JP2001113964A - Gas cylinder holder for engine using lpg - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas cylinder holder for an engine using LPG capable of stabilizing feed of fuel by suppressing an influence by external environment, reliably storing a gas cylinder and preventing the occurrence of theft through simple constitution. SOLUTION: A cassette system gas cylinder 2 filled with LPG; the gas cylinder holder 3 at which the gas cylinder 2 is loaded; and a connector 5 connected to the gas cylinder 2 are provided. In an engine 6 where fuel is fed from the gas cylinder 2 through the connector 5, the gas holder 3 consists of an inner cylinder part 11 to store the gas cylinder 2 in an internal space, and an outer cylinder part 14 surrounding the inner cylinder part 11 along the outer periphery of the inner cylinder part 11 and forming a hollow part 13 between the inner cylinder part 11 and the outer cylinder part. An opening part 15 through which the gas cylinder 2 passes is formed. During charging of the gas cylinder a cap 32 is provided to press the gas cylinder 2 toward the connector 5 and to shield the opening 15 of the inner and outer cylinder parts 11 and 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an engine using a cassette type gas cylinder, and more particularly to a gas cylinder holder for an engine using an LPG.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a prime mover used for a small power machine or a small power generator, a small engine which is excellent in operability, transportability and portability by itself is generally employed. However, engines that use gasoline as fuel require a gasoline tank to secure fuel,
The gasoline tank is generally provided with a breather so that the internal pressure does not largely change by releasing volatile gas from the gasoline tank. For this reason, the smell of volatile gasoline that escaped from the gasoline tank when carrying the engine or carrying it on a vehicle has become a problem. In addition, there is a problem of gasoline odor when gasoline is leaked accidentally at the time of refueling, and a problem in storage of fuel. Therefore, in order to solve the above problems,
An engine using a cassette type gas cylinder using a liquefied fuel gas has been proposed as one that can easily handle fuel. According to this, there are advantages that fuel availability and storage are excellent, and that handling is easy.

[0003]

However, when using a liquefied fuel gas filled in a gas cylinder, a large amount of heat of vaporization is required when supplying fuel from the gas cylinder to the engine side. There is a problem that the supply of fuel is not smoothly performed due to the influence of the temperature of the external environment as the temperature decreases. Therefore,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-131809, there has been proposed a method for increasing the efficiency of fuel supply by warming a gas cylinder using an electric heater. In this case, it is necessary to control the temperature of the electric heater. Therefore, there is a problem that the apparatus configuration becomes complicated and the cost increases.
Further, in order to improve the handling of gas cylinders, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-169511, it has been proposed to fix a lid of a holder for accommodating a gas cylinder. However, since the gas cylinder can be easily attached and detached, there is a problem that the gas cylinder may be stolen or misused.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has a simple structure in which the influence of the external environment on the gas cylinder is suppressed to stabilize the fuel supply, and the gas cylinder is reliably mounted. It is an object of the present invention to provide an LPG-based gas cylinder holder for an engine that can be stored and prevented from being stolen.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a gas cylinder holder for an engine using LPG, a cassette type gas cylinder filled with liquefied petroleum gas, and a gas cylinder loaded with the gas cylinder. In an engine including a holder and a connector connected to the gas cylinder, wherein fuel is supplied from the gas cylinder via the connector, the gas cylinder holder includes an inner cylinder portion that stores a gas cylinder in an internal space, and the inner cylinder portion. Along with the outer circumference of the inner cylinder, the outer cylinder has a hollow portion formed between the inner cylinder and the inner cylinder, and a gas cylinder is passed through one end of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. An opening is formed, and a connector is provided at a position corresponding to a fuel discharge portion of a gas cylinder at the other end of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and a gas bottle is provided in the inner cylinder. During the loading, with pressed toward the gas cylinder to the connector, it is an further comprising a lid that shields the opening of the inner cylinder part and the outer cylinder part.

Further, the engine has a head pipe for operably supporting front wheels, a body frame for mounting and supporting an engine for driving rear wheels, and a body frame for supporting an occupant's seat, the head pipe and the body frame. And a main frame tube extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body.

Further, it is preferable that a protective cover is provided which surrounds the outer periphery of the connector and has an opening formed at a position facing at least a part of the joint between the gas cylinder and the connector.

Further, it is preferable that the opening / closing lid is provided with a coil spring at a position facing the gas cylinder for pressing a bottom portion of the gas cylinder.

Further, the opening / closing lid is engaged with the coil spring so as to be able to protrude outwardly and is locked inside the gas cylinder holder, and a locking means for temporarily urging the locking portion. It is preferable to provide

According to the present invention, the gas cylinder holder is provided between the inner cylinder portion for accommodating the gas cylinder in the internal space and the inner cylinder portion along the outer periphery of the inner cylinder portion. The gas cylinder can be isolated from the external environment with a simple configuration by employing a double structure having an outer cylinder portion having a hollow portion formed therein, and the heat insulation effect is high, so that the influence of an external force can be effectively suppressed. Further, the gas cylinder can be reliably stored in the holder by pressing the gas cylinder toward the connector and by providing an opening / closing lid for shielding the openings of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder.

Also, the engine of the motorcycle with a motor is
By using the gas cylinder holder as an LPG engine, the problem of gasoline odor can be solved, and a motorcycle with a motor excellent in portability and in-vehicle transportability can be realized.

Further, the connector can be protected from external force by providing a protective cover surrounding the outer periphery of the connector and having an opening formed at a position facing the joint between the gas cylinder and the connector. Positioning can be easily performed at the time of loading, and the presence or absence of the gas cylinder and the loaded state can be confirmed without opening the cover.

In addition, by providing the open / close lid with a coil spring for pressing the bottom of the gas cylinder at a position facing the gas cylinder, the gas cylinder can be securely connected to the connector and securely held in the holder. be able to.

Further, by providing the opening / closing lid with a lock portion and a locking means for temporarily urging the lock portion, the gas cylinder can be stored in the holder and theft can be prevented.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a motorcycle 1 with a motor, a cassette type gas cylinder 2 filled with liquefied fuel gas (hereinafter, referred to as “LPG”), and the gas cylinder 2 is loaded. A gas cylinder holder 3 and a connector 5 connected to the gas cylinder 2, and an engine 6 to which fuel is supplied from the gas cylinder 2 via the connector 5 is mounted. A fuel pipe 8 is disposed behind the engine 6 and on the right side in the traveling direction, and communicates with the gas cylinder holder 3 and communicates with the engine 6 to supply fuel.

The gas cylinder holder 3 is provided on a frame main tube 7 which is a body frame, and is provided with a saddle 9
Is disposed in front of the seat post 10 in the vehicle body direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the gas cylinder holder 3 has an inner cylindrical portion 11 for accommodating the gas cylinder 2 in an internal space having a cylindrical shape substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of the gas cylinder 2.
And an outer cylindrical portion 14 surrounding the inner cylindrical portion 11 along the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical portion 11 and having a hollow portion 13 formed between the inner cylindrical portion 11 and the inner cylindrical portion 11. . An opening 15 through which the gas cylinder 2 passes is formed at one end of the inner cylinder 11 and the outer cylinder 14.
The other end corresponding to the fuel discharge part 17 of the gas cylinder 2 is
Similar to the shape of the fuel discharge portion 17 of the gas cylinder 2, the gas cylinder 2 is formed in a convex shape having a smaller diameter than the outer diameter, and the connector 5 is disposed here.

The connector 5 has a connecting portion 19 connected to the gas cylinder 2 on the inner cylinder portion 11 side, and a gas cock 21 on the outside of the inner cylinder portion 11. A cylinder release spring 22 is disposed in the axial direction substantially along the outer periphery of the connecting portion 19. In the vicinity of the connecting portion 19, a gas cylinder 2 positioning pin 23 is directed toward the inside of the inner cylinder portion 11 in correspondence with a positioning groove (not shown) formed in the fuel discharge portion 17 of the gas cylinder 2. The projection is formed. In the vicinity of the outer periphery of the connector 5, a protective cover 26 having a viewing window 25 formed at a position facing the positioning pin 23 is formed integrally and continuously with the outer cylindrical portion 14.

On the other hand, at one end of the inner cylinder 11 and the outer cylinder 14, an opening 15 is formed by bending the end of the outer cylinder 14 inward, and a lock groove is formed at the end of the bent part. Fifteen
b, and corresponding to the opening 15,
A cap case 30 having substantially the same cross-sectional shape and a cap 32 having a cap body 31 having substantially the same outer peripheral dimensions of the outer cylindrical portion 14 are arranged.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a key cylinder 34 is rotatably arranged at the center of the cap 32, and a lock pin 35 interlocked with the key cylinder 34 is provided. The lock pin 35 is urged outward in the outer peripheral direction of the cap case 30 by a cap lock spring 36 disposed substantially at the center of the cap case 30. Further, a pin groove 39 is formed in the lock pin 35 at a position facing an engagement pin 38 provided on the key cylinder 34.
The protruding end portion 35a of the lock pin 35 is formed on an inclined surface 35b that becomes narrower toward the inside of the opening 15 so as to come into contact with the inclined surface 35b and the opening end 15c in the maximum projecting state. It is configured. The key cylinder 34
Is formed in parallel with the axial direction of the inner cylinder part 11 and the outer cylinder part 14 from the outer part of the cap body 31 to the vicinity of the lock pin 35, and an engagement pin 38 is provided at an end on the lock pin 35 side. It is arranged to project toward the lock pin 35.

The cap case 30 is provided with the inner cylindrical portion 1.
A cap spring 40 composed of a compression coil spring is provided toward the inside of the housing 1, and a spring guide 41 for guiding and holding the cap spring 40 is formed so as to protrude. The spring force of the cap spring 40 is set to a value larger than the spring force of the cylinder release spring 22 disposed on the connector 5.

Next, a case where the gas cylinder 2 of the cassette type is stored in the gas cylinder holder 3 according to the present embodiment will be described. First, the gas cylinder 2 is loaded into the gas cylinder holder 3 from the opening 15 of the gas cylinder holder 3 with the fuel discharge unit 17 side first. Next, the cap case 30 is fitted into the opening 15. At this time, lock pin 3
When the lock pin 35 is brought into contact with the opening end 15c and further pushed in, a force for pushing the lock pin 35 into the cap case 30 acts on the tapered portion 35b of the lock pin 35. The cap case 30 is fitted into the opening 15, and the lock pin 35 moves along the inner wall of the opening 15 while being pushed into the cap case 30. When the distal end 35a of the lock pin 35 reaches a position facing the lock groove 15b, the lock pin 35
Project into the lock groove 15b by the spring force of the cap lock spring 36. Here, a force acts on the cap case 30 by the cap spring 40 in a direction to separate the cap case 30 from the opening 15. That is, the distal end portion 35a of the lock pin 35 is pressed by the cylinder release spring 22 and the cap spring 40 in a state where the distal end portion 35a is engaged with the end of the lock groove portion 15b, so that the locked state is maintained.

Next, the case of taking out the gas cylinder 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, first, the key cylinder 3
4 rotates counterclockwise by overcoming the spring force of the cap lock spring 36. At this time, key cylinder 3
The fourth engagement pin 38 on the lock pin 35 side pushes the inner wall of the pin groove 39 to push the lock pin 35 into the cap case 30. Then, the lock pin 3 is inserted from the lock groove 15b.
When the distal end 35a of the cap 5 is detached, the cap 32 is detached from the opening 15 by the spring force of the cylinder detaching spring 22 and the cap spring 40. When the cap 32 is removed, the gas cylinder 2 is pushed out in the direction of the opening 15 by the spring force of the cylinder detaching spring 22, so that the gas cylinder 2 can be easily taken out.

According to the above configuration, the gas cylinder holder 3
Has a double structure in which the hollow portion 13 is formed by the inner cylindrical portion 11 and the outer cylindrical portion 14, so that the heat insulating effect is high and the influence of the external force can be effectively suppressed.

Further, by mounting the LPG engine on the motorized motorcycle 1 and using the gas cylinder holder 3 of the present embodiment, the problem of gasoline odor can be solved, and the portability and the in-vehicle transportability are excellent. The motorized motorcycle 1 can also be realized.

Further, by pressing the fuel discharge portion 17 of the gas cylinder 2 and the connector 5 via the cylinder release spring 22 and pressing and fixing the bottom of the gas cylinder 2 with the cap via the cap spring 40, the gas cylinder 2 Can be reliably stored in the gas cylinder holder 3, and the gas cylinder 2 can be easily taken out. Further, by locking the cap 32 with the key cylinder 34, the gas cylinder 2 can be prevented from being stolen.

Further, by providing a protective cover 26 surrounding the outer periphery of the connector 5 and having a viewing window 25 at a position facing the joint between the gas cylinder 2 and the connector 5, the connector 5 is protected from external force. Further, the positioning can be easily performed when the gas cylinder is loaded, and the presence or absence and the loaded state of the gas cylinder 2 can be confirmed without opening the cover.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the motorcycle 1 with a motor. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention is applied to other small power machines, engine generators and the like. May be used.

In this embodiment, a set is mounted for an engine. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS.
The spare holder 42 may be attached to the seat post 10 for holding the saddle 9. When removing the gas cylinder from the spare holder 42, as shown in FIG. 7, the saddle 9 is rotated so that the cap of the spare holder 42 can be seen from above the saddle 9, and the cap 43 is removed. Remove the gas cylinder (not shown). As described above, a plurality of units including the spare holder 42 may be mounted. In this case,
There is the advantage that the spare cylinder can be carried safely and there is no fear of theft.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the gas cylinder holder has a double structure having a hollow portion, the gas cylinder holder has a simple configuration without using a separate heat insulating member.
The effect of the external environment on the gas cylinder can be suppressed, and the fuel supply can be stabilized. In addition, the provision of the key cylinder in the opening / closing lid has an effect that the gas cylinder can be securely stored and theft can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a left side view showing an entire gas cylinder holder of an engine using an LPG according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view showing the entire gas cylinder holder of the engine using the LPG according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a gas cylinder holder according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed sectional view showing a configuration of a lock pin according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a left side view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a right side view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing handling of a spare holder of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Motorcycle with motor 2 Gas cylinder 3 Gas cylinder holder 5 Connector 6 Engine 7 Flake main tube 8 Fuel pipe 9 Saddle 10 Seat post 11 Inner cylinder part 13 Hollow part 14 Outer cylinder part 15 Opening 15a bending part 15b lock groove 15c opening end Part 17 Fuel discharging part 19 Coupling part 21 Gas cock 22 Cylinder release spring 23 Positioning pin 25 Viewing window 26 Protective cover 30 Cap case 31 Cap body 32 Cap 34 Key cylinder 35 Lock pin 35a tip 35b taper 36 Cap lock spring 38 Engage Pin 39 Pin groove 40 Cap spring 41 Spring guide 42 Spare holder 43 Cap 45 Normal seat position 46 Seat position when using the spare holder

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A gas cylinder of a cassette type filled with liquefied petroleum gas, a gas cylinder holder loaded with the gas cylinder, and a connector connected to the gas cylinder, and fuel is supplied from the gas cylinder via the connector. In the above-mentioned engine, the gas cylinder holder comprises:
An inner cylinder portion for storing a gas cylinder in the inner space, and an outer cylinder portion surrounding the inner cylinder portion along the outer periphery of the inner cylinder portion and having a hollow portion formed between the inner cylinder portion, An opening through which a gas cylinder passes is formed at one end of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and a connector is disposed at a position corresponding to a fuel discharge section of the gas cylinder at the other end of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. LPG characterized by being provided with an opening / closing lid that presses the gas cylinder toward the connector when the gas cylinder is loaded into the inner cylinder part and shields the opening of the inner cylinder part and the outer cylinder part. Engine gas cylinder holder. 2. The engine according to claim 1, further comprising: a head pipe for supporting a front wheel so as to be able to steer; a body frame for mounting and supporting an engine for driving a rear wheel; and a body frame for supporting an occupant's seat, and the head pipe and the body frame. 2. A gas cylinder holder for an engine using an LPG according to claim 1, wherein the gas cylinder holder is provided on a motorcycle with a motor having a main frame tube extending forward and backward in the vehicle body traveling direction. 3. A protection cover surrounding the outer periphery of the connector and having an opening formed at a position facing at least a part of a joint between the gas cylinder and the connector. LP described in item
Engine gas cylinder holder using G. 4. The engine using an LPG according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing lid includes a coil spring for pressing a bottom of the gas cylinder at a position facing the gas cylinder. Gas cylinder holder. 5. A lock portion which is engaged with a coil spring so as to be able to protrude outwardly and is locked inside the gas cylinder holder, and a locking means for temporarily biasing the lock portion. A gas cylinder holder for an engine using an LPG according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: