A device for closing the access compartment of delivery pipes of car fuel tanks.

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to an improved device for closing the access compartment of delivery pipes of car fuel tanks.

The device of the invention comprises a plastic molded, bowl-shaped support bottom provided with external shelf where a seat is obtained for a pivoting pin of the closing lid, with suitable shape and size to close the mouth of the bottom.

Since the bottom must be fixed inside the vehicle body, a flange is molded around the mouth of the bottom to act as stop and centering with respect to an insertion hole obtained on the body.

The device of the invention is provided with a lock of push-push type that can alternately and automatically provide hooking and unhooking of the lid when the lid is manually pressed against the bottom.

This sort of push-push locks are normally used in combination with safety latches operated by an electric actuator, which prevent the lid from being freely opened until said actuator remains in working condition. Normally, said actuator is automatically operated whenever the vehicle doors are closed with centralized control.

The market offers different models of devices with push-push lock in combination with a safety latch with automatic electrical operation.

The device of the invention is provided with an integrated "latch- actuator-lock" assembly applied directly on the outside of the bottom, so that the device can be mounted with one fixing operation only, which coincides with the fixing of the bottom to the vehicle body, which in such a case acts as support both for the bottom and the integrated "latch-actuator-lock" assembly. A device of this type, having an integrated "latch-actuator-lock" assembly applied directly on the outside of the bottom, is disclosed in patent IT1363917 of the same applicant.

The purpose of the present invention is to remedy a drawback of this type of devices of known type, according to which the push-push lock is provided, on the internal side of said closing lid, with a retention seat for the finned head of a rototranslating pin contained in a suitable housing and guide seat obtained in said integrated "latch-actuator-lock" assembly applied directly on the outside of the bottom. Said rototranslating pin can be in two stop positions, one position of complete extraction from the housing and guide seat, and one position of complete retraction inside said housing and guide seat.

During the extraction and retraction travels, said rototranslating pin respectively makes inverse rotations around its longitudinal axis by an angle equal to or lower than 90°.

In the position of maximum extraction, the finned head of said rototranslating pin is in such a position to be inserted into the retention seat obtained on the internal side of the lid. In view of the above, when the lid is pushed manually against the support bottom, immediately before the lid completes its closing travel, said finned head of the rototranslating pin is automatically inserted into the retention seat obtained on the internal side of the lid.

During the last part of said closing travel of the lid, the lid is pressed against said finned head, forcing the rototranslating pin to return inside its housing and guide seat, with consequent rotation of said finned head, which remains engaged into its retention seat, holding the lid closed.

At the end of the retraction travel, said rototranslating pin is hooked by a stop mechanism of known type - which is disclosed in the Italian patent No. 1363917 - and stabilized in its maximum retraction position. Said mechanism is adapted to automatically release the rototranslating pin when the lid is pushed again against the support bottom, after being closed. In such a circumstance said rototranslating pin is ejected out of its housing and guide seat by means of a return spring, with a new consequent inverse rotation of the finned head that returns to idle position, in correspondence of which said engagement with respect of the lid fails, and the lid can be rotated to its position of maximum opening.

When said rototranslating pin is at the end of its retraction travel, an actuator controlling a safety latch can be operated to mechanically inhibit the extraction travel of the rototranslating pin, thus preventing the accidental opening of the closed lid.

Said closing devices provided with push-push locks of known type are impaired by a drawback consisting in the fact that the push-push lock can also be actuated without pushing on the lid.

Let us suppose that accidentally, with the lid open, said rototranslating pin is manually pushed at the end of its retraction travel and successively the actuator controlling the operation of the safety latch is actuated. In such a circumstance, the position sensor associated with said safety latch would report the normal closing of the lid to the electronic control unit, and the driver would start the car off, being absolutely certain that the access compartment of the delivery pipe of the fuel tank is locked in closed position, whereas it is in fact completely open.

In addition to being inappropriate, starting the car off with open lid would be extremely dangerous if the fuel pump gun is still inserted in the delivery pipe of the fuel tank or, in the case of vehicles with electric engine, if the electrical socket is still inserted in the outlet.

DE 10 2009 0601 19 discloses a device for closing the lid of the fuel tank of a vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1 .

The purpose of the present invention is to remedy the drawback of the prior art by devising a new improved device for closing the access compartment of the delivery pipe of car fuel tanks, wherein it is impossible to accidentally actuate the push-push lock until the lid is open.

According to the improved closing device of the invention, the safety latch can be exclusively actuated on condition that said access compartment is closed by the lid. Such a purpose has been achieved by the present invention, the main characteristics of which are disclosed in the first of the attached claims.

The resolutive idea at the basis of the present invention is substantially that of inverting the position of said hooking means (viz. said finned head) and retention means (viz. said retention seat) with respect to equivalent devices of the prior art.

More precisely, according to the device of the invention, said lid is provided on the internal side with a peg with finned head adapted to be inserted and hooked into a retention slot obtained on the tubular tip of a rototranslating pin contained in a cylindrical housing and guide seat obtained on the body of the push-push lock, which is in turn part of said integrated "latch-actuator -lock" assembly directly applied on the outside of the bottom.

The tubular tip of said rototranslating pin protrudes from the cylindrical seat acting as housing and guide of the pin by a length lower than the length of the backward travel that must be given to the rototranslating pin to actuate the stop lever mechanism of the push-push lock adapted to temporarily block the rototranslating pin at the end of the retraction travel.

Instead, the length of the peg with finned head is dimensioned in such way that, by pushing the lid towards its closing position, the peg penetrates inside said tubular tip and moves forward beyond the mouth of said cylindrical seat, in such way to push the rototranslating pin until it reaches its position of maximum retraction, in correspondence of which it is automatically blocked by said stop lever mechanism.

Evidently, during the backward travel of the rototranslating pin, said tubular tip undergoes a rotational movement around the peg, the finned head of which is therefore engaged in the retention slot obtained on said tubular tip, in such way to hold the lid closed.

For explanatory reasons the description of the improved closing device of the invention continues with reference to the attached drawings, which only have an illustrative, not limiting value, wherein:

- Fig. 1 is an axonometric view of the device of the invention when the closing lid is completely open; - Fig. 2 is an axonometric view of the device of the invention when the closing lid is half-open ;

- Fig. 3 is an axonometric view of the device of the invention, when the closing lid is half-open, with device and lid sectioned with a plane passing through the axis of rotation of the rototranslating pin, which is shown unsectioned;

- Fig. 4 is an axonometric view of the device of the invention, when the closing lid is half-open, with device and lid sectioned with a plane passing through the axis of rotation of the rototranslating pin, which is shown sectioned;

- Fig. 5 is an axonometric view of the device of the invention, when the closing lid is closed, with device and lid sectioned with a plane passing through the axis of rotation of the rototranslating pin, which is shown unsectioned;

- Fig. 6 is an axonometric view of the device of the invention, when the closing lid is closed, with device and lid sectioned with a plane passing through the axis of rotation of the rototranslating pin, which is shown sectioned;

- Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the device that corresponds to an enlargement of a detail of Fig. 6;

- Fig. 8 is an axonometric view of the device of the invention, when the closing lid is completing its closing travel and is pushing against said rototranslating pin ;

- Fig. 9 is an axonometric view of said rototranslating pin.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the closing device of the invention comprises a bottom (1 ) adapted to be inserted into a hole obtained on the vehicle body. To that end, the bottom (1 ) is provided with a peripheral flange (F) for stopping and centering with respect to the hole of the body. Said flange (F) generates a mouth of the bottom. The bottom (1 ) comprises an external shelf (2) whereon a seat (3) is obtained for a pivoting pin (3a) of a lid (4) with suitable shape and size to close the mouth of the bottom (1 ). Said bottom (1 ) is provided with a lower opening (1 a) where the delivery pipe leading to the fuel tank is inserted. In case of electrical vehicles, an electrical charging socket is provided in the opening (1 a) of the bottom.

An assembly (G) of known type is located on the back of said flange (F), comprising push-push lock, safety latch and actuator. The assembly (G) is located in opposite position to said shelf (2) used to hinge the lid (4).

The device of the invention comprises an ordinary lock of push-push type, with rototranslating pin (5) axially sliding inside a cylindrical seat (6) acting as housing and guide for the rototranslating pin (5) obtained on the bottom (1 ). The seat (6) also houses a spring (7) (Fig. 4) that tends to eject said pin (5) from said cylindrical seat (6). The stop at the end of the extraction travel of said pin (5) is caused by its coupling with a stop lever mechanism (not shown in the figures) of the push-push lock.

Referring to Fig. 9, the rototranslating pin (5) is provided on the external surface with a helical groove (5a), wherein a locking pin is inserted, protruding in internal position with respect to the cylindrical seat (6). In view of the above, the alternate axial travels of the pin (5) inside the cylindrical seat (6) are associated with inverse rotations of the pin around its longitudinal axis by an angle of approximately 90 °.

The peculiarity of said rototranslating pin (5) is that, at the end facing the lid (4), it is provided with a tubular tip (5b) comprising retention means (A) adapted to interact with hooking means (B) (Figs. 1 and 2) protruding from the internal side of the lid (4).

As shown in Fig. 9, said tubular tip (5b) of the rototranslating pin is provided with an internal conduit (5c) having a substantially rectangular cross- section. Said internal conduit (5c) is blind, being closed in depth by a bottom wall (5d).

The lateral wall of said internal conduit (5c) is provided with a diametrically opposite pair of through slots (5e) internally ending in correspondence of the longer sides of the rectangular cross-section of the internal conduit (5c). When the push-push lock is not actuated, that is to say when the pin (5) is in its position of maximum extraction from the seat (6), as shown in Figs. 1 , 3 and 4, said tubular tip (5b) of the rototranslating pin protrudes from the cylindrical seat (6) by a preset length (a) lower than the length of the backward travel that must be given to the rototranslating pin (5) to actuate the stop lever mechanism of the push-push lock adapted to temporarily block the rototranslating pin (5) at the end of backward travel.

The tubular tip (5b) of the rototranslating pin is adapted to interface and cooperate with said hooking means (B), consisting in a finned peg (4a) protruding from the internal side of the lid (4).

Said finned peg (4a) of the hooking means comprises a stem (4b) and a diametrically opposite coplanar pair of transversal wings (4c) forming a sort of rectangular head (4d) that corresponds to the cross-section of said internal conduit (5c) of the tubular tip (5b) of the rototranslating pin.

The orientation of said opposite pair of transversal wings (4c) is such that, by pushing the lid (4) towards the bottom (1 ) to close the lid, said rectangular head (4d) of the hooking means is automatically inserted into the conduit (5c), stopping against said bottom wall (5d) of the rototranslating pin, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

By keeping on pushing the lid (4) towards the bottom (1 ), because of the interference between rectangular head (4d) and bottom wall (5d), the pin (5) is moved backwards inside the seat (6), with consequent rotation of the pin (5) around its axis, as shown in Fig. 8.

When the pin (5) reaches the end of the backward travel, the push- push lock is automatically actuated, stopping the pin (5) in its position of maximum retraction, regardless of the ejection thrust of the spring (7).

When the pin (5) reaches the end of the backward travel, further to the rotation of the pin (5), the opposite pair of slots (5e) has received the opposite pair of wings (4c) of the finned peg (4a). In view of this, the lid (4) is held in closed position against the support bottom (1 ), as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

The length of the peg with finned head (4a) is such that by pushing the lid (4) towards the closing position, the peg (4a) penetrates inside said conduit (5c) of the rototranslating pin and moves forward beyond the mouth (6a) of the cylindrical seat (6), in such way to push the rototranslating pin (5) for a length longer than said preset length (a), sufficient to actuate the push- push lock.

For this reason, according to the improved closing device of the invention, it will be always impossible to actuate the safety latch if the lid (4) has not been closed previously.

In order to release the wings (4c) from the slots (5e), the lid (4) must be pressed against the bottom (1 ) so that the stem (5) makes an extra penetration travel inside the seat (6), automatically deactivating the push- push lock and making the tubular tip (5b) spontaneously come out of the seat (6) because of the ejection thrust exerted on the pin (5) by the spring (7).