Arrangement of a vehicle body with a device for attaching at least one conduit for an energy store

Abstract

The present invention relates to an arrangement of a vehicle body (11), in particular an automobile body, the arrangement comprising means for attaching at least one conduit (2, 3) to the body, the conduit allowing energy storage, the body comprising an opening (10), and the attachment means (1) being arranged in the opening. The attachment means comprises a support (15) and a support inner reinforcement (16), the support (15) being arranged in the opening (10) on one side of the body, and the reinforcement (16) being arranged in the opening of the support (15). The present invention also relates to a vehicle having such an arrangement.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of motor vehicle manufacturing. The present invention relates to an arrangement of a vehicle body, the arrangement including means for attaching at least one conduit for energy storage. The present invention also relates to a vehicle having such an arrangement.

[0002] The present invention more particularly relates to an arrangement of a vehicle body, especially a motor vehicle body, the arrangement including means for attaching at least one conduit to the body, the conduit allowing energy storage, the body including an opening, and the attaching means being arranged in the opening. Vehicles are known in which two different types of fuel can be supplied to the powertrain, and the fuel supply circuit is designed to allow such flexibility for this purpose. Then each of these fuels is stored in a dedicated tank, the tank being supplied with fuel through a conduit, the end of the conduit including a filler orifice attached to a support. The support is adapted to attach the conduit to the vehicle body. The filler orifice can incorporate an attachment interface for a lid, the lid allowing the orifice to be closed and sealed. The support can also be bowl-shaped, since a bowl-shaped support has a substantially curved profile and is made of plastic, and a fuel flap is hinged to the support. The fuel flap bowl is also configured to collect fuel in the event of spillage in order to drain the fuel from the vehicle. The fuel flap bowl can also include an opening for attaching a tank ventilation conduit, and such a conduit can extend linearly along the fuel filler conduit of the tank. Background Art

[0003] In order to avoid fuel errors, the filler orifice is determined depending on the fuel type, for example by changing the diameter of the filler orifice, such that for example a diesel filling nozzle cannot be inserted into a gasoline filler orifice. This standardization of the filler device also applies to vehicles operating with gaseous fuels.

[0004] The reduction of pollutant emissions is driving the automotive industry towards the implementation of green technologies, which are based on using natural gas for vehicles (abbreviated as NGV) or using treatment additives in vehicles with diesel engines.

[0005] As in the case of fossil fuel vehicles, the NGV filler conduit of the tank must meet design constraints, which are mainly related to safety, and a seal is provided between the filler flange of the outwardly extending filler conduit and the nozzle connected to the filling station storage tank. To meet this design requirement, the NGV filler flange is attached to a support, which can be a support having the same design as that for attaching a diesel or gasoline filler conduit.

[0006] Unlike the design of the liquid fuel filler orifice of a gasoline or diesel vehicle, the NGV filler flange extends prominently from the support in a more pronounced manner, which requires the fuel flap bowl architecture to meet a predetermined depth. It has been noted that one of the drawbacks of this fuel flap bowl design is the very deep depth of the bowl, such that the closed fuel flap is arranged to be sufficiently far from the NGV filler flange. This distance can be approximately 10 mm, such that despite assembly tolerances, the closed fuel flap is always separated from the NGV filler flange.

[0007] It has also been noted that for reasons of part commonality within a vehicle series, the filler duct support must be designed to allow attachment of the filler duct as in the case of a vehicle operating on gasoline or diesel.

[0008] For these same reasons, in the case of a vehicle that can operate equally well on gasoline as on NGV, such as a vehicle commonly referred to by the term "Flex Fuel", the filler duct support must also be designed for attachment of two filler ducts. The filler duct support must also be designed for attachment of two filler ducts, one for diesel fuel and the other for an additive that enables the addition of diesel with reduced pollutants.

[0009] Although plastics can be used to manufacture the support for the filler duct of a fuel tank on a gasoline or diesel vehicle by molding, it is preferred to use steel to manufacture the filler support for the fuel tank on a vehicle using NGV.

[0010] However, it has been noted that the drawback is that due to the stretching of the material, it is not possible to achieve the steel sheet pressing depth without tearing the sheet to manufacture the support for the fuel flap bowl that forms the NGV filler flange, which can only be overcome by increasing the thickness at the expense of weight, and increasing the thickness at the expense of weight must be avoided due to the main objective of reducing the consumption of the vehicle. Summary of the Invention

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of a vehicle body that overcomes the drawbacks of known prior art devices. In particular, the present invention aims to achieve an arrangement that is simple to manufacture and cost-effective, and that allows for improved part commonality of body components for several design variants of the same vehicle series.

[0012] The subject matter of the present invention thus relates to an arrangement of a vehicle body, in particular a motor vehicle body, that includes means for attaching at least one duct to the body, the duct allowing energy storage, the body including an opening, the attachment means being arranged in the opening, the attachment means including a support and a support internal reinforcement, the support being arranged in the opening on the lateral side of the body, and the reinforcement being arranged in the opening of the support.

[0013] According to further specific technical design features, the subject matter of the present invention may include the following features, taken alone or in combination:

[0014] - the support may comprise at least one boss extending protrudingly laterally outwardly from a pressing defining a bottom wall in which the opening in the support is formed;

[0015] The support can be connected to the opening in the body side by means of at least one sealing edge, which enables corrosion protection of the edge of the opening in the body side;

[0016] - the reinforcement may comprise at least one opening adapted to be fitted in a form-fitting manner to an end portion of the fuel supply conduit;

[0017] - the reinforcement may comprise a pressing defining a bottom wall which is disc-shaped relative to a contour line from which at least one tab attaching the reinforcement to the support extends radially;

[0018] - each tab may be substantially flat, extending in a plane substantially parallel to the bottom wall against which it is intended to be pressed;

[0019] - each lug may be arranged in layers on the support along a transverse axis, and each lug may extend linearly between two adjacent bosses;

[0020] - Each tab may be connected to the bottom wall by at least one weld and / or at least one sealing edge and / or at least one structural putty edge; the sealing edges advantageously enabling corrosion protection to be provided for the edges of the openings in the support;

[0021] - at least one of the tabs may be connected by at least one weld point to both the inner panel of the bodywork defining the rear wheel arch of the vehicle, and to the support;

[0022] The reinforcement may be made of a thicker steel sheet than the steel sheet of the support, the reinforcement particularly having a thickness of about 1.2 mm and the support particularly having a thickness of 0.65 mm.

[0023] The invention also relates to a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising a body delimited by lateral sides, the vehicle comprising a body arrangement having at least one of the above-mentioned features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The accompanying drawings show, by way of example, the arrangement of a vehicle body according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0025] [ Figure 1is a perspective view of an opening formed in a vehicle body side, in which a device for filling a fuel tank of a motor vehicle is arranged.

[0026] Figure 2 is a schematic view of a vehicle body side configured to receive a fuel filler device.

[0027] Figure 3 shows a fuel conduit support in the vehicle body side.

[0028] Figure 4 shows a support inner reinforcement on which each of the conduits can be arranged. Detailed Description

[0029] The direction in which a motor vehicle generally moves in a straight line is defined as the longitudinal direction. By convention, the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and lying in a plane parallel to the ground is called the transverse direction. The third direction perpendicular to the other two directions is called the vertical direction.

[0030] The following refers to Figure 1 an example of a motor vehicle provided with an embodiment of a device 1 for attaching a fuel filler conduit.

[0031] As Figure 1 shown, the arrangement of the vehicle body 11 includes a device 1 for attaching two fuel supply conduits so that it is possible to fill a dedicated fuel tank connected to the engine that drives the vehicle.

[0032] Preferably, one of the conduits is suitable for filling a fuel tank for liquid fuel (such as gasoline), and the other conduit is suitable for filling a fuel tank for gaseous fuel (such as natural gas for an NGV vehicle abbreviated).

[0033] According to a variant embodiment, the conduit suitable for filling the liquid fuel tank can be replaced by a conduit through which an electric current flows, such as a cable of a battery for storing electricity.

[0034] Regardless of the type of conduit, the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle, that is, the vehicle is capable of using two different types of energy to move.

[0035] The body arrangement 11 includes an opening 10 that is formed in the vehicle body side side 11, here the right side side, and it should be understood that it can equally well be the opposite side.

[0036] The opening 10 is known to be used to receive a hinged flap that generally rotates around the side between an open position allowing energy storage and a closed position, in which the flap is positioned flush with the vehicle body side. Due to its function, the flap is described as a fuel flap.

[0037] As in​​​Figure 2 As can be seen, the opening 10 is located above the rear wheel arch 13 and longitudinally between the door frame 14 and the rear light cutout 18.

[0038] The vehicle body arrangement allows the attachment device 1 to connect a first conduit 2 for filling a first type of fuel to the vehicle body side.

[0039] This enables a second conduit 3 for filling a second type of fuel to be connected to the vehicle body side.

[0040] To this end, the attachment device 1 includes a support member 15 and a support internal reinforcement 16.

[0041] The support member 15 is made of steel, and its thickness is generally between 0.5 mm and 0.8 mm, preferably 0.65 mm.

[0042] The support reinforcement 16 is made of steel that is thicker than the thickness of the support member 15. The support member 16 has a thickness of approximately between 0.9 mm and 1.5 mm, preferably 1.2 mm.

[0043] The support member 15 includes a peripheral edge 151 having a substantially rectangular profile, as Figure 3 shown. The peripheral edge 151 has a curved edge in cross-section, and this curved edge enables an increase in the rigidity of the peripheral edge. The peripheral edge 151 has substantially the same profile as the opening 10 formed in the vehicle body side 11. The peripheral edge 151 includes four rounded corners 152 that are pairwise connected by a substantially linear portion 153. The peripheral edge 151 extends laterally through a side wall 154 that defines the depth of the support member 15.

[0044] The support member 15 includes a bottom wall 155 in which an opening 160 is formed, and this opening is suitable for receiving the internal reinforcement 16.

[0045] Each corner 152 includes a boss 156 that has a curved lateral profile that connects the bottom wall 155 to the directly adjacent side wall 154. The top portion of each boss is substantially flat and extends generally along the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction. When viewed from the front, the flat portion of the boss 156 has a substantially triangular profile.

[0046] The upper and lower corners 152 located on one of the lateral sides of the support member 15 (here the left side) include openings to allow the attachment of a damping pad 121, against which the flap 12 can abut in the closed position. The upper and lower corners 152 located on the other lateral side of the support member include openings that enable the attachment, by screwing, of a device 17 for hinging the flap about an axis A. A spring 171 applies a force to hold the flap 12 in the open position, as Figure 1 shown.

[0047] Preferably, the top part of each boss 156 is approximately flat and extends in a plane of a longitudinal axis and a vertical axis that is substantially parallel to the plane of the vehicle body side 11. Each boss 156 is arranged to be indented with respect to the vehicle body side on the transverse axis Y. This clearance on the Y axis allows the flap 12 in the closed position to be received in the opening 10 such that the flap is flush with the vehicle body side.

[0048] Now reference will be made to Figure 4 describe the support reinforcement 16, which is shown separately in this figure.

[0049] The reinforcement 16 is made of a steel sheet, which is cut so as to form a substantially flat tab 161 adapted to bear against the bottom 155 of the support. The bottom wall 165 is formed by pressing to form a disc, and the contour line 162 of this bottom wall generally follows the contour of the opening 160 in the support 15. The reinforcement 160 follows the contour defined by the boss 156 and the side wall 154 of the support 15 within the assembly tolerance.

[0050] The bottom wall 165 includes a first opening 163 in which the end of the first fuel filler duct is arranged.

[0051] The bottom wall 165 includes a second opening 164 in which the end of the second fuel filler duct is arranged.

[0052] According to a variant embodiment not shown, without departing from the scope of the present invention, one of the ducts may be a cable dedicated to supplying current to the battery, and the other duct can be dedicated to filling liquid or gaseous fuel.

[0053] The assembly formed by the support 15 and the reinforcement 16 defines a fuel flap bowl with a double transverse indentation. The support 15 includes an indented bottom 155, and the reinforcement 16 includes an indented bottom 165, so that once the reinforcement 16 has been assembled and stacked in the opening 160 of the support 15, the resulting fuel flap bowl has sufficient depth to allow the combination of the closing devices 20, 30 and the closing of the opening 10, while maintaining a gap of at least 5 mm to 15 mm, preferably 10 mm, on the Y axis between the flap 12 and one of these closing devices. Such a gap ensures the complete closing of the flap 12 since the flap does not make any contact with one of the closing devices 20, 30.

[0054] The support 15 is connected to the opening 10 on the vehicle body side 11 by means of at least one sealing layer edge 4 (in particular a single continuous edge that extends linearly along the support surface of the support 15 on the vehicle body side 11 at the opening 10).

[0055] Due to the nature of the materials used to manufacture the support member 15 and the internal reinforcement member 16, the support member and the internal reinforcement member are assembled by welding.

[0056] The support member 15 is connected to the vehicle body side 11 by means of solder joints 7, in particular electric weld points. Preferably, at least one tab 161 includes two electric weld points, as is the case with the lower tab 161 in Figure 2 what follows.

[0057] The reinforcement member 16 is connected to the support member 15 by means of tabs 161, which are rigidly connected to the bottom wall 155 by solder joints.

[0058] The structural sealant edge 6 is arranged between the upper or lower tab 161 or both, so as to overlap with the bottom 155. The structural sealant edge 6 advantageously enables the support member 15 to be connected to the reinforcement member 16 before the spot welding or surfacing operation.

[0059] The internal reinforcement member 16 is connected to the support member 15 by means of at least one sealant layer edge 5 (in particular a single continuous edge 5 that extends linearly along the peripheral edge of the reinforcement member arranged against the support member 15).

[0060] The sealant layer edges 4 and 5 are made by adding material from the outside of the vehicle, which simplifies the manufacturing process.

[0061] The addition of the sealant layer enables corrosion protection to be formed on the edges of the openings, whether they are the vehicle body side openings 10 or the reinforcement member openings 160. After assembly using the solder joints 7, 8 and the structural sealant edge 6, each edge 4, 5 is applied.

[0062] The vehicle body arrangement includes a device 20 for closing the first conduit 2, which is connected to its end piece by means of a flexible fastener 21. The vehicle body arrangement also includes a connection between the flap 12 and a second device 30 for closing the second conduit 3 by means of a flexible cord 31. The first closing device and the second closing device are closing lids. Assembling the internal reinforcement member 16 on the vehicle body side 11 and the support member 15 using the solder joints 7 enables the rear wheel arch 13 (which is mechanically weakened due to the presence of the rear light cutout 18 and the door frame cutout 14 that are close together) to be strengthened.

[0063] The vehicle body arrangement according to the invention is remarkable in that it allows for a simplified and firm assembly of the filler conduits 2, 3 on the vehicle body structure.

[0064] Without departing from the scope of the invention, the conduit 2 can be used to fill the urea-based fuel additive of a diesel engine to reduce pollutant emissions.

Claims

1. An arrangement structure of a vehicle body, the arrangement structure comprising means (1) for attaching at least one conduit (2, 3) to the body, the conduit allowing energy storage, the body including an opening (10), and the means (1) for attachment being arranged in the opening, characterized in that, The device (1) for attachment comprises a support (15) and a support internal reinforcement (16), the support (15) being arranged in an opening (10) on the lateral side of the vehicle body, the reinforcement (16) being arranged in an opening (160) of the support (15), characterized in that the support (15) comprises a peripheral edge (151) having a substantially rectangular profile, the peripheral edge having four corners, bosses (156) extending from the four corners, the bosses protruding laterally outwards from a pressing defining a bottom wall (155), the opening (160) in the support (15) being formed in the bottom wall; the reinforcement (16) comprises a pressing defining a bottom wall (165); the contour line (162) of the bottom wall (165) of the reinforcement (16) follows the contour of the opening (160) of the support (15).

2. The arrangement structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support (15) is connected to the opening (10) in the vehicle body side by at least one first sealing layer edge (4).

3. The arrangement structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The reinforcement (16) comprises at least one opening (163, 164) adapted to fit in a form - fitting manner onto the end of a fuel supply conduit (2, 3).

4. The arrangement structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The bottom wall of the reinforcement (16) is disk - shaped relative to the contour line (162), and at least one tab (161) for attaching the reinforcement (16) to the support (15) extends radially from the contour line.

5. The arrangement structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, Each tab (161) is approximately flat and extends in a plane substantially parallel to the bottom wall (165), and the tab is intended to bear against the bottom wall.

6. The arrangement structure according to claim 5, characterized in that, Each tab (161) is arranged in layers on the support (15) along a transverse axis, and is characterized in that each tab (161) extends linearly between two adjacent bosses (156).

7. The arrangement structure according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, Each tab (161) is connected to the bottom wall (155) by at least one solder joint and / or at least one second sealing layer edge (5) and / or at least one structural sealant edge (6).

8. The arrangement structure according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, At least one of these tabs (161) is connected to both the inner panel of the vehicle body defining the rear wheel arch (13) of the vehicle and the support (15) by at least one solder joint.

9. The arrangement structure according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4-6, characterized in that The reinforcement (16) is made of a steel sheet thicker than that of the support (15).

10. The arrangement structure according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4-6, characterized in that, The vehicle body is a motor vehicle body.

11. The arrangement structure according to claim 9, characterized in that, The reinforcement (16) has a thickness of 1.2 mm.

12. The arrangement structure according to claim 11, characterized in that, The support (15) has a thickness of 0.65 mm.

13. A vehicle comprising a body bounded by lateral sides, characterized in that, The vehicle comprises an arrangement of the vehicle body as described in any one of the preceding claims.

14. The vehicle according to claim 13, wherein, The vehicle is a motor vehicle.

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