vehicle

Abstract

To provide a vehicle that includes at least one of front and rear wheels being a single wheel, has a fuel tank disposed in compact manner, and travels on drive power generated with a fuel gas.SOLUTION: A vehicle includes at least one of front and rear wheels being a single wheel and travels on drive power generated with a fuel gas. The vehicle includes a gas tank for storing the fuel gas, a seat for accommodating an occupant, and a load-carrying platform disposed next to the seat; and the gas tank is disposed in a tank-holding chamber between the seat and the load-carrying platform.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle having at least one front wheel and one rear wheel. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are motorcycles equipped with a fuel tank (for example, Patent Document 1). In the motorcycle described in Patent Document 1, the fuel tank is arranged in an internal space below the seat. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-88160 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, in vehicles with loading platforms used for home delivery, the location of the fuel tank has not been given sufficient consideration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a vehicle that runs on a driving force generated by using fuel gas, and that has one front wheel and one rear wheel, and the other has two wheels. Multiple The vehicle comprises a gas tank, a seat for a passenger, and a luggage rack adjacent to the seat, The plurality of gas tanks are arranged so that their longitudinal axes are parallel to the left-right direction of the vehicle and are aligned along the vertical direction, The aforementioned Multiple The gas tank is disposed in a tank chamber between the seat and the luggage compartment.

[0006] (1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a vehicle with at least one single front wheel and one single rear wheel that runs on driving force generated by fuel gas. This vehicle includes a gas tank that stores the fuel gas, a seat for a passenger, and a luggage rack adjacent to the seat, with the gas tank disposed in a tank arrangement chamber between the seat and the luggage rack. This aspect allows the gas tank to be disposed compactly. Furthermore, the gas tank can be protected from forward and backward impacts in the event of an accident. (2) The vehicle of the above aspect may further include a gas tank frame that supports the gas tank, and the seat may include a seat back that supports the back of the occupant, the seat back being fixed to the gas tank frame. According to this aspect, the gas tank frame can protect the gas tank from impacts caused by an accident. In addition, by fixing the seat back to the gas tank frame, the seat back can be positioned compactly. (3) In the vehicle of the above aspect, a plurality of the gas tanks may be provided, and the plurality of gas tanks may be arranged with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the vehicle. According to this aspect, the plurality of gas tanks can be arranged compactly. (4) The vehicle of the above aspect may further include a manifold communicating with each of the plurality of gas tanks. According to this aspect, the fuel gas can be introduced into and discharged from the plurality of gas tanks simultaneously through the manifold, thereby enabling efficient inflow and outflow of the fuel gas. (5) The vehicle of the above aspect may further include an on-off valve that opens and closes a flow path communicating with the gas tank, and the on-off valve may be located on a side surface of the tank placement chamber, below the vertical center of the tank placement chamber. According to this aspect, when a fuel cell that generates electricity using fuel gas or a hydrogen engine that generates power using fuel gas is located in the lower part of the vehicle, the flow path of fuel gas to the fuel cell or the hydrogen engine can be shortened. Furthermore, when a filler port for filling the gas tank with fuel gas is located on the side of the vehicle, the flow path to the filler port can be shortened. (6) The vehicle of the above aspect may further include a safety valve disposed on the underside of the tank placement chamber, which discharges the fuel gas from inside the gas tank toward the bottom of the vehicle when the internal pressure of the gas tank increases. According to this aspect, when the fuel gas is released, the fuel gas is discharged downward, thereby improving the safety of the vehicle. The present disclosure may be realized in various forms other than vehicles, such as a vehicle production method. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view showing a vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the tank placement chamber according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a front view showing a tank placement chamber according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A. First embodiment: FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle 10 according to the first embodiment, as viewed from the left. FIG. 2 is a front view of the tank mounting compartment 50, as viewed from the front. FIG. 2 shows the tank mounting compartment 50, as well as front wheels 61 and rear wheels 62. FIGS. 1 and 2 depict three mutually orthogonal spatial axes, X, Y, and Z. The directions of the arrows of the X, Y, and Z axes indicate positive directions along the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. The positive directions along the X, Y, and Z axes are referred to as the +X direction, +Y direction, and +Z direction, respectively. The directions opposite to the directions of the arrows of the X, Y, and Z axes are negative directions along the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. The negative directions along the X, Y, and Z axes are referred to as the -X direction, -Y direction, and -Z direction, respectively. The directions along the X, Y, and Z axes, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, are referred to as the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction, respectively. The X direction is the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle 10. The +X direction is the forward direction of the vehicle 10. The Y direction is the width direction of the vehicle 10. The Z direction is the height direction of the vehicle 10. The +X direction is also called the front, and the -X direction is also called the rear. The +Y direction is also called the left, and the -Y direction is also called the right. The +Z direction is also called the up, and the -Z direction is also called the down. The same applies to the figures and explanations shown below.

[0009] In this embodiment, vehicle 10 is a vehicle used for home delivery, with one front wheel 61 and two rear wheels 62. Vehicle 10 is also equipped with a fuel cell 90, and runs on driving force generated using fuel gas. Specifically, vehicle 10 uses the power generated by fuel cell 90 to drive a motor (not shown), and runs on the driving force of the motor. In this embodiment, vehicle 10 is a small vehicle with a passenger capacity of one person and a rated output of approximately 1 kW or less.

[0010] In addition to the above components, the vehicle 10 also includes a seat 20, a cargo bed 30, a gas tank 40, and a tank mounting compartment 50. The seat 20 is disposed between the front wheels 61 and the rear wheels 62. The seat 20 has a seat cushion 21 that supports the buttocks of the occupant C, and a seat back 22 that supports the back of the occupant C. The occupant C sits in the seat 20 with their feet on a floor 73 and operates a steering wheel 72. A roof 71 is provided above the seat 20. A front cover 74 is provided in front of the seat 20. The roof 71, the front cover 74, and the floor 73 are integrally formed.

[0011] The luggage rack 30 is located behind the seat 20 and adjacent to the seat 20. The luggage rack 30 is fixed to a luggage rack frame 31 located above the rear wheels 62. The luggage rack 30 has a box shape. Luggage can be loaded and unloaded into the interior space of the luggage rack 30 by opening and closing a lid (not shown) provided on the luggage rack 30.

[0012] The gas tank 40 stores fuel gas to be supplied to the fuel cell 90. In this embodiment, the fuel gas is hydrogen gas. As shown in Fig. 2, six gas tanks 40 are installed in this embodiment.

[0013] The gas tank 40 is accommodated in the tank mounting chamber 50. The tank mounting chamber 50 has a gas tank frame 51 and a planar member (not shown). The gas tank frame 51 has a frame structure in which metal pipes are arranged on the sides of a rectangular parallelepiped, and the ends of the pipes are joined to each other. The planar member is arranged on all surfaces of the rectangular parallelepiped formed by the gas tank frame 51 except for the bottom surface, and is attached to the gas tank frame 51. The gas tank 40 is fixed to the gas tank frame 51 by a fixing member (not shown). The tank mounting chamber 50 has a size that matches the size of the gas tank 40. Specifically, the size of the tank mounting chamber 50 is such that it does not interfere when assembling the gas tank 40 to the tank mounting chamber 50. The structure of the tank mounting chamber 50 is not limited to the above, and may be configured without a planar member, for example.

[0014] The tank mounting compartment 50 is disposed between the seat 20 and the luggage rack 30. This allows the gas tank 40 to be compactly positioned while maintaining the ability to load luggage onto the luggage rack 30. Furthermore, if the vehicle 10 is impacted from the front or rear due to an accident or the like, the seat 20 and the luggage rack 30 can absorb the impact and protect the gas tank 40 from the impact. This is because the luggage rack 30 can support the gas tank 40 when a rearward external force is applied, and the seat 20 can support the gas tank 40 when a forward external force is applied. The seat back 22 and the roof 71 are fixed to the gas tank frame 51. This reduces the number of parts compared to a configuration in which separate frames for fixing the seat back 22 and the roof 71 to the gas tank frame 51 are provided. This allows the gas tank frame 51 to be positioned compactly and reduces the manufacturing cost of the vehicle 10.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, the gas tank 40 has a cylindrical portion 41 having a central axis CX, dome portions 42 and 43, and a nozzle 44. The dome portions 42 and 43 are disposed at both ends of the cylindrical portion 41 in the direction of the central axis CX and have a hemispherical shape with a diameter tapering toward the ends in the direction of the central axis CX. The length of the gas tank 40 in the direction of the central axis CX is longer than its length in the radial direction. The annular nozzle 44 is attached to the dome portion 42. The nozzle 44 distributes fuel gas between the inside and outside of the gas tank 40. The gas tank 40 includes a liner formed of a resin material having gas barrier properties against hydrogen gas and a reinforcing layer bonded to the outer surface of the liner.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1 , the six gas tanks 40 are aligned with their longitudinal axes, i.e., the central axes CX, perpendicular to the X direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the six gas tanks 40 are aligned with their nozzles 44 pointing downward, and the central axes CX are aligned parallel to the Z direction. This allows the longitudinal length of the vehicle 10 to be shorter than when the longitudinal axes of the gas tanks 40 are aligned parallel to the longitudinal direction. The six gas tanks 40 are aligned symmetrically and equidistantly with respect to the center position of the vehicle 10 in the lateral direction. This improves the stability and driving performance of the vehicle 10. Furthermore, by arranging the gas tanks 40 between the seat 20 and the cargo bed 30, it is possible to facilitate the passenger C's getting in and out of the vehicle. For example, it is also possible to arrange the gas tanks 40 along the floor 73. However, in this case, the arrangement of the gas tanks 40 may limit the space available for the passenger C's feet. In this regard, in this embodiment, by arranging the gas tank 40 between the seat 20 and the cargo bed 30, space for storing the legs of the occupant C can be secured. In particular, in this embodiment, the vehicle 10 is used for home delivery, and therefore the occupant C gets in and out frequently. Therefore, by making it easier to get in and out of the vehicle 10, the convenience of the vehicle 10 can be improved.

[0017] Furthermore, by mounting multiple gas tanks 40 on the vehicle 10, the cruising distance of the vehicle 10 can be increased while limiting the length of the gas tank 40 in the Z direction. If the length of the gas tank 40 in the longitudinal direction is increased, the center of gravity of the vehicle 10 will be higher, which may reduce the stability and driving performance of the vehicle 10. In this regard, in the present embodiment, by mounting multiple gas tanks 40, the capacity of fuel gas mounted on the vehicle 10 can be increased, and the cruising distance of the vehicle 10 can be increased while limiting the length of the gas tank 40 in the Z direction. The length of the gas tank 40 in the longitudinal direction is approximately 80 cm or more and 100 cm or less. The length of the gas tank 40 in the transverse direction, i.e., the diameter, is approximately 100 mm. The cruising distance per fill-up is approximately 100 km.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2 , the tank arrangement chamber 50 further includes a manifold 55, an on-off valve 56, and a safety valve 57. The manifold 55 has a first flow path 55a and multiple second flow paths 55b branching from the first flow path 55a. A connecting port (not shown) that can be connected to the nozzle 44 is formed at the end of the second flow path 55b. The gas tank 40 is connected to the manifold 55 by connecting the nozzle 44 to the connecting port of the manifold 55, for example, by screwing. This allows communication between the internal space of the gas tank 40 and the first flow path 55a of the manifold 55 via the second flow path 55b. The on-off valve 56 is attached to the first flow path 55a of the manifold 55, which is a flow path that communicates with the gas tank 40, and opens and closes the first flow path 55a. The safety valve 57 is attached to the first flow path 55a of the manifold 55. The safety valve 57 is disposed on the underside 50a of the tank arrangement chamber 50. Being disposed on the underside 50a of the tank mounting chamber 50 means that no other components disposed in the tank mounting chamber 50 are disposed below the safety valve 57. When the internal pressure of the gas tank 40 increases, the safety valve 57 discharges fuel gas from inside the gas tank 40 toward the bottom of the vehicle 10. By installing the safety valve 57 so as to discharge fuel gas toward the bottom of the vehicle 10, the safety of the vehicle 10 can be improved.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel cell 90 is disposed below the seat 20. This lowers the center of gravity of the vehicle 10, improving driving performance. The fuel cell 90 generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between fuel gas and oxidizing gas. The fuel gas stored in the gas tank 40 flows through a first flow path 55a and a second flow path 55b formed in the manifold 55, a flow path within the on-off valve 56, and a fuel cell flow path 81, and is supplied to the fuel cell 90.

[0020] In this embodiment, a filler port 75 is provided on the left side of the vehicle 10. The filler port 75 is a filler port for fuel gas, and a nozzle provided on a dispenser at a hydrogen station is attached to the filler port 75 during filling. The filler port 75 and the on-off valve 56 are connected via a filler port flow path 82. The fuel gas flowing in from the filler port 75 flows through the filler port flow path 82, the flow path within the on-off valve 56, and the first flow path 55a and the second flow path 55b formed in the manifold 55, and is filled into the gas tank 40. The filler port 75 may be provided on the right side of the vehicle 10 instead of the left side.

[0021] 2, the on-off valve 56 is disposed on a side surface of the tank mounting chamber 50. This shortens the flow path of fuel gas to the filler port 75 disposed on the side surface of the vehicle 10. "Disposed on the side surface of the tank mounting chamber 50" means that no other components disposed in the tank mounting chamber 50 are disposed outside the on-off valve 56 in the left-right direction in the tank mounting chamber 50. Furthermore, the on-off valve 56 is disposed below the center position CP of the tank mounting chamber 50 in the up-down direction. This shortens the flow path of fuel gas to the fuel cell 90 disposed below the seat 20.

[0022] According to the first embodiment described above, the vehicle 10 includes the seat 20, the luggage rack 30 adjacent to the seat 20, and the gas tank 40 disposed in the tank arrangement chamber 50 between the seat 20 and the luggage rack 30. By disposing the gas tank 40 between the seat 20 and the luggage rack 30, the gas tank 40 can be disposed compactly. Furthermore, the gas tank 40 can be protected from impacts in the front-rear direction in the event of an accident.

[0023] The vehicle 10 also has a gas tank frame 51 that supports the gas tank 40. The gas tank 40 is housed within the gas tank frame 51, which protects the gas tank 40 from impacts. The seat back 22 of the seat 20 is fixed to the gas tank frame 51. This allows the seat back 22 to be positioned compactly.

[0024] The multiple gas tanks 40 are also arranged with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle 10. This allows the multiple gas tanks 40 to be arranged compactly. The vehicle 10 also includes a manifold 55 that communicates with each of the multiple gas tanks 40. This allows the fuel gas supplied from the fill port 75 to be filled into the multiple gas tanks 40, and the fuel gas to be supplied from the multiple gas tanks 40 to the fuel cell 90 to be efficiently supplied.

[0025] The vehicle 10 also includes an on-off valve 56 that is located on the side of the tank placement chamber 50, below the vertical center position CP of the tank placement chamber 50. This shortens the flow path of fuel gas to the fuel cell 90 located below the vehicle 10. It also shortens the flow path to the fill port 75 located on the side of the vehicle 10.

[0026] The vehicle 10 also includes a safety valve 57 that is disposed on the underside 50a of the tank mounting chamber 50 and that discharges fuel gas from inside the gas tank 40 toward the bottom of the vehicle 10 when the internal pressure of the gas tank 40 increases. As a result, the fuel gas discharged from the safety valve 57 is released below the vehicle 10, thereby improving the safety of the vehicle 10.

[0027] B. Second embodiment: FIG. 3 is a front view showing a tank arrangement chamber 50 according to the second embodiment. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the number of gas tanks 40 and the orientation of the gas tanks 40. Specifically, in this embodiment, eight gas tanks 40 are arranged in the vehicle 10. The eight gas tanks 40 are arranged with the direction of their central axes CX parallel to the Y direction and with all of the gas tanks 40 oriented in the same direction. This allows the length of the vehicle 10 in the longitudinal direction to be shorter than when the longitudinal directions of the gas tanks 40 are arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction, as in the first embodiment.

[0028] In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the tank arrangement chamber 50 includes a manifold 55, an on-off valve 56, and a safety valve 57. Unlike the first embodiment, the manifold 55 is disposed in a direction extending in the Z direction in accordance with the arrangement of the gas tank 40. The on-off valve 56 and the safety valve 57 are disposed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0029] According to the second embodiment described above, the multiple gas tanks 40 are arranged with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle 10. This allows the multiple gas tanks 40 to be arranged compactly.

[0030] C. Other Embodiments: (C1) In the first embodiment, the vehicle 10 runs using electric power generated by the fuel cell 90. The driving mode of the wheels of the vehicle 10 is not limited to that in the first embodiment. For example, the vehicle 10 may be driven by a hydrogen engine that generates driving force by burning hydrogen gas as a fuel gas, or an engine that generates driving force by burning natural gas as a fuel gas.

[0031] (C2) In the first embodiment, the vehicle 10 is a three-wheeled vehicle with one front wheel 61 and two rear wheels 62, but the present invention can also be applied to a two-wheeled vehicle with one front wheel 61 and one rear wheel 62. The present invention can also be applied to a three-wheeled vehicle with two front wheels 61 and one rear wheel 62. Regardless of the number or arrangement of the wheels, the gas tank 40 can be arranged compactly by arranging the gas tank 40 between the seat 20 and the cargo bed 30.

[0032] (C3) In the first embodiment, the vehicle 10 is provided with the roof 71, but the vehicle 10 may be configured without the roof 71.

[0033] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features of the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention section can be appropriately replaced or combined to solve some or all of the above-described problems or achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 10...vehicle, 20...seat, 21...seat cushion, 22...seat back, 30...cargo bed, 31...cargo bed frame, 40...gas tank, 41...cylindrical portion, 42, 43...dome portion, 44...mouthpiece, 50...tank placement chamber, 50a...underside, 51...gas tank frame, 55...manifold, 55a...first flow path, 55b...second flow path, 56...opening / closing valve, 57...safety valve, 61...front wheels, 62...rear wheels, 71...roof, 72...steering wheel, 73...floor, 74...front cover, 75...filling port, 81...fuel cell flow path, 82...filling port flow path, 90...fuel cell, C...occupant, CP...center position, CX...center axis

Claims

1. A vehicle that runs on a driving force generated by fuel gas and has one front wheel or one rear wheel and two wheels, a plurality of gas tanks for storing the fuel gas; A seat for the passengers to sit on, a luggage rack adjacent to the seat, The plurality of gas tanks are arranged so that their longitudinal axes are parallel to the left-right direction of the vehicle and are aligned along the vertical direction, The vehicle, wherein the plurality of gas tanks are arranged in a tank arrangement chamber between the seat and the luggage compartment.

2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, The vehicle is a small vehicle, and the loading platform is box-shaped.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, The vehicle has one front wheel and two rear wheels.

4. 4. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: a gas tank frame supporting the plurality of gas tanks; The seat has a seat back that supports the back of the occupant, The vehicle, wherein the seat back is fixed to the gas tank frame.

5. 5. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: The vehicle includes a manifold in communication with each of the plurality of gas tanks.

6. 6. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: an on-off valve that opens and closes a flow path that communicates with the plurality of gas tanks; The on-off valve is The vehicle is arranged on a side surface of the tank arrangement chamber, below the center position of the tank arrangement chamber in the vertical direction.

7. 7. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: A vehicle comprising a safety valve disposed on the underside of the tank placement chamber, which discharges the fuel gas from inside the gas tank toward below the vehicle when the internal pressure of any of the plurality of gas tanks increases.

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