JP2006111166A - Tank supporting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tank supporting structure capable of preventing deformation of a tank. <P>SOLUTION: In the tank supporting structure 10, a through hole 30 is partitioned from an internal space of a fuel tank 12 by a hole wall 32, and penetrated through the fuel tank 12. A recessed part 28 surrounded by a cylindrical wall 28B is communicated with one side in the tank penetrating direction of the through hole 30. The fuel tank 12 is supported by a bracket 34 by holding the hole wall 32 in the axial direction between the bracket 34 as a mounting part and a supporting plate 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a tank support structure for supporting a fuel tank on a vehicle body in a vehicle such as an automobile.

A technique for fixing a fuel tank of an automobile to a vehicle body using a tank fixing band is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this technique, the fuel tank placed on the subframe is fixed to the subframe, that is, the vehicle body by fixing both ends of the tankband with the intermediate portion wound around the tank to the subframe. By passing one end side of this through a through hole provided in the fuel tank, the end of the tank band can be fixed at a desired position of the subframe regardless of the tank shape.
JP-A-8-48163 JP 2002-96649 A

  However, in the conventional technique in which the fuel tank is placed on the subframe as described above, no consideration has been given to preventing deformation of the tank due to gravity or positive pressure.

  In view of the above fact, an object of the present invention is to obtain a tank support structure capable of preventing the tank from being deformed.

  In order to achieve the above object, the tank support structure according to the first aspect of the present invention is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a hole wall provided in the tank so as to partition a through hole penetrating the tank and an internal space of the tank. And a supporting means for supporting the tank with respect to the mounting portion by sandwiching the hole wall in an axial direction between the mounting portion to which the tank is mounted, and an axis of the through hole provided in the tank A wall portion that communicates with one end portion in the direction and forms a recess in the tank into which a part of the support means or the attachment portion in the axial direction enters.

  In the tank support structure according to claim 1, the tank is separated from the internal space by a cylindrical hole wall, that is, the through hole surrounded by the hole wall and the axial direction of the through hole (tank through direction) ) Is provided with a wall portion defining a recess communicating with one end side. The supporting means sandwiches the hole wall of the tank between the mounting portion and the tank so that the tank is supported with respect to the mounting portion. In this state, in order to sandwich the hole wall in the support means or the attachment portion, a part (or all) including a portion that contacts the axial end of the hole wall from the outside enters the recess.

  Here, the portion sandwiched between the supporting means and the mounting portion in the tank is a cylindrical hole wall that defines a through hole and has high rigidity in the sandwiching direction (axial direction). Deformation of the part (supported part) can be effectively suppressed. Moreover, since the wall part which forms the recessed part into which a part of support means or an attaching part enters is formed in the tank, when parts (outside part of a recessed part) other than the to-be-supported part in a tank are going to deform | transform Since the wall portion is deformed so as to absorb the deformation, the stress acting on (the periphery of) the supported portion of the tank is relieved.

  And since it is a structure which supports the hole wall of the through-hole which penetrates a tank, by providing a through-hole in the desired site | part (for example, site | parts far from other support points) which wants to prevent a deformation | transformation in a tank, this site | part It is possible to directly prevent the deformation and reliably prevent the deformation, or to increase the degree of freedom of the tank shape and the installation position by providing a through hole at a position according to the restriction of the mounting portion.

  Thus, in the tank support structure according to the first aspect, the tank can be prevented from being deformed.

  A tank support structure according to a second aspect of the present invention is the tank support structure according to the first aspect, wherein the support means sandwiches the hole wall between the attachment portion and the attachment portion to the attachment portion. The tank is supported.

  In the tank support structure according to the second aspect, since the support means sandwiches the hole wall over the entire circumference, the load acting on the hole wall and the support means is made uniform, and the stress acting on these is alleviated.

  A tank support structure according to a third aspect of the present invention is the tank support structure according to the first or second aspect, wherein the support means abuts against the hole wall or the wall portion and positions the tank relative to the mounting portion. Positioning means for performing

  In the tank support structure according to the third aspect, the positioning means provided in the support means contacts the hole wall or the wall portion to position the tank with respect to the mounting portion. Thereby, the tank is positioned with respect to the mounting portion with a simple structure.

  A tank support structure according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the tank support structure according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising an elastic member sandwiched between the tank and the support means. It was.

  In the tank support structure according to claim 4, since the elastic member is disposed between the tank, that is, the hole wall and the support means, for example, the vibration of the tank wall due to the flow of the tank contents and the flow noise are generated on the mounting portion side. Transmission is suppressed.

  As described above, the tank support structure according to the present invention has an excellent effect that the tank can be prevented from being deformed.

  A fuel tank support structure 11 to which a tank support structure 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. The fuel tank support structure 11 is a structure for fixing the fuel tank 12 to the automobile body S. For convenience of explanation, the direction indicated by the arrow A in each figure is referred to as the forward direction, the direction indicated by the arrow B as the upward direction, and the direction indicated as the arrow C as the left direction.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the fuel tank support structure 11. 3A shows a fuel tank support structure 11 in a front view, and FIG. 3B shows a fuel tank support structure 11 in a bottom view. As shown in these drawings, the fuel tank 12 is a so-called thin tank whose outer appearance is formed in a substantially flat rectangular shape. Specifically, the fuel tank 12 includes a top plate 14 formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and a bottom plate 16 formed in a rectangular shape corresponding to the top plate 14 and facing the top plate 14 over substantially the entire surface. Are connected by a peripheral wall 18 formed in a rectangular frame shape to form a hollow flat rectangular container shape. The fuel tank 12 is made of a resin material, and is formed by, for example, blow molding or by joining and joining halves formed by injection molding. The fuel tank is fixed to the vehicle body S so that the short side thereof coincides with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body S in plan view.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (B), band grooves 20 along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body are respectively formed in the left and right portions of the bottom plate 16 constituting the fuel tank 12 so as to be recessed along the entire length in the longitudinal direction. Each band groove 20 has an intermediate portion of the tank band 22 therein. The fixing portions 22A provided at the front and rear ends of each tank band 22 are fixed to the vehicle body S by fixing means such as screws, as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the fuel tank 12 is held so as to be suspended from the vehicle body S by the pair of left and right tank bands 22. An elastic member such as a cushion rubber may be interposed between the groove bottom of each band groove 20 and the tank band 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a recessed groove 24 is formed above each band groove 20 in the top plate 14. Due to the concave groove 24, the rigidity of the fuel tank 12 is improved as compared with a configuration in which the concave groove 24 is not provided. The illustration of the fuel supply port of the fuel tank 12 is omitted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the fuel tank 12 is also supported by the vehicle body S by the tank support structure 10. In order to configure the tank support structure 10, a bracket groove 26 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is recessed at the center in the left-right direction of the top plate 14 of the fuel tank 12 over the entire length in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the depth from the general surface 14A of the top plate 14 where the bracket groove 26 opens to the upper surface of the groove bottom plate 26A is sufficiently larger than the thickness of the top plate 14 (fuel tank 12). Yes. Therefore, the left and right ends of the bracket groove 26 are defined by groove walls 26B that connect the left and right opening edges of the bracket groove 26 in the top plate 14 and the left and right ends of the groove bottom plate 26A, respectively. In this embodiment, the bracket groove 26 is configured such that the upper opening end is wider in the left-right direction than the groove bottom plate 26A, that is, the pair of groove walls 26B are tapered walls. A bracket 34 described later enters the bracket groove 26.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 (B), a recess 28 is formed in the center portion of the bottom plate 16 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. The recess 28 is formed by a bottom plate portion 28A formed in a substantially circular shape, and a cylindrical tubular wall 28B that connects the outer edge of the bottom plate portion 28A and the opening edge of the recess 28 in the bottom plate 16. The cylindrical wall 28B is a tapered wall in which the opening end side of the recess 28 has a larger diameter than the bottom plate portion 28A side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel tank 12 is provided with a through hole 30 that linearly penetrates the center in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction along the up-down direction. The upper portion of the through hole 30 opens upward in the groove bottom plate 26 </ b> A of the bracket groove 26, and the lower portion of the through hole 30 opens downward in the bottom plate portion 28 </ b> A of the recess 28, and communicates with the bracket groove 26 and the recess 28. The fuel tank 12 is vertically penetrated. The fuel tank 12 includes a hole wall 32 that connects the opening edge 30A of the through hole 30 in the groove bottom plate 26A and the opening edge 30B of the through hole 30 in the bottom plate portion 28A. The hole wall 32 partitions the fuel storage space in the fuel tank 12 and the space in the through hole 30. In this embodiment, the opening edges 30A and 30B are formed in a substantially circular shape in plan view, and the hole wall 32 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape.

  The through hole 30 is provided from the groove bottom plate 26A to the bottom plate portion 28A, for example, and it can be understood that the bracket groove 26 and the recess 28 communicate with the upper and lower ends, respectively, and provided from the top plate 14 to the bottom plate 16. It can also be grasped that the bracket groove 26 and the recess 28 communicate with each other radially outward. Further, for example, it is possible to grasp that one of the bracket groove 26 and the recess 28 communicates with the vertical end of the through hole and the other communicates with the radially outer side. In other words, the through-hole 30 may be grasped alone as a “through-hole” in the present invention, and a product in which at least one of the bracket groove 26 and the recess 28 is communicated with the through-hole 30 as the “through-hole” in the present invention. You may grasp.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the tank support structure 10, a bracket 34 fixed to the vehicle body S enters the bracket groove 26 of the fuel tank 12. The bracket 34 is elongated along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and extends across the entire length in the longitudinal direction from the bottom plate 34A, a pair of left and right standing walls 34B erected from the left and right ends of the bottom plate 34A, and the upper end of each standing wall 34B. A pair of left and right flange portions 34 </ b> C are provided respectively extending on the left and right outer sides. Therefore, the bracket 34 is opened upward between the pair of flange portions 34C. The bracket 34 is formed longer than the front and rear length of the fuel tank 12. Further, a through hole 34D is provided at the longitudinal center of the bottom plate 34A of the bracket 34 as shown in FIG. 1, and a weld nut 36 is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 34A coaxially with the through hole 34D. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lower portion of the bracket 34 enters the bracket groove 26. A cushion rubber 38, which is an elastic member, is disposed between the lower surface of the bottom plate 34A of the bracket 34 and the upper surface of the groove bottom plate 26A of the bracket groove 26. The cushion rubber 38 is formed in a sheet shape or a plate shape that can be elastically deformed in the thickness direction, and is provided with a through hole 38 </ b> A corresponding to the through hole 34 </ b> D of the bracket 34.

  On the other hand, a support plate 40 is inserted into the recess 28. The support plate 40 includes a disc portion 40A formed in a substantially disc shape, and an annular positioning rib 40B erected downward along the outer periphery of the disc portion 40A. A through hole 40C is formed in the axial center of 40A. The support plate 40 is made of a metal material or the like, and is configured with high rigidity by the positioning rib 40B functioning also as a reinforcement. Between the upper surface of the disc portion 40A of the support plate 40 and the lower surface of the bottom plate portion 28A of the recess 28, a cushion rubber 42 as an elastic member is disposed. The cushion rubber 42 is formed in a sheet shape or a plate shape that can be elastically deformed in the thickness direction, and a through hole 42 </ b> A corresponding to the through hole 40 </ b> C of the support plate 40 is provided in an axial center portion thereof.

  The outer peripheral portion of the cushion rubber 42 is also configured to be sandwiched between the positioning rib 40B and the cylindrical wall 28B of the fuel tank 12. As a result, the fuel tank 12 is supported on the cylindrical wall 28B by the positioning rib 40B of the support plate 40 via the cushion rubber 42, and displacement relative to the support plate 40 in the radial direction, that is, along the horizontal plane is prevented. It is the structure made into the determined positioning state.

  The main body 44A of the bolt 44 passes through the through holes 40C and 42A, and the main body 44A of the bolt 44 also passes through the through holes 38A and 34D and is screwed into the weld nut 36. The end surface of the head 44 </ b> A side of the bolt 44 on the main body 44 </ b> A is engaged with the lower surface of the disc portion 40 </ b> A of the support plate 40. As a result, the support plate 40 is fixed to the bracket 34, and the hole wall 32 of the fuel tank 12 is sandwiched between the bracket 34 and the support plate 40 in the vertical direction, and the fuel tank 12 is attached to the bracket 34. That is, it is a structure supported by the vehicle body S.

  A cylindrical collar 46 is disposed between the bottom surface of the bottom plate 34 </ b> A of the bracket 34 and the top surface of the disc portion 40 </ b> A of the support plate 40. The collar 46 has a main body 44 </ b> A of the bolt 44 inserted through the collar 46, and is sandwiched between the bracket 34 and the support plate 40 in the same manner as the hole wall 32. That is, the length of the collar 46 in the axial direction is smaller than the sum of the height of the hole wall 32 and the thickness of each of the cushion rubbers 38 and 42 in the free state, and the cushion rubbers 38 and 42 are compressed and deformed. In this state, the bracket 34 and the support plate 40 are brought into contact with and sandwiched between them. This prevents the fuel tank 12, that is, the hole wall 32, from being excessively compressed.

  In the tank support structure 10 described above, the support plate 40 and the bolts 44 (and the collar 46) correspond to the “support means” in the present invention, the positioning rib 40B (and the cushion rubber 42) correspond to the “positioning means”, The cushion rubbers 38 and 42 correspond to “elastic members”. Further, the bracket groove 26 and the recess 28 correspond to the “recess” in the present invention, respectively, and the groove wall 26B and the cylindrical wall 28B correspond to the “wall” in the present invention.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.

  In the fuel tank support structure 11 configured as described above, the pair of tank bands 22 supports the fuel tank 12 and the mass of fuel that is the contents of the fuel tank 12, and holds the fuel tank 12 with respect to the vehicle body S. The tank support structure 10, that is, the bolts 44 and the support plate 40, are made of resin and are thin, and the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 of the thin fuel tank 12 are located at the center portion where the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 are most easily bent. The fuel tank 12 is supported with respect to the bracket 34 so as to prevent (suppress) deformation.

  Specifically, the bolt 44 having the head 44 </ b> B engaged with the surface of the support plate 40 around the through hole 40 </ b> C is engaged with the bracket 34 by screwing the main body 44 </ b> A to the weld nut 36 fixed to the bracket 34. A hole wall 32 of the fuel tank 12 is sandwiched between the support plate 40 and the fuel tank 12 to support the bracket 34.

  By the way, as the resin fuel tank 12 becomes thinner, the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 are more easily bent. For example, if the fuel tank capacity is constant and the length L (see FIG. 3B) along the left-right direction of the vehicle body is constant, the fuel tank 12 that is thin, that is, the height H (see FIG. 3A) is lower, The width W in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 3B) is increased. And the distance from the peripheral wall 18 of the center part in the front-rear direction becomes longer as the width W in the front-rear direction increases in the left-right direction center part of the fuel tank 12 that is far from the support portion by each tank band 22. Therefore, the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 of the thin fuel tank 12 are bent and stressed in the center portions in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, respectively, as compared with the fuel tank having the same capacity and the relatively high height H. Remarkably larger.

  In the fuel tank support structure 11 according to this embodiment, the center part of the fuel tank 12 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is connected to the bracket 34, that is, the vehicle body S via the bolt 44 and the support plate 40. Since it supports, the bending of the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 is suppressed and the stress is relaxed while being thin.

  Specifically, the fuel tank 12 has a top plate 14 and a bottom plate 16 (mainly the bottom plate 16 in this case) as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. Try to bend down. Then, a load F1 is applied to the support plate 40, and a load F2 acting on the bolt 44 is generated. The load F2 balances with the reaction force R2 from the bracket 34, while a reaction force R1 from the support plate 40 is generated on the bottom plate 16 with respect to the load F1 of the support plate 40. This reaction force R1 acts in a direction to suppress the deformation in the opposite direction to the downward deflection of the bottom plate 16 (deformation mode indicated by an imaginary line), and the deformation of the bottom plate 16 is suppressed. Since the bolt 44 can be regarded as a rigid body with respect to the fuel tank 12 (the elastic coefficient is remarkably large), in other words, the bolt 44 extends very little when the reaction force R1 is generated. The bending of the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 at the center in the direction and the left-right direction is suppressed, and the stress is relieved.

  In addition, the fuel tank 12 tends to bend upward and the bottom plate 16 downward as indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. 4B due to the increase in internal pressure (positive pressure). Then, a load F3 is applied from the top plate 14 to the bracket 34, and a load F4 is applied from the bottom plate 16 to the support plate 40. For this reason, the tensile load F <b> 5 acts on the bolt 44. A reaction force R3 from the bracket 34 and a reaction force R4 from the support plate 40 act on the tensile load of the bolt 44 to act to suppress deformation of the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16, respectively. Also in this case, since the bolt 44 is a rigid body, the bending of the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 at the center in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction of the fuel tank 12 is suppressed, and the stress is relieved.

  Here, in the fuel tank support structure 11, the fuel tank 12 has a structure in which the hole wall 32 is sandwiched between the bracket 34 and the support plate 40 in the tank support structure 10 and supported by the bracket 34. Therefore, in other words, since the cylindrical hole wall 32 having high rigidity in the vertical direction is sandwiched from above and below, the fuel tank using the bolt 44 having high rigidity (which can be evaluated as a rigid body) as described above. 12 can be effectively prevented from being deformed, and the stress of the portion to be supported by the tank support structure 10 in the fuel tank 12 is relieved. In particular, in the tank support structure 10, since the hole wall 32 is sandwiched between the bracket 34 and the support plate 40 over the entire circumference, the load acting on the hole wall 32, the bracket 34, and the support plate 40 is affected by the hole. It is made uniform in the circumferential direction of the wall 32, and the stress acting on the hole wall 32, the bracket 34, and the support plate 40 is relieved.

  Further, since the cylindrical wall 28B of the recess 28 is formed on the outside of the support plate 40 in the fuel tank 12, the portion of the bottom plate 16 between the tank band 22 and the support plate 40 tries to bend downward. In addition, the cylindrical wall 28B is deformed, so that stress concentration on the support portion by the support plate 40 in the fuel tank 12 is alleviated. That is, the cylindrical wall 28B is relatively deformed with respect to the bottom plate 16 to be bent downward (relatively deformed with respect to the bottom plate so as to widen the angle formed between the bottom plate 16) and the support plate 40 is Compared with the configuration in which the bottom plate 16 is directly supported, the stress acting on the boundary portion between the support portion and the non-support portion by the support plate 40 is relieved. Similarly, since the groove wall 26B of the bracket groove 26 is formed on the left and right sides of the bracket 34 in the fuel tank 12, the portion of the top plate 14 between the tank band 22 and the bracket 34 will bend upward or downward. In this case, since the groove wall 26B is deformed relative to the top plate 14, the stress concentration on the support portion of the fuel tank 12 to the bracket 34 is alleviated.

  The tank support structure 10 that forms the support portion of the fuel tank 12 by providing the through hole 30 in the fuel tank 12 can be disposed at a desired position in the fuel tank 12. Therefore, in the fuel tank support structure 11 that holds the fuel tank 12 on the vehicle body S while supporting the mass of the fuel tank 12 by the pair of tank bands 22, the thin fuel tank 12 is tank-supported at the center portion in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction that are most easily bent. The structure which provided the structure 10 and prevented the deformation | transformation of this thin fuel tank 12 reliably was implement | achieved. For example, in the configuration in which the tank band 22 is added at the center portion in the left-right direction of the fuel tank 12, the tank band 22 itself having both front and rear ends fixed to the vehicle body S is easily bent at the center portion in the front-rear direction. Although it is not possible to effectively prevent the bending of the central portion in the left-right direction, that is, the portion where deformation is desired to be prevented, the tank support structure 10 applied to the support structure 11 of the fuel tank is desired in the fuel tank 12 as described above. The deformation of the fuel tank 12 can be surely prevented by using the highly rigid hole wall 32 and the bolt 44, and the acting stress can be relieved.

  Thus, in the tank support structure 10 according to the first embodiment, the fuel tank 12 can be effectively prevented from being deformed. Thereby, even if the thin fuel tank 12 is employed, the deformation of the fuel tank 12 can be prevented and the mounting rigidity with respect to the vehicle body can be ensured.

  Further, here, since the positioning rib 40B provided on the support plate 40 is engaged with the cylindrical wall 28B (via the cushion rubber 42), the fuel tank 12 is positioned with respect to the support plate 40, and the bracket 34, that is, the vehicle body S is positioned. The position is determined. That is, the fuel tank 12 can be positioned with respect to the vehicle body S without providing a special positioning member or the like. For this reason, the fuel tank 12 can be supported on the vehicle body S by the tank support structure 10 prior to the support by the tank band 22. In this case, it is not necessary to temporarily hold the fuel tank 12 when the fuel tank is supported by the tank band 22, so that the mounting workability is improved.

  Further, since the cushion rubber 38 is disposed between the bracket 34 and the hole wall 32 and the cushion rubber 42 is disposed between the support plate 40 and the hole wall, the fuel tank 12 is connected to the vehicle body S. Vibration transmission is suppressed. The thin fuel tank 12 has a structure in which the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 having a large area (unsupported area) are likely to vibrate due to the flow of fuel or the like. As a result, the flow of fuel (ie, vibration) is mitigated from being transmitted to the vehicle body S via the support plate 40, the bolt 44, the bracket 34, and the like.

  Further, the recess 28 is provided below the hole wall 32, and the support plate 40, the cushion rubber 42, and the bolt 44 (mainly the head 44B) are disposed in the recess 28, so that the tank support structure 10 is configured. A configuration is realized in which parts do not protrude below the bottom plate 16 of the fuel tank 12 held below the vehicle body S (see FIG. 3A).

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that components / parts that are basically the same as those of the first embodiment or the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment or the previous embodiment, and description thereof is omitted. To do.

  FIG. 5 shows a tank support structure 50 according to the second embodiment in a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. As shown in this figure, the tank support structure 50 includes a support plate 52 instead of the support plate 40. The support plate 52 includes a hole wall support 52A formed in an annular shape, a tapered cylindrical positioning protrusion 52B protruding upward from the inner edge of the hole wall support 52A, and an upper edge of the positioning protrusion 52B. An annular bolt contact portion 52C projecting inward in the radial direction and an annular reinforcing rib 52D erected downward along the outer periphery of the hole wall support portion 52A. An axial center portion of the annular bolt contact portion 52C is a through hole 40C. As with the support plate 40, the support plate 52 is made of a metal material or the like with high rigidity.

  The tank support structure 50 includes a cushion rubber 54 instead of the cushion rubber 42. The cushion rubber 54 is formed in a circular sheet shape or plate shape having a through hole 54A in an axial center portion and elastically deformable in the thickness direction. The cushion rubber 54 has an outer peripheral portion positioned between the upper surface of the hole wall support 52A and the lower end of the hole wall 32, and an inner peripheral portion positioned between the outer surface of the positioning convex portion 52B and the inner surface of the hole wall 32. As described above, the hole plate support portion 52A and the positioning convex portion 52B of the support plate 52 are deformed so as to follow. As a result, the fuel tank 12 is supported by the positioning convex portion 52B of the support plate 52 via the cushion rubber 54 at the hole wall 32, and displacement in the radial direction relative to the support plate 52, that is, along the horizontal plane is prevented. It is the structure made into the determined positioning state.

  The main body 44A of the bolt 44 passes through the through holes 40C and 54A, and the main body 44A of the bolt 44 passes through the through holes 38A and 34D and is screwed into the weld nut 36. The end surface of the head 44B of the bolt 44 on the side of the main body 44A is in contact with the lower surface of the bolt contact portion 52C of the support plate 52. As a result, the support plate 52 is fixed to the bracket 34, and the hole wall 32 of the fuel tank 12 is sandwiched between the bracket 34 and the hole wall support portion 52A of the support plate 52 along the vertical direction. The fuel tank 12 is supported by the bracket 34, that is, the vehicle body S. In this state, the head 44B of the bolt 44 enters the inside of the positioning projection 52B.

  Further, the tank support structure 50 includes a collar 56 shorter than the collar 46 instead of the collar 46. The collar 56 is sandwiched between the lower surface of the bracket 34 and the upper surface of the bolt contact portion 52C of the support plate 52 in a state where the cushion rubbers 38 and 54 are compressed and deformed. Prevents excessive compression.

  In the tank support structure 50 described above, the support plate 52 and the bolts 44 (and the collar 56) correspond to the “support means” in the present invention, and the positioning convex portion 52B (and the cushion rubber 54) correspond to the “positioning means”. The cushion rubbers 38 and 54 correspond to “elastic members”. That is, in the tank support structure 50 according to the second embodiment, the positioning convex portion 52B contacts the hole wall 32 instead of the cylindrical wall 28B which is the wall portion in the present invention via the cushion rubber 54. Except for positioning the fuel tank 12 with respect to the vehicle body S, the fuel tank 12 is configured in exactly the same manner as the tank support structure 10 according to the first embodiment. Although not shown, the fuel tank 12 is supported by a tank support structure 50 instead of the tank support structure 10 and, like the fuel tank support structure 11, the vehicle body S is formed by a pair of left and right tank bands 22. Is held in.

  Therefore, also by the tank support structure 50 according to the second embodiment, the same effect can be obtained by the same action as the support structure according to the first embodiment. That is, the support structure 50 can effectively prevent the fuel tank 12 from being deformed. Thereby, even if the thin fuel tank 12 is employed, the deformation of the fuel tank 12 can be prevented and the mounting rigidity with respect to the vehicle body can be ensured.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a fuel tank support structure 60 according to the third embodiment. The fuel tank support structure 60 uses the tank support structure 10 or the tank support structure 50 to support the left and right and front and rear center portions of the fuel tank 62 with respect to the vehicle body S. The fuel tank 62 is configured to be held on the vehicle body S by bolts and nuts as fastening means instead of the tank band 22.

  Specifically, the fuel tank 62 is formed in a substantially flat rectangular container shape like the fuel tank 12, but flanges 64 project from the four corners of the peripheral wall 18. The fuel tank 62 is formed so that the shape in plan view including these flanges 64 is substantially rectangular. Each flange 64 is provided with a bolt through hole 64A.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the upper surface of each flange 64 is in contact with the lower surface of a bracket 66 provided on the vehicle body S, and a weld nut 68 is fixed to the bracket 66. The bracket 66 is provided with a through hole 66A coaxially with the weld nut 68. Each weld nut 68 is screwed into a bolt through hole 64A of the corresponding flange 64 and a bolt 70 passing through the through hole 66A of the bracket 66, and the head 70A of each bolt 70 is connected to the corresponding flange 64. Engage with the bottom surface. Thereby, the fuel tank 62 is held by the vehicle body S.

  The fuel tank support structure 60 is configured to support the fuel tank 62 with respect to the vehicle body S at the four corners. Therefore, the top plate 14 and the bottom plate 16 of the fuel tank 62 are more easily bent at the center in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. By applying the tank support structure 10 or the tank support structure 50, the deformation of the fuel tank 62 can be prevented and the acting stress can be relieved as in the case of the fuel tank support structure.

  In each of the above embodiments, the tank support structures 10 and 50 are examples of auxiliary support structures that prevent deformation of the fuel tanks 12 and 62 held on the vehicle body S by the tank band 22 and the bolts 70. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the fuel tank 12 or the like may be held on the vehicle body S by only the plurality of tank support structures 10 and 50.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the tank support structure 10 and 50 showed the example arrange | positioned in the center part of the left-right direction and the front-back direction in the fuel tanks 12 and 62, this invention is not limited to this, For example, The tank support structure 10 or the like may be disposed at a desired site where it is desired to prevent deformation of the fuel tank 12 or the like, and the tank support structure 10 or the like may be used as a holding means for holding the fuel tank 12 or the like on the vehicle body S as described above. good.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the cushion rubbers 42 and 54 are disposed between the support plates 40 and 52 and the fuel tanks 12 and 62. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, a cushion rubber may be provided between the head 44B of the bolt 44 and the support plates 40 and 54. Needless to say, the material of the elastic member is not limited to rubber, and the elastic member may be made of, for example, an elastomer or a polymer resin material.

It is sectional drawing which shows the tank support structure which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the support structure of the fuel tank to which the tank support structure which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention was applied. It is a figure which shows the support structure of the fuel tank to which the tank support structure concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention was applied, Comprising: (A) is a front view, (B) is a bottom view. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a fuel tank deformation prevention mechanism by the tank support structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating a mechanism for preventing deformation due to gravity, and FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the mechanism which prevents the deformation | transformation by pressure. It is sectional drawing which shows the tank support structure which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the support structure of the fuel tank which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the 7-7 line | wire of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Tank support structure 12 Fuel tank (tank)
26 Bracket groove (concave)
26B Groove wall (wall)
28 Recess 28B Cylindrical wall (wall)
30 Through-hole 32 Hole wall 34 Bracket (Mounting part)
38 Cushion rubber (elastic member)
40 Support plate (support means)
40B Positioning rib (positioning means)
42 Cushion rubber (elastic member)
44 bolts (support means)
50 Tank support structure 52 Support plate (support means)
52B Positioning convex part (positioning means)
54 Cushion rubber (elastic member)
62 Fuel tank

Claims (4)

A hole wall formed in the tank so as to partition the through hole penetrating the tank and the internal space of the tank,
A supporting means for supporting the tank with respect to the mounting portion by sandwiching the hole wall in an axial direction between the mounting portion to which the tank is mounted;
A wall portion that is provided in the tank and that communicates with one end portion in the axial direction of the through-hole to form a recess in the tank in which a part of the supporting means or the mounting portion enters in the axial direction;
Tank support structure with   The tank support structure according to claim 1, wherein the support means supports the tank with respect to the mounting portion by sandwiching the hole wall with the mounting portion over the entire circumference.   3. The tank support structure according to claim 1, wherein the support means includes positioning means that contacts the hole wall or the wall portion and positions the tank with respect to the attachment portion.   The tank support structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an elastic member sandwiched between the tank and the support means.

Images