JP2744424B2 - Vehicle fuel tank - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fuel tank for a vehicle in which a sub-tank is fixed to an inner bottom of a tank body via a support plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of fuel tank is provided with a sub-tank communicating with the bottom at the inner bottom of the tank body as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-96963. By pumping
It is designed to prevent running out of fuel when the vehicle leans.

In mounting the sub-tank, the publication discloses a support plate having a protruding portion between a bottom wall of a tank body and a bottom wall of the sub-tank to protrude outward from both side walls of the sub-tank. The sub-tank is fixed to this support plate by spot welding, and each protruding portion of the support plate is fixed to the bottom wall of the tank body by spot welding.

In this case, the bottom wall of the sub-tank has a high surface rigidity due to a small area, whereas the bottom wall of the tank main body has a large area and a much lower surface rigidity than the sub-tank side. When the bottom wall of the tank main body behaves largely due to vibration or the like at the time, when this behavior occurs,
By bending the support plate in accordance with the behavior, it is possible to suppress concentration of stress at a welding portion between the support plate and the sub tank.

[0005]

However, as described above, the sub-tank is spot-welded to the support plate, and each protruding portion of the support plate projecting outward from the side wall of the sub-tank is attached to the tank body. When spot welding is performed on the bottom wall of the tank body, when the bottom wall of the tank body behaves, the support plate moves between the opposed portion of the sub-tank side wall and the welding portion of the overhang portion to the tank body. Only when the bottom wall of the tank body behaves, the amount of bending of the support plate cannot be said to be sufficient, and when large vibration is applied to the tank body, When the bottom wall of the base plate behaves greatly, this behavior cannot be sufficiently absorbed by the support plate, and a large stress concentration occurs at a welding portion between the support plate and the sub tank, and the sub tank is detached. Rukoto is considered.

A main object of the present invention is that even if the bottom wall of the tank main body behaves largely due to vibration or the like during running of the vehicle, the support plate can be sufficiently bent in response to this behavior. It is another object of the present invention to provide a fuel tank capable of reliably preventing a large stress concentration from being generated at a welding portion between the support plate and the sub tank.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is applied to the bottom wall 11 of the tank body 1.
And a support plate 3 having a protruding portion 31 that protrudes outward from a side wall 22 of the sub tank 2 between the bottom wall 21 of the sub tank 2 provided on the inner bottom of the tank body 1. A fuel tank for a vehicle in which the sub-tank 2 is fixed to the support plate 3 and the protruding portion 31 of the support plate 3 is fixed to the bottom wall 11 of the tank body 1. At the bottom edge of the sub-tank 2 along the bottom wall side 31, a step 23 is formed by bending the bottom wall 21 of the sub-tank 2 upward to separate the bottom wall 21 from the support plate 3. .

[0008]

According to the above construction, the step 23 for separating the bottom wall 21 upward with respect to the support plate 3 is provided at the side edge of the bottom wall 21 in the sub tank 2. The bottom wall 21 of the sub tank 2 is fixed to the support plate 3, and the protrusion 31 of the support plate 3 is attached to the bottom wall 11 of the tank body 1. When fixed, the bending allowance of the support plate 3 can be expanded by the step portion 23, that is, the support plate 3 can be bent more by the formation of the step portion 23, and therefore, when the vehicle is running. Even if the bottom wall 11 of the tank main body 1 behaves largely due to vibration or the like, the support plate 3 is sufficiently bent in response to this behavior, and the gap between the support plate 3 and the sub tank 2 is increased. Large concentration of stress can be prevented from From Butanku 2 or disengaged collected can be reliably prevented.

In the sub-tank 2, a part of the bottom wall 21 is normally bulged upward, and a hole for securing a suction function is formed in the bulged part. Since the location on the bottom wall 21 varies depending on the shape of the tank and the like, it was necessary to separately form the bulging portion and the hole according to the shape of the tank. When the step portion 23 is formed in order to ensure the flexibility of the plate 3, it is possible to cope with various tanks only by punching the hole at an arbitrary position of the step portion 23, and furthermore, the support plate 3 is formed. By forming the step portion 23 in the sub-tank 2 along the protruding portion 31 of the sub-tank 2, the strength of the sub-tank 2 can be enhanced by the step portion 23.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A fuel tank shown in FIG. 1 has a tank body 1 made of a thin metal plate and a thin metal plate fixed to the inner bottom of the tank body 1 and communicating with the inside of the tank body 1. The tank body 1 includes a lower tank 1A having a bottom wall 11, a side wall 12 rising from an outer peripheral edge thereof, an upper wall 13, and a side wall hanging down from the outer peripheral edge. Upper tank part 1 having 14
B, the flanges 15 and 16 provided on the end sides of the side walls 12 and 14 of the lower and upper tanks 1A and 1B are joined and integrated to form the fuel tank into a hollow interior. I have. The sub-tank 2 has a bottom wall 21 and a side wall 22 rising from an outer peripheral edge thereof, and is formed in a rectangular shape with a bottom and an open top.

Further, between the lower tank portion 1A and the sub-tank 2, the overall size is larger than that of the sub-tank 2, and both sides in the longitudinal direction protrude outward from both sides of the sub-tank 2. A support plate 3 having protrusions 31, 31 is interposed, and a bottom wall 21 of the sub tank 2 is fixed on the upper side of the support plate 3 by a plurality of spot welds S1. The protrusion 31 is fixed to the bottom wall 11 of the tank body 1 by a plurality of spot welds S2.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the bottom wall 21 of the sub-tank 2 is opposed to the protrusions 31 of the support plate 3 in the longitudinal direction. Each of the protrusions 31, 31 is bent by partially bending the support plate 3 so as to be separated upward.
Are formed integrally so as to face each other.

In the above configuration, the step allowance 23 provided in the sub-tank 2 at a position facing each of the protruding portions 31 can greatly increase the allowance for bending of the support plate 3. In other words, the support plate 3 is provided at the inner end side of the steps 23, 23 provided on the bottom wall 21 of the sub-tank 2 so as to be in contact with the support plate 3,
1 can be bent over the area between the spot welds S2 and S2 to the tank body 1, and therefore, the bottom wall 11 of the tank body 1 may behave largely even due to vibration or the like during running of the vehicle. In response to this behavior, the support plate 3 is sufficiently bent to prevent a large stress concentration from being generated at the spot welded portion S1 between the support plate 3 and the sub tank 2. 2 can be reliably prevented from being detached from the support plate 3.

As described above, by forming the steps 23 on the bottom wall 21 side of the sub-tank 2 along each protrusion 31 of the support plate 3, each step 2 is formed.
3, the strength of the sub-tank 2 can be strengthened, and a pair of steps 23, 23 are formed on the bottom wall 21 of the sub-tank 2 so as to face the protruding portions 31 of the support plate 3.
Is provided, the hole 24 for securing the suction function can be formed at any position of each of the step portions 23.
It is possible to cope with various tanks having different shapes only by punching the end portions 4 on the respective end portions 23, and the versatility of the fuel tank can be improved. In the above-described embodiment, a pair of steps 23 are formed on the bottom wall 21 of the sub tank 2 at positions facing the protrusions 31 of the support plate 3, respectively. The step portion 23 is provided on the one side of the bottom wall 21 of the sub tank 2 only with the protruding portion 3.
1 may be formed facing each other.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a fuel tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a main part thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tank main body 11 ... Bottom wall 2 ... Subtank 21 ... Bottom wall 22 ... Side wall 23 ... Step part 3 ... Support plate 31 ... Protruding part

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bottom wall (11) of a tank body (1) and a sub-tank (2) provided on an inner bottom of the tank body (1).
A support plate (3) having a protrusion (31) that protrudes outward from a side wall (22) of the sub-tank (2) is interposed between the support plate (21) and the bottom wall (21). A fuel tank for a vehicle in which a sub-tank (2) is fixed to a plate (3) and a protruding portion (31) of the support plate (3) is fixed to a bottom wall (11) of a tank body (1). A bottom wall (2) of the sub-tank (2) at an edge of the sub-tank (2) on the bottom wall side along the protruding portion (31).
A fuel tank for a vehicle, wherein 1) is bent upward to form a step (24) for separating the bottom wall (21) from the support plate (3).