Patent Application
20230044506
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to fuel tanks for use in vehicles, primarily auxiliary fuel tanks used in pickup trucks. In particular, the subject matter relates to providing a supplemental tank for carrying diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) to complement an auxiliary diesel tank carried in the bed of a utility or pickup truck.
When driving a vehicle to remote locations there exists the concern of where fueling stations might be so that the danger of running out of fuel during the journey can be avoided. Similarly, as one operates their vehicle at remote locations for an extended time, there is the concern that adequate fuel reserves be provided. This is a situation typically faced by utility trucks that are dispatched to remote locations to respond to natural disasters to provide rescue, repair and maintenance duties. This is not a problem unique to utility trucks and those operating ordinary pickup trucks face similar issues.
A common solution to these issues is to provide an auxiliary fuel tank in the bed of the vehicle. There exist many aftermarket auxiliary reserve fuel tanks that can be retrofitted on to the vehicle and placed, for instance, in the bed of a pickup truck. As is well known in the art, fuel lines from the auxiliary tank can be connected to the fuel tank of the vehicle through various means. Fuel from the auxiliary tank can be gravity fed to the vehicle's fuel tank or may be delivered by a pump mechanism.
Diesel trucks are commonly provided with a reservoir for receiving diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) that feeds DEF into the vehicle's emission system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The port for filling the DEF reservoir on the original equipment vehicle is typically placed adjacent to the port for filling diesel fuel into the vehicle. The vehicle operator can simply fill the DEF reservoir with DEF at the time of filling of the diesel tank, or at other times as necessary. The vehicle is typically equipped with appropriate gauges on the vehicle's general instrument panel to indicate when the DEF levels may need to be replenished.
The supply of DEF in the vehicle's reservoir can run low for the same reasons discussed above when traveling to, or operating in, remote locations. The typical aftermarket diesel fuel auxiliary tank is limited to diesel fuel and has no additional capacity for storing and dispensing DEF. If it is desired to carry a supplemental supply of DEF, it generally must be provided in a separate container. Cargo space in a truck bed is limited and is quickly filled up by necessary equipment. An extra fuel container can take up space that a user would rather have for other necessary equipment. Also, a separate DEF container can be easily forgotten and be overlooked when loading and inadvertently fail to be loaded.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a supplemental auxiliary DEF tank that can be mounted adjacently to the auxiliary reserve fuel tank to provide a ready supply of DEF to the vehicle as the vehicle expends the DEF in the main DEF reservoir in the vehicle.
The present invention provides a diesel fuel and DEF combination tank to provide a supplemental storage of diesel fuel and DEF for a vehicle. In particular, the invention comprises a combination tank having a first compartment for diesel fuel and a second compartment for DEF. The combination tank is adapted for placement in the storage bed of a utility truck or a pickup truck.
Each compartment is provided with an outlet port for dispensing the fuel from the combination tank. To enable a simple gravity feed of fluid from the combination tank, dispensing ports are placed at the respective lower ends of each of the diesel fuel and DEF compartments. Appropriate fuel conveying lines are used to carry the fluids to the vehicle's fuel entry ports using conventional connection attachments. Alternatively, the fuel from the combination tank may be dispensed with the aid of a pump.
These and other features of the present invention are described in greater detail below in the section titled DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
The present invention is described herein with reference to the following drawing figures, with greater emphasis being placed on clarity rather than scale:
With reference to the drawings figures, a combination diesel fuel/DEF tank is herein described, shown, and otherwise disclosed in accordance with various embodiments, including a preferred embodiment, of the present invention.
To provide context for the structure and function of the invention, a conventional prior art auxiliary diesel tank 10 for placement in the bed 12 in the back of a pickup truck 14 is shown in
An embodiment of the fuel/diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) combination auxiliary tank 20 of the present invention is shown in
Tank 20 is configured to have an overall rectangular shape formed by the complementary configuration of compartments 22 and 24. This configuration makes efficient use of the limited space available in the bed of a truck. As shown in
Due to the corrosive nature of DEF, which can corrode certain metals, compartment 24 should be constructed of stainless steel which is resistant to the corrosive effects of DEF. As a possible alternative, DEF compartment 24 may be comprised of other materials that are resistant to the corrosive effects of DEF, such as plastic. Compartment 22 for containing diesel fuel can be constructed of any metal or plastic. If both compartments are composed of metal (ensuring stainless steel for the DEF compartment), then they may be joined by welding. Other means of connecting may be used (such as by brackets) depending upon the material of which the compartments are constructed. Tank 20 has mounting flange brackets 42 at a lower end thereof to permit the tank to be fastened by bolts or the like to the truck bed.
Each of compartments 22 and 24 are provided with filling ports 32 and 34 at their top surfaces as shown in
The dispensing of diesel fuel and DEF from the combination diesel fuel/DEF auxiliary tank to the truck's fuel lines is arranged similarly to that carried out by auxiliary tanks of the prior art and is known to those skilled in the art.
Although the invention has been disclosed with reference to various particular embodiments, it is understood that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.
