FUEL TANK
Fuel tank for a motor vehicle having a tank housing (1) that encapsulates a fuel space (2) divided by means of a number of lateral stiffening partitioning wall (4, 5) into fuel chambers (8, 9). These communicate with each other via openings (10-15) in the partitioning walls. The tank exhibits an outlet member (116) with a chosen position in one of the fuel chambers where the opening is delimited all around by means of an opening edge (26) which is arranged within the partitioning wall with a distance to the bottom of the tank. In one or more of the openings between the fuel chambers, a back valve (22) is arranged. By means of the clack valve, flow is permitted to the fuel chamber (7) with the outlet member (16), but in the opposite direction the flow is completely or partially prevented by means of which, in case of a sloping of the tank in its longitudinal direction, fuel is retained in the fuel chamber in which the outlet member is positioned.
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The present application is a continuation patent application of International Application No. PCT/SE03/01205 filed 14 Jul. 2003 which was published in English pursuant to Article 21(2) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and which claims priority to Swedish Application No. 0202268-9 filed 19 Jul. 2002. Said applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a fuel tanks; and more particularly to fuel tanks for vehicles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFuel tanks, such as those used in vehicles, are usually partitioned into sections with intermediate walls in order to prevent the fuel from sloshing around in the tank when driving (accelerating and turning) about and braking due to the risk that the fuel's relative position (level) within the tank can change so much that it falls below the opening of the outlet pipe. When a vehicle is oriented at a slope and the fuel level is low, it is still possible to end up with the fuel level being below the opening of the fuel outlet pipe, with the consequence being that the engine stalls because of lack of fuel and stops running.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA primary purpose or objective of the present invention is to provide a fuel tank in which the above-described disadvantage(s) are reduced. This purpose is obtained at least in part by way of the invention's arrangement in which fuel is retained where the fuel outlet (member) is positioned so that the influence of a shifting fuel level is reduced, especially when the vehicle is oriented at an angle (with respect to horizontal) and therefore the risk of operational interruption is reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe invention will be described in greater detail hereinbelow with reference to two embodiments depicted in the accompanying drawings, and in which:
For the sake of simplicity, the accompanying figures only show a fuel tank as such. The tank is intended to be arranged in a motor vehicle, primarily a truck, in order to provide fuel to the engine during operation. The tank is normally elongate, and suspended by suspension means (that are not shown) at the outside of the main beam of the vehicle frame, on the right or left hand side. The tank is normally horizontally positioned when the vehicle is in a horizontal position.
With reference first to
In one of the chambers (in the example of
According to the invention, a bottom opening 12 in at least one of the partitioning walls 4 is provided with a clack valve 22, which is thus arranged to permit flow in only one of the directions from the one chamber 8 to the other chamber 7, but to block or at least severely restrict flow through this opening to this opposite direction. The back valve is turned so that it permits flow in the direction in towards the chamber 7, where the outer member 16 is positioned, i.e in the example shown from the intermediate chamber 8 to one of the outer chambers 7, in the example shown the front chamber.
In the example shown in
When a fuel tank configured according to the teachings of the present invention experiences the same type of low fuel level as described immediately above (the tank becomes inclined/declined as a result of the carrying vehicle being on a slope relative to the direction of travel 6), the clack valve 22 is kept closed due to the influence of the fuel pressure in the fuel chamber 7. This prevents the fuel in a fuel chamber 7, even at the beginning of a slope, from flowing to the other two fuel chambers 8, 9 so that it is maintained the front fuel chamber around the suction pipe 18 with an unchanged level as indicated by the upper leaning dotted line 30. This unchanged line occurs on the condition that the suction pipe 18 is positioned essentially symmetrically in the fuel chamber 7 as regards at least the longitudinal direction of the chamber as shown in
When the vehicle travels along an essentially horizontal road and the fuel tank is in an essentially horizontal position, or when the vehicle is positioned in a downwards slope as seen in the direction of travel, fuel can freely flow between the fuel chambers by means of the clack valve 22 being kept open. As a result, fuel can continuously flow over to the front fuel chamber where the outlet member is positioned; a feature that is a necessary condition for utilization of the fuel from the other chambers.
In a second embodiment as illustrated in
The outlet member 116 is attached to the tank on its topside 117, and is connected to the fuel pipe at that location, and which, via a fuel pump (that is not shown) leads to the vehicle engine that is fuelled by means of the fuel in the tank. From the fuel tank, there is a stiff suction pipe 18 that protrudes downwards into the tank to a level where the pipe ends with an opening 19 at a distance above the bottom 120 of the tank. In practice, the opening can consist of several smaller openings which can be directed sideways at the lower end of the pipe and include a fuel filter in order to prevent particles being swept along from the bottom of the tank. To this end, the opening 119 is thus not arranged immediately at the bottom. The filling member 121 is placed at a higher level of the tank, and in the example shown, in the same fuel chamber as the outer member 116. In this case, both the outlet member and the filling member 121 are placed in the middle fuel chamber, but can in principle be placed in any of the other chambers and also in different chambers. The advantage of symmetrically, centrally placed outer members 116, is that the same tank can be placed either to the right or the left of the vehicle with the same length of the fuel conduit. It can in this context be an advantage that the filling member is also centrally placed.
According to the invention, the fuel tank of the second embodiment is also provided with an arrangement to permit the flow of fuel at a low level through the respective partitioning walls 104, 105 in one of the directions from a chamber to an adjacent chamber. The arrangement also blocks, or severely limits flow in the opposite direction. In the second embodiment, clack valves 131, 132 are arranged in the two partitioning walls 104, 105. These are also arranged in separate openings 133, 134 at a lower position in a respective partitioning wall; i.e., below the other openings 110, 111, 112. The clack valves can in their simplest embodiment be designed in the same way as in the first embodiment; that is, in the form of a pivotally suspended valve 124 at a point 123 above the opening which is arranged to, in closed position, to seal the entire opening 133, 134, but to also swing outwards in the case of overpressure of the opposite side of the partitioning wall.
When driving on an essentially horizontal road (shown in
Important aspects concerning the fuel level are that the through flow of the clack valve of the respective openings 133, 134 in the partitioning walls 104,105 be below the fuel consumption of the engine; that is, the flow in the outlet member 116. Another important aspect is the height, H, from the bottom of the tank 120 to the lower most part of the larger through flowing holes 112 as is the distance, D, between the partitioning walls 104, 105.
Another advantage with the second embodiment is that a very limited filling of an empty tank will give a better degree of utilization of the volume available since the clack valves 131, 132, when filling in the horizontal position, are kept closed and through flow does not take place until the fuel level reaches the most large overflow opening 112.
It should be appreciated that invention is not limited to that which is described above and shown in the drawings, but can be varied in different ways and still be within the scope of the patented claims.
For example, a number of intermediate walls can be present, or just one single partition can be implemented that divides the fuel area into two fuel chambers. For example, there can be one, two, three or even more partitioning walls. The filling member can in principle be positioned in any of the fuel chambers, for instance, w either of the outer chambers. In a tank with three partitioning walls, four chambers are obtained—two outer chambers and two intermediate chambers, but the filling member can still be positioned in any of the chambers.
It should also be appreciated that larger overflow holes can also be positioned and arranged in a manner different than that which has been shown. Above, the example shows essentially rectangular cross section(s) and circular cross section(s)—but it is also possible to combine the two shapes so that there is an asymmetrical cross section of shape, for example an essentially rectangular cross sectional shape of one side of a vertical axis of symmetry, and a semicircular cross sectional shape on the other side. Among other configurations, partitioning walls can be oblique, and directed and shaped in other ways.
The expression casing wall(s) of the tank refers to that or those walls which encapsulate the tank with the exception of the gable walls regardless of shape. Furthermore, the tank housing is manufactured in a material of even thickness such as steel plating, preferably stainless steel, but plastic tanks with a homogenous wall thickness are also possible.
Claims
1. A fuel tank for motor vehicles comprising:
- a tank housing encapsulating a fuel space divided by at least one lateral stiffening partition wall into a plurality of fuel chambers, said fuel chambers being in fluid communication via a plurality of partition wall openings;
- an outlet member positioned in one of the fuel chambers; and
- a clack valve arranged at one of said openings between the fuel chambers thereby establishing a valved opening, said valved opening being circumferentially delimited by an opening edge configured in the partition wall and positioned at a distance from a bottom of the tank, said clack valve being arranged to permit flow to the fuel chamber having the outlet member and to at least partially prevent flow in an opposite direction so that when the tank is inclined relative to a longitudinal direction thereof, fuel is retained in the fuel chamber with the outlet member.
2. The fuel tank as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
- a bi-directional flow opening arranged at a height above the bottom of the tank above said valved opening.
3. The fuel tank as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
- at least two partition walls, one of which has a lower opening provided with a clack valve and with the outlet member being positioned in an outer chamber delimited by a partition wall with a clack valve.
4. The fuel tank as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
- at least two partition walls, both of which have a lower opening provided with a clack valve arranged to permit flow from an outer chamber to a middle chamber in which the outlet member is positioned.
5. The fuel tank as recited in claim 4, further comprising:
- a filling member of the tank being connected to the tank housing at one of the outer chambers.
6. The fuel tank as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
- three partitioning walls wherein lower openings in the partition walls are provided with clack valves which are arranged to allow flow from the outer chambers to the chamber where the outlet member is positioned.
7. The fuel tank as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
- four partitioning walls in which a lower opening in each is provided with a clack valve arranged to allow flow to the chamber where the outer member is positioned.
8. The fuel tank as recited in claim 3, further comprising:
- said filling member of the tank being connected to the tank housing in middle chamber.
9. The fuel tank as recited in claim 1, wherein each partitioning wall is arranged with two openings that permit bi-directional flow.
10. The fuel tank as recited in claim 1, wherein a lower opening is provided with a clack valve and three other openings permit flow in both directions and are positioned at different heights.
11. The fuel tank as recited in claim 1, wherein the tank is attached to a frame of the vehicle by fastening devices so that the tank comprises at least two partitioning walls, each having fastening devices that extend around the tank at positions that include at least two of the partitioning walls.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 17, 2005
Publication Date: Feb 14, 2008
Applicant: VOLVO LASTVAGNAR AB (Goteborg)
Inventors: Rolf Ohlsson (Nol), Sigund Sonderegger (Askim)
Application Number: 10/905,689
International Classification: B65D 25/04 (20060101);