JP2002046485A - Protection device for fuel vessel for gasoline engine vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protection device of a fuel vessel for a gasoline engine vehicle which can prevent a rise of internal pressure in the fuel vessel while the freedom degree of a vehicle layout is increased. SOLUTION: This device comprises a heat exchanger and cover in one formed in box shape by partly burying a plate-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger to cover a fuel vessel and a fan arranged between the air-cooled heat exchanger and the fuel vessel to feed air from a side of this fuel vessel to this air-cooled heat exchanger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a fuel container protection device for a gas engine vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a gas engine vehicle using a gas fuel such as compressed natural gas or LPG is equipped with a fuel container filled with the gas fuel. FIG. 8 shows a known example of a compressed natural gas engine vehicle using compressed natural gas.

In the figure, a frame 1 of a track 101
02, the fuel containers 103, 103
Are located on the left and right sides of the vehicle. Fuel container 103, 1
03 is a frame 1 with a hanger bracket (not shown)
02 supported. A box-shaped cover 104 is used as the fuel container protection device, and the fuel container 103 is covered by the cover 104.

On the other hand, in a compressed natural gas engine vehicle, for example, heat exchangers such as a radiator, an intercooler, a condenser for an air conditioner, an oil cooler for an engine, and an oil cooler for a transmission are mounted. For example, when a transmission oil cooler is to be mounted on a truck, a vehicle layout as shown in FIG. 9 is conceivable. That is, as shown in the figure, a transmission oil cooler 105 having a structure as shown in, for example, JP-A-2000-8821 is arranged on a frame 102 of a truck 101, and a space for mounting the transmission oil cooler 105 is provided. In need of.

[0005]

However, in a conventional fuel container protection device for a compressed natural gas engine vehicle,
There were the following problems: The truck 101 shown in FIG. 8 requires a large space for mounting the fuel containers 103, 103, and accordingly, the space for mounting vehicle components other than the fuel containers 103, 103 is compressed.

For example, when a heat exchanger such as a transmission oil cooler 105 shown in FIG. 9 is to be mounted on a truck 101 shown in FIG.
By mounting 3, the space for mounting the transmission oil cooler 105 is eliminated. As a result, in order to mount the transmission oil cooler 105, it is necessary to search for a space other than the space where the fuel containers 103 and 103 are mounted.

As described above, the mounting of the fuel containers 103 reduces the degree of freedom of the vehicle layout. Further, since the fuel container 103 is covered with the cover 104, heat is easily stored in the cover 104. Therefore, for example, there is a measure to dissipate heat by providing a slit or the like in the cover 104, but there is a possibility that the temperature of the fuel container 103 may increase,
In this case, there is a possibility that the internal pressure of the fuel container 103 increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas engine vehicle capable of increasing the degree of freedom in vehicle layout and preventing an increase in the internal pressure of a fuel container. It is to provide a fuel container protection device.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a heat exchanger / cover which is formed in a box shape by partially embedding an air-cooled heat exchanger in a plate shape and which covers a fuel container; A fan disposed between the exchanger and the fuel container to send air from the fuel container side to the air-cooled heat exchanger.

(Function) In the present invention, the plate-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger also serves as a part of the heat exchanger cover, and the space for mounting the air-cooled heat exchanger is a heat exchanger. It becomes unnecessary in places other than the dual-purpose cover. Further, air is sucked into the air-cooled heat exchanger from the side of the fuel container by the fan. The fuel container is forcibly cooled by the air passing therethrough.

At the same time, the air-cooled heat exchanger is cooled by the air blown by the fan, and in the air-cooled heat exchanger, heat transferred from another component (for example, a transmission) whose temperature has increased is radiated.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, an embodiment of a fuel container protection device for a gas engine vehicle according to the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, a compressed natural gas engine vehicle is taken as an example of a gas engine vehicle, and a case where the invention is applied to a truck will be described. In the figure, a compressed natural gas engine vehicle 1 has a frame 2. The frame 2 is composed of side members 3 and 3 facing each other in the vehicle left-right direction, and a plurality of cross members 4.

The web 3A of the side member 3 has approximately L
Band-shaped hanger brackets 5 and 5 bent in a letter shape are attached, and a fuel container 6 composed of a cylinder is held on the hanger brackets 5 and 5. The fuel container 6 is filled with compressed natural gas. The fuel container 6 is covered with a box-shaped heat exchanger / cover 7. The heat exchanger / cover 7 is composed of a box-shaped cover body 8 and a plate-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger 9 and is formed in a box shape.
The cover body 8 includes a front side surface portion 8A made of a plate material, a back side surface portion 8B made of a plate material, an upper surface portion 8C made of a plate material, a lower surface portion 8D made of a plate material, and a front surface portion 8E made of a plate material.
And a rear surface portion 8F made of a plate material.

At the center of the front side 8A of the cover body 8,
The air-cooled heat exchanger 9 is incorporated. That is,
The air-cooled heat exchanger 9 forms a part of the heat exchanger / cover 7. The air-cooled heat exchanger 9 is fixed on the tips 5A, 5A of the hanger brackets 5, 5, and its upper end 9A reaches the upper surface 8C of the cover body 8. The air-cooled heat exchanger 9 is used, for example, as an oil cooler for a transmission, and has a function of cooling oil carried from a transmission (not shown).

A fan 10 comprising an electric fan is disposed between the air-cooled heat exchanger 9 and the fuel container 6. The fan 10 sucks air from the fuel container 6 side and sends it to the air-cooled heat exchanger 9. The compressed natural gas engine vehicle 1 is provided with a known fuel device and a known safety device. For example, as a safety device, the fuel container 6 is provided with a safety valve 6A for releasing the gas fuel filled in the fuel container 6 when the gas fuel has an abnormally high temperature.

In this embodiment, however, the air-cooled heat exchanger 9 also serves as a part of the heat-exchanger cover 7, and the space for mounting the air-cooled heat exchanger 9 is reduced. It is unnecessary at a place other than the heat exchanger / cover 7. Further, air is sucked into the air-cooled heat exchanger 9 from the side of the fuel container 6 by the fan 10, and the fuel container 6 is forcibly cooled by the air passing therethrough.

At the same time, the air-cooled heat exchanger 9 is cooled by blowing air from the fan 10. From the transmission whose temperature has risen, the oil is conveyed to the cooled air-cooled heat exchanger 9 via an oil pipe (not shown), where the oil is radiated. According to the configuration described above, in the compressed natural gas engine vehicle 1, the air-cooled heat exchanger 9 is embedded in a part of the heat exchanger / cover 7, so that the heat exchanger can be mounted as in the conventional example. This space becomes unnecessary in places other than the heat exchanger / cover 7, and the effect of increasing the degree of freedom of the vehicle layout is achieved.

Further, by forcibly cooling the fuel container 6 with the fan 10, an increase in the internal pressure of the fuel container 6 due to a rise in temperature can be reliably prevented, and the effect of ensuring safety can be obtained. In the present embodiment, a compressed natural gas engine vehicle has been described as an example of a gas engine vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The present invention can also be applied to a vehicle using a gas fuel such as G.

Further, in the present embodiment, an oil cooler for a transmission has been described as an example of the air-cooled heat exchanger 8, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the present invention can be applied to a radiator, an intercooler, a condenser for an air conditioner, an oil cooler for an engine, and the like. Further, in the present embodiment, the air-cooled heat exchanger 8 also serves as the front side 8A of the cover body 8 so that a part of the heat exchanger / cover 7 is an air-cooled heat exchanger 9. However, the fuel container protection device shown in FIG. 5 may be configured.

In the figure, a heat exchanger / cover 11 is
The air-cooled heat exchanger 12 also serves as a cover body 8 and as the rear surface portion 8F of the cover body 8. That is, the heat exchanger / cover 11 covers the fuel container 6 and is formed in a box shape by partially embedding the plate-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger 12. A fan 12A is provided between the air-cooled heat exchanger 12 and the rear end 6B of the fuel container 6.
Are arranged, and the fan 12A sends air from the fuel container 6 side to the air-cooled heat exchanger 12. According to the fuel container protection device having such a configuration, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the case where the fuel containers 6 and 6 are arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle on the frame 2 is applied. However, as shown in FIGS. The arranged fuel container protection device can also be configured. As shown in the figure, a plurality (three) of fuel containers 6, 6, 6 are mounted on the frame 2 in the vertical direction and behind the cab 2A in the vehicle. The heat exchanger / cover 13 is composed of a cover body 14 and a plate-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger 15 that is also used as a part of the rear surface portion 14A of the cover body 14. That is, the heat exchanger / cover 13 covers the fuel containers 6, 6, and 6 and is formed in a vertically elongated box shape with the air-cooled heat exchanger 15 partially embedded therein. A fan 16 is arranged between the air-cooled heat exchanger 15 and the fuel container 6. According to the fuel container protection device having such a configuration, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in the present embodiment,
Although an example in which the invention is applied to a fuel container mounted on a truck has been described, the invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to, for example, a fuel container mounted on a bus roof.

[0024]

According to the present invention, in the gas engine vehicle, the plate-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger is embedded in a part of the heat exchanger cover, so that the air-cooled heat exchanger is mounted. This eliminates the need for space and increases the degree of freedom in vehicle layout.

Further, by forcibly cooling the fuel container by the fan, it is possible to surely prevent an increase in the internal pressure of the fuel container due to an increase in the temperature of the fuel container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fuel container protection device for a compressed natural gas engine vehicle according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view cut along the X1-X1 section of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view cut along the X2-X2 section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a compressed natural gas engine vehicle according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a first modified example of the fuel container protection device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a second modification of the fuel container protection device.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a second modified example of the fuel container protection device.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a conventional compressed natural gas engine vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a vehicle equipped with a conventional transmission oil cooler.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressed natural gas engine vehicle 6 Fuel container 7 Heat exchanger combined cover 9 Air-cooled heat exchanger 10 Fan

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heat exchanger / cover which is formed in a box shape with a plate-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger embedded in a part thereof and covers a fuel container; A fan disposed between the fuel container and for sending air from the fuel container side to the air-cooled heat exchanger.