Fuel supply device and method for mounting and demounting fuel supply device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10794342-B2
Application number	US-201716323003-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2017
Priority date	Nov 18, 2016
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

A pump unit includes an insertion guide member that extends in a longitudinal direction of the pump unit and is used to guide the pump unit at a time of inserting the pump unit into an opening portion of a fuel tank. The insertion guide member includes a stopper portion and a guide portion that are arranged along an edge part of the insertion guide member. When the pump unit is projected in the longitudinal direction onto a plane of projection, the stopper portion protrudes outward from an imaginary circle, which has a fitting portion's diameter, on the plane of projection. The guide portion guides the pump unit in a rotational direction relative to a stay. A cross section of the pump unit taken along a guide portion orthogonal plane is set to be within the imaginary circle, which has the fitting portion's diameter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel supply device configured to be mounted in an inside of a fuel tank, the fuel supply device comprising:
a flange that is fittable to an opening portion of the fuel tank and has a fitting portions diameter that corresponds to an inner diameter of the opening portion;
a pump unit that includes a base portion and a fuel pump, wherein the fuel pump is mounted to the base portion;
a stay that is fixed to the flange; and
a coupling shaft that couples between the stay and the pump unit in a manner that enables relative rotation between the stay and the pump unit, wherein:
the stay is rotatable between:
an upright state where the stay is held upright relative to the base portion of the pump unit, and the flange is farthest from the base portion; and
a maximum tilt state where the stay is closest to the base portion of the pump unit;

the pump unit is configured such that a longitudinal direction of the pump unit coincides with a direction along a rotation plane of the stay, and the pump unit further includes an insertion guide member that extends in the longitudinal direction and is used to guide the pump unit at a time of inserting the pump unit into the opening portion of the fuel tank;
the insertion guide member includes:
a stopper portion, wherein when the pump unit is projected in the longitudinal direction onto a plane of projection, the stopper portion protrudes outward from an imaginary circle, which has the fitting portion's diameter, on the plane of projection; and
a guide portion that guides the pump unit in a rotational direction of the pump unit relative to the stay, while the stopper portion and the guide portion are arranged along an edge part of the insertion guide member, which is opposite from the base portion;
an imaginary plane, which is perpendicular to a tangent line at a point along the guide portion and extends through the point and intersects with the base portion at an angle corresponding to a tilt angle of the stay in the maximum tilt state, is defined as a guide portion orthogonal plane; and

a cross section of the pump unit taken along the guide portion orthogonal plane is set to be within the imaginary circle, which has the fitting portion's diameter.

2. The fuel supply device according to claim 1 , wherein an outline of the guide portion is formed by a curve line.

3. The fuel supply device according to claim 1 , wherein an outline of the guide portion is formed by a combination of a plurality of straight lines, slopes of which change progressively.

4. The fuel supply device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the pump unit further includes a relief valve that adjusts a discharge pressure of the fuel pump; and
the relief valve is placed on an opposite side of the stopper portion of the insertion guide member, which is opposite from the guide portion.

5. The fuel supply device according to claim 1 , wherein the stay is tilted on the base portion side of the guide portion in the maximum tilt state.

6. The fuel supply device according to claim 5 , wherein:
a wire harness, which transmits a signal, is placed along the stay; and
at least a portion of the wire harness, which is rotatable together with the stay, is placed on the base portion side of the guide portion in the maximum tilt state.

7. The fuel supply device according to claim 1 , wherein the guide portion is placed on the coupling shaft side of a center of the pump unit, which is centered in the longitudinal direction of the pump unit.

8. The fuel supply device according to claim 7 , further comprising a connection tube that forms a fuel passage, wherein at least a portion of the connection tube extends on an opposite side of the guide portion of the insertion guide member, which is opposite from the center of the pump unit that is centered in the longitudinal direction of the pump unit.

9. The fuel supply device according to claim 1 , further comprising a sender gauge that is configured to sense a level of a surface of fuel in a state where the sender gauge is placed in the inside of the fuel tank, wherein:
the sender gauge is placed such that a clearance between the sender gauge and a bottom surface of the fuel tank and a clearance between the sender gauge and an inner side surface of the fuel tank are ensured in a state where the fuel tank is in parallel with a horizontal plane while the guide portion is in contact with an edge part of the opening portion.

10. A method for mounting and demounting a fuel supply device relative to a fuel tank, wherein the fuel supply device includes:
a flange that is fittable to an opening portion of the fuel tank and has a fitting portion's diameter that corresponds to an inner diameter of the opening portion;
a pump unit that includes a base portion and a fuel pump, wherein the fuel pump is mounted to the base portion;
a stay that is fixed to the flange; and
a coupling shaft that couples between the stay and the pump unit in a manner that enables relative rotation between the stay and the pump unit, wherein:
the stay is rotatable between:
an upright state where the stay is held upright relative to the base portion of the pump unit, and the flange is farthest from the base portion; and
a maximum tilt state where the stay is closest to the base portion of the pump unit;

the pump unit is configured such that a longitudinal direction of the pump unit coincides with a direction along a rotation plane of the stay, and the pump unit further includes an insertion guide member that extends in the longitudinal direction and is used to guide the pump unit at a time of inserting the pump unit into the opening portion of the fuel tank;
the insertion guide member includes a guide portion that guides the pump unit in a rotational direction of the pump unit relative to the stay, while the guide portion is arranged along an edge part of the insertion guide member, which is opposite from the base portion;
an imaginary plane, which is perpendicular to a tangent line at a point along the guide portion and extends through the point and intersects with the base portion at an angle corresponding to a tilt angle of the stay in the maximum tilt state, is defined as a guide portion orthogonal plane; and
a cross section of the pump unit taken along the guide portion orthogonal plane is set to be within the imaginary circle, which has the fitting portion's diameter,
the method comprising, at a time of mounting the fuel supply device to the fuel tank:
inserting the pump unit into the opening portion in a perpendicular direction, which is perpendicular to an opening plane of the opening portion, while the stay is placed in the maximum tilt state;
rotating the pump unit in a direction for placing the base portion in a state, in which the base portion is opposed to a bottom surface of the fuel tank, while the guide portion of the insertion guide member is in contact with an edge part of the opening portion; and
fitting the flange to the opening portion; and

the method comprising, at a time of demounting the fuel supply device from the fuel tank:
pulling up the flange until the guide portion of the insertion guide member contacts the edge part of the opening portion;
rotating the pump unit in a direction for raising the pump unit from the bottom surface of the fuel tank while the guide portion of the insertion guide member is in contact with the edge part of the opening portion; and
pulling up the pump unit in the perpendicular direction, which is perpendicular to the opening plane of the opening portion.

Assignees

• Denso Corp
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Maruyama Koji
• Fukuoka Shingo
• Adachi Rui
• Okazono Tetsuro
• Hayashi Norihiro
• Kamiyama Atsushi
• Takatsuji Junichi

Classifications

• B60K2015/03243

  characterised by special pumps, the mounting thereof · CPC title

• B60K2015/03453

  for fixing or mounting parts of the fuel tank together · CPC title

• B60K15/03

  Fuel tanks · CPC title

• F02M37/103 Primary

  Mounting pumps on fuel tanks · CPC title

• B60K2015/03217

  Fuel level sensors · CPC title