom surface 214 of the lower panel 208 and the bonding is poor. Can happen. Further, the burr 226 may come into contact with the bottom surface 214 of the lower panel 208, and the rust prevention treatment (plating) of the lower panel 208 may be rubbed and peeled off.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the surface where the burr 226 is generated is a non-joint surface (upper side), the bottom surface 212 of the fuel pump 204 pressed against the non-joint surface is always in contact with the burr 226. It becomes. Therefore, the resin bottom surface 212 of the fuel pump 204 is rubbed due to the vibration of the vehicle or the driving of the fuel pump 204, and the fine powder generated by the rubbing may cause clogging of the filter (fuel filter) of the fuel pump 204. .

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6C, the pump support 216 having a hat-shaped cross section (pulse wave shape) has a significant increase in cost (addition of cost to the product price) if all the burr 226 is removed. Inevitably, there is a problem that good product quality cannot be obtained unless the burr 226 is cut off. Further, if the pump support 216 is enlarged and the holes 218, 220, 222, and 224 are eliminated so that the bottom surface 212 of the fuel pump 204 does not come into contact with the burr 226, the cost and weight are significantly increased. .

  On the other hand, the pump support 116 according to the present embodiment has a substantially “C” cross section, and as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), a flat plate shape against which the bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104 is pressed. Base part 128 and two folding parts 130 and 132. The folded portions 130 and 132 of the pump support 116 are formed by folding both ends of a steel plate punched out by a press inward with a gap from the base portion 128. That is, the folded portions 130 and 132 extend from both ends of the base portion 128 so as to be folded back inside the base portion 128, and are spaced apart from the base portion 128.

  By setting it as this structure, the surface located inside can be made into the surface which produced the burr | flash 126 by press punching. Therefore, according to the pump support 116 according to the present embodiment, the burr 126 does not come into contact with either the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108 or the bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104 without removing the burr 126, and the product of the fuel tank 100. The quality and quality can be improved. Further, the burr 126 can be prevented from contacting the bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104 without increasing the size of the pump support 116 or eliminating the holes 118, 120, 122, 124. Therefore, the product quality and quality of the fuel tank 100 can be improved.

  In addition, since the folding | returning parts 130 and 132 are folded inward and spaced apart from the base part 128, even if the bottom face 112 of the fuel pump 104 is pressed, the burr | flash 126 by the side of the joining surface of the base part 128 is shown. Does not come into contact with the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108. The base portion 128 is a non-folded rectangular flat plate portion to which the fuel pump 104 is pressed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram comparing the size of the pump support 116 of FIG. 5 with the size of the pump support 216 of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a case where the size of the rectangular flat base 128 is made equal between the pump support 116 and the pump support 216. In FIG. 7, the pump support 116 of FIG. 5 is illustrated by a solid line, and the contour of the pump support 216 of FIG. 6 is illustrated by a virtual line.

  As shown in FIG. 7, according to the pump support 116 according to the present embodiment, the shape of the pump support 116 can be made smaller than that of the pump support 216 having a hat-shaped cross section. Specifically, the outer diameter dimension of the pump support 216 according to the comparative example is the length L1, but the outer diameter dimension of the pump support 116 according to the present embodiment can be the length L2.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the size of the bottom surface 114, that is, the seating surface of the lower panel 108 to which the pump support 116 is joined can be reduced by reducing the pump support 116 (see FIG. 2). The degree of freedom of the shape 108 can be increased.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the base portion 128 has holes 118, 120, 122, and 124 in portions facing the folded portions 130 and 132. In the present embodiment, four holes 118, 120, 122, and 124 are formed. However, this is merely an example, and the number of holes can be arbitrarily set.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing how the pump support 116 is spot welded. As shown in FIG. 8, according to this configuration, spot welding can be performed through the spot welding gun 134 to the holes 118, 120, 122, 124 formed in the base portion 128, thereby avoiding complicated manufacturing and assembly processes. can do.

  Further, the holes 118, 120, 122, and 124 can have a role of aligning spot welded portions 136 (see FIG. 9 and the like, and representatively, one is assigned) of the pump support 116. That is, without the holes 118, 120, 122, and 124, it is difficult to align which position of the folded portions 130 and 132 should be spot welded, but the hole is directly above the position of the folded portions 130 and 132 where spot welding is to be performed. By forming 118, 120, 122, 124, spot welding can be performed at that position. Further, the holes 118, 120, 122, 124 contribute to weight reduction of the pump support 116.

  FIG. 9 is a view for comparing the sizes of the pump support 116 and the bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104, and is a view of the pump support 116 as viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 9, in this embodiment, the diameter of the substantially circular bottom surface 112 (illustrated by phantom lines) of the fuel pump 104 in which the lengths L <b> 2 and L <b> 3 of the respective sides of the base portion 128 are pressed against the base portion 128. It is formed smaller than R1. According to such a configuration, the shape of the pump support 116 can be significantly reduced.

  Further, in this embodiment, the spot welded spot 136 (represented by one symbol) where the folded portions 130 and 132 are joined to the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108 is pressed by the bottom surface 112 of the fuel pump 104 in the base portion 128. The area to be applied is set so as to be within a range projected on the bottom surface 114 of the lower panel 108 (within a circle of the bottom surface 112 illustrated by a virtual line).

  Thereby, since each spot welding location 136 becomes a mutually close position, the surface rigidity of the bottom face 114 of the lower panel 108 with which the pump support 116 was joined, ie, a seat surface, can be improved. Further, the stress on the spot welded portion 136 due to the force with which the fuel pump 104 is pressed can be made a compressive stress by eliminating the shear stress component. Therefore, the durability of spot welding can be improved.

  The pump support 116 may be entirely within the projected range so that the shape of the pump support can be further reduced to reduce cost and weight.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this example. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  The present invention can be used for a vehicle fuel tank including a fuel pump.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Fuel tank, 102 ... Tank main body, 104 ... Fuel pump, 106 ... Upper panel, 108 ... Lower panel, 110 ... Opening part, 112 ... Bottom face of fuel pump, 114 ... Bottom face of lower panel, 116 ... Pump support, 118, 120, 122, 124 ... hole, 126 ... burr, 128 ... base, 130, 132 ... turn-up part, 134 ... spot welding gun, 136 ... spot welding point, 204 ... fuel pump, 208 ... lower panel, 212 ... bottom of fuel pump, 214 ... Bottom of lower panel, 216 ... Pump support, 218, 220, 222, 224 ... Hole, 226 ... Burr

Claims (5)

In vehicle fuel tanks,
A fuel pump that is inserted into the fuel tank and draws fuel from the fuel tank;
A metal pump support joined to the inner surface of the fuel tank and supporting one end of the inserted fuel pump;
The pump support includes a flat plate-like base portion to which one end of the fuel pump is pressed, and two folded portions extending from both ends of the base portion so as to be folded inside the base portion and spaced apart from the base portion. A vehicle fuel tank, wherein the folded portion is joined to an inner surface of the fuel tank.   The vehicle fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the base has a hole through which a spot welding gun is passed in a portion facing the folded portion.   The vehicle fuel tank according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pump support is made of a metal plate that has been subjected to a press punching process, and a surface on which a burr is generated by the press punching process is an inner surface. .   The portion where the folded portion is joined to the inner surface of the fuel tank is in a range where a region of the base portion where one end of the fuel pump is pressed is projected onto the inner surface of the fuel tank. The fuel tank for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   5. The base according to claim 1, wherein the base has a rectangular flat plate shape, and a length of each side of the base is smaller than a diameter of a substantially circular surface of the fuel pump pressed against the base. The vehicle fuel tank according to any one of the preceding claims.

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