CIPPITANI LUCIANO (IT)
| WO1994029639A1 | 1994-12-22 | |||
| WO1993009001A1 | 1993-05-13 | |||
| WO1993003304A1 | 1993-02-18 |
| DE4342210A1 | 1995-06-14 | |||
| FR2462295A1 | 1981-02-13 | |||
| DE3220323A1 | 1982-12-16 | |||
| GB2095808A | 1982-10-06 |
| 1. | GPL tank for motor vehicles designed for the positioning ins de the tank of a pump or similar device for the feeding of fuel to vehicles equipped with electronic injection devices, with a hole of adequate dimensions being opened in the cylin¬ dricalor toroidal tank for the passage of the pump, and w th there being mounted in this hole a ring on which is to be po¬ sitioned and mounted the flange that supports the multivalve assembly or the valves utilized in the functioning of the tank, said flange being easy to mount and to remove so as to permit rapid installation and removal of a pump placed inside the tank, thanks to elements placed on the ins de ofthe tank and on the pump for the purpose of allowing rap d installation and removal of the pump . |
| 2. | GPL tank for motor vehicles designed to be equipped inside of its walls with a pump or similar dev ce for feeding fuel to veh cles w th an electronic injection system in accordance with the preced ng claim, but distinguished by the fact that the equipment for anchoring the pump to the inside of the tank con¬ sists of a vertical element, preferably with a square cross section, to wh ch is attached in a rapid manner the injection pump. |
| 3. | Tank designed according to the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the equipment used for anchoring the pump to the vertical holding element consists of a cage which surrounds the pump and which s outfitted with brackets that attach themselves to thevertical support element; said cage also makes it possible to position a spring between the top end of the pump and the cage itself, w th this spr ng serving to attenuate eventual blows transmitted to the pump while the vehicle is in mot on, n addition to contributing to keeping the pump in its proper position. |
| 4. | Tank designed according to the preceding cla m, characterised by the fact that the same features regarding the installation of the pump described in the previous claims can be put to use in toroidal tanks by positioning the ring and the flange providing access to the inside of the tank on the shell of the tank itself, at the most appropriate point, depending on the end destination of the tank. |
| 5. | Tank designed according to the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the hole providing access to the ins de of the tank, and making possible the installation of the ring on which the flange is mounted with the multivalve device or with the individual valves, can, as an alternative to the pre¬ ceding solutions, be opened in the wall which bounds the central empty space of the toroidal tank, with the pump then being posi¬ tioned inside the tank according to the procedures described earlier. |
GPL tanks for motor veh cles designed to be outfitted on the inside with a pump or similar dev ce .
Technical Field
The subject of the present invention is a series of improvements in GPL tanks for motor veh cles, both cylindr cal and toroidal, hich make it possible to house with n the tank itself, by means of a pre- inserted mounting staff, the pump needed to feed nject on motors, which is inserted and set ins de the tank through an appropriately- s zed compartment wh ch can be sealed tight following the insertion of the pump by means of a flange equipped w th the ring for the mounting of the multi-valve unit, or with the rings for the valves which must be used in countries where the multi-valve system is not permitted; the flange s outfitted with a screw assembly wh ch ensures that it maintains a sealed closure of the tank.
Background Art
A number of different versions of GPL tanks for motor vehicles have been made known. GPL tanks must lend themselves to being easily lodged inside the vehicle, where they must occupy the minimum amount of space possible, all the while complying with severe safety regula¬ tions. At the same time, these tanks must keep in the step with the technolog cal development of GPL fuelled motors, n addition, natu- rally, to proving compatible, in terms of external form and bulk,with the trunk of the vehicle or,in the case of toroidal tanks, with the compartment housing the spare tire. In order to satisfy these requi¬ rements, numerous types of GPL tanks have been patented, toroidal tanks, for example, havebeen made know under patent GB 2.095.808, which shows a tor dal tank attached to the floor of the vehicle with a bolt anchored on a support inserted at the center of the empty inside portion of the tank, using rings for the positioning of valves
arranged on the lateral, external walls of the tank itself; patent request RM 91 A 000837 (PCT IT 9200137), presented by the same patent-holder, featured toroidal tanks outfitted with a central sealed compartment housing the ring for the po- sition ng of the multi-valve unit.In the f eld of cylindrical fuel tanks, a number of solutions have been presented for the indented housing of the ring used to hold the mult -valve unit, with one example being patent request PCT DK92/00230, which proved to be especially well-suited to domestic gas tanks; still other solutions aredescribed in the Italian patent request RM 93 A 00031 of 10 June 1996, and in RM 94 A 000165 of 25 March 1994 (PCT IT 94/00082), designed primarjly for cylindrical tanks for motor veh cles.The-solutions described n the a orement oned patents are geared towards resolving the problems involved in housing the multi-valve device and the resulting bulk ins de the vehicle. With advances in automobile technology, however, a problem has arisen in connection w th the fuelling of the motors which is ever more frequently carr ed out by means of electron c njection. When this type of fuelling procedure is used, it becomes indispensable that theGPL be sent to the dev ce fuelli g the motor w th the a d of a pump. At present, a si ilar pump, in order to be lodged inside cylindrical tanks, requires the construction of tanks outfitted with an appropriately-s zed hole in their bottom portion in order to permit the insert on and fixing of the pump.
Disclosure of Invention
In accordance with the instructions contained in patent request RM 93 A 000381, presented by the same patent-holder, in a preferred version of the invention, the base of the flange - which, when detached from the tank, permits the installation or maintenance of the GPL pump, and, when mounted in place, makes possible, thanks to the presence of
a ring or more than one rings, the installat on of the multi- vale unit or of set of separate valves - is indented w th respect to the external perimeter of the tank, being placed in a regularly shaped compartment formed in one of the two ends of a cylindrical tank, with the cross—section view presenting an angled rectangular shape with respect to the lengthwise axis of the cylindrical fuel tank, measuring approximately 30" .
A vert cal element, preferably w th a square cross—sect on shape, s attached to the bottom of the tank, where t holds, following a small number of rapidly performed operations, the injection pump, which, in turn, is held fast by the bracket-like blocking elements which surround it. A spring, placed above the pump and the blocking bracktes, together with, should itprove necessary, a second spring placed below, between the lower portion of the pump and the ancho— ring brackets, contribute to keeping the pump in the correct posi¬ tion and to attenuat ng whatever blows may result from travel over uneven roads or from other c rcumstances. A conduit connects the fuel pump to the electric valves or to the multi-valve assembly. In the interests of providing a sealed passage for the electrical connections of the pump, the design includes a wire-carry ng valve which is attached to the valve—carrying ring.
The features described up to this point can be better understood in the detailed description which follows, w th references made to the enclosed drawings ,of wh ch
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1, shows a frontal cross-section view of a cylindr cal tank with thevalve—hold ng ring and an internal pump.
Figure 2, shows a lateral cross-section of a cylindrical tank with a valve—hold ng ring and an internal pump. Fi ure 3, shows a frontal cross-section of a cyl ndrical tank
with a multi-valve ring and an internal pump.
Figure 4, shows a lateral cross-section of a cylindr cal tank with a mult -valve ring and an internal pump.
Figure 5, shows a sectioned blueprint view of a cylindrical tank with a multi-valve ring and an internal pump.
Figure 6, shows a blueprint view of a cylindrical tank with a valve—carrying ring and an internal pump.
Figure 7, shows a lateral cross-section and a blueprint view of a toroidal tank with a multi-valve external ring and an in- ternal pump.
Figure 8, shows a lateral sectioned v ew and a blueprint view of a toroidal tank with an external valve—holding ring and an internal injection pump.
Fi ure 9, shows a blueprint view of a tank and the ring of a toroidal tank w th an internal pump.
Figure 10, shows a cross-section view of the tank found in Fig.9 .
With reference to the aforementioned figures: in a cylindrical tank 1, preferably at the bottom portion 2, a compartment is created 3, being placed at aninclined angle with respect to the lengthwise axis of the tank; the bottom of this compartment 3 is open and contains a hole 4 whose diameter is greater than that of the holes normεLlly made in similar tanks for the installation of the ring for the multi—valve assembly or for the individual valves; the hole 4 provides access to the inside of the tank 1, making possible the insertion of the pump 5.An element 6 prefe¬ rably made of- metal,and preferably with a squared transversal shape, is attached to the bottom of the tank 1, making possible rap d fixing - thanks to appropriately desi ned brackets - of the pump 5 inside the tank 1. The support 7 holding the pump 5 has its
upper portion shaped in such a way as to provide a housing 8 in wh ch to lodge the spring 9 that serves to attenuate eventual shocks caused, for example, by the passage of the vehicle over rough roads or by sim lar events wh le contributing to mainta ning the pump in the proper posit on. A conduit 10 connects the pump 5 w th the multi-valve assembly 11 or with the electrical valves 12 installed depend g on the nat on in which the tank is being used. For the feed of electricity to the pump, the design includes a valve 13 mounted on a flange on wh ch are mounted - in the event that, as ment oned earlier, the tank is meant for markets in which the installation of the multi-valve is not permitted - the other valves normally in use, such as the fuel—return valve, the 80% valve, etc..
As can be seen from the diagrams included with the request, the housing of the mult -valve assembly is closed off in all the models by an air-t ght cover 14 which restores, when closed, the continu ty of the tank's outside surface.
As mentioned earlier, one of the most interesting characteristics of the tank dealt with in the present invention is the possibility of gaining access to the inside ofthe tank itself in order to install the pump 5orto perform maintenance simply by loosening the flange on wh ch the valves are arranged .
Figures 7 and 8 demonstrate that itis possible to adopt the same solutions described earlier in the case of toroidal tanks as well, by opening in the shell 15 of the tank the hole needed to house the ring and the flange for the arrangment of the valves or the multi- valve assembly, and then performing the same procedures described earlier for the anchoring of the pump to the inside of the toro dal tank. It is also possible,in the case of toroidal tanks, as can be
seen from figure 9 and 10, to make a hole for the mounting of the ring on wh ch the flanges s to be mounted with the mult - valve assembly or with the indiv dual valves.opening the hole in the wall which closes off the central empty space of the toro dal tank, after wh ch the pump is posi ioned i side the tank according to the procedures described earlier.
As can be understood from the descriptions provided so far, the solutions illustrated up to his point for the positioning inside a fuel tank, wheter toroidal or cylindrical, of a pump for the feeding of a liquid injection dev ce, together with the related method for anchoring the flange which holds the multi—valve assembly or the individual valves to the ring that s to be installed on the tank for th s purpose, provide the opportunity for significant savings on the part of both the manufacturer, who is able to produce a single type of tank on wh ch to mount, depending on the market, the flange with either the mult -valve assembly or with the individual valves, and on the'part ofthe wholesaler, who s able to satisfy all requests with a reduced quantity of stock on hand.