FUEL TANK OF MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

The fuel tank has an indentation inside which its inlet is positioned. An elastic fuel pipe is provided so that a bottom end of the fuel pipe is fixedly attached to the inlet of the fuel tank. Due to its elasticity, the fuel pipe could easily have its top end aligned with and attached to a fuel inlet of the motor vehicle. A cap is then plugged into the fuel pipe's top end to seal the fuel tank.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to fuel tanks of motor vehicles, and more particularly to a fuel tank especially suitable for dune buggies.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

A dune buggy is a recreational vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. It is also commonly referred to as a beach buggy, air buggy, sand rail, etc. A conventional fuel tank for this type of motor vehicles is shown in FIG. 1. As illustrated, the fuel tank 1 has an inlet on a top side 11, which is sealed by a cap 12. To mount the fuel tank 1 to the frame of a dune buggy, in order to tolerate the inaccuracy of the buggy's frame assembly, the bolt holes for fixing the fuel tank 1 usually are slot-shaped. Even though this approach does provide some flexibility, the assembly time and production cost would inevitably be increased. The difficult terrains where the dune buggy operates in would often cause the fuel tank 1 to break loose from these slotted blot holes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, a novel fuel tank is provided herein to obviate the foregoing shortcomings of the conventional fuel tank so that the fuel tank could be easily and quickly installed.

The fuel tank has an indentation inside which its inlet is positioned. An elastic fuel pipe is provided so that a bottom end of the fuel pipe is fixedly attached to the inlet of the fuel tank. Due to its elasticity, the fuel pipe could easily have its top end aligned with and attached to a fuel inlet of the motor vehicle. A cap is then plugged into the fuel pipe's top end to seal the fuel tank.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram showing a conventional fuel tank.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram showing a fuel tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram showing the fuel tank of FIG. 2 without the locking plate.

FIG. 4 is a sectional diagram showing the fuel tank of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the mounting of the fuel tank of FIG. 2 to the frame of a motor vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a fuel tank 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a hollow body and its inlet is positioned inside an indentation 21 on a top side of the body. A fuel pipe 3 is joined to and extended from the inlet. The fuel pipe 3 has an elastic tubular body 31 that could be lengthened, shortened, and swayed to a side. The fuel pipe 3 has a first ring 32 and a second ring 33 surrounding a bottom end and a top end of the body 31, respectively. The first ring 32 is for fixing the fuel pipe 3 to the indentation 21. The fuel pipe 3 further has a locking ring 4, also surrounding the body 31, between the first and second rings 32 and 33 and positioned right beneath the second ring 33. A number of locking holes 41 are provided on the locking ring 4, surrounding the second ring 33. As further shown in FIG. 4, an opening 22 is provided on a side wall of the indentation 21 and an air tube 23 connects the opening 22 to the fuel pipe 3.

The installation of the fuel tank 2 to a motor vehicle 6 is shown in FIG. 5. As illustrated, bolts are driven through the locking holes 41 into a frame 5 of the motor vehicle 6 so that the locking ring 4, and therefore the second ring 33, are fixedly attached to the frame 5 and the top end of the fuel pipe 3 is precisely aligned and tightly connected to a fuel inlet 61 of the motor vehicle 6. Then a cap 7 is plugged into the top end of the fuel pipe 3 to seal the fuel tank 2.

As the fuel pipe 3's elasticity, it could easily tolerate any inaccuracy in the assembly of the motor vehicle. The installation of the fuel tank 2 is therefore simplified and less troublesome. Additionally, the air tube 23 allows extraneous air inside the fuel tank 2 to be expelled via the fuel pipe 3.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fuel tank of a motor vehicle, comprising:

a hollow body having an indentation inside which an inlet is positioned;

an elastic fuel pipe whose bottom end is fixedly joined to said inlet and whose top end is fixedly attached to a frame of said motor vehicle and aligned with a fuel inlet of said motor vehicle; and a cap plugged into said top end of said fuel pipe to seal said fuel tank.

2. The fuel tank according to claim 1, wherein said fuel pipe comprises a first ring and a second ring surrounding a bottom end and a top end of said fuel pipe.

3. The fuel tank according to claim 1, further comprising an air tube connecting an opening on a side wall of said indentation to said fuel pipe.