Fuel Tank Inlet Separator Layout for Common Cap Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing fuel tank designs for both mechanical key and smart key specifications face challenges in maintaining a consistent basic structure and reducing manufacturing costs due to differences in cap size and structure, leading to increased costs and the need for separate manufacturing equipment.
Innovation Solution
A fuel tank design that incorporates a separator for gas-liquid fuel separation, positioned externally and supported by the inlet plate, allowing the tank cap to maintain a consistent size and structure across both specifications, reducing manufacturing costs by utilizing existing equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separator is integrated into the tank cap structure, then gas-liquid separation function is achieved, but the cap size and structure become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The separator is separated from the tank cap structure and positioned in the storage space instead. This segmentation allows the cap to maintain its simple original structure while the separator provides the gas-liquid separation function independently, resolving the contradiction between achieving separation function and maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The separator function is extracted from the tank cap assembly and placed as a separate component supported by the inlet plate. This extraction eliminates the need to increase cap size or complexity while still achieving the required gas-liquid separation, directly addressing the technical contradiction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different cap structures are used for mechanical key and smart key specifications, then specific functional requirements are met, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tank cap is designed with a universal basic structure that can be used for both mechanical key and smart key specifications. The separator configuration enables this cap structure to serve multiple specification types without modification, achieving specification adaptability while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through standardized production processes.
3Reliability
If the separator is positioned inside the tank cap, then separation function is achieved, but the cap size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The separator is extracted from the tank cap and repositioned in the storage space, supported by the inlet plate. This relocation achieves the gas-liquid separation function while preventing any increase in cap size, as the separator now occupies space outside the cap assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The separator is moved from a position within the cap (one dimensional arrangement) to a position in the storage space supported by the inlet plate (different spatial arrangement). This dimensional repositioning allows the separator to function independently without constraining cap dimensions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design ensures the tank cap size is not increased by the separator, maintaining a common basic structure for both mechanical key and smart key specifications, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and enabling efficient production.
Implementation Method 1
a separator (61) that separates the fuel entering from the storage space S into a liquid component and a gas component
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel tank includes a tank panel in which a storage space of a fuel is formed, a tank inlet fixed to the tank panel, and a tank cap that allows the tank inlet to be opened and closed. The tank inlet includes a bottomed cylindrical inlet plate to which the tank cap is attached, an inlet pipe that protrudes from a bottom wall of the inlet plate into the storage space, and a separator configured to separate the fuel entering from the storage space into a liquid component and a gas component. The separator is supported by the bottom wall of the inlet plate in the storage space, and the separator is disposed on an outer side of the inlet pipe and on an inner side relative to an outer edge of the inlet plate in a bottom view of the tank inlet.