4the air inta
ke manifold at atleast three mounting points. Further, a plurality of fuel
injectors is mounted on the
fuel rail
(401) for supplying fuel to the combustion
chamber. The crash guard bracket of the protective system mounted on the atleast
three mounting poin
ts of the
fuel rail
. The crash guard bracket covers the
fuel rail
(401) and protects the
fuel rail
from direct impact during the frontal collision. The
5
crash guard bracket absorbs impact energy during frontal collision and transfers
the absorbed energy on
the atleast three mounting points equally to break
mounting of the
fuel rail
on the air intake manifold and allow movement of the
fuel rail
without any restriction. Free movement of the
fuel rail
prevents breaking
of the plurality of fuel injectors from t
he
fuel rail
and avoids leakage of fuel from
10
the plurality of injectors. The crash guard bracket absorbs and equally transfers
the impact energy for breaking of the mountings to allow free movement of the
fuel rail
. The present system with crash guard bra
cket solves the technical
problem by breaking connection between the
fuel rail
and the air intake manifold.
By breaking the connection, the air intake manifold will not push the
fuel rail
15
according to direction of impact in one side. After breaking, the
fu
el rail
and the
air intake manifold act as two independent bodies
.
[0012]
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 draw
ings. However, the drawings are illustrative
20
only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013]
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only
typical embodiments of
the present subjec
t matter
and are therefore not to be
considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally
25
effective embodiments.
The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left
-
most d
igit(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
30
5
embodiment
s of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example,
and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which
:
[0014]
Fig.
1
illustrates
structure of
fuel rail
mounted on air intake manifold, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subjec
t matter;
[0015]
Fig.
2 and 3 illustrate
structure of
crash guard
bracket of
fuel rail
, in
5
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0016]
Fig.
4
illustrates
mounting of the
crash guard
bracket over the
fuel rail
and
on the air intake manifold,
in
accordance with an embodiment of the present
subject matter;
[0017]
Fig. 5
illustrates
perspective zoom view of the figure 4
, in accordance with
10
an embodiment of
the present subject matter.
[0018]
The
figures
depict embodiments of the
present subject matter
for
the
pur
poses 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
15
of the disclosu
re described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0019]
The
subject mat
ter disclosed herein relates to protective system having a
crash guard bracket for preventing
fuel leakage
from
fuel rail
during frontal
collision
of a vehicle
. The protective s
ystem comprises an air intake manifold for
20
supplying air fuel mixture to combustion cylinder and the
fuel rail
is mounted on
the air intake manifold at atleast three mounting points. Further, a plurality of fuel
injectors is mounted on the
fuel rail
(401)
for supplying fuel to the combustion
chamber. The crash guard bracket of the protective system mounted on the atleast
three mounting points of the
fuel rail
. The crash guard bracket covers the
fuel rail
25
(401) and protects the
fuel rail
from direct impact d
uring the frontal collision. The
crash guard bracket absorbs impact energy during frontal collision and transfers
the absorbed energy on the atleast three mounting points equally to break
mounting of the
fuel rail
on the air intake manifold and allow move
ment of the
6
fuel rail
without any restriction. Free movement of the
fuel rail
prevents breaking
of the plurality of fuel injectors from the
fuel rail
and avoids leakage of fuel from
the plurality of injectors. The crash guard bracket absorbs and equally t
ransfers
the impact energy for breaking of the mountings to allow free movement of the
fuel rail
. The present system with crash guard bracket solves the technical
5
problem by breaking connection between the
fuel rail
and the air intake manifold.
By breaking
the connection, the air intake manifold will not push the
fuel rail
according to direction of impact in one side. After breaking, the
fuel rail
and the
air intake manifold act as two independent bodies.
[0020]
In another embodiment of the present subject matter
, structure of crash
10
guard bracket is described which transfers equal impact energy on all mounting
points. The crash guard bracket provided over the
fuel rail
to avoid
hitting
of the
fuel rail
with
dash panel
. The crash guard bracket absorbs
impact energy
during
frontal crash of vehicle
and transfers
the absorbed impact energy on mounting
points
of the
fuel rail
with the air intake manifold for breaking of the mounting
15
points to allow free movement of the
fuel rail
with respect to the air intake
manifold.
T
he c
rash guard bracket includes
a
transverse
support plate having
mounting portion
at one end and two mounting portions
on other end
.
Further,
two covering surfaces extend perpendicularly
from upper end
of the support plate
in forward direction toward fro
nt end of the vehicle
at both ends. The
two
20
covering surfaces
bent in L shape from front end
after covering the
fuel rail
to
define the mounting portions
. The mounting portions have mounting holes to
receive fasteners for mounting over the common mounting
points of the
fuel rail
.
Further, third
mounting portion extend
s
perpendicularly from lower end of the
support plate in forward direction
toward front end of the vehicle
. The third
25
mounting portion
has a mounting hole for mounting the crash guard bracket
o
n
the
third mounting point
at rear side of the
fuel rail
on the air intake manifold
.
During frontal crash of the vehicle, the crash guard bracket absorbs the impact
energy and transfers the impact energy on the three mounting points which are
mounting poin
ts of the
fuel rail
as well. The transferred impact energy breaks the
30
mounting and allow
s
the
fuel rail
to move without any surround restriction which
7
finally avoids the bending of the
fuel rail
and decoupling of the fuel injectors
which results in no leak
age of fuel.
[0021]
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
5
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 describe
d or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject
matter and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples
10
recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to
aid the reader in understandi
ng 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 be
lieved to be characteristic of the
15
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 acc
ompanying
figures.
[0022]
These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be
20
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
matt
er. 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 scope.
25
[0023]
During the
frontal collision of the vehicle, it was observed that
fuel rail
which is mounted on the air intake manifold bent
because of high impact
collision
with dash panel
.
The
fuel rail
moves along with the air intake manifold and bends
according to direction of
impact. Further, bending of the fuel rail causes de
-
coupling of fuel injectors leading to fuel leakage. In order to solve this technical
30
8
problem, it is observed that if
fuel rail
moves independently during collision there
would be less bending of the
fuel
rail
and no leakage of fuel. The present subject
matter provides a crash guard bracket which is mounted on the same mounting
points of the
fuel rail
to allow breaking of the mountings during collision.
Detailed explanation and working of the present subjec
t matter is explained with
5
figures as below:
[0024]
Figure 1 illustrates the mounting of
fuel rail
over air intake manifold, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
Generally, in
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuelled systems or vehicles
have such type of
arrangements. In the CNG systems, the CNG injectors or fuel injectors are
10
mounted on
fuel rail
or CNG
fuel rail
which further assembled on the air intake
manifold with fasteners. As shown in the figure 1, the
fuel rail
101 has a plurality
of fuel injectors 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. Further, the
fuel rail
101 is mounted on
the air intake manifold 103 at atleast three mounting points 104, 105 (106 not
shown in the figure and mounting point 106 is at rear side of the
fuel rail
).
15
[0025]
Figure 2 and 3
illustrate structure of crash guard
bracket,
in accordance
with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
The crash guard bracket 200
has a support plate 201 which extend in transverse direction (Tr) or along width of
the vehicle. The support plate 201
has upper end 201a which directs toward upper
side of the vehicle (Up) and lower end 201b which directs toward lower side of
20
the vehicle (Lw). As shown in the figure 2, the arrow Tr represents transverse
direction of the vehicle or width of the vehicle, ar
row Up represents vertical upper
direction or vertical upper side, and arrow Lw represents vertical lower direction
towards ground surface. The support plate 201 has one mounting portion 202 at
first end and two mounting portions 203, 204 on other end. Fro
m the first end, a
25
covering surface 206 extend
perpendicularly from upper end 201a of the support
plate 201
in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle
to cover the
fuel rail
(shown in figure 4 and 5). Similarly, from other end, a covering surface
205
extend
s
perpendicularly from upper end 201a of the support plate 201
in forward
direction toward front end of the vehicle
to cover the
fuel rail
. The covering
30
9
surface 205 and the covering surface 206 has a transverse distance ‘D’ which can
be optimize
d based on the length of the
fuel rail
.
[0026]
Further, the covering surface
205
bent in L shape from front end t
o define
the mounting portion 203
having mounting holes
203a to receive a fastener.
Similarly, the covering surface 206 bent in L shape from front e
nd to define the
5
mounting portion 202 having mounting holes 202a to receive a fastener. The
mounting holes 202a, 203a mount the crash guard bracket 200
on the two
mounting points (
shown in the figure 4 and 5
) at front side of the
fuel rail
on the
air intak
e manifold
. The
crash guard bracket
has third mounting portion 204 that
extend
s
perpendicularly from lower end 201b of the support plate 201
in forward
10
direction
toward front end of the vehicle
. T
he
third
mountin
g portion 204 has a
mounting hole 204a
for m
o
unting the crash guard bracket 200
on the
third
mounting point 406 (shown in the figure 4 and 5
) at rear sid
e of the
fuel rail
on the
air intake manifold
.
[0027]
The crash guard bracket 200 has bead structure 205a, 206a on the covering
15
surface 205, 206, respect
ively to provide stiffness to the crash guard bracket 200.
The covering surfaces 205, 206 have a hole to mount harnesses on the air intake
manifold. The crash guard bracket 200 is made from a sheet metal.
During frontal
crash of the vehicle, the crash guar
d bracket 200 absorbs the impact energy and
transfers the impact energy on the three mounting points (shown in the figure 4
20
and 5) which are common mounting points of the
fuel rail
as well. The transferred
impact energy breaks the mounting and allows the
f
uel rail
to move without any
surrounding restriction which finally avoids the bending of the
fuel rail
and
decoupling of the fuel injectors which results in no leakage of fuel.
[0028]
Figure 4 and 5 illustrate protective system having crash guard bracket over
25
th
e
fuel rail
mounted on the air intake manifold, in accordance with an
embodiment of the present subject matter.
The present protective system 400 has a
fuel rail
401 which is mounted on the air intake manifold 403 using fasteners at
atleast three mounting
points. The air intake manifold 403 supplies air fuel
mixture to combustion cylinder. The
fuel rail
401 is mounted on the air intake
30
10
manifold 403 at atleast three mounting points 404, 405, 406 with fasteners. The
fuel rail
401 has a plurality of fuel injec
tors 402a, 402b, 402c, 402d for supplying
fuel to the combustion cylinder. The protective system 400 has a crash guard
bracket 200 which is mounted on the atleast three mounting points 404, 405, 406
to cover the
fuel rail
401 from the frontal collision. Th
e crash guard bracket 200 is
5
mounted on the same mounting points of the
fuel rail
401. Further, structure of the
crash guard bracket 200 is illustrated in the figure 2 and 3.
The crash guard
bracket 200 is mounted at two mounting points 404, 405 which are
front side of
the
fuel rail
401. Further, the crash guard bracket 200 is mounted at one mounting
point 406 which is at rear side of the
fuel rail
401. All these mounting points are
10
present on the air intake manifold 403. The
fuel rail
401 and the crash gu
ard
bracket 200 ha
ve
common fasteners in the mounting points 404, 405, 406.
[0029]
The crash guard bracket 200 is mounted at three mounting points which
are same mounting points for the
fuel rail
401 on the air intake manifold. During
the frontal crash/collisio
n, the crash guard bracket 200
absorbs impact energy and
15
transfers the absorbed energy on the
atleast three mounting points 4
04, 405, 406
to break mounting of the
fuel rail
401 on the air intake manifold 403. The broken
fuel rail
mounting
s
caused
the
fuel
rail
t
o move without any surrounding
restrictions which finally avoided its bending and
fuel
leakage
.
[0030]
T
he
crash guard bracket 200
transfers equal impact energy on th
e
20
mounting points 404, 405, 406 of the
fuel rail
401 so that there is no bending of
crash
guard bracket 200 instead of breaking
.
In the present protective system,
fuel
rail
is CNG
fuel rail
and fuel is CNG fuel. Further, the present subject matter is
not limited to CNG fuel it can be implement on any other fuel based injection
engines.
25
[0031]
It is e
asy to manufacture the present
crash guard bracket
for
the vehicle.
The present
crash guard bracket
is a single integral unit which is made of a sheet
metal. Further, dimensions and thickness of the sheet metal can be optimized
based on the requirements of
the vehicle.
The present
crash guard bracket
can be
assembled to
air intake manifold
using
same fasteners as used for the
fuel rail
.
The
30
11
present
crash guard bracket solves the technical problem by breaking the
fuel rail
with the air intake manifold.
[0032]
The
present c
rash guard
bracket
protect
s
all hitting points on
the
fuel rail
to avoid impact to
the
fuel rail
directly.
[0033]
The present c
rash guard
bracket is
capable of absorbing sufficient impact
5
energy without touching to
the
fuel rail
.
[0034]
The present crash guard
bracket is
mounted on same mountings with
the
fuel rail
so that after absorbing sufficient amount of energy, it transfer
s
the energy
to plastic mountings causing it to break and lead to zero degree of freedom for
fuel rail
.
10
[0035]
The gap between d
ash panel to cr
ash guard
bracket and the
crash guard
bracket
to
the
fuel rail
is
optimum to avoid any irregular impact.
[0036]
Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been
described
in
language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the
pr
esent
subject matter
is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather,
15
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.

Claims:We claim:
1. A protective system (400) for preventing fuel leakage from fuel rail (401) during frontal collision of a vehicle, the protective system (400) comprising:
an air intake manifold (403) for supplying air fuel mixture to combustion cylinder, wherein the fuel rail (401) is mounted on the air intake manifold (403) at atleast three mounting points (404, 405, 406);
a plurality of fuel injectors (402a, 402b, 402c, 402d) mounted on the fuel rail (401); and
characterized in that
a crash guard bracket (200) mounted on the atleast three mounting points (404, 405, 406) to cover the fuel rail (401) from the frontal collision;
wherein the crash guard bracket (200) absorbs impact energy during frontal collision and transfers the absorbed energy on the atleast three mounting points (404, 405, 406) to break mounting of the fuel rail (401) on the air intake manifold (403) and allow movement of the fuel rail (401) without any restriction to prevent breaking of the plurality of fuel injectors (402a, 402b, 402c, 402d) from the fuel rail (401).

2. The protective system (400) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the crash guard bracket (200) comprises:
a support plate (201) having mounting portion (202) at one end and two mounting portions (203, 204) on other end;
two covering surfaces (205, 206) extend perpendicularly from upper end (201a) of the support plate (201) in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle;
wherein the two covering surfaces (205, 206) bent in L shape from front end to define the mounting portions (202, 203) having mounting holes (202a, 203a);
wherein the mounting holes (202a, 203a) mounts the crash guard bracket (200) on the two mounting points (404, 405) at front side of the fuel rail (401) on the air intake manifold (403).
3. The protective system (400) as claimed in the claim 2, wherein the mounting portion (204) extend perpendicularly from lower end (201b) of the support plate (201) in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle, wherein the mounting portion (204) has a mounting hole (204a) for mounting the crash guard bracket (200) on the mounting point (406) at rear side of the fuel rail (401) on the air intake manifold (403).

4. The protective system (400) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the crash guard bracket (200) and the fuel rail (401) are mounted on the same mounting points (404, 405, 406).

5. The protective system (400) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the crash guard bracket (200) transfers impact energy on the mounting points (404, 405, 406) of the fuel rail (401).

6. The protective system (400) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the crash guard bracket (200) is mounted on the air intake manifold (403) using fasteners of the fuel rail (401).

7. The protective system (400) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the fuel rail (401) is Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel rail.
8. A crash guard bracket (200) for avoiding fuel rail (401) hitting dash panel and absorbing impact energy during frontal crash of vehicle and transferring the absorbed impact energy on mounting points (404, 405, 406), the crash guard bracket (200) comprising:
a support plate (201) having mounting portion (202) at one end and two mounting portions (203, 204) on other end;
two covering surfaces (205, 206) extend perpendicularly from upper end (201a) of the support plate (201) in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle at both ends;
wherein the two covering surfaces (205, 206) bent in L shape from front end to define the mounting portions (202, 203) having mounting holes (202a, 203a);
wherein the mounting holes (202a, 203a) mounts the crash guard bracket (200) on the two mounting points (404, 405) at front side of the fuel rail (401) on the air intake manifold (403).
9. The crash guard bracket (200) as claimed in the claim 8, wherein the mounting portion (204) extend perpendicularly from lower end (201b) of the support plate (201) in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle, wherein the mounting portion (204) has a mounting hole (204a) for mounting the crash guard bracket (200) on the mounting point (406) at rear side of the fuel rail (401) on the air intake manifold (403).
10. The crash guard bracket (200) as claimed in the claim 8, wherein the crash guard bracket (200) absorbs the impact energy during frontal crash and transfers the absorbed impact energy to the mounting points (404, 405, 406) to break mounting of the fuel rail (401) on the air intake manifold (403) and allow movement of the fuel rail (401) without any restriction to avoid leakage of fuel from the fuel rail (401).
, Description:CRASH GUARD BRACKET TO PROTECT FUEL RAIL TO AVOID FUEL LEAKAGE DURING FRONTAL COLLISION
FIELD OF INVENTION:
The present subject matter described herein, relates to an intake manifold structure of a vehicle, and, in particularly, to a crash guard bracket to protect fuel rail for preventing fuel leakage during frontal crash/collision. In more particularly, the crash guard bracket to restrict fuel rail hitting with dash panel and to avoid fuel leakage for passenger safety and to comply frontal collision crash norms.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[001] In general, in a direct injection engine, a fuel rail is installed on the top of a cylinder head and an injector mounted on the fuel rail is inserted into a combustion chamber by penetrating the cylinder head. Further, an intake manifold module is also installed for supplying air to the combustion chamber on upper side of the cylinder head.
[002] In another injection engine where fuel, particularly, Compressed natural gas (CNG), is supplied to the combustion cylinder. In these injection engines, the CNG fuel rail having a plurality of injectors is mounted on the air intake manifold with fasteners.
[003] When the frontal collision, in particularly, offset frontal collision occurs while the vehicle travels, a front body of the vehicle is deformed toward dash panel of the vehicle. While the air intake manifold having CNG fuel rail is broken and deformed due to an impact of the CNG fuel rail with the dash panel, the CNG fuel rail bend and leads to CNG leakage from the broken fuel injectors.
[004] Therefore, the CNG fuel rail collides with the dash panel to give an impact to the fuel injectors and the fuel rail, and as a result, the CNG fuel rail and the fuel injectors are damaged and fuel leaks, causing fire to break out.
[005] Technical problem in the above mentioned arrangement is that the air intake manifold moves along with the CNG fuel rail as a single unit which causes transfer of impact force on the CNG fuel rail. The CNG fuel rail hits the dash panel and breaks the fuel injectors that lead to leakage of fuel. In order to solve the problems, it is required to break connection between the CNG fuel rail and the air intake manifold during absorption of impact energy.
[006] Therefore, there is need in the art to develop a reinforcement bracket or guard bracket that breaks the connection between the air intake manifold and the CNG fuel rail or fuel rail while absorbing the impact energy. The present subject matter provides a crash guard bracket that absorbs the impact energy and breaks the connection between the fuel rail and the air intake manifold during frontal impact to avoid leakage of fuel causing fire to break out.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[007] The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a crash guard bracket to restrict direct hitting of fuel rail with dash panel and avoid leakage of fuel.
[008] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a crash guard bracket around the fuel rail to absorb impact energy and break connection between the air intake manifold and the fuel rail to avoid leakage of fuel.
[009] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a crash guard bracket absorbs the impact energy and transfers the same impact energy to fuel rail mountings on the air intake manifold causing the mounting between the fuel rail and the air intake manifold to break.
[0010] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a crash guard bracket that is simple and inexpensive, and efficiently absorbs and transfers impact energy to break connection between the air intake manifold and the fuel rail.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0011] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to protective system having a crash guard bracket for preventing fuel leakage from fuel rail during frontal collision of a vehicle. The protective system comprises an air intake manifold for supplying air fuel mixture to combustion cylinder and the fuel rail is mounted on the air intake manifold at atleast three mounting points. Further, a plurality of fuel injectors is mounted on the fuel rail (401) for supplying fuel to the combustion chamber. The crash guard bracket of the protective system mounted on the atleast three mounting points of the fuel rail. The crash guard bracket covers the fuel rail (401) and protects the fuel rail from direct impact during the frontal collision. The crash guard bracket absorbs impact energy during frontal collision and transfers the absorbed energy on the atleast three mounting points equally to break mounting of the fuel rail on the air intake manifold and allow movement of the fuel rail without any restriction. Free movement of the fuel rail prevents breaking of the plurality of fuel injectors from the fuel rail and avoids leakage of fuel from the plurality of injectors. The crash guard bracket absorbs and equally transfers the impact energy for breaking of the mountings to allow free movement of the fuel rail. The present system with crash guard bracket solves the technical problem by breaking connection between the fuel rail and the air intake manifold. By breaking the connection, the air intake manifold will not push the fuel rail according to direction of impact in one side. After breaking, the fuel rail and the air intake manifold act as two independent bodies.
[0012] 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
[0013] 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:
[0014] Fig. 1 illustrates structure of fuel rail mounted on air intake manifold, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0015] Fig. 2 and 3 illustrate structure of crash guard bracket of fuel rail, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0016] Fig. 4 illustrates mounting of the crash guard bracket over the fuel rail and on the air intake manifold, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0017] Fig. 5 illustrates perspective zoom view of the figure 4, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0018] 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:
[0019] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to protective system having a crash guard bracket for preventing fuel leakage from fuel rail during frontal collision of a vehicle. The protective system comprises an air intake manifold for supplying air fuel mixture to combustion cylinder and the fuel rail is mounted on the air intake manifold at atleast three mounting points. Further, a plurality of fuel injectors is mounted on the fuel rail (401) for supplying fuel to the combustion chamber. The crash guard bracket of the protective system mounted on the atleast three mounting points of the fuel rail. The crash guard bracket covers the fuel rail (401) and protects the fuel rail from direct impact during the frontal collision. The crash guard bracket absorbs impact energy during frontal collision and transfers the absorbed energy on the atleast three mounting points equally to break mounting of the fuel rail on the air intake manifold and allow movement of the fuel rail without any restriction. Free movement of the fuel rail prevents breaking of the plurality of fuel injectors from the fuel rail and avoids leakage of fuel from the plurality of injectors. The crash guard bracket absorbs and equally transfers the impact energy for breaking of the mountings to allow free movement of the fuel rail. The present system with crash guard bracket solves the technical problem by breaking connection between the fuel rail and the air intake manifold. By breaking the connection, the air intake manifold will not push the fuel rail according to direction of impact in one side. After breaking, the fuel rail and the air intake manifold act as two independent bodies.
[0020] In another embodiment of the present subject matter, structure of crash guard bracket is described which transfers equal impact energy on all mounting points. The crash guard bracket provided over the fuel rail to avoid hitting of the fuel rail with dash panel. The crash guard bracket absorbs impact energy during frontal crash of vehicle and transfers the absorbed impact energy on mounting points of the fuel rail with the air intake manifold for breaking of the mounting points to allow free movement of the fuel rail with respect to the air intake manifold. The crash guard bracket includes a transverse support plate having mounting portion at one end and two mounting portions on other end. Further, two covering surfaces extend perpendicularly from upper end of the support plate in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle at both ends. The two covering surfaces bent in L shape from front end after covering the fuel rail to define the mounting portions. The mounting portions have mounting holes to receive fasteners for mounting over the common mounting points of the fuel rail. Further, third mounting portion extends perpendicularly from lower end of the support plate in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle. The third mounting portion has a mounting hole for mounting the crash guard bracket on the third mounting point at rear side of the fuel rail on the air intake manifold. During frontal crash of the vehicle, the crash guard bracket absorbs the impact energy and transfers the impact energy on the three mounting points which are mounting points of the fuel rail as well. The transferred impact energy breaks the mounting and allows the fuel rail to move without any surround restriction which finally avoids the bending of the fuel rail and decoupling of the fuel injectors which results in no leakage of fuel.
[0021] 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.
[0022] 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 scope.
[0023] During the frontal collision of the vehicle, it was observed that fuel rail which is mounted on the air intake manifold bent because of high impact collision with dash panel. The fuel rail moves along with the air intake manifold and bends according to direction of impact. Further, bending of the fuel rail causes de-coupling of fuel injectors leading to fuel leakage. In order to solve this technical problem, it is observed that if fuel rail moves independently during collision there would be less bending of the fuel rail and no leakage of fuel. The present subject matter provides a crash guard bracket which is mounted on the same mounting points of the fuel rail to allow breaking of the mountings during collision. Detailed explanation and working of the present subject matter is explained with figures as below:
[0024] Figure 1 illustrates the mounting of fuel rail over air intake manifold, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. Generally, in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuelled systems or vehicles have such type of arrangements. In the CNG systems, the CNG injectors or fuel injectors are mounted on fuel rail or CNG fuel rail which further assembled on the air intake manifold with fasteners. As shown in the figure 1, the fuel rail 101 has a plurality of fuel injectors 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. Further, the fuel rail 101 is mounted on the air intake manifold 103 at atleast three mounting points 104, 105 (106 not shown in the figure and mounting point 106 is at rear side of the fuel rail).
[0025] Figure 2 and 3 illustrate structure of crash guard bracket, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The crash guard bracket 200 has a support plate 201 which extend in transverse direction (Tr) or along width of the vehicle. The support plate 201 has upper end 201a which directs toward upper side of the vehicle (Up) and lower end 201b which directs toward lower side of the vehicle (Lw). As shown in the figure 2, the arrow Tr represents transverse direction of the vehicle or width of the vehicle, arrow Up represents vertical upper direction or vertical upper side, and arrow Lw represents vertical lower direction towards ground surface. The support plate 201 has one mounting portion 202 at first end and two mounting portions 203, 204 on other end. From the first end, a covering surface 206 extend perpendicularly from upper end 201a of the support plate 201 in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle to cover the fuel rail (shown in figure 4 and 5). Similarly, from other end, a covering surface 205 extends perpendicularly from upper end 201a of the support plate 201 in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle to cover the fuel rail. The covering surface 205 and the covering surface 206 has a transverse distance ‘D’ which can be optimized based on the length of the fuel rail.
[0026] Further, the covering surface 205 bent in L shape from front end to define the mounting portion 203 having mounting holes 203a to receive a fastener. Similarly, the covering surface 206 bent in L shape from front end to define the mounting portion 202 having mounting holes 202a to receive a fastener. The mounting holes 202a, 203a mount the crash guard bracket 200 on the two mounting points (shown in the figure 4 and 5) at front side of the fuel rail on the air intake manifold. The crash guard bracket has third mounting portion 204 that extends perpendicularly from lower end 201b of the support plate 201 in forward direction toward front end of the vehicle. The third mounting portion 204 has a mounting hole 204a for mounting the crash guard bracket 200 on the third mounting point 406 (shown in the figure 4 and 5) at rear side of the fuel rail on the air intake manifold.
[0027] The crash guard bracket 200 has bead structure 205a, 206a on the covering surface 205, 206, respectively to provide stiffness to the crash guard bracket 200. The covering surfaces 205, 206 have a hole to mount harnesses on the air intake manifold. The crash guard bracket 200 is made from a sheet metal. During frontal crash of the vehicle, the crash guard bracket 200 absorbs the impact energy and transfers the impact energy on the three mounting points (shown in the figure 4 and 5) which are common mounting points of the fuel rail as well. The transferred impact energy breaks the mounting and allows the fuel rail to move without any surrounding restriction which finally avoids the bending of the fuel rail and decoupling of the fuel injectors which results in no leakage of fuel.
[0028] Figure 4 and 5 illustrate protective system having crash guard bracket over the fuel rail mounted on the air intake manifold, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The present protective system 400 has a fuel rail 401 which is mounted on the air intake manifold 403 using fasteners at atleast three mounting points. The air intake manifold 403 supplies air fuel mixture to combustion cylinder. The fuel rail 401 is mounted on the air intake manifold 403 at atleast three mounting points 404, 405, 406 with fasteners. The fuel rail 401 has a plurality of fuel injectors 402a, 402b, 402c, 402d for supplying fuel to the combustion cylinder. The protective system 400 has a crash guard bracket 200 which is mounted on the atleast three mounting points 404, 405, 406 to cover the fuel rail 401 from the frontal collision. The crash guard bracket 200 is mounted on the same mounting points of the fuel rail 401. Further, structure of the crash guard bracket 200 is illustrated in the figure 2 and 3. The crash guard bracket 200 is mounted at two mounting points 404, 405 which are front side of the fuel rail 401. Further, the crash guard bracket 200 is mounted at one mounting point 406 which is at rear side of the fuel rail 401. All these mounting points are present on the air intake manifold 403. The fuel rail 401 and the crash guard bracket 200 have common fasteners in the mounting points 404, 405, 406.
[0029] The crash guard bracket 200 is mounted at three mounting points which are same mounting points for the fuel rail 401 on the air intake manifold. During the frontal crash/collision, the crash guard bracket 200 absorbs impact energy and transfers the absorbed energy on the atleast three mounting points 404, 405, 406 to break mounting of the fuel rail 401 on the air intake manifold 403. The broken fuel rail mountings caused the fuel rail to move without any surrounding restrictions which finally avoided its bending and fuel leakage.
[0030] The crash guard bracket 200 transfers equal impact energy on the mounting points 404, 405, 406 of the fuel rail 401 so that there is no bending of crash guard bracket 200 instead of breaking. In the present protective system, fuel rail is CNG fuel rail and fuel is CNG fuel. Further, the present subject matter is not limited to CNG fuel it can be implement on any other fuel based injection engines.
[0031] It is easy to manufacture the present crash guard bracket for the vehicle. The present crash guard bracket is a single integral unit which is made of a sheet metal. Further, dimensions and thickness of the sheet metal can be optimized based on the requirements of the vehicle. The present crash guard bracket can be assembled to air intake manifold using same fasteners as used for the fuel rail. The present crash guard bracket solves the technical problem by breaking the fuel rail with the air intake manifold.
[0032] The present crash guard bracket protects all hitting points on the fuel rail to avoid impact to the fuel rail directly.
[0033] The present crash guard bracket is capable of absorbing sufficient impact energy without touching to the fuel rail.
[0034] The present crash guard bracket is mounted on same mountings with the fuel rail so that after absorbing sufficient amount of energy, it transfers the energy to plastic mountings causing it to break and lead to zero degree of freedom for fuel rail.
[0035] The gap between dash panel to crash guard bracket and the crash guard bracket to the fuel rail is optimum to avoid any irregular impact.
[0036] 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.