WO2023181850A1

WO2023181850A1 - Pressure regulator valve

Info

Publication number: WO2023181850A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/008062
Authority: WO
Inventors: 亮輔金中; 崇蟹江; 理瀧本
Original assignee: 愛三工業株式会社
Priority date: 2022-03-23
Filing date: 2023-03-03
Publication date: 2023-09-28
Also published as: JP2023140565A; CN118786301A

Abstract

A pressure regulator valve (22) comprises: a valve body (72); a valve seat (74); a spring (68) that biases the valve body (72) to the valve seat (74); a housing (46) that stores the valve body (72), the valve seat (74), and the spring (68); and a plug cover member (56) that holds the valve body (72), the valve seat (74), and the spring (68) in the housing (46). The housing (46) is cylindrical in shape, and has a first end portion with an insertion hole, and a second end portion located axially opposite the first end portion. The plug cover member (56) is cylindrical in shape, and has an open end, and a closed end located axially opposite the open end. The plug cover member (56) is pressed into the housing (46) from the open end through the insertion hole. The housing (46) has an expanded diameter portion (66) with a diameter gradually expanding toward the insertion hole at the first end portion.

Description

pressure regulating valve

The present disclosure relates to a pressure regulating valve.

A pressure regulating valve for adjusting the supply pressure to a predetermined pressure may be disposed in a path for supplying liquid such as fuel. JP2021-116745A discloses a conventional fuel supply device that supplies fuel from a fuel tank of a vehicle such as an automobile to an engine. The fuel supply device is equipped with a fuel pump to supply fuel from the fuel tank to the engine. In order to adjust the pressure of fuel supplied to the engine to a predetermined pressure, a pressure regulating valve is provided between the fuel supply path from the fuel pump to the engine.

Usually, the pressure regulating valve of the fuel supply device is housed in a case member formed in the fuel supply path. The case member is provided with a housing portion that houses the pressure regulating valve. The pressure regulating valve is accommodated and fixed in this accommodation section.

A pressure regulating valve device usually includes a valve body, a valve seat, a spring, a housing, and a cover member. A spring biases the valve body against the valve seat. The housing is made of metal and has a cylindrical shape, and contains components such as a valve body, a valve seat, and a spring. A plug cover member seals the aforementioned components within the housing.

The plug cover member is press-fitted and fixed within the cylindrical housing of the pressure regulating valve. Therefore, the plug cover member also has a cylindrical shape corresponding to the cylindrical shape of the housing. The cylindrical shape is generally open at one end and closed at the other end.

The plug cover member is generally inserted into the housing from the closed bottom side of the cylindrical plug cover member. This is because it is generally easier to insert the plug cover member into the housing when it is inserted from the closed side of the plug cover member than when it is inserted from the open side of the plug cover member.

However, when the plug cover member is inserted into the housing from the closed side, there is a possibility that the pressure regulating valve itself becomes large in size or disadvantageous in processing the metal plug cover member.

In other words, when the plug cover member has a simple cylindrical shape with the closed side serving as the spring mounting seat, the axial length of the pressure regulating valve itself becomes longer by the amount of press-fitting of the plug cover member into the housing. There is a problem.

Therefore, when forming the spring mounting seat by deeply bending it inward in the radial direction of the plug cover member in order to shorten the axial length of the pressure regulating valve, it is necessary to form a deep bend, and the processing process The problem is that there are many.

The problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to miniaturize the pressure regulating valve, improve the workability of the pressure regulating valve, and facilitate insertion of the plug cover member into the housing.

One aspect of the present disclosure includes a valve body, a valve seat, a spring that biases the valve body against the valve seat, a metal housing that accommodates the valve body, the valve seat, and the spring, and the valve body. , the valve seat, and a metal plug cover member that holds the spring in the housing, the housing having a cylindrical shape and having a first end having an insertion hole and a shaft. the plug cover member has a cylindrical shape, and has an open end and a closed end located opposite to the open end in the axial direction; The closed end includes a positioning seat portion for positioning one end of the spring, the plug cover member is press-fitted from the open end into the housing through the insertion hole, and the housing includes: The pressure regulating valve has an expanding diameter portion at the first end that gradually increases in diameter toward the insertion hole.

According to the above aspect, the plug cover member is press-fitted into the housing from the open end. Thereby, the pressure regulating valve can be downsized, and the workability of the plug cover member can be improved.

Furthermore, according to the above aspect, the housing has an enlarged diameter portion at the first end that gradually increases in diameter toward the insertion hole. Thereby, even when the plug cover member is inserted into the housing from the open end of the plug cover member, the insertion can be easily performed.

1 is an overall schematic diagram showing a fuel supply path in the fuel supply device of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a case member including a fuel pump and a pressure regulating valve disposed in the fuel supply path of FIG. 1, with the pressure regulating valve removed. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of the case member in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the case member of FIG. 3 viewed from the direction of arrow IV. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of the pressure regulating valve in FIG. 4. FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of the pressure regulating valve in FIG. 4; 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of the pressure regulating valve shown in FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of the pressure regulating valve shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of the pressure regulating valve shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line X-X of the pressure regulating valve shown in FIG. 5;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described based on the drawings. Note that the pressure regulating valve of Embodiment 1 is a pressure regulating valve provided in a fuel supply device of a vehicle or the like. In addition, directions such as left and right, up and down, and front and rear in the explanation of figures indicate the directions in the figure, and unless otherwise specified, indicate the direction when the pressure regulating valve of the fuel supply system is mounted on a vehicle, etc. It's not a thing.

[Overall configuration of fuel supply device 10]
First, the overall configuration of the fuel supply device 10 of this embodiment will be explained. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a fuel supply device 10. As shown in FIG. The fuel supply device 10 includes a fuel supply path 16 from the fuel tank 12 to the engine (internal combustion engine) 14, which supplies the fuel F in the fuel tank 12 to the engine 14. The fuel supply path 16 includes a fuel filter 18, a fuel pump 20, and a pressure regulating valve 22 inside the fuel tank 12. Fuel F in the fuel tank 12 is supplied to the fuel supply path 16 by the electric motor 24 of the fuel pump 20 via the fuel filter 18 .

Then, the fuel F pumped up into the fuel supply path 16 is adjusted to a predetermined fuel supply pressure by the pressure regulating valve 22 and supplied to the engine 14. Normally, the fuel pump 20 and the pressure regulating valve 22 are disposed adjacent to each other, and are housed within an integrally formed resin case member 26. In FIG. 1, a case member 28 for the fuel pump 20 and a case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 are integrally formed adjacent to each other. The upper part of the case member 28 and the upper part of the case member 30 are connected by a connecting case member 32. Thereby, a fuel supply path 16 is formed. Although not shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1, the case member 28 for the fuel pump 20 and the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 are integrally formed within the outer case member 26.

[Case member 26]
Next, the case member 26 in which the fuel pump 20 and the pressure regulating valve 22 are housed will be described based on FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the case member 26 with the pressure regulating valve 22 removed. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the case member 26 in FIG. 2 taken along the line III--III. A fuel supply path 16 is formed within the outer case member 26, as shown in FIG. A pressure regulating valve 22 and a fuel pump 20 are housed inside the outer case member 26 . FIG. 2 shows the outer case member 26 with its pressure regulating valve 22 removed.

As shown in FIG. 3, a case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 is disposed on the left side inside the outer case member 26. A case member 28 for the fuel pump 20 is disposed on the right side inside the outer case member 26 . That is, the outer case member 26 accommodates the pressure regulating valve 22 and the fuel pump 20 therein so that the pressure regulating valve 22 is located on the left side and the fuel pump 20 is located on the right side. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, a connecting case member 32 is disposed above the outer case member 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pipe-shaped member 34 is provided at the upper part of the connecting case member 32. The piping-shaped member 34 forms a part of the fuel supply path 16 shown in FIG. 1, and is connected to a pipe for supplying fuel to the engine 14. In addition, at the position of this piping-shaped member 34, the fuel supply path 16 is also connected to the pressure regulating valve 22, as will be described later, so that the fuel supplied to the engine 14 is adjusted to a predetermined fuel supply pressure.

[Placement of pressure regulating valve 22 in case member 26]
Next, the configuration of the pressure regulating valve 22 provided in the fuel supply device 10 of this embodiment will be explained. The configuration of the pressure regulating valve 22 is shown in FIGS. 4 to 10. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 in the outer case member 26 shown in FIG. 3, viewed from the direction of arrow IV. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of the pressure regulating valve 22 in FIG. Similarly, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of the pressure regulating valve 22 in FIG. 7 to 10 are cross-sectional views sequentially showing cross sections of the pressure regulating valve 22 shown in FIG. 5 at respective positions in the vertical direction (axial direction). As can be seen from these figures, the pressure regulating valve 22 is housed within a case member 30 that forms the fuel supply path 16.

The case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 is made of resin. The case member 30 is formed with a cylindrical accommodating portion 36 for accommodating the pressure regulating valve 22 therein. In this embodiment, the cylinder shape is a cylindrical shape as shown in each of FIGS. 4 to 10. The pressure regulating valve 22 is inserted and housed within this cylindrical housing portion 36 . In this embodiment, the pressure regulating valve 22 is inserted into the housing part 36 from below as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the accommodating portion 36 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 in this embodiment has a stepped shape consisting of a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion. The accommodating part 36 includes an upper accommodating part 38 that accommodates the upper part of the pressure regulating valve 22 and a lower accommodating part 40 that accommodates the lower part of the pressure regulating valve 22. The inner diameter of the lower accommodating part 40 is larger than the inner diameter of the upper accommodating part. That is, the small-diameter accommodating part 36 is located above, and the large-diameter accommodating part 36 is located below.

The side surface portion 42 forming the large-diameter lower housing portion 40 disposed at the lower position is formed as an elastic deformation portion 43 that can be elastically deformed outward in the radial direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the elastic deformation portion 43 and the side surface portion 42 forming the lower housing portion 40 refer to the same portion. When the pressure regulating valve 22 is inserted into the lower housing portion 40, the elastic deformation portion 43 is elastically deformed outward in the radial direction, so that the pressure regulating valve 22 can be easily inserted. In this embodiment, a slit 44 is further formed in the vertical direction of the side surface portion 42 to facilitate elastic deformation of the side surface portion 42.

[Slit 44]
The slit 44 is formed at the position of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 shown in FIG. This position is the position of the side surface portion 42 forming the large-diameter lower housing portion 40, and the position of the elastic deformation portion 43. There are two types of slits 44, a first slit 45 and a second slit 98. The first slit 45 and the second slit 98 are formed at different positions in the circumferential direction of the lower housing part 40 in the case member 30. The first slit 45 and the second slit 98 are formed in the elastically deformed portion 43. Note that both the first slit 45 and the second slit 98 are formed to extend in the insertion direction of the pressure regulating valve 22, that is, in the axial direction.

In the present embodiment, the first slits 45 are formed at two symmetrical positions on the circumference of the cylindrical large-diameter lower housing portion 40. The first slit 45 is formed at a position on the line VV in FIG. 4 . In this embodiment, the first slit 45 is formed in the side surface portion 42 of the large-diameter lower accommodating portion 40 in FIG. 5 . The upper end of the first slit 45 is located at the lower end of the upper housing part 38 . Note that a retaining structure 86, which will be described later, is formed on the side surface portion 42 at a lower position of the first slit 45.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second slit 98 is also formed at the lower housing part 40 in the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22, and is located at a lower position in the vertical direction of the lower housing part 40. It is formed. In this embodiment, the second slits 98 are formed at four equal intervals in the circumferential direction, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 10. Specifically, they are formed on both sides of the two first slits 45 mentioned above. As shown in FIG. 3, the second slit 98 is formed with its lower end open, and its upper end extends to an intermediate position in the vertical direction of the lower accommodating portion 40. This makes it easier to elastically deform the side portion 42 forming the lower housing portion 40.

[Overall configuration of pressure regulating valve 22]
Next, the overall configuration of the pressure regulating valve 22 will be explained. The overall configuration is best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The pressure regulating valve 22 includes a metal housing 46 and a metal plug cover member 56. Usually, both the housing 46 and the plug cover member 56 are made of press-formed steel plate.

The housing 46 is accommodated within the accommodating portion 36 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22. Therefore, the housing 46 has a cylindrical shape corresponding to the inner cylindrical shape of the accommodating portion 36. In this embodiment, it has a cylindrical shape like the housing part 36.

The cylindrical shape of the housing 46 is also a stepped shape consisting of a large diameter part and a small diameter part, similar to the housing part 36 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22. Housing 46 consists of a lower housing section 50 of larger diameter and an upper housing section 48 of smaller diameter. The lower housing portion 50 corresponds to the larger diameter lower receiving portion 40 . The upper housing portion 48 corresponds to the smaller diameter upper receiving portion 38 . In this embodiment, like the housing portion 36 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22, the lower housing portion 50 and the upper housing portion 48 are both cylindrical. The upper housing portion 48 is further formed in a stepped shape and includes a small-diameter housing-shaped portion 52 at an upper position and a small-diameter housing-shaped portion 54 at a lower position. The housing-shaped portion 52 at the upper position has a slightly smaller diameter than the housing-shaped portion 54 at the lower position.

As shown in FIG. 5, an annular seal ring 58 is inserted between the housing 46 and the inner cylindrical portion of the upper housing portion 38 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22. On the housing 46 side, the seal ring 58 is arranged at a step between the housing shaped portion 52 and the housing shaped portion 54, more specifically near the lower end of the housing shaped portion 52. FIG. 7 shows a sealing ring 58 arranged between the housing profile 52 and the case member 30. FIG. This sealing ring 58 prevents the flow of fuel from the top to the bottom in FIGS. 5 and 6 through the gap between the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 and the upper housing part 48 of the housing 46. I can do it. In this specification, the lower end of the housing 46 corresponds to a "first end" and the upper end corresponds to a "second end".

[Plug cover member 56]
Next, the plug cover member 56 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 5, the plug cover member 56 has a cylindrical shape, is press-fitted into the housing 46, and is fixedly disposed at a lower position of the housing 46. More specifically, the plug cover member 56 is arranged to close the lower portion of the lower housing portion 50 of the housing 46 . Therefore, the plug cover member 56 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with one end open and the other end closed. That is, the plug cover member 56 has a cylindrical peripheral surface that functions as a press-fitting portion 60 that is press-fitted into the housing 46, an open end, and a closed end located opposite to the open end in the axial direction.

The plug cover member 56 is inserted into the insertion hole of the housing 46, that is, the lower opening, from the open end of the plug cover member 56. Then, the plug cover member 56 is press-fitted into the housing 46 through the insertion hole of the housing 46. Therefore, as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the plug cover member 56 is arranged such that the closed side is the lower surface portion 62 and the open side is the upper surface portion 64. In this arrangement, the plug cover member 56 is inserted into the cylinder of the lower housing portion 50 and is press-fitted and fixed.

Note that a positioning seat portion 70 for positioning one end side of a coil spring 68 disposed inside the housing 46, which will be described later, is provided on the lower surface portion 62 of the plug cover member 56. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the positioning seat portion 70 is set by forming the center portion of the lower surface portion 62 to protrude upward. Positioning seat portion 70 fits within the lower end of coil spring 68 to position coil spring 68.

[Form that facilitates insertion of the plug cover member 56 into the housing 46]
Next, the shape of the housing 46 that facilitates insertion of the plug cover member 56 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lower housing portion 50 includes an enlarged diameter portion 66 that gradually increases in diameter toward the insertion hole into which the plug cover member 56 is inserted, that is, toward the lower end. More specifically, the inner diameter of the lower housing section 50 expands downward at the lower end of the lower housing section 50, that is, at the enlarged diameter section 66.

Conventionally, when the plug cover member 56 is press-fitted into the lower housing portion 50 from the opening side of the upper surface portion 64 of the plug cover member 56, the end surface on the opening side gets caught in the lower end opening of the housing 46, making insertion difficult. It is. Therefore, the plug cover member 56 is inserted into the lower housing portion 50 from the closed side of the plug cover member 56. However, in this embodiment, by having the enlarged diameter portion 66 at the lower end of the housing 46, it is easy to insert the plug cover member 56 into the housing 46 from the opening side of the upper surface portion 64. can be inserted into. That is, during insertion, the plug cover member 56 does not get caught on the lower end of the housing 46, and can be inserted smoothly.

[Components of pressure regulating valve 22]
Next, components of the pressure regulating valve 22 disposed within the housing 46 will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the housing 46 of the pressure regulating valve 22 includes a valve body 72, a valve seat 74, and a valve body 72 attached to the valve seat 74 as components of the pressure regulating valve 22. A coil spring 68 is provided to bias the coil spring 68. Further, a filter member 76 is disposed above the small-diameter housing-shaped portion 52 at the upper position.

[Valve body 72 and valve seat 74]
Valve body 72 is disposed at an upper position within large diameter lower housing section 50 . FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a location where the valve body 72 is provided. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the step connecting the upper housing section 48 and the lower housing section 50 functions as the valve seat 74.

A rubber member 78 is disposed on the valve body 72 to ensure sealing of the contact portion with the valve seat 74. The rubber member 78 has a disk portion and a shaft portion extending downward from the center portion thereof. The shaft portion of the rubber member 78 is fitted into a shaft hole 79 formed in the center of the valve body 72, so that the rubber member 78 is integrated with the valve body 72. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, a positioning seat portion 80 is formed on the lower surface of the valve body 72 and fits into the upper end of the coil spring 68.

As shown in FIG. 8, the outer diameter of the valve body 72 is such that a plurality of protrusions 82 are arranged in contact with the inner surface of the lower housing portion 50. Adjacent protrusions 82 are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction, and have a shape that allows fuel that has passed through the pressure regulating on-off valve 75 formed by the valve seat 74 and the valve body 72 to flow downward. In this embodiment, eight protrusions 82 are formed and are equally spaced in the circumferential direction.

Note that a fuel discharge hole 84 is provided at a midway position in the axial direction of the lower housing portion 50. The position where the fuel discharge hole 84 is formed is on the cross-sectional line IX-IX in FIG. FIG. 9 shows the location of the fuel discharge hole 84. In this embodiment, four fuel discharge holes 84 are formed and are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The fuel that has passed through the pressure regulating on-off valve 75 is discharged to the outside of the housing 46 through the fuel discharge hole 84 .

The fuel discharged outside the housing 46 is returned into the fuel tank 12 through a slit 44 formed in the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22. The slit 44 is shown in FIGS. 3-5 and 8-10.

[Coil spring 68]
Next, the coil spring 68 will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the coil spring 68 is disposed between the valve body 72 and the plug cover member 56. The upper end of the coil spring 68 is fitted into a positioning seat portion 80 on the lower surface of the valve body 72. The lower end of the coil spring 68 is fitted into a positioning seat portion 70 of the plug cover member 56. As a result, the spring force of the coil spring 68 is applied to the valve body 72, and the pressure regulating valve 22 performs a pressure regulating action due to the valve action with the valve seat 74. Therefore, the fuel supply pressure to the engine 14 in the fuel supply path 16 shown in FIG. 1 is determined by the spring pressure of the coil spring 68.

[Filter member 76]
Next, a description will be given of the filter member 76 that is disposed so as to fit into the upper end position of the upper housing portion 48 of the housing 46. The filter member 76 is disposed in the fuel supply path 16 on the path to the pressure regulating valve 22 . A fine filtration path is formed in the filter member 76, and when dust is mixed in the fuel flowing into the pressure regulating valve 22, the filter member 76 has the role of preventing the fuel from flowing into the pressure regulating valve 22. Eggplant. This prevents the pressure regulating valve function of the valve body 72 and the valve seat 74 from being obstructed by dust, and allows the pressure regulating valve 22 to accurately perform the pressure regulating function.

[Flow of fuel in pressure regulating valve 22]
Next, the flow of fuel in the pressure regulating valve 22 will be explained with reference to FIG. Fuel F in the fuel supply path 16 flows into the filter member 76 along the path arrow X1. Dust in the fuel is filtered by the filter member 76 and supplied to the pressure regulating on-off valve 75 constituted by the valve body 72 and the valve seat 74 along the path arrow X2. When the pressure of the supplied fuel is higher than the predetermined pressure, the pressure regulating on-off valve 75 is opened and the fuel pressure in the fuel supply path 16 is regulated to the predetermined pressure. The fuel discharged by opening the pressure regulating valve 75 is returned to the fuel tank 12 through the fuel discharge hole 84 of the lower housing portion 50 and the slit 44 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 along the path arrow X3. .

[Preventing structure 86 for pressure regulating valve 22]
Next, a structure 86 for preventing the pressure regulating valve 22 from coming off, which is formed between the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 and the housing 46 of the pressure regulating valve 22, will be described. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the retaining structure 86 is formed at the lower end of the elastically deformable portion 43 that forms the accommodating portion 36 of the pressure regulating valve 22. As shown in FIGS. This lower end is the inlet side into which the pressure regulating valve 22 is inserted. Note that the retaining structure 86 is formed at two locations on the circumference, which are on the line VV in FIG. In this embodiment, the retaining structures 86 are formed at intervals of 180 degrees on the circumference. The retaining structure 86 is formed at the same position on the circumference as the slit 44 described above. As shown in FIG. 5, a slit 44 is formed at the upper position, and a retaining structure 86 is formed at the lower position.

As shown in FIG. 5, the retaining structure 86 includes an engagement piece 88 set in the elastic deformation portion 43, which is the lower accommodating portion 40 of the case member 30 for the pressure adjustment valve 22, and a lower housing of the pressure adjustment valve 22. It consists of an engaging part 90 set at the lower end of the part 50. The engagement piece 88 protrudes in the inner diameter direction of the lower housing portion 40 at the lower end of the elastically deformable portion 43 . The engagement piece 88 has a protrusion piece 92 that protrudes upward from a tip end in the inner radial direction, and a fitting recess 94 that is located radially outward of the protrusion piece 92. The fitting recess 94 is open upward. The engaging portion 90 at the lower end of the lower housing portion 50 is configured to fit into the fitting recess 94 . When the engaging portion 90 is fitted into the fitting recess 94, the side surface portion 42 of the elastically deformable portion 43 is prevented from being displaced radially outward.

That is, when the engaging portion 90 is fitted into the fitting recess 94 in the retaining structure 86, the elastically deformed portion 43 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 is radially bent by the housing 46 made of rigid metal. movement is regulated. Thereby, the pressure regulating valve 22 is prevented from coming off.

[Rib 96]
As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, a rib 96 is formed that projects radially inward from the inner cylindrical surface of the lower accommodating portion 40 in the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22. In this embodiment, six ribs 96 are formed symmetrically with respect to the plane passing through the slit 44. The rib 96 supports the outer circumferential surface of the lower housing portion 50 of the pressure regulating valve 22 inserted into the lower housing portion 40 of the case member 30 .

[Operation and effect when the enlarged diameter portion 66 comes into contact with the engagement piece 88 when inserting the pressure regulating valve 22]
As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pressure regulating valve 22 is inserted from below into the accommodating portion 36 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22. The upper housing part 48 of the pressure regulating valve 22 is received in the upper receiving part 38 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22, and the lower housing part 50 is received in the lower receiving part 40.

When inserting the lower housing portion 50 of the pressure regulating valve 22 into the lower housing portion 40 of the case member 30, the enlarged diameter portion 66 comes into contact with the engagement piece 88 of the retaining structure 86. Since the side surface portion 42 of the case member 30 is an elastically deformable portion 43, when the enlarged diameter portion 66 comes into contact with the engagement piece 88, the side surface portion 42 is elastically deformed outward. This allows the enlarged diameter portion 66 to pass through the lower end of the case 30. Then, when the enlarged diameter portion 66 passes through the locking piece 88 of the retaining structure 86, the side surface portion 42 of the case member 30 is restored to its original shape. As a result, the outer cylindrical surface of the lower housing portion 50 other than the retaining structure 86 is supported by the ribs 96 of the case member 30, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10.

Furthermore, a detailed explanation will be given of the insertion when the enlarged diameter portion 66 gets over the locking piece 88 of the retaining structure 86. The pressure regulating valve 22 is inserted until the enlarged diameter portion 66 passes over the protruding piece 92 of the locking piece 88 . As described above, the elastically deformed portion 43 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 is elastically deformed radially outward, allowing the enlarged diameter portion 66 to pass through the lower end of the case 30. When the enlarged diameter portion 66 passes the locking piece 88 , the elastically deformed portion 43 restores itself radially inward, and the inner cylindrical surface of the elastically deformed portion 43 comes into contact with the engaging portion 90 at the lower end of the lower housing portion 50 . . In this state, the engaging portion 90 is not yet fitted into the fitting recess 94 of the retaining structure 86. In this state, the pressure regulating valve 22 is moved downward by supplying fuel along the arrow X1 shown in FIG. As a result, the engaging portion 90 fits into the fitting recess 94, and the pressure regulating valve 22 is positioned. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the pressure regulating valve 22 is positioned. Due to the above action, the pressure regulating valve 22 is fixed to the case member 30.

The retaining structure 86 prevents the pressure regulating valve 22 from coming off when the lower housing portion 50 of the pressure regulating valve 22 is accommodated in the lower housing portion 40 of the case member 30. In this state, the engaging portion 90 formed at the lower end of the lower housing portion 50 is formed by the engaging piece 88 and the protruding piece 92 that are formed in the lower housing portion of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22. The pressure regulating valve 22 is positioned in the case member 30 by being fitted into the fitting recess 94 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the retaining structure 86 configured between the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 and the housing 46 of the pressure regulating valve 22 prevents the pressure regulating valve 22 from coming off. It will be done. Thereby, the pressure regulation valve 22 can be fixed to the accommodation part 36 of the case member 30 simply by inserting the pressure regulation valve 22 into the accommodation part 36 of the case member 30. Therefore, in fixing the pressure regulating valve 22, there is no need for a separate fixing member unlike in the past, and the number of parts can be reduced.

[Effects of the plug cover member 56]
The plug cover member 56 according to this embodiment is press-fitted into the lower housing part 50 by inserting the open upper surface part 64 into the lower housing part 50 from below. Further, the closed lower surface portion 62 of the plug cover member 56 has a positioning seat portion 70 for positioning the lower end of the coil spring 68. Thereby, the internal space of the plug cover member 56 can be used to arrange the coil spring 68, and the axial length of the pressure regulating valve 22 can be shortened.

Note that it is possible to shorten the axial length of the pressure regulating valve 22 even in the conventional configuration in which the plug cover member 56 is inserted into the lower housing portion 50 from the bottomed side. However, in such a case, it is necessary to form the mounting seat of the coil spring 68 by deeply bending it inward in the radial direction of the plug cover member 56. Therefore, a problem arises in that deep bending is required and the number of processing steps increases. According to the configuration of this embodiment, deep bending is not required, and workability can be improved.

Note that in the case of the conventional configuration that does not include the enlarged diameter portion 66, when the plug cover member 56 is inserted into the lower housing portion 50 from the upper surface portion 64 on the opening side, the upper surface portion 64 is caught on the lower housing portion 50, and the insertion is interrupted. may not be possible smoothly. However, in this embodiment, the housing 46 has an enlarged diameter portion 66 at the lower end, and the diameter of the enlarged diameter portion 66 gradually increases toward the inlet end where the plug cover member 56 is inserted. Thereby, even when the plug cover member 56 is inserted into the lower housing part 50 from the upper surface part 64 on the opening side, the insertion can be performed smoothly.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible.

For example, in the first embodiment, a slit 44 is formed in the elastically deformable portion 43 of the side surface portion 42 of the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22, so that the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 is configured to be easily elastically deformed. However, if the material of the elastically deformable portion 43 is easily elastically deformable, a configuration without the slit 44 may be used.

Furthermore, the axial length of the slit 44 can be changed. However, the length of the first embodiment described above is preferable from the viewpoint of elastically deforming the elastically deformable portion 43.

Further, in the first embodiment, the case member 30 for the pressure regulating valve 22 is arranged adjacent to the case member 28 of the fuel pump, but it may be arranged separately from the case member 28. However, a configuration in which the case member 30 is disposed adjacent to the case member 28 is preferable because the fuel supply device 10 can be made smaller.

Claims

a valve body;
The valve seat and
a spring that urges the valve body toward the valve seat;
a metal housing that accommodates the valve body, the valve seat, and the spring;
a metal plug cover member that holds the valve body, the valve seat, and the spring in the housing;
A pressure regulating valve comprising:
The housing has a cylindrical shape and has a first end having an insertion hole and a second end located opposite to the first end in the axial direction,
The plug cover member has a cylindrical shape and has an open end and a closed end located opposite to the open end in the axial direction,
The closed end includes a positioning seat portion for positioning one end of the spring,
The plug cover member is press-fitted into the housing from the open end through the insertion hole,
The housing is a pressure regulating valve, wherein the housing has an enlarged diameter portion at the first end that gradually increases in diameter toward the insertion hole.