JP2006188168A - Gas fuel tank mounted-vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas fuel tank mounted-vehicle, provided with a roof cover with good appearance, and preventing traveling air from becoming turbulized. <P>SOLUTION: In a fuel cell bus 10, a part under the roof cover, or a part under a cover center surface member 33 is formed to cover an upper part of a side surface 10b of a car body of the fuel cell bus 10 (a boundary part between a roof 10a and the side surface 10b), keeping a gap 47 from it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle equipped with a gas fuel tank.

In recent years, low-pollution vehicles equipped with a gas fuel tank filled with high-pressure gas fuel are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a bus equipped with a CNG cylinder filled with compressed natural gas (CNG) as gas fuel. In this bus, a cylinder storage space for storing a CNG cylinder is formed by a roof cover covering the roof, and a gap is provided between the front lower edge portion of the roof cover and the roof. When this bus travels, air flows into the cylinder storage space through the gap, and the air that has passed through the cylinder storage space flows out from the air outflow portion provided on the rear surface of the roof cover.
JP 2000-127860 A

  However, in Patent Document 1 described above, since a gap is provided between the lower front edge of the roof cover and the roof, it does not look good when the bus is viewed from the front and travels over the roof. The wind may become turbulent and may affect fuel consumption.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a vehicle equipped with a gas fuel tank equipped with a roof cover that has a good appearance and can avoid running wind turbulence. Objective.

  The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the above-mentioned object.

That is, the vehicle equipped with the gas fuel tank of the present invention is
A gas fuel tank-equipped vehicle comprising: a gas fuel tank mounted on a roof of a vehicle body; and a roof cover provided to cover the roof and forming a tank storage space capable of storing one or more of the gas fuel tanks. There,
The lower portion of the roof cover is formed so as to cover the upper portion of the side surface with a predetermined gap from the side surface of the vehicle body.

  In this gas fuel tank-equipped vehicle, the lower portion of the roof cover is formed so as to cover the upper portion of the side surface with a predetermined gap from the side surface of the vehicle body. Compared with the case where the gap is provided, the appearance when viewed from the front is improved, and since there is no gap on the front surface, it is possible to avoid the turbulent flow of the traveling wind. Here, examples of the vehicle include buses, large passenger cars, automobiles such as small passenger cars, and trains.

  In the gas fuel tank-equipped vehicle of the present invention, the upper portion of the side surface may be a boundary portion between the side surface and the roof. By doing so, the distance between the entrance of the gap and the tank storage space is shortened, so that gas easily enters and exits the tank storage space through the gap.

  In the vehicle equipped with the gas fuel tank according to the present invention, the lower portion of the roof cover may be fixed in a state of being in contact with a pedestal that protrudes laterally from the side surface by substantially the same length as the predetermined gap. In this way, when assembling the roof cover, the gap between the lower portion of the roof cover and the side surface of the vehicle body can be easily set to a constant interval. In addition, a screw hole may be provided in the pedestal, a bolt may be inserted from the outside of the lower portion of the roof cover, and screwed into the screw hole of the pedestal.

  In the gas fuel tank-equipped vehicle of the present invention, the gas fuel tank may be provided with an opening / closing valve attached to the gas fuel tank in the vicinity of the gap. In this way, even if the gas fuel flows out from the opening / closing valve for some reason, it is easily diffused by the air flowing in through the gap between the lower portion of the roof cover and the side surface of the vehicle body, or the gas fuel tends to flow out from the gap.

  In the gas fuel tank-equipped vehicle of the present invention, a vent may be formed in an upper portion of the roof cover. In this way, even if gas fuel leaks into the tank storage space for some reason, air flows into the tank storage space through the gap between the lower part of the roof cover and the side surface of the vehicle body, and is discharged to the outside by the air flowing out from the vents in the upper part. Easily discharged. In addition, when the gas fuel is lighter than air, the gas fuel diffuses upward, so that it easily flows out from the upper portion of the vent.

  In the vehicle equipped with the gas fuel tank of the present invention, the roof cover includes a pair of cover side members formed along the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle body, and a top position of the pair of cover side members in the vehicle vertical direction. The cover upper surface member formed at a position one step lower may be formed, and the vent may be formed on the way from the uppermost position of the cover side surface member to the cover upper surface member. This improves the appearance because the vent is not visible from the outside of the vehicle. This configuration may be employed in combination with a configuration in which a gap is provided between the lower portion of the roof cover and the side surface of the vehicle body, or may be employed individually.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a left side view of the fuel cell bus 10, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the fuel cell bus 10, FIG. 3 is a rear view (fracture sectional view) of the fuel cell bus 10, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cover center upper surface member 34. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel cell bus 10 of the present embodiment has passengers in a passenger cabin 16 via a front entrance 12 provided in front of the left side and a central entrance 14 provided in the center of the left side. It is configured as a low-floor large bus for getting on and off, and has no entrance on the right side. The fuel cell bus 10 is equipped with seven hydrogen cylinders 18 as gas fuel tanks at the top, and a fuel cell stack 20 in which several hundred fuel cells are stacked at the rear and various auxiliary equipments 22 related to the fuel cells. In the fuel cell stack 20, hydrogen is supplied from the hydrogen cylinder 18 to the anode side, air is supplied from the air compressor, which is one of the auxiliary machines 22, to the cathode side, and is included in hydrogen and air. It generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction with oxygen. The fuel cell bus 10 rotates a wheel by a motor (not shown) by this generated power during normal travel.

  Next, the configuration of the upper part of the fuel cell bus 10 will be described in detail below. As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel cell bus 10 has, on the top, a roof that forms seven hydrogen cylinders 18 fastened and fixed on the roof 10 a by metal bands 26 and a cylinder storage space for storing the hydrogen cylinders 18. A cover 30 and a ventilation port 40 provided at a position on the upper surface of the roof cover 30 and above the hydrogen cylinder 18 are provided.

  The hydrogen cylinder 18 is a cylindrical container containing high-pressure hydrogen gas of several tens of MPa, and is placed in a state where a pair of rails 24 and 24 extending in the front-rear direction are bridged on the left and right sides of the roof 10a. It is wound and fastened by a metal band 26 fixed to each rail 24. As a result, the hydrogen cylinder 18 is not misaligned during traveling. A pipe attached to the regulator of the hydrogen cylinder 18 is connected to the anode side of the fuel cell stack 20.

  The roof cover 30 covers the entire roof of the fuel cell bus 10 to form an upper space. In the upper space, a cylinder storage space for storing seven hydrogen cylinders 18 and a storage space for other devices are stored. included. As shown in FIG. 1, the roof cover 30 includes a streamlined cover front portion 31 that covers a roof front portion where the air conditioner unit 28 is disposed, and a cover central portion that covers a roof central portion where a plurality of hydrogen cylinders are disposed. 32 and a cover rear portion 39 covering the roof rear portion where the radiator 21 for radiating the cooling water for cooling the fuel cell stack 20 is disposed.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the cover center portion 32 of the roof cover 30 includes a pair of cover center side members 33, 33 erected on the left and right sides of the fuel cell bus 10, and the pair of cover center side members. Four cover center upper surface members 34, 34, 34, 34 connected to the upper ends of 33, 33 are provided. Each cover central side member 33 is formed so as to be bent along the side surface of the fuel cell bus 10 from the upper end of the fuel cell bus 10 and from the upper end of the vertical wall portion 33a toward the vehicle center so as to be substantially parallel to the roof 10a. And a flange 33b. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower portion of the standing wall 33 a is in contact with a pedestal 35 that protrudes laterally from the side surface 10 b of the vehicle body of the fuel cell bus 10, and in this state, the bolt 36 passes through the lower portion. It is screwed into a bolt hole (not shown) formed in the pedestal 35. As a result, the standing wall portion 33a of the cover center side member 33 is separated from the side surface 10b of the fuel cell bus 10 by a distance d1 corresponding to the height of the pedestal 35, and a gap 47 is formed. By the way, in order to reduce the design or air resistance, it is preferable to reduce the distance d1 of the gap 47 to be equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit value so that the standing wall portion 33a and the side surface 10b of the body are substantially flush with each other. It is preferable to form a gap equal to or greater than a predetermined lower limit so that an air flow can be introduced into the cylinder storage space when 18 gas leaks. That is, the distance d1 of the gap 47 is preferably set in consideration of the design viewpoint, suppression of air resistance, and introduction of air into the cylinder storage space, and is set so that these effects can be achieved to the maximum. It is preferable to do. For example, the interval d1 is preferably set in the range of 5 to 10 mm. The interval d1 is preferably set in consideration of the capacity of the cylinder storage space, the number of cylinders, the gas pressure of the cylinder, and the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the cover center upper surface member 34 is in a state in which both left and right ends have entered under the flange portions 33b, 33b of the pair of cover center side members 33, 33 with a distance d2 of about 5 to 10 mm. It is connected via a substantially J-shaped connector 38. In other words, the cover center upper surface member 34 is formed at a position one step lower than the top position (the highest position in the vehicle vertical direction) T of the pair of cover center side members 33, 33. On the way from the position T to the cover center upper surface member 34, a vent hole 48 having a gap d2 is formed. Further, when the cylinder storage space reaches a predetermined pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure (here, set to be less than the pressure resistance of the assumed cylinder storage space), the cover center upper surface member 34 has an end 34a on the roadway side. That is, the end 34b on the sidewalk side, that is, the end on the entrance / exit side, jumps up with the end opposite to the entrances 12 and 14 as an axis, and is attached from the closed state to the open state. Specifically, the connection strength between the end 34a on the roadway side of the cover center upper surface member 34 and the flange portion 33b of the cover center side member 33 is such that the end 34b on the sidewalk side of the cover center upper surface member 34 and the cover center. The side member 33 is attached so as to be stronger than the connection strength with the flange portion 33b. Further, a chain 37 is bridged between the back surface of the end 34a on the roadway side of the cover center upper surface member 34 and the cover center side surface member 33, and the cover center upper surface member 34 is in an open state. Sometimes it serves to prevent the fuel cell bus 10 from coming off. Here, the open / close valve 18 a of the hydrogen cylinder 18 is disposed close to the gap 47 and the vent 48 on the roadway side of the fuel cell bus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ventilation port 40 is composed of a slit group formed by spanning a plurality of louvers 44 over an opening 42 provided in the cover center upper surface member 34 at intervals. Specifically, of the four openings 42, 42, 42, 42 provided in the vehicle width direction of the cover center upper surface member 34, the right two openings 42, 42 can be bridged in the vehicle width direction. A plurality of long louvers 44 are arranged at predetermined intervals to form a slit group, and a plurality of similar louvers 44 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the left two openings 42 and 42. The slit group is formed by providing. Here, the louver 44 includes an inclined portion 44a that is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane and horizontal portions 44b and 44b that are connected to the upper and lower ends of the inclined portion 44a, and has a substantially Z-shaped cross section. . The horizontal portions 44b and 44b of the two adjacent louvers 44 and 44 are configured to have a predetermined interval.

  Next, a case where hydrogen leaks from the hydrogen cylinder 18 for some reason in the fuel cell bus 10 of the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 3, the hydrogen leaked from the hydrogen cylinder 18 has a specific gravity smaller than that of air, and therefore rises in the cylinder storage space, and on the way from the top position T of the cover center side member 33 to the cover center upper surface member 34. It reaches the ventilation port 40 (see FIG. 2) composed of slits formed on the upper surface of the formed ventilation port 48 and the roof cover 30, and flows out from there. As shown in FIG. 5, air flows from a gap 47 between the lower portion of the cover center side member 33 and the side surface 10 b of the vehicle body of the fuel cell bus 10, passes through the cylinder storage space, and passes through the vent 48 and the vent 40. In order to reach (see FIG. 2), the leaked hydrogen rides on the air flow and flows out to the outside. For these reasons, the pressure in the cylinder storage space does not become too high. Further, even when the pressure in the cylinder storage space reaches a predetermined pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure, as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. Since the part 34b jumps up, the opening area increases at a stretch, and the pressure in the cylinder storage space is released at a stretch. Also from this point, the pressure in the cylinder storage space does not become too high. The cover center upper surface member 34 that has been bounced up in this manner is configured to stay on the roof 10 a by the chain 37.

  According to the fuel cell bus 10 of the present embodiment described in detail above, the lower portion of the roof cover 30, that is, the lower portion of the standing wall portion 33 a of the cover center side member 33 has a gap 47 with the side surface 10 b of the vehicle body of the fuel cell bus 10. Since it is formed so as to cover the upper part of the side surface 10b (the boundary part between the roof 10a and the side surface 10b), compared to the conventional case where a gap is provided between the lower front edge of the roof cover and the roof. The appearance when viewed from the front is improved, and since there is no gap on the front surface, it is possible to avoid the turbulent flow of the traveling wind.

  Further, since the gap 47 is provided at the boundary between the roof 10a and the side surface 10b, the distance from the entrance of the gap 47 to the cylinder storage space is shortened, and air easily flows into the cylinder storage space from the gap 47. The gas in the cylinder storage space easily flows out through the gap 47.

  Further, the lower portion of the standing wall portion 33a of the cover central side member 33 is fixed in a state where it is in contact with the pedestal 35 protruding laterally from the side surface 10b by a length substantially equal to the distance d1 of the gap 47. When assembling 30, the gap 47 between the lower portion of the standing wall portion 33a of the cover central side member 33 and the side surface 10b of the vehicle body can be easily set to a constant distance d1.

  Furthermore, since the open / close valve 18a of the hydrogen cylinder 18 is disposed in the vicinity of the gap 47 and the vent 48, even if hydrogen flows out of the open / close valve 18a for some reason, it is easily discharged to the outside. The leaked hydrogen flows into the cylinder storage space through the gap 47 and is discharged to the outside by the air flowing out from the upper vent 48 and the vent 40. Since hydrogen is lighter than the air, it diffuses upward by itself. Then, the air is discharged from the upper vent 48 and the vent 40 to the outside.

  The vent 48 is formed on the way from the top position T of the cover center side member 33 to the cover center upper surface member 34 formed at a position one step lower, and is not visible from the outside of the vehicle.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, instead of the cover center upper surface member 34 of the embodiment described above, a cover center upper surface member 134 shown in FIG. 6 may be adopted. This cover center upper surface member 134 hangs so that the end 134a on the roadway side covers the opening / closing valve 18a of the hydrogen cylinder 18, so that even if rainwater enters the cylinder storage space from the ventilation port 40 or the ventilation port 48. The open / close valve 18a is not directly exposed to the rainwater. Accordingly, corrosion of the opening / closing valve 18a due to rainwater can be prevented.

  Further, only the vent 48 may be provided in the upper part of the roof cover 30 without providing the vent 40. In this case, it is preferable that the gap interval d <b> 2 of the ventilation port 48 is formed so as to be an opening area corresponding to the total opening area of the ventilation port 40.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the hydrogen cylinder 18 is described as an example of the gas fuel tank. However, any tank may be used as long as it is filled with gas fuel having a specific gravity smaller than that of air, for example, CNG. In a vehicle equipped with an engine, it may be a CNG cylinder.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in a vehicle manufacturing industry equipped with a gas fuel tank, a service industry using the vehicle, and the like.

It is a left view of the fuel cell bus 10 of this embodiment. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the center of the roof cover 30 of the fuel cell bus 10. FIG. FIG. 2 is a rear view (fracture sectional view) of the fuel cell bus 10. 4 is a perspective view of a cover center upper surface member 34. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of the leaked hydrogen and air. It is a rear view (fracture sectional view) of a fuel cell bus of other embodiments.

Explanation of symbols

10 fuel cell bus, 10a roof, 10b side, 12 front entrance / exit, 14 center entrance / exit, 16 passenger cabin, 18 hydrogen cylinder, 18a open / close valve, 20 fuel cell stack, 21 radiator, 22 auxiliary equipment, 24 rail, 26 Metal band, 28 Air conditioner unit, 30 Roof cover, 31 Cover front part, 32 Cover center part, 33 Cover center side member, 33a Standing wall part, 33b Saddle part, 34 Cover center upper surface member, 34a End part on the roadway side, 34b Sidewalk Side end, 35 pedestal, 36 bolt, 37 chain, 38 coupling, 39 cover rear part, 40 vent, 42 opening, 44 louver, 44a inclined part, 44b horizontal part, 47 gap, 48 vent.

Claims (7)

A gas fuel tank-equipped vehicle comprising: a gas fuel tank mounted on a roof of a vehicle body; and a roof cover provided to cover the roof and forming a tank storage space capable of storing one or more of the gas fuel tanks. There,
The lower part of the roof cover is formed so as to cover the upper part of the side surface with a predetermined gap from the side surface of the vehicle body.
Vehicle with gas fuel tank. The upper portion of the side surface is a boundary portion between the side surface and the roof.
The vehicle equipped with a gas fuel tank according to claim 1. The lower part of the roof cover is fixed in a state of being in contact with a pedestal that protrudes laterally from the side surface by substantially the same length as the predetermined gap.
A vehicle equipped with a gas fuel tank according to claim 1 or 2. In the gas fuel tank, an open / close valve attached to the gas fuel tank is disposed in the vicinity of the gap,
A vehicle equipped with a gas fuel tank according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In the upper part of the roof cover, a vent is formed,
A vehicle equipped with a gas fuel tank according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The roof cover includes a pair of cover side members formed along the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle body, and a cover upper surface member formed at a position one step lower than the uppermost position in the vehicle vertical direction of the pair of cover side members. The vent is formed on the way from the uppermost position of the cover side member to the cover upper surface member,
The vehicle equipped with a gas fuel tank according to claim 5. A gas fuel tank-equipped vehicle comprising: a gas fuel tank mounted on a roof of a vehicle body; and a roof cover provided to cover the roof and forming a tank storage space capable of storing one or more of the gas fuel tanks. There,
The roof cover includes a pair of cover side members formed along the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle body, and a cover upper surface member formed at a position one step lower than the uppermost position in the vehicle vertical direction of the pair of cover side members. A vent is formed in the middle from the uppermost position of the cover side member to the cover upper surface member,
Vehicle with gas fuel tank.

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