A tank device, in particular in a vehicle, has a pressure tank for storing fuel and a fuel line for filling the pressure tank which extends from outside of the pressure tank through a tank opening up to a free line end in the interior of the pressure tank. The fuel line in the pressure tank has at least one line outlet through which the fuel can flow out of the fuel line into the pressure tank. The fuel line, between the tank opening and the free line end, has a flexible line section such that the flexible line section moves when the pressure tank is filled.

A throttle valve for adjusting the feeding of a gas to a fuel cell, which includes: a valve body, divided into a first and a second portion; a gas feeding duct obtained in the first portion; a throttle plate arranged in the feeding duct; a shaft which is rotatably mounted in the first portion and supports the throttle plate; and an actuator which is mounted in the second portion and is configured to rotate the shaft. The throttle valve further comprises a magnetic joint, which transmits the motion from the actuator to the shaft and is divided into a first half coupled to the shaft, and a second half facing the first half and coupled to the actuator. The throttle valve also includes an insulating wall which insulates the first partition, in a pneumatically sealed manner, from the second portion of the valve body and is arranged between the two halves of the magnetic joint.

A high-pressure gas tank includes: a tank body section; a base attached to an opening of the tank body section; a valve attached to an opening of the base so as to open and close a gas supply-discharge port of the tank body section, a part of the valve being inserted in the base, and the valve having a contact surface that contacts a seat surface as a surface of an end of the base, the surface of the end of the base forming the opening of the base; and a seal member arranged between an outer peripheral surface of a portion of the valve that is inserted in the opening of the base and an inner peripheral surface of the base. A slit for forming a communication hole communicating between outside of the high-pressure gas tank and a space between the base and valve is provided.

A combination vehicle includes a tractor and a trailer towed by the tractor. The trailer includes a first tank that is configured to store a high-pressure gas as a fuel used by the tractor to travel. The tractor includes a second tank that is configured to store a high-pressure gas as a fuel used by the tractor to travel. The combination vehicle is configured to travel using the fuel supplied from the first tank and the second tank.

A vehicle side body includes a vertical plate, a horizontal plate connected to a lower edge of the vertical plate and extending outward from the edge to form an L-shaped inside edge with the vertical plate, an opening extending in the vertical plate and the horizontal plate across the inside edge, and an L-shaped bracket fixed to, around the opening, an inner surface of the vertical plate and a lower surface of the horizontal plate. A hydrogen filling port to which a hydrogen filling nozzle is connectable is attached to the L-shaped bracket. A rib plate is provided to connect an outer surface of the vertical plate and an upper surface of the horizontal plate. An accidental contact between the hydrogen filling nozzle and a body is inhibited.

A combined cooling and water braking system for a vehicle comprises a first water recirculation loop having a first heat exchanger configured to cool water flowing in the first water recirculation loop, the first water recirculation loop comprising a water conduit for transporting heat away from a propulsion device configured to generate a propulsion power for the vehicle. A second water recirculation loop having a second heat exchanger is configured to cool water flowing in the second water recirculation loop. A retarder is configured to be coupled to a pair of wheels of the vehicle. The second water recirculation loop may be selectively used for cooling the propulsion device and for providing water to the retarder for water braking. There is also provided a method for cooling a propulsion device of a vehicle and water braking a pair of wheels of a vehicle.

A vehicle includes a vehicle body having a frame structure provided with a pair of right and left side rails, and hydrogen tanks and a secondary battery disposed in a region between the side rails. The side rails have deformed portions that are deformed due to a vehicle front collision load at the time of a vehicle front collision, and the hydrogen tanks are disposed in front of the secondary battery or on both outer sides of the secondary battery in a vehicle width direction such that the deformed portions, when the amount of movement of each of the deformed portions of the side rails has reached a predetermined amount, reach the hydrogen tanks without reaching the secondary battery.

A gas supply system includes: high-pressure tanks having at least different longitudinal lengths; supply pipes each connected to corresponding one of the high-pressure tanks; a supply-side manifold to which the supply pipes are connected; solenoid valves disposed in the respective supply pipes; a first pressure sensor configured to acquire a pressure related to an internal pressure of the high-pressure tanks; a second pressure sensor configured to acquire a pressure at the supply-side manifold; and a control device that controls the solenoid valve corresponding to the high-pressure tank, among the high-pressure tanks, having the largest ratio of the longitudinal length to a short-side width, to open first when a value obtained by subtracting the pressure detected by the second pressure sensor from the pressure detected by the first pressure sensor is larger than a threshold at the time of activation of the gas supply system.

A storage tank for a gas is provided. The storage tank includes a liner defining an internal compartment; a boss coupled to the liner; an interlayer covering a portion of the boss and the liner, the interlayer being non-pyrolyzed and including an interconnected web and pores having a diameter greater than the diameter of a hydrogen molecule and less than or equal to about 2 nm; and an outer shell including a carbon fiber reinforced composite, the outer shell covering the interlayer, except for an interlayer end that is in contact with the boss, so that the interlayer end defines an interlayer ring that is exposed to an external environment. The storage tank is configured so that when gas diffuses through the liner to the interlayer, the interlayer channels the gas out of the exposed interlayer ring. Methods of fabricating the storage tank are also provided.

An embodiment is a vehicle body structure including a front body comprising a first cooling module, a middle body having a center floor panel, the center floor panel being connected to the front body, and a rear body comprising a second cooling module and a third cooling module, the second cooling module being on each of two sides of a rear portion of the rear body in a vehicle width direction, the rear body being connected to the middle body, the third cooling module being in the rear portion of the rear body.