JP2008184954A - Fuel pump module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel pump module making constituent parts in common and preventing increase of manufacturing cost. <P>SOLUTION: This fuel pump module is provided with a lid member 3 blocking an opening part 21 formed in a fuel tank 2, a support 7 fixed to the lid member 3 to extend toward an internal wall of the fuel tank 2 from the lid member 3, a sub tank 4 formed into a cylindrical shape having a bottom part 41, storing a fuel pump 53 for force-feeding fuel in the fuel tank 2 outside under pressure, and having an insertion part 6 for inserting an end part of the support 7 to move in the axial direction, and an urging member 68 stored in the insertion part 6 and energizing the support in the direction for separating the lid member 3 and the sub tank 4 from each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel pump module.

There is known a fuel pump module that stably supplies fuel even when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank decreases (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The fuel pump module of Patent Document 1 has a sub tank that accommodates the fuel pump. The sub tank is connected by a support member and a support column that closes an opening formed in the fuel tank. The sub tank and the lid member are relatively movable in the axial direction of the support column. A biasing member is provided between the sub tank and the lid member. Since the urging member urges the sub tank and the lid member in the direction of separating, the sub tank is always pressed against the inner wall of the fuel tank in a state where the sub tank is accommodated in the fuel tank.
JP 2004-257347 A

  The shape of the fuel tank that accommodates the fuel pump module varies depending on the vehicle model to which the fuel pump module is attached, and the distance from the opening to the bottom of the fuel tank varies. Therefore, when the above-described fuel pump module is accommodated in fuel tanks having different shapes, the struts are changed according to the distance from the opening to the bottom of the fuel tank.

  In the fuel pump module described above, the biasing member that presses the sub tank against the bottom of the fuel tank has one end supported by the lid member and the other end supported by the sub tank. For this reason, since the urging force changes when the distance between the lid member and the sub-tank changes, it is necessary to change not only the support column but also the urging member according to the distance. The support column and the urging member must be prepared according to the shape of the fuel tank, which increases the manufacturing cost of the fuel pump module.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel pump module in which components are made common and an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lid member that closes the opening formed in the fuel tank, the column that is fixed to the lid member so as to extend from the lid member toward the inner wall of the fuel tank, and the bottom portion A fuel tank that pumps the fuel in the fuel tank to the outside, and a sub tank having an insertion portion that inserts the end of the column so as to be movable in the axial direction, and is accommodated in the insertion portion. And a biasing member that biases the support column in a direction in which the lid member and the sub tank are separated from each other.

  The urging member that urges the lid member and the sub tank in a direction to separate them is housed in the insertion portion. The urging member is accommodated so as to urge the strut rather than urging the lid member. Therefore, even if the distance between the lid member and the sub tank changes due to the shape of the fuel tank, What is necessary is just to change to the thing according to the shape of a tank, and it becomes unnecessary to change an urging | biasing member with the shape of a fuel tank. Therefore, since the urging member assembled to the fuel pump module can be shared, an increase in the manufacturing cost of the fuel pump module can be suppressed.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, the insertion portion is provided on the side wall of the sub tank. According to this structure, the accommodation space in a subtank can be used effectively.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first wall is formed on the inner wall of the insertion portion so as to face the direction in which the column is inserted into the insertion portion, and the column moves in the direction in which the column is pulled out from the insertion portion. If it does, it will contact | abut to a 1st surface, and the 2nd surface in which the movement of the pull-out direction is controlled is formed.

  The fuel tank is accommodated in a state in which the lid member and the sub tank are connected by a support column. When assembling the fuel pump module to the fuel tank, the operator accommodates the fuel pump module in the fuel tank through an opening opened above the fuel tank.

  According to this configuration, even if the column fixed to the lid member is pulled out from the insertion portion of the sub tank, that is, the lid member is moved away from the sub tank, the second surface formed on the column is the The support comes into contact with a first surface formed on the inner wall so that the column does not come out of the sub tank. For this reason, since the assembling operator can hold the lid member only and assemble the fuel pump module to the fuel tank, the assembling work is facilitated.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the inner wall of the insertion portion is formed with a groove or a slit extending along the insertion direction of the support column and having a first surface on the insertion side of the insertion portion. It is said. According to this configuration, the first surface with which the second surface formed on the support comes into contact with the inner wall of the insertion portion can be formed by the groove or slit, so that the structure is simplified and the first surface is processed into the insertion portion. Becomes easy.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the insertion side of the insertion part is formed with a flexible tongue-like part extending in the direction of pulling out the support column from the insertion part. It is formed in the inner wall of a shape part.

  In order to prevent the column from coming out of the insertion portion, it is necessary to dispose the second surface formed on the column closer to the insertion direction than the first surface formed on the inner wall of the insertion unit. For this purpose, when the support column is inserted into the insertion portion, the first surface must be once moved radially outward. According to this structure, since the 1st surface is formed in the inner wall of the tongue-shaped part which has flexibility, a support | pillar can be easily inserted in an insertion part.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, the insertion portion is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the tongue-like portion is formed with two cuts having a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction at the insertion side end portion of the side wall of the insertion portion. It is characterized by being formed by. According to this configuration, a flexible tongue-like portion can be formed simply by forming two cuts in the side wall of the insertion portion.

  According to the invention as set forth in claim 7, it has a cover for restricting the movement of the tongue-like portion in the radial direction. According to this configuration, since the flexible tongue-shaped portion is prevented from moving radially outward after the support column is inserted into the insertion portion, some force is applied to the fuel pump module. It can suppress that a tongue-shaped part moves to radial direction outer side, and a support | pillar falls out of an insertion part carelessly.

  According to the invention described in claim 8, the insertion part is formed in a cylindrical shape having a bottom part, and a through hole is formed in the bottom part of the insertion part. According to this configuration, the moisture contained in the fuel that has entered the insertion portion can be discharged from the through hole formed in the bottom portion, and the urging member can be prevented from being eroded by the moisture.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the bottom portion of the insertion portion has a passage communicating with the through hole and is provided with a pedestal that supports the biasing member. According to this configuration, since the pedestal that supports the other end of the urging member is provided at the bottom of the insertion portion in which the urging member is accommodated, the amount of moisture in the fuel tank increases, and the urging force is increased. It can suppress that a member is immersed in moisture.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The fuel pump module according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. The fuel pump module 1 supplies the fuel in the fuel tank 2 to, for example, an internal combustion engine outside the fuel tank 2. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the fuel pump module 1 is installed in the fuel tank 2. In addition, the up-down direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 shows the gravity direction of the fuel tank 2 mounted in the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel pump module 1 includes a flange 3 as a lid member, a sub tank 4, a pump body module 5 accommodated in the sub tank 4, and the like. The flange 3 is attached to the fuel tank 2 so as to close an opening 21 formed in the fuel tank 2. Other components are accommodated in the fuel tank 2.

  The flange 3 is made of resin and has a substantially disk shape. The flange 3 has a fuel discharge pipe 31 and an electrical connector 32 integrally molded with resin. The fuel discharge pipe 31 is connected to the pump main body module 5 accommodated in the sub tank 4 via the flexible hose 51, and discharges the fuel discharged from the pump main body module 5 to the outside of the fuel tank 2.

  The electrical connector 32 is electrically connected to an electrical connector (not shown) provided on the pump body module 5 by a lead wire (not shown) and a power supply connector (not shown) provided on the pump body module 5. Supply.

  On the bottom 22 side of the fuel tank 2 of the flange 3, a mounting portion 33 for attaching the shaft 7 as a support column described in the claims for connection to the sub tank 4 is formed. In the present embodiment, two attachment portions 33 are formed on the flange 3. The upper end portion of the shaft 7 is press-fitted and fixed to the attachment portion 33. The lower end portion of the shaft 7 faces the bottom portion 22 of the fuel tank 2.

  The sub tank 4 connected by the shaft 7 is made of resin and is formed in a cylindrical shape having a bottom 41 at the lower end. The sub tank 4 accommodates the pump body module 5. In addition to the pump body module 5, for example, a pumping device (not shown) that pumps the fuel in the fuel tank 2 into the subtank 4 is accommodated in the subtank 4.

  A sender gauge 59 for detecting the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 2 is attached to the outer wall of the sub tank 4. The sender gauge 59 has a float (not shown), and detects the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 2 by utilizing the fact that the float moves in the vertical direction along with the fluctuation of the height of the fuel liquid level in the fuel tank 2.

  The sub tank 4 is formed with an insertion portion 6 for inserting the lower end portion of the shaft 7 described above. The insertion portion 6 may be formed integrally with the sub tank 4 or may be formed separately from the sub tank 4.

  In the present embodiment, the insertion portion 6 is formed on the outer wall of the sub tank 4. Thereby, the space in the sub tank 4 can be used effectively. The lower end portion of the shaft 7 is inserted so as to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the insertion portion 6. The structure of the insertion portion 6 will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the pump body module 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the pump body module 5 is configured by accommodating an electric fuel pump 53 in a case 52, and a suction filter 54 is provided upstream of the fuel pump 53, and a downstream side of the fuel pump 53. Is provided with a fuel filter 55. The fuel filter 55 is accommodated in the case 52 and is formed in an annular shape surrounding the fuel pump 53.

  The pump body module 5 includes a pressure regulator 56 on the downstream side of the fuel filter 55. The discharge port 561 of the pressure regulator 56 and the fuel discharge pipe 31 are connected by a flexible hose 51.

  The fuel pump 53 includes a pump unit 531 having an impeller (not shown) and an electric motor unit 532 that drives the pump unit 531 to rotate. When the fuel pump 53 is driven, the fuel in the sub tank 4 is sucked into the pump unit 531 through the suction filter 54 and discharged to the fuel filter 55.

  The fuel discharged to the fuel filter 55 is discharged from the discharge port 561 through the pressure regulator 56, then flows through the flexible hose 51 and the fuel discharge pipe 31, and is supplied to the internal combustion engine outside the fuel tank 2. When the pressure of the fuel discharged from the fuel pump 53 exceeds a predetermined value, the excess pressure flows out from the drain port 562 of the pressure regulator 56 and returns into the sub tank 4.

  A check valve 57 is provided in the case 52 of the pump body module 5. The check valve 57 prevents the fuel in the flexible hose 51 from flowing backward from the fuel pump 53 and flowing out of the suction filter 54 when the fuel pump 53 is stopped. Thereby, the pressure of the fuel in the flexible hose 51 is maintained at a predetermined pressure when the fuel pump 53 is stopped.

  3 is an arrow view of the sub tank 4 and the pump main body module 5 in the III direction in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the pump body module 5 has support arms 58 (three in the present embodiment) that extend radially from the side walls thereof. The pump body module 5 is fixed in the sub tank 4 by engaging the support arm 58 with the inner wall of the sub tank 4.

  An insertion portion 6 for inserting the shaft 7 is formed in the sub tank 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion portion 6 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and is formed so as to protrude from the inner wall of the sub tank 4 toward the center of the sub tank 4. The upper end of the insertion part 6 is opened, and the lower end part of the shaft 7 can be inserted through this opening.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the insertion portion 6 taken along line IV-IV in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the insertion portion 6 has a vertical hole 61 having a bottom portion 62. The inner diameter of the vertical hole 61 is large enough to allow the bush 71 provided at the lower end of the shaft 7 to move in the axial direction. The bush 71 is press-fitted and fixed to the shaft 7.

  A spring seat 66 as a pedestal is provided on the bottom 62 of the vertical hole 61. A passage 661 extending in the axial direction is formed substantially at the center of the spring seat 66. A through hole 63 is also formed in the bottom 62 of the vertical hole 61. The passage 661 and the through hole 63 are connected, and the space of the vertical hole 61 and the outside of the sub tank 4 are connected via the passage 661 and the through hole 63.

  The vertical hole 61 is provided with a spring 68 as an urging member. The upper end of the spring 68 is supported by a bush 71 fixed to the shaft 7, and the lower end of the spring 68 is supported by a spring seat 66 provided in the vertical hole 61. The spring 68 is compressed and accommodated in the vertical hole 61 so that a desired urging force can be applied to the bush 71 in a state where the fuel pump module 1 is accommodated in the fuel tank 2.

  Since the flange 3 and the sub tank 4 try to move away from each other by the spring 68, the sub tank 4 is pressed against the bottom 22 of the fuel tank 2 by the urging force of the spring 68.

  For this reason, even if the fuel tank 2 expands and contracts due to a change in internal pressure due to a temperature change or a change in the amount of fuel, the bottom 41 of the sub tank 4 can always be pressed against the bottom 22 of the fuel tank 2.

  Here, the fuel tank 2 in which the fuel pump module 1 is accommodated will be described. The shape of the fuel tank 2 varies depending on the type of automobile mounted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the distance from the opening 21 to the bottom 22 of the fuel tank 2 varies depending on the type of the fuel tank 2.

  Since the sub tank 4 is accommodated so as to be supported on the bottom 22 of the fuel tank 2, the distance between the flange 3 and the sub tank 4 varies depending on the shape of the fuel tank 2. For this reason, it is necessary to change the length of the shaft 7 that connects the flange 3 and the sub tank 4.

  In the prior art, the length of the shaft is changed according to the shape of the fuel tank, and the spring for pressing the sub tank against the bottom of the fuel tank needs to be changed according to the shape of the fuel tank. This is because the spring is arranged so that one end of the spring is supported by the flange and the other end is supported by the sub tank. In the fuel pump module in which the spring is arranged as in the prior art, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated spring for each shape of the fuel tank.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, the spring 68 is supported at one end by a spring seat 66 provided at the bottom 62 of the vertical hole 61 of the insertion portion 6 and supported at the other end by a bush 71 provided at the lower end of the shaft 7. I am letting. According to this, when the fuel pump module 1 is housed in the fuel tank 2 having a different shape, the distance between the spring seat 66 and the bush 71 can be simply changed by changing only the length of the shaft 7 according to the shape of the fuel tank 2. Can be adjusted to a predetermined distance, that is, a distance by which the spring 68 can apply a desired biasing force to the bush 71. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the spring 68.

  For this reason, since the component which comprises the fuel pump module 1 can be made shared, the increase in the manufacturing cost of the fuel pump module 1 can be suppressed.

  Further, in the state before the spring 68 is assembled to the sub tank 4, that is, in a state where the spring 68 is not compressed by other components, it is difficult to visually distinguish different types of springs.

  In the prior art, since it is necessary to change the spring according to the shape of the fuel tank, different types of springs cannot be visually determined, and the springs may be assembled incorrectly. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the spring 68 does not need to be changed according to the shape of the fuel tank 2, the above-described problem does not occur.

  In this embodiment, the flange 3 and the sub tank 4 are connected by inserting the shaft 7 into the vertical hole 61 in a state where the spring 68 is accommodated in the vertical hole 61 of the insertion portion 6 in advance. According to this, when connecting the flange 3 and the sub tank 4, the spring 68 is not dropped from the sub tank 4, so that the assembling workability is improved.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a slit 67 is formed on the side wall of the insertion portion 6. The slit 67 is formed along the insertion direction of the shaft 7 into the insertion portion 6. That is, the slit 67 is formed along the axial direction of the insertion portion 6. The bush 71 is formed with a projection 711 that can move in the slit 67 in the axial direction. On the upper side of the protrusion 711, a stopper surface 712 as a second surface facing the upper end 671 as the first surface of the slit 67 is formed. Note that the slit 67 may be a groove as long as the first surface according to the claims that can contact the stopper surface 712 can be formed.

  The upper end portion 671 and the stopper surface 712 come into contact with each other when the shaft 7 is pulled out from the insertion portion 6 to some extent, so that the shaft 7 cannot be removed from the insertion portion 6. According to this, when the fuel pump module 1 is accommodated in the fuel tank 2 from the opening 21 of the fuel tank 2, the shaft 7 is inserted even if the operator lifts the fuel pump module 1 by gripping only the flange 3. Since it does not come off from the part 6, the workability of assembling the fuel pump module 1 to the fuel tank 2 is improved.

  A through hole 63 that communicates with the outer wall of the sub tank 4 is formed in the bottom portion 62 of the vertical hole 61, and a passage 661 that is connected to the through hole 63 is formed in the spring seat 66 provided in the bottom portion 62. Therefore, moisture having a specific gravity greater than that of the fuel is discharged from the vertical hole 61 through the passage 661 and the through hole 63. Since the bottom portion 62 is higher than the bottom portion 41 of the sub tank 4, a gap is formed between the bottom portion 41 and the bottom portion 22 of the fuel tank 2. Moisture discharged from the through hole 63 is discharged to the outside of the sub tank 4 through this gap. Even if the lower end 672 of the slit 67 is formed so as to extend to the bottom 62 of the vertical hole 61, the water in the vertical hole 61 can be discharged.

  Thereby, since the water | moisture content in the vertical hole 61 is discharged | emitted outside the sub tank 4, it can suppress that the spring 68 erodes with a water | moisture content. Further, since the spring seat 66 is provided on the bottom portion 62, the spring 68 can be moved away from the bottom portion 22 of the fuel tank 2. Thereby, the water | moisture content accumulate | stored in the bottom part 22 of the fuel tank 2 increases, and it can suppress that the spring 68 is immersed in a water | moisture content.

  FIG. 5 is an arrow view in the V direction in FIG. On both sides of the upper end portion 671 of the slit 67 formed on the side wall of the insertion portion 6, a notch portion 64 is formed as a cut extending downward from the upper end of the insertion portion 6. Thereby, the part pinched by the notch part 64 becomes the tongue-like part 65 which has flexibility. The tongue-like portion 65 is a plate-like portion whose one end is supported and the other end is a free end, and an upper end portion 671 of a slit 67 as a first surface is formed on the inner wall thereof.

  The inner diameter of the entrance portion of the vertical hole 61 is smaller than the outer diameter of the protrusion 711 portion of the bush 71. In the present embodiment, the bush 71 is inserted after the tongue 65 is moved radially outward to increase the inner diameter of the inlet portion of the vertical hole 61.

  In the present embodiment, after the shaft 7 and the bush 71 are inserted into the insertion portion 6, the tongue 69 is covered with the cover 69. The cover 69 restricts the movement of the tongue-like portion 65 outward in the radial direction. Thereby, after the shaft 7 and the bush 71 are inserted into the insertion portion 6, the tongue-like portion 65 moves radially outward by some force, and the shaft 7 and the bush 71 are inadvertently detached from the insertion portion 6. This can be suppressed.

It is a side view which shows the fuel pump module by one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a sub tank and a pump body module of the fuel pump module of FIG. 1. It is an arrow view of the III direction in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the IV-IV line | wire in FIG. It is an arrow view of the V direction in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel pump module 2 Fuel tank 21 Opening part 22 Bottom part 3 Flange (lid member)
33 Attaching part 4 Sub tank 41 Bottom part 5 Pump body module 51 Flexible hose 52 Case 53 Fuel pump 56 Pressure regulator 6 Insertion part 61 Vertical hole 62 Bottom part 63 Through hole 64 Notch part 65 Tongue part 66 Spring seat 661 Passage 67 Slit 671 Upper end Part (first side)
672 Lower end 68 Spring 69 Cover 7 Shaft (support)
71 Bushing 711 Protrusion 712 Stopper surface (second surface)

Claims (9)

A lid member that closes an opening formed in the fuel tank;
A support post fixed to the lid member so as to extend from the lid member toward the inner wall of the fuel tank;
A sub-tank that is formed in a cylindrical shape having a bottom, accommodates a fuel pump that pumps the fuel in the fuel tank to the outside, and has an insertion portion that inserts the end of the support column movably in the axial direction;
An urging member that is accommodated in the insertion portion and urges the support column in a direction in which the lid member and the sub tank are separated from each other;
A fuel pump module comprising:   The fuel pump module according to claim 1, wherein the insertion portion is provided on a side wall of the sub tank. A first surface facing the direction in which the support column is inserted into the insertion portion is formed on the inner wall of the insertion portion,
The column is formed with a second surface that abuts on the first surface when the column is moved in the direction of pulling out from the insertion portion and is restricted from moving in the column of the column. The fuel pump module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.   The groove or slit which extends along the insertion direction of the said support | pillar, and has the said 1st surface is formed in the inner wall of the said insertion part on the insertion side of the said insertion part. Fuel pump module. On the insertion side of the insertion portion, a tongue-like portion having a flexibility extending in the direction of pulling out the support column from the insertion portion is formed,
The fuel pump module according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first surface is formed on an inner wall of the tongue-like portion. The insertion portion is formed in a cylindrical shape,
6. The fuel pump module according to claim 5, wherein the tongue-shaped portion is formed by forming two cuts having a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction at an insertion side end portion of a side wall of the insertion portion.   The fuel pump module according to claim 5, further comprising a cover that restricts movement of the tongue-shaped portion in a radial direction. The insertion part is formed in a cylindrical shape having a bottom part,
The fuel pump module according to claim 1, wherein a through hole is formed in the bottom portion of the insertion portion.   9. The fuel pump module according to claim 8, wherein the bottom portion of the insertion portion has a passage communicating with the through hole and a pedestal that supports the urging member.

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