FUEL CONTAINER AND ITS CONNECTION WITH A PIPE

CONTENEUR A CARBURANT AVEC RACCORD DE TUYAUTERIE

English Abstract

A fuel container with a pipe, the fuel container having a pipe connecting piece with a conically widened rim and the pipe having an annular bead, on which a connecting member acts, and a sealing ring further being seated between the conically widened rim and the annular bead. In order to make the connection such that it can be produced simply and accurately, and to make it quite tightly, on the side of the annular bead facing the pipe connecting piece, the pipe forms a cylinder with two circumferential grooves, in each of which a sealing ring is seated, which rests in a sealing manner on the cylindrical inner surface of the pipe connecting piece. The annular bead has a cross section with two oblique flanks, the conically widened rim of the pipe connecting piece resting on the flank facing the pipe connecting piece, and the connecting member acting on the flank facing away.

French Abstract

Un réservoir de carburant assorti d'un tuyau, le réservoir de carburant étant pourvu d'une pièce de raccordement dotée d'une bague évasée et le tuyau étant muni d'une nervure circulaire, sur laquelle un élément de raccordement fait pression et un joint d'étanchéité se loge plus loin entre le bord évasé et la nervure circulaire. Pour que le raccordement puisse être fabriqué par des procédés simples et précis, et aussi pour le rendre très étanches, du côté de la nervure circulaire faisant face à la pièce de raccordement du tuyau, le tuyau forme un cylindre doté de deux cannelures circulaires, dans chacune desquelles se loge un joint d'étanchéité, qui s'appuie sur la paroi intérieure du cylindre de la pièce de raccordement du tuyau assurant ainsi l'étanchéité. Le profil de la nervure circulaire est formé de deux flancs en oblique, la bague évasée de la pièce de raccordement du tuyau reposant sur le flanc faisant face à la pièce de raccordement du tuyau et l'élément de raccordement faisant pression sur le flanc vers l'intérieur.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A combination fuel container and pipe adapted to be interconnected to
provide a
fluid and gas impervious seal therebetween comprising:
said fuel container having a annular pipe connecting piece extending axially
from said
fuel container to a conically widened distal rim and having a cylindrical
inner surface;
said pipe having a cylinder end configured to be received within said pipe
connecting
piece and defining a cylindrical outer surface;
a pair of spaced apart circumferential grooves formed in said cylinder end
between
said pipe and said pipe connecting piece;
a sealing ring seated in each of said grooves for providing an impervious seal
between
said pipe and said pipe connecting piece;
an annular bead formed in said pipe adjacent said grooves, said annular bead
formed
by spaced apart oblique flanks; and
a connecting member operatively interconnecting said pipe and said pipe
connecting
piece by axially securing said annular rim of said pipe connecting piece
against one of said
oblique flanks of said annular bead thereby retaining said impervious seal of
said sealing
rings between said pipe and said fuel container.
2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the connecting member is a
clip
having spaced apart oblique flanks complementary to the flanks of the annular
bead.
3. The combination as set forth in claim2 wherein one of said flanks of said
clip rests
on the conically widened rim of the pipe connecting piece and the other of
said flanks of said
clip rests on said corresponding flank of the annular bead.
4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein the clip comprises two
halves each
6

forming a semi-circle having opposite ends defined by radially outwardly
projecting ears.
5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein one of said ears of said
clip halves
being longer in radial direction than said other opposite ear and the clip
halves being
connected around said annular bead by folding said longer ear around said
shorter ear of said
clip halves.
6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said clip halves are
symmetrical.
7. The combination as set forth in claim 6 wherein the cross section of the
circumferential grooves is circular and the radius of the circular grooves is
greater than the
radius of the sealing rings.
8. The combination as set forth in claim 7 wherein one of said sealing rings
is a fuel-
resistant elastomer and said other sealing ring is an elastomer with vapor
barrier
characteristics.
7

Description

CA 02361999 2008-05-09
a~ .
FUEL CONTAINER AND ITS CONNECTION WITH A PIPE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel container with a pipe. More
particularly, the
present invention relates to a fuel container having a pipe connecting piece
with a rim and a
pipe having an annular bead on which a connecting member acts, and a sealing
ring further
being seated between the rim and the annular bead.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to avoid emissions, the connection between a fuel container and pipe
should
not only be liquid-tight but also gas tight. This also includes a requirement
that as little fuel
vapors as possible should diffuse through the seals between the fuel container
and pipe.
In applicant's co-pending application GM 41/2000 for an Austrian registered
design, a
connection between two pipe parts for the same purpose is proposed, and has
the features of
the preamble. In the case of this connection, only one sealing ring is
provided, which forms a
semi-radial seal and therefore also has to be compressed in the axial
direction, to the
detriment of its sealing action. Since the sealing ring is contacted by fuel
vapors on one side
and, on the outer side, is connected to the ambient air, fuel vapors are able
to diffuse through
it.
In addition, during assembly this arrangement can lead to a nonuniform seat or
even to
damage to the sealing ring, particularly if the pipe is inserted crookedly or
if there is a lack of
axial guidance. In addition, the connection should also be easy to produce and
to release
again, even at locations of difficult access, and without overcompressing the
sealing ring,
which is not ensured in the case of the semi-radial position and the
uncontrollable tightening
torque on the nut. The act of compression by means of a union nut is
complicated and
requires that the union nut be put on before the annular bead is formed, and
in addition the
1

CA 02361999 2001-11-13
not beneficial to provide a second sealing ring, since this would be
complicated in design
terms and would reduce the clear diameter.
It is therefore an object of the invention to remedy these disadvantages and
to improve
the connection to the effect that, with minimum constructional expenditure, it
can be
produced and also released again simply and accurately and, in addition, is
quite tight.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention, this is achieved by the pipe, on the
side of
the annular bead facing the pipe connecting piece, forming a cylinder with two
circumferential grooves, in each of which a sealing ring is seated, which
rests in a sealing
manner on the cylindrical inner surface of the pipe connecting piece, and by
the annular bead
having a cross section with two oblique flanks, the conically widened rim of
the pipe
connecting piece resting on the flank facing the pipe connecting piece, and
the connecting
member acting on the flank facing away.
Therefore, during assembly, the sealing rings are no longer pressed together
to a
predetermined extent in the radial direction during assembly, which means that
they can no
longer be overcompressed. This arrangement also makes it possible to provide
two sealing
rings on the same radius, that is to say to improve the sealing substantially,
without reducing
the clear width. The sealing rings can be premounted in the radial grooves on
the pipe, which
then merely has to be plugged into the pipe connecting piece. The widened rim
of the pipe
connecting piece prevents damage to the sealing ring during assembly. The
flank of the
annular bead facing the pipe connecting piece rests on the conically widened
rim of the pipe
connecting piece. As a result, a true-angle connection is provided and a
certain sealing action
is also already achieved, which ensures that the outer sealing ring is not in
contact with the
surroundings and that, in this way, by impoverishing the space in front of and
behind this
sealing ring, diffusion is also brought to a standstill, and the
impoverishment also
simultaneously constitutes a safeguard against contamination.
2

CA 02361999 2001-11-13
In a development of the invention, the cross section of the grooves is
circular, the
radius of the circle being greater than that of the sealing rings. As a
result, not only are the
sealing rings looked after, but also the sealing action is improved, since the
sealing ring,
pressed together radially during assembly, then fills the entire area of the
groove. The greater
radius of the grooves results in a particularly narrow gap in the second
sealing stage. In order
to maximize the sealing action, the first sealing ring, closer to the fuel
container, can
comprise a fuel-resistant elastomer, and the more remote second sealing ring
can comprise an
elastomer with a vapor barrier action.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the connecting member is a
clip
which is open at at least one point and, in cross section, has two oblique
flanks, one of which
rests on the conically widened rim of the pipe connecting piece and the other
rests on that
flank of the annular bead which faces away from the pipe connecting piece.
Because the
conical widening of the pipe connecting pipe rests on the oblique flank of the
pipe, and
because of the radial sealing, the compression force during assembly does not
need to be
limited. This permits the use of a clip which, in cooperation with the two
oblique flanks,
ensures a firm connection. However, other connecting members are also
conceivable.
In a development of this embodiment, the clip comprises two halves each
forming a
semicircle and connected to each other at their ends and having, at their
ends, radially
outwardly projecting ears, one ear being longer in the radial direction and
one being shorter,
and the connection being produced by folding the longer ear around the
shorter. In this way,
the halves of the clip can be positioned in one operation and also firmly
connected to each
other at the same time. Nevertheless, the connection can also be released
again easily by
bending the ears up. If, finally, each half of the clip has a long ear at one
end and a short ear
at the other end, the two halves of the clip are identical parts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following text, the invention will be described and explained by using
figures,
3

CA 02361999 2001-11-13
in which:
Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section through a preferred embodiment of the
invention,
Fig. 2 shows an end view of Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 shows an axionometric exploded view of the same, and
Fig. 4 shows an axionometric view of the assembled parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In Fig. 1, a pipe connecting piece is shown at 1, which is either part of a
fuel container
or is firmly connected to the latter by means of a flange 2. The fuel
container 10 may be
metal or a suitable plastic. The pipe connecting piece 1 ends in a conically
widened rim 3. A
pipe 4, a filling pipe in the exemplary embodiment shown, has on its side
facing away from
the pipe connecting piece 1, a bellows 5 and a rear end 6, which leads to a
filling nozzle (not
shown). On the side of the bellows 5 facing the pipe connecting piece 1, the
pipe 4 is widened
and forms an annular bead 7 which, in longitudinal section, has an oblique
flank 8, 9 on both
sides. The annular bead 7 is adjoined by a cylinder 12, which has a first
circumferential
groove 13 and a second circumferential groove 14, which are intended to
accommodate a first
sealing ring 15 and a second sealing ring 16. In Fig. 1, it can be seen that
the radius of the
grooves 13, 14 is somewhat greater than the radius of the sealing rings 15,
16, which are
illustrated here in the uncompressed state for reasons of simplicity. In
actual fact, they are
oval when installed and, on the inside, rest in the grooves 13, 14 over the
entire area and, on
the outside, rest on the cylindrical inner face 17 of the pipe connecting
piece 1. The conically
widened rim 3 of the pipe connecting piece 1 rests on the first oblique flank
8 of the annular
bead 7.
The sealing rings 15, 16 are preferably 0-rings made of a fuel-resistant
elastomer; the
material or the shape of the second sealing ring 16 can additionally also
exert a vapor-barring
action.
The connecting member used in the preferred embodiment for the pipe connecting
4

CA 02361999 2001-11-13
piece 1 and the pipe 4 is a clip 20, whose cross section is similar to that of
the annular bead. It
has a first oblique flank 21, which rests on the second oblique flank 9 of the
annular bead,
and a second oblique flank 22, which rests on the conically widened rim 3 of
the pipe
connecting piece 1.
Referring to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the clip 20 comprises two halves 20', 20",
which have
radially outwardly projecting ears 23, 24 at their ends. In order to be able
to design the two
halves as identical parts, each one has a long ear 23 and a short ear 24, the
long ear 23, after
the firm connection between the two halves 20', 20", forming a bend 25 which
holds the two
halves firmly together.
Fig. 3 reveals that the connection between the pipe connecting piece 1 and
pipe 4 can
be produced in a straightforward manner. The sealing rings 15, 16 are pushed
onto the
cylinder 12 until they rest in the grooves 13, 14, then the cylinder 12,
guided in its axial
direction by its length and therefore with a true angle without any further
action, is inserted
into the pipe connecting piece 1 until the conically widened rim 3 rests on
the annular bead 7.
The two halves 20', 20" of the clip are then placed onto the annular bead 7
from both sides in
such a way that they also grip the conically widened rim 3, are pressed
together radially and
are connected to each other by means of their ears 23, 24. One of the ears 23
can already be
pre-bent, so that the short ear 24 merely has to be pushed in under the bend
25, and then the
ears are connected to each other with a form fit by being folded and
compressed.

Representative Drawing