US3552596A

US3552596A - Gas tank

Info

Publication number: US3552596A
Application number: US758480A
Authority: US
Inventors: James E Landon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-09-09
Filing date: 1968-09-09
Publication date: 1971-01-05
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-05

Abstract

A motor vehicle gas tank designed to have a reserve section so that, as the gas is fully drained in the area of the gas feed means, a sufficient quantity of gas from the reserve section will be made to spill over into the feed area when the motor vehicle is braked or when the tank is otherwise tilted.

Description

D United States Patent m1 3,552,596

[72] Inventor James E. Landon [56] References Cited N iIbAvalon Dr., Phoenix, Ariz. 85016 UNITED STATES PATENTS V a Se 9 1968 1,616,008 2/1927 Stout...; 220/22 [45.] Pafemed g *1971 2,316,116 4/1943 Thompson..... 220/22 2,365,080 12/1944 Humphrey 220/5(A)UX FOREIGN PATENTS 476,774 8/1928 Germany 220/20 Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance I 54] GAS TANK Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figs. I g [52] U.S.Cl. 220/22, ABSTRACT: A motor vehicle gas tank designed to have a 220/5 reserve section so that; as the gas is fully drained in the area of [51] lnt.Cl B65d 25/04, the gas feed means, a sufficient quantity of gas fromthe B65d 7/02 reserve section will be made to spill over into the feed area [50] Field of Search 220/20, when the motor vehicle is braked or when the tank is otherwise tilted.

GAS TANK This invention relates generally tov gas tanks and, more particularly, to a motor vehicle gas tank having a reserve section therein for maintaining a quantity of gas in the tank after it has become fully drained. I

The motorist on the road has been plagued for many years with the hazard of exhausting his gasoline supply at the most undesirable times as at a great distance from the gasoline pump station or during heavy or high-speed traffic, when the danger of slowdown or collision may result. Various techniques and devices have been therefore designed in order to alert the motorist of a low gasoline supply, or to release from a gasoline supply tank a reserve quantity of gas sufficient to transport the motor vehicle to a pumping station. Most of such devices have been, however, too cumbersome or costly for any widespread usefor the average motorist.

Therefore, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a motor vehicle gas tank having 'a'built-in reserve section so that as the gas feed means completely drains the tank, a sufficient quantity of gas can be made to simply spill over into the gas feed area when the motor vehicle is braked or when the reserve gasoline is otherwise made to spill over.

Another object of the instant design is to provide a gas tank of the character described having no moving parts yet highly effective for widespread economical 'use,

A further object of this invention is to provide a motorvehicle gas tank having an insert attached to the inside bottom wall of the tank just aft of the forwardly located gas feed means so that as the tank is fully drained in the area of the gas feed means, a quantity of gas will remain'in the tank behind the insert and will be made to spill over into the gas feed area upon braking of the motor vehicle or when the reserve gas is otherwise made to spill over.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide a gas tank of the type mentioned which is simple in design and easy to manufacture.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective showing of the improved gas tank with the top pan member shown partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the gas tank of FIG. 1, shown with the top pan member shown partly broken away; and,

FIGS. 3 and 3A are sectional views taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in F I6. I, a gas tank according to the instant design having a bottom pan member 11 and a top pan member 12, both having a-standard shape, as shown, and both having laterally extending flanges around the periphery of each pan member as at 13 and M, respectively. The tank is formed in any conventional manner as by a series of spot wells 15, which fasten together flanges l3, 14. A pipe 16 is secured to the top pan member 12, as shown in FIG. 2, in any conventional manner, for the purpose of introducing gasoline into the tank 10. The showing of gasoline is omitted from FIGS. I and 2 for the purpose of clarity. A gasoline feed means or pipe 17 is provided at the bottom wall of the bottom pan member 11, as shown, or may extend downwardly through pan member 12 and into the area 18, for the purpose of feeding the gasoline to the carburetor and combustion en gine of the motor vehicle. The tank 10 is adapted to be horizontally attached to the underside of a motor vehicle in any conventional manner so that the pan members 11 and 12 are parallel to the frame member of the motor vehicle. The gas tank 10 is also designed to be attached to the motor vehicle so that its short axis is along the line of forward travel of the motor vehicle as indicated by the arrow F, in FIG. 2. The feed pipe 17 is located, as is usually the case, near the forward end of the tank at an area portion 18. It should be understood that An insert 19 is secured to the inside bottom wall of the bottom pan I], as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The top pan member 12 is partly broken away in order to clearly show that insert 29 comprises a shallow pan member having four upstanding sides and a bottom wall wherein a vertical side wall 20 is spaced from the adjacent vertical wall of the bottom pan ill. The remaining three sidewalls of the pan 19 are snugly in engagement with the remaining three walls of the bottom pan member ll. It is also important to note that the vertical sidewall 20 extends transversely across the entire width of the bottom pan 11 and is slightly inclined toward feed pipe 17 in a forward direction.

Turning now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, the gas tank is shown after it has been fully drained through the gas feed pipe 17. All the gas in the area 18 of the tank is shown expended so that the gas gauge means will now register empty and the carburetor will no'longer receive gas from the tank. The motor vehicle will now come to a stop except that, through the use of the instant design, a sufiicient quantity of gasoline can be made to feed into the pipe 17 in a manner hereinafter described.

The shallow pan 19 with its vertical sidewall 20 extending between opposite walls along the entire width of the bottom pan 11, will retain a quantity of gasoline as at 21, within the tank as a reserve. The vertical wall 20 of the insert 19 is preferably less than the vertical height of bottom pan H, but, of course, can be of any desired height suitable for the amountof reserve gas intended for the tank. While the vehicle is coasting after it has run out of gas, as when area 18 becomes dry, the motorist simply applies his brakes abruptly so that the reserve quantity of gasoline 21 is caused to spill over the wall the cross section and overall shape of the gas tank can be of 20 and into the area 18 as shown by the arrow 22 in FIG. 3A of the drawings. In this way, the engine can be once again started since the feed pipe 17 will again begin to feed gasoline to the engine carburetor. Of course, should the motorist first sense that the gas capacity is low after viewing his gas gauge, or after the engine begins to starve for lack of sufficient gas, he will simply depress his brake pedal several times, sufficiently abrupt, so that the above-described spillover is made to take place. In this way, the motorist is able to continue his journey, at least until he reaches the nearest gasoline pump station.

Referring again to FIGS. l and 2 of the drawings, it can be seen that insert 19 is provided with a plurality of vertical separators extending in the direction of forward travel of the motor vehicle. The purpose of the separators is to enhance the spillover of the gasoline into the area 18 while the car is being braked. Also, these separators act to maintain the insert 19 substantially full of reserve gasoline while the motor vehicle may be tilting from side to side during the near-empty gas tank condition. Of course, these vertical separators can be, if desired, a plurality of corrugations running fore and aft of the tank and constructed of one piece with the insert 19 bottom wall. Also, any other design or type of construction can be employed with these separators so long as they do not depart from the teaching as above'describedv In addition, it should be recognized that if the motorist happens to come to a complete stop without having the opportunity to pump his brakes, as aforedescribed, he can merely bounce his motor vehicle manually enough to cause an adequate spillover into the area 18 of the tank.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that an improved motor vehicle gas tank has been designed which reduces, in a simple manner, the hazard of running out of gas and possibly creating a dangerous situation for other motorists. The shallow pan 19, which can be inserted before assembly of the pans 11 and 12, proves to be economical for widespread use, yet is easy to install and simple to manufacture. No moving parts or auxiliary tanks or any of the other prior art complex devices are needed for the operation of the instant design. Because inclined wall 20 actually enhances the ability of the gasoline to be transferred from insert 19 into area 18 simply upon braking of the motor vehicle, other types of transfer means are not necessary.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

lclaim:

1. A gas tank of the type adapted to be horizontally attached to the underside of a motor vehicle, and having, a bottom dishshaped, upwardly opening pan member, a top, dish-shaped, downwardly opening pan member, flange means along the peripheral edges of each said pan member, fastening means on said flange means securing said pan member together in open face-to-face relation, means on said top pan member for introducing gasoline into the tank, gasoline feed means on the tank for feeding the gasoline to the carburetor and combustion engine of the motor vehicle, said feed means being located near the tanks forward end in the forward direction of travel of the vehicle, the improvement comprising:

an insert comprising a shallow pan secured to the inside bottom wall of said bottom pan member, a short distance to the rear of said feed means, said shallow pan and said bottom pan member each being substantially rectangular and each having four substantially vertical sidewalls, three of said shallow pan sidewalls having substantially the same outside contour as the inside contour of said bottom pan member sidewalls, said three pan member sidewalls snugly embracing said three shallow pan sidewalls;

a plurality of horizontally spaced, vertical separators prothe remaining one of said four shallow pan sidewalls extending transversely across the entire width of said bottom pan a slight distance from the remaining one of said bottom pan member sidewalls, and being inclined toward said feed means in a forward direction, whereby, as the gasoline is expended from the tank through said feed means below the height of said insert vertical sidewall, a quantity of gasoline will remain in the tank behind said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls even though gasoline is completely drained from the tank forward end so that, upon sufficient forward movement, during the braking action of the motor vehicle, of the gasoline remaining behind said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls spillover into the tank forward end will take place for feeding into said feed means, said separators serving to maintain a quantity of gasoline behind said sidewall during side-by-side movement of the motor vehicle, said separators being of a height substantially equal to the height of said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls, and each of said separators being perpendicular to said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls.

Claims

1. A gas tank of the type adapted to be horizontally attached to the underside of a motor vehicle, and having, a bottom dishshaped, upwardly opening pan member, a top, dish-shaped, downwardly opening pan member, flange means along the peripheral edges of each said pan member, fastening means on said flange means securing said pan member together in open face-to-face relation, means on said top pan member for introducing gasoline into the tank, gasoline feed means on the tank for feeding the gasoline to the carburetor and combustion engine of the motor vehicle, said feed means being located near the tank''s forward end in the forward direction of travel of the vehicle, the improvement comprising: an insert comprising a shallow pan secured to the inside bottom wall of said bottom pan member, a short distance to the rear of said feed means, said shallow pan and said bottom pan member each being substantially rectangular and each having four substantially vertical sidewalls, three of said shallow pan sidewalls having substantially the same outside contour as the inside contour of said bottom pan member sidewalls, said three pan member sidewalls snugly embracing said three shallow pan sidewalls; a plurality of horizontally spaced, vertical separators provided within said insert extending in the direction of forward motor vehicle travel substantially across the entire length of said insert; the remaining one of said four shallow pan sidewalls extending transversely across the entire width of said bottom pan a slight distance from the remaining one of said bottom pan member sidewalls, and being inclined toward said feed means in a forward direction, whereby, as the gasoline is expended from the tank through said feed means below the height of said insert vertical sidewall, a quantity of gasoline will remain in the tank behind said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls even though gasoline is completely drained from the tank forward end so that, upon sufficient forward movement, during the braking action of the motor vehicle, of the gasoline remaining behind said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls spillover into the tank forward end will take place for feeding into said feed means, said separators serving to maintain a quantity of gasoline behind said sidewall during side-by-side movement of the motor vehicle, said separators being of a height substantially equal to the height of said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls, and each of said separators being perpendicular to said remaining one of said shallow pan sidewalls.