Other

Automotive Systems Technology, Inc.

Thomas R McCulloch

Wendell L Jacobson

Dudley L McCully

A quick connect fluid coupling is disclosed for use with a fuel tank having an opening. The coupling includes a coupling body having a tubular retainer housing and a tubular fill tube which is telescopically positioned through the retainer housing. The retainer housing also includes an outwardly extending flange which abuts against the outer surface of the tank around the tank opening. The fill tube is telescopically received within the retainer housing and is movable between a locked position and an unlocked position with respect to the retainer housing. The fill tube is also smaller in cross sectional shape than the tank opening so that the fill tube can be positioned through the tank opening and within the interior of the tank. With the fill tube positioned within the interior of the tank and the retainer housing flange in abutment with the outer surface of the tank and movement of the fill tube from its unlocked position to its locked position, a plurality of retainers carried by the retainer housing are cammed radially outwardly from the fill tube so that these retainers engage an inner surface of the tank and sandwich a portion of the tank around the tank opening in between the retainers and the retainer housing flange. Appropriate fluid seals carried by the flange provide the fluid seal between the coupling and the fuel tank.

Quick connect coupling

A novel fuel tank is disclosed for a vehicle. The fuel tank includes a first and second housing part, each having an outer peripheral flange. The flanges are adapted to abut against each other and, in doing so, form a chamber between the central portions of the housing parts. These flanges are then sealingly secured together. Each housing part is a laminate structure having an outer layer constructed of an abrasion and impact resistant material, a vapor barrier layer constructed of a material impervious to hydrocarbon vapors, and a chemically resistant layer constructed of a material resistant to erosion from hydrocarbons and conventional fuel additives. Each housing part may also have additional layers, such as a heat and light reflective layer adjacent the outermost abrasion resistant layer, as well as a structural layer to add strength and rigidity to the overall tank. Additional structures, such as reservoirs, baffles, support structures, filler tube extensions, valving and the like can also be contained within the interior of the fuel tank.

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Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States of America

Thomas R McCulloch