JP2005186833A - Vehicle fuel tank and vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular fuel tank arrangement structure capable of ensuring a sufficient capacity without impairing merchantability even when a fuel tank is arranged under the floor, and further suppressing fuel flow noise.
SOLUTION: A floor panel 4 corresponding to the front seat side is formed with a bulging portion 7 that bulges toward the passenger compartment with respect to the floor surface, and extends rearward of the vehicle continuously to the bulging portion 7. The front / rear bulging portion 8 that swells toward the passenger compartment is formed, the main body portion 22 of the fuel tank 21 is disposed below the bulging portion 7, and the front / rear portion 23 of the fuel tank 21 is disposed below the front / rear bulging portion 8. In addition, the capacity of the fuel tank 21 is increased by the volume of the front and rear portion 23, the length of the tank in the front and rear direction is increased, the cycle in which the fuel undulates in the vehicle front and rear direction is increased, and the frequency of the flow noise is increased. Reduce.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle fuel tank and a vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various techniques for arranging a fuel tank under a driver's seat or a passenger seat have been proposed in order to effectively use a space in a passenger compartment (for example, Patent Document 1). In the prior art, the floor panel under the driver's seat and the passenger seat is inflated toward the passenger compartment to form an inflated portion, and a fuel tank is disposed below the inflated portion. For this reason, the fuel tank can be arranged by effectively using the space under the driver's seat and passenger seat, the space in the passenger compartment can be expanded, and passenger space and luggage can be stored without increasing the size of the vehicle. Sufficient space can be secured.

  When the fuel tank is placed under the driver's or passenger's floor, it is necessary to secure the foot space of the occupant of the front seat 30 on the floor panel in front of the driver's or passenger's seat. It is necessary to secure the foot space for passengers in the rear seats on the floor panel. For this reason, in the prior art, the size of the bulging portion that bulges to the passenger compartment side of the floor panel is limited, and the maximum capacity of the fuel tank is limited. Further, since the fuel tank is present under the driver's seat (residential space), the fuel flow noise can be easily heard by the occupant (especially the driver who always rides).

JP 2000-85382 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above prior art, and provides a fuel tank for a vehicle that can secure a sufficient capacity even when placed under the floor and can suppress fuel flow noise. With the goal.

  Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above prior art, and even when a fuel tank is arranged under the floor, a sufficient capacity can be ensured without impairing the merchantability, and fuel flow noise is suppressed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure that can be used.

The vehicle fuel tank of the present invention according to claim 1 for solving the above object is as follows.
A fuel tank for a vehicle disposed under a vehicle floor,
A main body portion extending in the width direction of the vehicle is provided, and front and rear portions extending continuously in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided continuously to the main body portion.

The vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure of the present invention according to claim 2 for solving the above object is as follows.
A bulging portion that bulges toward the passenger compartment side with respect to the floor surface is formed at a portion corresponding to the front seat 30 side of the floor panel of the vehicle having at least two rows of seats in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and is continuous with the bulging portion. Extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and bulging toward the passenger compartment side to form a front-rear bulge portion that is narrower in the vehicle width direction than the bulge portion,
A vehicle fuel tank is disposed below the bulging portion and the front and rear bulging portions,
The fuel tank includes a main body portion that extends in a vehicle width direction and is disposed at a lower portion of the bulging portion of the floor panel, and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle continuously to the main body portion. The front and rear parts arranged at the lower part of the protruding part are continuously provided in the main body part.

And this invention which concerns on Claim 3 is
The vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure according to claim 2,
The floor panel is a front side floor panel extending to the foot of the last row of seats,
The front and rear parts of the vehicle fuel tank are provided extending to the vehicle rear side of the main body part,
The rear end of the front and rear portions is located at the rear end of the floor panel.

The present invention according to claim 4
The vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure according to claim 3,
The floor panel is provided in a skeleton member composed of a side member and a cross member,
The lower surface of the front and rear portions of the vehicle fuel tank is located above the lower surface of the main body,
The front and rear portions are arranged above the cross member.

The present invention according to claim 5
In the arrangement structure of the fuel tank for vehicles according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
A filler pipe that connects a fuel filler port and a vehicle fuel tank is connected to the front and rear ends of the vehicle fuel tank.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the front and rear portions that extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided continuously to the main body portion, whereby the capacity of the fuel tank can be increased by the volume of the front-rear portion, and the length of the tank in the front-rear direction is increased. The frequency of fuel waving in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle during braking and acceleration can be lengthened, reducing the frequency of dripping sound (flowing sound) that occurs when waves hit the front and rear walls and fall. be able to. In addition, the distance that the wave travels between the front and back wall surfaces becomes longer, the wave is attenuated, and the magnitude of the flowing sound can be reduced. For this reason, even if it arrange | positions under a floor, it becomes possible to set it as the vehicle fuel tank which can fully ensure capacity | capacitance and can suppress a fuel flow noise.

  According to the present invention of claim 2, the floor panel corresponding to the front seat side is formed with a bulging portion that bulges toward the passenger compartment with respect to the floor surface, and is continuous with the bulging portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. A fuel tank provided with a front and rear bulging portion that extends in the vehicle compartment side and has a width narrower than the bulging portion and that extends continuously in the front and rear direction of the vehicle is applied to the bulging portion. Since the main body of the fuel tank is arranged at the lower part of the fuel tank and the front and rear parts are arranged at the lower part of the front and rear bulge part, the capacity of the fuel tank can be increased by the volume of the front and rear parts, and the length of the tank in the front and rear direction is increased. The frequency of fuel waving in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle during braking and acceleration can be lengthened and the frequency of dripping sound (flowing sound) generated when waves hit the front and rear walls and fall can be reduced. it can. In addition, the distance that the wave travels between the front and back wall surfaces becomes longer, the wave is attenuated, and the magnitude of the flowing sound can be reduced. Further, since the front and rear bulge portion extends in the front and rear direction of the vehicle and is narrower in the vehicle width direction than the bulge portion, there is no sense of incompatibility even if it bulges into the vehicle interior. For this reason, even if it arrange | positions under a floor, it becomes possible to set it as the vehicle fuel tank which can fully ensure capacity | capacitance and can suppress a fuel flow noise. For this reason, even if a fuel tank is arranged under the floor, a sufficient fuel capacity can be secured without impairing merchantability, and a fuel fuel tank arrangement structure capable of suppressing fuel flow noise is provided. Is possible.

  In the present invention according to claim 3, since the rear ends of the front and rear portions extend to the position of the rear end of the floor panel extending to the foot portion of the last row of seats, the length of the front and rear portions in the front and rear direction is increased. The capacity of the fuel tank can be effectively increased.

  In the present invention according to claim 4, since the lower surfaces of the front and rear portions are located above the lower surface of the main body, and the front and rear portions are disposed above the cross member, the reinforcing action of the cross member is not affected. Lateral reinforcement can be performed accurately. Further, the undulation state is attenuated by the step between the bottom surface of the main body and the front and rear portions, and the flow noise can be effectively suppressed.

  In the present invention according to claim 5, since the filler pipe that connects the fuel filler port and the vehicle fuel tank is connected to the front and rear ends of the vehicle fuel tank, there is a special device for connecting the filler pipe to the fuel tank. It is unnecessary, and the filler pipe can be shortened by providing the oil filler opening in the direction in which the front and rear portions extend.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle frame for explaining an arrangement structure of a fuel tank for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a floor panel, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the overall state of the fuel tank according to the embodiment, FIG. 4 is a plan view situation of the fuel tank, FIG. 5 is a side view situation of the fuel tank, FIG. 6 is a rear view situation of the fuel tank, FIG. FIG. 8 shows a view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 shows a view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the body frame 1 is provided with a pair of side members 2 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a plurality of cross members 3 extending in the vehicle width direction are provided between the side members 2 in the front-rear direction. . A narrow portion 2a in which the width between the side members 2 is narrowed is formed on the front side of the side member 2 in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the width between the side members 2 gradually decreases from the vicinity of the vehicle center toward the narrow portion 2a. Configured.

  A front floor panel (floor panel) 4 constituting the floor of the passenger compartment is provided at the center of the vehicle body frame 1 (the part where the width between the side members 2 is gradually narrowed). A dash panel 5 is provided at the front end of the. A rear floor panel 6 is provided at the rear end of the floor panel 4 in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

  In the vehicle according to this embodiment, the front seat 30 of the passenger compartment is installed at the site of the floor panel 4, and the foot panel of the passenger in the front seat 30 and the foot part of the passenger in the rear seat are configured by the floor panel 4. . A rear seat is installed on the rear floor panel 6, and a bottom surface and a partition surface of a rear room (trunk room, engine room, etc.) are formed. That is, the vehicle has two rows of seats in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the portion corresponding to the front seat 30 of the floor panel 4 bulges toward the passenger compartment side (upper side) with respect to the floor surface (surface on which the foot portion is configured: reference surface). A bulging portion 7 is formed. The bulging portion 7 is formed to extend in the vehicle width direction and substantially the vehicle width direction (about the width of the driver seat and the passenger seat), and the front seat 30 (driver seat and passenger seat) is installed on the upper surface of the bulging portion 7. . Continuing from the bulging portion 7, a front and rear bulging portion 8 is formed which extends rearward at the center of the vehicle and bulges toward the passenger compartment (upper side) to form a tunnel shape. The front-rear bulge portion 8 is smaller in the width direction of the vehicle than the bulge portion 7, that is, the width is narrowed. Specifically, the width is about the gap between the driver seat and the passenger seat. A vehicle fuel tank (fuel tank) 21 is disposed below the bulging portion 7 and the front and rear bulging portion 8 of the floor panel 4.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle having two rows of seats in the front-rear direction has been described as an example. However, the embodiment can be applied to a vehicle having three or more rows of seats, and the bulge The part 7 can be provided corresponding to the part of the seat in front of the last row. Moreover, although the example which provided the front-back bulging part 8 in the back side of the bulging part 7 was given and demonstrated, it is also possible to provide the front-back bulging part 8 in the front side of the bulging part 7, or the front side and back side. It is.

  A lateral rib 9 extending in the vehicle width direction is formed at an appropriate portion of the surface of the floor panel 4, and extends in the vehicle width direction at a flat portion on the front side of the bulging portion 7 (the foot portion of the occupant of the front seat 30). A rib 10 is formed so as to straddle the center of the vehicle. Further, front and rear ribs 11 extending in the front and rear direction of the vehicle are formed on both sides of the rib 10.

  In the floor panel 4 described above, the front / rear bulge portion 8 is provided behind the bulge portion 7, and the front side of the front / rear bulge portion 8 (the occupant's foot portion of the front seat 30) is in a flat state. For this reason, the lower part of the front seat 30 which is a dead space can be made into the arrangement | positioning space of the fuel tank 11 by the bulging part 7, and the front side with a severe request | requirement of foot space can be made into a flat state. And the rigidity of the whole floor panel 4 is ensured by the front-back bulging part 8.

  In particular, the width between the side members 2 is configured such that the width gradually decreases from the vicinity of the center of the vehicle toward the narrow width portion 2a, so that the width between the side members 2 on the front side is short. The rigidity of the floor panel 4 can be secured together with the side member 2 even when the foot portion is flat. Further, since the rib 10 is formed so as to straddle the center of the vehicle, the rigidity of the floor panel 4 can be ensured without forming the bulging portion, and the rigidity is ensured by the front and rear ribs 11. be able to.

  The fuel tank 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the fuel tank 21 includes a main body 22 that extends in the width direction of the vehicle and is disposed below the bulging portion 7 of the floor panel 4, and the center of the main body 22 in the vehicle width direction. A front and rear part 23 is formed extending continuously to the rear side of the vehicle. The front / rear part 23 is disposed below the front / rear bulge part 8. In the fuel tank 21, the main body portion 22 and the front and rear portions 23 are integrally formed by, for example, injection molding. The main body portion 22 has substantially the same width as the bulging portion 7 in the vehicle width direction and is accommodated in the bulging portion 7.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the lower surface 23 a of the front and rear portion 23 is provided above the lower surface 22 a of the main body portion 22. As shown in FIG. 6, the main body 22 has a lower surface 22 a on one side in the vehicle width direction positioned below the lower surface 23 a of the front and rear portion 23, and the lower surface 22 b on the other side is substantially the same as the lower surface 23 a of the front and rear portion 23. It is height. For this reason, when the amount of fuel is reduced, the remaining fuel is collected only on the lower surface 22a side of the main body portion 22 in the vehicle width direction, and there is no need to provide a plurality of supply means such as a supply pump.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the rear end of the front and rear portion 23 of the fuel tank 21 is located at the rear end portion of the floor panel 4, and a connection portion 24 is provided at the rear end portion of the front and rear portion 23. A filler pipe 25 extending from a fuel filler (not shown) is connected. For this reason, by providing the fuel filler port at the rear part of the vehicle, no special device for connecting the filler pipe 25 to the fuel tank 21 is required, and the filler pipe 25 can be shortened.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the front and rear portions 23 of the fuel tank 21 are disposed above the cross member 3 on the rear side of the fuel tank 21. Since the front and rear portions 23 are formed by, for example, injection molding, there is a limit to lowering (thinning), and there is a limit to the height of the front and rear bulge portions 8. The height of the bottom surface 23a is lower than the reference plane (the plane that becomes the foot portion) of the floor panel 4. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, a recess 27 in which the front and rear portions 23 are disposed is formed on the upper surface of the cross member 3.

  For this reason, it is possible to accurately perform the lateral reinforcement without affecting the reinforcing action of the cross member 3.

  Further, a breather pipe 26 is connected to the upper portion of the main body portion 22 of the fuel tank 21, and the breather pipe 26 is disposed along the upper surface of the front and rear portion 23 below the front and rear bulge portion 8. It extends to the filler pipe 25 near the fuel filler port in the rear (not shown). For this reason, the breather pipe 26 can be held at a high position without making it a complicated shape, and air bleeding at the time of refueling can be performed accurately.

  In the above-described configuration, the front and rear bulging portion 8 exists at the center of the foot portion of the rear seat in the vehicle interior, but a convex member through which a propeller shaft or the like penetrates the center portion of the foot portion of the rear seat. There is also a vehicle type, and the center part of the foot part of the rear seat is a place where there is almost no possibility of giving the passenger a sense of incongruity even if the front and rear bulge part 8 exists. For this reason, even if the front-rear bulging part 8 for arranging the front-rear part 23 of the fuel tank 21 exists in the center part of the foot part of the rear seat in the vehicle compartment, the merchantability is not impaired.

  In the structure having the above configuration, the floor panel 4 corresponding to the front seat 30 side is formed with the bulging portion 7 that bulges toward the passenger compartment side with respect to the floor surface, and the rear portion of the vehicle is continued to the bulging portion 7. A front and rear bulging portion 8 that extends in the direction and bulges toward the passenger compartment side is formed, and a fuel tank 21 provided with a front and rear portion 23 that extends continuously in the rearward direction of the vehicle is applied to the main body portion 22. Since the main body portion 22 of the fuel tank 21 is disposed at the lower portion and the front and rear portions 23 are disposed at the lower portion of the front and rear bulge portion 8, the capacity of the fuel tank 21 can be increased by the volume of the front and rear portions 23, and The length of the tank can be increased.

  This increases the period in which the fuel undulates in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle during braking and acceleration, and reduces the frequency of dripping sound (flowing sound) that occurs when waves hit the front and rear walls and fall. Can be made. In addition, the distance that the fuel wave travels between the front and rear wall surfaces becomes longer, the wave is attenuated, and the magnitude of the flow noise can be reduced. Further, since the front and rear bulging portion 8 extends in the rearward direction of the vehicle, there is no sense of incongruity even if it bulges into the vehicle interior.

  For this reason, even if it arrange | positions under a floor, it can be set as the fuel tank 21 which can fully ensure a capacity | capacitance and can suppress a fuel flow noise. Therefore, even if the fuel tank 21 is arranged under the floor, the vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure can ensure a sufficient capacity without impairing the merchantability and suppress the fuel flow noise. Is possible.

  Moreover, since the rear end of the front and rear part 23 of the fuel tank 21 extends to the position of the rear end of the floor panel 4 extending to the foot part of the last row of seats, the length of the front and rear part 23 in the front and rear direction is increased. The capacity of the fuel tank 21 can be effectively increased.

  Further, since the lower surface of the front and rear portion 23 of the fuel tank 21 is located above the lower surface of the main body portion 22 and the front and rear portion 23 is disposed above the cross member 3, the reinforcing effect of the cross member 3 is affected. There is no problem and the lateral reinforcement can be performed accurately. Further, the undulation state of the fuel is attenuated by the step between the bottom surface of the main body portion 22 and the front and rear portions 23, and the flow noise can be effectively suppressed.

  In addition, since the filler pipe 25 that connects the fuel filler port and the fuel tank 21 is connected to the ends of the front and rear portions 23 of the fuel tank 21, no special device for connecting the filler pipe 25 to the fuel tank 21 is required. The filler pipe 25 can be shortened by providing an oil filler port in the rear (in the direction in which the front and rear portion 23 extends).

  Even if it is placed under the floor, a sufficient capacity can be secured, and a fuel tank for a vehicle that can suppress fuel flow noise can be obtained.

  Even if the fuel tank is arranged under the floor, a sufficient capacity can be secured without impairing the merchantability, and the fuel fuel tank arrangement structure can suppress the fuel flow noise.

It is a perspective view of the vehicle frame explaining the arrangement structure of the fuel tank for vehicles concerning one example of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a floor panel. It is a perspective view showing the whole situation of a fuel tank concerning one example of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of a fuel tank. It is a side view of a fuel tank. It is a rear view of a fuel tank. It is a VII-VII line arrow view in FIG. It is a VIII-VIII line arrow directional view in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Body frame 2 Side member 3 Cross member 4 Front floor panel (floor panel)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Dash panel 6 Rear floor panel 7 Expansion part 8 Front and rear expansion part 9 Horizontal rib 10 Rib 21 Fuel tank 22 Main body part 23 Front and rear part 24 Connection part 25 Filler pipe 26 Breather pipe 27 Recessed part 30 Front seat

Claims (5)

A fuel tank for a vehicle disposed under a vehicle floor,
A vehicle fuel tank, comprising: a main body portion extending in a width direction of the vehicle; and a front and rear portion extending continuously from the main body portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. A bulging portion that bulges toward the passenger compartment side with respect to the floor surface is formed at a portion corresponding to the front seat side of the floor panel of the vehicle having at least two rows of seats in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and is continuous with the bulging portion. Extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and bulging toward the passenger compartment side to form a front-rear bulge portion narrower in the vehicle width direction than the bulge portion
A vehicle fuel tank is disposed below the bulging portion and the front and rear bulging portions,
The fuel tank includes a main body portion that extends in a vehicle width direction and is disposed at a lower portion of the bulging portion of the floor panel, and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle continuously to the main body portion. An arrangement structure of a fuel tank for a vehicle, wherein front and rear portions arranged at a lower portion of the protruding portion are continuously provided in the main body portion. The vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure according to claim 2,
The floor panel is a front side floor panel extending to the foot of the last row of seats,
The front and rear parts of the vehicle fuel tank are provided extending to the vehicle rear side of the main body part,
The vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure, wherein the rear ends of the front and rear portions are located at the rear end of the floor panel. The vehicle fuel tank arrangement structure according to claim 3,
The floor panel is provided in a skeleton member composed of a side member and a cross member,
The lower surface of the front and rear portions of the vehicle fuel tank is located above the lower surface of the main body,
The arrangement of the fuel tank for vehicles, wherein the front and rear portions are arranged above the cross member. In the arrangement structure of the fuel tank for vehicles according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
An arrangement structure of a fuel tank for a vehicle, wherein a filler pipe that connects a fuel filler port and the fuel tank for a vehicle is connected to the front and rear ends of the fuel tank for the vehicle.

Images