Vehicle fuel tank
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsKunio Miyauchi, Atsushi Ohba, Hironao Saito
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fuel tank is provided which suppresses wave motion on the liquid surface of fuel which occurs when a vehicle accelerates or decelerates. A front wall and/or a rear wall of the fuel tank includes a plurality of steps formed integrally therewith. The liquid surface of the fuel striking the steps is dispersed, and wave motion on the liquid surface is thereby suppressed. Since the steps are formed in the front wall and/or the rear wall of the fuel tank, the volume of the tank is not reduced.
Claims23
In a vehicle having a frame, a vehicle body which fits over the frame, and a plastic fuel tank for storing fuel, where said fuel tank is supported on the frame so as to be elevated above ground level, the improvement comprising configuring said fuel tank with integral noise-suppressing structure for suppressing noise caused by movement of the fuel during vehicle operation, said fuel tank comprising:
- a substantially flat bottom;
- front and rear walls rising from the bottom;
- left and right side walls rising from the bottom;
- and
- a substantially flat top wall continuous with upper edges of the front and rear walls and upper edges of the left and right side walls;
- wherein in a vehicle traveling direction, a length of the substantially flat top wall is more than half of a length of the substantially flat bottom;
- wherein the vehicle body is configured and arranged to substantially cover the fuel tank;
- wherein at least one of the front wall and the rear wall of the fuel tank includes a stepped portion comprising a plurality of steps formed integrally thereon, the stepped portion being integrally formed as part of one of the front wall and the rear wall and extending progressively inwardly in a generally inclined direction as the stepped portion extends upwardly, the stepped portion being operable to suppress wave motion on a liquid surface of the fuel, which occurs when the vehicle accelerates or decelerates;
- and
- wherein the plurality of steps in the stepped portion includes a first step defining the lowest part of the stepped portion which is inset from one of the front or the rear wall, and the remaining steps rise in sequence such that each respective step is higher than the preceding step.
In a vehicle having a frame, a vehicle body which fits over the frame, and a plastic fuel tank for storing fuel, where said fuel tank is supported on the frame so as to be elevated above ground level, the improvement comprising configuring said fuel tank with integral noise-suppressing structure for suppressing noise caused by movement of the fuel during vehicle operation, said fuel tank comprising:
- a substantially flat bottom;
- front and rear walls rising from the bottom;
- left and right side walls rising from the bottom;
- and
- a substantially flat top wall continuous with upper edges of the front and rear walls and upper edges of the left and right side walls, wherein in a vehicle traveling direction, a length of the substantially flat top wall is more than half of a length of the substantially flat bottom;
- wherein the vehicle body is configured and arranged to substantially cover the fuel tank;
- wherein at least one of the front wall and the rear wall of the fuel tank includes an inclined stepped portion comprising a plurality of steps formed integrally therewith, the stepped portion being integrally formed as part of one of the front wall and the rear wall and extending progressively inwardly in a generally inclined direction as the stepped portion extends upwardly, the stepped portion being operable to suppress wave motion on a liquid surface of the fuel, which occurs when the vehicle accelerates or decelerates;
- and
- wherein the plurality of steps in the stepped portion include a first step defining the lowest part of the stepped portion which is inset from one of the front or the rear wall, and the remaining steps rise in sequence and move progressively inwardly such that each respective step is higher and further inward than the preceding step.
In a vehicle having a frame, a vehicle body which fits over the frame, and a plastic fuel tank for storing fuel, where said fuel tank is supported on the frame so as to be elevated above ground level, the improvement comprising configuring said fuel tank with integral noise-suppressing structure for suppressing noise caused by movement of the fuel during vehicle operation, said fuel tank comprising:
- a substantially flat bottom;
- front and rear walls rising from the bottom at opposite ends of the tank;
- left and right side walls rising from the bottom;
- and
- a substantially flat top wall continuous with upper edges of the front and rear walls and upper edges of the left and right side walls, wherein in a vehicle traveling direction, a length of the substantially flat top wall is more than half of a length of the substantially flat bottom;
- wherein the vehicle body is configured and arranged to substantially cover the fuel tank,
- wherein the front or the rear wall of the fuel tank includes a vertical bottom portion and a stepped top portion, the stepped top portion comprising at least three steps formed integrally thereon, the three steps defining different heights relative to the bottom of the tank,
- wherein the at least three steps in the stepped top portion includes a first step defining the lowest part of the stepped top portion which is inset from one of the front or the rear wall, and the remaining steps rise in sequence and move progressively inwardly such that each respective step is higher and further inward than the preceding step, and wherein the other of the front or rear walls is substantially vertical.
In a vehicle having a frame, a vehicle body which fits over the frame, and a plastic fuel tank for storing fuel, where said fuel tank is supported on the frame so as to be elevated above ground level, the improvement comprising configuring said fuel tank with integral noise-suppressing structure for suppressing noise caused by movement of the fuel during vehicle operation, said fuel tank comprising:
- a bottom;
- front and rear walls rising from the bottom;
- left and right side walls rising from the bottom;
- and
- a top wall continuous with upper edges of the front and rear walls and upper edges of the left and right side walls;
- wherein the vehicle body is configured and arranged to substantially cover the fuel tank;
- wherein at least one of the front wall and the rear wall of the fuel tank includes a stepped portion comprising a plurality of steps formed integrally thereon, the stepped portion being integrally formed as part of the tank wall and extending progressively inwardly in a generally inclined direction as it moves upwardly, the stepped portion being operable to suppress wave motion on a liquid surface of the fuel, which occurs when the vehicle accelerates or decelerates;
- wherein the plurality of steps in the stepped portion includes a first step defining the lowest part of the stepped portion which is inset from one of the front or the rear wall, and the remaining steps rise in sequence such that each respective step is higher than the preceding step;
- and
- wherein a width of a stepped top portion is less than one third of a total width of the tank in an area containing the stepped top portion.
In a vehicle having a frame, a vehicle body which fits over the frame, and a plastic fuel tank for storing fuel, where said fuel tank is supported on the frame so as to be elevated above ground level, the improvement comprising configuring said fuel tank with integral noise-suppressing structure for suppressing noise caused by movement of the fuel during vehicle operation, said fuel tank comprising:
- a bottom;
- front and rear walls rising from the bottom;
- left and right side walls rising from the bottom;
- and
- a top wall continuous with upper edges of the front and rear walls and upper edges of the left and right side walls,
- wherein the vehicle body is configured and arranged to substantially cover the fuel tank;
- wherein at least one of the front wall and the rear wall of the fuel tank includes an inclined stepped portion comprising a plurality of steps formed integrally therewith, the stepped portion being integrally formed as part of the tank wall and extending progressively inwardly in a generally inclined direction as it moves upwardly, the stepped portion being operable to suppress wave motion on a liquid surface of the fuel, which occurs when the vehicle accelerates or decelerates;
- wherein the plurality of steps in the stepped portion include a first step defining the lowest part of the stepped portion which is inset from one of the front or the rear wall, and the remaining steps rise in sequence and move progressively inwardly such that each respective step is higher and further inward than the preceding step;
- and
- wherein a width of a stepped top portion is less than one third of a total width of the tank in an area containing the stepped top portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.