Fuel filter

Abstract

To suppress wrinkles occurring in a non-sandwiching region when sandwiching an opening peripheral edge part of a filtering material between two members.SOLUTION: In a fuel filter 10, an opening peripheral edge part 16 of an opening part 15 of a sheet-shaped upper surface side filter material 14 that filters fuel is sandwiched between a bone member 20 and a body member 30. The upper surface side filter material 14 has a ring-shaped solidification part 17 that surrounds a region to be sandwiched (the opening peripheral edge part 16 of the opening part 15) between the bone member 20 and the body member 30 in advance. The solidification part 17 is a heat-welded part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD The technology disclosed herein relates to fuel filters. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional fuel filter. In this fuel filter, the peripheral edge of the opening of a sheet-like filter material that filters fuel is sandwiched between two members (a bone member and a body member). The filter material is folded in half, and the peripheral edge, excluding the folded portion, is welded together to form a bag-like filter member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-80622 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to Patent Document 1, when the opening periphery of a filter medium is sandwiched between two components, there is a problem in that radial "wrinkles" occur in the non-sandwiched region of the filter medium, centered on the sandwiched region (opening periphery). It is believed that these wrinkles occur when the sandwiching force of the two components on the opening periphery of the filter medium (a compressive force that reduces the thickness of the opening periphery) affects the non-sandwiched region. Furthermore, wrinkles that occur in the non-sandwiched region of the filter medium can cause poor bonding (poor welding) when the filter medium is joined together to form the filter member (the welding of the filter medium at the periphery other than the folded part in half), which could lead to a deterioration in the quality of the filter member.

[0005] The problem that the technology disclosed in this specification aims to solve is to suppress wrinkles that occur in the non-clamped area when the peripheral edge of the opening of the filter medium is clamped between two members. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the technology disclosed in this specification takes the following measures.

[0007] The first means is a fuel filter in which the opening periphery of the opening of a sheet-like filter material that filters fuel is sandwiched between two members, and the filter material has a ring-shaped solidified portion that surrounds the area that is to be sandwiched by the two members.

[0008] According to the first means, the influence of the clamping force of the two members on the opening periphery of the filter material on the non-clamped area can be prevented by the solidification portion. This makes it possible to suppress wrinkles that occur in the non-clamped area when the opening periphery of the filter material is clamped between the two members. This in turn suppresses poor bonding between the filter materials due to wrinkles in the non-clamped area, thereby improving the quality of the filter member.

[0009] The second means is the fuel filter of the first means, wherein the solidified portion is a heat-sealed portion.

[0010] According to the second means, the solidified portion, ie, the heat-sealed portion, can be formed without requiring a separate member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, when the peripheral edge of the opening of the filter medium is sandwiched between two members, it is possible to suppress wrinkles that occur in the non-sandwiched area. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fuel filter according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the fuel filter. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 10 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing the state after the upper surface side filter material, bone member, and body member are assembled. FIG. [Figure 5]10 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing the state before the upper surface side filter material, bone member, and body member are assembled. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An embodiment for carrying out the technology disclosed in this specification will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fuel filter, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Fig. 2. The orientation of the fuel filter is determined as shown by the arrows in each figure. In this case, the up-down direction corresponds to the top-to-bottom direction.

[0014] (Fuel filter overview) As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel filter 10 includes a bag-shaped filter member 12 that filters fuel, a bone member 20 disposed within the filter member 12, and a body member 30 connected to the bone member 20.

[0015] (filter member 12) As shown in Fig. 3, the filter member 12 is formed in a vertically flat bag shape, with the lower filter medium 13 and the upper filter medium 14 joined at a joint 18 by heat welding along their entire periphery. The filter member 12 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view (see Fig. 2). Each of the filter mediums 13 and 14 is formed, for example, in a sheet shape by stacking multiple layers of resin nonwoven fabric. The upper filter medium 13 has a plurality of discretely arranged dot-like positioning portions 14a formed by heat welding (see Figs. 1 and 2). The positioning portions 14a prevent misalignment between the multiple layers of nonwoven fabric. The lower filter medium 13 also has a positioning portion similar to the positioning portion 14a.

[0016] Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts showing the state before the upper surface side filter material 14, the bone member 20, and the body member 30 are assembled. As shown in Fig. 5, the upper surface side filter material 14 has a circular hole-shaped opening 15 formed therein. The opening 15 is located at one end (right end) of the upper surface side filter material 14 in the longitudinal direction. The peripheral portion of the opening 15 is called the opening periphery 16.

[0017] (Bone member 20) As shown in FIG. 3, the bone member 20 is made of resin and has a bone main body 21, multiple legs 22, and a body connecting portion 23. The bone main body 21 has a lattice-plate-like skeleton structure. The multiple legs 22 protrude downward from the bone main body 21 in a dispersed manner. The body connecting portion 23 is formed at one longitudinal end (right end) of the bone main body 21. The bone member 20 is disposed in the internal space 19 of the filter member 12. The bone main body 21 and multiple legs 22 support the lower filter material 13 and the upper filter material 14 at a predetermined distance from each other in a so-called expanded state.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5 , the body connection portion 23 includes a cylindrical connecting tube portion 24 extending vertically, a circular plate-shaped connecting wall portion 26 extending radially outward from the lower end of the connecting tube portion 24, and a short cylindrical outer tube portion 27 rising upward from the outer peripheral end of the connecting wall portion 26. The connecting tube portion 24 and the outer tube portion 27 are concentrically formed. The upper end surface of the outer tube portion 27 is lower than the upper end surface of the connecting tube portion 24. The connecting tube portion 24, the connecting wall portion 26, and the outer tube portion 27 form an annular groove-shaped recess 25 that opens to the upper surface. A protrusion 24a protruding radially outward is formed around the entire periphery of the upper end of the connecting tube portion 24. The protrusion 24a has a trapezoidal cross section. The outer tube portion 27 is connected to the bone main body portion 21 at a position one step higher than the connecting wall portion 26. The connecting wall portion 26 also has a plurality of legs 22 protruding downward.

[0019] (Body member 30) As shown in Figure 3, the body member 30 is made of resin and has a stepped cylindrical main body portion 31. The main body portion 31 has a tubular portion 32 with a small diameter at the top and a fitting tubular portion 33 with a large diameter at the bottom. A pair of mounting pieces 36 is provided at the top end of the tubular portion 32 (see Figures 1 and 2). The pair of mounting pieces 36 can be connected by snap fitting to a pump holding member that holds a fuel pump (not shown). The tubular portion 32 is also connected to the piping of the pump holding member.

[0020] 5, a flange portion 34 in the shape of an annular plate protruding radially outward is formed in the center in the height direction of the fitting cylindrical portion 33. The lower end (tip) of the fitting cylindrical portion 33 protrudes downward from the flange portion 34. A groove portion 33a is formed around the entire inner periphery of the fitting cylindrical portion 33. The groove portion 33a has a trapezoidal cross section.

[0021] (Assembly of the upper filter material 14, bone member 20, and body member 30) After fitting the opening periphery 16 of the upper filter medium 14 into the connecting tube portion 24 of the bone member 20, the fitting tube portion 33 of the body member 30 is fitted into the connecting tube portion 24 of the bone member 20. As a result, as shown in the assembled state in Figure 4, the protrusion 24a of the connecting tube portion 24 is engaged and press-fit into the groove 33a of the fitting tube portion 33, thereby connecting the body member 30 and the bone member 20 to each other with the upper filter medium 14 between them. The tip portion (lower end portion) of the fitting tube portion 33 is inserted into the recess 25 of the bone member 20.

[0022] Additionally, the opening periphery 16 of the filter medium 14 on the upper surface side is sandwiched between the bone member 20 and the body member 30. More specifically, the outer peripheral portion of the opening periphery 16 is sandwiched between the outer tubular portion 27 of the bone member 20 and the flange portion 34 of the body member 30 in a state compressed in the direction in which the wall thickness decreases. Additionally, the inner peripheral portion of the opening periphery 16 is sandwiched between the outer tubular portion 27 of the bone member 20 and the fitting tubular portion 33 of the body member 30 in a state compressed cylindrically in the radial direction.

[0023] 3, the lower filter material 13 is placed on the upper filter material 14 with the bone member 20 in between, and the peripheral portions of both filter materials 13, 14 are joined at a joint 18 by thermal welding. This forms a bag-shaped filter member 12 containing the bone member 20. The hollow portion of the main body portion 31 of the body member 30 is connected to the internal space 19 of the filter material 12 via the hollow portion of the body connecting portion 23 of the bone member 20.

[0024] (Characteristic configuration of one embodiment) As shown in FIG. 5, the upper filter material 14 is pre-formed with a ring-shaped solidified portion 17 surrounding a region 16 (denoted by the same reference numeral as the opening periphery 16) to be sandwiched between the bone member 20 and the body member 30. The region 16 is a region to be sandwiched between the bone member 20 and the body member 30, and corresponds to the opening periphery 16. The solidified portion 17 is a heat-welded portion (denoted by the same reference numeral as the solidified portion) 17. For example, hot plate welding, ultrasonic welding, high-frequency welding, etc. can be used for the heat welding. The solidified portion 17 is preferably formed simultaneously with the formation of the positioning portion 14a of the upper filter material 14. The solidified portion 17 is a portion of the upper filter material 14 where the rigidity is increased. The bone member 20 and the body member 30 correspond to the "two members" referred to in this specification.

[0025] After the upper filter medium 14 is sandwiched between the bone member 20 and the body member 30, the solidified portion 17 is located at a position surrounding the opening periphery 16 sandwiched between the outer tube portion 27 of the bone member 20 and the flange portion 34 of the body member 30, i.e., at a position radially outwardly spaced a predetermined distance from the opening periphery 16 (see FIG. 2). Here, the predetermined distance is a distance that can suppress the occurrence of wrinkles in the non-clamped region while suppressing the influence of wrinkles that occur in the inner region inside the solidified portion 17 on the solidified portion 17.

[0026] (Advantages of Characteristic Configuration of One Embodiment) According to this embodiment, the influence of the clamping force (a force compressing the opening peripheral portion 16 in a direction reducing the thickness) between the bone member 20 and the body member 30 on the opening peripheral portion 16 of the upper surface-side filter medium 14 on the non-clamped region can be prevented by the solidified portion 17. This makes it possible to suppress wrinkles that occur in the non-clamped region (more specifically, the outer region outside the solidified portion 17) when the opening peripheral portion 16 of the upper surface-side filter medium 14 is clamped between the bone member 20 and the body member 30. Consequently, poor bonding (poor welding at the joint 18) between the filter media (the lower surface-side filter medium 13 and the upper surface-side filter medium 14) caused by wrinkles in the non-clamped region can be suppressed, thereby improving the quality of the filter member 12.

[0027] Furthermore, the heat-sealed portion 17, which is the solidified portion 17, can be formed without requiring a separate member.

[0028] [Other embodiments] The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be implemented in various other forms. For example, the technology disclosed in this specification may be applied to fuel filters of various fuel pump modules, such as those used in vehicles, ships, and industrial machinery. The solidified portion 17 is not limited to the heat-sealed portion 17, but may also be formed by a painted portion, a glued portion, or the like. The filter element 12 may be formed by folding the filter element in half and joining the peripheral portion other than the folded portion by heat welding. The outer shape of the filter element 12 is not limited. The position of the opening 15 of the upper filter element 14 is arbitrary. The inner peripheral portion of the opening peripheral portion 16 of the upper filter element 14 does not have to be compressed into a cylindrical shape. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 10 Fuel filter 12 Filter member 13 Lower filter element 14 Upper filter element 15 Opening 16 Opening periphery (area to be clamped, clamped area) 17 Solidified part (welded part) 20 Bone member 30 Body parts

Claims

1. A fuel filter in which an opening peripheral portion of an opening of a sheet-like filter material that filters fuel is sandwiched between two members, The filter medium has a ring-shaped solidified portion that surrounds the area to be sandwiched by the two members.

2. 2. The fuel filter of claim 1, The solidified portion is a heat-welded portion.

Images