Field of the Invention

The invention is related to a frame - storage tank structure that is used in the industrial field; designed to be used in power generating or power consuming machinery such as generators, motopumps, pumps, hydraulic power units, and diesel and gas engines that work on a frame (chassis) and that comprise a separate fuel tank thereon.

State of the Art

Nowadays, in the industry, the power generating or power consuming machinery that works on a frame are quite unfavorable in terms of fuel usage methods. Generally, these machines are fed by small fuel tanks thereon or they are used with external fuel tanks. Internal fuel tanks may contain about 5-10 liters of fuel and this substantially limits the operational time of the machines. Continuous fuel replenishment is needed in short terms. Nowadays, while the fuel consumption of the power generating or power consuming machinery which works on a frame is high, another solution to small fuel tank problem is to store fuel on work sites in order to allow uninterrupted operation. The need for storing the fuel on work sites and the amount of storage depends on the daily fuel consumption of the operated machinery and the delivery time of said fuel. One of the most important issues related to storage of the fuel on work sites is the selection of location of the storage tank. Since the fuel has flammable and explosive properties, the location of the tank must be such that it brings no risk to the safety of the employee that work on the work site. On the other hand, against the contamination probability of the fuel that rests in the storage tank, it should be filtered before being transferred to the machinery. Otherwise, the fuel tank of the machinery will be contaminated and such contamination may cause the machinery to breakdown. Another solution established against small fuel tank problem on industrial machinery is the use of an external fuel tank. Even though, the products comprising said external fuel tanks have more fuel capacity, it brings along problems such as location, transfer during transportation due to their being external and design and storage problems due to their dimensions. Moreover, external tanks pose a risk both in terms of safety and tipping over. Since the external tanks can be easily stolen due to their nature, they should be particularly protected and hidden. In general, such reasons and problems affect both the manufacturer and the end user in various ways.

In the industrial field, various studies have been practiced in order to make fuel tanks of the power generating or power consuming machinery that work on a frame more functional and so that they are filled with more fuel. One of these studies is the patent subject EP04025464.1 , described in the patent entitled “Motor driven mobile construction machinery with fuel tank”. The invention is, for example, related to construction machinery such as mortar spraying machine or pressure air compressor. The construction machine comprises a driving motor that is placed inside a motor location, a bottom cover that covers the bottom of the motor and that can be mounted on a frame and a fuel tank configured as a molded piece manufactured from plastic. According to the invention, the fuel tank has plural functions and at the same time it is also configured as a bottom cover and therefore it is shaped as a double walled vessel that covers the bottom of the motor location, that can be accessed through a filling connection and that has a space filled with fuel.

As a result, the need for a frame - tank structure that resolves the disadvantages of the current state of the art and the shortcomings of the present solutions required an improvement in the related technical field.

Brief Description of the Invention

The current invention is related to a frame - tank structure that fulfills the abovementioned requirements, eliminates all the disadvantages and brings some additional advantages, that is in use in the industrial field; designed for power generating or power consuming machinery such as generators, motopumps, pumps, hydraulic power units, diesel and gas engines and the like that work on a frame and that comprise a separate fuel tank thereon.

Based on the current state of the art, the object of the invention is to provide a novel industrial product in which the fuel tank and the frame are integrated by the frame-tank structure.

The object of the invention is to enable use of the frame on which the machine is mounted and operated as also the fuel tank by integrating the tank and the frame in the frame-tank embodiment.

Another object of the invention is to provide an aesthetically advantageous product to the user by means of the design of the frame-tank structure.

Yet another object of the invention is that more fuel can be stored when compared to internal fuel tanks due to use of frame-tank structure as a fuel tank and thus operational time can be elongated.

Yet another object of the invention is to enable reducing maintenance and repair costs in the long term, since the frame-tank structure allows more fuel to be stored and enables longer operation times.

Yet another object of the invention is to enable reducing the total weight and thus the fuel consumption of the machine due to the material used in production of the frame- tank structure.

Another object of the invention is to enable more efficient damping of the vibration of the motor and similar components that work on the frame depending on the material property since the frame in the frame-tank structure is manufactured from a plastic based material and thus to eliminate vibration related problems. Yet another object of the invention is to enable elimination of problems such as robbery risks and storage difficulties since the frame-tank structure consists of frame-integrated fuel tank.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an aesthetic view and to enable prevention of dangers that may be encountered in terms of work safety since the fuel suction lines are not on the structure in the frame-tank structure.

Another object of the invention is to enable reducing both the operation time and the production costs by producing the frame in the frame-tank structure via injection molding method.

Structural and characteristic properties and all the advantages of the invention will be clearly understood through the figures and the detailed description given below and by referring to said figures, therefore the evaluation must be performed by considering these figures and the detailed description.

Brief Description of the Figures

In order to better understand the embodiment of the current invention and its advantages along with the additional components, it must be evaluated with the figures described below.

Figure-1 ; is the schematic general view of the frame-tank structure,

Figure-2; is the schematic bottom general view of the frame-tank structure,

Figure-3; is the schematic top general view of the frame-tank structure,

Figure-4; is the schematic general view of the fuel tank space.

Reference Numbers

100. Frame-tank structure

101. Frame upper body

102. Frame lower body

103. Wheels 104. Wheel rod

105. Fender

106. Carrying arm housing

107. Battery mounting housing

108. Vibration dampers

109. Vibration damper connection component

1 10. Fuel suction line

1 1 1. Fuel tank cap

1 12. Tank cap fixing component

1 13. Liquid discharge space

1 14. Frame installation component

1 15. Fuel tank space

1 16. Carrying arm

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the frame-tank structure (100) of the invention that is designed for power generating or power consuming machinery such as generators, motopumps, hydraulic power units, diesel and gas engines and the like which work on a frame and which comprise a separate fuel tank, is described towards providing a better understanding of the subject matter without bringing any limitation.

The frame-tank structure (100) illustrated in Figure-1 comprises the frame upper body (101 ) and the frame lower body (102) that form the frame after assembly, battery mounting housing (107), vibration damper (108), fuel suction line (1 10) and the fuel tank space (115) formed for storage and protection of the fuel in the frame. In order to provide connection between said vibration damper (108) and the motor and similar components, vibration damper connection component (109) is positioned. Said frame- tank structure (100) comprises a fender (105) in order to prevent the wheels from dirtying the frame by the material they carry on dirty surfaces. The wheel (103) shown on Figure-2 enables easy transportation of the frame-tank structure (100) from one place to another. Said wheels (103) are connected to the frame through the wheel rods (104). Said vibration damper (108) dampens the vibration of the motor and similar components that operate on the frame-tank structure (100) and prevents them from damaging the frame. In said frame, a liquid discharge space (1 13) in the form of a space is positioned to discharge probable liquid accumulations. The carrying arm (1 16) that enables vertical lifting and transportation of the frame-tank structure (100) shown in Figure-3 is located inside the carrying arm housing (106). Moreover, there is the battery mounting housing (107) in the frame-tank structure (100) in which the battery is installed. In the said frame-tank structure (100), there is the fuel suction line (1 10) to convey the fuel in the fuel tank (1 15) to the motor or similar parts. On the said fuel tank space (1 15) shown in Figure-4, there is the fuel tank cap (1 1 1 ) fixed by the tank fixing component (1 12) in order to protect the fuel storing space. On the said frame, the frame upper body (101 ) and the frame lower body (102) are assembled and fixed by the frame installation component (1 14).

In the said frame-tank structure (100), frame upper body (101 ) and frame lower body (102) which is separately manufactured are assembled together by the frame installation component (1 14). Due to high number of frame installation components (1 14), frame upper body (101 ) and frame lower body (102) are assembled at a plurality of locations, thus probable leaks are prevented and a more rugged structure is obtained. By the wheels (103) connected to said frame body, the frame-tank structure (100) can be easily moved without lifting or transported to another place easily. Particularly, a fender (105) is mounted around said wheels (103) for the dirt problem that may occur when the product works in dirty and muddy environments and foreign or similar materials that may be conveyed by the wheels (103) are prevented from dirtying the body of the frame-tank structure (100). In order to allow transportation of the said frame-tank structure (100) by lifting and cutting contact with the ground, a carrying arm (1 16) is mounted by a carrying arm housing (106) on the frame. Thanks to the battery mounting housing (107) in the said frame-tank structure (100), a battery can be connected if a start-stop motor is used and if parts such as a starting motor or electricity are required. There are vibration dampers (108) on the frame in order to prevent damage to the frame or other components due to vibration of the motor or similar parts that work on said frame and to minimize the probable damage. Thus, the damage to the frame originating from the vibrating components is minimized by relatively damping the vibration. The biggest feature of the said frame-tank structure (100) is that the frame is also the fuel tank. In this sense, after the frame upper body (101 ) and the frame lower body (102) are assembled together by the frame installation components (1 14), there exists a space between them due to their production methods. This space is used as the fuel storage space (1 15) and thus more fuel is safely stored in this area and used. In order to transfer the fuel in the fuel tank space (1 15) to the parts that work on the system, there used a fuel suction line (1 10) which is vertically positioned in the tank and of which the end reaches from the frame upper body (101 ) to the system. The fuel in the fuel tank space (1 15) reaches the parts that work on the frame without requiring any additional process due to this fuel suction line (1 10). In order to allow replenishing fuel to said frame tank space (1 15), a fuel discharge point is allocated on the frame upper body (101 ) and this fuel discharge point is protected by a fuel tank cap (11 1 ). Due to the key on the fuel tank cap (1 1 ), no one other than the machinery operator or the authorized people can access the fuel tank space (15). Tank cap fixing components (1 12) are used to fix the housing on which said fuel tank cap (1 11 ) is located to the frame upper body (101 ). In said frame-tank structure (100), in order to discharge liquids that may accumulate on the frame upper body (101 ) such as rain water, discharge water, fuel and the like, there formed an inclination on the frame upper body (101 ) with a slight angle and this problem is solved through the liquid channels formed at certain locations. By the liquid discharge spaces (1 13) located in the end of the liquid channels, such liquids are discharged from the frame body without stopping the frame-tank structure (100) or without requiring any extra procedures.