US-12618516-B2 - Tank and method of manufacturing the same

US12618516B2US 12618516 B2US12618516 B2US 12618516B2US-12618516-B2

Abstract

To provide a tank capable of reducing a fiber bundle amount while ensuring strength. A tank having a tank body portion capable of filling a gas therein, the tank body portion comprising: a liner having a hollow cylindrical shape; and a fiber bundle layer covering an outer surface of the liner, wherein the fiber bundle layer has an inner layer, an outer layer, and an intermediate layer disposed between the inner layer and the outer layer, the end portion of the intermediate layer being located axially inwardly than the end portion of the fiber bundle layer.

Inventors

Kei Kato

Assignees

TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231113
Priority Date: 20221228

Claims (2)

1 . A tank comprising: a tank body part, an inside of the tank body part being able to be filled with a gas, the tank body part comprising a liner having a hollow cylindrical shape, and a fiber bundle layer covering an outer surface of the liner, wherein the fiber bundle layer has an inner layer, an outer layer, and an intermediate layer disposed between the inner layer and the outer layer, an end portion of the intermediate layer is located on an inner side than an end portion of the fiber bundle layer in an axial direction of the tank; and a mouthpiece disposed at an outer circumference of a smaller diameter end portion of the tank body part, wherein the end portion of the intermediate layer is located on an inner side than the mouthpiece in the axial direction wherein the inner layer is an innermost layer of the fiber bundle layer, which directly covers the entire outer surface of the liner; the smaller diameter end portion of the tank body part comprises a liner small diameter end and a fiber bundle layer small diameter end portion, and the fiber bundle layer small diameter end portion comprises the inner layer and the outer layer; and the liner includes an insert ring proximate the liner small diameter end, and the end of the intermediate layer is disposed in an area overlapping with the insert ring.
2 . The tank according to claim 1 , wherein the fiber bundle layer has an adhesive layer inside the intermediate layer near but separated from the end portion of the intermediate layer; wherein an arrangement position of the adhesive layer excludes a cutting position of the intermediate layer which is at the end portion of the intermediate layer.

Description

FIELD The present application relates to a tank and a method of manufacturing the same BACKGROUND As for a high-pressure gas tank for storing hydrogen gas or the like, a tank in which a fiber bundle layer is arranged in a hollow cylindrical liner is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a pressure vessel including a liner in which a gas is filled inside, a reinforcing portion formed in contact with an outer surface of the liner using a fiber-reinforced resin and covering the liner from the outside, and a predetermined mouthpiece. CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Literature 1 JP 2020-112189 A SUMMARY Technical Problem Usually, the tank body has a hollow cylindrical shape. The tank body is provided with a barrel, a small diameter end, and a shoulder connecting them. The main body of the tank is sometimes fabricated by a braiding method in which fiber bundles are knitted on the liner surface. In this case, the amount of the fiber bundle becomes the same even if it is a torso portion or a small diameter end portion. Since the fiber bundle amount is determined based on the strength of the trunk portion, the small diameter end portion having a small outer diameter becomes excessive in the fiber bundle amount. Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present disclosure to provide a tank and a method of manufacturing the same, which can reduce the amount of fiber bundles while ensuring strength. Solution to Problem As one aspect for solving the above problem, the present disclosure provides a tank comprising a tank body portion capable of filling a gas inside, wherein the tank body portion includes a liner having a hollow cylindrical shape and a fiber bundle layer covering an outer surface of the liner, wherein the fiber bundle layer has an inner layer, an outer layer, and an intermediate layer disposed between the inner layer and the outer layer, and an end portion of the intermediate layer is located axially inside the end portion of the fiber bundle layer. The tank may comprise a mouthpiece disposed at the small diameter end of the tank body. In this case, an end portion of the intermediate layer may be located axially inward of the mouthpiece. The fiber bundle layer may have an adhesive layer inside the intermediate layer and near the end of the intermediate layer. As one aspect for solving the above problem, the present disclosure is a method of manufacturing a tank body portion provided with a tank body portion provided with a tank body portion capable of filling a gas inside, and includes a tank body portion manufacturing step of disposing a fiber bundle layer covering an outer surface of a liner having a hollow cylindrical shape, wherein the fiber bundle layer has an inner layer, an outer layer, and an intermediate layer disposed between the inner layer and the outer layer, and the tank body portion manufacturing step includes an inner layer disposing step of disposing an inner layer on an outer surface of the liner, an intermediate layer disposing step of disposing an intermediate layer on an outer surface of the inner layer, a cutting step of cutting the intermediate layer so that an end portion of the intermediate layer is positioned axially inward than an end portion of the fiber bundle layer, and an outer layer disposing step of disposing an outer layer on an outer surface of the inner layer and the intermediate layer. The above manufacturing method may include a mouthpiece arrangement step of disposing a mouthpiece at a small diameter end portion of the tank body portion after the tank body portion manufacturing step. In this case, in the cutting step, the intermediate layer may be cut so that the end portion of the intermediate layer is positioned axially inward of the mouthpiece. The tank body portion manufacturing step may include an adhesive layer disposing step between the intermediate layer disposing step and the cutting step. In this case, the adhesive layer disposing step may form an adhesive layer inside the intermediate layer and in the axial direction inside the cutting position of the intermediate layer to be cut in the cutting step and in the vicinity of the cutting position. Advantageous Effect According to the tank of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the amount of fiber bundles while ensuring strength. Further, according to the method of manufacturing a tank of the present disclosure, it is possible to manufacture a tank capable of reducing the amount of fiber bundles while ensuring strength. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the end of the tank 1000; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the end of the tank body portion 100; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional schematic view focusing on the end of the conventional tank; FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of placing the inner layer 124 and the intermediate layer 125 in the liner 110, FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the portion surrounded by the dotted line in