Vehicle with natural gas storage array

• US 9,878,611 B1
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Abd Elhamid, Mahmoud H., Dailly, Anne M., Cai, Mei
• Primary Examiner(s): Swenson, Brian L
• Application Number:
  US15/223,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20180029465A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 15/03006 Gas tanks B60K15/07 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2015/03019 Filling of gas tanks
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2410/10 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 2043/103 Natural gas, e.g. methane or LNG used as a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 43/10 Engines or plants characterised by use of other specific gases, e.g. acetylene, oxyhydrogen

Abstract

A vehicle includes a vehicle platform and a natural gas fueled engine attached to the vehicle platform. The engine provides tractive power to at least one drive wheel. The vehicle includes an enclosure, attachable to the vehicle platform, to contain an array of natural gas storage vessels. The array of natural gas storage vessels is disposed completely within the enclosure. Each storage vessel of the array of natural gas storage vessels is in fluid communication with a single outlet port for selectively extracting the natural gas from the array of natural gas storage vessels. Each storage vessel of the array of natural gas storage vessels is in fluid communication with a single natural gas fill port.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle platform defining a T-shaped platform cavity having a fore-aft portion and a transverse portion intersecting the fore-aft portion, wherein the T-shaped platform cavity is open on a road-facing side of the vehicle platform;

a natural gas fueled engine attached to the vehicle platform, the engine to provide tractive power to at least one drive wheel; and

an enclosure, attachable to the vehicle platform, to contain an array of natural gas storage vessels, wherein;

the enclosure is T-shaped to nest in the T-shaped platform cavity of the vehicle platform;

the array of natural gas storage vessels is disposed completely within the enclosure;

each natural gas storage vessel of the array of natural gas storage vessels is in fluid communication with a single outlet port for selectively extracting the natural gas from the array of natural gas storage vessels; and

each natural gas storage vessel of the array of natural gas storage vessels is in fluid communication with a single natural gas fill port.

2. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the enclosure shields the array of natural gas storage vessels from ultraviolet light.

3. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the enclosure shields the array of natural gas storage vessels from moisture.

4. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the enclosure is a housing to contain an electrical battery in place of the array of natural gas storage vessels.

5. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein each natural gas storage vessel in the array of natural gas storage vessels is a cylindrical vessel having an aspect ratio greater than 10.

6. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein:

each natural gas storage vessel in the array of natural gas storage vessels is a cylindrical vessel having an aspect ratio greater than 10;

each natural gas storage vessel in the array of natural gas storage vessels has a cylindrical axis;

the cylindrical axes of the natural gas storage vessels in a fore-aft subset of the array of natural gas storage vessels are parallel to a fore-aft axis of the vehicle; and

the cylindrical axes of the natural gas storage vessels in a transverse subset of the array of natural gas storage vessels are parallel to a transverse axis of the vehicle and perpendicular to the fore-aft axis of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein each natural gas storage vessel in the array of natural gas storage vessels is a truncated octahedron.

8. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the array of natural gas storage vessels includes a plurality of Type 4 gas cylinders.

9. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein a natural gas adsorbent is disposed in at least one of the natural gas storage vessels in the array of natural gas storage vessels.

10. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the enclosure is a secondary containment vessel for natural gas.

11. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the vehicle platform includes stamped sheet metal and the enclosure includes a conductive material to equalize an electrical potential between the enclosure and the vehicle platform.

12. The vehicle as defined in claim 11 wherein the conductive material is a metallic layer defined on a wall of the enclosure.

13. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the enclosure includes a fluid cooling circuit.

14. The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein:

the enclosure has an enclosure body;

the enclosure body defines a T-shaped enclosure body cavity;

the enclosure has an enclosure floor, removably and sealingly attachable to the enclosure body;

the enclosure body and the enclosure floor define a fore-aft compartment having a fore-aft subset of the array of natural gas storage vessels disposed therein;

the enclosure body and the enclosure floor define a transverse compartment having a transverse subset of the array of natural gas storage vessels disposed therein; and

the fore-aft compartment intersects the transverse compartment.

15. A method of manufacturing a plurality of energy storage containers for a fleet of vehicles, comprising:

fabricating a plurality of T-shaped enclosures, wherein each enclosure has a fore-aft portion and a transverse portion intersecting the fore-aft portion, each enclosure is for an instance of the energy storage containers and each enclosure is identical to every other enclosure within manufacturing tolerances;

determining if an instance of the energy storage container is an electrical energy storage container or natural gas storage container;

if the instance of the energy storage container is the electrical energy storage container, installing electrical storage batteries in the enclosure of the instance of the energy storage container;

if the instance of the energy storage container is the natural gas storage container, installing an array of natural gas storage vessels in the enclosure of the instance of the energy storage container;

attaching a floor on the instance of the energy storage container; and

installing the instance of the energy storage container in a T-shaped platform cavity of a vehicle member of the fleet of vehicles, the T-shaped platform cavity having a fore-aft portion and a transverse portion intersecting the fore-aft portion.

16. A vehicle, comprising:

a natural gas storage container, including;

a T-shaped enclosure body having a T-shaped enclosure body cavity, the enclosure body removably and sealingly attached to a T-shaped platform cavity of the vehicle, wherein the T-shaped platform cavity has a fore-aft portion and a transverse portion intersecting the fore-aft portion;

an array of natural gas storage vessels disposed within the enclosure body cavity; and

the array of natural gas storage vessels having at least one Type 4 gas cylinder, wherein the enclosure body occludes a substantial amount of ultraviolet light and moisture from coming into contact with the array of natural gas storage vessels.

17. The vehicle as defined in claim 16 wherein the enclosure body is embedded into a chassis of the vehicle.

18. A vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle platform includes stamped sheet metal;

a natural gas fueled engine attached to the vehicle platform, the engine to provide tractive power to at least one drive wheel; and

an enclosure, attachable to the vehicle platform, to contain an array of natural gas storage vessels, wherein;

the enclosure includes a conductive material to equalize an electrical potential between the enclosure and the vehicle platform;

the array of natural gas storage vessels is disposed completely within the enclosure;

each natural gas storage vessel of the array of natural gas storage vessels is in fluid communication with a single outlet port for selectively extracting the natural gas from the array of natural gas storage vessels; and

each natural gas storage vessel of the array of natural gas storage vessels is in fluid communication with a single natural gas fill port.

19. The vehicle as defined in claim 18 wherein the conductive material is a metallic layer defined on a wall of the enclosure.

20. The vehicle as defined in claim 18 wherein:

the vehicle platform defines a T-shaped platform cavity having a fore-aft portion and a transverse portion intersecting the fore-aft portion;

the T-shaped platform cavity is open on a road-facing side of the vehicle platform;

the enclosure is T-shaped to nest in the T-shaped platform cavity;

each natural gas storage vessel in the array of natural gas storage vessels is a cylindrical vessel having an aspect ratio greater than 10;

each natural gas storage vessel in the array of natural gas storage vessels has a cylindrical axis;

the cylindrical axes of the natural gas storage vessels in a fore-aft subset of the array of natural gas storage vessels are parallel to a fore-aft axis of the vehicle; and

the cylindrical axes of the natural gas storage vessels in a transverse subset of the array of natural gas storage vessels are parallel to a transverse axis of the vehicle and perpendicular to the fore-aft axis of the vehicle.