Movable Hydrogen Fill Port for Compact Work Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of connecting a filling nozzle to a gas fill port in a working vehicle with complex vehicle body structures, such as tractors, and the inconvenience of high bulk during transportation when fuel tanks or fuel cells are positioned on the upper portion of the cabin.
Innovation Solution
A working vehicle with a moving mechanism that includes a swing frame and a bendable extension pipe to adjust the position and direction of the gas fill port, allowing easy connection and reducing bulk by moving fuel cells or tanks relative to the vehicle body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the gas fill port is embedded in the filling lid box of the vehicle body, then the vehicle body structure is compact, but it is difficult to connect the filling nozzle to the gas fill port and the filling work cannot be smoothly performed
Solution Approach 1:
The gas fill port is made movable relative to the vehicle body through a moving mechanism, allowing it to change position between a retracted state (embedded in the vehicle body for compactness) and an extended state (protruding for easy nozzle connection). This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between structural compactness and operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas fill port can be nested within the vehicle body structure when not in use, similar to how smaller objects are nested within larger ones. The moving mechanism allows the gas fill port to be stored inside the vehicle body contour, reducing overall vehicle dimensions while maintaining accessibility when needed.
2Ease of operation
If the tank or fuel cell is provided on the upper portion of the cabin, then the ease of filling fuel into the tank is improved, but the bulk of the cargo becomes high and transportation becomes inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The tank or fuel cell is positioned on a movable platform that can adjust its height relative to the vehicle body. During fueling operations, the platform raises the tank to an elevated position for easy access. During transportation, the platform lowers the tank to reduce cargo bulk, thus resolving the contradiction between fueling ease and transportation efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
To provide a working vehicle (1) having high performance of gas filling work of hydrogen gas. A working vehicle (1) includes a vehicle body (2); a traveling device (4) to support the vehicle body (2) such that the vehicle body (2) is allowed to travel; a hydrogen tank (5) to store hydrogen gas; a driving device (6) to drive the traveling device (4) using the hydrogen gas as an energy source; a gas fill port (13) to allow a gas fill nozzle (G1) of an external hydrogen gas supplier (GS) to be connected thereto when the hydrogen tank (5) is supplied with the hydrogen gas; and a moving mechanism (14) to couple the vehicle body (2) and the gas fill port (13) to each other and to move relative positions of the gas fill port (13) and the vehicle body (2).