# US 2014/0197176 A1 · Fuel tank wave catcher > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0197176 A1 - Document ID: US20140197176A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/741,064 - Filed: 2013-01-14 - Published: 2014-07-17 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-14 - Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC - Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Russell Randall Pearce - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140197176A1 ## CPC - B60K 15/077: with means modifying or controlling distribution or motion of fuel, e.g. to prevent noise, surge, splash or fuel starvation - B60K 2015/0775: {for reducing movement or slash noise of fuel} - B60K 2015/0777: {in-tank reservoirs or baffles integrally manufactured with the fuel Tank} - Y10S 903/902: Prime movers comprising electrical and internal combustion motors - B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS ## Abstract A fuel tank for a hybrid vehicle is disclosed. In one example approach, a fuel tank for a vehicle comprises a wave catcher extending through an interior of the fuel tank and coupled to a front wall and a first side wall of the fuel tank. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A fuel tank for a vehicle comprising: an undulating wave catcher formed as a vertically-positioned wall and extending through an interior of the fuel tank and coupled to a front wall and a first side wall of the fuel tank; a first space between the vertically-positioned wall and an inner surface of a fuel tank top; and a second space between the vertically-positioned wall and an inner surface of a fuel tank bottom. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The fuel tank of claim 1, wherein the wave catcher is solid and does not include any holes. ### Claim 3 (canceled) ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The fuel tank of claim 1, wherein the front wall is substantially perpendicular to the first side wall. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The fuel tank of claim 1, wherein the fuel tank includes a first region with a first depth and a second region with a second depth less than the first depth, and wherein the front wall is adjacent to the first region. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The fuel tank of claim 5, wherein the second region is adjacent to a back wall of the fuel tank opposing the front wall of the fuel tank. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The fuel tank of claim 1, wherein the vertical undulating wave catcher includes a concave portion, followed by a convex portion, followed by another concave portion in a direction from the front wall to the first side wall. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The fuel tank of claim 1, wherein the wave catcher is coupled to the front wall adjacent to a corner of the fuel tank formed by the front wall and a second side wall of the fuel tank opposing the first side wall. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The fuel tank of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle. ### Claim 10 A fuel tank for a hybrid electric vehicle comprising: an internal wavecatcher in the form of an undulating vertical wall positioned in a deeper region of the fuel tank and oblique to longitudinal waves flowing in the tank from a shelf region of the fuel tank, the wall coupled to long and short vertical walls of the fuel tank, the undulations being wave-shaped, the deeper region toward a front of the vehicle. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The fuel tank of claim 10, wherein the undulating vertical wall is coupled to a first side wall of the fuel tank and a front wall of the fuel tank adjacent a corner of the fuel tank formed by the front wall and a second side wall opposing the first side wall, the tank further comprising a gap between a top portion of the undulating vertical wall and an interior wall of the fuel tank at a top side of the fuel tank and a gap between a bottom portion of the undulating vertical wall and an interior wall of the fuel tank at a bottom side of the fuel tank. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The fuel tank of claim 11, wherein the front wall is substantially perpendicular to the first side wall and a distance between a corner formed at an intersection of the first side wall and the front wall at the undulating vertical wall is less than a distance between the corner and the first side wall. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The fuel tank of claim 10, wherein the fuel tank includes a first region with a first depth and a second region with a second depth less than the first depth, and a transition region between the first region and the second region, and wherein the front wall is adjacent to the second region, and wherein a depth of the fuel tank in the transition region increases in a direction from the second region to the first region. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The fuel tank of claim 13, wherein the second region is adjacent to a back wall of the fuel tank opposing the front wall of the fuel tank. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The fuel tank of claim 10, wherein the undulating vertical wall includes a concave portion, followed by a convex portion in a direction from the front wall to the first side wall, and the fuel tank further comprising a gap between a top of the undulating vertical wall and an interior wall of the fuel tank at a top side of the fuel tank and a gap between a bottom of the undulating vertical wall and an interior wall of the fuel tank at a bottom side of the fuel tank. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The fuel tank of claim 10, wherein the undulating vertical wall is coupled to the front wall adjacent to a corner of the fuel tank formed by the front wall and a second side wall of the fuel tank opposing the first side wall. ### Claim 17 A fuel tank for a hybrid electric vehicle comprising: a wave catcher formed as a vertically-positioned wall and coupled to a first side wall of the fuel tank and a front wall of the fuel tank adjacent a corner of the fuel tank formed by the front wall and a second side wall opposing the first side wall and a first gap between a top portion of the wave catcher and an interior wall of the fuel tank at a top side of the fuel tank and a second gap between a bottom portion of the wave catcher and an interior wall of the fuel tank at a bottom side of the fuel tank. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The fuel tank of claim 17, wherein the first and second gaps extend along an entire length of the wave catcher. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The fuel tank of claim 17, wherein the fuel tank includes a first region with a first depth and a second region with a second depth less than the first depth, and a transition region between the first region and the second region, and wherein the front wall is adjacent to the second region, and wherein a depth of the fuel tank in the transition region increases in a direction from the second region to the first region, the vertically-positioned wall positioned in the first region. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The fuel tank of claim 17, wherein the wave catcher includes a concave portion, followed by a convex portion in a direction from the front wall to the first side wall.