阅读说明：本技术 用于车辆的尿素水箱的充满通知装置 (Full notification device for urea water tank of vehicle ) 是由 崔承训 朴埈瑩 林埈植 李泰允 李性元 于 2019-10-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种用于车辆的尿素水箱的充满通知装置。所述装置配置为在尿素水箱在充满状态之前正常地注入尿素水时产生预定的声音,以通过不产生声音向使用者提供尿素水箱的充满状态的通知。(The invention provides a full notification device of a urea water tank for a vehicle. The device is configured to generate a predetermined sound when the urea water tank is normally filled with urea water before the full state to provide a user with a notification of the full state of the urea water tank by not generating the sound.)

1. A full notification device for a urea water tank of a vehicle, comprising:

a urea water tank including a urea water injection pipe for injecting urea water into the urea water tank;

a leveling pipe disposed at an upper portion of the urea water tank to discharge air in the urea water tank to an outside of the urea water tank when the urea water is injected into the urea water tank through the urea water injection pipe; and

a sound generator disposed in the leveling tube and configured to generate sound from air flow through the leveling tube.

2. The full notification apparatus for a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said sound generator is configured not to generate a sound when the urea water filling the urea water tank blocks a lower end of a leveling pipe provided in said urea water tank.

3. The full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said sound generator comprises:

a hollow sound panel housing disposed in the leveling tube;

a sound plate support having an opening hole formed at a center thereof through which air flows, the sound plate support being disposed in a sound plate case; and

a pair of sound boards mounted on the sound board support and repeatedly vibrated with each other by the air flow passing through the open holes.

4. The full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the sound board housing is in abutting contact with an inner peripheral surface of the leveling tube, and the sound board support is configured to block an air flow passing through an inside of the sound board housing except the opening hole.

5. The fill notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein an inner diameter of the sound board housing is smaller than an inner diameter of the leveling tube by at least a predetermined value.

6. The full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said pair of sound boards includes:

a first sound board having a first contact portion; and

a second sound plate having a second contact portion provided in contact with the first contact portion,

wherein the first sound board includes a first engaging portion fixed to the sound board support and a first elastically deforming portion provided between the first engaging portion and the first contact portion,

the second sound plate includes a second joint portion fixed to the sound plate support and a second elastically deformable portion disposed between the second joint portion and the second contact portion; and is

The first and second elastically deforming parts elastically bend when the first and second contact parts are separated from each other by air passing through the open hole.

7. The full notification device of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 6, wherein when a load caused by a flow velocity of air passing through the opening is equal to or less than an elastic restoring force of the first and second sound plates, the first contact portion and the second contact portion restore to original positions and vibrate each other.

8. The fill notification device of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 6, wherein when the first contact portion and the second contact portion contact each other, a gap is formed between the first elastic deformation portion, the second elastic deformation portion, and the sound panel support to pass air.

9. The full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the sound generator is disposed at an upper portion of the leveling tube.

10. The full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an upper limit height of urea water that fills the urea water tank is a height of a lower end of a leveling pipe provided in the urea water tank.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fill notification device for a urea water tank of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a fill notification device for a urea water tank of a vehicle, which notifies a user when the urea water tank is filled with urea water.

Background

Generally, when a vehicle is equipped with a diesel engine, a urea water tank is provided to store urea water for removing nitrogen oxides contained in engine exhaust gas. In particular, a urea water injection lance or a commercially available urea water tank is used to inject urea water into the urea water tank. When the urea water injection gun is used to inject the urea water, the urea water injection gun is inserted into an injection pipe of the urea water tank, and the urea water injection gun automatically injects the urea water when the injection gun is operated. When the urea water tank is filled with the urea water, the urea water injection gun is automatically stopped by an injection stopping means provided in the urea water injection gun, thereby stopping the injection of the urea water.

When injecting urea water using the urea water tank, a nozzle of the urea water tank is inserted into an inlet of an injection pipe of the urea water tank, and the urea water of the urea water tank is injected into the urea water tank. Since the user cannot determine the full state of the urea water tank, the user estimates the full state of the urea water tank from the feeling and stops the injection of the urea water by prediction. However, such estimates are often inaccurate.

Therefore, in the conventional case, when the urea water is injected into the urea water tank using the urea water tank, it is difficult for a user to determine whether the urea water tank is filled with the urea water. Therefore, even after the urea water tank is completely filled, the urea water is further injected into the urea water tank, and the urea water is excessively injected into an inlet of an injection pipe of the urea water tank until the urea water flows back and overflows, which is problematic.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, the present invention provides a full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle, which is configured to generate a predetermined sound when urea water is normally injected into the urea water tank before a full state, and notify a user of the state that the urea water tank is full of urea water by not generating the sound.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle may include: a urea water tank having a urea water injection pipe for injecting urea water; a leveling pipe (leveling pipe) disposed at an upper portion of the urea water tank for discharging air in the urea water tank to an outside of the urea water tank when the urea water is injected into the urea water tank through the urea water injection pipe; and a sound generator disposed in the leveling tube and configured to generate sound from the air flow through the leveling tube.

The sound generator may be configured not to generate a sound when the urea water filling the urea water tank blocks a lower end of a leveling pipe provided in the urea water tank. Specifically, the sound generator may include: a hollow sound panel housing disposed in the leveling tube; a sound plate support having an opening hole for flowing air at a center thereof and disposed in the sound plate case; and a pair of sound boards mounted on the sound board support and repeatedly collided or contacted with each other by the air flow passing through the open holes. An outer peripheral surface of the sound board housing may be in abutting contact with an inner peripheral surface of the leveling tube, and the sound board support may be configured to block air flow through the interior of the sound board housing except for the open hole.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the pair of sound boards may include: a first sound board having a first contact portion; and a second sound board having a second contact portion provided in contact with the first contact portion. The first sound board may include: a first engaging portion fixed to the sound plate support and a first elastically deformable portion provided between the first engaging portion and the first contact portion, the second sound plate may include: a second engaging portion fixed to the acoustic panel support and a second elastically deformable portion disposed between the second engaging portion and the second contact portion. When the first contact portion and the second contact portion are separated from each other by the air passing through the opening, the first elastic deformation portion and the second elastic deformation portion are elastically bent and generate an elastic restoring force.

When the load caused by the flow velocity of the air passing through the opening holes is equal to or less than the elastic restoring force of the first and second sound plates, the first contact portion and the second contact portion may be restored to the original positions and collide or contact each other. In addition, when the first contact portion and the second contact portion are in contact with each other, a gap may be formed between the first elastically deforming portion, the second elastically deforming portion, and the sound board support member to pass air therethrough.

According to the full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle of the present invention, when injecting urea water into the urea water tank using the urea water tank, a user can distinguish between an "unfilled state" and a "filled state" of the urea water tank according to whether or not a sound is generated. Therefore, during the injection of the urea water into the urea water tank, the user can recognize the time when the level of the urea water injected into the urea water tank reaches a predetermined full level (e.g., an upper limit level). Therefore, the user can stop the injection of the urea water before the urea water injected into the urea water tank flows back to the urea water injection pipe and overflows to the inlet of the urea water injection pipe.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a leveling tube with a urea water tank mounted fill notification device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a sound generator installed at an upper portion of a leveling tube according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view illustrating a sound generator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a sound generator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a full state of a urea water tank according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

It should be understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other similar terms as used herein generally includes motor vehicles, such as passenger automobiles including Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), utility vehicles, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats, ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuel derived from non-gasoline energy sources).

While the exemplary embodiments are described as using multiple units to perform the exemplary processes, it should be understood that the exemplary processes may also be performed by one or more modules. Further, it should be understood that the term controller/controller unit refers to a hardware device that contains a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store modules, and the processor is specifically configured to execute the modules to perform one or more processes described further below.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, values, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, values, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. "

Unless specifically stated or otherwise apparent from the context, the term "about" as used herein is understood to be within the normal tolerance of the art, e.g., within 2 standard deviations of the mean. "about" can be understood to be within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term "about".

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described so that those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily implement the present invention.

The full notification apparatus of a urea water tank for a vehicle according to the present invention is configured as follows: when the urea water is manually injected into the urea water tank, the full state notification device may be configured to output a notification of a full state of the urea water tank to a user without using an electronic device such as a sensor configured to detect a level of the urea water. The urea water tank full notification device may be configured to: a predetermined sound is generated when the urea water is injected into the urea water tank before the full state. When the urea water tank is full, the full notification device does not generate this sound even if the urea water is further injected into the urea water tank.

The urea water tank full notification device may be configured to: a predetermined sound (e.g., a sound that the thin plates collide or contact each other (e.g., vibrate each other)) is generated when the urea water in the urea water tank is directly injected into the urea water tank by manually pouring the urea water into the urea water injection pipe, and may be configured to stop the generation of the sound to provide a notification about the full state of the urea water tank. In other words, when injecting the urea water into the urea water tank (which uses a urea water tank having no separate means for automatically stopping the injection of the urea water), the filling notification means may be configured to: the predetermined sound is generated before the level of the urea water in the urea water tank reaches a preset full level (i.e., an upper limit level). In the case where the urea aqueous solution is injected into the urea aqueous solution tank, the fullness notifying means may be configured to stop the generation of the predetermined sound when the level of the urea aqueous solution in the urea aqueous solution tank reaches the upper limit level.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the urea water tank full notification device may include: a urea water tank 100, a leveling pipe 114 and a sound generator 120. The urea water tank 100 may be provided in a vehicle to store urea water for removing nitrogen oxides contained in exhaust gas of a diesel engine. Urea water tank 100 may include: a urea water injection pipe 110 through which urea water may be injected, and the urea water tank 100 may include a leveling pipe 114 for discharging air inside the urea water tank 100 to the outside of the urea water tank (e.g., the atmosphere) when urea water is injected into the urea water tank 100 through the urea water injection pipe 110.

The urea water injection pipe 110 may be disposed such that a lower portion thereof communicates with an upper portion of the urea water tank 100, and an upper portion thereof may include an atmosphere communication portion 112 communicating with the atmosphere outside the vehicle. The atmosphere communication portion 112 may be formed by an upper portion and a lower portion. An upper portion thereof may be formed in a pipe shape surrounding an upper portion of the urea water injection pipe 110, and a lower portion thereof may be formed in a box shape and connected to an upper portion of the leveling pipe 114. The urea water injection pipe 110 may guide a urea water flow injected from the outside of the vehicle into the urea water tank 100 using a urea water tank.

The leveling tube 114 may include: a lower portion of the leveling tube 114, which is provided to communicate with an upper portion of the urea water tank 100; and an upper portion of the leveling pipe 114, which is provided to discharge the internal air of the urea water tank 100 to the atmosphere. The leveling tube 114 may have an upper portion fixed to and supported by a lower portion of the atmosphere communication portion 112. The lower portion of the leveling tube 114 may pass through the upper portion of the urea water tank 100 and be disposed inside the urea water tank 100. The leveling pipe 114 may be configured to discharge the internal air of the urea water tank 100 to the outside before one end of the leveling pipe 114 (e.g., a lower end of the leveling pipe 114) is blocked by the water level of the urea water. In other words, when the lower end of the leveling tube 114 is closed by the water level of the urea water, it may be difficult to discharge the internal air of the urea water tank 100 to the outside through the leveling tube 114. Therefore, the lower end of the leveling pipe 114 may be disposed at the upper limit height of the urea water in the urea water tank 100. In other words, the urea water filling level of the urea water tank 100 is the same as the level of the lower end of the leveling pipe 114 provided inside the urea water tank 100.

As shown in fig. 2 to 4, the sound generator 120 may be configured to: a predetermined sound is generated when the urea water tank 100 is filled with urea water. The sound generator 120 may be disposed inside the leveling tube 114, and the sound generator 120 is operated by the flow rate and flow velocity of air discharged to the outside of the urea water tank 100 through the leveling tube 114. Specifically, the sound generator 120 may include: a sound board case 121 disposed inside the leveling tube 114; a sound panel supporter 122 disposed inside the sound panel case 121; and a pair of sound boards 123 and 124, the pair of sound boards 123 and 124 being mounted on the sound board support 122.

The sound board housing 121 makes it easier to mount the sound generator 120 in the leveling tube 114, and the sound board housing 121 may be pressed in the leveling tube 114 and fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the leveling tube 114. Specifically, the outer peripheral surface of the sound board housing 121 may abut to the inner peripheral surface of the leveling tube 114. The sound board housing 121 may be formed in the shape of a tube having an inner diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the leveling tube 114 by at least a predetermined value. In other words, the sound board housing 121 may have a thickness corresponding to a value obtained by subtracting the inner diameter of the sound board housing 121 from the inner diameter of the leveling tube 114.

The interior diameter of the acoustical panel housing 121 may be smaller than the interior diameter of the leveling tube 114 to increase the flow velocity and flow pressure of air through the acoustical panel housing 121. All air discharged to the outside of urea water tank 100 (i.e., the atmosphere) through leveling tube 114 passes through the interior of acoustic panel housing 121. The acoustic panel housing 121 may be formed as a hollow cylinder having a predetermined length based on the direction of air flow through the leveling tube 114. As another example, the sound board housing 121 may be formed in a hollow octagonal shape or another polygonal shape.

The sound plate supporter 122 may be pressed in the sound plate case 121 and fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the sound plate case 121. The sound panel support 122 may be formed in the shape of a plate provided at the center thereof with an opening 122a for air flow. The outer peripheral surface of the sound board support 122 may abut the inner peripheral surface of the sound board housing 121. Therefore, the air passing through the sound board housing 121 can be prevented from flowing between the sound board support 122 and the sound board housing 121, and can flow only through the open hole 122 a. In other words, air passing through the sound board housing 121 can pass through the opening hole 122 a. The sound board support 122 may block the flow of air through the sound board housing 121 except for the opening hole 122 a. The opening 122a may be formed in a square shape, but is not limited thereto.

The pair of sound boards 123 and 124 are a first sound board 123 and a second sound board 124 mounted on the inner peripheral surface of the sound board support 122, respectively. The pair of sound boards 123 and 124 may be provided as follows: an upper portion (e.g., a first contact portion) of the first sound board 123 and an upper portion (e.g., a second contact portion) of the second sound board 124 are in contact with each other while facing each other (e.g., abutting contact), and a lower portion (e.g., a first joint portion) of the first sound board 123 and a lower portion (e.g., a second joint portion) of the second sound board 124 may be mounted inside the sound board support 122 and disposed at the opening hole 122 a. The pair of sound boards 123 and 124 may operate such that the upper portions of the first sound board 123 and the second sound board 124 are spaced from each other due to a load caused by the flow velocity of air passing through the opening holes 122 a.

In the pair of sound boards 123 and 124, when the load caused by the flow velocity of the air passing through the opening holes 122a is equal to or less than the elastic restoring force of the sound boards 123 and 124, the upper portions of the first sound board 123 and the second sound board 124 can be restored to the original positions and collide with each other. The first and second engaging parts 123a and 124a may be fixed to an inner circumferential surface (e.g., an inner circumferential surface surrounding the opening) of the sound board support 122 while the first and second contact parts 123b and 124b are in contact with and facing each other. For example, the first and second engaging portions 123a and 124a may be attached at the inner circumferential surface of the sound board support 122 by welding. Specifically, the first and second engaging parts 123a and 124a may be disposed at both edges of the aperture 122a to face each other.

The first elastic deformation portion 123c may be integrally formed between the first engagement portion 123a and the first contact portion 123b, and the second elastic deformation portion 124c may be integrally formed between the second engagement portion 124a and the second contact portion 124 b. The first elastic deformation portion 123c and the second elastic deformation portion 124c can be elastically bent and deformed by a load caused by the airflow passing through the opening 122 a. When the first and second contact portions 123b and 124b are separated from each other by the air passing through the opening 122a, the first and second elastic deformation portions 123c and 124c may be elastically bent. Specifically, the first elastic deformation portion 123c and the second elastic deformation portion 124c may be bent toward the outside of the sound board support 122.

However, when the elastic restoring force generated at the time of deformation is greater than the load caused by the air flow through the opening hole 122a, the first and second elastic deformation portions 123c and 124c restore the first and second contact portions 123b and 124b to the original positions. The first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b collide with each other when returning to the original position, and may be configured to generate sound based on contact with each other. When the first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b are separated from each other, the flow rate of air passing through the sound board housing 121 can be changed. Accordingly, when the air entering the leveling tube 114 passes through the acoustic panel housing 121, the first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b may be repeatedly attached to and detached from each other (e.g., in vibrating contact with each other) and continuously generate sound.

When the urea water is filled into urea water tank 100 using the urea water tank, the flow rate of the urea water injected into urea water tank 100 may be changed based on the amount of the urea water in the urea water tank. In addition, the flow rate of air passing through the leveling tube 114 and the acoustic panel housing 121 may be changed based on the flow rate of urea water. The first sound board 123 and the second sound board 124 may be formed of a plastic material having elasticity. The first sound board 123 and the second sound board 124 may be formed in a film shape so that portions between the joint portions 123a and 124a and the elastic deformation portions 123c and 124c and portions between the elastic deformation portions 123c and 124c and the contact portions 123b and 124b may be bent. The first and second sound boards 123 and 124 may be formed of a film-form material so that the first and second contact portions 123b and 124b produce a level sound that can be heard by a user when they strike each other.

Although not shown in the drawings, when the first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b contact each other, the first sound board 123 and the second sound board 124 do not have a gap formed between the elastic deformation portions 123c and 124c and the sound board support 122. In addition, when the first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b contact each other, the first sound board 123 and the second sound board 124 may form a small gap g (refer to fig. 2) between the elastic deformation portions 123c and 124c and the sound board support 122. When the leveling pipe 114 is filled with the urea water under the hydraulic pressure of the urea water in the urea water tank 100, the gap g may completely prevent the first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b from being separated and spaced apart from each other by the air flow remaining in the leveling pipe 114 (refer to fig. 5).

The sound generator 120 configured as described above may provide the user with the notification of the underfill state and the full state of the urea water tank 100 based on whether or not the sound is generated when the first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b collide with each other. In other words, the user can detect the underfill state (in which the height of the urea water in the urea water tank 100 does not reach the upper limit height) by the sound generated when the first contact portion 123b and the second contact portion 124b collide with each other. When the sound is not generated for the predetermined time, the user may determine a full state in which the level of the urea water in the urea water tank 100 is equal to or greater than the upper limit level. Therefore, in order to more accurately inform the user of the underfill state and the underfill state of the urea water tank 100, the sound generator 120 may be provided at an upper portion of the leveling pipe 114 connected to the atmosphere communication portion 112.

In the urea water tank full notification apparatus configured as above, when the nozzle of the urea water tank is grooved at the upper portion of the urea water injection pipe 110 to inject the urea water into the urea water tank, the full notification apparatus may be configured to provide a notification of the full state of the urea water tank 100 to a user using only the sound generator 120 without using a separate electronic device configured to sense the full state of the urea water tank 100. In other words, the claimed invention can omit an additionally provided sensor. Therefore, when the sound generator 120 does not generate a sound, the user can detect the full state of the urea water tank 100 and stop the injection of the urea water to prevent the urea water from being excessively injected into the urea water tank 100 and to prevent the urea water from flowing back to the urea water injection pipe 110 due to the excessive injection of the urea water.

Generally, when the urea water is injected into the urea water injection pipe until the height of the urea water in the urea water tank is greater than the upper limit height, the urea water flows into the urea water tank along the urea water injection pipe. Depending on the amount of urea water flowing into the urea water tank, the internal air of the urea water tank may be discharged to the atmosphere through the leveling pipe. When the urea water is filled to the height of the lower end of the leveling pipe in the urea water tank, the lower end of the leveling pipe may be blocked by the water level of the urea water, and thus, the internal air of the urea water tank may be prevented from being discharged to the atmosphere through the leveling pipe. Even when the urea water is injected into the urea water tank after the lower end of the leveling tube is blocked by the urea water in the urea water tank, the urea water fills the leveling tube by the hydraulic pressure of the urea water in the urea water tank. Thus, when the urea water is further injected after the urea water starts to fill the leveling tube, the urea water flows back into the urea water injection tube and overflows.

However, in the urea water tank full notification apparatus according to the present invention, as the sound generated from the sound generator 120 stops, the user can detect the full state of the urea water tank 100. Therefore, the urea water can be prevented from being further injected into the urea water tank 100 after the urea water tank 100 is filled.

Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and deletions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.