CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0085050, filed Jul. 15, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a stiffness reinforcement structure for a fuel tank of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

In general, when a negative pressure of an engine acts on a fuel tank side through a canister while the engine of a gasoline vehicle operates, an evaporation gas in a fuel tank is collected in the canister and the evaporation gas collected in the canister enters into a combustion chamber of the engine by the negative pressure of the engine, thereby being combusted therein, so that the regulation on the evaporation gas emission may be met.

On the other hand, in the case of a hybrid vehicle, when only a traveling motor is operated, a negative pressure of an engine due to an engine operation is not available, so that an evaporation gas in a fuel tank is not collected properly in a canister.

To resolve these drawbacks, the fuel tank of the hybrid vehicle is manufactured in a closed structure using a plastic material, wherein the fuel tank is manufactured in a structure equipped with an electronic solenoid for generating positive pressure and negative pressure.

However, when internal pressure of the fuel tank is increased due to rise of outside air temperature, a problem of deformation of the fuel tank made of the plastic material follows.

Therefore, a separate stiffness reinforcement member for preventing deformation of the fuel tank is desired to be installed in the fuel tank made of the plastic material.

FIG. 1shows an example of a conventional stiffness reinforcement member provided in a fuel tank.

As shown inFIG. 1, a reinforcement column20is connected between an upper plate11and a lower plate12of a fuel tank10.

That is, a top surface and a bottom surface of the reinforcement column20are integrally fused to the upper plate11and the lower plate12, respectively, of the fuel tank10by heat fused method or the like.

Specifically, in order to absorb a shock in an event of a vehicle collision according to safety regulations, the reinforcement column20includes a concave rupture inducing portion22at the middle portion of the reinforcement column20.

Therefore, when a large impact due to the vehicle collision is applied to the fuel tank10made of the plastic material, the fuel tank10is deformed to absorb the impact, and at the same time, the rupture inducing portion22of the reinforcement column20is deformed or ruptured, absorbing the impact.

However, we have discovered that when the level of stiffness of the reinforcement column20is greater than a desired reference value, the rupture inducing portion22may not be broken (or deformed) even when the impact due to the vehicle collision is applied to the plastic fuel tank10. Instead, the fused portion between the upper plate11of the tank10and the top surface of the reinforcement column20or the fused portion between the lower plate12of the fuel tank10and the bottom surface of the reinforcement column20is ruptured (torn), thereby causing a problem that the fuel inside the fuel tank leaks.

We have also found that when the stiffness of the reinforcement column20is too weak, the rupture inducing portion22is easily broken even by the negative pressure acting on the fuel tank, thereby causing a problem that the fuel tank is excessively deformed.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a stiffness reinforcement structure for a fuel tank of a vehicle, which is capable of maintaining the stiffness of the fuel tank even with changes in pressure such as positive pressure and negative pressure in the fuel tank by mounting a stiffness reinforcement column inside a fuel tank made of a plastic material and capable of inhibiting heat fused portions between the reinforcement column and the upper and lower plates of the fuel tank from being ruptured by allowing the stiffness reinforcement column to have self-reactive impact dispersion movement in case of a vehicle collision accident.

In one form of present disclosure, the stiffness reinforcement structure for the fuel tank of the vehicle may include: a reinforcement column including an upper end part and a lower end part; an upper fusing structure including a first locking structure configured to lock the upper end part of the reinforcement column, thereby the upper fusing structure being fused on an inner top surface of the fuel tank; and a lower fusing structure including a second locking structure configured to lock the lower end part of the reinforcement column, thereby the lower fusing structure being fused on an inner bottom surface of the fuel tank. In particular, the upper end part of the reinforcement column is removably inserted into and locked to the first locking structure of the upper fusing structure, and the lower end part of the reinforcement column is removably inserted into and locked to the second locking structure of the lower fusing structure.

The first locking structure may be integrally provided at a lower side of the upper fusing structure, thereby providing a locking space where the upper end part of the reinforcement column may be inserted in a horizontal direction and may be provided with an opening at one side thereof, thereby allowing the reinforcement column to be accessed when assembled.

A first locking lever may be integrally provided at a part of a periphery of the first locking structure, thereby exerting an elastic restoring force to an original position when opened outward.

One end of the first locking lever may be integrally provided at a predetermined position of the periphery of the first locking structure, and an opposite end thereof may be arranged as a free end in the opening of the first locking structure.

The second locking structure may be integrally provided at an upper side of the lower fusing structure, thereby providing a locking space where the lower end part of the reinforcement column may be inserted in a horizontal direction and may be provided with an opening at one side thereof, thereby allowing the reinforcement column to be accessed when assembled.

A second locking lever may be integrally provided at a part of a periphery of the second locking structure, thereby exerting an elastic restoring force to an original position when opened outward.

One end of the second locking lever may be integrally provided at a predetermined position of the periphery of the second locking structure, and an opposite end thereof may be arranged as a free end in the opening of the second locking structure.

In addition, on a top surface of the upper fusing structure and under a bottom surface of the lower fusing structure, a plurality of heat fusing projections may be integrally provided.

The reinforcement column may include: a column portion having a predetermined length, an upper locking plate integrally provided on an upper end of the column portion and inserted into and locked to the locking space provided in the first locking structure, and a lower locking plate integrally provided on a lower end of the column portion and inserted into and locked to the locking space provided in the second locking structure.

Specifically, a diameter of the upper locking plate may be provided to be smaller than a diameter of the locking space of the first locking structure, and a diameter of the lower locking plate may be provided to be smaller than a diameter of the locking space of the second locking structure.

The column portion of the reinforcement column may form a hollow pipe shape and include a plurality of vanes which are radially arranged around the column portion and integrally provided on an outer surface portion of the column portion.

Alternatively, the column portion of the reinforcement column may be manufactured in a structure having a plurality of grid-shaped cell spaces in an inner portion thereof.

Through above-described structure, the present disclosure provides following effects.

First, the stiffness reinforcement column mounted in the fuel tank can prevent the fuel tank from being deformed in the vertical direction.

Second, even though an impact in such as a vehicle collision accident is applied to the fuel tank and the reinforcement column, the upper and lower locking plates of the reinforcement column move in the locking spaces of the first and second locking structures, respectively, thereby allowing the impact to be dispersed and absorbed. As a result, the heat fused states of the upper and lower fusing structures of the reinforcement column with respect to the upper and lower plates of the fuel tank, respectively, can be maintained as they are.

Third, under a given condition that the impact in such as the vehicle collision accident is applied, the upper and lower fusing structures of the reinforcement column are not ruptured and maintain the state thereof fused on the upper and lower plates of the fuel tank, respectively. Accordingly, it is possible to easily prevent the leakage due to the rupture in the fused portions of the conventional fuel tank.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

