Fuel Fill Venting Assembly With Flexible Hose Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fuel tanks with rigidly attached fuel inlets face challenges such as imprecise openings, increased packaging and shipping difficulties, and potential damage due to heat and vibration, necessitating a more versatile and flexible fuel fill system.
Innovation Solution
A multi-piece design for fuel tanks and filler necks, where the tank and neck are manufactured separately using different materials and techniques, connected via a flexible hose, allowing for improved alignment and reduced damage, and enabling more efficient packaging and assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid fuel inlet is attached to the fuel tank, then the structure is simple and strong, but it cannot accommodate imprecise openings and is vulnerable to damage from heat and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel inlet assembly is divided into separate components: a rigid fuel tank body and a flexible hose assembly with the fuel inlet opening. This segmentation allows the rigid tank to maintain structural strength while the flexible hose accommodates position variations and reduces damage from thermal expansion and vibration.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible hose is used to connect the fuel tank to the fuel inlet opening. The flexible material allows the hose to bend and stretch, accommodating imprecise openings and absorbing the effects of heat and vibration that would damage a rigid connection.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid fuel inlet is used, then the structure is stable, but additional space is required for packaging and shipping
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the fuel tank from the fuel inlet assembly and connecting them with a flexible hose, the components can be packaged separately in a compact arrangement, reducing overall packaging volume while maintaining structural stability during use.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible hose can be coiled or folded and stored within or alongside the fuel tank assembly, allowing compact packaging. The rigid fuel tank provides structural stability when assembled, while the nested arrangement minimizes packaging space.
3Device complexity
If a rigid fuel inlet is attached to the fuel tank, then the assembly is simple, but it increases vulnerability to damage during handling
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel system is segmented into a rigid tank body and a flexible inlet assembly connected by a hose. This allows the simple rigid tank structure while the flexible connection protects against damage during handling by absorbing shocks and misalignments.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible hose acts as a protective element that absorbs handling damage, thermal stress, and vibration, protecting the rigid fuel tank and fuel inlet components while adding minimal complexity to the overall assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
An example fluid container configured to receive a fluid, with a filler neck configured to channel the fluid from an inlet into the fluid container. In some examples, a flexible hose connects the fluid container to the filler neck.