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US-12618519-B2 - Tank

US12618519B2US 12618519 B2US12618519 B2US 12618519B2US-12618519-B2

Abstract

The tank has a liner configured by joining a plurality of liner components, each of which is at least partially cylindrical, and a reinforcing layer arranged on the outer circumference of the liner. The plurality of liner components includes a first liner component having a first joint portion and a second liner component having a second joint portion. The first joint portion has a plurality of resin layers, and the bottom layer of the first joint portion is a heat-sealable layer containing an absorbent. The second joint portion contains absorbent material. The first joint portion is laminated on the second joint portion, and the first joint portion and the second joint portion are joined by a heat-sealing portion.

Inventors

  • Youjirou IRIYAMA

Assignees

  • TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20231221
Priority Date
20230202

Claims (8)

  1. 1 . A tank comprising: a liner comprising a plurality of liner components, each of which is at least partially cylindrical; a reinforcing layer disposed on an outer periphery of the liner, wherein: the plurality of liner components include a first liner component including a first joint portion, and a second liner component including a second joint portion; the first joint portion is laminated on the second joint portion; the first joint portion includes a plurality of resin layers, the plurality of resin layers including a bottom layer which is present in an innermost side of the tank; the bottom layer of the first joint portion is a first heat-sealing layer containing a first absorbent comprising a carbon black, a content of the carbon black in the bottom layer is 0.011% by weight or more and 0.017% by weight or less with respect to a total % by weight of the bottom layer; the second joint portion includes a second absorbent comprising a carbon black; the bottom layer of the first joint portion and the second joint portion are joined at a heat-sealing portion; the first joint portion includes a gas barrier layer, a second heat-sealing layer, and the bottom layer; the second heat-sealing layer is disposed between the gas barrier layer and the bottom layer; the first joint portion further includes an outermost resin layer present on the gas barrier layer, and a thickness of the second liner component is equal to a total thickness of the first joint portion and the second joint portion.
  2. 2 . The tank according to claim 1 , wherein: a laser absorptance of the bottom layer of the first joint portion is 0.3 or more and 0.6 or less; and a laser absorptance of the second joint portion is 0.9 or more and 1.0 or less.
  3. 3 . The tank according to claim 1 , wherein: the heat-sealing portion includes a first heat-sealing portion and a second heat-sealing portion, the bottom layer includes the first heat-sealing portion; the second joint portion includes the second heat-sealing portion; and a thickness of the first heat-sealing portion is 40 μm or more and 300 μm or less in a radial direction of the tank, and a thickness of the second heat-sealing portion is 40 μm or more and 300 μm or less in the radial direction of the tank.
  4. 4 . The tank according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first liner component is 400 μm or more and 2 mm or less.
  5. 5 . The tank according to claim 4 , wherein a thickness of the bottom layer of the first joint portion is 80 μm or more and 500 μm or less.
  6. 6 . The tank according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the bottom layer of the first joint portion is 80 μm or more and 500 μm or less.
  7. 7 . The tank according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the bottom layer of the first joint portion is 150 μm or more and 300 μm or less.
  8. 8 . The tank according to claim 1 , wherein: the heat-sealing portion includes a first heat-sealing portion and a second heat-sealing portion; the bottom layer includes the first heat-sealing portion; the second joint portion includes the second heat-sealing portion; a thickness of the first heat-sealing portion is 40 μm or more and 300 μm or less in a radial direction of the tank; a thickness of the second heat-sealing portion is 40 μm or more and 300 μm or less in the radial direction of the tank; a thickness of the first liner component is 400 μm or more and 2 mm or less; and a thickness of the bottom layer of the first joint portion is 80 μm or more and 500 μm or less.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-014518 filed on Feb. 2, 2023, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present application relates to tanks. 2. Description of Related Art As a high-pressure gas tank for storing hydrogen gas, etc., a tank having a hollow cylindrical liner in which a reinforcing layer is disposed known. Such a tank is described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-242247 (JP 2006-242247 A). JP 2006-242247 A discloses a gas container having a resin liner configured by joining a plurality of liner components, each of which is at least partially hollow and cylindrical, and a reinforcing layer disposed on the outer periphery of the resin liner. In this gas container, joint portions of a plurality of liner components are joined to each other by laser welding. The document also discloses that laser welding is performed in a state in which a laser-transmitting liner component and a laser-absorbing liner component are in contact with each other. By carrying out laser welding, the laser-absorbing liner component is heated and melted, and the laser-transmitting liner component is thermally melted by heat transfer from the laser-absorbing liner component. SUMMARY In JP 2006-242247 A, the laser-transmitting liner component does not contain an absorber. Therefore, the laser-transmitting liner component is melted only by heat transfer from the laser-absorbing liner component, and these liner components are joined. However, according to the knowledge of the present inventors, there is a possibility that such a welding method cannot secure sufficient bonding strength because the amount of fusion of the heat-sealing portion that joins the liner components is not sufficient. In addition, when the laser welding time is lengthened in order to secure the melting amount, there is a problem that the laser-absorbing liner component is overheated and voids are generated due to burning or gasification in the heat-sealing portion. Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, a main object of the present disclosure is to provide a tank that can appropriately ensure the bonding strength of the liner components. The present disclosure provides at least the following aspects. A first aspect is a tank that includes: a liner configured by joining a plurality of liner components, each of which is at least partially cylindrical; and a reinforcing layer disposed on an outer periphery of the liner. The liner components each include a first liner component including a first joint portion, and a second liner component including a second joint portion. The first joint portion includes a plurality of resin layers, a bottom layer of the first joint portion is a heat-sealing layer containing an absorbent, the second joint portion includes an absorbent, the first joint portion is laminated on the second joint portion, and the first joint portion and the second joint portion are joined by a heat-sealing portion. A second aspect is, in the first aspect, the tank in which a laser absorptance of the bottom layer of the first joint portion is 0.3 or more and 0.6 or less, and a laser absorptance of the second joint portion is 0.9 or more and 1.0 or less. A third aspect is, in the first aspect, is the tank in which the first joint portion includes a gas barrier layer, the heat-sealing layer, and the bottom layer, and the heat-sealing layer is disposed between the gas barrier layer and the bottom layer. According to the tank of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately ensure the bonding strength of the liner components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote like elements, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a tank 100; FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a joint portion between the first liner component 110 and the second liner component 120; and FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the carbon black content in the resin layer and the laser absorptance. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The tank of the present disclosure will be described using a tank 1000 as one embodiment. Tank 1000 The tank 1000 can be filled with gas. The type of gas is not particularly limited. Examples include hydrogen and natural gas. Also, the gas is normally filled in the tank body 100 in a high pressure state. A cross-sectional view of tank 1000 is shown in FIG. 1. The tank 1000 has a liner 100 and a reinforcing layer 200 arranged around the outer circumference of the liner 100. In addition, the tank 1000 has a mouthpiece 300 at the end in the axial direction (the direction along the central axis O of the tank 1000). Liner 100 The liner 100 is made of resin having gas barrier properties