Patent ID: 7337799

Claim:
A vehicle comprising a tank for storage of a fluid under pressure on the vehicle, the tank being connected to at least one vent channel, each vent channel leading to a discharge orifice, each vent channel being connected to the tank by means of at least one safety valve, wherein each safety valve includes a thermal release valve that is normally closed and capable of opening spontaneously in response to a rise in temperature, each safety valve being installed in a respective predefined zone of the vehicle and the discharge orifice being remote from each respective predefined zone, wherein the thermal release valve includes a release element with a disk-shaped pellet formed of a shape memory alloy such that, when the pellet is subjected for the first time to a rise in temperature beyond a predefined threshold temperature, the release element adopts a memorized shape in a thermally irreversible manner, and wherein the adoption of the memorized shape causes the pellet to apply a force that opens the thermal release valve.