JPH08127256A - Fuel tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a fuel tank which can seal an oil feed gun in a seal part of an annular seal member, and which can prevent interference between the oil feed gun and the annular seal member during insertion of the gun. CONSTITUTION: A protecting cylinder 30 is fixed to a fuel filler pipe body 3, and an annular protecting spring 32 having a leg part is provided to the front end of the protecting cylinder 30. An annular cylinder member 40 is made into close contact with the leg part of the spring 32, and is retracted toward a seal position by an insertion force of the oil feed gun FG trough the intermediary of a movable retainer 50. The protecting spring 32 enlarges its diameter so that the leg part thereof make contact with the outer periphery of the oil feed gun FG every time when the oil feed gun FG is inserted, thereby it is possible to prevent presence of any gap between the leg part and the oil feed gun FG.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fuel tank in an automobile or the like, and more particularly to a mechanism for preventing fuel vapor from being released into the atmosphere during refueling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art From the standpoints of preventing air pollution and improving the working environment, in order to prevent the release of fuel vapor into the atmosphere during refueling of fuel, the inner wall of the fuel injection pipe main body,
It has been proposed to assemble an annular seal member that seals with the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun. However, simply assembling the annular seal member is not desirable because the annular seal member may interfere with the tip of the fuel gun when the fuel gun is inserted.

In order to solve these problems, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
There is a technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10634. That is, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a main part of the fuel injection pipe main body 102. As shown in FIG. 7, a protective cylinder 104 is fixed inside the fuel injection pipe body 102.
A reduced diameter step portion 104a is provided inside 04. An annular seal member 106 is detachably attached to the inner surface of the reduced diameter step portion 104a. One end of the annular seal member 106 is fixed to the moving retainer 108, and the moving retainer 108, as shown in FIG.
Is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the
It is provided so as to be movable in the direction of arrow a against the spring force of the spring 112.

Therefore, when refueling gun FG is inserted during refueling, movable retainer 108 moves in the direction of arrow a via drive cam 110 on the outer peripheral surface of refueling gun FG. By the movement of the moving retainer 108, the annular seal member 1
06 separates from the reduced diameter step portion 104a and seals the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG. When the refueling gun FG is removed at the end of refueling, the annular seal member 106 is brought into close contact with the reduced diameter stepped portion 104a as the movable retainer 108 moves due to the urging force of the spring 112. Thereby, the annular seal member 10
6 is protected by the reduced diameter step portion 104a when the refueling gun FG is inserted.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, when the fuel gun FG is pulled out, the inner peripheral edge portion 106a of the annular seal member 106 is subjected to a frictional force with the fuel gun FG as shown in FIG. The fuel gun FG and the annular seal member 10 that enter the gap S between the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG and the reduced diameter step portion 104a to make it difficult to pull the fuel gun FG.
There is a problem that interference with the inner peripheral edge portion 106a of No. 6 may occur.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and includes an annular seal member for preventing the release of fuel vapor into the atmosphere during refueling, and the refueling gun serves as the annular seal member. On the other hand, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel tank that smoothly comes out and there is no risk that the fuel gun and the annular seal member interfere with each other.

[0007]

The present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, is arranged in a fuel injection pipe and seals the outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection gun when the fuel injection gun is inserted into the fuel injection pipe. An annular seal member having a sealing surface and an insertion hole fixed in the fuel injection pipe and having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer shape of the fuel gun, and the annular seal member being in close contact with the inner seal surface of the annular seal member. A position where the outer peripheral surface of the annular seal member is fixed and the sealing surface of the annular seal member is separated from the protective cylinder by the insertion force of the fuel gun to seal the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun. And a moving mechanism that moves the insert hole. The protective cylinder is formed of an annular spring capable of expanding the diameter of the insertion hole.

[0008]

When the refueling gun is inserted into the fuel injection pipe at the time of refueling, the sealing surface of the annular seal member is separated from the protective cylinder through the moving mechanism that receives the insertion force of the refueling gun and the outer periphery of the refueling gun. Seal the surface, while removing the refueling gun,
The sealing surface is returned to the original state in which it is in close contact with the protective cylinder.
The protective cylinder is an annular spring that can be expanded in diameter.
Moreover, since the inner diameter of the insertion hole is formed slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the fuel gun, the fuel gun is guided in a state of being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun. Therefore, a part of the seal surface of the annular seal member is inserted between the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun and the insertion hole to increase the resistance force when the fuel gun is pulled out. There is no risk of interference.

[0009]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in order to further clarify the structure and operation of the present invention described above.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a fuel injection pipe main body 20 connected to an upper portion of a fuel tank of a vehicle and various devices provided in the fuel injection pipe main body 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel injection pipe body 20 includes a fuel cap (not shown).
Has a refueling inlet 21 that can be attached and detached. A fuel cap is removed from the fuel refueling gun FG (see FIG. 2) to insert fuel into the fuel tank. is there.

A protective cylinder 30 is fixed to the inner wall surface of the fuel injection pipe body 20, and a protective spring 32 is fixed to the tip of the protective cylinder 30. The protective cylinder body 30 and the protective spring 32 guide the refueling gun FG inserted with the fuel cap removed.

The protective cylinder 30 is the fuel injection pipe body 20.
The protective base portion 30a fixed to the
As shown in FIG. 3, a diameter-reduced step portion 30b having a diameter reduced in the direction of arrow a is provided on the inner side of a. The protection spring 32 is fixed to the outer surface of the reduced diameter step portion 30b. As shown in FIG. 5, the protective spring 32 has an insertion hole 32a having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the fuel gun FG.
32c branched from a spring base 32b having a plurality of legs
have. The leg portion 32c is an annular spring that elastically deforms so as to radially expand from the center when the refueling gun FG is inserted into the insertion hole 32a, and the tip end portion of the leg portion 32c serves to relieve the refueling gun FG. The bent portion 32d is bent so that it can be smoothly slid and inserted.

Further, on the peripheral surface of the protection spring 32, an annular seal member 40 shown in FIG. 3 is arranged so as to be attachable / detachable by being moved in the directions of arrows a and b by a moving retainer 50. The annular seal member 40 is a member that plays a role of sealing by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG, and as shown in FIG. 6, is integrally formed with the seal base 40a and the inner peripheral edge side of the seal base 40a. And through hole 4
And a seal portion 40c having 0b. The seal portion 40c is a lubricating surface that is slippery with respect to the fueling gun FG, and is protected by being attached to and detached from the leg portion 32c of the protective spring 32.

As a method of using the seal portion 40c as a lubricating surface, for example, a step of applying a lubricant after plasma treatment can be adopted. That is, a rubber molded body for forming the annular seal member 40 is formed of a rubber material, which is vulcanized and then placed in a vacuum processing apparatus and subjected to low temperature plasma processing. Thereby, the sealing surface of the rubber molded body is roughened in a micro state. Then, a lubricant is applied to the sealing surface of the rubber molding. Since the sealing surface of the lubricant is roughened, the lubricant easily adheres and is hard to fall off.

Here, as the rubber material, a butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer (NBR, H-NBR) which is a butadiene rubber having gasoline resistance, and a vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer which is a fluorine compound rubber are used. (FKM), fluorosilicone, etc. can be used to smoothly insert the refueling gun FG as a lubricant.
In addition, various materials can be applied as long as they have gasoline resistance, and for example, silicone grease or the like can be used.

As the lubricant, a solid lubricant, for example, fine powder of molybdenum disulfide, graphite, polytetrafluoroethylene or the like may be applied.

Further, the seal portion 40 of the annular seal member 40
In order to provide lubricity to c, the seal portion 40c is exposed to a carbon tetrafluoride gas atmosphere and plasma treatment is performed to form fluorine (F) bonds on the surface of the rubber material to improve lubricity. Furthermore, by applying a lubricant, it is possible to improve the lubricity as well as the retention of the lubricant.

A moving retainer 50 that supports one end of the annular seal member 40 shown in FIG. 3 and moves in the directions of arrows a and b.
Includes a support base 51 that is guided by a guide member (not shown) attached to the inner peripheral portion of the fuel injection pipe body 20, and a coil spring 52 that urges the support base 51 in the arrow directions a and b. ing. The support base 51 has a cylindrical tubular portion 5
The seal base 4 of the annular seal member 40 is provided at both ends of 1a.
A fixing portion 51b for fixing 0a and a flange portion 51c bent to the inner peripheral side are provided.

On the other hand, the coil spring 52 serves as the drive plate holding leg 5.
One end is supported by 5 (FIG. 1), and the other end urges the fixed portion 51b of the movable retainer 50 to apply an urging force to the movable retainer 50 in the arrow direction a. The drive plate holding leg 55 is the tubular portion 5 of the movable retainer 50.
It is fixed to the inner wall of the fuel injection pipe main body 20 by penetrating through a movement guide elongated hole (not shown) formed in 1a.

An egg-shaped cam 60 is rotatably supported by a cam shaft 61 at the tip of the drive plate holding leg 55. The cam 60 moves the movable retainer 50. That is, when the refueling gun FG is inserted, when the cam 60 interferes with the outer peripheral surface of the refueling gun FG and rotates forward, it interferes with the flange portion 51c of the movable retainer 50, Moving retainer 50
Is moved in the direction of arrow a against the biasing force of the coil spring 52, and when the refueling gun FG is disengaged, the coil spring 52
The moving retainer 50 is configured to return to its original position by the urging force of.

Returning to FIG. 1, a protective set hole 30c is formed in the outer peripheral portion of the protective cylinder 30, and a pressing member 71 is fitted and held in the protective set hole 30c. The pressing member 71 is moved by the pressing force of the fuel cap when the fuel cap is attached to the inlet 21.
0 is moved to separate the annular seal member 40 from the protective spring 32, whereby the annular seal member 4 is moved.
It prevents the settling of 0 over time.

An opening 22a is formed in the partition wall 22 of the fuel injection pipe body 20, and the opening 22a is formed.
An opening / closing lid 80 having a positive pressure valve 81 is provided in the. An overflow valve 82 is provided on the outer periphery of the moving retainer 50. The positive pressure valve 81 and the overflow valve 82 are opened to protect the fuel tank when the pressure in the fuel tank becomes high.

Next, a series of operations for refueling the fuel tank with the refueling gun FG will be described. Now, remove the fuel cap from the inlet 21 and insert the refueling gun FG into the inlet 2
When it is inserted into No. 1, the fueling gun FG expands the diameter of the protection spring 32 in the radial direction and enters the protection gun 32 in the direction of arrow a while being guided by the protection spring 32. When the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG pushes the cam 60, the cam 60 rotates about the cam shaft 61 in the arrow direction c (see FIG. 3). By the rotation of the cam 60, the moving retainer 50 is pushed by the flange portion 51c and moves in the arrow direction a against the biasing force of the coil spring 52.
The annular seal member 4 is integrated with the movement of the movable retainer 50.
While 0 is separated from the protective spring 32, the seal portion 40c closely contacts and seals the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG. And
The insertion work of the fuel gun FG is completed with the opening / closing lid 80 pushed open by the tip of the fuel gun FG.

In this state, when fuel is supplied by the fuel gun FG, the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG is sealed by the annular seal member 40. Is not released into the atmosphere through the inlet 21.

When the fuel gun FG is pulled out after the refueling is finished, the fuel gun FG releases the pressing force of the opening / closing lid 80 and closes, and further the sealing portion 40c of the annular seal member 40.
Move while sliding against. At the same time, the cam 60 rotates in the opposite direction and returns to its original position by the biasing force of the coil spring 52. As a result, the annular seal member 40 returns to the state in which it is in close contact with the protective spring 32. And refueling gun F
When G separates from the protective spring 32, the protective spring 32 contracts to its original state.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, when the fuel gun FG is inserted into or removed from the fuel injection pipe body 20 during refueling, the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG contacts the seal portion 40c of the annular seal member 40. To do. Annular seal member 40
In the seal portion 40c of the above, since the lubrication surface having a smaller friction coefficient than the surface formed of the main component of the rubber forming the annular seal member 40 is formed, the refueling gun FG is sealed by the seal portion 40c.
It can be slid against c and inserted or removed smoothly.

Further, the protection spring 32 fixed to the tip of the protection cylinder 30 is a ring-shaped spring and can be expanded in diameter.
Moreover, since the inner diameter of the insertion hole 32a is formed slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the fuel gun, the fuel gun FG is guided in a state of being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG. Therefore, between the outer peripheral surface of the fuel gun FG and the insertion hole 32a,
There is no possibility that interference will occur between the oil supply gun FG and the annular seal member 40 such that a part of the seal portion 40c of the annular seal member 40 enters and increases the resistance force when the oil supply gun FG is pulled out.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0029]

As described above, according to the fuel tank of the present invention, the annular sealing member having the sealing surface for sealing the outer peripheral surface of the fueling gun is provided, and the sealing surface of the annular sealing member is protected. By forming the tubular body with an annular spring, the refueling gun is guided in a state in which it is in close contact with the insertion hole of the protective tubular body, so part of the sealing surface of the annular seal member enters between them and the refueling gun is pulled out. There is also no risk of interfering with the annular seal member, which would increase the resistance force at the time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a fuel injection pipe main body 20 of a fuel tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a fuel gun FG is inserted from the state of FIG.

3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an annular seal member 40 and its peripheral portion in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the annular seal member and its peripheral portion in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a protection spring 32.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an annular seal member 40.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional fuel injection pipe body 102.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a fuel gun FG is inserted from the state of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 ... Fuel injection pipe main body 21 ... Injection port 22 ... Partition wall 22a ... Opening portion 30 ... Protective cylinder body 30a ... Protective base portion 30b ... Reduced diameter step portion 30c ... Protective setting hole 32 ... Protective spring 32a ... Insertion hole 32b ... Spring base portion Reference numeral 32c ... Leg portion 32d ... Bent portion 40 ... Annular sealing member 40a ... Seal base portion 40b ... Through hole 40c ... Seal portion 50 ... Moving retainer 51 ... Support base portion 51a ... Cylindrical portion 51b ... Fixed portion 51c ... Flange portion 52 ... Coil Spring 55 ... Drive plate holding leg 60 ... Cam 61 ... Cam shaft 71 ... Pressing member 80 ... Opening / closing lid 81 ... Positive pressure valve 82 ... Overflow valve FG ... Fueling gun

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An annular seal member, which is disposed in the fuel injection pipe and has a sealing surface for sealing an outer peripheral surface of the fuel injection gun when the fuel injection gun is inserted into the fuel injection pipe; A protective cylinder that has an insertion hole with an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the gun and that closely adheres to the inner peripheral sealing surface of the annular seal member to protect the annular seal member and the outer peripheral portion of the annular seal member are fixed. A moving mechanism that receives the insertion force of the fueling gun and moves the sealing surface of the annular seal member away from the protective cylinder to a position that seals the outer peripheral surface of the fueling gun. A fuel tank characterized by being formed of an annular spring whose diameter can be expanded.