SPIRAL HOSE FOR MAINTAINING A FUEL LINE TO A MOTOR VEHICLE TANK

Abstract

The invention relates mainly to an assembly for a motor vehicle, characterized in that it comprises: - a tank (10) including a casing (11) defining a filling space, - a groove (19) formed in the casing (11) of the tank (10), and - a pipe (17) having an external diameter less than a width of the groove (19), characterized in that a spiral sheath (18) is arranged around the pipe (17), the assembly formed by the pipe (17) and the spiral sheath (18) surrounding said pipe (17) being arranged inside the groove (19) so as to fix the pipe (17) to the casing (11) of the tank (10).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a spiral sheath for securing a pipe to a motor vehicle tank.

[0002] Motor vehicles are equipped with a fuel tank containing a casing that holds the fuel supplying the engine. Vehicles may also include auxiliary tanks and, particularly in the case of some modern diesel vehicles, a tank containing a pollution control fluid, such as urea or a urea precursor. Urea is used as a reducing agent in conjunction with a catalyst to reduce nitrogen oxides through the process of selective catalytic reduction.

[0003] Some of the pipes in an emissions control system are designed to run under the vehicle to connect the urea tank to an injector that opens into the exhaust system of the internal combustion engine. To hold the pipes in position over the tank, the tank has at least one groove. Document GB2454271A illustrates this situation.

[0004] However, in some cases, the tank's groove was designed to accommodate a first type of pipe, such as a canister circuit pipe, and not a wastewater pipe with a smaller diameter than the canister circuit pipe. This is because the groove's dimensions may have been defined to account for the maximum stress of the canister circuit, and not solely for the needs of the wastewater pipe.

[0005] However, due to technical and economic constraints, the outside diameter of the wastewater treatment pipe cannot be increased to accommodate the maximum stress at its interface with the fuel tank. This creates an interface and compatibility issue between the outside diameter of the wastewater treatment pipe and the mounting space within the groove in the fuel tank casing.

[0006] The invention aims to effectively remedy this drawback by proposing an assembly for motor vehicles, characterized in that it comprises: a tank comprising a shell defining a filling space, a groove formed in the tank shell, and a pipe having an external diameter less than a width of the groove, characterized in that a spiral sheath is arranged around the pipe, the assembly formed by the pipe and the spiral sheath surrounding the pipe being arranged inside the groove so as to fix the pipe to the tank shell.

[0007] The invention thus allows for a local increase in the outside diameter of the pipe to be fixed inside the groove without impacting the fuel tank's design through any modification or the addition of extra components, thereby reducing the overall cost. The invention also ensures compatibility between the tank casing materials and the pipe, which are generally made of plastic. Furthermore, the invention minimizes the risk of abrasion or the generation of unwanted noise. The invention can easily be implemented at the production line.

[0008] According to one embodiment, the assembly formed by the pipe and the spiral sheath is snapped into a corresponding snap-in zone.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the snap-on area includes retaining grooves originating from side walls that define the groove.

[0010] According to one design, the spiral sheath is held in translation on the pipeline using clamps.

[0011] According to one design, the spiral sheath has a color that provides a contrast to the color of the reservoir.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the spiral sheath has turns that are contiguous with respect to each other.

[0013] According to one design, the pipeline is a pollution control liquid pipeline.

[0014] According to one rendering, the tank is a fuel tank.

[0015] According to one design, the spiral sheath is made of a plastic material.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the dimensions of the spiral sheath, in particular an external diameter and an internal diameter of the spiral sheath, as well as a pitch of turns, are chosen so as to adapt to different applications.

[0017] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description and examining the accompanying figures. These figures are given for illustrative purposes only and are in no way intended to limit the invention.

[0018] There figure 1 is a top view of a motor vehicle fuel tank having a groove in which a pollution control fluid pipe is fixed by means of a spiral sheath;

[0019] There figure 2 is a detailed view of the snap-fit ​​inside the groove of the assembly formed by the pipe and the spiral sheath;

[0020] There figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly formed by the pollution control fluid pipeline and the spiral sheath;

[0021] THE figures 4a et 4b are perspective views of the shape defining the groove in the tank casing respectively without and with the entire pipe and spiral sheath assembly.

[0022] Identical, similar or analogous elements retain the same reference from one figure to another.

[0023] There figure 1 shows a fuel tank 10, particularly for motor vehicles, comprising a casing 11, here elongated in shape, defining a fuel filling space, and a gauge-pump module 12 providing an indication of the quantity of the contents of the tank 10 and supplying the circuits of the internal combustion engine's injection system via a pipe 13. The tank 10 is compatible for both petrol and diesel versions in order to reduce product diversity.

[0024] A fuel filler pipe 14 extends from the tank 10 and terminates near an opening provided in an external body panel (not shown). A filler flap housing located in the panel opening is designed to receive the end of the filler pipe 14.

[0025] A degassing pipe 15 opens on one side into the tank 10 and on the other into the filling pipe 14 to allow the air contained in the shell 11 of the tank 10 to be evacuated during filling. The degassing pipe 15 follows a path along the shell 11 of the tank 10, positioned inside a groove 16 having a predefined shape depending in particular on environmental constraints.

[0026] Furthermore, a 17 pollution control fluid line provides communication between a pollution control fluid reservoir, for example a selective catalytic reduction system reservoir, also known as an SCR system (acronym for "Selective Catalytic Reduction" in English) and an injector located in the exhaust line.

[0027] The pipe 17 follows a path along the casing 11 defined by a groove 19 having a width greater than an external diameter of the pipe 17. In order to ensure the fixing of the pipe 17 to the casing 11, a spiral sleeve 18 is arranged around the pipe 17. The assembly formed by the pipe 17 and the spiral sleeve 18 surrounding the pipe 17 is arranged inside the groove 19.

[0028] To that end, as can be seen on the figures 2 And 3The spiral sheath 18 generally has a hollow tubular shape delimited by a plurality of turns 20 having approximately the same internal diameter in the unstressed state. The spiral sheath 18 can thus be easily installed by winding it around the pipe 17 along one or more predefined sections of the pipe 17. This installation of the spiral sheath(s) 18 can be carried out before assembly on the tank 10 at the factory. Preferably, the spiral sheath 18 is held in position along the pipe 17 by means of retaining clips 23 arranged at the ends of the sheath 18. These clips 23 could, for example, consist of woven or non-woven tape.

[0029] More specifically, the assembly formed by the pipe 17 and the spiral sheath 18 is snapped into a corresponding snap-fit ​​zone 22, as shown in the figures 2 , 4a, et 4bThe sheath 18 extends over a portion of the pipe 17 corresponding at least to the length of the snap-fit ​​zone 22. In other words, the spiral sheath 18 does not extend over the entire length of the pipe 17 arranged inside the groove 19 but only locally in the snap-fit ​​zone(s) 22 provided in the casing 11.

[0030] The snap-fit ​​zone 22 includes retaining grooves 21 extending from the side walls that define the groove 19. In the non-limiting example shown, two retaining grooves 21 could be provided, extending from one side wall of the groove 19, and a third groove 21 extending from the opposite wall and positioned longitudinally between the other two grooves 21. The pipe 17 and sheath 18 assembly is then held by elastic deformation within the groove 19, the grooves 21 slightly deforming the outer periphery of the sheath 18, which in turn applies a pressure force to the grooves 21. To achieve this effect, those skilled in the art will understand that the external diameter of the pipe 17 and spiral sheath 18 assembly in its unstressed state is at least equal to the width of the groove 19.

[0031] Advantageously, the spirals 20 are joined to each other. This facilitates the positioning of the spirals 20 between the three retaining grooves 21 to immobilize the pipe 17 in the groove 19 while increasing resistance to pull-out.

[0032] Furthermore, the spiral sheath 18 advantageously features a color that contrasts with the color of the tank 10. For example, for a dark-colored tank 10, particularly one that is gray or black, the sheath 18 could be a light color, such as white. This difference in contrast facilitates post-assembly inspection of this interface on the fuel tank 10.

[0033] The dimensions of the spiral sheath 18, including an external diameter and an internal diameter of the spiral sheath 18, as well as a pitch of turns 20, are chosen to suit different applications.

[0034] It should be noted that the internal diameter of the spiral sheath 18, which is advantageously slightly smaller than the external diameter of the pipe 17 in the unconstrained state, helps to reduce the risk of slippage of the sheath 18 on the pipe 17.

[0035] In a non-limiting example, to ensure the interface between a pipe 17 with a diameter of 10 mm and a groove 19 with a width of 12 mm, the spiral sleeve 18 has a length of approximately 65 mm with a tolerance range of plus or minus 2 mm, an internal diameter of approximately 9.5 mm, and a thickness of approximately 1 mm (by "approximately," we mean a variation of plus or minus 10% around the value). The spiral pitch 20 of the sleeve 18 is, for example, approximately 15 mm. The spiral sleeve 18 thus corrects the difference in definition between the wastewater treatment pipe 17 and the interface on the fuel tank 10.

[0036] Advantageously, the spiral sheath 18 is made of a plastic material resistant to occasional fluid splashes, salt spray, and other environmental stresses. Alternatively, the spiral sheath 18 is made of a non-plastic material.

[0037] Alternatively, tank 10 could be a pollution control fluid tank or a tank of another type having a pipe guide groove.

[0038] Alternatively, the pollution control fluid line 17 may be replaced by another type of line following a predetermined path under the hull along a tank, such as a canister line or a degassing pipe, or other.

Claims

1. Assembly for a motor vehicle, characterized in that it comprises : - a reservoir (10) comprising an envelope (11) defining a filling space, - a groove (19) formed in the casing (11) of the reservoir (10), and - a pipe (17) having an external diameter less than a width of the groove (19), characterized in that a sheath spiraled (18) is arranged around the pipe (17), the assembly formed by the pipe (17) and the sheath spiral (18) surrounding said pipe (17) being arranged to inside the groove (19) so as to fix the pipe (17) to the casing (11) of the reservoir (10).

2. Assembly according to Claim 1, characterized in that the assembly formed by the pipe (17) and the spiral sheath (18) is snapped into a corresponding snapping zone (22).

3. Assembly according to Claim 2, characterized in that the latching zone (22) comprises holding gadroons (21) coming from side walls delimiting the groove (19).

4. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the spiral sheath (18) is maintained in translation on the pipe (17) with bands (23).

5. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sheath spiral (18) has a color providing a contrast with respect to a shade of the reservoir (10).

6. Assembly according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the spiral sheath (18) comprises contiguous turns (20) with respect to one another.

7. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the pipe (17) is a clean-liquid line.

8. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the tank (10) is a fuel tank.

9. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the spiral sheath (18) is made of a plastic material.