JP2016175589A - Fuel tank of saddle-riding type vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the rigidity of a patch member, because the rigidity of a tank stay is difficult to be increased due to the necessity of forming the patch member to be about as thick as the inner wall surface of a fuel tank while the tank stay for engaging the fuel tank with a main frame is fitted to the inner wall surface of the fuel tank via the patch member.SOLUTION: A center groove 30 is provided in the bottom part of a fuel tank 26, a patch member 37 about as thick as an inner wall 32 is welded to the wall facing the center groove, and a tank stay 33 is welded thereon. The patch member 37 has beads 41 and 42 provided along the surroundings of the tank stay 33, thereby increasing the rigidity of the patch member 37, and the tank stay 33 is welded along the beads 41 and 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a fuel tank of a saddle-ride type vehicle, and more particularly to an advantageous structure of a tank stay for locking the fuel tank to a vehicle body frame.

By providing a central groove that is recessed upward and extends in the front-rear direction in the center of the bottom of the fuel tank that is molded in a hollow cross-sectional shape, and by receiving a vehicle body frame disposed in the front-rear direction along the center of the vehicle body in this central groove The fuel tank is supported over the vehicle body frame, and a substantially U-shaped tank stay that faces the center groove and opens forward is provided, and the tank stay is provided on the outer periphery of the tank support member provided on the vehicle body frame. There is one in which the fuel tank is locked to the vehicle body frame by fitting. Some tank stays are welded via patch members to an inner wall facing the central groove of the fuel tank. Furthermore, in order to omit this patch member, a plate-like portion to be welded to the substantially U-shaped tank stay and the surrounding fuel tank is integrally formed by press molding from a single plate material, and the plate-like portion is attached to the fuel tank. Some are fixed by resistance welding (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-230661 A

Incidentally, the prior art described in Patent Document 1 (the technique described in Paragraph 0037 and FIG. 7) attaches a tank stay to a fuel tank via a patch member, and uses such a patch member. The reason is that a tank stay that requires a heavy load on the fuel tank should be thick and strong, but if such a thick member is directly arc welded to a relatively thin fuel tank, a hole will be formed in the weld. This is because spotting may occur, so that a patch member having substantially the same thickness as the fuel tank is spot-welded, and the periphery of the tank stay is arc-welded to the patch member. However, when the patch member is interposed in this way, the tank stay including the tank stay is deformed when the patch member is deformed even if the shape is improved by improving the shape of the tank stay, or if the strength is equivalent, the wall thickness is reduced. The strength of the entire engaging portion is not improved. Therefore, it is required to increase the rigidity of the patch member.
In addition, as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the type in which the patch member is omitted is technically ripened because the tank stay itself has to be highly rigid, so the tank stay becomes large and increases in weight. Those using patch members are preferred.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is directed to a single main frame (15) disposed in the front-rear direction along the center of the vehicle body, and a fuel having a saddle shape straddling the main frame (15). A tank (26),
The fuel tank (26) includes a central groove (30) for accommodating the main frame (15), and a tank stay (33) provided in the central groove is supported by a tank provided in the main frame (15). In a fuel tank of a saddle-ride type vehicle fixed to the main frame (15) by engaging with a member (34),
The tank support member (34) is composed of a tank support bar (35) projecting left and right from the main frame (15), and a cushion member (36) fitted to the tip portion thereof,
The tank stay (33) includes a flange portion (50) into which the cushion member (36) is fitted,
The flange portion (50) is welded to the fuel tank (26) via a patch member (37), and
The patch member (37) is provided with hollow beads (41, 42) that protrude to the tank stay (33) side and extend along the outer periphery of the flange portion (50). .

The invention described in claim 2 is the tank according to claim 1, wherein the tank stay (33) includes the flange portion (50) and a flat coupling portion (51) overlapping the patch member (37).
The flange portion (50) includes a portion (52, 53, 54) having a contact surface in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cushion member (36), and upper and lower open end portions (introducing ports of the cushion member (36)). 55, 56)
The upper and lower open ends (55, 56) are connected by the connecting portion (51).

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the welding of the tank stay (33) to the patch member (37) is performed inside and outside the flange portion (50). And

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the bead (41, 42) is provided along an outer periphery of the flange portion (50), and the bead (41, 42) is provided. 42) and the outer periphery of the flange portion (50) are connected by arc welding.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the patch member (37) has an inner surface (32) facing the central groove (30) of the fuel tank (26). It is characterized by wrapping around to the bottom surface facing the ground.

The invention described in claim 6 is the above-mentioned claim 1, wherein the cushion member (36) is fitted to the tank support bar (35) and the flange portion (50), respectively.
In the vehicle width direction, the fitting length to the tank support bar (35) and the flange portion (50) is about 2/3 of the total length.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the patch member is formed with a hollow bead shape that protrudes toward the tank stay side and extends along the outer periphery of the flange portion, the rigidity of the patch member is increased. Stiffness can be improved.

According to the invention of claim 2, since the tank stay is composed of the flange portion and the coupling portion, and the upper and lower open end portions formed on the flange portion are coupled by the coupling portion, the rigidity of the tank stay is further improved. Can do.

According to the invention of claim 3, since the inner side and the outer side of the flange portion are welded to the patch member, it is firmly coupled to the patch member having increased rigidity by the formation of the bead, and the rigidity of the entire tank stay is further improved.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the outer periphery of the tank stay and the bead are welded, the joining position by welding becomes the inner position in the vehicle width direction, and the rigidity of the entire tank stay is improved accordingly.
In addition, since the weld back bead formed by arc welding is formed in the hollow portion of the bead, even if the weld back bead is formed, the mating surface between the patch member and the fuel tank is not affected.

According to the invention of claim 5, the patch member becomes three-dimensional by the bead and further three-dimensional by bending a part from the inner surface to the bottom surface of the fuel tank. Therefore, the entire patch member becomes three-dimensional and the rigidity is further improved.

According to the invention of claim 6, since the fitting length of the cushion member with respect to the tank support bar and the tank stay is 2/3 of the total length, the elasticity of the cushion member when a heavy load is applied to the fuel tank. It is possible to make the length that can maintain the engagement with the vehicle body frame by deformation. Moreover, even if each fitting length is made longer than this, the tank support bar and the tank stay become longer than necessary and only the weight increases. Therefore, it can set to the optimal fitting length.

Left side view of vehicle according to embodiment Sectional view along line 2-2 in FIG. Left side view of fuel tank Bottom view of the front of the fuel tank Side view of tank side engaging part Sectional drawing which follows the 6-6 line of FIG. An enlarged view of a part of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described based on the drawings. In the present application, the front / rear, up / down, and left / right directions are indicated by arrows in the drawings, with the front being Ff and the rear being Rr, if necessary, based on the occupant when the motorcycle is traveling straight ahead. In addition, the inside and outside are indicated by arrows in the drawing with the center side of the vehicle body as the inside, and if necessary, the inside is IN and the outside is OUT.

1 is a left side view of a motorcycle to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a left side view of the fuel tank, and FIG. FIG.
First, the overall structure of the vehicle will be schematically described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, a front wheel 11 and a rear wheel 12 are supported before and after a body frame 10, and an engine 13 is supported at an intermediate portion between the front wheel 11 and the rear wheel 12.

The vehicle body frame 10 includes a head pipe 14 provided at the front end portion, a main frame 15 extending obliquely downward from the vehicle body center CL (FIG. 2), and a rear portion of the engine 13 from the rear end portion. A pair of left and right pivot frames 16 extending downward, a down frame 17 extending obliquely downward from the head pipe 14 to the front of the engine 13, and extending rearward substantially horizontally from the rear end of the main frame 15. A pair of left and right seat rails 18 and a pair of left and right backstays 19 that obliquely connect the intermediate portions of the pivot frame 16 and the seat rail 18 are provided.

The front wheel 11 is supported between lower end portions of a pair of left and right front forks 20, and the upper end portions thereof are rotatably supported on the vehicle body frame 10 via a top bridge 21 and a bottom bridge 22. The top bridge 21 is attached to the upper side of the head pipe 14, and a bar handle 23 is attached to the upper surface, and the front wheel 11 is steered by the bar handle 23. The bottom bridge 22 is attached to the lower side of the head pipe 14.

A headlight 24 and a meter 25 are supported in front of the head pipe 14. A fuel tank 26 is disposed behind the head pipe 14. The fuel tank 26 has a saddle shape and is supported in a state of straddling the main frame 15. The front end is engaged with the main frame 15, and the rear end is fixed to the main frame 15 with a bolt or the like (not shown). Yes.

The left and right sides of the fuel tank 26 are covered with a tank shroud 27, and the front end portion of the tank shroud 27 extends to the vicinity of the front fork 20, and the traveling wind is taken in from the traveling wind intake space formed between the left and right tank shrouds 27. Then, the fuel flows through the lower part of the rear fuel tank 26 to the engine 13. A seat 28 is disposed behind the fuel tank 26.

Next, the fuel tank 26 will be described. 2 to 4, the fuel tank 26 is formed with a central groove 30 which is recessed upward in the center of the bottom portion in the front-rear direction, and the main frame 15 enters therein. Below the central groove 30, a cylinder portion 13a (see FIG. 1) of the engine 13 is arranged, and the main frame 15 is provided with in-vehicle parts such as an ignition coil, which are easily affected by the heat of the engine.

The fuel tank 26 has a side tank 31 that hangs down to the left and right of the main frame 15 across the central groove 30. A tank stay 33 is provided on the inner wall 32 facing the central groove 30 at the front part of the left and right side tanks 31, and a substantially U-shaped flange portion 50 constituting the tank stay 33 is a tank support member on the main frame 15 side. 34 is engaged. The flange portion 50 is locked to the tank support member 34, so that the fuel tank 26 can be positioned in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

The tank support member 34 includes a tank support bar 35 that protrudes left and right from the main frame 15 and cushions 36 that are supported at both left and right ends thereof. The cushion 36 is a cylindrical member having a buffering action such as rubber, and is provided with a shaft hole at the center thereof, into which the tip of the tank support bar 35 is inserted. The tank support bar 35 is supported by a bracket 15a provided on the main frame 15 in a state of penetrating in the vehicle width direction.

The outer periphery of the cushion 36 is fitted to the flange portion 50. In the vehicle width direction, the fitting length a of the cushion 36 to the tank support bar 35 and the fitting length b of the flange portion 50 are about 2/3 of the total length c. Note that the end surface of the cushion 36 in the vehicle width direction is in contact with the bracket 15a of the main frame 15 so that the vehicle width direction of the cushion 36 is positioned.

The flange portion 50 is substantially U-shaped in a side view, and is a member having an open portion toward the front, and covers the fuel tank 26 on the main frame 15 so that the main frame 15 enters the central groove 30. It sits on the main frame 15. At this time, when the fuel tank 26 is pushed forward so that the open portion of the flange portion 50 is aligned to the rear of the cushion 36, the cushion 36 is closely fitted to the inside of the flange portion 50 while being reduced in diameter by elastic deformation. To do.

As a result, the flange portion 50 is locked to the tank support member 34 via the cushion 36. In this state, the fuel tank 26 is supported by the main frame 15 via the tank support bar 35 and is supported by the cushion 36 in an anti-vibration manner with the left and right side tanks 31 being distributed to the left and right.

Next, the tank stay 33 will be described in detail.
5 is a side view showing the right tank stay 33 from the inside of the central groove 30, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG.
As shown in these drawings, the tank stay 33 integrally includes a flange portion 50 having a substantially U shape in a side view and a flat coupling portion 51 that is welded to the patch member 37 so as to overlap.
The tank stay 33 and the patch member 37 are welded in advance prior to welding to the fuel tank 26.

The patch member 37 is a metal plate-like member, has a plate thickness comparable to the plate thickness of the inner wall 32, and is spot-welded along the periphery at welding points 38 at appropriate intervals.
The lower part 39 of the patch member 37 is bent outward and overlaps the bottom part 31a of the side tank 31, and is also spot welded here. Reference numeral 39a denotes a welding point (see FIGS. 4 and 6).

Beads 41 and 42 are formed at a plurality of locations around the overlapping portion 40 to which the flange portion 50 is attached at the center portion of the patch member 37. In this example, a long upper bead 41 and a lower lower bead 42 are formed.

The beads 41, 42 have a protruding shape that protrudes toward the inner tank stay 33 so as to be separated from the surface of the inner wall 32, and a hollow groove portion that extends along the outer periphery of the flange portion 50 is formed on the inner wall 32 side of the fuel tank 26. While forming, the top part 43, the side part 44, and the base part 45 are made | formed by the substantially semicircular cross section.
The base 45 is a bending point with the overlapping portion 40, and the top 43 is farthest from the overlapping portion 40. The side portion 44 forms a curved surface that connects the base portion 45 to the top portion 43.

The tank stay 33 is obtained by press-molding a plate material that is thicker than the inner wall 32 and the patch member 37, for example, about twice as thick, and is bent around the coupling portion 51 to have a substantially U-shaped flange. This flange is used as the flange portion 50.
The coupling portion 51 is a flat portion that overlaps the surface of the overlapping portion 40 of the patch member 37 inside the flange portion 50.

As shown in FIG. 5, the flange portion 50 has an upper side portion 52 and a lower side portion 53 that are substantially parallel to each other, and a rear side portion 54 that connects these rear side end portions in a semicircular arc shape. These are continuously provided integrally.
The open end portions 55 and 56 of the upper side portion 52 and the lower side portion 53 are bent outwardly to widen the opening width and facilitate the fitting of the cushion 36.

The upper side portion 52, the lower side portion 53, and the rear side portion 54 form a contact surface in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cushion 36. The width between the upper side portion 52 and the lower side portion 53 gradually becomes narrower toward the rear side portion 54, and the fitting of the cushion 36 is made dense.

The open end portions 55 and 56 form an inlet for the cushion 36. The connecting portion 51 connects the upper and lower introduction port portions vertically. Further, the upper side portion 52, the lower side portion 53, and the rear side portion 54 are also connected vertically by the coupling portion 51 and integrated. Thereby, the rigidity of the whole flange part 50 is improved.

As shown in FIG. 6, the tank stay 33 overlaps the overlapping portion 40 with the coupling portion 51, and a corner portion 50 a bent from the coupling portion 51 at the outer peripheral portion of the flange portion 50 is along the beads 41 and 42, Fillet welds are performed by arc welding along the contact portions of 52 and the lower side 53 and the beads 41 and 42 (see FIG. 5). Arc welding can increase the peel strength of the tank stay 33 to which the heavy load is applied to the patch member 37.

As a result, the beads 41 and 42 provided along the outer peripheries of the upper side 52 and the lower side 53 of the flange 50 and the outer peripheries of the upper side 52 and the lower side 53 of the flange 50 are joined by arc welding. Is done.

Further, one or a plurality of small projections 57 projecting toward the back side (inner wall 32 side) are formed on the coupling portion 51, and projection welding is performed on the patch member 37 (the welded state is denoted by reference numeral 57a in FIG. 7). Show). The projection welding is resistance welding, and enables the coupling between the flange portion 50 having a large thickness and the patch member 37 having a relatively small thickness by welding. Therefore, the tank stay 33 is connected to the patch member 37 by welding both inside and outside the flange portion 50, and the connection of the tank stay 33 to the patch member 37 is strengthened.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a welded cross section in the vicinity of the bead 41. As shown in FIG. 7, the corner portion 50a of the upper side portion 52 and the coupling portion 51 overlaps the base portion 45, and the upper side portion. The bead 41 is in contact with the outside of 52. When fillet welding is performed on the outside of the corner portion 50 a by arc welding in this state, the welded portion 58 is between the side portion 44 of the bead 41 and the vicinity of the corner portion 50 a of the upper side portion 52.

For this reason, the weld back bead 59 comes out to the side portion 44 side which is on the inner side of the base portion 45, is formed in the hollow space of the bead 41, and does not go out to the portion contacting the inner wall 32 on the back surface of the patch member 37. Accordingly, since the weld back bead 59 is not formed on the patch member 37 that contacts the inner wall 32, the patch member 37 can be brought into close contact with the inner wall 32, and irregular lifting of the contact surface by the weld back bead 59 can be caused. Can be prevented.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the patch member 37 is provided with hollow beads 41 and 42 that protrude to the tank stay 33 side and extend along the outer periphery of the flange portion 50. By integrating the flange portion 50 by welding, the rigidity of the entire locking portion is improved. For this reason, utilizing the improved rigidity, the distance d (FIG. 2) between the inner wall 32 of the side tank 31 and the main frame 15 is increased to increase the gap, thereby making it easier for the running wind to flow into the central groove 30. be able to. As a result, the traveling wind can be guided and cooled to the vicinity of the cylinder portion 13a of the engine 13 located below the central groove 30. In addition, in-vehicle components such as an ignition coil are not easily affected by the heat of the engine 13.

Further, the tank stay 33 is formed by press-molding a single plate material to form a flat coupling portion 51 and a flange-like flange portion 50 that stands up by bending inward from the periphery in the vehicle width direction. Reference numeral 50 denotes an upper side 52, a lower side 53, and a rear side 54 that are continuously provided. Further, since the flange portion 50 is provided with the open end portions 55 and 56 which are the inlet portions of the cushion 36, and the coupling portion 51 is connected to the upper and lower portions, the rigidity of the flange portion 50 as a whole is enhanced.

The tank stay 33 is welded to the beads 41 and 42 of the patch member 37 by arc welding outside the flange portion 50, and a plurality of small protrusions 57 are projection welded to the overlapping portion 40 of the patch member 37 inside. The For this reason, the rigidity of the tank stay 33 as a whole is further improved by being more securely and firmly coupled to the patch member 37 whose rigidity has already been increased by the beads 41 and 42.

The beads 41 and 42 are provided along the outer peripheries of the upper side 52 and the lower side 53, which are the engaging portions of the flange 50, and the beads 41 and 42 and the outer perimeter of the flange 50 are joined by arc welding. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the welded portion 58 to the beads 41 and 42 of the flange portion 50 is positioned closer to the inner end in the vehicle width direction than the coupling portion 51. For this reason, unlike the conventional welding in which the welded portion 58 becomes the surface of the overlapping portion 40, the distance from the surface of the overlapping portion 40 to the inner end in the vehicle width direction is increased by the distance e, and the rigidity of the entire tank stay 33 is improved accordingly. .

Moreover, since the weld 58 is separated from the surface of the overlapping portion 40 and becomes the side portion 44 of the beads 41 and 42, even if the weld back bead 59 inevitably generated in arc welding is formed, the weld back bead 59 is Since it is formed in the hollow space of the beads 41 and 42 and is separated from the inner wall 32, the patch member 37 can be closely overlapped and integrated with the inner wall 32 without affecting the mating surface of the patch member 37 and the inner wall 32.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, since the lower portion 39 of the patch member 37 is bent outward and overlapped with the bottom 31a of the side tank 31 and integrated by spot welding, the patch member 37 and the side tank 31 are joined. By strengthening and bending the lower portion 39 of the patch member 37, the patch member 37 becomes three-dimensional as a whole together with the raised beads 41 and 42, and thus the rigidity is further improved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the vehicle width direction of the cushion 36, the fitting length a with respect to the tank support bar 35 and the fitting length b with respect to the flange portion 50 are each about 2/3 of the total length c. It has become. This fitting length is a length that can maintain the engagement with the tank support bar 35 even when the cushion 36 is elastically deformed when a large load is applied to the fuel tank 26. Moreover, if it lengthens more than this, the tank support bar 35 and the flange part 50 will have to be lengthened more than needed in the vehicle width direction, and a weight will increase. Therefore, by setting the fitting length in this way (about 2/3 of the total length), the optimum fitting length can be obtained, and a good balance between reliable engagement and weight can be maintained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications can be made within the principle of the invention. The saddle-ride type vehicle is not limited to a motorcycle, and various types of vehicles such as a three-wheel vehicle are possible.
Further, the bead is not limited to the beads 41 and 42 but may be any length, size, protrusion (bump) degree, number, etc. as long as it is a portion along the outer periphery of the flange portion 50. Moreover, the welding method of each part is not limited to the thing of embodiment, The appropriate welding method is possible.

15: Main frame, 26: Fuel tank, 30: Central groove, 31: Side tank, 32:
Inner wall, 33: Tank stay, 35: Tank support bar, 36: Cushion, 37: Patch member, 40: Overlapping part, 41: Bead, 42: Bead, 50: Flange, 51: Joint part, 59: Welded back bead

Claims (6)

A main frame (15) disposed in the front-rear direction along the center of the vehicle body, and a fuel tank (26) having a saddle shape straddling the main frame (15),
The fuel tank (26) includes a central groove (30) for accommodating the main frame (15), and a tank stay (33) provided in the central groove is supported by a tank provided in the main frame (15). In a fuel tank of a saddle-ride type vehicle fixed to the main frame (15) by engaging with a member (34),
The tank support member (34) is composed of a tank support bar (35) projecting left and right from the main frame (15), and a cushion member (36) fitted to the tip portion thereof,
The tank stay (33) includes a flange portion (50) into which the cushion member (36) is fitted,
The flange portion (50) is welded to the fuel tank (26) via a patch member (37), and
The patch member (37) is provided with hollow beads (41, 42) that protrude to the tank stay (33) side and extend along the outer periphery of the flange portion (50). A fuel tank for saddle-ride type vehicles. The tank stay (33) includes the flange portion (50) and a flat coupling portion (51) overlapping the patch member (37),
The flange portion (50) includes a portion (52, 53, 54) having a contact surface in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cushion member (36), and upper and lower open end portions (introducing ports of the cushion member (36)). 55, 56)
The fuel tank for a saddle-ride type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower open ends (55, 56) are connected by the connecting portion (51). The fuel tank of the saddle-ride type vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the welding of the tank stay (33) to the patch member (37) is performed on the inner side and the outer side of the flange portion (50). . The beads (41, 42) are provided along the outer periphery of the flange portion (50), and the beads (41, 42) and the outer periphery of the flange portion (50) are joined by arc welding. A fuel tank for a saddle-ride type vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The said patch member (37) wraps around from the inner surface (32) which faces the said center groove | channel (30) of the said fuel tank (26) to the bottom face which faces a ground direction. A fuel tank for a saddle-ride type vehicle according to any one of the above. The cushion member (36) is fitted to the tank support bar (35) and the flange portion (50), respectively.
2. The saddle-ride type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein in the vehicle width direction, a fitting length to the tank support bar (35) and the flange portion (50) is about 2/3 of the total length. Fuel tank.

Images