JP2582760Y2 - Sacrificial anode members for vehicle tanks - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sacrificial anode member used for a vehicle tank, and more particularly to a specially shaped sacrificial anode member to be mounted on a drain opening of a vehicle tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, air tanks for large vehicles have been manufactured from steel materials, and their inner and outer surfaces have been painted and rust-proofed. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for lighter tanks, and attention has been paid to aluminum alloy tanks that are lightweight and do not require painting. In addition to the above-mentioned air tank, aluminum alloys have been used for various tanks such as a fuel tank. When condensed water accumulates in such an aluminum alloy tank,
The water contains ions such as Cu, Na, and Cl in addition to oil.

Even if such ions are contained, corrosion is not a serious problem in a painted steel tank, but corrosion occurs particularly in the vicinity of a welded portion such as a drain pipe in an aluminum alloy tank. There are considerations to do.

As a countermeasure, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-1460 discloses
Japanese Patent No. 43 proposes a technique relating to "a fuel receiver provided with anticorrosion means", in which a sacrificial anode member is provided by protruding from the inner wall of a tank.

As another countermeasure, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 57-19
No. 7320 proposes a technique relating to a "drain cock structure of a fuel tank of a vehicle", in which a sacrificial anode member is housed in a drain plug provided on the bottom of the tank.

[0006]

However, the prior art has the following problems. That is, JP-A-56-
According to the technology proposed in Japanese Patent No. 146043,
When the amount of liquid accumulated in the tank is small and accumulates only on the bottom surface, there is a problem that the sacrificial anode member provided on the inner wall surface of the tank is not immersed in moisture, so that it cannot function as a sacrificial anode. . Further, there is a problem that replacement of the sacrificial anode member is difficult.

On the other hand, in the technique proposed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 57-197320, there is no space for accommodating a sacrificial anode member in a drain plug depending on the drain structure of a tank, which increases versatility. There was no problem.
Also, even if the sacrificial anode member is stored in the drain plug, if the amount of liquid remaining in the tank is small, the sacrificial anode member may protect the welded portion of the drain pipe that is most susceptible to corrosion in the tank. There was a problem that it was not possible.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to effectively prevent corrosion in a tank even when the amount of liquid stored in the tank is small, to easily replace the tank, and to provide various types of tanks. An object of the present invention is to provide a sacrificial anode member for a vehicle tank that can be applied to a drain plug and is highly versatile.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a sacrificial anode member for a vehicle tank according to the present invention is formed by a cylinder formed of a metal having a lower natural potential than that of a metal forming the vehicle tank. A body-shaped sacrificial anode body, and a male threaded part formed on the outer periphery of the sacrificial anode body and screwed to the female threaded part for mounting in a drain opening provided in the bottom of the tank, A liquid drain opening that is opened so as to penetrate from the outer peripheral portion to the inner peripheral portion of the sacrificial anode body.

In the above structure, preferably, the inner peripheral portion of the sacrificial anode body is formed as a wrench tightening engagement portion.

[0011]

According to the above construction, the sacrificial anode body of the sacrificial anode member according to the present invention is formed of a metal that is more base than the metal forming and defining the vehicle tank, and has a cylindrical shape. Therefore, even when the fuel tank is mounted in the drain opening provided in the bottom of the vehicle tank, the drain passes through the hollow part defined by the inner peripheral part.

In mounting the sacrificial anode member in the drain opening, a female screw is formed in the drain opening, and a male screw is formed in the outer periphery of the sacrificial anode body.
These are screwed together. At this time, if the inner peripheral portion of the sacrificial anode body is sectioned and formed as a wrench tightening engaging portion, the wrench is inserted into the wrench tightening engaging portion to facilitate the screwing operation. And the attachment and detachment of the sacrificial anode member becomes easy.

In order for the sacrificial anode member to function effectively, it is preferable that a part of the sacrificial anode member be protruded into the tank from the drain opening opening. Discharge becomes difficult. However, in the present invention, since the liquid drain opening is formed so as to penetrate from the outer peripheral portion to the inner peripheral portion of the sacrificial anode body, there is no possibility that a small amount of drain is collected on the tank bottom surface.

If a metal having a lower natural potential than the metal forming the tank is used as the sacrificial anode, it is needless to say that the metal which is electrochemically lower is selectively corroded and has an anticorrosive action.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a sacrificial anode member for a vehicle tank according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a side sectional view showing a mounted state of the sacrificial anode member of the first embodiment. As shown, the sacrificial anode member 1 of the present embodiment is mounted in a drain opening 3 of a vehicle tank 2 such as an air tank or a fuel tank. The drain opening 3 is formed by welding 4 a cylindrical opening metal fitting 3 a to a mounting hole 2 b formed in the bottom 2 a of the vehicle tank 2. An internal thread portion 3a is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the opening metal fitting 3a in advance.
b is formed.

FIG. 2A shows a sacrificial anode member 1 of this embodiment.
FIG. As shown in the figure, the sacrificial anode body 1a of the sacrificial anode member 1 has a cylindrical shape, and is made of a metal whose natural potential is lower than that of a metal such as an aluminum alloy which forms the vehicle tank 2. Is formed. That is, for example, it is formed of a metal such as Zn, which has a higher ionization tendency than Al, or an alloy thereof. A male screw portion 1c corresponding to the female screw portion 3b of the opening metal fitting 3a is formed on the outer peripheral portion 1b of the sacrificial anode body 1a. In the prototype of the sacrificial anode member 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, a male screw portion 1c is formed on the entire outer peripheral portion 1b of the sacrificial anode body 1a.

A drain opening 5 is formed at the tip of the sacrificial anode body 1a on the insertion side so as to penetrate from the outer periphery 1b to the inner periphery 1d. In the sacrificial anode member 1 of this embodiment, the drain opening 5 is formed by a rectangular notch 5a opened from the axial center to the tip of the sacrificial anode main body 1a. And are formed at two locations so as to face each other in the radial direction. In the present embodiment, the two drain openings 5 are formed so as to face each other in the radial direction of the sacrificial anode main body 1a, but it is not always necessary to make them face each other. It may be formed in more than one place.

Further, the inner peripheral portion 1 of the sacrificial anode body 1a
“d” is defined as a wrench fastening engagement portion 6. That is, as shown in FIG. 1B, the hollow portion defined by the inner peripheral portion 1d of the sacrificial anode main body 1a is formed as a hexagonal engagement portion that fits, for example, a hexagon wrench. In the present embodiment, the wrench tightening engagement portion 6 is formed in a hexagonal shape, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed in a shape suitable for other wrenches and tools.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing a modified example of the sacrificial anode member 1 of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the sacrificial anode member 10 of this modification has a male screw portion 10c formed only in the range from the axial center to the rear end of the outer peripheral portion 10b of the sacrificial anode body 10a. The configuration is the same as that of the prototype.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described while explaining the mounting operation.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the sacrificial anode member of the first embodiment is mounted in the tank. As shown in the figure, the mounting of the sacrificial anode member 1 in the drain opening 3 provided in the bottom 2a of the vehicle tank 2 is performed as follows.
Female screw portion 3b formed on the inner peripheral portion of the opening metal fitting 3a
Then, a male screw portion 1c formed on the outer peripheral portion 1b of the sacrificial anode body 1a is screwed. In particular,
A hex wrench (not shown) is attached to the wrench tightening engagement portion 6 defined by the inner peripheral portion 1d of the sacrificial anode body 1a.
By inserting and turning, the screwing operation can be performed extremely easily. In addition, since the attachment / detachment work of the sacrificial anode member 1 is also facilitated, it can be easily replaced.

The sacrificial anode member 1 is formed of a metal that is more base than the metal such as an aluminum alloy that defines the vehicle tank 2 (eg, a metal such as Mg or a metal having a higher ionization tendency than Al). Therefore, when this is used as a sacrificial anode, the sacrificial anode member 1 which is a metal that is electrochemically base is selectively corroded and has an anticorrosion action. Accordingly, in order to make the sacrificial anode member 1 function effectively, as shown in FIG. 3, a part of the sacrificial anode member 1 protrudes into the tank 2 from the opening metal fitting 3a. If the sacrificial anode member 1 is provided so as to protrude into the tank 2, it becomes difficult to discharge the drain (not shown) accumulated in the tank 2. However, in the present embodiment, the sacrificial anode body Since the liquid draining opening 5 is opened from the outer peripheral portion 1b to the inner peripheral portion 1d at the tip end side of 1a, a small amount of drain does not collect on the tank bottom surface. That is, the sacrificial anode member 1 is attached to the bottom 2 a of the vehicle tank 2.
The inner peripheral portion 1 of the sacrificial anode main body 1a is also mounted through the drain opening 5 even if it is mounted in the drain opening 3 provided in the
The drain passes through the hollow section defined by d. That is, the wrench tightening engagement portion 6 also functions as a drain passage port. Therefore, even when the amount of liquid remaining in the tank 2 is small, it can be discharged, so that the inside of the tank 2 can be effectively protected.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the sacrificial anode member of the first embodiment is mounted on the air or liquid drain plug of the vehicle tank. As shown in the figure, the axial length of the opening metal fitting 3a is formed to be longer, and the sacrificial anode member 1 is housed closer to the tank than the air or liquid drainage plug 7. As described above, the female screw portion 3b is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the opening metal fitting 3a, and its axial length is made longer.
Since the sacrificial anode member 1 of this embodiment can be mounted, it can be applied to various types of tanks and drain plugs, and is versatile.

Next, FIGS. 5A and 5B show the sacrificial anode members 20 and 30 of the second embodiment, wherein FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a prototype and FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a modification. . As shown in the drawing, the sacrificial anode members 20 and 30 of the present embodiment have the notched portion 5a as in the first embodiment.
Instead, it is formed as a rectangular drainage hole 5b at two axially intermediate portions of the sacrificial anode bodies 20a and 30a so as to face each other in the radial direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the sacrificial anode member 2 is inserted into the opening metal fitting 3a so that the liquid draining hole 5b opens to the bottom 2a of the tank 2.
0 and 30 need to be mounted, but other configurations are the same as those of the sacrificial anode members 1 and 10 of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, two liquid drain holes 5 are provided.
Although b is formed so as to face each other in the radial direction of the sacrificial anode bodies 20a and 30a, it is not always necessary to make them face each other, and they may be formed at one place or three or more places.

The second embodiment has basically the same operation and effect as the first embodiment, but the sacrificial anode members 20, 30 are less likely to be deformed than the first embodiment. It has a specific effect.

[0027]

As described above, according to the sacrificial anode member of the vehicle tank according to the present invention, even if the amount of liquid remaining in the tank is small, the inside of the tank can be effectively protected from corrosion.
In addition, it can be easily replaced, can be applied to various types of tanks and drain plugs, and has an excellent effect of being versatile.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a sacrificial anode member of a vehicle tank according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a side sectional view of a mounted state thereof.
(B) is a bottom view of the sacrificial anode member.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a sacrificial anode member according to a first embodiment, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a prototype and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a modification.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the sacrificial anode member of the first embodiment is mounted in a tank.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the sacrificial anode member of the first embodiment is mounted on the air or liquid drain plug of the vehicle tank.

5A and 5B show a sacrificial anode member according to a second embodiment, wherein FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a prototype and FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a modification.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of a sacrificial anode member according to a second embodiment in a tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sacrificial anode member 1a Sacrificial anode main body 1b Outer peripheral part of sacrificial anode main body 1c Male screw part 1d Inner peripheral part of sacrificial anode main body 2 Tank for vehicle 2a Bottom of tank 3 Drain drain opening 3b Female screw part 5 Drain opening

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) C23F 13/10 B60K 15/03 B62J 35/00 F02M 5/12

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A cylindrical sacrificial anode body formed of a metal having a lower natural potential than a metal forming a tank for a vehicle, and a cylindrical body formed on an outer peripheral portion of the sacrificial anode body and a bottom portion of the tank. A male screw portion to be screwed into the female screw portion to be mounted in the drain opening portion provided in the drain opening portion, and a liquid drain opening opening from the outer peripheral portion to the inner peripheral portion of the sacrificial anode body. And a sacrificial anode member for a vehicle tank. 2. The sacrificial anode member for a vehicle tank according to claim 1, wherein an inner peripheral portion of the sacrificial anode body is formed as a wrench fastening engaging portion.