Tank fixing structure

Abstract

To provide a tank fixing structure which achieves improvement of tank protection performance when a load is input.SOLUTION: A tank fixing structure fixes a tank 1 to a frame 2 of a vehicle through a bracket 3. The bracket 3 includes: an attachment member 31 fixed to a side surface of the frame 2; a movable member 32 on which the tank 1 is mounted; a hinge 33 which connects the movable member 32 to a lower part of the attachment member 31 in a swingable manner; and an attitude holding member 34 which is disposed between the attachment member 31 and the movable member 32 and makes the movable member 32 immovable. In the attitude holding member 34, an attachment part 5 attached to the attachment member 31 or an attachment part 6 attached to the movable member 32 can be separated when receiving a predetermined load or a larger load.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tank fixing structure. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 states that "In a vehicle equipped with an LPG engine, the LPG fuel tank is positioned and supported at a predetermined position on an L-shaped bracket, and the vertical wall of the L-shaped bracket is attached so as to be overlapped with the side of the frame." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3695128 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-278069) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when the LPG fuel tank is pushed by another member during a collision and hits the frame of the vehicle, a load is input to the LPG fuel tank.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a tank fixing structure that improves the protection performance of the tank when a load is input. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention is a tank fixing structure that fixes a tank to a vehicle frame via a bracket, the bracket comprising a mounting member fixed to a side of the frame, a movable member on which the tank is mounted, a hinge that swingably connects the movable member to a lower part of the mounting member, and a posture maintaining member that is spanned between the mounting member and the movable member to immobilize the movable member, and is characterized in that the mounting portion of the posture maintaining member relative to the mounting member or the mounting portion relative to the movable member is configured to be separated when it is subjected to a load equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0007] According to this configuration, when a load equal to or greater than a predetermined value is input to the mounting portion of the attitude maintaining member to the mounting member or to the mounting portion of the attitude maintaining member to the movable member via the tank and the movable member during a vehicle collision, the mounting portion is severed, causing the free end side of the movable member to rotate downward about the hinge, thereby preventing the tank mounted on the movable member from being pinched between the tank and the frame and being crushed, and mitigating the load received by the tank.

[0008] Incidentally, it is preferable that the mounting member is inclined in the vertical direction of the vehicle in a side view so that its upper portion approaches the tank, and that the upper portion of the posture maintaining member is attached to the upper portion of the mounting member, while the lower portion of the posture maintaining member is attached to the middle portion of the movable member, so that the posture maintaining member is positioned in a position that is aligned with the vertical direction of the vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a tank fixing structure that improves the protection performance of the tank in the event of a collision. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a tank fixing structure according to the present invention. [Diagram 2]FIG. 11 is a side view showing a first stage when a load is input. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a side view showing a second stage when a load is input. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 1 to 3. A fuel tank 1 is mounted on a vehicle, and this fuel tank 1 is fixed to a frame 2 of the vehicle via a bracket 3.

[0013] The fuel tank 1 is an example of a tank, and may be, for example, a hydrogen tank in the case of a hydrogen vehicle, an LPG fuel tank in the case of a vehicle equipped with an LPG engine, a gasoline fuel tank in the case of a vehicle equipped with a gasoline engine, or a diesel fuel tank in the case of a vehicle equipped with a diesel engine.

[0014] Specifically, the fuel tank 1 is cylindrical with both ends closed, and both end faces are provided with valves 11. Although not shown in detail, the valve 11 is configured by providing a large diameter disk portion on the free end side of a small diameter pipe 11a provided in the center.

[0015] The frame 2 is, for example, the left side member of a pair of left and right side members arranged along the front-rear direction of a ladder frame of a vehicle, and is formed, for example, in a rectangular cylindrical shape. The fuel tank 1 is installed on the left side of the left side member serving as the frame 2.

[0016] The brackets 3 are provided on which the fuel tank 1 is mounted, and in this embodiment, one each is provided on one end side and the other end side of the fuel tank 1 in the longitudinal direction.

[0017] The bracket 3 includes an attachment member 31, a movable member 32, a hinge 33, a position maintaining member 34, and the like.

[0018] The mounting member 31 is, for example, a straight round pipe, and is attached to the side surface of the frame 2 via a spacer 4 .

[0019] The spacer 4 is used to incline the mounting member 31 at a predetermined angle with respect to the left side surface of the frame 2 .

[0020] Specifically, the spacer 4 is formed into a right-angled triangle and is disposed upside down with its base facing up and its hypotenuse facing the fuel tank 1. As a result, the mounting member 31 attached to the hypotenuse of the spacer 4 is oriented such that its upper portion is inclined at a predetermined angle (see α in FIG. 1) with respect to the vertical direction of the vehicle in a side view so as to approach the fuel tank 1.

[0021] The reason for inclining the mounting member 31 in this manner is to prevent the fuel tank 1 from being pinched by the frame 2 and crushed when the collision test object 10 of FIG. 1 is collided with the fuel tank 1 of a vehicle in a vehicle collision test or the like, by guiding the fuel tank 1 to be displaced diagonally downward.

[0022] The movable member 32 is, for example, a round pipe bent into a V-shape when viewed from the side, and has a horizontal portion 32a and an inclined portion 32b. The interior angle between the horizontal portion 32a and the inclined portion 32b of the movable member 32 is set to an obtuse angle.

[0023] The fuel tank 1 is mounted via a plate-shaped support 32c on the horizontal portion 32a of the movable member 32. The angle (see β in FIG. 1) between the inclined portion 32b of the movable member 32 and the mounting member 31 is appropriately set according to the diameter of the fuel tank 1.

[0024] The support pillar 32c is provided on the horizontal portion 32a, and a U-shaped groove 32d that opens upward is provided in the support pillar 32c. The small diameter pipes 11a of the valves 11 at both ends of the fuel tank 1 are fitted into the groove 32d.

[0025] The hinge 33 connects the movable member 32 to the mounting member 31 in a swingable manner, and one end of the hinge 33 is attached to the free end (upper part) of the inclined portion 32b of the movable member 32, and the other end is attached to the lower part of the mounting member 31.

[0026] The position maintaining member 34 is bridged between the mounting member 31 and the movable member 32 to immobilize the position of the movable member 32, and is, for example, a band-shaped plate.

[0027] This posture-maintaining member 34 is aligned in the vertical direction, and its upper portion is attached to the upper portion of the mounting member 31, and its lower portion is attached to the middle portion of the movable member 32, i.e., the junction between the horizontal portion 32a and the inclined portion 32b, by fastening members 5, 6 such as screws or bolts, respectively.

[0028] The attachment form of the upper and lower parts of the attitude-maintaining member 34 can be changed to a form in which they are joined by welding, instead of by the fastening members 5, 6, for example.

[0029] In the posture maintaining member 34, the attachment portion (fastening member 5) to the mounting member 31 or the attachment portion (fastening member 6) to the movable member 32 is configured to be broken by shear or the like when a load equal to or greater than a predetermined value is applied. In other words, the shear strength of the fastening members 5 and 6 is set to be equal to or less than the load.

[0030] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned tank fixing structure when a load is input will be described.

[0031] For example, if another vehicle (or a collision test object 10) collides with the left side of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 1, the load F1 input to the fuel tank 1 is converted into a load F2 that presses the movable member 32 of the bracket 3 downward due to the inclination of the mounting member 31 of the bracket 3 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0032] If the load F2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the attachment portion (fastening member 6) of the posture maintaining member 34 to the movable member 32 will be severed by shear or the like, causing the movable member 32 of the bracket 3 to rotate counterclockwise in Figure 2 around the hinge 33.

[0033] This prevents the fuel tank 1 from being damaged, such as by being crushed, and also reduces the load that the fuel tank 1 receives.

[0034] As described above, according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, the protection performance of the fuel tank 1 is improved.

[0035] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and a range equivalent to the claims.

[0036] (1) In the above embodiment, the bracket 3 is formed of a pipe or the like, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, although not shown, the mounting member 31 and the movable member 32 of the bracket 3 can be flat plates.

[0037] (2) In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the frame 2 is the left side member of a ladder frame, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0038] For example, although not shown, it is possible to configure the frame 2 as a right side member of the ladder frame, with the fuel tank 1 mounted on the right side of this right side member, or to configure the frame 2 as a rear cross member of the ladder frame of the vehicle, with the fuel tank 1 mounted to the rear of this rear cross member. [Industrial Applicability]

[0039] The present invention can be suitably used in a structure for fixing a tank, such as a fuel tank mounted on a vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Fuel tank 2 Frames 3 Bracket 31 Mounting material 32 Movable parts 32a Horizontal part 32b Slope 32c strut 32d groove 33 Hinge 34 Posture maintaining member 4 Spacer 5 Upper fastening member (mounting part) 6 Lower fastening member (mounting part) 10. Crash test objects

Claims

[Claim 1] A tank fixing structure for fixing a tank to a vehicle frame via a bracket, the bracket comprises a mounting member fixed to a side surface of the frame, a movable member on which the tank is mounted, a hinge that swingably connects the movable member to a lower portion of the mounting member, and a posture retaining member that is bridged between the mounting member and the movable member to immobilize the movable member, A tank fixing structure, characterized in that the attachment portion of the attitude maintaining member to the mounting member or the attachment portion to the movable member is configured to be separated when a load equal to or greater than a predetermined value is received.

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