CLOSURE SYSTEM

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure system on a fuel tank (2) of thermoplastics with barrier properties for hydrocarbons. The closure system comprises at least one orifice (4), with a closure cap (5) which closes the orifice (4) in a sealing manner and which cooperates in a form-fitting manner with closure means provided at the circumference of the orifice (4) and encloses at least one first sealing means between it and a tank wall (3). The closure system (1) according to the invention is distinguished in that the tank wall is sealed in the region of the orifice (4) with at least one second sealing means, which covers and/or shields a part of the tank wall surfaces exposed to hydrocarbons.

Claims

1.-13. (canceled)

14. A fuel tank closure system, comprising: a fuel tank to hold hydrocarbon fuel, the fuel tank having a tank wall of thermoplastics with a barrier layer for hydrocarbons, with at least one orifice having a circumference; a closure cap fastenable to the fuel tank to close the orifice; at least one first seal enclosed between the closure cap and an outer surface of the tank wall when the closure cap is fastened to the fuel tank; and at least one second seal which is supported by the tank wall on the tank wall in a region of the orifice when the orifice is open, the at least one seal covers or shields a part of the tank wall exposed to hydrocarbon fuel when placed in the fuel tank; and wherein the orifice has an edge with a circumferential face defined by a cross-sectional thickness of the tank wall, and the second seal covers or shields the cross-sectional thickness of the tank wall defining the circumferential face of the edge of the orifice from exposure to the hydrocarbon fuel; wherein the second seal comprises an elastomeric ring in the orifice; and wherein the elastomeric ring comprises a sealing skirt which covers or shields the circumferential face of the edge of the orifice.

15. The closure system according to claim 14, wherein the second seal comprises a surface covering on the tank wall, which is restricted to covering a surface of the tank wall in the region of the orifice.

16. The closure system according to claim 15, wherein the surface covering comprises a coating.

17. The closure system according to claim 16, wherein the coating is a plasma coating.

18. The closure system according to claim 16, wherein the coating is a finish coating.

19. The closure system according to claim 14, wherein the second seal comprises a surface treatment of the tank wall, which is restricted to treating the tank wall in the region of the orifice.

20. The closure system according to claim 19, wherein the surface treatment comprises at least one of fluorination and sulphonation.

21. The closure system according to claim 14, wherein the closure cap comprises a collar which protrudes into the orifice and the collar comprises at least one circumferential sealing lip, which covers the circumferential face of the edge of the orifice.

22. The closure system according to claim 21, wherein the sealing lip is captively fastened to the closure cap.

23. The closure system according to claim 21, wherein the sealing lip is injection moulded onto the closure cap.

24. The closure system according to claim 14, wherein the closure system comprises a bayonet closure.

25. The closure system according to claim 14, wherein the closure cap cooperates with a closure means of the fuel tank to close the orifice.

26. The closure system according to claim 25 wherein the closure means is provided at the circumference of the orifice and configured such the closure cap is fastenable to the fuel tank.

27. The closure system according to claim 26 wherein the closure means comprises at least one bayonet ring, which is moulded into the tank wall.

28. The closure system according to claim 27, wherein the bayonet ring comprises a plurality of retaining claws.

29. The closure system according to claim 14, wherein the second seal is formed of rubber.

30. The closure system according to claim 29, wherein the rubber is fluorine rubber.

Description

[0024] The invention will be explained below with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the fuel tank according to the invention in the region of a service orifice,

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a cross section through the closure system according to a first variant of the invention and

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a cross section through the closure system according to a second variant of the invention.

[0028] The closure system 1 according to the invention is provided on a fuel tank 2 of thermoplastics, which was obtained by extrusion blow moulding or by thermoforming or by welding together injection-moulded half-shells from multilayer plastics extrudates. The tank wall 3 of the fuel tank 2 has an at least six-layered wall structure comprising an inner HDPE layer, a recycled layer, a coupling agent layer, an EVOH barrier layer, a further coupling agent layer and an outer HDPE layer. The inner HDPE layer consists of virgin HDPE, the coupling agent layers of LDPE, the barrier layer for example of EVOH and the outer layer forming the outside of the tank of HDPE coloured with carbon black.

[0029] In the drawings, the multilayer structure of the tank wall 3 is shown only in a highly schematically simplified manner.

[0030] The closure system 1 comprises an orifice 4 and a closure cap 5 inserted into the orifice 4. The orifice 4 takes the form of a circle cut out of the tank wall 3 and is surrounded by a metallic bayonet ring 6 with retaining claws 7. The bayonet ring 6 comprises a flanged ring 8 moulded into the tank wall 3, which flanged ring comprises a plurality of holes 9 around its circumference, through which passes the thermoplastic material of the tank wall 3.

[0031] The bayonet ring 6 was blow moulded into the tank wall 3 by extrusion blow moulding during production of the fuel tank 2. It was inserted into the die during production and flowed through by the material of the parison on expansion of the parison in the die. A circle was subsequently cut out to form the orifice 4 after removal of the fuel tank from the die.

[0032] As is clear in particular if FIGS. 1 and 3 are looked at together, the bayonet ring 6 comprises a plurality of cross-sectionally angular retaining claws 7 arranged spacedly from one another and surrounding the closure cap 5. The closure cap 5 comprises a circumferential collar 10, the diameter of which corresponds approximately to the diameter of the orifice 4 and which is centred in the orifice 4 when inserted. When the closure cap 5 is inserted into the orifice 4, the circumferential edge 11 of the closure cap 5 rests against an elastomeric seal 12, which takes the form of an O-ring seal. The elastomeric seal 12 in this case rests on the tank wall 3 inside the region delimited by the retaining claws 7.

[0033] The barrier layer 13 for hydrocarbons, extending in the tank wall 3, is merely indicated in the drawing as a line. As is straightforwardly apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, on the outward-facing side of the tank wall 3 the elastomeric seal 12 encloses a region of the tank wall 3 which is exposed when the closure cap 5 is inserted to hydrocarbons in the liquid or in the gas phase. The internally circumferential face 14 of the edge of the orifice 4 is likewise normally exposed. In this region, the barrier layer 13 is freely accessible or cut away.

[0034] In the variant of the closure system 1 according to the invention, which is shown in FIG. 2, the collar 10 of the closure cap 5 is provided on its side facing the face 14 with moulded-on elastomeric sealing lips 15, which, in the position in which the collar 10 is centred within the orifice 4, rest against the face 14 in such a way as to reliably prevent the penetration of hydrocarbon, whether in the gas phase or in the liquid phase, into the orifice such that the region of the tank wall 3 above the barrier layer 13 comes into contact with hydrocarbons.

[0035] A further variant of the closure system 1 according to the invention is shown in FIG. 3, the closure cap 5 not being shown for reasons of simplification. In addition to the elastomeric seal 13, a further sealing ring 16 is inserted into the orifice 4. This sealing ring has a profile which is cross-sectionally, for instance, angular and a skirt 17 projecting into the orifice 4, the length of which is somewhat greater than the wall thickness of the tank wall 3, such that the skirt 17 completely covers the face 14 of the orifice 4. When the closure cap 5 is inserted, the skirt 17 comes to lie between the collar 10 of the closure cap 5 and the face 14 of the orifice 4. As an alternative to the illustrated variants of the closure system 1 according to the invention, provision may be made for the entire surface of the tank wall 3 to be coated or surface-modified inside the region defined by the retaining claws 7, including the surface of the face 14 of the orifice 4.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0036] 1 Closure system [0037] 2 Fuel tank [0038] 3 Tank wall [0039] 4 Orifice [0040] 5 Closure cap [0041] 6 Bayonet ring [0042] 7 Retaining claws [0043] 8 Flanged ring [0044] 9 Holes [0045] 10 Collar [0046] 11 Edge [0047] 12 Elastomeric seal [0048] 13 Barrier layer [0049] 14 Face [0050] 15 Sealing lips [0051] 16 Sealing ring [0052] 17 Skirt