The invention relates to a filler-neck housing or charging housing for a motor vehicle according to claim 1.

The refueling device of a motor vehicle (passenger car/truck) usually has a housing body injection-molded from plastics material, said housing body being clipped into an opening in the bodywork. The housing body has an opening through which the filling nozzle for a fuel tank (gasoline, diesel, urea, LPG) is guided. The filling nozzle is usually closed by a cap which is screwed onto the nozzle or is connected thereto via a bayonet connection. Outwardly, the opening in the bodywork is covered by a fuel filler flap. It is also known to introduce the nozzle for an additional tank for additives via an opening in the housing body. This nozzle, too, is closed by a cover.

It is furthermore known to connect the closure cap for one of the described nozzles to the housing body or the fuel-tank cover via a retaining strap as loss-prevention|device. The retaining strap is attached to the cap or the housing body by way of a suitable fastener, for example by means of a screw, a plastics grommet or the like. Additional means are required for this purpose. Moreover, the retaining strap has to be produced in a separate mold. Finally, there is the risk of the retaining strap getting caught between a hinge arm, hinge casing and fuel filler flap during opening or closing.

In electric vehicles, a fuel tank and fuel tank nozzle are dispensed with, of course. Instead, provision should be made of a connection for a charging cable. It is known, for this purpose, too, to provide a housing body into the base opening of which a charging nozzle is engaged. Such a charging nozzle is also closed with the aid of a cap in order to keep out contamination.

The invention is based on the object of creating a filler-neck housing or charging housing for motor vehicles, wherein the production and attachment of a retaining strap is associated with less effort.

This object is achieved by the features of claim 1. In the filler-neck housing or charging housing according to the invention, the retaining strap is injection-molded in one piece with the housing body and/or is injection-molded in one or more pieces with the flap.

The housing body for existing applications is conventionally an injection-molded part. Instead of a separate mold for the retaining strap, the latter is molded in one piece with the housing body, wherein, according to one configuration of the invention, the material for the retaining strap is a softer plastics material than that for the housing body. In many cases, the housing body consists of an external, harder part and an internal, softer part made of corresponding plastics material, said parts being molded in a two-component injection-molding process to form a one-piece housing body. In this case, the opening is located in the softer part and the retaining strap is integrally formed on the softer part.

According to the invention, the retaining strap can optionally also be injection-molded in one piece with the cap, which closes off the nozzle, wherein the cap and retaining strap can consist of different plastics materials, wherein here, too, a two-component or multicomponent process is used. Finally, it is also possible to integrally form the retaining strap both on the housing body and on the cap.

The molded-on retaining strap does not require an additional injection mold. It also does not require additional fastening by means of a screw or grommet to the filler-neck housing or charging housing. The length of the retaining strap can be adapted individually to the particular application. Moreover, the invention makes it possible to supply a filler-neck housing or charging housing with a fitted cap to the motor-vehicle manufacturer. Overall, therefore, the effort for producing a filler-neck housing or charging housing with a retaining strap is considerably decreased.

The opening in the base of the housing body, the nozzle extending through said opening, is usually surrounded by a more or less conical insertion section. According to one configuration of the invention, the proximate end of the retaining strap is integrally formed on the insertion section. A sealing material made of softer material than for the housing body is usually molded on, for instance by way of the two-component process, in the insertion section or at the periphery surrounding the opening. According to one configuration of the invention, the retaining strap is integrally formed on the seal and consists of the same material. If the internal part of the housing body consists of a softer, yielding plastics material, the latter can take over sealing in the region of the opening, such that a special sealing section is no longer necessary. In this case, the retaining strap consists preferably of the same material as the internal part of the housing body.

In order that the retaining strap does not get in the way or even get caught when the cap is being handled, one configuration of the invention provides for the retaining strap to be formed in the shaped state such that it surrounds the opening so as to be wound in an approximately circular manner.

The retaining strap has to be connected to the cap with its other end if it has not already been integrally formed on the cap in the injection-molding process. To this end, one configuration of the invention provides for the retaining strap to surround the peripheral or side wall of the cap so as to be wound with internal stress after being connected thereto. It is unwound from the cap when the latter is unscrewed from the nozzle and is placed down for example in a parked position. It is known to provide corresponding receiving means for a cap on the fuel-tank cover or the bodywork during the refueling process. Thus, in the closed state of the cap, the retaining strap is neatly stowed around the latter and cannot get caught between the hinge arm, hinge casing and fuel filler flap. When the cap is put or screwed onto the nozzle, for example by way of a rotation in the clockwise direction, the strap winds itself on the cap. If the cap is rotated in the opposite direction in order to remove the cap, the strap is unwound.

Various options are conceivable for connecting one end of the retaining strap to the cap. One configuration of the invention provides for an end section of the retaining strap to be in the form of a closed annular section which is able to be pushed onto the periphery or the side wall of the cap in a press fit. The annular section can also be attached to the cap in a loose fit. In this case, it is conceivable for the cap to have an annular groove in which the annular section is received more or less loosely. It goes without saying that, for this purpose, the annular section has to be pushed frictionally over the cap wall into the annular section. In the case of a one-piece or multipiece retaining strap being integrally formed on the cap, the additional fastening measure is dispensed with, of course. In this case, when the retaining strap is integrally formed on the housing body, too, the latter can form a one-piece product together with the cap and the retaining strap, said product being produced in a corresponding shape by way of the multicomponent injection-molding process. It can then be supplied directly to the user as a finished item.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail in the following text with reference to drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an internal housing body section of a filler-neck housing according to the invention having a retaining strap molded on in one piece.

Fig. 2 shows the illustration according to fig. 1 with the connection of the retaining strap to a cover.

Fig. 3 shows the illustration according to figure 2 during the unwinding of the retaining strap from the cap.

Fig. 4 shows a separate, perspective illustration of a retaining strap according to the invention.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the arrangement of the retaining strap on a cap.

Fig. 6 shows the perspective side view of a complete housing body installed in the bodywork of a motor vehicle with a cap attached to a nozzle.

Fig. 7 shows the illustration according to figure 6 with the cap removed from the nozzle.

In figures 1 to 7, a retaining strap for attaching a cap in a filler-neck housing or charging housing on a housing body is designated 10 overall. It has an elongate strap section 12 which is wound in a circular manner. Its one end 14 is formed in one piece with the housing body following the injection-molding process. This will be dealt with further below. The strap section 12 is connected via an axially parallel web 16 to an annular retaining section 18 which has an axially parallel tab 20. As can be gathered from figure 5, the concentric arrangement of strap section 12 and annular section 18 is pushed onto a closure cap 22, wherein the annular section 18 is fitted on the outer side of the side wall of the cap 40 approximately in a press fit. The annular section 18 can also be fitted on the cap in a loose fit, although this is not illustrated. In this case, the annular section 18 is located in an annular groove of the cap and is retained securely there. The strap section 12 annularly surrounds the side wall more or less loosely.

In figures 1 to 3, an internal housing section 30 of a housing body 36 which is injection- molded from a relatively soft plastics material can be seen. It can have a conventional shape. Its base wall is provided with two openings 32, 34. In figures 6 and 7, the complete housing body is illustrated with an external part 37. The external part surrounds the softer section 30. Both sections 30, 37 are produced in one piece in a two-component injection- molding process. The external section 37 is produced from relatively hard plastics material, such that the housing body 36 can be clipped into the correspondingly shaped opening in the bodywork of a vehicle. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the opening 32 serves for guiding through a fuel-tank nozzle, which is not shown here. A further refueling nozzle 38 can be seen in figure 7, said nozzle 38 being introduced into the opening 34. It leads to a tank for an additive. It can be closed by a cap 40, as indicated in figure 6. The cap 40 can be screwed on by means of a screw thread or be connected to the nozzle 38 via a bayonet connection. Figure 7 also indicates a cap 42 which can be screwed onto a fuel-tank nozzle that is guided through the opening 32. As mentioned, the nozzle is not illustrated.

For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the housing body 30 is surrounded by a sealing ring 44 against which a fuel filler flap (not shown) is placed, said fuel filler flap covering the housing body on the outside and closing the opening in the bodywork. The fuel filler flap is articulated by way of a hinge, the casing of which is illustrated at 46.

It can be seen in figures 1 to 3 that the opening 34 is surrounded by a shell section or conical section 48. The end 14 of the strap section 12 is integrally formed on the latter. The integral forming takes place in an injection-molding process, wherein the material for the retaining strap 10 can be the same as for the housing body section 30. Furthermore, the retaining strap can be integrally formed on a sealing ring which is molded on in the section 48 in order to seal off the cap with respect to the opening 34 or the nozzle 38. The material for the retaining strap 10 can consist of the same material as the seal. If the section consists of softer plastics material, it is possible to dispense with a special sealing ring. The molding of the retaining strap 10 in the mold for the housing body 30 is as illustrated in figure 1, that is to say the strap section 12 is formed in a circular or helical shape with axially parallel attachment to the annular section 18, wherein the final shape which it has after injection-molding is shown. Figure 2 illustrates how the attachment of the retaining strap 10 to the cap 40 takes place. The pull tab 40 serves to make mounting on the cap 40 easier. The pull tab is located preferably at the end of the flow path and helps to reduce the negative influence of flow lines.

The retaining strap 10 has the shape shown when the cap 40 is attached to the nozzle 38. If the cap 40 is unscrewed from the nozzle 38 in the counterclockwise direction, the strap section 12 is unwound from the outer wall of the cap 40, as is illustrated in figure 7. In figure 7, the cap 40 has been moved into a parked position, i.e. mounted on a hook-like protrusion 50 which is provided in the region of the opening for the housing body 30 on the bodywork panel. If the cap 40 is put back on, the strap section 12 is wound around the cap 40 and occupies the region between the outer wall of the cap and the wall section 48 in a space-saving manner.

It goes without saying that in the region of the opening periphery for the opening 32, a corresponding retaining strap can be molded on for connection to the cap 42. However, this is not shown for illustration reasons.

Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the winding of the retaining strap 10 around the cap 40 is only possible when the side wall of the latter has a sufficient length.

It was already mentioned above that the retaining strap can be injection-molded in one or more pieces with the cap 40. In this case, the other end of the retaining strap could be connected in a suitable manner to the housing body or likewise be injection-molded with the internal region of the housing body. In the latter case, the cap, housing body and retaining strap form a one-piece item which can be supplied in this form to the user following production in a suitable injection mold.

With the aid of the drawings, the invention was described merely with reference to a fuel- tank nozzle which is inserted into an opening in the housing body. It goes without saying that the same application is possible in an electric car, in the case of which a charging nozzle is introduced into an opening in the housing body and is closed by a cap.