JP2019093938A - Fuel tank - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a fuel tank which can inhibit damage of a tank body when an impact is applied to a vehicle.SOLUTION: A slit 32, in which at least one part forms an arc shape with a bolt hole 31 set to its center, is provided at a flange 30. When a vehicle collides, the slit 32 is deformed in a manner that the slit 32 is closed to reduce stress caused by moving of a bolt 2. Since the slit 32 absorbs an impact applied to the bolt 2, stress applied from the bolt 2 to a tank body 20 is reduced to inhibit damage of the tank body 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel tank.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some fuel tanks mounted on a vehicle include a tank main body for storing fuel and a flange (support bracket) which protrudes outward from the tank main body and can be fastened to a vehicle body (for example, patent documents 1). The fuel tank is attached to the floor panel, for example, by fastening a bolt inserted into a hole formed in the flange and a nut attached to the floor panel of the vehicle body.

JP, 2011-94916, A

  In the case of the fuel tank having the above configuration, when an impact to the extent that the floor panel is deformed due to a collision of the vehicle or the like is applied to the vehicle, the bolt fixed to the floor panel is oriented in accordance with the impact as the floor panel is deformed. Moving. For example, when an impact is applied from the left side to the right side of the vehicle, the left side of the floor panel is deformed, and the left side bolt mainly moves from the left side to the right side. When the bolt moves, stress is applied to the boundary portion with the tank body, which is the base of the flange, and the vicinity of the boundary portion of the tank body may be damaged, resulting in fuel leakage and the like.

  This application is proposed in view of the above-mentioned subject, and it aims at providing a fuel tank which can control breakage of a tank main part at the time of shock being added to vehicles.

  The present specification relates to a fuel tank directly attached to a floor panel of a vehicle by a fastener, and includes a tank body for storing fuel, a flange having a through hole which protrudes outward from the tank body and through which the fastener is inserted. The fuel tank is characterized in that the flange has an absorbing portion between the through hole and the tank body for absorbing an impact applied from the fastener toward the tank body.

  Even when an impact is applied to the vehicle, the absorbing portion can absorb the impact, so it is possible to provide a fuel tank capable of suppressing damage to the tank body when an impact is applied to the vehicle. .

It is a perspective view of a fuel tank. It is a top view of a fuel tank. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. 2 shown in the state attached to a floor panel. It is an enlarged plan view of the flange on the left front. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the slit integrally formed with the bolt hole which is another example of an absorption part. It is a figure which shows the absorption part which the color which is another example of an absorption part has.

  The fuel tank 10 according to the embodiment is made of resin, and as shown in FIG. 1, includes a tank body 20 for storing fuel, a plurality of flanges 30 and the like. In the following description, directions will be described using the directions shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 from the viewpoint of the driver riding on the vehicle equipped with the fuel tank 10. The flange 30 is integrally formed with the tank body 20 so as to protrude outward from the tank body 20. The flange 30 is a portion provided for attaching the fuel tank 10 directly to the floor panel 1 of the vehicle by the bolt 2 (FIG. 3), and unlike the tank body 20, is a portion having no internal space. The flange 30 has a bolt hole 31 and a slit 32 through which the bolt 2 (FIG. 3) is inserted. The slits 32 absorb the impact applied from the bolt holes 31 toward the tank body 20 when an impact is applied to the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, two flanges 30 are formed on the front side and two on the rear side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel tank 10 is attached to the floor panel 1 by tightening a bolt 2 inserted from below into the bolt hole 31 to a nut 3 provided on the upper surface of the floor panel 1. As shown in FIG. 4, at least one portion of the slit 32 has an arc shape centered on the bolt hole 31. The slit 32 is provided between the bolt hole 31 of the flange 30 and the tank body 20. Specifically, it is formed to leave the outer edge portion of the flange 30 from the bolt hole 31 to the boundary between the flange 30 which is the base of the flange 30 and the tank body 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the shape of the slit 32 is not a complete arc, and the central part in the longitudinal direction of the slit 32 is an arc having the bolt hole 31 as a center, and both ends in the longitudinal direction are bolt holes It has a shape that turns away from the circle centered on 31 and warps to the outside of the circle. That is, at least the central portion of the slit 32 in the longitudinal direction has an arc shape centered on the bolt hole 31. Thus, the shape of the slit 32 is not a straight line, and by having a curvature, the rigidity of the flange 30 can be maintained. When the tank main body 20 in which the fuel is stored is fixed to the floor panel 1, for example, deformation such as bending at the slit 32 can be suppressed. As shown in FIG. 2, the shape of the tank main body 20 is not symmetrical, so the shapes of the four flanges 30 and the slits 32 are different from each other according to the shape of the tank main body 20.

Next, the function and effect of the slit 32 will be described with reference to FIG.
When an impact to the extent that the floor panel 1 is deformed is applied to the vehicle due to a collision of the vehicle or the like, the bolt 2 fixed to the floor panel 1 moves relative to the tank main body 20 with the deformation of the floor panel 1. For example, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the bolt 2 has been moved forward from substantially the rear. In this case, the flange 30 is stressed from the bolt 2 toward the tank body 20 by the bolt 2. When the cross-sectional shape of the tank main body 20 and the cross-sectional shape of the flange 30 are different and the tank main body 20 is fixed to the floor panel 1 with the bolt 2 different from the moving bolt 2, for example Shear stress is applied to the vicinity of the base of the flange 30, which is indicated by a broken line circle in FIG. When the shear stress is applied, when the slit 32 is not provided, the tank body 20 may be damaged, which may cause fuel leakage and the like.

  In this respect, since the flange 30 according to the present embodiment is provided with the slit 32, the slit 32 is deformed so as to be closed, and the stress accompanying the movement of the bolt 2 can be reduced. Thereby, damage to the tank body 20 can be suppressed.

  Here, the floor panel 1 is an example of a floor panel, the bolt 2 is an example of a fastener, the fuel tank 10 is an example of a fuel tank, the tank body 20 is an example of a tank body, and the flange 30 is a flange The bolt hole 31 is an example of a through hole, and the slit 32 is an example of an absorbing portion and an arc-shaped slit.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
Since the slit 32 absorbs the impact applied to the bolt 2 when a car collides, the stress applied from the bolt 2 toward the tank body 20 is reduced, and damage to the tank body 20 can be suppressed. In addition, since the slit 32 is more easily deformed than the other portion of the flange 30, it is possible to absorb an impact applied from the bolt 2 toward the tank body 20 by the deformation. In addition, due to the impact, the slit 32 is deformed to be closed, and the impact can be absorbed.

Another example 1
Next, another example 1 of the absorbing portion will be described.
In the above, the slit 32 has been described as an example of the absorbing portion. Like the slit 32, it is not cut out so as to penetrate in the thickness direction of the flange 30, but at least one portion of the absorbing portion is a circular arc shape centering on the bolt hole 31. You may form thinner than it. Specifically, it may be formed thin in the same shape as the slit 32 described above. According to the absorption portion of this configuration, the rigidity of the absorption portion is lower than that of the portion other than the absorption portion of the flange 30 by making the wall thin, and the impact portion can be absorbed because it deforms in response to the impact. Further, like the slit 32, the flange 30 is not provided with a portion penetrating through the flange 30, so the rigidity of the flange 30 can be maintained more than in the configuration in which the slit 32 is provided. Can be maintained.

Another example 2
Next, the slit 42 which is another example 2 of an absorption part is explained using FIG. In the flange 40 according to another example 2, a slit 42 integrally formed with the bolt hole 41 is formed. The slit 42 includes a first slit 43 extending in the front-rear direction, a second slit 44 extending in the left-right direction, and a third slit 45 positioned between the first slit 43 and the second slit 44. Since the slits 42 are integrally formed with the bolt holes 41, when the floor panel 1 is deformed by an impact, the bolts 2 move from the bolt holes 41 to the slits 42 accordingly. For example, when the bolt 2 moves in the direction from left to right, the bolt 2 moves to the second slit 44 extending in the left-right direction. Thus, the bolt 2 can absorb an impact by moving along the slit 42. The slit 42 includes the first slit 43, the second slit 44, and the third slit 45, so that it can absorb an impact from the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the oblique direction applied to the vehicle.

Another example 3
Next, the absorption part 54 which the color 52 which is another example 3 of an absorption part has is demonstrated using FIG. A cylindrical collar 52 is fitted in the bolt hole 51 of the flange 50 according to another example 3. The collar 52 has an inner circumferential portion 53, an absorption portion 54, and an outer circumferential portion 55. The inner circumferential portion 53 is formed in a metal cylindrical shape. The absorbing portion 54 is formed in a cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the inner peripheral portion 53, and is made of a resin whose rigidity is lower than that of the material of the flange 50. The outer peripheral portion 55 is made of metal and formed in a cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the absorbing portion 54. That is, the absorbing portion 54 is structured so as to be sandwiched between the inner peripheral portion 53 and the outer peripheral portion 55. The absorbing portion 54 is less rigid than the flange 50, so it can deform and absorb an impact. The collar 52 is provided to prevent the head of the bolt 2 from sinking into the flange 50 and loosening the bolt 2. Further, in order to facilitate fitting of the collar 52 to the flange 50, a metal outer peripheral portion 55 is provided.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, although it has been described above that the fuel tank 10 is made of resin, the invention is not limited to this, and it may be made of metal.

  Moreover, although the slit 32 and the structure which is thin as an absorption part were mentioned as the example as an structure which is easy to deform | transform above, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be formed in a circular arc shape centering on the bolt hole 31 with a material lower in rigidity than the flange 30.

  Moreover, although it explained that it was circular arc shape above, it may not be the shape which has a curvature but the shape where a plurality of straight lines are bent and formed. In addition, instead of a single-piece shape, a configuration in which a plurality of slits are formed, that is, a shape in which a portion which is not cut out may be left between the slits may be formed.

  In the above description, the collar 52 is described as having the outer peripheral portion 55. However, the collar 52 may have only the inner peripheral portion 53 and the absorbing portion 54 without the outer peripheral portion 55.

  Moreover, although it demonstrated that the 1st slit 43-the 3rd slit 45 were included above, there is no 3rd slit 45, for example, only the 1st slit 43 and the 2nd slit 44, ie, the front-back direction and left-right direction of a vehicle It is good also as composition constituted by a slit prolonged. The impact can be absorbed at least against the front-rear and left-right impacts received by the vehicle.

1 floor panel 2 bolt 10 fuel tank 20 tank body 30 flange 31 bolt hole 32 slit

Claims (7)

A fuel tank directly attached by fasteners to a floor panel of an automobile,
A tank body for storing fuel;
And a flange having a through hole which protrudes outward from the tank body and into which the fastener is inserted.
The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the flange has an absorbing portion between the through hole and the tank main body for absorbing an impact applied from the fastener toward the tank main body.   The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the absorbing portion is more easily deformed than a portion other than the absorbing portion of the flange.   The absorbent portion is characterized in that at least one portion has an arc shape centered on the through hole, and is formed thinner than the portion other than the absorbent portion of the flange. The fuel tank according to 2.   3. The fuel tank according to claim 2, wherein the absorbing portion is a slit having an arc shape whose center is the through hole. A cylindrical collar fitted in the through hole;
The collar has an inner circumferential portion formed in a cylindrical shape made of metal and the absorption portion formed in a cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the inner circumferential portion,
The fuel tank according to claim 2, wherein the absorbing portion is made of a resin having a rigidity lower than that of the flange.   The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein the absorbing portion is a slit integrally formed with the through hole. The slit includes a first slit extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a second slit extending in the lateral direction of the vehicle, and a third slit positioned between the first slit and the second slit. The fuel tank according to claim 6, characterized in that:

Images