JP2002120573A - Fuel container holding structure for natural gas vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To Provide a fuel container holding structure for a natural gas vehicle having simple construction capable of restricting the forward movement of a fuel container while preventing the container from being flawed, without limiting the capacity of the fuel container. SOLUTION: A pair of front and rear body mounting brackets 8, 9 are fixed to a body and the fuel container 2 is arranged on the body mounting brackets 8, 9 and tightened with a band 19. A movement restricting member 21 manufactured by bending a sectionally almost circular pipe material is arranged at the front part of the fuel container 2. The movement restricting member 21 has a U-shaped bent portion 22 to be turned around one side of an end plug 5 near its side and a pair of extension portions 23, 24 extending from both ends of the bent portion 22 to the other side of the end plug 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a fuel container holding structure for a natural gas vehicle that drives an engine using natural gas as fuel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a natural gas vehicle that drives an engine using natural gas as a fuel in consideration of the environmental impact has come into practical use. Since natural gas used as fuel for the natural gas vehicle is compressed and filled in the fuel container, the fuel container is required to have high pressure resistance.
For this reason, fixing to the vehicle body using welding technology takes into account that it will partially weaken the fuel container,
Instead of using a welding technique, it is held on a vehicle body by a holding structure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example.

[0003] That is, the fuel container 100 has a cylindrical body 101, a semi-spherical dome 102 provided at both ends (only the front end is shown) of the body 101, and a front end of the dome 102. End plug 1 protruding from the top
03 and are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. The body 101 is fixed to the vehicle body by a band (not shown), and is surrounded by a structural member 111 formed of a rectangular frame fixed to the vehicle body.

[0004] The upper frame portion 1 of the structural member 111 opposed to the upper frame portion 1
The rear ends of a total of four threaded pipes 120 extending forward are screwed to the frame 12 and the lower frame 113, respectively. A plate-like structural member 130 is attached to the front end of each threaded pipe 120 in a state where forward movement is restricted by a nut 140. The plate-shaped structural member 130 has a circular opening 131 that can receive a required portion at the front end of the dome portion 102.
Is provided, and a buffer member 132 is fitted to an edge of the opening 131.

In such a configuration, when the fuel container 100 moves forward at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle, the dome 102
Is pressed against the opening edge of the plate-like structural member 130 via the buffer member 132, whereby the forward movement of the fuel container 100 is restricted. Also, at this time, the dome portion 102 is in pressure contact with the edge of the opening 131 provided in the plate-like structural member 130 via the cushioning member 132 without being directly in contact with the edge thereof. The forward movement can be regulated while preventing the fuel container 100 from being damaged without being damaged by direct contact with the fuel container 100.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional fuel container holding structure, in order to prevent the fuel container 100 from being damaged and restricting the forward movement, four threaded pipes 120 and an opening 131 are formed. The plate-like structural member 130 and the buffer member 132 are required.
Therefore, not only the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are large, but also the manufacturing process is complicated, such as forming the opening 131 in the plate-shaped structural member 130 and fitting the cushioning member 132 to the opening edge. As a result, there is a disadvantage in manufacturing cost. In addition, the buffer member 132 is indispensable in order to prevent damage due to direct contact between the opening edge of the plate-shaped structural member 130 and the dome portion 102.

Further, since the fuel container 100 is surrounded at its front end by four threaded pipes 120, the diameter of the fuel container 100 may be within the space surrounded by these four threaded pipes 120. It is required that the capacity of the fuel container 100 cannot be increased.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and has a simple structure, does not limit the capacity of the fuel container, and prevents the fuel container from being damaged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel container holding structure for a natural gas vehicle capable of restricting movement.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a cylindrical body, a semi-spherical dome provided at a front end of the body, and the dome. In a natural gas vehicle in which a fuel container having an end plug protruding from a front end of the portion is disposed in a vehicle front-rear direction,

[0010] While the body of the fuel container is fastened to the vehicle body, it is a member having a substantially circular cross-section, which is bent toward one side near the end plug, and at both ends of the bent portion. A movement restricting member having a pair of extending portions extending to the other side of the end plug is provided, and the movement restricting member is fixed to the vehicle body at an end of the extending portion.

In this configuration, when the natural gas vehicle collides from the front, the fuel container moves forward due to inertia.
Then, along with this, a portion of the dome provided at the front end of the fuel container, which faces the bent portion, comes into pressure contact with the bent portion. Incidentally, the movement restricting member provided with the bent portion and the extending portion is fixed to the vehicle body at the ends of a pair of extending portions extending to both ends of the bent portion and extending to the other side of the end plug. ing. Therefore, when the dome portion further advances, the bent portion is deformed so as to be pushed by the dome portion so that the angle of the bent portion opens forward, approaches the end plug, and is caught on one side of the end plug. However, since the ends of the pair of extending portions are fixed to the vehicle body, the forward movement of the fuel container is restricted.

At this time, since the movement restricting member is a member having a substantially circular cross section and not having an edge,
The forward movement can be restricted while preventing the fuel container from being damaged without the need for a buffer member. Further, since the movement restricting member can be easily manufactured by forming a bent portion by bending a member having a substantially circular cross section such as a pipe material, the manufacturing process is extremely simple, and the number of parts and the number of assembly steps are reduced. Few. The extension of the movement restricting member is
Since it extends to the other side of the end plug, one side of the end plug, that is, one side of the fuel container is open, and there is no restriction on the capacity of the fuel container.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a fuel container 2 filled with compressed natural gas is provided below the floor of the natural gas vehicle 1 in a vehicle longitudinal direction (an arrow F indicates forward, and an arrow R indicates backward).
Are located in As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the fuel container 2 has a cylindrical body 3, a semi-spherical dome 4 provided at both ends (only the front end is shown) of the body 4, and An end plug 5 protruding from the top of the front end of the dome portion 4 is formed. The front end of a relief pipe 6 extending in the front-rear direction along the fuel container 2 is fixed to the end plug 5.

A body frame 7 extending in the front-rear direction is provided below the floor of the natural gas vehicle 1. The body frame 7 has a pair of front and rear body mounting brackets 8,
9 is fixed. The vehicle body mounting brackets 8 and 9 are substantially L-shaped, have a closed cross-sectional shape, have a vertical portion 10 and a horizontal portion 11 integrally, and are fixed to the vehicle body frame 7 by bolts 12 at the vertical portion 10. ing.

A connecting member 13 is bridged between the horizontal portions 11 of the vehicle body mounting brackets 8 and 9, whereby the vehicle body mounting brackets 8 and 9 are connected via the connecting member 13. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a fixing portion 14 protruding forward is provided on the horizontal portion 11 of the vehicle body mounting bracket 8 on the front side. This fixing part 14
It has an upper surface wall 15, and a long wall 16 and a short wall 17 hanging from both side edges of the upper surface wall 15 integrally.

A mounting bracket 18 is fixed to the connecting member 13. This mounting bracket 18
At both ends, a band 19 stretched along the peripheral surface of the body 3 of the fuel container 2 is locked via tension adjusting bolts 20, 20. As a result, the fuel container 2 is fastened to the vehicle body mounting brackets 8 and 9 via the mount bracket 18 and the connecting member 13 by the band 19 in the body 3.

On the other hand, at the front of the fuel container 2, there is disposed a movement restricting member 21 manufactured by bending a pipe material having a substantially circular cross section. The movement restricting member 21 has a U-shaped bent portion 22 which is provided near one side of the end plug 5 near the side of the end plug 5 and is arranged to be spaced from the surface of the dome portion 4. It has a pair of extending portions 23 and 24 that extend to both ends of the bent portion 22 and extend to the other side of the end plug 5. This both extension parts 2
3, 24, a rear extension 25 extending rearward along the fuel container 2 and the rear extension 25, as shown in FIGS.
And a front extending portion 26 between the bent portion 22 and the bent portion 22.

As shown in FIG. 5, a first bracket 27 having a substantially L-shaped cross section is fixed to the rear end of one of the extending portions 23 by welding. A nut 28 is welded. The first bracket 27 is fixed to the fixing portion 14 by screwing a bolt 29 inserted into a long hole (not shown) of the long wall 16 of the fixing portion 14 to a weld nut 28. .

As shown in FIG. 2, a flat plate-shaped second bracket 30 is fixed to the rear end of the other extending portion 24 by welding. Are provided with a pair of long holes 31. This long hole 3
1 and the vertical portion 1 of the vehicle body mounting bracket 8
The second bracket 30 is fixed to the vertical portion 10 of the vehicle body mounting bracket 8 by a bolt 32 screwed to a weld nut (not shown) welded to the second bracket 30.

In this embodiment according to the above configuration, when the natural gas vehicle 1 collides from the front, the fuel container 2
Moves forward due to inertia. Then, along with this, a portion of the dome portion 4 provided at the front end of the fuel container 2 that faces the bent portion 22 with a gap comes into contact with the bent portion 22 by moving forward. By the way, this bent part 22
Movement restricting member 21 provided with front extension 26
Are fixed to the vehicle body mounting bracket 8 at rear ends of the extending portions 23 and 24 (ends of the rear extending portion 25). Therefore, when the dome portion 4 abuts on the bent portion 22 and further advances, the bent portion 22 is pressed by the dome portion 4 and deformed so that the angle of the bent portion 22 opens forward. Reference numeral 22 is hooked on one side of the end plug 5, and the rear ends of the extending portions 23 and 24 are fixed to the vehicle body mounting bracket 8, so that the forward movement of the fuel container 2 is restricted.

At this time, the load generated by the hooking of the bent portion 22 and the end plug acts on the extending portions 23 and 24 having the rear extending portion 25 not in the shear direction but in the tensile direction. From the movement restricting member 21
Even if is formed of a pipe material, sufficient load resistance can be ensured.

Further, since the movement restricting member 21 is a pipe material having a substantially circular section and does not have an edge, the movement restricting member 21 does not require the cushioning member 132 (see FIG. 7), and can prevent the fuel container 2 from being damaged. It is possible to restrict forward movement while preventing sticking. Furthermore, since the movement restricting member 21 can be easily manufactured by forming a bent portion 22 or the like by bending a pipe material, the manufacturing process is extremely simple, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are small. Further, since the extending portions 23 and 24 of the movement restricting member 21 extend to the other side of the end plug 5, one side of the end plug 5, that is, one side of the fuel container 2 in FIG. Is open and does not limit the capacity of the fuel container 2.

Moreover, the movement restricting member 21 is
Is arranged around one side of the end plug 5 in the vicinity of the side of the end plug 5, 360 ° around the end plug 5.
Regardless of the orientation, the fuel container 2
It is possible to restrict forward movement while preventing scratches. Therefore, the movement restricting member 21 is
Has a degree of freedom of arrangement of about 360 °, so that it can be universally applied to different vehicle body structures.

In addition, when it becomes necessary to remove the movement restricting member 21 or the fuel container 2 during maintenance or repair, the bolts 29 and 32 are respectively unscrewed.
Thereby, the movement restricting member 21 and the vehicle body mounting bracket 8
And the connection with the fixed portion 14 is released, and the movement restricting member 2
1 can be removed. At this time, the movement restricting member 2
1 is an open member having individual extending portions 23 and 24 at both ends, so that the movement restricting member 21 can be removed without removing the relief pipe 6.

Similarly, when the movement restricting member 21 is mounted again, one of the extending portions 24 of the movement restricting member 21 is inserted below the relief pipe 6 without removing the relief pipe 6, and then the bolt is removed. If the fixing work by 29 and 32 is performed, re-installation can be performed without removing the relief pipe 6.

In this embodiment, the movement restricting member 21 is formed of a pipe material. However, the member is not limited to the pipe material but may be a solid member as long as the member has a substantially circular cross section. . The shape of the bent portion 22 is not limited to the U-shape, but may be an L-shape or a V-shape.

[0027]

As described above, the present invention is directed to a member having a substantially circular cross section, which is bent toward one side near an end plug provided at the front end of the fuel container,
A movement restricting member having a pair of extending portions extending to both end portions of the bent portion and extending to the other side of the end plug; and providing the movement restricting member to a vehicle body at an end of the extending portion. I fixed it. Therefore, the forward movement of the fuel container at the time of a frontal collision can be restricted by a simple configuration in which a member having a substantially circular cross section is bent. Therefore,
It is possible to restrict the forward movement of the fuel container at the time of a frontal collision while reducing the number of parts and the number of assembling steps to reduce the manufacturing cost.

Further, since a member having a substantially circular cross section is used, a forward movement can be restricted without damaging the fuel container without requiring a buffer member. Further, the movement restricting member includes the bent portion and the pair of extending portions, and since the extending portion extends to the other side of the end plug, one side of the end plug, that is, the fuel container Is open on one side, which does not limit the capacity of the fuel container. Therefore, it is possible to freely increase the volume of the fuel container.

[0029] Further, if the bent portion is arranged near one side of the end plug near the side of the end plug, the movement restricting member can be arranged in any direction of 360 ° around the end plug. It is possible to restrict the forward movement while preventing the fuel container from being damaged. Therefore, the movement restricting member has 360 degrees of freedom of arrangement around the end plug, so that it can be applied to various body structures in general.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side perspective view showing an arrangement of a fuel container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view of the same.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional technique.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line SA-SA of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Natural gas vehicle 2 Fuel container 3 Body 4 Dome 5 End plug 7 Body frame 8 Body mounting bracket 9 Body mounting bracket 19 Band 21 Movement restricting member 22 Bent part 23 Extension part 24 Extension part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fuel container having a cylindrical body, a semi-spherical dome provided at a front end of the body, and an end plug protruding from a front end of the dome is provided in a vehicle body. A natural gas vehicle disposed in the direction, wherein the body portion of the fuel container is fastened to the vehicle body, and a member having a substantially circular cross section, and a bent portion which is turned to one side near the end plug. A movement restricting member having a pair of extending portions extending to both ends of the bent portion and extending to the other side of the end plug, wherein the movement restricting member is mounted on the vehicle body at an end of the extending portion. A fuel container holding structure for a natural gas vehicle, wherein the fuel container holding structure is fixed to the vehicle.