JP2002321535A - High pressure container for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the inside cubic capacity of a high pressure container for automobile without increasing board thickness. SOLUTION: Concave portions are respectively formed in the central part of a mirror part 1b of an upper mirror 1 and in the central part of a mirror part 2b of a lower mirror 2, and connected to each other with a reinforcement pipe. Mirror top parts 1c, 2c are formed between respective body parts 1a, 2a of the upper mirror 1 and the lower mirror 2, and the reinforcement pipe 5. Outside curved surface parts 1d, 2d are formed between the mirror top parts 1c, 2c and the body parts 1a, 2a. Inside curved surface parts 1e, 2e are formed between the mirror top parts 1c, 2c and the reinforcement pipe 5. The mirror top parts 1c, 2c are substantial planes substantially perpendicular to an axis of the reinforcement pipe 5, and a radius of the outside curved surface parts 1d, 2d is smaller than that of the inside curved surface parts 1e, 2e. The mirror top parts 1c, 2c and the body parts 1a, 2a are respectively connected to each other with reinforcement plates 8, 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high-pressure container for an automobile, and more particularly, to a high-pressure container for storing fuel such as LPG, which is mounted on an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cylinder-type welded LPG container 101 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, those which are loaded in a trunk room of an automobile are widely used practically.

As shown in FIG. 9, a flat, substantially spherical (UFO type) automotive LP gas container 203 formed by joining a flat, substantially hemispherical top mirror 201 and a ground mirror 202 is used. Is mounted on a spare tire loading portion of an automobile as shown in FIG. 10, for example, disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-38223.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a substantially hemispherical top mirror 301 and a ground mirror 302 are combined, and
A container 305 in which a concave portion 303 is formed in the center portion of the tube 1 and a pipe 304 is welded to the center is provided, for example, in Dutch Patent No. 9300958.

[0005]

Since the conventional cylinder type is arranged in a trunk room, the luggage loading space of the trunk room is restricted, and the volume efficiency is low in spite of the capacity of the container. There are drawbacks.

The containers described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-38223 and Dutch Patent No. 9300958 are loaded on a spare tire loading section.
Although the limitation of the trunk space is eliminated and there is an advantage that the trunk room can be widely used, since the container shape is substantially elliptical, the ratio of the container space to the spare tire loading portion is small, and it is difficult to increase the internal volume.

Therefore, in the above substantially hemispherical container,
In order to increase the internal volume by making the shape along the space of the trunk room, the following formula of the dish-shaped head plate determined by the High Pressure Gas Safety Act,

[0008]

(Equation 1) It is conceivable to increase n among them.

However, in this case, the plate thickness t becomes large according to the above equation, and in addition to an increase in container cost, there is an unbearable problem of a decrease in vehicle fuel efficiency due to an increase in container weight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-pressure container for an automobile which can increase the volume in the container without increasing the thickness while taking the above formula into account.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a front side mirror having a mirror at one end of a cylindrical body, and a cylindrical body. Back mirrors having a mirror portion at one end thereof are joined to each other at respective opening sides, and a concave portion is formed at the center of the mirror portion of the front mirror and the central portion of the mirror portion of the back mirror, respectively. Are connected by a reinforcing pipe, a mirror top is formed between each of the front and rear mirrors and the reinforcing pipe, and an outer curved surface is formed between the mirror top and the body, An inner curved surface portion is formed between a top portion and the reinforcing pipe, the mirror top portion is a substantially flat surface substantially orthogonal to an axis of the reinforcing pipe, and a radius of the outer curved surface portion is set smaller than a radius of the inner curved surface portion, The mirror top and the trunk are connected by a reinforcing plate.

According to the present invention, the mirror top is formed on a substantially flat surface substantially perpendicular to the axis of the reinforcing pipe, and the radius of the outer curved surface is reduced, so that the conventional substantially elliptical container can be used. Compared with this, the content of the container can be increased.

On the other hand, when the radius of the outer curved surface portion is reduced as described above, the thickness of the container must be increased in order to satisfy the dish-shaped head plate calculation formula. Therefore, by providing the reinforcing pipe and the reinforcing plate, it is possible to satisfy the above-mentioned end plate calculation formula without making the thickness of the container larger than the thickness of the conventional container.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the reinforcing plate of the back side mirror is connected between the reinforcing plate and the back side mirror between inner bottom portions on both sides of the reinforcing plate. It is formed so that a space is formed.

In the present invention, even when the reinforcing plate is provided in the container, the liquid fuel does not remain in a part of the container.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a high-pressure container for an automobile (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a container), FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view, and solid lines appearing radially are provided on the front mirror. A reinforcing plate is shown, and a broken line indicates a reinforcing plate provided on the back mirror. FIG. 4 is a cutaway perspective view.

In the above figures, 1 is a front side mirror, 2 is a back side mirror, and these are cylindrical body parts 1a, 2a and mirror part 1 respectively.
b and 2b are integrally formed, and the respective trunk portions 1a and 2a
Are formed in a container 4 having a fuel storage space therein by being fixed to each other by welding 3 on the open end side.

A concave portion is formed at the center of the mirror portion 1b of the front side mirror 1 and the central portion of the mirror portion 2b of the rear side mirror 2, and a reinforcing pipe 5 is provided through the concave portion. Part 1b,
The center of 2b is fixed to the reinforcing pipe 5 by welding 6 and 7, respectively.

The mirror unit 1 of the front side mirror 1 and the back side mirror 2
b, 2b are mirror tops 1c, 2c formed of a surface substantially orthogonal to the axis of the reinforcing pipe 5, outer curved surfaces 1d, 2d connecting the mirror tops 1c, 2c and the trunks 1a, 2a, and mirror tops. 1
c, 2c and concave inner curved surfaces 1e, 2e connecting the reinforcing pipe 5 to each other. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the mirror tops 1c and 2c have a radius having a center inside the container.
In addition, the radius (inner diameter) R1 is formed as large as possible to make it closer to a plane. The outer curved surface portions 1d and 2d and the inner curved surface portions 1e and 2e are respectively formed as curved surfaces having a center inside the container.

Further, the radius (inner diameter) R of the mirror tops 1c, 2c
1 and the radius (R2 / R) of the radius R2 of the outer curved surface portions 1d and 2d.
1), the radius R1 of the mirror tops 1c and 2c and the inner curved surface 1
The ratio (R3 / R1) of e and 2e to the radius R3 is set so that the former is smaller and the latter is larger. That is, the relationship of R1>R3> R2 is set.

As described above, by forming the outer curved surface portions 1d and 2d and the concave inner curved surface portions 1e and 2e, the center of the front mirror 1 and the rear mirror 2 (the portion having the reinforcing pipe 5) and the outer periphery are formed. It can be considered that a substantially ellipsoidal shape is formed up to the (body portion), and one dish-shaped end plate is formed therebetween.

In the front side mirror 1, a reinforcing plate 8 is erected radially about the axis of the container 4 over the body 1a and the mirror top 1c, and the body 1a and the mirror top are welded 10 or the like. 1c. A reinforcing plate 9 is also provided in the back side mirror 2 over the body 2a and the mirror top 2c.
And is fixed to the body 2a and the mirror top 2c by welding 10 or the like. That is, the end surfaces of both reinforcing plates 8 and 9 are substantially flat body portions 1a and 2a.
The flat portions which are fixed to the mirror tops 1c and 2c and easily swell to the outside due to the internal pressure of the container are reinforced by reinforcing plates 8 and 9. Further, a plurality of the reinforcing plates 8 and 9 are provided at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction, and in the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, one reinforcing plate 8 and the other reinforcing plate 9 are provided. They are arranged alternately, that is, in a staggered manner, to achieve stress distribution. The plate thickness of the reinforcing plates 8 and 9 is set substantially equal to the plate thickness of the container 4.

The reinforcing plate 9 of the back mirror 2 has a space 11 formed between the reinforcing plate 9 and the outer curved surface 2d of the back mirror 2 so as to communicate between the inner bottoms on both sides of the reinforcing plate 9. So that a liquid pool does not occur in a part of the container.

The front side mirror 1 is provided with a valve seat 12 for mounting a valve for charging and removing fuel. Since the valve seat 12 has high rigidity, it is effective in reinforcing the front side mirror 1. Therefore, the reinforcing plate 8 is omitted in a portion where the valve seat 12 is disposed.

As described above, in the present invention, the mirror top 1
By making the radius R1 of c and 2c larger and approaching a flat surface, and making the radius R2 of the outer curved surface portions 1d and 2d smaller than that of the conventional container, the vertical cross-sectional shape of the container becomes almost square. Therefore, the diameter and height of the container 4 of the present invention are set to the above-mentioned conventional flat and substantially spherical (UFO type) container 203.
13 and 305, the container space for the spare tire loading section 13 of the vehicle is as shown in FIG. As is clear from this figure, the conventional container 203 has a large gap 14 shown by hatching in FIG. 13A, and the conventional container 305 has a large gap 15 shown by hatching in FIG. 13B. On the other hand, in the container 4 of the present invention, a small space 16 indicated by a hatched portion in FIG. Therefore, the ratio of the containers 203 and 305 in FIGS. 13A and 13B occupying the space of the spare tire loading portion 13 is 70 to 75%, whereas the container 4
Is about 90%.

Further, assuming that the filling amount of the container 203 shown in FIG. 13A is 1, the filling amount of the container 305 shown in FIG. 13B is 0.95, and the present invention shown in FIG. The container 4 has a filling amount of 1.25. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to effectively use the space of the spare tire loading section 13 to increase the inner volume of the container, to increase the amount of mounted fuel, and to extend the mileage of the vehicle by that amount. it can.

However, even when the radius of the outer curved surface portions 1c and 2c is reduced as in the present invention, the above formula, that is, the following plate-shaped plate calculation formula must be considered.

[0029]

(Equation 1) As described above, when the inner diameter (radius) of the mirror tops 1c and 2c is increased and the inner diameter (radius) of the outer curved surface portions 1d and 2d is reduced, n in the above formula becomes large, and the plate thickness t becomes large. It gets thicker.

In this case, the weight of the container 4 is increased and the cost is increased.

Therefore, in the present invention, the reinforcing pipe 5 and the reinforcing plates 8 and 9 are provided so that the thickness of the container 4 is maintained at the same thickness as that of the conventional container, and the strength is insufficient in the above-mentioned calculation formula. It is provided.

In order to perform the above-mentioned reinforcement, the reinforcing pipe 5 is provided at the center of the container 4 and the concave inner curved surfaces 1e and 2e are formed at the center.

That is, if the mirror top is made to be a plane having a large area as shown in FIG. 14 (a) in order to increase the internal volume, the outward expansion δ1 due to the internal pressure becomes large as shown by oblique lines. Also, in the one shown in FIG. 14B in which a reinforcing pipe is simply provided at the center of the mirror top part shown in FIG. 14A, the outward expansion amount δ2 due to the internal pressure is relatively large as shown by oblique lines. However, by providing the reinforcing pipe 5 and the inner curved surface portions 1e and 2e as in the present invention,
As shown in FIG. 14 (c), the amount of outward expansion δ due to the internal pressure
Although 3 is small, necessary and sufficient reinforcement can be performed by fixing the auxiliary plate 9 radially to further reduce the amount of expansion.

With the above reinforcement, the container 4 of the present invention can be regarded as having the same strength as satisfying the above-mentioned formula for the dish-shaped end plate without increasing the thickness of the container 4 from the conventional plate thickness. .

A concrete example of the cross-sectional shape of the container and the reinforcing pipes 5 and the reinforcing plates 8 and 9 for conforming to this calculation formula will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5, φ1 is the inner diameter of the container 4, φ2
Is the diameter between the mirror vertices (approximately the center of the annular mirror top 1c), φ3
Is the outer diameter of the reinforcing pipe 5, R1 is the radius of the mirror top 1c, R2
Is the radius of the outer curved surface 1d connecting the mirror top 1c and the body 1a, R3 is the radius of the inner curved surface 1e connecting the mirror top 1c and the auxiliary pipe 5, t1 is the thickness of the container 4, and t2 is the reinforcing pipe 5. When the plate thickness is set as follows, the following values are used.

When φ1 is set to 1, φ2 is set to 0.4-0.
6 (preferably 0.53) and φ3 is 0.1 to 0.3.
(Preferably 0.18), and R1 is set to 0.7 to 1.4.
(Preferably 1.0), R2 is set to 0.1 to 0.2 (preferably 0.16), and R3 is set to 0.2 to 0.4 (preferably 0.3). When t1 is set to 1, t1
2 is set to 1.0 to 2.0 (preferably 1.5).

Further, three to four front and back reinforcing plates 8 and 9 are used, and the thickness of the reinforcing plates 8 and 9 is made equal to the thickness t1.

When the FEM structure analysis was performed using the above values, it was possible to obtain a plate thickness substantially equal to the designed plate thickness when the mirror shape was a conventional shape.

As an example of the FEM calculation, t1 is set to 3.2 mm, φ1, φ2, R1 and R2 are each set to a constant value, and four reinforcing plates are attached to one side to perform FEM calculation. Table 1 shows the results. The allowable stress value is 21
8 N / mm ² or less.

[0041]

[Table 1]

[0042]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to increase the inner volume of the container without making the thickness of the container thicker than that of the conventional container. it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the fuel from remaining in a part of the container by the reinforcing plate provided in the container and to take out the liquid fuel satisfactorily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a high-pressure container for a vehicle showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view showing an arrangement state of a reinforcing plate in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view in which the container of the present invention is cut.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the shape of the mirror portion of the container of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view in which the container of FIG. 1 is mounted on a spare tire loading portion of an automobile.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a conventional cylinder type container.

FIG. 8 is a view showing the container of FIG. 7 loaded in a trunk room of an automobile.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional substantially elliptical container.

FIG. 10 is a view in which the container of FIG. 9 is loaded on a spare tire loading section of an automobile.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a substantially elliptical container having a conventional reinforcing pipe.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a dish-shaped end plate calculation formula.

13A and 13B are diagrams showing a state in which the conventional container and the container of the present invention are loaded on the spare tire loading section, wherein FIGS. 13A and 13B show the state of the conventional container, and FIG. 13C shows the state of the container of the present invention. Is shown.

14 (a) to (c) are views showing an expanded state of a container due to an internal pressure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front side mirror 2 Back side mirror 1a, 2a Body 1b, 2b Mirror 1c, 2c Mirror top 1d, 2d Outside curved surface 1e, 2e Inside curved surface 4 Container 5 Reinforcement pipe 8, 9 Reinforcement plate 11 Space R1 Radius of mirror top R2 Radius of outer curved surface R3 Radius of inner curved surface

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Keiji Iwazuki 2-2 Daito-cho, Anjo-shi, Aichi Prefecture Chuo Seiki Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3D038 CA11 CA30 CB01 CC18 CD08 3E072 AA01 AA04 BA01 CA03 DA05

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A front side mirror having a mirror portion at one end of a cylindrical body portion and a back side mirror having a mirror portion at one end of the cylindrical body portion are joined to each other at respective opening sides. A concave portion is formed in each of the central portion of the mirror portion and the central portion of the mirror portion of the rear side mirror, and the two concave portions are connected by a reinforcing pipe, and the respective trunk portions and the reinforcing pipe of the front side mirror and the rear side mirror are connected to each other. Forming a mirror top in between,
An outer curved surface portion is formed between the mirror top portion and the body portion, an inner curved surface portion is formed between the mirror top portion and the reinforcing pipe, and the mirror top portion is a substantially flat surface substantially orthogonal to an axis of the reinforcing pipe, A high-pressure container for an automobile, wherein a radius of the outer curved portion is set smaller than a radius of the inner curved portion, and the mirror top and the body are connected by a reinforcing plate. 2. The automobile according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing plate of the rear mirror is formed such that a space communicating between inner bottom portions on both sides of the reinforcing plate is formed between the reinforcing plate and the rear mirror. For high pressure vessel.