Connector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11092124-B2
Application number	US-202016858972-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 27, 2020
Priority date	Jul 17, 2018
Publication date	Aug 17, 2021
Grant date	Aug 17, 2021

Abstract

A connector includes: a connector body formed in a tubular shape; a valve housing formed in a tubular shape and provided inside the connector body with a seal structure interposed therebetween, the seal structure restricting flow of fuel between the valve housing and an inner circumferential surface of the connector body; and a valve body stored inside the valve housing, the valve body being configured to, when high-pressure fuel does not flow back, come into a first state in which a forward flow path is formed between the valve body and an inner circumferential surface of the valve housing by a pressure of low-pressure fuel, and when the high-pressure fuel flows back, come into a second state in which an orifice flow path having a smaller flow path sectional area than the forward flow path is formed between the valve body and the inner circumferential surface of the valve housing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connector to be connected to a low-pressure pipe through which low-pressure fuel supplied from a low-pressure pump flows, in a fuel supply system in which the low-pressure fuel is pressurized by a high-pressure pump and high-pressure fuel is supplied to an internal combustion engine, the connector comprising:
a connector body formed in a tubular shape;
a valve housing formed in a tubular shape and provided inside the connector body with a seal structure interposed therebetween, the seal structure being configured to restrict flow of fuel between the valve housing and an inner circumferential surface of the connector body;
a valve body stored inside the valve housing, the valve body being configured to, when the high-pressure fuel does not flow back, come into a first state in which a forward flow path is formed between the valve body and an inner circumferential surface of the valve housing by a pressure of the low-pressure fuel, and when the high-pressure fuel flows back, come into a second state in which an orifice flow path having a smaller flow path sectional area than the forward flow path is formed between the valve body and the inner circumferential surface of the valve housing; and
a fixation bush formed in a bottomed tubular shape and guiding an end of the low-pressure pipe which is to be inserted on an inner circumferential surface thereof, the fixation bush being configured to restrict a flow-path-direction position of the valve housing relative to the connector body.

2. The connector according to claim 1 , further comprising an elastic seal member mounted to an outer circumferential surface of the valve housing, the elastic seal member being in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the connector body and serving as the seal structure.

3. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein
the seal structure is a surface seal structure in which the inner circumferential surface of the connector body and an outer circumferential surface of the valve housing are in direct contact with each other.

4. The connector according to claim 3 , wherein
the surface seal structure has a function of restricting the flow-path-direction position of the valve housing relative to the connector body.

5. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein
the valve housing includes a first contact portion configured to, when the valve body is in the first state, become distant from the valve body so as to form the forward flow path, and when the valve body is in the second state, come into contact with the valve body so as to restrict flow of the high-pressure fuel,
the connector further comprising a spring configured to urge the valve body toward the first contact portion of the valve housing.

6. The connector according to claim 5 , wherein
the valve housing includes a first contact portion orifice groove provided so as to be adjacent to the first contact portion in a circumferential direction, the first orifice groove being configured to form the orifice flow path when the valve body is in the second state.

7. The connector according to claim 5 , wherein the valve body includes:
a second contact portion configured to, when the valve body is in the first state, become distant from the first contact portion so as to form the forward flow path, and when the valve body is in the second state, come into contact with the first contact portion so as to restrict the flow of the high-pressure fuel; and
a second contact portion orifice groove provided so as to be adjacent to the second contact portion in a circumferential direction, the second orifice groove being configured to form the orifice flow path when the valve body is in the second state.

8. The connector according to claim 5 , wherein
the valve housing includes:
a valve housing body formed with a center hole through which the fuel flows and provided inside the connecting body with the seal structure interposed therebetween, the seal structure being configured to restrict the flow of fuel between the valve housing body and the inner circumferential surface of the connector body and forming the forward flow path and the orifice flow path between the valve housing body and the valve body;
a spring mounting portion located so as to be distant in the axial direction from the valve housing body and mounting the spring thereon to form a flow path for fuel between an outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the connector body; and
a connecting portion connecting the valve housing body and the spring mounting portion for allowing communication between the center hole of the valve housing body and an outer peripheral area around the spring mounting portion, wherein
the fixation bush is brought into contact with the spring mounting portion.

9. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the valve body has a spherical shape.

10. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the fixation bush is provided with a plurality of through holes in a bottom surface thereof in a circumferential direction, serving as a flow path for fuel.

11. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein an outer circumferential surface of the fixation bush is formed in a recessed and projecting shape and is engaged with a recessed and projecting shape of the inner circumferential surface of the connector body.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Riko Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takimoto Yorihiro
• Kodaka Yoshiki
• KANEGAE Ryousuke
• Ito Makoto
• Shibata Ryuji

Classifications

• F02M37/04

  Feeding by means of driven pumps · CPC title

• F02M55/025

  Common rails · CPC title

• F16L37/38

  with fluid cut-off means in only one of two pipe-end fittings · CPC title

• F02M37/0017 Primary

  related to fuel pipes or their connections, e.g. joints or sealings (F02M55/004 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02M37/0023 Primary

  Valves in the fuel supply and return system · CPC title