Fixing device for inlet pipes

Abstract

To prevent an inlet system pipe from interfering with a peripheral component even when a space between pipes included in the inlet system pipe is significantly changed.SOLUTION: Fixing tools 10, 20 include: a first fixing tool 10 which collectively fixes a portion 4a located close to an oil filler port 2 of a main pipe 4 and a portion 5a located close to the oil filler port 2 of a breather pipe 5 to a vehicle body 1; and a second fixing tool 20 which fixes a portion 4b, which is located closer to a fuel tank than the first fixing tool 10, of the main pipe 4 and a portion 5b, which is located closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing tool 10, of the breather pipe 5 to the vehicle body 1. The second fixing tool 20 has: a first support member 21 which supports the main pipe 4; a second support member 22 which supports the breather pipe 5 and is connected to the first support member 21; and a position adjustment mechanism 30 which may adjust a support position of the main pipe 4 in the first support member 21 and a support position of the breather pipe 5 in the second support member 22 relative to the vehicle body 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fixture for fixing an inlet pipe to a vehicle body.

Background Art

[0002] Vehicles are provided with inlet pipes such as an inlet main pipe for injecting fuel from a fuel filler into a fuel tank and a breather pipe for discharging air in the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank during fueling. The inlet pipe is fixed to the vehicle body using a fixture such as a bracket. As a technique for fixing a pipe such as an inlet pipe to a vehicle body, Patent Document 1 is known.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a pipe fixing bracket for fixing a vehicle pipe to a vehicle frame. The pipe fixing bracket disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plate-like member having a frame coupling portion for coupling the pipe fixing bracket to the frame, a first pipe coupling member for coupling the pipe fixing bracket to a first position of the pipe, and a second pipe coupling member for coupling the pipe fixing bracket to a second position different from the first position in the pipe, and a first direction connecting the frame coupling portion and the first pipe coupling member and a second direction connecting the frame coupling portion and the second pipe coupling member are different.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Conventional inlet pipes consist of an inlet main pipe and a breather pipe fixed together to the vehicle body, and are arranged to extend roughly parallel to each other from the fuel filler neck to the fuel tank. However, depending on the vehicle model, the distance between the inlet main pipe and the breather pipe may vary significantly from the fuel filler neck to the fuel tank, and the inlet main pipe and breather pipe may not be arranged to extend roughly parallel to each other. In this case, variations in the shape of each pipe and variations in the support positions of the fixing devices for each pipe are likely to affect the mounting to the vehicle body. If this mounting is poor, the inlet pipe may interfere with surrounding parts, which is problematic. The pipe fixing bracket disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not take such problems into consideration at all and has room for improvement.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to prevent the inlet system pipe from interfering with surrounding parts even when the spacing between multiple pipes included in the inlet system pipe changes significantly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an inlet pipe fixing device for fixing a main pipe that injects fuel from the fuel filler port of a vehicle into a fuel tank and a breather pipe that discharges air from the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank during refueling to the vehicle body, comprising: a first fixing device that fixes together the portion of the main pipe closest to the fuel filler port and the portion of the breather pipe closest to the fuel filler port to the vehicle body; and a second fixing device that fixes the portion of the main pipe closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing device and the portion of the breather pipe closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing device to the vehicle body, wherein the second fixing device comprises: a first support member that supports the portion of the main pipe closest to the fuel tank; a second support member that supports the portion of the breather pipe closest to the fuel tank and is connected to the first support member; and a position adjustment mechanism that allows the support position of the main pipe on the first support member and the support position of the breather pipe on the second support member to be adjusted relative to the vehicle body.

[0008] This configuration allows the inlet pipe fixing device to secure the inlet pipes together to the vehicle body using the first fixing device, even in areas near the fuel filler where space for positioning the inlet pipes is severely limited. Furthermore, even when the spacing between adjacent pipes changes significantly between the fuel filler and the fuel tank, and adjacent pipes are positioned far apart, the second fixing device, which has a position adjustment mechanism, can absorb variations in the shape of each pipe and variations in the support position of each pipe. Therefore, the inlet pipe fixing device can suppress the impact of variations in the shape of each pipe and variations in the support position of each pipe on the mounting of the inlet pipes to the vehicle body. Thus, the inlet pipe fixing device can prevent the inlet pipes from interfering with surrounding parts. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, even when the spacing between multiple pipes included in the inlet system pipe changes significantly, it is possible to prevent the inlet system pipe from interfering with surrounding parts. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] A perspective view showing the structure for fixing inlet pipes to the vehicle body using fasteners. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is inverted and the second fixing device is enlarged. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, components or functions denoted by the same reference numerals have the same configuration or function in each embodiment unless otherwise specified, and their description will be omitted.

[0012] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the fixing structure of the inlet pipes 4-6 to the vehicle body 1 using fasteners 10 and 20. Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the second fastener 20, inverted from Figure 1. Note that in Figure 1, the vehicle body 1 is positioned behind the inlet pipes 4-6 in the frame of the paper. In Figure 2, the vehicle body 1 is positioned in front of the inlet pipes 4-6 in the frame of the paper.

[0013] The inlet pipes 4-6 are vehicle piping located in the space from the vehicle's fuel filler port 2 to the fuel tank. The inlet pipes 4-6 include an inlet main pipe 4 that injects fuel from the vehicle's fuel filler port 2 into the fuel tank, a breather pipe 5 that discharges air from the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank during refueling, and an atmospheric communication pipe 6 that connects the canister, which adsorbs evaporated fuel in the fuel tank, to the atmosphere.

[0014] The inlet main pipe 4 (hereinafter also referred to as "main pipe 4") is made of metal piping such as stainless steel. One end of the main pipe 4 is connected to the fuel filler neck 2. The other end of the main pipe 4 is connected to the fuel tank connection port 3. The breather pipe 5 is made of metal piping such as stainless steel. One end of the breather pipe 5 is connected to the fuel filler neck 2 via the main pipe 4. The other end of the breather pipe 5 is connected to the fuel tank. The atmospheric communication pipe 6 is made of resin piping. One end of the atmospheric communication pipe 6 is connected to the fuel filler neck 2. The other end of the atmospheric communication pipe 6 is connected to the canister.

[0015] As shown in Figure 1, the inlet pipes 4-6 exhibit significant changes in the spacing between adjacent pipes from the fuel filler port 2 to the fuel tank. For example, the spacing between the portion 4a of the main pipe 4 closest to the fuel filler port 2 and the portion 5a of the breather pipe 5 closest to the fuel filler port 2 is small, but the spacing between the portion 4b of the main pipe 4 closest to the fuel tank and the portion 5b of the breather pipe 5 closest to the fuel tank is large.

[0016] The inlet pipes 4-6 are fixed to the vehicle body 1 using fasteners 10 and 20. The fasteners 10 and 20 consist of a first fastener 10 and a second fastener 20.

[0017] The first fixing device 10 secures the portion 4a of the main pipe 4 near the fuel inlet 2, the portion 5a of the breather pipe 5 near the fuel inlet 2, and the portion 6a of the atmospheric communication pipe 6 near the fuel inlet 2 together to the vehicle body 1. The first fixing device 10 is composed of brackets and the like that support each of the portions 4a, 5a, and 6a. The first fixing device 10 has fastening holes 10a into which stud bolts provided in the vehicle body 1 can be inserted. The first fixing device 10 can secure the inlet pipes 4 to 6 to the vehicle body 1 by inserting the fastening holes 10a into the stud bolts and fastening nuts.

[0018] The second fixing device 20 secures the portion 4b of the main pipe 4 closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing device 10, and the portion 5b of the breather pipe 5 closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing device 10, to the vehicle body 1. The second fixing device 20 is positioned between the portion 4b of the main pipe 4 closer to the fuel tank and the portion 5b of the breather pipe 5 closer to the fuel tank, and supports and secures these portions 4b and 5b to the vehicle body 1. The portions 6b and 6c of the atmospheric communication pipe 6 closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing device 10 are secured to the vehicle body 1 using other fixing devices.

[0019] The second fixing device 20 includes a first support member 21 that supports the portion 4b of the main pipe 4 closest to the fuel tank, and a second support member 22 that supports the portion 5b of the breather pipe 5 closest to the fuel tank.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, the first support member 21 is composed of a bracket extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The first support member 21 has a first support portion 21a that supports the portion 4b of the main pipe 4 near the fuel tank, and a connecting hole 21b for connecting the first support member 21 to the second support member 22. The connecting hole 21b is provided at the rear end of the first support member 21. The connecting hole 21b is formed as an elongated hole in which the longitudinal dimension of the vehicle is larger than the vertical dimension.

[0021] The second support member 22 is constituted by a substantially T-shaped plate member. The second support member 22 has a column portion 23 extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle and a beam portion 24 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The column portion 23 has a connecting protrusion 23a that engages with the connecting hole 21b of the first support member 21. The connecting protrusion 23a is provided at the lower end portion of the column portion 23.

[0022] The beam portion 24 has a second support portion 24a that supports a portion 5b of the breather pipe 5 close to the fuel tank, and fastening holes 24b and 24c into which the stud bolts 1a and 1b provided on the vehicle body 1 can be inserted. The beam portion 24 is connected to the upper end portion of the column portion 23 at a portion between the fastening hole 24b and the fastening hole 24c. The beam portion 24 and the column portion 23 are integrally formed.

[0023] The second support portion 24a is provided at the rear end portion of the beam portion 24 and is formed in a hook shape. The fastening hole 24b is provided at the front end portion of the beam portion 24. The fastening hole 24b is formed as a long hole whose vertical dimension is larger than its longitudinal dimension. The fastening hole 24c is provided at a portion of the beam portion 24 close to the second support portion 24a. The second fixture 20 can fix the main pipe 4 and the breather pipe 5 to the vehicle body 1 by inserting the stud bolts 1a and 1b into the fastening holes 24b and 24c respectively and tightening nuts.

[0024] As described above, the connecting hole 21b of the first support member 21 is formed as a long hole that is long in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the second fixture 20 has a structure in which the first support member 21 can be displaced in the longitudinal direction with respect to the second support member 22. Further, the fastening hole 24b of the second support member 22 is formed as a long hole that is long in the vertical direction. Therefore, the second fixture 20 has a structure in which the second support member 22 can be displaced in the vertical direction with respect to the stud bolt 1b of the vehicle body 1.

[0025] As a result, the second fastener 20 can adjust the position of the first support portion 21a of the first support member 21 relative to the vehicle body 1 in the front-rear and up-down directions. The second fastener 20 can also adjust the position of the second support portion 24a of the second support member 22 relative to the vehicle body 1 in the front-rear and up-down directions. In other words, the second fastener 20 has a position adjustment mechanism 30 that can adjust the support position of the main pipe 4 on the first support member 21 and the support position of the breather pipe 5 on the second support member 22 relative to the vehicle body 1. The position adjustment mechanism 30 in this embodiment is composed of the connecting hole 21b of the first support member 21 and the fastening hole 24b of the second support member 22, but is not limited thereto.

[0026] As described above, the fasteners 10 and 20 of this embodiment are fasteners for inlet pipes 4 to 6 that fix the main pipe 4, which injects fuel from the vehicle's fuel filler port 2 into the fuel tank, and the breather pipe 5, which discharges air from the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank during refueling, to the vehicle body 1. The fasteners 10 and 20 include a first fastener 10 that fixes the portion 4a of the main pipe 4 closest to the fuel filler port 2 and the portion 5a of the breather pipe 5 closest to the fuel filler port 2 together to the vehicle body 1, and a second fastener 20 that fixes the portion 4b of the main pipe 4 closer to the fuel tank than the first fastener 10 and the portion 5b of the breather pipe 5 closer to the fuel tank than the first fastener 10 to the vehicle body 1. The second fixing device 20 includes a first support member 21 that supports the portion 4b of the main pipe 4 closest to the fuel tank, a second support member 22 that supports the portion 5b of the breather pipe 5 closest to the fuel tank and is connected to the first support member 21, and a position adjustment mechanism 30 that allows the support position of the main pipe 4 on the first support member 21 and the support position of the breather pipe 5 on the second support member 22 to be adjusted relative to the vehicle body 1.

[0027] As a result, in this embodiment, the fixing devices 10 and 20 can fix the inlet pipes 4 to 6 together to the vehicle body 1 using the first fixing device 10, even when the space for arranging the inlet pipes 4 to 6 is greatly limited near the fuel filler port 2. Furthermore, even when the spacing between adjacent pipes changes significantly between the fuel filler port 2 and the fuel tank, and adjacent pipes are positioned far apart, the second fixing device 20, which has a position adjustment mechanism 30, can absorb variations in the shape of each pipe and variations in the support position of each pipe. Therefore, the fixing devices 10 and 20 of this embodiment can suppress variations in the shape of each pipe and variations in the support position of each pipe from affecting the installation of the inlet pipes 4 to 6 to the vehicle body 1. Thus, the fixing devices 10 and 20 of this embodiment can prevent the inlet pipes 4 to 6 from interfering with surrounding parts.

[0028] Furthermore, in the fasteners 10 and 20 of this embodiment, the first support member 21 has a connecting hole 21b for connecting the first support member 21 to the second support member 22. The second support member 22 has a fastening hole 24b into which a stud bolt 1a provided in the vehicle body 1 can be inserted. The connecting hole 21b is formed as an elongated hole in which the dimension in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is larger than the dimension in the vertical direction. The fastening hole 24b is formed as an elongated hole in which the dimension in the vertical direction is larger than the dimension in the front-rear direction. The position adjustment mechanism 30 is composed of the connecting hole 21b of the first support member 21 and the fastening hole 24b of the second support member 22.

[0029] As a result, in the fixing devices 10 and 20 of this embodiment, the position adjustment mechanism 30 can adjust the support position of the main pipe 4 on the first support member 21 and the support position of the breather pipe 5 on the second support member 22 in the front-rear and up-down directions. Moreover, the fixing devices 10 and 20 of this embodiment can realize a position adjustment mechanism 30 that can adjust the support positions of the main pipe 4 and breather pipe 5 in the front-rear and up-down directions with a simple configuration. Therefore, the fixing devices 10 and 20 of this embodiment can easily prevent the inlet pipes 4 to 6 from interfering with surrounding parts.

[0030] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The present invention can be modified by adding the configuration of one embodiment to the configuration of another embodiment, by substituting the configuration of one embodiment with another embodiment, or by deleting a part of the configuration of one embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1...Vehicle body, 2...Fuel filler port, 3...Fuel tank connection port, 4...Main pipe, 4a...Part of main pipe 4 near fuel filler port 2, 4b...Part of main pipe 4 near fuel tank, 5...Breather pipe, 5a...Part of breather pipe 5 near fuel filler port 2, 5b...Part of breather pipe 5 near fuel tank, 10...First fixing device, 20...Second fixing device, 21...First support member, 22...Second support member, 30...Position adjustment mechanism

Claims

[Claim 1] A fixing device for an inlet system pipe that secures to the vehicle body a main pipe for injecting fuel into the fuel tank from the vehicle's fuel filler neck and a breather pipe for discharging air from the fuel tank to the outside of the fuel tank during refueling, A first fixing device that secures the portion of the main pipe near the fuel filler port and the portion of the breather pipe near the fuel filler port together to the vehicle body, The vehicle body is provided with a second fixing device that secures the portion of the main pipe closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing device and the portion of the breather pipe closer to the fuel tank than the first fixing device. The second fixing device is, A first support member that supports the portion of the main pipe closest to the fuel tank, A second support member is connected to the first support member and supports the portion of the breather pipe closest to the fuel tank, The system includes a position adjustment mechanism that allows the support position of the main pipe in the first support member and the support position of the breather pipe in the second support member to be adjusted relative to the vehicle body. The first support member has a connecting hole for connecting the first support member to the second support member. The second support member has fastening holes into which stud bolts provided on the vehicle body can be inserted. The connecting hole is formed as an elongated hole in which the dimension in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is larger than the dimension in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The fastening hole is formed as an elongated hole in which the vertical dimension of the vehicle is larger than the longitudinal dimension of the vehicle. The position adjustment mechanism is comprised of the connecting hole in the first support member and the fastening hole in the second support member. A fastening device for inlet pipes, characterized by the following features.

Images