JPH0351604B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a fuel tank device for an automobile that includes an arm that swings up and down as a float floats on a fuel liquid surface.

(Prior Art) As a conventional fuel tank device for an automobile, the one described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 49-7967 is known.

In this conventional fuel tank for an automobile, a fuel tank is attached to a vehicle body, and an arm provided with a float is pivoted at one end of the fuel tank so as to be able to swing as the float moves up and down. To,
It was equipped with a fuel sensor that detected the amount of fuel based on the inclination of the arm.

Note that the fuel sensor is connected to a display inside the vehicle via an amplifier.

Therefore, when the liquid level of the fuel in the fuel tank changes due to fuel use or replenishment, the arm swings as the float moves up and down, and the fuel sensor detects the level of the fuel in the fuel tank based on the amount of inclination of this arm. The amount of fuel could be displayed on a display inside the vehicle.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) By the way, fuel is moved in all directions due to gravitational acceleration caused by turning, cornering, acceleration, and braking of an automobile (especially on uphill and downhill roads), causing the fuel liquid level to slope. The angle changes, but because conventional automobile fuel tanks like the ones mentioned above do not have a cylinder above the float, the entire liquid level tilts due to the movement of fuel in all directions. The fuel liquid level where the float is floating also slopes in the same way as the overall liquid level, and as the float moves up and down, the arm also swings and changes its slope. However, there is a problem in that even though the fuel amount has not changed, the amount detected by the fuel sensor changes and the display differs from the actual fuel amount. When it is wide, the amount of fuel movement due to the inclination is large, and a small change in the liquid level position causes the display to appear as if there was a large change in the remaining amount.

The type of fuel tank for an automobile of the present invention is different from that of the present invention in which an arm equipped with a float swings.For example, an automobile fuel tank device called a vertical type shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-26625 uses a float. It has a float chamber that is completely enclosed from the top to the bottom of the tank, and has a complicated structure, which results in heavy weight and high cost.Furthermore, the float has poor responsiveness and is difficult to fill. However, it did not show that the tank was full.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention attempts to provide a fuel tank in which the float does not rise or fall in response to the movement of fuel in any direction. As a means for achieving this, in the automobile fuel tank of the present invention, a fuel tank is provided in the vehicle body, a fuel gauge is provided at a position outside the center of the interior of the fuel tank, and the fuel gauge is configured to measure the fuel liquid. A float floating on the surface,
A fuel tank device for an automobile comprising an arm having the float provided at the tip side and whose base end side is swingably pivoted to the fuel tank, and a fuel sensor that detects the amount of fuel based on the inclination of the arm, A cylindrical body is provided above the float and above the liquid level when the tank is full, and the bottom of the cylindrical body is open and the bottom edge extends from the shallow side of the tank to the deep side. The means is characterized in that it is formed to be inclined upward in the direction of the fuel tank, and the uppermost part of the bottom edge is located near the liquid level when the tank is full.

(Function) Therefore, in the automobile fuel tank device of the present invention,
When the fuel in the fuel tank moves toward the top of the slope of the bottom edge when viewed from the center of the cylinder due to gravitational acceleration, the following actions occur.

That is, as the fuel moves, the liquid level is inclined, and the inclination is along the inclination of the bottom edge of the cylinder. Therefore, if the fuel liquid level at the cylinder position rises in such an inclined state, the fuel liquid level will block the bottom edge of the cylinder, and an air chamber surrounded by the cylinder and the inclined liquid level will be created inside the cylinder. occurs. Therefore, even if the fuel liquid level on the outer periphery of the cylinder rises due to the liquid level movement accompanying the movement of the fuel, the liquid level inside the cylinder does not rise.

On the other hand, since the float is placed at the bottom of the cylinder, in this case the float is located within the air chamber formed in the cylinder, and therefore the float is placed in the air chamber when the air chamber is formed. It is not raised above the level of the surface, and therefore the arm is not swung any further.

Therefore, even if there is a fuel sensor, an increase in fuel will not be detected, and the displayed amount of fuel will not change any further.

In addition, since the top part of the bottom edge of the cylinder is located near the liquid level when the tank is full, when refueling when the liquid level is level and rising, the fuel tank will not be fully filled. Until this happens, the top of the lower edge of the cylinder is far from the liquid level, no air chamber is created, and the float is not prevented from rising.

(Example) An example of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 below, and its configuration will be described in detail.

A is a fuel tank device for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a fuel tank 10, a fuel gauge 80 consisting of a float 20, an arm 30, and a fuel sensor 40;
It is composed of a cylindrical body 50.

The fuel tank 10 stores fuel a for an automobile, and as shown in FIG. 1, which is a vertical sectional view of the embodiment device A as seen from the back, and FIG. 2, which is a sectional view seen from the side. It has a flat shape that is long in the left-right direction of a vehicle (not shown), and the left half is formed with a shallow bottom in order to store a spare tire B underneath.

The arm 30 is provided with the float 20 at one end, and is pivotally attached to the support member 32 at the other end.

The float 20 is disposed at the center of the fuel tank 10 in the front-rear direction, and is located approximately 2/5 from the right end in the left-right direction, that is, in a state where the fuel is approximately 3/4 full (3/4). (Status shown by the solid line in Figure 1)
When the car with the embodiment fuel tank A installed turns or corners to the right.
It is located at the intersection of the liquid level L2 when a gravitational acceleration of 0.5G is applied and the liquid level L1 when it is in a horizontal state.

Note that 0.5G is the gravitational acceleration that occurs when a vehicle turns a corner with a radius of 5 m at a speed of approximately 18 km/h, for example, and is a gravitational acceleration that often occurs on a car while driving.

Further, the support member 32 is connected to the fuel tank 1.
It is attached to the top wall of 0.

The fuel sensor 40 detects the amount of fuel based on the inclination of the arm 30 and outputs a fuel amount signal.
and the support member 32.

That is, this fuel sensor 40 can determine the height of the fuel liquid level based on the inclination of the arm 30, and can determine the amount of fuel a in the fuel tank 10 from this height and the bottom area of the fuel tank 10. Note that the relationship between the slope and the fuel amount is given in advance to the resistor of the fuel sensor 40, etc.

The arm 30 of the float 20 and the fuel sensor 4
0 constitutes a fuel gauge 80, and the fuel sensor 40 is connected to a display (not shown) provided in the vehicle interior, and the amount of fuel a is displayed on this display.

The cylindrical body 50 forms an air chamber inside to prevent the float 20 from rising when the vehicle corners to the left and the level of the fuel a tilts upward to the right. , is attached to the upper wall of the fuel tank 10 such that it is located above the float 20 and the upper part 51 is located above the liquid level L4 when the fuel a is full. Its shape resembles that of a rectangular prism with the lower part cut off diagonally.

That is, this cylindrical body 50 has a right side wall 54, a left side wall 56,
A side wall is formed from the front side wall 58 and the rear side wall 60, and the bottom edge 52 is inclined and opened in the lower left direction, and the uppermost part of the bottom edge 52 (the lower end of the right side wall 54) is the liquid level L4 when the fuel is full. It is placed in the position of
The lowest portion (that is, the lower end of the left side wall 56 that is farthest from the side wall of the fuel tank 10) is located approximately at the center between the full tank level L4 and the bottom of the fuel tank 10.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be explained.

(b) When the car corners to the left and a gravitational acceleration of 0.5G is applied to the right, fuel a in the fuel tank 10 moves to the right, and the liquid level of fuel a changes to the two points in Figure 1. It is tilted upward to the right as shown by the chain line L3.

As described above, when the liquid level is tilted upward to the right, the fuel a located below the cylinder 50 is also tilted upward to the right, and the liquid level located on the right side below the cylinder 50 is also tilted upward to the right. When the surface comes into contact with the lower end of the right side wall 54 of the cylinder 50, an air chamber surrounded by the liquid level l3 indicated by the two-dot chain line and the cylinder 50 is formed in the cylinder 50, and thereafter, the movement of the fuel a is prevented. Even if the fuel a around the cylinder body 50 is raised by moving the inclined liquid level to the left, the liquid level l3 inside the cylinder body 50 is not moved, and therefore the position of the float 20 is at the first position. As shown in the figure, the air chamber is not raised from the position it was in when it was formed.

(b) When the automobile corners to the right and a gravitational acceleration of 0.5G to the left is applied, the fuel a in the fuel tank 10 moves to the left, and the liquid level of the fuel a becomes 2 in Figure 1. It is tilted upward to the left as shown by the dotted chain line L2.

At this time, the float 20 is not raised because it is disposed at the intersection of the horizontal liquid level and the left-up liquid level, as shown in FIG.

(c) When gravitational acceleration is applied in the longitudinal direction due to acceleration or braking of the automobile, the float 20 is located at the center of the fuel tank 10 in the longitudinal direction, so the position of the float 20 is It is difficult to rise because it is in the center of the world.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and any design changes or the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are included in the present invention.

For example, although the arm 30 is provided laterally with respect to the cylindrical body 50, it may be provided in the front-rear direction.

Further, the shape of the cylindrical body 50 may be any shape, such as a cylinder or an upside-down shape, as long as the bottom edge 52 is inclined.

Further, in the embodiment, the cylinder body 50 is provided in such a direction that the slope of the bottom edge 52 is downward to the left with respect to the longitudinal direction of the automobile, and when the liquid level is sloped upward to the right, the cylinder body 50
0 to prevent the float 20 from floating, but the direction of the cylinder 50 is determined depending on the direction of the inclination of the liquid surface to prevent the float 20 from floating. It may be installed in any direction.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the automobile fuel tank of the present invention, by providing the cylinder with the bottom edge inclined at a position above the float, the bottom edge of the cylinder is lower when viewed from the center of the cylinder. Because it is possible to prevent the float from rising and the arm from swinging due to the inclination of the fuel liquid level due to the movement of fuel toward the top, it is effective for cornering, braking, and acceleration of the automobile. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the display on the display connected to the fuel sensor from changing significantly due to a significant change in the amount detected by the fuel sensor.

In addition, since it has a simple configuration by simply adding a cylindrical body to the conventional one, it is easy to manufacture and does not have to be heavy and expensive like a vertical gauge.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a fuel tank for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line "--" in FIG. 10...Fuel tank, 20...Float, 30
... Arm, 40 ... Fuel sensor, 50 ... Cylinder, 52 ... Bottom edge, 80 ... Fuel gauge.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fuel tank is provided in the vehicle body, and at a position outside the center of the interior of the fuel tank,
A fuel gauge is provided, and the fuel gauge is configured by a float floating on the fuel liquid surface, an arm having the float at its distal end, and a proximal end pivotally attached to the fuel tank, and the inclination of the arm. In an automobile fuel tank device comprising a fuel sensor that detects the amount of fuel, a cylindrical body is provided above the float and above the liquid level when the tank is full, and the cylindrical body includes: The bottom is open, and the bottom edge is formed to slope upward from the center side of the tank to the outside, and the uppermost part of the bottom edge is located near the liquid level when the tank is full. An automobile fuel tank device characterized by: