JP3111152B2 - Fuel tank mounting method and mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

This invention relates to compressed natural gas (CN).
G) and a method for mounting a fuel tank for storing a compressed fuel gas on a vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 8, a conventional CNG fuel tank 01 is mounted on a vehicle body 02 via a bracket 03 one by one. The semi-circular bracket 03 is attached to the vehicle body 02 in advance, the fuel tank 01 is fitted and supported on the bracket 03, and the other semi-arc brackets 04 are mounted.
To secure.

[0003] The brackets are connected together to maintain the overall rigidity. Since the fuel tanks 01 are mounted and fixed one by one in this manner, piping around the tanks and the like are made in a state where all the fuel tanks 01 are mounted.

[0004]

As described above, the conventional fuel tank
Since the 01s are mounted separately, they must be separately assembled and fixed, requiring a lot of time and man-hours for the assembly work. The piping around the tank is all fuel tanks
Since the operation is performed with the 01 mounted, the work space is not sufficiently secured, and the work is likely to be performed in an unreasonable posture, resulting in poor work efficiency and difficulty in securely connecting the pipes.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a point,
An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel tank mounting method and a mounting structure capable of improving the efficiency of assembly work and the reliability and workability of piping.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a method of mounting a fuel tank for pressurizing and storing a fuel gas on a motor vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: A tank mounting process of mounting and tightening the band with a band, a pipe sealing process of assembling each pipe around the tank and a leak prevention seal, and mounting the tank support frame integrating the fuel tank on the vehicle body and fixing it to the vehicle body The fuel tank mounting method comprises a frame fixing step of performing the following, and a pipe connecting step of connecting the pipe around the tank to the pipe on the vehicle body side.

[0007] The fuel tank is mounted on a tank support frame.
Tightened by the band, the pipes around the tank and the pipes and seals are integrated and mounted on the vehicle body, so there is no need to attach each fuel tank to the vehicle body individually, reducing the time and man-hours for assembly work. . Further, since each piping around the tank is performed before mounting on the vehicle body, a sufficient working space is secured, and reliable piping work can be performed with high working efficiency. After the fuel tank is mounted on the vehicle body, it is sufficient to connect the already piped end to the vehicle body-side pipe, so that the work efficiency is not totally hindered.

In the frame fixing step, a tank support frame in which the fuel tank is integrated is inserted from a vehicle body opening such as a rear window opening, a door opening or a vehicle body lower opening, and is fixed on a rear floor of the vehicle body. Thus, the fuel tank integrated with the tank support frame can be easily inserted into the vehicle body cover and fixed on the rear floor via the tank support frame.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 will be described below. The automobile according to the present embodiment is:
A vehicle that runs on natural gas, which is mainly composed of methane gas and has a lower specific gravity than air, as a fuel.
It is equipped with a fuel cylinder that is a compressed fuel tank that can be compressed and filled at a pressure of kg / cm ² .

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the positions of fuel cylinders on the rear half side surface of the four-wheeled motor vehicle 1. Two large and small fuel cylinders 3, 4 are mounted on a rear seat 6 while being supported by a support frame 5. It is arranged between the left and right rear wheel houses on a rear floor 25 supported by a rear side frame 24 at the rear, and its upper part corresponds to the rear window 7, and the upper part of the fuel cylinder 3 and the rear trunk room 8 are connected to the rear bulkheads 26, 27. Is partitioned.

Hereinafter, a process of assembling the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 to the vehicle body will be described step by step with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 immediately before being mounted on the support frame 5, and the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 are mounted on the support frame 5 in advance.

The support frame 5 has right and left side support frames 10 and 10 standing opposite to each other.
Cross members 11, 12, 13, 14 are connected back and forth between 0 and 10 to form an integral support frame 5. The side support frames 10, 10 have a mountain shape with a front portion protruding upward, a front side skirt is short, a rear side skirt is long and a rearwardly extending side shape is formed, and a peripheral edge is bent inward to be rigid. It has a high shape, and attachment portions 10a and 10b to the vehicle body are formed at front and rear ends.

A cross member 11 connects between the tops of the hills of the two side support frames 10, 10, a cross member 11 connects between the rear foot ends, and a cross member 13 connects between the front foot ends. Cross member 14 between the bottom of the back
Are linked. Each of the cross members 11, 12, 13, 14 has a pair of mounting bosses 11a, 12
a, 13a and 14a are formed.

Two endless rubber belts 15 and 15 are fitted at predetermined positions on the left and right sides of the larger cylindrical fuel cylinder 3, and bands 16 and 16 with brackets for fixing are wound around the rubber belts 15 and 15. Tighten. Band with bracket
Reference numeral 16 denotes a pair of fasteners 16a, 16a at both ends, and two fixing brackets 16b, 16b at predetermined two locations. A band 16 with a bracket is wound around a rubber belt 15 fitted to the fuel cylinder 3. Then, the opposing clamps 16a, 16a are screwed together with bolts and tightened.

A fuel cylinder 3 around which two bands 16 with brackets are wound is positioned between the cross members 11 and 12 of the support frame 5 and two brackets 16b and 16b at the front and rear of the band 16 with brackets are cross members. 11, 12
The fuel cylinder 3 is mounted on the support frame 5 by screwing the two against the mounting bosses 11a and 12a.

Similarly, the smaller fuel cylinder 4 is wound around the band 19 with brackets with the rubber belts 18, 18 interposed therebetween, and positioned between the cross members 13, 14, and the brackets 19 b, 19 b of the band 19 with brackets are crossed. member
The fuel cylinders 4 are mounted on the support frame 5 by fitting them to the mounting bosses 13a and 14a of the 13 and 14 and screwing them together with bolts. In this way, two large and small fuel cylinders 3 and 4 are attached to the support frame 5, and FIG. 3 shows this state.

Next, pipes around the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 and a leakage prevention sheet are attached. Fig. 4 shows fuel cylinders 3 and 4.
And FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the leakage prevention seal.

Normally closed normally closed solenoid valves 32, 33 are integrally mounted on the left ends (right ends in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4) of the fuel cylinders 3, 4, respectively. At the right end of 4, there is a relief valve 34,
The normally closed solenoid valves 32 and 33 are closed when not energized, and are opened when energized. Further, when the pressure in the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 rises above a predetermined set pressure, the relief valves 34 and 35 are opened and the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 are opened.
The fuel in 4 is discharged.

Further, a seal box 36 having a split structure is disposed at the rear of the fuel tank 4 adjacent to the fuel cylinders 3 and 4, and a filter for filtering natural gas, a fuel Sensors for detecting the pressure and temperature in the cylinders 3 and 4, equipment required for filling compressed natural gas into the fuel cylinders 3 and 4, and supplying natural gas from the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 to the internal combustion engine A built-in compressed natural gas supply auxiliary unit 37 is provided.

Valve covers 38, 39, 40, and 41 cover the normally closed solenoid valves 32 and 33 and the relief valves 34 and 35 respectively at both ends of the fuel cylinders 3 and 4.
The opening 38a of the valve cover 38 and the opening 42a of the seal boot branch joint 42 are mutually connected and connected by a seal boot 43, and the opening 39a of the valve cover 39 and the opening 36a of the seal box 36 are connected to each other. Are mutually connected by a seal boot 44.

In addition, the opening 40a of the valve cover 40 and the opening 41a of the valve cover 41 and the seal boot branch joint 47
The openings 47a and 47b are connected to each other by seal boots 45 and 46, and the opening 47c of the branch joint 47 and the opening 36b of the seal box 36 are connected to each other by seal boots 48. The opening 36c and the opening 42b of the seal boot branch joint 42 are mutually connected by a seal boot 49. An opening joint member 31 is fitted into the opening 25f of the rear floor 25, and the opening 42c of the seal boot branch joint 42 and the opening joint member 31 are connected to each other by a seal boot 51.

Both ends of the compressed natural gas filling supply pipe 52 penetrating the seal boot 43, the seal boot branch joint 42 and the seal boot 49 are connected to the normally closed solenoid valve 32 in the valve cover 38 and the compressed natural gas in the seal box 36. Both ends of the compressed natural gas filling supply pipe 53 connected to the supply auxiliary unit 37 and penetrating the seal boot 44 are connected to the normally closed solenoid valve 33 in the valve cover 39 and the compressed natural gas supply in the seal box 36. Each is connected to the accessory unit 37.

Further, a relief pipe 54 penetrating the seal boot 45, the seal boot branch joint 47 and the seal boot 48.
Is connected to a relief valve 34 in a valve cover 40, and one end of a relief pipe 55 passing through the seal boot 46, the seal boot branch joint 47 and the seal boot 48 is connected to a relief valve 35 in the valve cover 41. And the other ends of the relief pipes 54 and 55
Connected to one end of the relief pipe 56,
Reference numeral 56 penetrates through the seal boot 49 and the seal boot branch joint 42, and is connected to a relief pipe 71 having one end exposed to the outside of the vehicle through the opening joint member 31 through the connector 61 in the seal boot 51.

A compressed natural gas supply pipe 58 and a compressed natural gas supply pipe 59 extending from the compressed natural gas supply auxiliary unit 37
Open through the seal boot 49 and the seal boot branch joint 42, and from the lower side in the seal boot 51 to the open joint member 31.
The compressed natural gas filling pipe 72 and the compressed natural gas supply pipe 73 that have penetrated therethrough are connected by connectors 62 and 63. The compressed natural gas filling pipe 72 extends upward along the trunk side wall 80, penetrates the filler recess 81 and is exposed in the filler wall 82, and the other end of the compressed natural gas filling pipe 72 has a compressed natural gas filling valve 83. A compressed natural gas supply pipe 73 extending downward from the opening joint member 31 extends forward along the lower surface of the rear floor 25 and is mounted on a front portion of the automobile 1 (not shown). Connected to the internal combustion engine.

Moreover, the valve covers 38, 39, 40, 41
The flexible natural rubber gas discharge tubes 91, 92, 93, and 93 are connected to the tube connecting portions 38b, 39b, 40b, and 41b, respectively.
One end of 94 is connected and leaked natural gas discharge tubes 91, 9
2, 93 are connected to the three-way opening fittings 95, 96, 97, respectively, and the leaked natural gas discharge tube 94 is connected to the other opening of the fitting 97, and the fitting 97 and the fitting 96 discharge the leaked natural gas. Connected by a tube 98, a pipe joint 95 and a pipe joint 96 are connected via a leaked natural gas discharge tube 99, and the insides of the valve covers 38, 39, 40, and 41 are all in a communicating state, and the pipe joint 95 Leaked natural gas discharge tube 10 connected to
0 extends into the filler recess 81, and its tip is the filler opening.
101 is connected via a pipe joint 102.

The upper end of a drain pipe 105 is connected to the lower opening 36d of the seal box 36. The drain pipe 105 passes through the rear floor 25, and the lower end of the drain pipe 105 is exposed outside the vehicle body. Boots 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49
And water condensed in the seal box 36
It is discharged to the outside of the car via 105. As shown in FIG. 5, a drainage pipe 106 may be provided to branch off from the leaked natural gas discharge tube 100.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the piping around the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 and the leak prevention seal have been attached. The two fuel cylinders 3 and 4 are attached to the support frame 5 and the piping around the cylinder and In a state where the leak prevention seal has been applied, they are collectively inserted through the rear window opening of the vehicle body cover and mounted on the rear floor 25.

The seal boot 51 is mounted on the rear floor 25 on the vehicle body side.
Of the relief cylinder 56, the compressed natural gas filling pipe 58, and the compressed natural gas supply pipe 59 are exposed to the outside from the seal boot branch joint 42 on the fuel cylinder side. It is in a state of having done. Also, the tip of the leaked natural gas discharge tube 100 and the drainage pipe 10
5 is also free.

The rear window opening has an opening area enough to integrally insert the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 collectively supported by the support frame, and below the rear window opening is the mounting position of the fuel cylinders 3 and 4. Therefore, mounting work can be easily performed.

The rear floor 25 has a front part 25a as shown in FIG.
Is a place where the spare tire is stored under the rear seat 6, and the middle part 25b is a place where the left and right recesses 25d and 25d correspond to the rear wheel house, and a space between the two recesses 25d and 25d where the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 are arranged. The rear portion 25c forms the bottom wall of the trunk room 8. The rear floor 25 is supported on a pair of left and right rear side frames 24, 24 oriented in the front-rear direction.

Left and right side support frames of the support frame 5 are provided on side edges along the left and right concave portions 25d, 25d of the intermediate portion 25b.
The front and rear mounting portions 10a, 10a of the side support frame 10 are placed in the front and rear mounting holes 25e, 25e of the side edges, and are fastened together with the lower rear side frame 24 by bolts. The support frame 5 to which the cylinders 3 and 4 are attached is fixed to the vehicle body.

Next, the ends of the pipes provided around the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 are joined. Rear floor as shown in FIG.
The opening 25f is provided at the rear center position of the intermediate portion 25b of the 25, and the seal boot 51 extending upward by fitting the opening joint member 31 into the opening 25f is connected to a pipe on the vehicle body side, that is, a relief pipe 71, a compressed natural pipe. Gas filling pipe 72, compressed natural gas supply pipe
Since 73 penetrates from the outside, the relief pipe 56 on the side of the installed fuel cylinders 3 and 4, the compressed natural gas filling pipe 58,
End of compressed natural gas supply pipe 59 and relief pipe 7 on body side
1.The end of the compressed natural gas filling pipe 72 and the end of the compressed natural gas supply pipe 73 are joined by connectors 61, 62, 63, respectively, and the end of the seal boot 51 is opened at one end of the seal boot branch joint 42.
Join to 42c.

The opening 25f is located at the rear center position of the intermediate portion 25b of the rear floor 25, and the vehicle body side relief pipe 71,
Since the compressed natural gas filling pipe 72, the compressed natural gas supply pipe 73, and the seal boot 51 extend upward, the joining operation can be easily performed from the trunk chamber 8 side.

The hose leaking natural gas discharge tube 100
Of the filler wall 82, the filler opening 101 and the fitting 102
Joined by Further, the tip of the drainage pipe 105 is separately fitted into a hole provided in the rear floor 25.

As described above, the connection of the pipes after the fuel cylinders 3 and 4 are mounted on the vehicle body is simple, and the workability is good. In this embodiment, the fuel cylinder 3 attached to the support frame 5
4 was inserted from the rear window opening with piping and leak-proof seal, but if the opening area is large enough, insert it through the opening of the door or the opening of the rear floor and mount it at the specified position on the rear floor 25 Can be. However, from the viewpoint of workability, the rear window opening is most suitable.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle is fueled by methane gas having a specific gravity lower than that of air. However, the present invention can be naturally applied to other natural gas, especially one using propane gas having a specific gravity higher than air. .

[0037]

According to the present invention, the fuel tank is mounted on the tank support frame and tightened, and the pipes around the tank and the seals are sealed and mounted integrally on the vehicle body. There is no need to attach it to the vehicle body, which reduces assembly time and man-hours.

Further, since each piping around the tank is performed before mounting on the vehicle body, a sufficient working space is secured, and reliable piping work can be performed with high working efficiency. After the fuel tank is mounted on the vehicle body, it is sufficient to connect the already piped end to the vehicle body-side pipe, so that the work efficiency is not totally hindered.

In the frame fixing step, a tank support frame in which the fuel tank is integrated is inserted from a vehicle body opening such as a rear window opening and fixed on the rear floor of the vehicle body to be integrated with the tank support frame. The fuel tank can be easily inserted into the vehicle body cover and fixed on the rear floor via the tank support frame.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a rear half side surface of a four-wheeled motor vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fuel cylinder immediately before being mounted on a support frame.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a fuel cylinder is mounted on a support frame.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a fuel cylinder pipe and a leak prevention seal.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a leakage prevention seal around a fuel cylinder.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the fuel cylinder and the support frame in a state where the piping around the fuel cylinder and the leak prevention seal have been attached.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a rear floor and a rear side frame.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a main part showing a conventional fuel tank mounting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automobile, 3, 4 ... Fuel cylinder, 5 ... Support frame, 6 ... Rear seat, 7 ... Rear window, 8 ... Trunk room, 10 ... Side support frame, 11, 12, 13, 14 ... Cross member, 15… Rubber belt, 16… Band with bracket, 18… Rubber belt, 19… Band with bracket, 24…
Rear side frame, 25 ... rear floor, 26, 27 ... rear bulkhead, 31 ... open joint member, 32, 33 ... normally closed solenoid valve, 34, 35 ... relief valve, 36 ... seal box, 37 ... compressed natural gas supply auxiliary equipment Unit, 38, 39, 40, 41 ... valve cover, 42 ... seal boot branch joint, 43, 44, 45, 46 ... seal boot, 47 ... seal boot branch joint, 48, 49 ... seal boot, 51 ... seal boot, 52,53… Compressed natural gas filling supply piping, 54,5
5, 56 ... relief pipe, 57 ... fitting, 58 ... compressed natural gas filling pipe, 59 ... compressed natural gas supply pipe, 61, 62, 63 ... connector, 71 ... relief pipe, 72 ... compressed natural gas filled pipe,
73 ... compressed natural gas supply pipe, 80 ... trunk side wall, 81 ... filler recess, 82 ... filler wall, 83 ... compressed natural gas valve,
91, 92, 93, 94 ... leaked natural gas exhaust tube, 95, 96,
97 ... fittings, 98, 99, 100 ... leaked natural gas discharge tube, 101 ... filler opening, 102 ... fittings, 105, 106 ...
Drainage piping.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of mounting a fuel tank for pressurizing and storing fuel gas on an automobile, comprising: a tank mounting step of mounting the fuel tank on a tank support frame and tightening the band with a band . A pipe sealing step of assembling each pipe around the tank and a leak prevention seal, a frame fixing step of mounting a tank support frame integrating the fuel tank on the vehicle body and fixing the tank support frame to a vehicle body, And a pipe connecting step of connecting to the side pipe. 2. In the frame fixing step, a tank support frame in which the fuel tank is integrated is inserted from a vehicle body opening such as a rear window opening, a door opening or a vehicle body lower opening and fixed on a rear floor of a vehicle body. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fuel tank is mounted. 3. A structure in which a fuel tank for storing fuel gas under pressure is mounted on an automobile, comprising: a tank support frame for supporting the fuel tank, wherein the fuel tank is tightened by a band and piping around the tank is connected. A vehicle body opening such as a rear window opening, a door opening or a vehicle body lower opening is formed so that the tank supporting frame can be integrally inserted into the tank supporting frame. A fuel tank mounting structure, which is inserted and fixed to a vehicle body.