Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62J—CYCLE SADDLES OR SEATS; AUXILIARY DEVICES OR ACCESSORIES SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO CYCLES AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. ARTICLE CARRIERS OR CYCLE PROTECTORS
  • B62J35/00—Fuel tanks specially adapted for motorcycles or engine-assisted cycles; Arrangements thereof
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
  • B60K15/00—Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or construction of fuel tanks
  • B60K15/03—Fuel tanks
  • B60K15/073—Tank construction specially adapted to the vehicle
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
  • B60K15/00—Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or construction of fuel tanks
  • B60K15/03—Fuel tanks
  • B60K15/077—Fuel tanks with means modifying or controlling distribution or motion of fuel, e.g. to prevent noise, surge, splash or fuel starvation
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62J—CYCLE SADDLES OR SEATS; AUXILIARY DEVICES OR ACCESSORIES SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO CYCLES AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. ARTICLE CARRIERS OR CYCLE PROTECTORS
  • B62J37/00—Arrangements of fuel supply lines, taps, or the like, on motor cycles or engine-assisted cycles
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
  • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
  • F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
  • F02M37/0076—Details of the fuel feeding system related to the fuel tank
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
  • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
  • F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
  • F02M37/04—Feeding by means of driven pumps
  • F02M37/08—Feeding by means of driven pumps electrically driven
  • F02M37/10—Feeding by means of driven pumps electrically driven submerged in fuel, e.g. in reservoir
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
  • B60K15/00—Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or construction of fuel tanks
  • B60K15/03—Fuel tanks
  • B60K2015/03105—Fuel tanks with supplementary interior tanks inside the fuel tank
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO ASPECTS CROSS-CUTTING VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
  • B60Y2200/00—Type of vehicle
  • B60Y2200/10—Road Vehicles
  • B60Y2200/12—Motorcycles, Trikes; Quads; Scooters
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO ASPECTS CROSS-CUTTING VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
  • B60Y2200/00—Type of vehicle
  • B60Y2200/10—Road Vehicles
  • B60Y2200/12—Motorcycles, Trikes; Quads; Scooters
  • B60Y2200/126—Scooters

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a fuel tank structure for a motorcycle.
• a fuel tank structure for a motorcycle includes an fuel tank which is disposed on rear frames of the motorcycle and above the rear wheel, as is disclosed in the description of Japanese Patent No. 4176456 hereinafter called a prior art.
• the fuel tank structure includes the fuel tank of which bottom wall is provided with a central recess portion which is recessed upwards along a longitudinal direction of the motorcycle and extended from a side of a front portion to a side of a rear portion. Also, the fuel tank structure includes a fuel pump which is disposed inside the fuel tank for pumping fuel from the fuel tank. The fuel pump is positioned at one side of the fuel tank that is partitioned by the central recess portion.
• the central recess portion is formed to be recessed upwards along a longitudinal direction of the motorcycle, the central recess portion causes fuel to be divided into left and right sections when the amount of fuel is small.
• an embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel tank structure for a motorcycle including: a fuel tank disposed in the motorcycle for storing fuel; and a fuel pump disposed to the fuel tank for pumping fuel; wherein the fuel tank is provided with a central recess portion which is formed to be recessed upwards from a bottom wall of the fuel tank in a longitudinal direction of the motorcycle, and a partitioning portion which is formed to be recessed upwards from a bottom wall and to extend from the central recess portion toward a side wall of the fuel tank.
• the bottom wall includes a first bottom wall portion where the partitioning portion is located and partitioned by the central recess portion when viewed from above the fuel tank, and the fuel pump is disposed on one of areas into which the first bottom wall portion is sectioned by the partitioning portion when viewed from above the fuel tank.
• the bottom wall includes the first bottom wall portion where the partitioning portion is located and partitioned by the central recess portion, and the fuel pump is disposed on one of areas into which the first bottom wall portion is sectioned by the partitioning portion.
• the partitioning portion as the obstacle structure helps keep the stored fuel that is supplied to the fuel pump, for example, even if the fuel tank is inclined. Therefore, it is possible to operate the fuel pump smoothly.
• the partitioning portion is formed to be recessed upwards from the bottom wall and to extend from the central recess portion to the side wall of the fuel tank, it is possible to increase strength of the fuel tank.
• the areas into which the first bottom wall portion is sectioned by the partitioning portion include a rear area which extends rearward from the partitioning portion, and a front area which extends forward from the partitioning portion and is positioned lower than the rear area, and wherein the fuel pump is located above the front area.
• the front area is lower than the rear area, it is possible to increase the amount of fuel to be stored in the lower area.
• the fuel pump since the fuel pump is located above the front area, it is possible to surely keep the stored fuel that is supplied to the fuel pump, for example, even if the fuel tank is inclined. Therefore, it is possible to operate the fuel pump surely and smoothly.
• the partitioning portion is formed to extend toward a side of the fuel pump and provided bent to change direction toward a side wall of the fuel tank when viewed from above the fuel tank.
• the partitioning portion is formed to extend toward a side of the fuel pump and provided bent to change direction toward a side wall of the fuel tank, the fuel is stored even more in the areas into which the first bottom wall portion is sectioned by the partitioning portion.
• the partitioning portion includes a terminal end that is bent to longitudinal direction of the motorcycle when viewed from above the fuel tank.
• the partitioning portion extends from the central recess portion toward the side wall and includes a terminal end that is bent to longitudinal direction of the motorcycle, the fuel is stored even more in the areas into which the first bottom wall portion is sectioned by the partitioning portion as well as the terminal end is able to improve the strength of the fuel tank in longitudinal direction.
• FIG.l is a left side view of a motorcycle including a fuel tank structure according to an
• FIG.2 is an explanation view of a location of the fuel tank of FIG.l when viewed from rear;
• FIG.3 is a front view of the fuel tank of FIG.1 ;
• FIG.4 is a left side view of the fuel tank of FIG.l;
• FIG.5 is an explanation view of the open condition of the fuel tank of FIG.l when viewed from above;
• FIG.6 is a sectional view taken along line VI- VI of FIG.3;
• FIG.7 is an explanation view of the fuel tank of FIG.l in the inclined condition when viewed from left side;
• FIG.8A, 8B and 8C are sectional views taken along line VIII -VIII of FIG.4 for the purpose of explaining about the fuel tank inclining in a right/left direction.
• relative positional terms such as “front”, “rear”, “right side” and “left side” correspond to those directions considered from the viewpoint of a vehicle operator, seated in the driver's seat and facing forwardly.
• the motorcycle 10 includes, as main parts thereof, a head pipe 12, main frame 14 descendingly inclined rearward from the head pipe 12, rear frame pipes 16a, 16b extending rearward and upward from the main frame 14.
• the material of the main frame 14 and the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b is steel, but is not limited aluminum alloy or the like.
• the motorcycle 10 furthermore includes a handle 18 which is rotatably connected to the head pipe 12, a front fork 20 a front wheel FW which is mounted on the front fork 20, a power unit 22 which is mounted under the main frame 14 and the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b and which is constituted of an engine 24 and a transmission 26, a swingable unit 28 which is swingably mounted on a pivot 19 at plates 17a, 17b (The plate 17b is not shown because to be included symmetrically on the left and right.) fixed on the main frame pipes 14 at a rear position of the power unit 22, a rear wheel RW which is mounted on the swingable unit 28, rear cushions 30a, 30b (not shown) which are mounted on a rear end portion of the swingable unit 28 thereon in a suspended manner, a fuel tank 50 which is mounted between the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b at a front and a rear portion of the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b, and a seat 32 which arranged on the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b such that the seat 32 can be
• the swingable unit 28 includes swing arms 34a, 34b which are swingably mounted on the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b at a rear position of the power unit 22, the rear wheel RW, a rear wheel brake mechanism 36 which brakes the rear wheel RW, and a muffler 38.
• the swingable unit 28 is swingable in the vertical direction V by using the connection portion between the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b and the swing arms 34a, 34b (See FIG.l) as a base point.
• the motorcycle 10 is covered with several covers.
• covers include side cover components 40 which are arranged under the seat 32 to cover the side and center structures of the motorcycle 10, a front fender 42 that covers the upper portion of the front wheel FW, and a rear fender 44 that covers the upper portion of the rear wheel RW.
• the embodiment of the invention discloses a fuel tank structure 1 for a motorcycle 10 including the fuel tank 50 disposed above a rear wheel RW for storing fuel and a fuel pump 60 (See FIG.3) which is disposed inside the fuel tank 50 for pumping fuel.
• the fuel tank 50 is mounted on the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b and is fixed in the form of inclining downward at front portion when the motorcycle 10 is moved or stopped on a horizontal ground level HGL. If the seat 32 is opened, it is possible to access the fuel tank 50 provided under the seat 32.
• the fuel tank 50 is an approximately rectangular parallelepiped casing and includes an upper chamber 50a with a flange 50b which is formed into a ring shape and extend outward from a body of the upper chamber 50a, and a lower chamber 50c with a flange 50d which is formed into a ring shape and extend outward from a body of the lower chamber 50c.
• the flanges 50b, 50d of the upper and lower chambers 50a, 50c are securely mounted on the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b through a fastening means as a plurality of bolts 51.
• a plurality of openings 52a, 52b are formed at both front sides of the fuel tank 50, namely flanges 50b, 50d, and a plurality of openings 53a, 53b are formed at both rear sides of the fuel tank 50, namely flanges 50b, 50d.
• the openings 52a, 52b is formed to be located on openings (not shown) of fixing plate 54 which extend from the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b and are fixed on front portions of the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b, when the fuel tank 50 is mounted at a predetermined position.
• the openings 53a, 53b is formed to be located on openings (not shown) of a rear portion of the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b and are fixed on the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b, when the fuel tank 50 is mounted at a predetermined position.
• the fuel tank 50 is securely mounted on the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b by inserting and fastening the bolts 51 into the openings 52a, 52b, 53a, 53b at the rear portion of the rear frame pipes 16a, 16b which are strong parts, thereby the fuel tank mounting structure 1 is formed strongly.
• the upper chamber 50a of the fuel tank 50 is provided with a fuel filler opening 57 covered by a fuel cap 56. By removing the fuel cap 56 from the fuel tank 50, fuel is able to be supplied to the fuel tank 50.
• the fuel tank 50 is provided with a float 58 which is capable of movement in up and down direction in order to detect a fuel level FL.
• the upper chamber 50a is formed to be recessed upwards at an arrangement position of the float 58 when viewed from above in order to accommodate the float 58 at a predetermined position.
• the fuel tank 50 is provided with the fuel pump 60 which is disposed inside the fuel tank 50 for pumping fuel.
• the fuel pump 60 intakes fuel into an injection (not shown) based on the amount of fuel which is required by the engine 24.
• the fuel pump 60 is formed to be located at the front portion of the upper chamber 50a in order to stably supply fuel into the injection through an outlet pipe 62 and a fuel hose 63.
• a fuel intake part 64 is connected with the lower portion of the fuel pump 60 for sucking up fuel into the fuel pump 60 and filtering dust in fuel.
• the fuel intake part 64 is formed in an elliptic shape extending in a left right direction and is located at the front portion of the upper chamber 50a when viewed from above.
• the fuel intake part 64 is formed in such a manner that the left end of the fuel intake part 64 is lower than the right end of the fuel intake part 64.
• the lower chamber 50c of the fuel tank 50 is formed to be recessed downwards from the flange 50d of the lower chamber 50c.
• the lower chamber 50c includes a bottom wall 66 as a bottom plate, and a side wall 68 which is formed to incline from the flange 50d to the bottom wall 66 and surrounds the bottom wall 66 annularly.
• the bottom wall 66 is sectioned into 4 portions, more specifically, a central recess portion 70 which is formed to be recessed upwards at central portion of the bottom wall 66 of the fuel tank 50 in a longitudinal direction of the motorcycle 10; a first bottom wall portion 74; a second bottom wall portion 76 which is located on an opposite side to the first bottom wall portion 74; and a partitioning portion 72 which is formed such as L shape to be recessed upwards from a bottom wall 66 and to extend from the central recess portion 70 to the side wall 68 of the fuel tank 50 at the first bottom wall portion 74 when viewed from above the lower chamber 50c (See FIG.5).
• the central recess portion 70 is configured to keep a space between the fuel tank 50 and the rear wheel RW so as to prevent contacting the fuel tank 50 with the rear wheel RW. Also, since the partitioning portion 72 is formed to be recessed upwards from the bottom wall 66 and to extend from the central recess portion 70 to the side wall 68 of the fuel tank 50, strength of the fuel tank 50 is increased.
• the first bottom wall portion 74 is sectioned into a front area 74a which is located at the front position of the first bottom wall portion 74 and on which the fuel pump 60 is located when viewed from above, and a rear area 74b which is located at the rear position of the first bottom wall portion 74 which is located on an opposite side to the front area 74a with respect to the partitioning portion 72.
• the front area 74a is formed to be lower than the rear area 74b when viewed from left side of the fuel tank 50 (See FIG.4).
• the number of the partitioning portion 72 may be, for example, two or more without limited to one. Also, in the case that the number of the partitioning portion 72 is two or more, the first bottom wall portion 74 includes the areas into which is sectioned in accordance with the number of the partitioning portion 72.
• FIG.7 shows the inclined condition of the fuel tank 50 when the motorcycle 10 runs up the inclined plane which is inclined upward to the direction A with respect to the horizontal ground level HGL.
• the fuel tank 50 is provided with the partitioning portion 72 that includes a terminal end 72a which extends toward a side of the fuel pump 60 (longitudinal direction) and is provided bent toward a side wall 68 of said fuel tank 50 when viewed from above said fuel tank (50), and the first bottom wall portion 74 is formed to be recessed upwards from a bottom wall 66 and to extend from the central recess portion 70 to the side wall 68.
• the partitioning portion 72 functions as a wall of a temporary storage tank, a part of fuel F is stored in the region on the front area 74a of the first bottom wall portion 74.
• FIG.8A to FIG.8C are the sectional views taken along line VIII- VIII of FIG.4.
• FIG.8A shows the condition that the fuel tank 50 is not inclined in a right/left direction.
• FIG.8B shows the condition that the fuel tank 50 is inclined towards the lower right direction.
• FIG.8C shows the condition that the fuel tank 50 is inclined towards the lower left direction.
• the fuel tank 50 is formed in such a manner that the front area 74a of the first bottom wall portion 74 is lower than the rear area 74b of the first bottom wall portion 74. Also, the fuel intake part 64 is formed in such a manner that the left end of the fuel intake part 64 is lower that the right end of the fuel intake part 64.
• the central recess portion 70 extends upward at middle of the bottom wall 66 along the longitudinal direction of the fuel tank 50 (See FIG.4), a reservoir space for the fuel F is formed on the bottom wall 66 so as to make the volume of the stored fuel F to sufficiently remain for the operation of the fuel pump 60 in comparison with the case that the bottom wall 66 is flat or horizontal.
• the stored fuel F on the bottom wall 66 is able to be supplied to the intake part 64 even if the fuel F volume is low.
• fuel F is able to be stored in regions on at the front portions of the first bottom wall portion 74 (front area 74a) because the stored fuel F tends to move from the second bottom wall portion 76 to the first bottom wall portion 74 (front area 74a). As such, it is possible to keep the stored fuel F that surrounds the intake part 64 of the fuel pump 60 when the amount of fuel F is small.
• the fuel tank 50 is formed in such a manner that the front area 74a of the first bottom wall portion 74 is lower than the rear area 74b of the first bottom wall portion 74, the abovementioned movement about the stored fuel F is remarkable when the fuel tank 50 is inclined in the front upper direction, for example, during the motorcycle 10 runs up the hill or the inclined plane having a large inclination angle. Namely, even if the amount of fuel F is small and the fuel tank 50 is inclined in the front upper direction and/or in the left right direction, the fuel tank 50 keeps the stored fuel F that surrounds the fuel intake part 64 of the fuel pump 60 so that the fuel pump 60 is operated smoothly.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Sustainable Energy (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Automatic Cycles, And Cycles In General (AREA)
• Cooling, Air Intake And Gas Exhaust, And Fuel Tank Arrangements In Propulsion Units (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=63676789

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 2017
  • 2017-03-29 WO PCT/TH2017/000030 patent/WO2018182542A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2017-03-29 CN CN201780086848.2A patent/CN110325433B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2017-03-29 JP JP2019572343A patent/JP6750134B2/ja active Active
• 2019
  • 2019-07-30 PH PH12019501770A patent/PH12019501770A1/en unknown

Patent Citations (5)

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