Method for manufacturing a plastic fuel tank

1. A method for manufacturing a plastic fuel tank by molding a parison in which, during the molding operation, a pipe is attached to the parison at at least two points, the pipe being deformable between the two points by virtue of the presence of a bend which is stretched during the attachment of the pipe to the parison.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the parison consists of two separate pieces resulting from the cutting of an extruded tubular parison.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the pipe is attached to the parison by welding or rivet punching.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the pipe comprises, in the region between the two attachment points, at least one bend shaped like an S, V or W, a loop or a corrugation.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the bend in the region between the two attachment points is produced by hot deformation.

6. The method according to claim 1 , said method comprising:

two sheets forming the parison are preheated;

the sheets are preformed by thermoforming them in a mold;

the pipe is incorporated into at least one of the sheets by a robot;

the mold is closed again; and

the tank is molded by thermoforming by pulling a vacuum behind the mold.

7. The method according to claim 1 ,

wherein the pipe includes a plurality of ends, and

wherein the pipe is a ventilation pipe that includes a valve on at least one of the ends of the pipe.

8. The method according to claim 7 ,

wherein the pipe includes a valve at each of the ends, and

wherein the pipe is fixed to the tank via the valves.

9. The method according to claim 7 ,

wherein the tank is molded such that it includes several pockets, and

wherein the method further includes providing a vent valve in at least one of the pockets, and connecting the vent valve to a vent pipe for communication with a canister.