MOUNTING SYSTEM FOR PRESSURE VESSELS

Abstract

The invention relates to a mounting system for pressure vessels, having a first supporting member on which at least one first mount (6) for a first end of the pressure vessel is arranged, and having a second supporting member on which at least one second mount for a second end of the pressure vessel is arranged, the first mount (6) having an inner ring (11) in which the first end of the pressure vessel (1) is accommodated in a rotationally fixed manner.

The object of the invention is to optimize the mounting for the end bosses of the pressure vessels.

This task is solved in that the inner ring (11) is pivotally mounted about a first pivot axis in an outer ring (12), which in turn is fastened pivotally in the mount (6) about a second pivot axis extending at right angles to the first pivot axis.

Claims

1. A mounting system for pressure vessels, comprising: a first supporting member on which at least one first mount for a first end of the pressure vessel is arranged; a second supporting member on which at least one second mount for a second end of the pressure vessel is arranged; and an inner ring disposed in the first mount to accommodate a first end of the pressure vessel in a rotationally fixed manner, wherein the inner ring is fastened pivotably about a first pivot axis in an outer ring which in turn is fastened pivotably in the first mount about a second pivot axis extending at right angles to the first pivot axis.

2. The Mounting system according to claim 1, wherein the inner ring includes at least one of the following features: the inner ring consists of two inner ring halves divided along a first parting plane extending diametrically; the inner ring is rotatably mounted to the outer ring via a pair of pivots; the inner ring has an inwardly open annular groove, a collar at the first end of the pressure vessel being insertable into the annular groove; the inner ring has at least one retaining element which interacts in a form-fitting manner with a complementary retaining element at the first end of the pressure vessel; two diametrically opposed material projections are provided as retaining elements, which project radially inwards from the bottom of the groove and are each arranged on one of the inner ring halves; the pair of pivots project into pivot holes which are arranged diametrically opposite one another in the region of the material projections.

3. The Mounting system according to claim 1, wherein the outer ring includes at least one of the following features: the outer ring consists of two outer ring halves which are divided along a second parting plane extending diametrically; two diametrically opposed receiving holes for receiving a pair of pivots of the inner ring are arranged in the region of the second parting plane; each outer ring half has a pivot hole in the central region for receiving a pivot that is different from the pair of pivots.

4. The Mounting system according to claim 3, wherein the second parting plane extends perpendicularly to the first parting plane.

5. The Mounting system according to claim 1, wherein the outer ring is fastened in a mounting block consisting of two mounting halves divided along a diametrically extending third parting plane.

6. The Mounting system according to claim 5, wherein the mounting block has an annular receiving groove into which a mounting ring is inserted which is divided into two mounting ring halves along a fourth parting plane extending at right angles to the third parting plane.

7. The Mounting system according to claim 6, wherein the mounting ring has, in a region of the fourth parting plane, two diametrically opposite receiving holes for receiving a pivot different from the pair of pivots in each case.

8. The Mounting system according to claim 7, wherein the mounting ring is held rotatably and lockably in the annular receiving groove.

9. The Mounting system according to claim 8, wherein at least one mounting half has a threaded hole which opens into the receiving groove and receives a grub screw that locks the mounting ring.

10. The Mounting system according to claim 1, wherein the second end of the pressure vessel is movably fastened to the second mount in a longitudinal direction of the pressure vessel.

11. The Mounting system according to claim 2, wherein the outer ring includes at least one of the following features: the outer ring consists of two outer ring halves which are divided along a second parting plane extending diametrically; two diametrically opposed receiving holes for receiving the pair of pivots are arranged in the region of the second parting plane; each outer ring half has a pivot hole in the central region for receiving a pivot that is different from the pair of pivots.

12. The Mounting system according to claim 11, wherein the second parting plane extends perpendicularly to the first parting plane.

13. The Mounting system according to claim 4, wherein the outer ring is fastened in a mounting block consisting of two mounting halves divided along a diametrically extending third parting plane.

14. The Mounting system according to claim 13, wherein the mounting block has an annular receiving groove into which a mounting ring is inserted which is divided into two mounting ring halves along a fourth parting plane extending at right angles to the third parting plane.

15. The Mounting system according to claim 14, wherein the mounting ring has, in a region of the fourth parting plane, two diametrically opposite receiving holes for receiving a pivot different from the pair of pivots in each case.

16. The Mounting system according to claim 15, wherein the mounting ring is held rotatably and lockably in the annular receiving groove.

17. The Mounting system according to claim 16, wherein at least one mounting half has a threaded hole which opens into the receiving groove and receives a grub screw that locks the mounting ring.

18. The Mounting system according to claim 2, wherein the second end of the pressure vessel is movably fastened to the second mount in a longitudinal direction of the pressure vessel.

19. The Mounting system according to claim 3, wherein the second end of the pressure vessel is movably fastened to the second mount in a longitudinal direction of the pressure vessel.

20. The Mounting system according to claim 4, wherein the second end of the pressure vessel is movably fastened to the second mount in a longitudinal direction of the pressure vessel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] Further practical embodiments and advantages of the system described herein are described below in connection with the drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a rack viewed from the front, to which four pressure vessels are attached via four mounts;

[0013] FIG. 2 shows a three-dimensional view of a mount of the rack of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 3 shows a view of the mount corresponding to FIG. 2 with a displaced receiving element for the end boss of the pressure vessel;

[0015] FIG. 4 shows a three-dimensional exploded view of the mount of FIGS. 2 and 3;

[0016] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view cut in a horizontal plane of the mount with the end boss of a pressure vessel inserted therein;

[0017] FIG. 6 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 5 with the pressure vessel swiveled with respect to the mount;

[0018] FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view, cut in a vertical plane, of the end boss of FIGS. 5 and 6;

[0019] FIG. 8 shows a front view of the end boss of FIG. 7;

[0020] FIG. 9 shows a three-dimensional view of the rack with pressure vessels of FIG. 1 viewed from the rear.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a rack for four pressure vessels 1, which is designed as a closed frame with two longitudinal profiles 2 and two transverse profiles 3. Only the front transverse profile 3 can be seen in FIG. 1. The rear transverse profile in the drawing plane can be of identical design, as described below in connection with FIG. 9. However, the rear transverse profile may also differ from the front transverse profile 3 because the rear end of the pressure vessels 1 may also differ from the front end visible in the drawing. Pressure vessels 1 are known which have identical front and rear end bosses 4 (cf. FIGS. 5 to 8). However, pressure vessels 1 are also known which have deviating end bosses at the rear end, for example closed end bosses.

[0022] The pressure vessels 1 can be used in particular to hold gaseous fuel for vehicles, for example liquid gas or hydrogen. The end bosses 4 of the pressure vessels 1, which can be seen in FIGS. 5 to 8, have through-holes through which the pressure vessels 1 can be filled with fuel and emptied again. Extraction valves 5, which can be seen in FIG. 1, are arranged on the end bosses 4 of the pressure vessels and control the flow of gas during refueling and emptying of the pressure vessels 1.

[0023] Four mounts 6 can be seen on the front transverse profile 3 in FIG. 1, which are described in more detail in connection with the following figures. The valves 5 and the mounts 6 cover the end bosses 4 in FIG. 1. The mounts 6 fix the end bosses 4 of the pressure vessels 1 visible in FIGS. 5 and 6, while at the same time provide a certain degree of mobility. In particular, the pressure vessels 1 are not to absorb forces or moments acting on the rack. The forces and moments are to be largely absorbed by the profiles 2, 3 of the frame of the rack. However, changes of shape of the frame but also changes of shape of the pressure vessels 1 depending on temperature and internal pressure require that the end bosses 4 of the pressure vessels 1 are held movable. On the other hand, it is desirable to hold the end bosses 4 in the mount 6 so that the end bosses 4 cannot rotate. Rotation of the end bosses 4 could damage the extraction valves 5 attached to the end bosses 4 or lead to leaks.

[0024] FIGS. 2-4 show details of the mounts 6 for the end bosses 4. It can be seen that each mount is formed by a mounting block 6 consisting of two mounting halves 7,8. Both mounting halves 7,8 have aligned through holes 9,10 through which mounting screws (not shown) protrude for fastening the mounting halves 7,8 to the front transverse profile 3 of the frame.

[0025] As can be seen in particular in FIGS. 2 and 3, each mounting block 6 has an inner ring 11 and an outer ring 12, which together form a gimbal suspension. As can be seen in particular in FIG. 3, the inner ring 11 can pivot about a horizontal axis and the outer ring 12 can pivot about a vertical axis. However, the orientation of the axes can vary because the inner ring 11 and outer ring 12 are rotatably mounted in the mounting block 6, as explained below.

[0026] The design of the mounting block 6 can be seen in particular in FIG. 4. The individual parts of the mounting block 6 are shown in FIG. 4 in a diagrammatic exploded view.

[0027] Half groove sections 17,18 are arranged in the mounting halves 7,8 of the mounting block 6, where the groove sections 17,18 together form an annular receiving groove. A mounting ring 13 is rotatably received in the annular receiving groove. The mounting ring 13 can be seen in FIG. 3. The mounting ring 13 is used for the rotatable arrangement of inner ring 11 and outer ring 12 in the mounting block 6. As explained below, an end boss 4 of a pressure vessel 1 is fixed in the inner ring 11. The mounting ring 13 is rotatable so that the end boss 4 can be received in the correct orientation in the mounting block 6. The mounting ring 13 can be rotated to the correct rotational position and clamped there with grub screws 14. Two threaded holes 15, 16 are arranged in the two mounting halves 7, 8 for screwing in the grub screws 14, which fix the mounting ring 13 in the correct rotational position of the end boss 4 on the mounting block 6 after the entire mounting system with pressure vessels 1 has been assembled. If one of the grub screws 14 is sufficient to create a sufficient clamping force, the second grub screw 14 can be omitted.

[0028] The mounting ring 13 consists of two mounting ring halves 19, 20 (FIG. 4), which are divided in a vertical plane. Semicircular recesses 21 are arranged on the end faces of the mounting ring halves 19, 20 in the region of the parting plane of the mounting ring 13. Two recesses 21 on each of two abutting end faces of the mounting ring halves 19, 20 together form a receiving hole for a radially outer head portion of a pivot 22, with which the outer ring 12 is connected to the mounting ring 13 so as to be rotatable about a vertical pivot axis. For this purpose, the outer ring 12 has two pivot holes 23, 24 into which the inwardly projecting neck portions of the pivots 22, which have a reduced diameter, can be inserted. Each pivot hole 23, 24 is arranged in a central region of an outer ring half 25, 26.

[0029] The outer ring 12 in turn consists of two outer ring halves 25, 26, which also have semicircular recesses 27 on their end faces. Again, two semicircular recesses on abutting end faces of the outer ring halves 25, 26 together form a receiving hole in which a head portion of a pivot 28 can be received in each case. Again, the head portion, i.e., the large-diameter portion of the pivot 28 that is outward in the radial direction of the outer ring 12, is inserted into the receiving holes. Since the outer ring 12 is divided in a horizontal plane, the two pivots 28 form a horizontal pivot axis for the inner ring 11.

[0030] The inner ring 11 also consists of two inner ring halves 29,30. The two inner ring halves 29 and 30 also each have a pivot hole 31 and 32, respectively, each of which receives a radially inner neck portion of a pivot 28. The inner ring 11 is again divided in a vertical plane. The inner ring 11 has an annular groove 33 open toward a center of the inner ring 11. In the lateral regions of the open annular groove 33, material projections 34 are provided which project from the bottom of the annular groove 33 so that the depth of the annular groove 33 is reduced at the sides.

[0031] To explain the interaction of the annular groove 33 in the inner ring 11 with the end boss 4, reference is first made to FIGS. 7 and 8, in which the isolated end boss 4 is shown in longitudinal section and front view, and to FIGS. 5 and 6, which show the end boss 4 and the adjacent region of the pressure vessel 1.

[0032] In FIGS. 5 and 6, it can be seen that the pressure vessel 1 has a liner 35 that tightly lines the pressure vessel. The liner 35 can be made of plastic but also of metal, for example aluminum. The liner 35 is surrounded on the outside by an outer layer 36, which is usually formed by a fiber composite material. The end boss 4 has a through hole for gas extraction from the interior of the pressure vessel 1 and for refueling. A neck portion 37 of the liner 35 is screwed into the end boss 4.

[0033] The neck piece 4 is also referred to in practice as the end boss. The end boss 4 is usually made of metal and in the present case has a conical collar 38 which lies between the liner 35 and the outer layer 36 of the pressure vessel 1. The end boss 4 also has other radially outwardly projecting collars 39, 40 which ensure a firm connection with the outer layer 36. The final collar 41, which is closest to the front end of the end boss 4, is used for connection to the mount 6. The collar 41 can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. The collar 41 has flattenings 42, 43 on both sides which cooperate with the material projections 34 in the side regions of the groove 33. Of course, all other positively interlocking mounting elements can also be provided to connect the end boss 4 to inner ring 11 in a rotationally fixed manner. Screw or clamping elements can also be used to effect the rotational locking.

[0034] The front collar 41 of the end boss 4 is inserted into the annular groove 33 of the inner ring 11. Due to manufacturing tolerances, there may be deviations in the rotational position of the end boss 4 in relation to the rest of the pressure vessel 1. For this reason, the mounting ring 13 is rotatably held in the mounting block 6 and is only fixed to the mounting block 6 using the grub screws 14 after the end boss 4 of the pressure vessel 1 has been correctly mounted. Subsequently, the collar 41 is held non-rotatably in the mounting block 6 by the material projections 34 and the flattenings 42, 43. The mounting block 6 forms a fixed bearing which fixes the position of the end boss 4 in relation to the front transverse profile 3, whereby the end boss 4, as mentioned above, is gimbal mounted and can be pivoted in any direction about the two orthogonal axes formed by the pivots 22 and 28. Consequently, the slight movements of the mounting blocks 6 during the deformation of the frame or of the pressure vessel 1 attached to the frame do not generate any forces acting on the structure of the pressure vessel 1.

[0035] The rear ends of the pressure vessel 1, which are not visible in FIG. 1, can be seen in FIG. 9. For cost reasons, the rear transverse profile 3 can be identical to the front transverse profile 3 (FIG. 1). The mounting blocks 6 for the end bosses at the rear ends of the pressure vessels 1 can also be similar to the front mounting blocks 6. The rear mounting blocks 6 can form floating bearings for the end bosses, in which the end bosses of the pressure vessels 1 are received so as to be displaceable in the axial direction. The pressure vessels 1 elongate by up to 8 mm depending on the outside temperature and internal pressure. For this reason, the rear end of each pressure vessel 1 shown in FIG. 9 can be displaced with respect to the rear transverse profile 3. For this purpose, the rear mounts or mounting blocks 6 can be provided with an axial degree of freedom. This can be achieved, for example, by the mounting ring 13 not being held in a groove but resting displaceably on a flat annular or cylindrical surface to provide a gimbal mounting for the rear end bosses of the pressure vessels 1, but with a longitudinal displaceability of the bearing point, so that longitudinal stresses acting on the pressure vessels 1 are avoided.

[0036] The features of the invention disclosed in the present description, in the drawings as well as in the claims may be essential, both individually and in any combination, for the realization of the invention in its various embodiments. The invention is not limited to the embodiments described. It may be varied within the scope of the claims and with due regard to the knowledge of the person skilled in the art.