DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION
The field of invention relates to an evaporated fuel treatment system for an automobile, especially placement and packaging of an evaporated fuel adsorption device in a three-wheeled vehicle with engine positioned in the rear side and thereby designing an evaporating fuel handling system for use in a three wheeled vehicle , however applicable to small four wheel vehicles like quadricycle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is an urgent need to minimize atmospheric discharges by automobiles. One of the many emissions taking place from an IC-engine driven vehicle is the fumes of evaporated fuel leaking out of the petrol tanks. This may occur more in hot climate regions around the world, where the bodies of liquid fuel tanks get heated and cause large scale evaporation of the fuel. These vapors keep leaking out through any possible opening.
A typical three-wheeled vehicle, is generally used for transport of passengers or goods. A passenger three-wheeler has a rear compartment behind the driver compartment. The rear compartment comprises a passenger compartment and an engine compartment, and a luggage compartment may be provided behind the passenger compartment. The engine and the fuel tank are mounted on the body panels / frame. In a goods-carrier three-wheeler, there is a carrier box / compartment behind the driver compartment, and the engine compartment is behind the driver compartment, where the engine and the fuel tank are mounted on the body panels / frame.
The exposure of the fuel system to high atmospheric temperature being inevitable, the problem of fuel evaporation resulting in its leakage into atmosphere is one of the major concerns for the designers.
A known solution to this problem is the use of an evaporated fuel adsorption device such as a charcoal canister, which adsorbs vapors of fuel and discharges the same into the engine intake system as desired. It is the main unit in the evaporated fuel management system, which also includes purge pipe, purge valve, etc.
When locating a canister on such a compact layout vehicle, a few considerations need to be made. Firstly, the canister cannot be too close to the heat sources such as the engine or the exhaust pipe in order to prevent damage to the elements of the canister, e.g. adsorbent, and thereby its functioning. Secondly, it is expected that the canister is located as close to the source of fuel vapors (say fuel tank), as well as to the discharge point (say intake system), as possible. Thirdly, it is desirable that the length of the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe connecting to canister is optimized for proper functioning, convenience during assembly and service of the vehicle and reduction of cost, weight, etc. Also, Canister needs to be protected from outside environment/damages.
With these considerations in mind, it is important to identify and locate the canister at a suitable location on a three-wheeled vehicle, particularly when the engine and other associated systems are to be accommodated in a compact layout. Furthermore, it is also important that the location of the canister does not adversely affect or compromise other layouts and systems of the three-wheeled vehicle.
Therefore, it is always challenging for a vehicle designer to identify a suitable location for a canister when faced with the aforementioned considerations for mounting the canister and limitations of such type of a three-wheeled vehicle.
The challenge is intensified if the canister is to be located on an existing three-wheeled vehicle design having rear-mounted engine. Redesigning of the three-wheeler and repositioning of the components to accommodate a canister is costly.
RELATED PRIOR ARTS
There are no prior arts found by the applicant which show an evaporated fuel canister in a rear-mounted engine particularly in a three-wheeled vehicle. However, other prior arts showing canister used in other types of rear-engine vehicles are discussed.
In a riding lawn-mower shown in prior art US 20140109535(A1) which shows a rear-mounted engine, canister is mounted on a rear frame and below the installation surface which supports the engine and the fuel tank from the bottom.
In JP 2004 060530A, there is a recess formed in the fuel tank body for occupying a canister in a passenger car-type vehicle.
As shown in the prior art US 20140109535(A1), if the canister is mounted below the engine installation surface at such a low height close to the ground, there is a risk of dust entry and mud splashing, and damage due to impact of stones and gravel. Dirt may enter the canister via the lowly positioned drain pipe. Hence the canister needs to be mounted at a higher elevation. Moreover, the level of the canister is lower than that of the engine intake. If vapours condense on their way to the engine through the purge pipe, the liquid fuel may flow back into the canister, thus, clogging the adsorbent material.
The arrangement shown in prior art JP 2004 060530A compromises with the fuel tank storage capacity, since the space of recess for the canister could have otherwise been available for fuel storage. Further, an intricate / complex shape of the tank due to the recess increases the production cost of the fuel tank. A simple flat, box-type fuel tank cannot be used.
Since the purpose of the canister is to assist the fuel tank there is a need to mount the canister in association with charge pipe. The canister being part of vehicle’s pollution control system it is used to capture fuel vapours emanating from the fuel tank, it becomes a vital component of a vehicle’s evaporative emission control system. This prevents the evaporating fumes from reaching the atmosphere but without unbalancing fuel tank pressure. Typically the vapors generated in fuel tank are absorbed in canister and subsequently vapours are pulled into intake system due to vacuum generated in the engine and burned in the engine. The canister being part of the vehicle pollution system to assist in reducing emissions put into the atmosphere, there is a need to reduce evaporative gases escaping out of the vehicle by placing the fuel vapor canister in the fuel system, the gasses are drawn in the engine and then burned instead of being expelled to atmosphere. Thereby there is also a need to minimize the length of the charge pipe, since a longer length of the charging pipe causes condensation of the fuel vapours, which causes liquid fuel to be adsorbed in the canister, affecting its life. The evaporating fuel control system includes a purge path adapted to connect the canister and an intake system of an engine to each other. Hence longer length of purging piping also suffers from drop in vacuum, which adversely affects performance of the evaporative fuel adsorption system. A canister with a higher capacity would be required, which would add to the costs.
OBJECTIVES
In light of the available space in the rear-engine compartment, the main objective of this invention is to find a mounting for the canister which enables an optimum performance of charging and purging fuel vapours into and out of the canister.
Another objective of this invention is to optimize the length of the charging and the purging pipes of the canister, so that a canister with less capacity can be used, and also piping cost is reduced.
Another objective is to firmly secure the canister to the vehicle body at a safer height above the ground, so as to protect it from mud, dust, sand, gravel, etc.
Another objective is to locate/position the canister that does not adversely affect or compromise other layouts and systems of the vehicle.
Yet another objective is to use a fuel tank of simple shape which has maximum capacity, is easy to manufacture and hence bears minimal manufacturing cost.
Another objective is to accommodate an evaporative fuel handling system in a compact layout vehicle such as a three-wheeled vehicle, small four-wheeled vehicle like a quadricycle, and so on.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As seen above, there is a need to solve the problem in the prior art which is created due to the level of canister being lower than that of the engine intake. Hence there is an attempt in the invention to mount the canister at a level higher than the engine intake.
Typically recessed accommodating portion is formed in the fuel tank and this arranging structure makes the configuration of the fuel tank complicate and makes it difficult to secure a large fuel tank capacity. In prior art the canister is mounted in a recess intentionally created in the fuel tank, thereby reducing the fuel storage capacity of the fuel tank. A simple box type fuel tank is shaped to create the recess, specifically to accommodate the canister which increases the production cost of shaped fuel tank. Hence there is an attempt to locate the canister in other portion of the vehicle and not within recess of the fuel tank.
Also the canister has to be mounted in such a manner and at such a location to optimize the performance of charging and purging fuel vapors into and out of the canister, which means in the invention, there is an attempt to minimize the length of the charge pipe and optimizing purging pipes.
As per the invention, the novel evaporating fuel handling system is designed for a three wheeled vehicle or similar compact lay out vehicle having a conventional rear compartment. The rear compartment shall accommodate passenger seating, luggage storing and engine mounting. The novel evaporating fuel handling system like in a conventionally known system, the evaporated fuel generated from the fuel tank is absorbed by the canister and the adsorbed evaporated fuel is purged to an intake system of the engine. But the novelty lies in positioning advantageously the canister on a small vehicle wherein the layout space is restricted.
In one aspect the evaporating fuel handling system with a canister is for a three wheeled vehicle having a conventional driver compartment and a conventional rear compartment. The rear compartment includes a passenger seating portion, a luggage loading portion and an engine mounting portion including a rear mounted engine and a fuel tank, along with a purge valve, a charging pipe, a purge pipe, an air-filter, an intake hose. In case of Goods carrier vehicle rear compartment may include a goods carrying tray or similar arrangement.
As per the invention the said canister is disposed in the rear compartment, to make full use of the space inside the vehicle to get the best overall performance of the vehicle.

In another aspect, the canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion of said rear compartment. It is also desired to have a more efficient arrangement than known in prior art to alleviate the aforesaid problem suffered in prior art and thereby the canister is disposed preferably within the engine mounting portion and between the engine and the fuel tank in the invention, to utilize the space inside, thereby enhancing driving safety and moving smoothness of the vehicle. The canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion and between the engine and the fuel tank which is an improved layout structure for a canister unknown in prior art. The canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion and at a level higher than the engine intake. Further since the canister is mounted in the proximity of the intake system of the engine, the canister can be in a juxtaposed relationship with an intake system of the engine and purge path can be configured short to efficiently send evaporated fuel to the intake system.

The canister may also be disposed within the engine mounting portion and specifically above the engine and between the air filter and the fuel tank and accordingly the vehicle can be made compact.

In another aspect, the canister may also be disposed proximate to the passenger seating portion in the said rear compartment. The canister is disposed proximate to the passenger seating portion and behind the passenger seating arrangement in the said rear compartment. The canister is disposed behind the passenger seating portion and further preferably behind the back rest portion and at a level above the seating portion of the passenger seating arrangement of the passenger seating portion in the said rear compartment.

In another aspect, the canister may also be disposed around luggage loading portion of the said rear compartment. The canister is preferably disposed around the luggage loading portion and below the luggage portion of the luggage compartment.

The canister positioning is as per description above in various portions of the rear compartment the canister may be mounted on body panel or on fuel tank. Since the canister is then mounted on the frame, special and expensive mounting member becomes unnecessary and canister can be sufficiently secured with a simple mounting structure onto the frame. The canister may also be mounted on the body back panel of the vehicle with suitable mounting means.

The canister as per invention may also be mounted on the fuel tank thereby disposed intimately with the fuel tank. The fuel tank being a conventional box type tank without recess, thereby greatly increasing the capacity of the fuel tank. Hence this combination / arrangement is advantageous in enhancing the performance of the vehicle and simultaneously increasing the capacity of the fuel tank. The canister is mounted with a mounting means which may be a bracket arrangement on the vehicle. However many other known mounting means may also be employed without deviating from the scope of the invention.

Otherwise, the canister may also be mounted on any other location other than a body panel and a fuel tank, by means of a bracket provided on the canister.

In one aspect, the orientation of the canister is looked into. The canister is mounted with substantial vertical orientation or the canister may be mounted with substantial horizontal orientation, or may have any other inclination which is neither substantially horizontal nor substantially vertical. The canister orientation flexibility gives an added advantage to the arrangement envisaged in the invention.

The other essential features of the invention include the fuel tank devoid of recessed accommodating portions and with a top fuel vapor outlet, the said vapor outlet connected to the inlet of the canister through charging pipe thereby aiding one of the objects of the invention.

The said purge valve may also be disposed along with the canister in the rear compartment. With this arrangement, shorter charge and purge lines can be provided as per invention advantageously. The purge valve may be disposed in the engine mounting portion and between the canister and the air filter in the rear compartment. The purge valve may alternatively be disposed in the proximity of passenger seating portion in the rear compartment. The purge valve shall be preferably mounted on the panel of the vehicle. Further the purge valve may be mounted on the back panel of the vehicle. The purge valve may be mounted with any mounting means, such as bracket arrangement on the vehicle. However other known mounting means may also be used.

The shape and configuration of canister does not affect the working of the invention. The canister may be a box type canister or the canister may be a cylinder type canister, as readily available in conventional vehicles.

Furthermore, the invention also comprises of a three wheeled vehicle having an evaporating fuel handling system as described and detailed above.

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the advantages thereof will be obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The invention is explained in detail with respect to figures illustrating one of the preferred embodiments
Figure 1 illustrates a side view of three wheeled vehicle with a rear compartment, marked as ‘10’ in the drawing.
Figure 2 illustrates the rear view of the vehicle with the vertically arranged canister (7) mounted on the body panel (5). The engine (1) is on one side of the canister (7) and the fuel tank (4) is on the other side of the canister (7) . There the space in-between the fuel tank (4) and engine (1) has been advantageously utilized to mount the canister. Also canister (7) is disposed generally at a height above the engine (1). Further purge path (8) is configured short due to proximity of intake system of engine (1) and canister (7). The mounting bracket (9a) is provided on the canister (7) to mount the canister on the body panel (5). The fuel vapor outlet at top of the fuel tank (4) is connected to inlet of canister (7) through a charging pipe (6). The canister (7) is above the engine (1) and also between air filter (2) and fuel tank (4).
Figure 2A illustrates mounting bracket (9a) provided on vertically arranged canister (7) to mount the canister (7) on body panel (5a) along with a strap (13) provided on canister (7) to mount the canister on bracket (9a).
Figure 2B illustrates mounting clamp (9c) to mount the canister (7) on body panel (5a). The mounting clamp (9c) is made of spring steel which holds the canister (7) firmly.
Figure 3 illustrates the top view of the rear compartment with charging pipe (6) connected to a vertically arranged canister (7) and purging pipe (8) connected from canister (7) into engine (1) (not shown). It may be noted that charging pipe (6) is connected at topmost point of fuel tank (4) for effective collection of vapours.
Figure 4 illustrates left hand side view of the arrangement of vertically arranged canister (7) beneath the luggage compartment (12). Also canister (7) is behind the passenger compartment (11) and more specifically behind the back rest portion (11b) and also at a height above seating portion (11a). The purging pipe (8) is connecting canister (7) to an engine (1) (not shown).
Figure 5 illustrates a side view of three wheeled vehicle with a rear compartment, marked as ‘10’ in the drawing.
Figure 6 illustrates the rear view of the vehicle with vertically arranged canister (7) mounted on the fuel tank (4). The engine is one side of the canister (7) and the fuel tank (4) is substantially on the other side of the canister (7). The space between the fuel tank (4) and engine (1) has been advantageously utilized in this arrangement also. In this arrangement also the canister (7) is disposed at a height above the engine (1). Purge path (8) is configured between intake system of engine (1) and canister (7). The mounting bracket (9b) is provided on the canister (7) to mount the canister onto the fuel tank (4). The fuel vapor outlet arranged at top of the fuel tank (4) is connected to inlet of canister (7) through a charging pipe (6). The canister (7) is above the engine (1) and also between the air filter (2) and fuel tank (4).
Figure 6a illustrates mounting bracket (9b) provided on a vertically arranged canister (7) to mount the canister (7) on the fuel tank (4) along with a strap (13) provided on canister (7) to mount the canister on bracket (9b).
Figure 7 is the top view of the rear compartment with charging pipe (6) connected to vertically arranged canister (7) and purging pipe (8) connected from canister (7) onto an engine (1) (not shown).
Figure 8 illustrates the left hand side view of the arrangement of vertically arranged canister (7) beneath the luggage compartment (12). Also canister (7) is behind the passenger compartment (11) and more specifically behind the back rest portion (11b) and also at a height above the seating portion (11a). The purging pipe (8) is connecting the canister (7) to an engine (1) (not shown).
Figure 9 illustrates rear view of the vehicle with a horizontally arranged canister (7) mounted on body panel (5). In fig (2), the canister (7) is arranged vertically whereas in this arrangement, the canister (7) is arranged horizontally.
Figure 10a illustrates rear view of vehicle with mounting of canister (7) on body panel (5) as per another embodiment. Canister (7) is mounted on rear horizontal panel (14) from bottom side in the engine compartment. It is located above the engine (1) when viewed from rear side.
Figure 10b illustrates bottom side view of vehicle with mounting canister (7) on body panel as per embodiment shown in figure 10a. The canister (7) is located towards rear side of vehicle with respect to engine and fuel tank when viewed from bottom.
PART NUMBER PART NAME
1. Engine
2. Air Filter
3. Air Intake Hose
4. Fuel Tank
5. Body Panel
5a. Body Back Panel
6. Charging Pipe
7. Canister
8. Purging Pipe
9a. Canister mounting bracket on body panel
9b. Canister mounting bracket on fuel tank
9c. Canister mounting clamp on body panel
10. Rear Compartment
11. Passenger Compartment
11a. Seating portion
11 b. Backrest Portion
12. Luggage Compartment or parcel shelf
13. Strap on canister for mounting on bracket
14 Rear horizontal panel
15. Purge control valve
16. Roll over valve

While the description provide few embodiments, wherein the canister is disposed at various positions in the rear compartment and definitely not within the fuel tank recess, this description allows many more embodiments as will be known to the skilled persons in the art. The canister orientation may be any direction at angle to vertical or horizontal and other mounting arrangements may be employed known to person skilled in the art. Thereby it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but also encompasses those variations, modifications, changes falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.
,CLAIMS:1. An evaporating fuel handling system with a canister in wheeled vehicle having a conventional rear compartment comprising a passenger seating portion, a luggage loading portion and an engine mounting portion including a rear mounted engine and a fuel tank, along with a canister, a purge valve, a charging pipe, a purge pipe, an air-filter, an intake hose, wherein the said canister is disposed in the rear compartment.
2. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle is preferably a three wheeled vehicle.
3. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle is preferably a small four wheeled quadricycle vehicle.

4. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion of said rear compartment.

5. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1-4 wherein the canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion and between the engine and the fuel tank.

6. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1 – 5 wherein the canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion and at a level higher than the engine intake.

7. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1-6 wherein the canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion and above the engine and between the air filter and the fuel tank width.
8. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1-7 wherein the canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion and on the fuel tank.
9. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1-8, wherein the canister is disposed within the engine mounting portion and on the horizontal panel above the engine and towards the rear side of the vehicle.

10. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the canister is disposed proximate to the passenger seating portion and behind the passenger seating arrangement in the said rear compartment.

11. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1-10 wherein the canister is disposed behind the passenger seating portion and behind the back rest portion and at a level above the seating portion of the passenger seating arrangement of the passenger seating portion in the said rear compartment.

12. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1 & 11 wherein the canister is disposed proximate to the luggage loading portion and below the luggage portion of the luggage compartment.

13. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1 - 12, wherein the canister is mounted on the body panel of the vehicle.

14. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the canister is mounted on the body back panel of the vehicle.

15. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1- 14 wherein the canister is mounted on the vehicle with a bracket arrangement provided on the canister.

16. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1-15 wherein the canister is mounted on the vehicle with a bracket arrangement provided on the vehicle.

17. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1-16 wherein the canister is mounted at an inclination with the horizontal plane or vertical plane.

18. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1-16 wherein the canister is mounted with substantial vertical orientation.

19. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1- 16 wherein the canister is mounted with substantial horizontal orientation.

20. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said fuel tank has a fuel vapor outlet at the topmost point, the said vapour outlet connected to inlet of the canister through said charging pipe.

21. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1-21 wherein the said purge valve also is disposed in the rear compartment.

22. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the purge valve is disposed in the engine mounting portion and between the canister and the air filter in the rear compartment.

23. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the purge valve is disposed proximate to the passenger seating portion and between an air filter and fuel tank in the rear compartment.

24. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1- 23 wherein the purge valve 15 and roll over valve 16 are mounted on panel with bracket arrangement on the vehicle.

25. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said canister is a box type canister.

26. The evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claim 1 said canister is a cylinder type canister.

27. A three wheeled or small four wheeled vehicle having an evaporating fuel handling system as claimed in claims 1 – 26.