Description:
A C-SHAPED BRACKET FOR GAS CYLINDER FRAME STRUCTURE FOR VEHICLE
FIELD OF INVENTION:
[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to mounting of gas cylinder frame structure on vehicle, and, in particularly, to a C-shaped bracket structure for mounting the gas cylinder frame structure made of steel tubes and steel sheets on the vehicle. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to a C-shaped mounting bracket for mounting the gas cylinder frame on the vehicle chassis.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002] Now days vehicle are coming with dual fuel capacity. The dual fuel vehicles are efficient to reduce air pollution. Government is also supporting dual fuel vehicle to reduce burden of petrol and diesel along with environment pollution. The dual fuel vehicles run on gasoline, i.e., petrol or diesel and on alternate fuel, such as natural gas, i.e., CNG, LPG. The dual fuel vehicles have single internal combustion engine which runs on both type of fuels. Further, the two fuels are stored in separate tanks in the vehicle. Accordingly there is separate fuel tank for CNG and for petrol. Generally, the internal combustion engine runs on one fuel at a time. The vehicle has capability to switch back and forth from gasoline or diesel to the other fuel, such as CNG or LPG, manually or automatically.
[003] Generally, CNG cylinder or gas cylinder are mounted at rear side, i.e., in boot space area of the vehicle. The gas cylinder is kept on a frame which is mounted on the vehicle chassis. To keep the gas cylinder at its location, mounting stability of the gas cylinder frame is necessary.
[004] Fig. 1 illustrates structure of existing gas cylinder frames, such as CNG gas cylinder frames. The existing gas cylinder frame has a plurality of pipes 101, 102, 103, 104 which are connected with each other to form a rectangular receiving space to receive gas cylinder. The plurality of pipes 101-104 are mounted on mounting brackets 107 at two ends. The mounting brackets 107 are mounted on the vehicle chassis with a plurality of mounting brackets 108 at several locations. The mounting bracket 107 is a box type structure to hold the gas cylinder on the rectangular frame. Further, height of the gas cylinder frame 10 depends on the height of the mounting bracket.
[005] Referring to figure 11, the mounting bracket of the existing frames is heavy and includes several parts. As shown in the figure 11, for mounting the gas cylinder frame to the rear floor of the vehicle six parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are used. For every new model of the vehicle, these six parts need to be redesigned according to the vehicle layout which involves substantial cost and weight addition. Further, eight mounting points on are required including left hand side and the right hand side to mount gas cylinder frame on body in white (BIW) of vehicle in case of existing frame. The existing mounting bracket covers significant rear floor area which reduces the space for the spare tire removal and adds weight to the structure.
[006] There are numerous technical problems existed with existing gas cylinder frames. The conventional gas cylinder frame requires box type mounting bracket which is heavy in weight and complex in structure. The mounting bracket requires a plurality of mounting brackets to mount the gas cylinder frame on the vehicle chassis which increases the cost and assembly time of the gas cylinder frame. With new design of the vehicle, a new design of the gas cylinder frame is required as per dimensions of the vehicle. Therefore, new tooling and more development time is required for any new layout. The existing gas cylinder frame is made of heavy pipe or metal rods which increase the weight of the frame which ultimately increases the weight of the vehicle. Further, a plurality of mounting brackets, for example, six or eight bolts are required for securing gas cylinder frame to vehicle body in White (BIW) floor.
[007] In view of the above, it is beneficial to have a gas cylinder frame that provides light weight for vehicle performance. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a structure of the gas cylinder frame that is more simple and inexpensive, and which can be placed in the existing vehicle to eliminate the existing above mentioned problems.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[008] The principal object of the present invention is to provide a gas cylinder frame that is light in weight.
[009] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a gas cylinder frame with less number of mounting locations.
[0010] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a uniform gas cylinder frame for any type of vehicle to mount gas cylinder without changing layout of the structure.
[0011] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide at least four C-shaped mounting brackets to mount the gas cylinder frame on body in white (BIW) of the vehicle.
[0012] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a common C-shaped mounting bracket with symmetric to mount the gas cylinder frame on the vehicle chassis across all mounting locations.
[0013] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a C-shaped mounting bracket for mounting gas cylinder frame on the vehicle that is simple and inexpensive, and easy to mount on the vehicle chassis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0014] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a C-shaped mounting bracket for mounting of gas cylinder frame on floor of vehicle. The gas cylinder frame mounts at rear side of the vehicle on the chassis of the vehicle. The gas cylinder frame is made of steel pipes and steel sheets. The gas cylinder frame has four steel tubes. The C-shaped mounting bracket is provided to assembled the gas cylinder frame on body in white (BIW) of vehicle. The C-shaped mounting bracket is a metal plate with a C-shaped cut section to cover outer surface area of the welded longitudinal pipes and the transverse pipes at the horizontal metal plates. The C-shaped mounting bracket is provided at four locations where the longitudinal and transverse pipes are welded with the horizontal metal plate. The C-shaped mounting bracket has perpendicularly bent edge along C-shaped cut section to increase contact area with the welded longitudinal and transverse pipes on the horizontal metal plate. The bent edge provides strength to the gas cylinder frame and distributes load and pressure over the horizontal metal plate. The C-shaped mounting bracket has at least two mounting holes at opposite end of the C-shaped cut section to mount the horizontal metal plate with chassis of the vehicle via metal screws. The bent edge of the C-shaped cut section of the C-shaped mounting bracket is welded with the longitudinal and transverse pipes and horizontal metal plate. The C-shaped mounting bracket has uniform design that makes it possible to use single designed mounting bracket at four mounting locations. Therefore, the present C-shaped mounting bracket makes mounting of the gas cylinder frame with the vehicle chassis easy and fast.
[0015] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0017] Fig. 1 illustrates structure of existing gas cylinder frame;
[0018] Fig. 2 illustrates structure of gas cylinder frame, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0019] Fig. 3 illustrates exploded view of joints in the gas cylinder frame, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0020] Fig. 4 illustrates placement of gas cylinder on the gas cylinder frame, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0021] Fig. 5 illustrates height adjustment gas cylinders on the gas cylinder frame structure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0022] Fig. 6 illustrates length adjustment gas cylinders on the gas cylinder frame structure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0023] Fig. 7 illustrates structure with gap adjustment in the gas cylinder frame and side view of the gas cylinder with the gas cylinder frame, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0024] Fig. 8 illustrates spare tire removal facility, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0025] Fig. 9 illustrates pipe length adjustment mechanism, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0026] Fig. 10 illustrates mounting of gas cylinder frame with vehicle chassis by C-shaped mounting brackets at four mounting corners of the gas cylinder frame, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0027] Fig. 11 illustrates existing mounting bracket used to mount the gas cylinder frame with the vehicle chassis as known in the art;
[0028] Fig. 12 illustrates stress results comparison between the C-shaped mounting bracket and existing mounting bracket, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0029] Fig. 13 illustrates various welding and mounting locations of existing mounting bracket and the current C-shaped mounting bracket, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter; and
[0030] Fig. 14 illustrates mounting of C-shaped mounting bracket on the gas cylinder frame, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0031] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0032] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a C-shaped mounting bracket for mounting of gas cylinder frame on floor of vehicle. The gas cylinder frame mounts at rear side of the vehicle on the chassis of the vehicle. The gas cylinder frame is made of steel pipes and steel sheets. The gas cylinder frame has four steel tubes. The C-shaped mounting bracket is provided to assembled the gas cylinder frame on body in white (BIW) of vehicle. The C-shaped mounting bracket is a metal plate with a C-shaped cut section to cover outer surface area of the welded longitudinal pipes and the transverse pipes at the horizontal metal plates. The C-shaped mounting bracket is provided at four locations where the longitudinal and transverse pipes are welded with the horizontal metal plate. The C-shaped mounting bracket has perpendicularly bent edge along C-shaped cut section to increase contact area with the welded longitudinal and transverse pipes on the horizontal metal plate. The bent edge provides strength to the gas cylinder frame and distributes load and pressure over the horizontal metal plate. The C-shaped mounting bracket has at least two mounting holes at opposite end of the C-shaped cut section to mount the horizontal metal plate with chassis of the vehicle via metal screws. The bent edge of the C-shaped cut section of the C-shaped mounting bracket is welded with the longitudinal and transverse pipes and horizontal metal plate. The C-shaped mounting bracket has uniform design that makes it possible to use single designed mounting bracket at four mounting locations. Therefore, the present C-shaped mounting bracket makes mounting of the gas cylinder frame with the vehicle chassis easy and fast.
[0033] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by devising various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0034] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scop
[0035] Fig. 2 illustrates structure of gas cylinder frame, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The present gas cylinder structure 200 is made of Steel tubes and Steel Sheets welded by MIG welding to reduce tooling cost, weight. Further, the gas cylinder can be CNG, LPG, and any other fluid fuel gas cylinder. The main function of gas cylinder frame is to secure high pressure gas cylinder under normal vehicle use and Crash conditions.
[0036] The gas cylinder frame 200 has two longitudinal pipes, i.e., first longitudinal pipe 201 and second longitudinal pipe 202. The first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202 are bent perpendicularly in downward direction at both ends by 3D CNC bending machine. The bending profile of the pipes is in curved shape. Therefore, the bent longitudinal pipes are in U shape with extended base length. The extended base length and length of bent portion is optimized to change dimensions of the gas cylinder frame. The first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202 are positioned parallel on horizontal plates 205 at a transverse distance away from each other at both ends to form a space between the first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202. The transverse distance between the parallel positioned first longitudinal pipe and the second longitudinal pipe depends on the capacity and size or diameter of gas cylinder. End portions of the bent portion of both the pipes 201, 202 engage with the horizontal metal plates 205 provided at both ends. The bent portions of both the pipes are welded with the horizontal metal plates 205.
[0037] The gas cylinder frame 200 has two transverse pipes 203 at two side of the gas cylinder frame 200. The transverse pipes 203 are bent perpendicularly in downward direction at both ends by 3D CNC bending machine. The bending profile of the pipes is in curved shape. The bent transverse pipes are in U shape with extended base length. The extended base length of the bent transverse pipes 203 is equal to the transverse distance between the parallel positioned first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202. Each transverse pipe 203 is provided in between the first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202 on the horizontal metal plates 205 to form a rectangular frame structure. The end portions of the bent profile of the transverse pipes 203 are welded on the horizontal metal plates 205 along with the first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202. One bent side/portion of the transverse pipe 203 is welded along with the first longitudinal pipe 201 at one end and other bent side/portion is welded along with the second longitudinal pipe 202 at other end on the horizontal metal plate 205.
[0038] Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe are joined by a plurality of reinforcements 206 to form strong triangular connecting structures 208 at four corners of the rectangular frame structure. The plurality of reinforcements 206 connects the first longitudinal pipe 201 with the transverse pipes 203 to restrict movement of the first longitudinal pipe 201 with respect to the transverse pipe 203 at both ends. Similarly, the plurality of reinforcements 206 connects the second longitudinal pipe 206 with the transverse pipes 203 to restrict movement of the second longitudinal pipe 202 with respect to the transverse pipes 202 at both ends. The triangular connecting structures 208 prevent torsional deformation and lead to weight reduction to gas cylinder frame 200. The formation of connecting structures 208 provides strength to the gas cylinder frame. The plurality of reinforcements 206 is welded on upper surface of the longitudinal pipes 201, 202 and transverse pipe 203 at four corners of the gas cylinder frame 200. The triangular connecting structures 208 made by the longitudinal pipes 201, 202 and transverse pipe 203 with the plurality of reinforcement leads to weight reduction of gas cylinder frame for similar height gas cylinder frame.
[0039] Referring to fig. 2, the gas cylinder frame 200 has two lower semicircular bands 207 connected transversely in between the parallel positioned first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202 at a longitudinal distance. One end of the two lower semicircular bands is joined with the first longitudinal pipe and other end is joined with the second longitudinal pipe 202. The two semicircular bands 207 define a semi cylindrical area to receive cylindrical surface of the gas cylinder. Referring to Fig. 4, the gas cylinder 209 is secured on the gas cylinder frame 200 by two upper semi circular bands 209 that are provided from upper side of the gas cylinder 208. The two lower semi circular bands 207 has extended flanges with mounting holes to engage with the bent flanges of the upper semicircular band with mounting screws. The mounting screws are tightening to hold the gas cylinder 208 in the gas cylinder frame 200.
[0040] The gas cylinder frame structure or gas cylinder frame 200 is designed for every layout. With the present design of the gas cylinder frame, it is possible that different layout can be made just by changing pipe length and positions of the same. Since the pipe bending is done using 3D CNC bending machines, no tool is required for making a new gas cylinder frame.
[0041] Further, heights of the first longitudinal pipe 201, the second longitudinal pipe 202, and two transverse pipes can be changed without any tooling impact. Further, gas cylinder can be placed at multiple heights as per vehicle layout as shown in figure 5. Similarly, lengths of the first longitudinal pipe 201, the second longitudinal pipe 202, and two transverse pipes can be changed without any tooling impact. Therefore, various gas cylinder capacities can be used as per vehicle layout without any tooling impact and without many any changes in the layout of the gas cylinder frame.
[0042] The first longitudinal pipe 201 and the second longitudinal pipe 202 can have differential and same heights. For explanation of the present subject matter, the differential heights are considered for the structure. Further, the pipes with same height are also within the scope of the present subject matter. The first longitudinal pipe 201 has more height as compared to the second longitudinal pipe 202 to allow easy removal of spare tire 211 from front side of the vehicle as shown in figure 8a. In another embodiment, the second longitudinal pipe 202 can has more height as compare to the first longitudinal pipe 201 to allow easy removal of spare tire 211 from rear side of the vehicle as shown in the figure 8b. In yet another embodiment, the gas cylinder frame 200 with one pipe having more height can be mounted in either way to allow easy access of the spare tire 211. Figure 9 illustrates the extension of length in the pipes. As shown in figure 9, Pipe lengths can be adjusted by means of using a smaller diameter pipe placed inside Pipes 201, 202, and 203.
[0043] Referring to figure 7, a gap is provided in between the pipes 201, 202, 203 and the horizontal metal plate 205 for height adjustment and better control of WL position of the cylinder.
[0044] In the gas cylinder frame 200, the pipes 201, 202, 203 are bent using 3D CNC bending machine therefore, no tool is required. In order to vary the dimensions of the gas cylinder frame 200, dimensions of the pipes are changed without any change in the layout and structure. Further, dimension of the gas cylinder depends upon capacity of the gas cylinder. All four bent pipes are welded on the two horizontal metal plates to form a rectangular frame to receive the gas cylinder from upper side.
[0045] Referring to figure 2, 3, and figure 10, a C-shaped mounting bracket 204 is provided to assembled the gas cylinder frame 200 on body in white (BIW) of vehicle. The C-shaped mounting bracket 204 is a metal plate with a C-shaped cut section 204a to cover outer surface area of the welded longitudinal pipes 201, 202 and the transverse pipes 203 at the horizontal metal plates 205 at both ends. The C-shaped mounting bracket 204 is provided at four locations where the longitudinal and transverse pipes are welded with the horizontal metal plates 205.
[0046] In the existing designs have various interconnected parts due to which gas cylinder frame design become heavier. Most of these parts were connected through either spot weld or arc weld which makes the design weaker. Therefore, a C-shaped mounting bracket is developed to mount the gas cylinder frame made from steel pipes. The C-shaped mounting bracket 204 has perpendicularly bent edge 204c along C-shaped cut section 204a to increase contact area with the welded longitudinal 201, 202 and transverse pipes 203 on the horizontal metal plates 205. The bent edge 204c provides strength to the gas cylinder frame 200 and distributes load and pressure over the horizontal metal plate 205 and to vehicle chassis body. Referring to figure 10 and 14, the C-shaped mounting bracket 204 has at least one mounting hole 204b at opposite end of the C-shaped cut section 204a to mount the horizontal metal plate 205 with chassis of the vehicle via metal screws. The mounting holes 204b can be tow in number. The bent edge 204c of the C-shaped cut section 204a of the C-shaped mounting bracket 204 is welded with the longitudinal pipes 201, 202, the transverse pipes 203, and horizontal metal plates 205.
[0047] The C-shaped mounting bracket 204 has uniform design that makes it possible to use single designed mounting bracket at four mounting locations. Therefore, the present C-shaped mounting bracket makes mounting of the gas cylinder frame with the vehicle chassis easy and fast.
[0048] Figure 12a and 12b illustrates the comparison of load distribution performance due to mounting brackets in the gas cylinder frame. Fig. 12a shows the existing design of the mounting bracket whereas the fig 21b shows the present C-shaped mounting bracket at mounting location. To evaluate the performance of C-shaped mounting bracket various design iterations has been performed in CAE and results of gas cylinder mounting are well within evaluation criteria and 60 % better than the existing modal as shown by 1201 and 1202.
[0049] Referring to figure 13a and figure 13b, in the present design of the gas cylinder frame 200 and the C-shaped mounting bracket 204 only three parts are required to assemble/mount the gas cylinder frame made of pipes with body in white (BIW) floor of the vehicle as shown in fiure-13b. The present design of the gas cylinder frame has high stiffness due to which a weight optimization of complete design is possible which resulted in 41% lighter gas cylinder frame in comparison to the existing gas cylinder frame.
[0050] The present C-shaped mounting bracket has symmetric design which can be used in any of the four mounting locations as shown in figure-2. Due to symmetry in design, a single part is used at all joinery with the BIW which reduces the part development and tooling cost. Further, in the new model development of vehicle, dimensions of the C-shaped mounting bracket needs to be changed which also reduces the part development time and cost.
[0051] Further, four mounting bolts are required to attach the gas cylinder frame with the BIW in place of eight mounting location in existing frame. Two mounting locations are provided at one side. The gas cylinder frame can be modified as per the model development configuration while keeping the base mounting structure common.
[0052] The present gas cylinder frame is made of steel tubes which are bent through 3D CNC bending machine. Further, the bent steel tubes are welded on the horizontal metal plates with simple welding mechanism. Therefore, the present gas cylinder frame is easy and fast to manufacture without high tooling cost. Further, from the present structure of the gas cylinder frame, a uniform layout is achieved which can be implemented in any vehicle with different configurations. It is easy to change dimensions of the gas cylinder frame by changing the dimensions of the steel pipes. Therefore, the present gas cylinder frame improves the vehicle performance due to weight reduction.
[0053] In another embodiment, the C-shaped mounting bracket is provided to mount the gas cylinder frame with the BIW of the vehicle. Through the C-shaped mounting bracket, mounting of the gas cylinder frame with the vehicle becomes fast and easy. Further, the C-shaped mounting bracket has uniform structure with any variation in dimensions of the gas cylinder frame.
[0054] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/component of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the scope of the present subject matter.

We claim:

1. A C-shaped mounting bracket (204) for holding a gas cylinder frame (200), said C-shaped mounting bracket (204) comprising:
a metal plate with C-shaped cut section (204a) to support longitudinal pipes (201) and transverse pipes (202) of the gas cylinder frame (200) welded on horizontal mounting brackets (205).

2. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein edge (204c) of the C-shaped cut section (204a) bent perpendicularly in upper side to form a vertical flange area at the C-shaped cut section (204a) to increase contact support area of the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) with the welded longitudinal pipes (201) and the transverse pipes (201).

3. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) has at least one mounting hole (204b) at opposite end of the C-shaped cut section (204a) to mount the horizontal metal plate (205) of the gas cylinder frame (200) on chassis of the vehicle.

4. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) has a uniform design which allows the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) with no variation in design to mount at all four mounting locations of the gas cylinder frame (200).

5. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) mounts the gas cylinder frame (200) with body in white (BIW) structure of the vehicle.

6. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein stiffness of the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) depends on weight of the gas cylinder frame (200).

7. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) is provided around welding locations of the longitudinal and transverse pipes (201, 202) with the horizontal metal plate (205) to avoid breakage of the welding and to mount the gas cylinder frame (200) with the vehicle body.

8. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein thickness of the metal plate of the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) depends upon the weight optimization of the gas cylinder pipe frame (20) with empty condition and with filled condition.

9. The C-shaped mounting bracket (204) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the C-shaped mounting bracket (204) is welded with the longitudinal and transverse pipes (201, 202) and the horizontal metal plate (205).