Vehicle Tank Attachment Structure for Floor Panel Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles with continuous passenger and cargo compartments face challenges in maintaining floor panel rigidity and ride quality due to the absence of reinforcement members, leading to potential deformation and instability, especially when subjected to lateral loads during turning.
Innovation Solution
A tank attachment structure featuring a floor panel with a raised portion and an opening, utilizing a lower plate with a greater width than upper bands to increase rigidity, and cross members for strong fixation, which allows the tank to be securely attached without additional reinforcement, enhancing the structural integrity and stability of the floor panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a floor panel with an opening is used to accommodate a tank, then space utilization is improved, but rigidity of the floor panel in the lateral direction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A reinforcement member is introduced as an intermediary element between the floor panel and the tank. This reinforcement member spans across the opening in the floor panel, providing lateral support and preventing deformation while allowing the opening to remain for tank accommodation. The reinforcement member acts as a mediator that resolves the conflict between needing an opening for space utilization and maintaining floor panel rigidity.
2Volume of moving object
If a raised portion is provided on the floor panel to accommodate the tank, then space utilization is improved, but rigidity of the floor panel further deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement member serves as a mediator that compensates for the rigidity loss caused by the raised portion. By positioning the reinforcement member to span across the opening and provide additional support, it counteracts the weakening effect of the raised portion while maintaining the space-saving configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement member provides localized strengthening at the critical area where the opening and raised portion create weakness. Instead of making the entire floor panel thicker or more rigid, the reinforcement is applied locally where needed to maintain overall rigidity while preserving the space-utilizing features.
3Device complexity
If no reinforcement member is installed, then device complexity is reduced, but ride quality and operation stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The floor panel structure is segmented into distinct functional elements: the floor panel itself, the raised portion for tank accommodation, the opening for access, and the separate reinforcement member. This segmentation allows each element to perform its specific function while maintaining overall system performance. The reinforcement member is a separate, relatively simple component that can be easily installed and removed.
Data Source
AI summary
The tank attachment structure includes a floor panel (2) having a raised portion (11) and an opening (12) protruding toward a passenger compartment, a tank (4) disposed inside the raised portion (11), a plurality of upper bands (5) configured to cover the tank (4) from above, a lower plate (6) connected to the upper bands (5), and a pair of cross members (3) provided in front of and behind the tank (4) and extending in the vehicle width direction. The lower plate (6) has a width dimension greater than that of the upper bands (5) in a vehicle width direction and is provided by the number smaller than that of the upper bands (5) to cover the opening (12). A front end portion (26) and a rear end portion (28) of the lower plate (6) are attached to the pair of cross members (3), respectively.