Fuel system piping

Abstract

To easily prevent a resin fuel system piping fitted under a floor of a vehicle from interfering with the road surface due to heat deformation.SOLUTION: A resin fuel system piping 10 is fitted to the underfloor 2 of a vehicle 1 via a plurality of clamps 3-5 disposed in a front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 with an interval therebetween, and has a straight part 11 extending in the front-rear direction. The plurality of clamps 3-5 includes a front clamp 3 supporting the front part of a straight part 11; and a rear clamp 4 supporting the rear part of the straight part 11. The straight part 11 includes: a front end part 12 located on the front side of the front clamp 3; a rear end part 13 located on the rear side of the rear clamp 4; an intermediate part 14 located between the front clamp 3 and the rear clamp 4; and an enlarged diameter part 15 enlarged further than the outer diameter of the intermediate part 14. The enlarged diameter part 15 is not disposed to the intermediate part 14 but is disposed to each of the front end part 12 and the rear end part 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a fuel system piping. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle is provided with fuel system piping, such as a fuel supply piping that supplies fuel from a fuel tank to an engine and a purge piping that guides air containing evaporated fuel in the fuel tank to the engine. The fuel system piping is sometimes made of resin to reduce weight and cost. Patent Document 1 is known as an example of a resin fuel system piping.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a resin fuel system pipe that is attached to the underfloor of a vehicle via a plurality of clamps. The fuel system pipe disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a plurality of clamp portions that are held by the clamps, enlarged diameter portions that are provided on both longitudinal sides of both end clamp portions of the plurality of clamp portions and have a larger diameter than the clamp portions, and a curved portion that is disposed between the end clamps and curves upward in the vehicle vertical direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-39485 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Fuel system piping often has enlarged diameter sections on both the front and rear sides of each clamp to prevent misalignment of the fuel system piping. In this type of fuel system piping, the enlarged diameter sections abut against the clamps and restrain the fuel system piping during thermal expansion, which can easily generate large thermal stress in the intermediate portion located between the clamps. This thermal stress can easily cause the intermediate portion of the fuel system piping to bend. If the intermediate portion of the fuel system piping is straight, the bending can cause the intermediate portion to sag, potentially interfering with the road surface. The fuel system piping disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a curved portion in the intermediate portion to relieve this thermal stress, but providing a curved portion is time-consuming.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has an object to easily prevent resin fuel system piping attached under the floor of a vehicle from interfering with the road surface due to thermal deformation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the fuel system piping of the present invention is a plastic fuel system piping that is attached to the underfloor of the vehicle via a plurality of clamps that are spaced apart in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle and has a straight portion that extends in the fore-and-aft direction, the plurality of clamps including a front clamp that supports a front portion of the straight portion and a rear clamp that supports a rear portion of the straight portion, the straight portion having a front end located forward of the front clamp, a rear end located rearward of the rear clamp, an intermediate portion located between the front clamp and the rear clamp, and an enlarged diameter portion that is enlarged in diameter than the outer diameter of the intermediate portion, and the enlarged diameter portion is not provided in the intermediate portion but is provided at each of the front end and the rear end.

[0008] With this configuration, the straight portion of the fuel system piping can extend in the longitudinal direction without being restrained by the enlarged diameter portion during thermal expansion, which prevents the intermediate portion from bending during thermal expansion. Therefore, the fuel system piping can prevent the straight portion from interfering with the road surface due to thermal deformation, even without providing a curved portion or the like in the intermediate portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to easily prevent resin fuel system piping attached under the floor of a vehicle from interfering with the road surface due to thermal deformation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view of the fuel system piping of the embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the fuel system piping shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3(a) is an enlarged view of the fuel system piping near the front clamp shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3(b) is an enlarged view of the fuel system piping near the rear clamp shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Unless otherwise specified, components or functions denoted by the same reference numerals in the respective embodiments have the same components or functions, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a side view of the fuel system piping 10 of this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a top view of the fuel system piping 10 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3(a) is an enlarged view of the fuel system piping 10 near the front clamp 3 shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3(b) is an enlarged view of the fuel system piping 10 near the rear clamp 4 shown in Fig. 2.

[0013] The fuel system piping 10 includes a fuel supply piping that supplies fuel from the fuel tank to the engine of the vehicle 1, a purge piping that guides air containing fuel evaporated in the fuel tank to the engine, etc. The fuel system piping 10 is made of resin.

[0014] The fuel system piping 10 is attached to the underfloor 2 of the vehicle 1 via a plurality of clamps 3 to 5 arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the fuel system piping 10 has a straight portion 11 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1. The straight portion 11 of the fuel system piping 10 is supported by a plurality of clamps 3 to 5 provided on the underside of a floor panel of the vehicle 1 that constitutes the underfloor 2.

[0015] The multiple clamps 3 to 5 include, for example, a front clamp 3 provided at the front part of the underside of the floor panel, a rear clamp 4 provided at the rear part of the underside of the floor panel, and an intermediate clamp 5 provided in the part between the front clamp 3 and the rear clamp 4 on the underside of the floor panel.

[0016] The front clamp 3 supports the front portion of the straight portion 11. The rear clamp 4 supports the rear portion of the straight portion 11. The middle clamp 5 supports a middle portion 14 of the straight portion 11, which will be described later. Each of the clamps 3 to 5 supports the straight portion 11 so that it can slide in the front-to-rear direction. Each of the clamps 3 to 5 may have a substantially C-shaped groove into which the straight portion 11 can be fitted with play.

[0017] The straight portion 11 has a front end portion 12 located forward of the front clamp 3, a rear end portion 13 located rearward of the rear clamp 4, an intermediate portion 14 located between the front clamp 3 and the rear clamp 4, and an expanded diameter portion 15 whose outer diameter is larger than that of the intermediate portion 14.

[0018] As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), the expanded diameter portion 15 is not provided in the intermediate portion 14, but is provided in each of the front end portion 12 and the rear end portion 13. The expanded diameter portion 15 in the front end portion 12 is provided forward from the front clamp 3 with a space therebetween. The expanded diameter portion 15 in the rear end portion 13 is provided rearward from the rear clamp 4 with a space therebetween. The expanded diameter portion 15 may be formed by a bead or spool that protrudes radially outward from a portion of the surface of each of the front end portion 12 and the rear end portion 13 and extends circumferentially. In other words, the portions of each of the front end portion 12 and the rear end portion 13 other than the expanded diameter portion 15 may have the same outer diameter as the intermediate portion 14. The outer diameter of the expanded diameter portion 15 is larger than the inner diameter of the grooves of each of the clamps 3 to 5.

[0019] The expanded diameter portion 15 of the front end portion 12 is provided forward of the front clamp 3, and therefore restricts rearward movement of the straight portion 11. The expanded diameter portion 15 of the rear end portion 13 is provided rearward of the rear clamp 4, and therefore restricts forward movement of the straight portion 11. As a result, the expanded diameter portion 15 can restrict movement of the straight portion 11 in the front-to-rear direction, and therefore displacement of the straight portion 11 in the front-to-rear direction can be suppressed.

[0020] Furthermore, the enlarged diameter portion 15 is not provided in the intermediate portion 14. This allows the straight portion 11 to extend in the front-to-rear direction during thermal expansion without being restrained by the enlarged diameter portion 15, thereby preventing large thermal stress from occurring in the intermediate portion 14 during thermal expansion. Therefore, the straight portion 11 can prevent the intermediate portion 14 from bending during thermal expansion, and can prevent the intermediate portion 14 from sagging due to the bending and interfering with the road surface.

[0021] Furthermore, the expanded diameter portion 15 of the front end portion 12 is provided at a distance forward from the front clamp 3, and the expanded diameter portion 15 of the rear end portion 13 is provided at a distance rearward from the rear clamp 4. This allows the straight portion 11 to shorten in the front-to-rear direction without being restrained by the expanded diameter portion 15 during thermal contraction, thereby preventing large thermal stress from occurring in the intermediate portion 14 during thermal contraction. Therefore, the straight portion 11 can prevent the expanded diameter portion 15 from going beyond the front clamp 3 or the rear clamp 4 and entering between the front clamp 3 and the rear clamp 4, preventing the straight portion 11 from becoming misaligned.

[0022] As described above, the fuel system piping 10 of this embodiment is a resin fuel system piping having a straight portion 11 extending in the fore-and-aft direction and attached to the underfloor 2 of the vehicle 1 via a plurality of clamps 3-5 arranged at intervals in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle 1. The plurality of clamps 3-5 includes a front clamp 3 that supports a front portion of the straight portion 11 and a rear clamp 4 that supports a rear portion of the straight portion 11. The straight portion 11 has a front end portion 12 located forward of the front clamp 3, a rear end portion 13 located rearward of the rear clamp 4, an intermediate portion 14 located between the front clamp 3 and the rear clamp 4, and an enlarged diameter portion 15 whose outer diameter is larger than that of the intermediate portion 14. The enlarged diameter portion 15 is not provided in the intermediate portion 14, but is provided at each of the front end portion 12 and the rear end portion 13.

[0023] As a result, the straight portion 11 of the fuel system piping 10 can extend in the front-rear direction without being restrained by the enlarged diameter portion 15 during thermal expansion, thereby preventing the intermediate portion 14 from bending during thermal expansion. Therefore, the fuel system piping 10 can prevent the straight portion 11 from interfering with the road surface due to thermal deformation, even without providing a curved portion or the like in the intermediate portion 14. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the resin fuel system piping 10 attached under the floor of the vehicle 1 can easily be prevented from interfering with the road surface due to thermal deformation.

[0024] Furthermore, in the fuel system piping 10 of this embodiment, the enlarged diameter portion 15 of the front end portion 12 is provided at a distance forward from the front clamp 3, and the enlarged diameter portion 15 of the rear end portion 13 is provided at a distance rearward from the rear clamp 4.

[0025] This prevents the expanded diameter portion 15 of the fuel system piping 10 from entering between the front clamp 3 and the rear clamp 4 during thermal contraction, thereby preventing misalignment of the straight portion 11. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to easily prevent the resin fuel system piping 10 attached under the floor of the vehicle 1 from interfering with the road surface due to thermal deformation, while also preventing the fuel system piping 10 from being misaligned due to thermal deformation.

[0026] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the present invention, the configuration of one embodiment can be added to the configuration of another embodiment, the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, or part of the configuration of one embodiment can be deleted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1...vehicle, 2...underfloor, 3...front clamp, 4...rear clamp, 5...intermediate clamp, 10...fuel system piping, 11...straight section, 12...front end, 13...rear end, 14...intermediate section, 15...expanded diameter section

Claims

[Claim 1] A fuel system pipe made of resin, which is attached to an underfloor of a vehicle via a plurality of clamps arranged at intervals in a front-rear direction of the vehicle, and which has a straight portion extending in the front-rear direction, the plurality of clamps include a front clamp that supports a front portion of the straight portion and a rear clamp that supports a rear portion of the straight portion, the straight portion has a front end portion located forward of the front clamp, a rear end portion located rearward of the rear clamp, an intermediate portion located between the front clamp and the rear clamp, and an expanded diameter portion having an outer diameter larger than that of the intermediate portion, The enlarged diameter portion is not provided in the intermediate portion, but is provided at each of the front end portion and the rear end portion. A fuel system piping characterized by:

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