LOCK FOR VEHICLE LID

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to a lock for vehicle lid, and particularly to a lock for the fuel tank lid in internal combustion engines or to a lock for the charging port lid in electric vehicles.

Although the following description refers to a fuel tank lid, the invention is also extended to a lock for the electric charging port lid.

Various types of locks for fuel tank lid are known on the market, wherein an engagement means that is integral with the lid is engaged in an engagement means mounted in a box fixed to the vehicle body. This type of locks is impaired by the fact that, when opening and closing the lid, it is impossible to achieve a perfect alignment and centering of the engagement means, thus causing the malfunctioning of the lock.

WO2010/058304 in the name of Itw Automotive Products discloses a lock comprising a pin that is fixed to the lid and a ring that is rotatably mounted in an actuator disposed in a box that is integral with the vehicle body. The pin is provided with cams that cooperate with three teeth provided in the rotatable ring. In such a solution, the pin must be perfectly aligned with the rotatable ring in order to make the coupling between the pin and the rotatable ring work. Therefore, minor mounting errors cannot be tolerated.

The EP1295748 patent application in the name of Volkswagen discloses a closure mechanism of the fuel tank lid comprising an actuator assembly that actuates a rototranslating pin with a T-shaped head in axial section, which is engaged in a slot or eyelet obtained in a seat of a fuel tank lid in such a way to close the fuel tank safely.

With reference to Fig. 16, the actuator assembly of the prior art is disposed in a box-cover assembly with parallelepiped shape and dimensions of approximately 33.4 x 61.5 x 42.5 mm. The roto-translating pin protrudes from said parallelepiped box by approximately 26.25 mm when the pin is retracted, and makes an extraction travel of approximately 15 mm when the pin is extracted. Accordingly, the actuator assembly has a large volume in length, width and depth. In particular, such a volume has a considerable depth (approximately 42.50 + 26.25 + 15 = 83.75 mm) when the roto-translating pin is extracted.

Other types of lock are known, which comprise a fixed pin in the fuel tank lid that is engaged with a rotatable hook in a box disposed in the vehicle body.

It must be considered that the fuel tank lid is hinged to the vehicle body. In some of the embodiments, the lid is not automatically opened by a spring, and needs to be pushed by the user with his or her fingers. For this reason, during opening, the fuel tank lid must be detached from the vehicle body by at least 15 mm so that the user can insert his or her fingers between the vehicle body and the fuel tank lid in order to pull the fuel tank lid.

In view of the above, the hook must have a travel of approximately 15 mm to push the lid in such a way to create an empty space between the lid and the vehicle body where the user can insert his or her fingers. Evidently, also this type of solution is cumbersome.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art by devising a lock for the fuel tank lid of a vehicle that is reliable and suitable for ensuring the self-centering of the engagement means of the lid with the engagement means of the box of the lock fixed to the vehicle body, without requiring an exact alignment between the two elements.

Another purpose is to provide such a lock that has a reduced volume and is suitable for minimizing the translation travel of the translating element of the lock.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide such a lock that is versatile, inexpensive and easy to make and install.

These purposes are achieved according to the invention with the characteristics of the independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.

The lock for vehicle lid of the invention comprises an actuator assembly suitable for being recessedly mounted in a wall of the vehicle body, in proximal position to an opening that provides access to a duct, and a pin assembly suitable for being mounted in a lid hinged to the vehicle body in order to close the opening of the duct.

The actuator assembly comprises:

- a box and a cover,

- a hook mounted in such a way to slide axially in a shank of said box, going from a retracted position, wherein it fastens and retains a retention pin of said pin assembly, to an advanced position, wherein it disengages said retention pin,

- a first spring used to stress said hook to its advanced position,

- a locking device suitable for blocking an axial movement of said hook, and

- an actuator that actuates said locking device.

The shank of the box comprises a front portion with a rib that extends transversally relative to the axis of the shank.

The retention pin comprises an empty space suitable for slidingly receiving the rib of the front portion of the shank of the box. The retention pin is suitable for being inserted in the front portion of the shank of the box, in such a way to be slidingly guided by the rib of the shank of the box that is disposed in the empty space of the retention pin, ensuring the self-centering of the retention pin in the shank of the box.

The provision of the rib of the shank of the box and of the empty space of the retention pin permits the exact self-centering and guiding of the retention pin during its travel inside the shank of the box, ensuring the perfect operation of the lock even if the retention pin is not perfectly aligned to the shank of the box because of mounting errors.

Moreover, because of the special configuration of the lock, the box and cover assembly of the actuator assembly can have significantly lower dimensions compared to the actuator assemblies of the prior art.

With reference to Fig. 16, the dimensions of the box-cover assembly of the lock according to the invention are 24.4 x 41.8 x 42.5 mm. In any case, also the length and the width of the box and cover assembly according to the invention have been reduced by approximately 30% compared to the prior art.

Additional features of the invention will appear manifest from the detailed description below, which refers to a merely illustrative, not limiting embodiment, as illustrated in the appended figures, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the lock according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the pin assembly of the lock of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of the actuator assembly lock of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4 is an axial view of the lock of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the lock of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 6 is an axial detailed view of the coupling between pin assembly and actuator assembly, which shows an initial coupling step of the pin assembly with the hook of the lock;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the pin assembly coupled inside the box of the actuator;

Fig. 8 is an axial view of the assembly of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a detail of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is the same view as Fig. 8, except for the fact that it shows the locking device in locking position;

Fig. 10A is an enlarged view of a detail of Fig. 10;

Fig. 1 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane XI-XI of Fig. 10;

Figs. 12 and 13 are perspective views, respectively showing the box and the cover of the actuator assembly;

Fig. 14 is a diagrammatic view of a planar development of a cam portion of the box and the cover, where the pegs of the rotatable ring of the hook are disposed;

Figs. 14A to 14E are diagrammatic views of a portion of Fig. 14, which show the various movement steps of the hook of the lock;

Fig. 15 is an enlarged detailed view of Fig.14; and Fig. 16 is a plan view and a side view of an actuator assembly according to the invention and an actuator assembly according to the prior art, respectively, with dimensions for a dimensional comparison.

With reference to the Figures, the lock for vehicle lid according to the invention is disclosed, which is generally indicated with reference numeral 100.

With reference to Figs. 1 , 2 and 3, the lock (100) comprises an actuator assembly (A) and a pin assembly (P).

The actuator assembly (A) is suitable for being recessedly mounted in a wall of the vehicle body, in proximal position to an opening that provides access to a duct suitable for receiving a fuel pump gun or an electric charging plug.

The pin assembly (P) is suitable for being mounted in a lid hinged to the vehicle body in order to close the opening of the duct.

With reference to Fig. 3, the actuator assembly (A) comprises a box (1 ) and a cover (2) that can be assembled in such a way to contain the various parts of the actuator assembly.

The box (1 ) has a parallelepiped body (10) with a projecting cylindrical shank (11 ) provided with an ending portion (12) that protrudes from the wall of the vehicle body. A central rib (13) (Fig.1 ) is diametrically disposed in the ending portion (12) of the shank of the box.

A hook (3) is mounted inside the shank (11 ) of the box with possibility of sliding axially. It must be considered that the provision of the rib (13) in the front portion of the shank of the box protects the hook (3) when the lid is open, thus preventing any tampering actions of the hook (3).

The hook (3) has a cylindrical body (30) with a front portion (31 ) that extends in the shank (1 1 ) and a back portion (32) that extends in the parallelepiped body of the box.

A gasket (33) shaped like an O-ring is disposed on the front portion (31 ) of the body of the hook.

Two elastic wings (34) protrude longitudinally and frontally from the front portion (31 ) of the body of the hook, in diametrically opposite positions. Each elastic wing (34) has an inward-protruding retention tooth (35). A first spring (M1 ) stresses the hook (3) to an advanced position. The first spring (M1 ) is disposed inside the body (30) of the hook and has a first end that is stopped against the cover (2) and a second end that is stopped against a bottom wall (38) of the hook (3).

With reference to Fig. 2, the pin assembly (P) comprises a retention pin

(4) with a flange (40) suitable for being fixed to the fuel tank lid. Although not shown in the figures, the retention pin (4) can be made in one piece with the fuel tank lid.

Two wings (41 ) protrude longitudinally from the flange (40) in such a way to be disposed in orthogonal position relative to the fuel tank lid. Each wing (41 ) has a retention tooth (42) that protrudes externally. The retention teeth (42) of the wings of the retention pin are suitable for cooperating with the retention teeth (35) of the wings of the hook in order to fasten the retention pin (4) to the hook (3).

The wings (41 ) of the retention pin are separated by an empty space

(43) suitable for receiving the rib (13) of the front portion of the shank of the box. During the travel of the retention pin (4) inside the shank of the box, the rib (13) slides in the empty space (43) of the retention pin, thus self-centering and guiding the retention pin inside the shank of the box. Said self-centering and guiding of the retention pin inside the shank of the box permits to compensate any mounting errors that may cause the imperfect alignment of the retention pin with the shank of the box.

Each wing (41 ) of the retention pin has a longitudinal groove (44).

An ejector (5) is mounted in such a way to slide longitudinally in the empty space (43) between the wings (41 ) of the retention pin.

The ejector (5) has a cylindrical body (50) and two radial wings (51 ) that protrude radially from the body of the ejector in order to be slidingly engaged in the longitudinal grooves (44) of the wings of the retention pin. In view of the above, the movement of the ejector (5) is guided by the longitudinal grooves of the elastic wings.

A second spring (M2) stresses the ejector (5) to an advanced position. The second spring (M2) is disposed in the empty space (43) between the two wings and has a first end that is stopped against a cap (45) fixed to a front portion of the retention pin, and a second end that is stopped against the body (50) of the ejector.

It must be noted that the ejector (5) is optional and is used to ensure an extra ejection travel of the retention pin (4) in such a way to raise the lid sufficiently in order for the user to insert his or her fingers between the lid and the vehicle body and grab the lid.

Going back to Fig. 3, a locking device (6) is suitable for blocking the axial movement of the hook (3) when the hook (3) is in locking position.

The locking device (6) is disposed in the parallelepiped body (10) of the box, next to the hook (3). The locking device (6) is moved in a radial direction relative to the hook (3) to go from a backward position (Figs. 4 and 5), wherein the hook is not locked, to an advanced position (Figs. 10 and 1 1 ) wherein the hook is locked.

The locking device (6) has a body (60) with a projection (61 ) suitable for being engaged in a radial hole (37) (Figs. 10 and 1 1 ) of the body of the hook.

The body (60) of the locking device has front grooves (62) and back grooves (63).

With reference to Fig. 5, when the locking device (6) is in non-locking retracted position, back retention teeth (16) of the box are engaged in the back grooves (63) of the locking device.

With reference to Fig. 1 1 , when the locking device (6) is in locking advanced position, front retention teeth (17) of the box are engaged in the front grooves (62) of the locking device.

The locking device (6) is moved by an actuator (200) disposed in the box

(1 ).The actuator (200) is an electric motor provided with a drive shaft (201 ) that rotates a pinion (202) that engages in a rack (65) obtained in the body of the locking device. In such a way, the rotation of the motor of the actuator (200) is converted into a translation of the locking device (6) by means of pinion (202) - rack (65) coupling. Obviously, a screw-mother screw coupling can be provided, or the actuator can be any type of linear actuator suitable for moving the locking device (6) in linear direction. The locking device (6) is connected to an emergency lever (66) (Fig.1 ) that externally protrudes from the box (1 ) in order to be manually actuated by a user to move the locking device in case of a fault of the actuator (200). The emergency lever (66) can be covered or sealed by a rubber cap. The locking device (6) can be connected to a cable or rope.

With reference to Fig. 1 , the actuator assembly (A) comprises a sensor (D) suitable for detecting the position of the hook (3); otherwise said, the sensor (D) detects when the hook (3) is in locking position and/or when the hook is in non-locking position.

Advantageously, the sensor (D) is a magnetic sensor, such as a Hall effect sensor. The sensor (D) comprises a sensitive portion (D1 ) that interacts with a magnet (D2) disposed in a projection (36) that projects from the back portion of the body of the hook.

The sensor (D) is fixed to the cover (2) in such a way that the sensitive portion (D1 ) of the sensor is directed towards the magnet (D2) of the hook.

Fig. 10A shows a situation in which the hook is in retracted position and the magnet (D2) of the hook is coupled to the sensitive portion (D1 ) of the sensor (D).

Going back to Fig. 3, the cover (2) has a shank (20) with the electrical contacts (C) that are suitable for being connected to the actuator (200) and to the sensor (D). In view of the above, the shank (20) with the electrical contacts (C) forms an electrical connector that is suitable for being connected to an electrical cable suitable for being connected to the power supply of the vehicle. The shank (20) of the cover has an orthogonal axis relative to the axis of the shank (11 ) of the box.

A rotatable ring (7) is rotatably mounted on the back portion (32) of the body of the hook.

The rotatable ring (7) has three projections (70) that project radially from the rotatable ring. The three projections (70) are equally spaced by an angle of 120°.

The three projections (70) of the rotatable ring (7) act as followers for a lower cam (8) (Fig.12) obtained in an upper edge of the shank of the box inside the parallelepiped body of the box, and an upper cam (9) (Fig.13) obtained in a lower edge of the cover (2).

The lower and the upper cams (8, 9) have a circular profile with diameter equal to the diameter of the shank (1 1 ) of the box and therefore with larger diameter than the body (30) of the hook.

Fig. 14 shows the planar development of the lower and the upper cams

(8, 9).

The lower cam (8) comprises three wings (80) that are separated by slots (81 ).

The upper cam (9) has a saw-tooth profile with triangular teeth in such a way to define a plurality of housings (91 , 95) alternated with a plurality of peaks (93, 97)

With reference to Fig. 15, each wing (80) of the lower cam has an upper saw-tooth edge that comprises:

- a first peak (82),

- a first descending ramp (83),

- a housing (84);

- an ascending ramp (85),

- a second peak (86),

- a second descending ramp (87).

The upper cam (9) comprises:

- a first ascending ramp (90),

- a first housing (91 );

- a first descending ramp (92),

- a first peak (93),

- a second ascending ramp (94),

- a second housing (95);

- a second descending ramp (96),

- a second peak (97).

The cover (2) is mounted on the box (1 ) in such a way to ensure an exact arrangement as illustrated below. The first ascending ramp (90) of the upper cam is disposed in the slot (81 ) of the lower cam;

the first housing (91 ) of the upper cam is disposed in the first descending ramp (83) of the lower cam, staggered by a length (a) relative to the first peak (82) of the lower cam;

the first peak (93) of the upper cam is disposed in the first descending ramp (83) of the lower cam, staggered by a length (b) relative to the first housing (84) of the lower cam;

the second peak (86) of the lower cam is disposed in the second ascending ramp (94) of the upper cam, staggered by a length (c) relative to the second housing (95) of the upper cam;

the second peak (97) of the upper cam is disposed at the end of the second descending ramp (87) of the lower cam.

With reference to Fig. 3, a projection (39) protrudes radially from the body (30) of the hook and is engaged in a longitudinal groove (19) (Fig.12) obtained in the shank (1 1 ) of the box to prevent the rotation of the hook relative to the box and permit the translation of the hook.

The operation of the lock (100) of the invention is described below.

When the fuel tank lid is open, the pin assembly (P) does not interfere with the actuator assembly (A).

With reference to Fig. 4, the ejector (5) of the pin assembly (P) is in extracted position and is pushed forward by the spring (M2).

The hook (3) is in advanced position and is pushed by the spring (M1 ), in such a way that the gasket (33) disposed in the front portion of the hook is stopped against a collar (14) that protrudes internally inside the front portion (12) of the shank (1 1 ) of the box. It must be noted that the elastic wings (43) of the hook are disposed inside the front portion (12) of the shank of the box. The rib (13) of the front portion of the shank of the box prevents the access to the hook (3).

With reference to Fig. 5, the locking device (6) does not interfere with the hook (3); therefore the locking device (6) is in non-locking position. With reference to Figs.14, 14A, the projections (70) of the rotatable ring (7) of the hook are disposed in the slots (81 ) of the lower cam (8).

With reference to Fig. 6, when the user starts closing the fuel tank lid the ejector (5) of the pin assembly is stopped against the rib (13) of the front portion of the shank of the box, therefore the ejector (5) starts to move backwards inside the retention pin (4) and the spring (M2) of the retention pin is compressed and loaded. Simultaneously, the teeth (42) of the wings of the retention pin are inserted in the front portion (12) of the shank of the box and are stopped against the bottom wall (38) of the hook. The elastic wings (34) of the hook are disposed in peripheral position relative to the teeth (42) of the wings of the retention pin.

With reference to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, when the fuel tank lid is pushed towards the vehicle body, the hook (3) is pushed backwards by the teeth (42) of the wings of the retention pin, compressing the first spring (M1 ) that is loaded. The teeth (35) of the elastic wings of the hook engage with the teeth (42) of the wings of the retention pin in such a way to retain the retention pin. In particular, the teeth (35) of the elastic wings of the hook are disposed in the collar (14) of the front portion of the shank of the box.

With reference to Fig. 14A, the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is moved in the direction of the arrow F1 inside the slots (81 ) of the lower cam, until it is stopped against the first ascending ramp (91 ) of the upper cam.

When the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is stopped against the first ascending ramp (91 ) of the upper cam, the rotatable ring (7) rotates relative to the hook until the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is stopped against the first descending ramp (92) of the upper cam and is disposed in the first housing (91 ) of the upper cam, as shown in Fig.14B.

With reference to Fig. 14B, when the user releases the lid, being loaded, the first spring (M1 ) pushes the hook (3) forwards, therefore the projection (70) is moved along the direction of the arrow F2 and is stopped against the first descending ramp (83) of the lower cam. Therefore, the rotatable ring (7) rotates relative to the hook until the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is stopped against the ascending ramp (85) of the lower cam and is disposed in the housing (84) of the lower cam, as shown in Fig. 14C.

Now, the hook (3) is in retracted closing position and the teeth of the elastic wings of the hook retain the teeth of the wings of the retention pin.

With reference to Fig. 10A, the position sensor (D) detects that the hook is in locking position.

With reference to Figs. 10 and 1 1 , in order to lock the hook (3) and prevent its axial translation, the actuator (200) is operated to control the movement of the locking device (6) that translates in such a way to engage the projection (61 ) of the locking device in the hole (37) of the hook. In such a situation, the hook is locked and the fuel tank lid cannot be opened.

In order to open the lid, the actuator (200) is operated to move the locking device (6) backwards, in such a way that the projection (61 ) of the locking device is released from the hole (37) of the hook. Now the hook (7) can translate freely.

The user pushes the lid and consequently the retention pin (4) pushes the hook (3).

With reference to Fig. 14C, the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is moved in the direction of the arrow F3. Therefore the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is stopped against the second ascending ramp (91 ) of the upper cam and the rotatable ring (7) rotates relative to the hook until the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is stopped against the second descending ramp (96) of the upper cam and is disposed in the second housing (95) of the upper cam, as shown in Fig. 15D.

With reference to Fig. 15D, being loaded, the first spring (M1 ) is discharged, pushing the hook towards its extracted position. Consequently, the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is moved in the direction of the arrow F4, until the projection of the rotatable ring is stopped against the second descending ramp (87) of the lower cam. Therefore, the rotatable ring rotates relative to the hook and the projection (70) of the rotatable ring is inserted in the slot (81 ) of the lower cam, as shown in Fig. 15E. With reference to Fig. 4, in such a situation, the teeth (35) of the elastic wings of the hook pass beyond the collar (14) and are inserted in the front portion (12) of the shank of the box. Being loaded, the second spring (M2) is discharged, causing a retraction of the retention pin (4) relative to the hook and consequently a release of the teeth (42) of the retention pin from the teeth (45) of the hook. In fact, the wings (34) of the hook are elastically bent towards the exterior of the front portion of the shank of the box.

The fact that the ejector (5) of the pin assembly is stopped against the rib (13) of the front portion of the shank of the box permits an extra travel of the retention pin, which pushes the fuel tank lid, detaching it from the vehicle body by a distance of approximately 10-15 mm, which is sufficient for the user to insert his or her fingers between the vehicle body and the fuel tank lid.

Moreover, the rib (13) of the shank of the box acts as centering element for perfectly centering the lid during the sliding engagement of the rib in the retention pin.

Numerous variations and modifications can be made to the present embodiment of the invention, which are within the reach of an expert of the field, falling in any case within the scope of the invention.