JP2008265532A - Fuel tank - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light metal plate made fuel tank never to cause a crack on a tank main body. <P>SOLUTION: This fuel tank is furnished with: the tank main body 11 with end plates 11b, 11c welded on an angular cylinder 11a, and furnished with a lubricator 11d; and a reinforcing structural body 12 on an inner surface of the tank main body 11. The reinforcing structural body 12 is furnished with: more than three partition plates 13, 14, 15 having flanges 13a, 14a, 15a, pipe through holes 13b, 14b, 15b, and through holes 13c, 14c, 15c and flanges of which are fitted in an inner surface of the tank main body; a connecting pipe 16 passed through the pipe through holes of all the partition plates, welded on edges of the pipe through holes, and both the ends of which approach the end plates; and a plug 17 fixed and provided on both ends of the connecting pipe and making contact with inner surfaces of the end plates. Thus, the partition plates and the tank main body are not welded on each other, and the tank main body does not cause a crack due to stress concentration caused on a welding part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel tank that is attached to, for example, a truck or an industrial machine and stores liquid fuel such as gasoline or light oil.

  In general, this type of fuel tank installed in a truck or the like is mounted on a bracket fixed to the truck or the like and is tightened with a band connected to the bracket. Further, if the volume is large, the fuel needs to be divided into small chambers in order to avoid large fluctuations.

  Therefore, as a fuel tank of this type installed in a truck or the like, Patent Document 1 discloses a fuel tank that is made of a light metal plate such as aluminum or aluminum alloy that can be reduced in weight and is assembled by welding.

  In this fuel tank, a tank body is formed by butt-welding end plates to the openings at both ends of a square tube, and a plurality of partition plates having a plurality of through holes are provided. The tank body is partitioned into a plurality of divided chambers that are welded to the tank body, and the tank body is provided with an oil filler port on the upper surface.

When this fuel tank is attached to a truck, two places near the end plates on both sides are banded. For this reason, the fuel tank to be attached to the truck is assumed to have three partition plates, and two partition plates on both sides are arranged at positions corresponding to the positions of the band stops, and the remaining one partition plate, It has been put into practice in the center.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-273 (Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration, Fig. 2)

  However, the above-described tank is partitioned by three partition plates, and the fuel tank used for truck mounting is cracked due to stress concentration at the welded portion with the center partition plate of the tank body. There was a bug.

  Therefore, the present invention reinforces the tank body from the inner surface side of the tank so as not to be deformed by an external pressure load, and the tank body is divided into a plurality of divided chambers that are connected in parallel in the horizontal direction, and the tank body is cracked. It aims at providing the fuel tank which does not produce.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel tank according to the present invention has a tank body that is welded in a gas-tight manner with an end plate fitted to both end openings of a square tube, and has an oil filler port on the upper surface. A reinforcing structure that reinforces from the inner surface of the tank so as not to be deformed, and that defines a plurality of divided chambers that are connected in parallel in the horizontal direction in the tank, the reinforcing structure having a flange And three or more partition plates having a flange through which the flange is fitted to the inner surface of the tank body, and pipe passage holes of all the partition plates. The connecting pipe is welded to the edge of the hole, and both ends thereof are close to the end plate, and the plug is fixed to both ends of the connection pipe and is in contact with the inner surface of the end plate. (Claim 1).

  With this configuration, the reinforcing structure has a plurality of connecting pipes fixed to all the partition plates in a skewed state, accommodated in the tank body, and both end plates abut and fix both ends of the connecting pipes. From this state, the tank body is immovably accommodated in the tank body, supports the inner peripheral surface of the tank body in a state where all the partition plates are not welded to the tank body, and the tank body does not deform with respect to the band fastening fixation. In addition, the volume in the tank body can be divided into a plurality of small chambers, and the fuel can be prevented from shaking greatly.

  In the fuel tank according to the present invention, it is preferable that the connecting pipe is provided at at least two diagonal positions of the partition plate.

  As described in detail above, according to the fuel tank of the present invention, since the reinforcing structure is configured as described above, the tank body is not misaligned in a state where all the spaced apart partition plates are not welded. The tank body will be reinforced from the inner surface of the tank with the partition plates on both sides corresponding to the banding position, and the tank body will withstand the external pressure load of the banding and will not be deformed. Large stress concentration that occurs when welding is performed on the contact portion with the plate does not occur, and the tank body does not crack.

  In this invention, it is possible to make the structure more robust in addition to the above by providing the connecting pipes at at least two diagonal positions of the partition plate.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The best embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fuel tank 10 is made of a light metal plate such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and is assembled by inert gas arc welding, TIG welding, or MIG welding.

  The fuel tank 10 includes a tank body 11 and a reinforcing structure 12. In this case, the tank main body 11 has a pair of left and right end plates 11b and 11c welded to the opening portions at both ends of the square tube 11a in a gas-tight manner, and has an oil filler port 11d on the upper surface. The square cylinder 11a is formed, for example, by bending an aluminum alloy plate into a square cylinder and welding the butt ends of the edges. The end plates 11b and 11c are formed, for example, by drawing an aluminum alloy plate. The tank body 11 is provided with a liquid level gauge mounting portion, a fuel pipe, a return pipe, etc. on the upper surface portion, but these mounting ports are not shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the reinforcing structure 12 includes three partition plates 13, 14, 15, four connecting pipes 16, and a plug 17. The partition plates 13, 14, and 15 are formed, for example, by drawing an aluminum alloy plate. For example, a pipe material made of an aluminum alloy is used for the connection pipe 16.

  The partition plates 13, 14, and 15 have flanges 13a, 14a, and 15a, pipe through holes 13b, 14b, and 15b, and further have through holes 13c, 14c, and 15c. As shown in FIG. 1, the pipe through holes 13b, 14b or 15b are disposed at the four corners of the partition plates 13, 14, 15 respectively, and the through holes 13c, 14c or 15c are more than the pipe through holes 13b, 14b or 15b. It is arranged at the four-way position near the center and at the center position. The pipe through holes 13b, 14b, and 15b are formed in a size that allows the connecting pipe 16 to pass therethrough.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the reinforcing structure 12, four connection pipes 16 are connected and integrated with three partition plates 13, 14, and 15. The reinforcing structure 12 defines four small chambers in parallel in the tank in the horizontal direction by the three partition plates 13, 14, 15 and is in communication with the four small holes through the through holes 13c, 14c and 15c. In addition, the three partition plates 13, 14, and 15 reinforce the inner surface of the tank body 11 so as not to be deformed against an external pressure load.

  The four connecting pipes 16 are passed through the pipe through holes 13b, 14b, 15b of the three partition plates 13, 14, 15 and are welded to the edges of the respective pipe through holes, and both ends thereof are end plates 11b, 11c. Is close to. The plug 17 has a flange 17a, is fitted and fixed to both ends of the connecting pipe 16, and is in contact with the inner surfaces of the end plates 11b and 11c.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the reinforcing structure 12 includes a plurality of connecting pipes 61 fixed to all the partition plates 13, 14, and 15 in a skewed state, accommodated in the tank body 11, and both end plates 11 b, 11 c abuts and fixes both ends of the connecting pipe 16. Accordingly, the reinforcing structure 12 is immovably accommodated in the tank body 11, and the inner peripheral surface of the tank body 11 is supported in a state where all the partition plates 13, 14, 15 are not welded to the tank body 11. In addition, the tank main body 11 is reinforced so as not to be deformed with respect to the band fastening, and the volume in the tank main body 11 is divided into a plurality of small chambers so that the fuel can be prevented from shaking greatly.

  According to this embodiment, since the reinforcing structure 12 is configured as described above, a large stress concentration occurs when welding is performed on the contact portions of the tank body 11 with all the partition plates 13, 14, 15. Is eliminated, and the tank body 11 is not cracked. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, an L-shaped mounting bracket 18a that is fixed to the chassis of the truck and on which the fuel tank 10 is mounted is tightened with a band 18b that fixes the fuel tank 10 to the mounting bracket 18a. Since the partition plates 13 and 15 on both sides are made to correspond to the banding attachment device 18 configured as described above, the tank body 11 can withstand the external pressure load of the banding and does not deform, and there is a large stress concentration here. Since it does not start, a crack does not arise in the location welded with the partition plates 13 and 15 of the both sides of the tank main body 11. FIG. Further, since the four support pipes 16 are arranged at the four corners, they do not interfere with the float of the liquid level gauge installed in the middle of the tank.

  Next, a method for manufacturing a fuel tank will be described. First, the reinforcing structure 12 is manufactured separately from the tank body 11. The tank body 11 is assembled in a state where one end plate 11c is left. The reinforcing structure 12 welds each partition plate 13, 14, 15 and the connection pipe 16 through the connection pipe 16 to the four pipe through holes 13b, 14b, 15b of the three partition plates 13, 14, 15 and connects each connection. The plug 17 is fitted into the end opening of the pipe 16 to complete the assembly. Next, the reinforcing structure 12 is accommodated in the tank main body 11, and the end plate 11c is abutted and welded to the rectangular tube 11a to form the tank main body 11 to constitute the fuel tank 10.

Other Embodiments Although the fuel tank according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various designs can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Includes modified forms.

  (1) Although the case where three partition plates are provided has been described in the above-described embodiment, four or more partition plates may be provided.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the structure in which the end plate is attached to both ends of the square tube and welded is shown. However, as shown in FIGS. 5 and includes a configuration that can be easily welded by extending inwardly at both ends of the square tube, and further, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a), 5 (b), and 5 (c). Thus, the case where it joins is also included.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, the fuel tank made of a light metal plate such as aluminum or aluminum alloy is shown. In this case, the partition plate is welded by spot welding or seam welding.

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, the four connecting pipes are disposed at the four corners of the partition plate. However, it is sufficient that the connection plate is provided at at least two diagonal positions of the partition plate. If two connection pipes are provided at two diagonal positions, a plurality of partition plates can be reliably connected together.

It is a perspective view which shows the attachment state of the fuel tank which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view (a) of the fuel tank of FIG. 1, the II section expanded sectional view (b) of (a), and the III section expanded sectional view (c) of (a). It is a perspective view which shows the reinforcement structure of the principal part of the fuel tank of FIG. It is the IV-IV arrow line view in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Fuel Tank 11 Tank Body 11a Square Tube (Square Tube)
11b, 11c End plate 11d Filling port 12 Reinforcing structure 13 Partition plate 13a Flange 13b Pipe through hole 13c Through hole 14 Partition plate 14a Flange 14b Pipe through hole 14c Through hole 15 Partition plate 15a Flange 15b Pipe through hole 15c Through hole 16 Connecting pipe 16 17 plug

Claims (2)

A tank body fitted with an end plate at both ends of the square tube and welded in a gas-tight manner, with an oil filler port on the upper surface,
The tank body is reinforced from the tank inner surface side so as not to be deformed by an external pressure load, and includes a reinforcing structure that defines a plurality of divided chambers that are in parallel with each other in the horizontal direction in the tank.
The reinforcing structure is
Three or more partition plates having a flange, a pipe through hole, and a through hole, the flange being fitted to the inner surface of the tank body;
A connecting pipe that is passed through the pipe through holes of all the partition plates and welded to the edges of the pipe through holes, both ends of which are close to the end plate;
It is fixedly provided at both ends of the connection pipe, and includes a plug that comes into contact with the inner surface of the end plate.
A fuel tank characterized by that.   2. The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the connection pipe is provided in at least two diagonal positions of the partition plate.

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