Multi-use fuel filler tube

Abstract

A fuel tube filler neck includes a first thread is formed on an inner surface and a second thread formed on an outer surface. The first thread, second thread, and tube may be co-molded of thermoplastic (e.g., nylon) and the first and second thread may overlap one another. The outer surface includes a cylindrical portion and a recessed portion, the second thread being formed on the recessed portion. Attachment structures are secured to the fuel tube for mounting the fuel tube to a fuel tank. A first type of fuel cap is engaged with the first thread and a second type of fuel cap is engaged with the second thread. Vehicles with different types of fuel caps may be shipped to different geographic regions.

Claims

1. A fuel tube for engagement with a wall of a fuel tank comprising: a single-piece tube wall having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a channel, the tube wall having an inner end for engagement with the wall of the fuel tank and an outer end for engagement with at least two types of fuel caps; a first thread formed on the inner surface of the tube wall near the outer end of the tube wall, the first thread for engaging a fuel cap of a first type, the first thread extending inwardly from the inner surface; a second thread formed on the outer surface of the tube wall near the outer end of the tube wall, the second thread for engaging a fuel cap of a second type, the second thread extending outwardly from the outer surface; and a first flange and a second flange extending generally radially outwardly from and encircling the tube wall at the inner end of the channel, the first and second flanges being for engagement with the fuel tank wall with one of first flange and second flange for engagement with an inner surface of the fuel tank wall and another of first flange and second flange for engagement with an outer surface of the fuel tank wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Preferred and alternative examples of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a fuel filler tube in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

(3) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the fuel filler tube of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the fuel filler tube of FIG. 1; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of the fuel filler tube of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(6) Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a fuel filler tube 10 may be understood with respect to an axial direction 12a, radial direction 12b, and a circumferential direction 12c. The axial direction 12a may be defined as extending along the centroid of the channel defined by the wall 14 of the fuel filler tube. The wall 14 may have interior and exterior surfaces that are cylindrical or conical (i.e., frustrum of a cone) or some other shape that is symmetrical about its centroid. The interior and exterior surfaces of the wall 14 may also include curved portions, e.g., defined a tube with a curved channel. Inasmuch as the tube wall 14 interfaces with a fuel cap, a portion of the tube wall 14 may be cylindrical. The axial direction 12a may therefore be understood as the axis of symmetry 16 of the cylindrical portion. The radial direction 12b may be understood as pointing outwardly from the axis of symmetry 16 and perpendicular to the axis of a symmetry 16 in a plane parallel to and including the axis of symmetry. The circumferential direction 12c may be understood as being along a curved line centered on the axis of symmetry 16 and lying in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry 16 and parallel to the radial direction 12b.

(7) The tube wall 14 and other structures described below as forming part of the filler tube 10 may be made of various materials. Although metal, such as steel or aluminum may be used, many applications may use filler tubes 10 made of a thermoplastic such as polyamide or polyethylene. In other applications, a thermoplastic such as AKULON? can be used.

(8) The tube wall 14 may have an internal thread 18 formed on an interior surface thereof. The tube wall 14 may have an external thread 20 formed on an exterior surface thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, the internal thread 18 and external thread 20 are both formed on the cylindrical portion of the tube wall 14. The thread 18 and external thread 20 may be completely or partially coextensive with one another along the axial direction 12a. For example, at least 80 percent of the internal thread 18 may overlap the external thread 20 along the axial direction 12a. In other embodiments, there is no overlap between the internal thread 18 and the external thread 20 along the axial direction 12a. In various embodiments, depending on the caps used, the threads could overlap 100% or not at all.

(9) The pitches of the internal thread 18 and external thread 20 may be the same or different and conform to the fuel cap with which they are designed to interface. The depth of the internal thread 18 and external thread 20 may be the same or different and likewise conform to the fuel caps with which they are designed to interface. The internal thread 18 and external thread 20 may make one complete revolution about the axis of symmetry 16, a partial revolution (e.g., between 315 and 360 degrees), or more than one complete revolution. The number of revolutions of the internal thread 18 and external thread 20 may be the same or different.

(10) The filler tube 10 may be made at the same time as the fuel tank 22 to which it secures or be secured to the fuel tank during or after manufacture. For example, for a small off-road vehicle such as a snowmobile, side-by-side, or all-terrain vehicle (ATV), the fuel tank may be formed by rotomolding. The filler tube 10 may be secured to the mold used such that the plastic forming the fuel tank fuses to the filler tube 10 during the rotomolding process. In the illustrated embodiment, the fuel filler tube 10 includes one or more flanges 24a, 24b to facilitate this process. For example, a first flange 24a may be positioned on the outer surface of the finished fuel tank whereas the second flange 24b is positioned on the inner surface of the finished fuel tank. During molding, plastic flows between the flanges 24a, 24b such that the flange 24b resists removal after the plastic has solidified. A row of openings 26 may be positioned between the flanges 24a, 24b. During molding, the plastic may further flow into these openings 26 to further enhance bonding of the fuel filler tube 10 to the fuel tank. Other features may also be formed on the fuel filler tube 10 to facilitate securement. In some embodiments, portions of the filler tube 10 may melt and fuse with the plastic forming the fuel tank. The type of plastic used to form the fuel tank 22 may be the same as or different from that used to form the fuel tank.

(11) In other embodiments, the filler tube 10 is fastened to the fuel tank 22 by means of welding, such as hot-plate or sonic welding. In such embodiments, one or both of the flanges 24a, 24b and the openings 26 may be retained or omitted.

(12) Referring to FIG. 3, while still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2. In some instances, the standard for the fuel cap (not shown) that will be used with the internal thread 18 (the internal fuel cap) and the standard for the fuel cap that will be used with the external thread 20 (the external fuel cap) use differently sized tube walls. For example, the internal fuel cap may use an external diameter D.sub.I that is larger than the external diameter D.sub.E used by the external fuel cap.

(13) In some embodiments, the distal end of the fuel filler tube 10 (relative to the fuel tank to which it secures) may include a rounded rim 30 that transitions to a cylindrical portion 32 that is tangent to the rounded rim 30. The cylindrical portion 32 may be symmetrical about the axis of symmetry 16 and have the diameter D.sub.I. The cylindrical portion 32 has a height H.sub.I along the axial direction 12a. The height H.sub.I and diameter D.sub.I may be selected to contact a shroud secured to a dispensing nozzle to reduce escaping vapors when filling the fuel tank to which the filler tube 10 is secured. In some embodiments, H.sub.I is between 0.2 and 2 mm, such as between 0.5 and 0.75 mm.

(14) The tube wall 14 may have a recessed portion 36 having the diameter D.sub.E about the axis of symmetry 16. The external thread 20 may be formed on the recessed portion 36 and may be omitted from the cylindrical portion 32. In some embodiments, the extent of the recessed portion 36 along the axial direction 12a may be substantially equal to the extent of the external thread 20 in the axial direction 12a. For example, in some embodiments, the recessed portion 36 extends outwardly from the external thread 20 no more than 1 mm, 0.5 mm, or 0.1 mm along the axial direction 12a. In some embodiments, the internal thread 18 is also completely overlapped by the recessed portion 36 along the axial direction 12a.

(15) The recessed portion 36 may be positioned such that the cylindrical portion 32 is closer to the distal end of the filler tube 10. In other words, the cylindrical portion 32 may be positioned between the recessed portion 36 and the rounded rim 30. There may be a tapered or rounded transition between the cylindrical portion 32 and the recessed portion 36. The recessed portion 36 may be substantially cylindrical, e.g., each point being within 0.1 mm from a cylinder centered on the axis of symmetry 16. The cylindrical portion 32 extends outwardly from the recessed portion by an amount substantially (e.g., within 5 percent of) equal to (D.sub.E?D.sub.I)/2. For example, the amount of overhang may be between 0.25 and 0.755 mm. For example, the amount may be substantially equal to 0.5 mm.

(16) The recessed portion 36 may extend to the fuel tank 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the recessed portion 36 is followed by a non-recessed portion 38 that has a greater diameter about the axis of symmetry 16 than the recessed portion 36. There may be a tapered and/or rounded transition between the recessed portion 36 and the non-recessed portion 38. Following the transition, the non-recessed portion 38 may have a diameter that is equal to or different from D.sub.I. The outer diameter of the non-recessed portion 38 following the transition may increase with distance from the recessed portion 36 along the axial direction 12a such that the non-recessed portion 38 defines a surface conforming to a cone. The interior surface of the tube wall 14 opposite the non-recessed portion 38 may also conform to a smaller cone such that the tube wall has substantially constant thickness along the non-recessed portion 38.

(17) Referring to FIG. 4, the topmost portion 40 of the external thread 20 may be positioned at or below the bottom edge of the cylindrical portion 32 such that there is an extent of the cylindrical portion 32 is at least H.sub.I along the axial direction without any portion of the external thread 20 formed thereon.

(18) The filler tube 10 as described herein is usable with at least two different types of fuel caps. In one application, a manufacturer makes a plurality of filler tubes 10 and mounts them to a plurality of fuel tanks 22. The fuel tanks are installed in a plurality of vehicles. The vehicles at this point are not differentiated based on fuel cap used. Once a first portion of the plurality of vehicles arrive at a first geographic location, a first type of fuel cap may be mounted to the filler tubes 10 thereof, such as in engagement with the internal thread 18. Once a second portion of the plurality of vehicles arrive at a second geographic location, a second type of fuel cap may be mounted to the filler tubes 10 thereof, such as in engagement with the external thread 20. Alternatively, the fuel cap for a given geographic region may be secured to the filler tube 10 of a vehicle as soon as it is determined that the vehicle is to be shipped to the geographic region. In this manner, vehicles are undifferentiated and need not have separate part numbers, inventory management, or storage locations. If a vehicle in the first geographic location needs to be moved to the second geographic location, for example, it is simple to replace the first type of fuel cap with the second type of fuel cap.

(19) While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.