Device for locking and releasing the charging connector of a motor vehicle.

Abstract

The device comprises: a cover that moves between a closed position (closing the charging connector) and an open position (releasing the charging connector) by means of a guide mechanism fixed to the vehicle in a ready-to-assemble state; a manually operable emergency operating mechanism for moving the cover to the open position; a drive mechanism for controlling the movement of the cover between the closed and open positions when driven; and a clutch mechanism for activating the emergency operating mechanism and for disengaging the drive mechanism, wherein the clutch mechanism is mechanically connected to the emergency operating mechanism. According to the invention, a mechanical stop mechanism is provided for the clutch mechanism, which works in conjunction with the emergency operating mechanism such that when the emergency operating mechanism is disengaged, the stop mechanism causes an additional engagement of the clutch shape to ensure force transmission of the drive mechanism, wherein the additional clutch shape engagement is canceled when the emergency operating mechanism is activated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for locking and releasing a charging connector of a motor vehicle, the device comprising: a cover movable between a locked position for locking the charging connector and an open position for releasing the charging connector by means of a guide mechanism fixed to the vehicle in a ready-to-assemble state; a manually operable emergency operating mechanism for moving the cover to the open position; a drive mechanism for controlling the movement of the cover between the locked and open positions when driven; and a clutch mechanism for activating the emergency operating mechanism and deactivating the drive mechanism, wherein the clutch mechanism is mechanically operatively connected to the emergency operating mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] A device for locking and releasing a charging connector of a motor vehicle is known from DE 10 2020 209 609 A1. The charging connector has a recess in a region of the vehicle body shell, which can be closed by a cover. The cover is guided on a guide mechanism fixed to the side of the vehicle body in a manner movable between a closed position and an open position, in which the cover closes the recess and in the open position releases the recess. An electric drive mechanism is provided for moving the cover. A clutch mechanism is provided for the drive mechanism, which can be switched between an engaged state and a disengaged state by means of manual operation of an emergency operating mechanism, wherein in the engaged state, the drive motor is forcefully and kinetically connected to the cover by means of the clutch mechanism, and in the disengaged state, the kinetic connection between the drive mechanism and the cover is broken. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The objective of this invention is to provide a device of the type mentioned at the beginning that reliably performs the functions of an emergency control mechanism regardless of weather conditions.

[0004] This task is accomplished by assigning a mechanical stop mechanism to the clutch mechanism, which works in conjunction with the emergency operating mechanism such that when the emergency operating mechanism is deactivated, the stop mechanism causes an additional clutch shape lock to ensure force transmission of the drive mechanism, wherein the additional clutch shape lock is canceled when the emergency operating mechanism is activated.

[0005] The solution according to the invention ensures that the clutch mechanism will not be unintentionally opened. Thus, functional reliability is ensured even when the force acting on the clutch mechanism is high. In the prior art, it is possible that a very high load may be applied to the clutch mechanism due to icing of the cover, and this load cannot be compensated by the known emergency operating mechanism. Therefore, the function of the drive mechanism for opening the cover is no longer guaranteed. According to the invention, high functional reliability is ensured because the emergency operating mechanism remains deactivated during normal operation of the drive mechanism. Therefore, the drive mechanism can also transmit large driving forces, and the clutch mechanism will not unintentionally lose function as in the prior art. The solution according to the invention is designed for all types of motor vehicles equipped with at least one charging connector. Here, the charging connector can be provided not only for fuel refueling but also for hydrogen refueling and for charging the energy carrier on the vehicle side. The cover preferably closes the charging connector flush with the vehicle body shell. Preferably, the charging connector is disposed in a recess in the vehicle body, such that the cover flush-covers the recess in the closed position. The cover serves two purposes: firstly, as a protective element to prevent unauthorized use of the charging connector, and secondly, as a protective element for the charging connector against weather-related effects such as rain, snow, and ice.

[0006] In the design of this invention, the emergency operating mechanism and the stop mechanism are arranged in a manner movable relative to each other, so that additional stopping is achieved or canceled by the stop mechanism. Preferably, either the emergency operating mechanism or the stop mechanism is fixedly positioned, and the corresponding other functional mechanism, namely the stop mechanism or the emergency operating mechanism, is arranged in a manner movable relative to it.

[0007] In another embodiment of the invention, the stop mechanism is fixedly positioned, and the emergency operating mechanism is supported in a manner movable between an activated position and a deactivated position. This is a particularly advantageous design because the emergency operating mechanism is inherently manually operable and therefore must be manually movable in the event of a failure of the drive mechanism to open the cover. Thus, with such movement, the stop mechanism is automatically deactivated, enabling the emergency operating mechanism to perform the corresponding opening function of the cover.

[0008] In another embodiment of the invention, the emergency operating mechanism has a clamping housing that surrounds the clutch mechanism in a force-limited manner. This clamping housing is arranged to oscillate about the clutch rotation axis, and is coupled to a hand-gripable operating element to apply the oscillating motion to the clamping housing. The oscillating motion of the clamping housing causes both the disengagement activation of the stop mechanism and the activation of the emergency operating mechanism, as the oscillating motion guides the clamping housing of the emergency operating mechanism into an activated state, in which further manual operation of the emergency operating mechanism disengages the drive mechanism from control of the cover.

[0009] In another embodiment of the invention, the actuating element is coupled to the clamping housing by means of a sliding joint. The sliding joint has a dual function: on the one hand, it allows for the oscillating movement of the clamping housing, and on the other hand, it enables the clutch mechanism to open as the actuating element moves linearly accordingly. The sliding joint thus functionally forms a sliding-rotational joint.

[0010] In another embodiment of the invention, the sliding joint has a groove guide mechanism that is at least segmentally oriented obliquely relative to the longitudinal extension of the clamping housing of the emergency operating mechanism. The groove guide mechanism is preferably linearly formed and extends coaxially with the linear movement direction of the operating element in the release position of the clamping housing, in which the clutch mechanism is prepared to disengage the drive mechanism from the cover.

[0011] In another embodiment of the invention, the clamping housing has at least one resiliently retractable clamping tab that segments radially surrounds the clutch mechanism on its outer side, and the stopping mechanism has a stop cam that contacts the clamping tab radially on its outer side such that, in the deactivation position of the emergency operating mechanism, the clamping tab is form-locked to prevent radial outward expansion, and in the activation position of the emergency operating mechanism, the clamping tab is released to allow for radially resilient outward expansion. This is a particularly simple and functionally reliable design. The radially outer contour of the clamping tab is preferably arc-shaped and concentric with the rotation axis of the clutch mechanism. The stop cam extends radially outward relative to this rotation axis to the clamping tab. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Other advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims and from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] Figure 1The illustration partially shows one embodiment of the device according to the invention in the body area of ​​a car and in the closed position of the cover.

[0014] Figure 2 The enlarged diagram shows the following according to Figure 1 The device is in the open position of the cover.

[0015] Figure 3 The enlarged perspective view shows the following according to Figure 1 and 2 The device,

[0016] Figure 4 It shows according to Figure 3 The situation where a portion of the device is in the deactivated position of the emergency operating mechanism.

[0017] Figure 5 It shows according to Figure 4 The diagram shows the emergency control mechanism in its activated position.

[0018] Figure 6 The enlarged diagram shows the following according to Figure 4 Part of the device,

[0019] Figure 7 It shows according to Figure 6 However, this is a portion of the area where the emergency control mechanism is activated.

[0020] Figure 8 It shows according to Figure 7 The diagram shows the clutch mechanism being deactivated, thereby activating the emergency operating mechanism.

[0021] Figures 9 to 11 The perspective view shows the following according to Figures 1 to 8 The device is in different functional positions of the emergency operating mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0022] A motor vehicle, shaped like a sedan F, has a body K. On the side of the body, specifically on the left side along the vehicle's direction, a body recess T is provided, which has a charging connector L. A device 1 for closing and releasing the charging connector L is provided for the body recess T and the charging connector L. The device 1 has a cover 2, which allows for... Figure 1 The closing position shown is the same as Figure 2 The shown opening positions are linearly movable along the vehicle's vertical direction (according to the Z direction of the vehicle's xyz coordinate system). The corresponding guiding mechanism for moving the cover 2 can be achieved by means of... Figure 3It can be seen, but is not shown in detail. A drive mechanism A is provided for moving the cover 2 between the closed and open positions. This drive mechanism includes an electric drive motor 3 and, by means of... Figures 9 to 11 The transmission mechanism 6 is visible. A rack 2 is fixedly assigned to the cover 2, which meshes with the output pinion of the transmission mechanism 6 of the drive mechanism A. Except for the differences described below, the structure and function of the device 1 are the same as those of the device according to DE 10 2020 209 609 A1, so that the disclosure regarding the structure and function of the device 1 explicitly supplements the disclosure of DE 10 2020 209 609 A1.

[0023] As described in DE 10 2020 209 609 A1, the cover 2 is oriented flush with the surface of the body section surrounding the body recess T of the body K in its closed position. In the open position, the cover 2 moves outward along the vehicle's lateral direction Y and downward along the vehicle's vertical direction Z. Alternatively, the cover can be moved upward, inward, and forward and / or backward along the vehicle's longitudinal direction X in the open position, depending on the design of the guide mechanism for local mounting of the body recess T and / or its fixing to the vehicle.

[0024] The drive mechanism A has an electric drive motor that is kinetically connected to the cover 2, transmitting force and motion. This kinetically connected connection is used to transmit driving force and / or driving motion from the drive motor 3 to the cover 2. To supply operating electrical power, the electric drive motor 3 is connected to the vehicle's electrical grid in a manner not shown in detail.

[0025] In the event that the energy supply to the drive motor 3 is interfered with or other functions of the drive mechanism A fail, by means of, for example, Figures 3 to 11 A visible emergency operating mechanism manually moves the cover 2 between a closed position and an open position. To prevent damage to the device 1, the device 1 has a clutch mechanism 7 associated with the drive mechanism A, which can move between an engaged and disengaged state by means of the emergency operating mechanism. In the engaged state, the drive motor 3 is kinetically connected to the cover 2 by means of the clutch mechanism 7, transmitting force and movement. In the disengaged state, this kinetically connected state is broken.

[0026] The transmission mechanism 6 has an output pinion (not shown in detail), which meshes with a rack section arranged on a guide slider in a manner also not shown in detail. The guide slider, in turn, carries the cover 2. The guide slider is supported in a manner movable along a guide mechanism fixed to the device housing 4. The device housing 4 is... Figure 1 and 2In its fixed assembly state on the vehicle, it is fixedly connected to the body K in the area of ​​the body groove T.

[0027] The drive shaft of the drive mechanism A is supported in the housing 4 of the device in a manner rotatable about the axis of rotation D. The clutch mechanism 7 is made as a form-locking clutch and causes a form-locking connection about the axis of rotation D between the output pinion and the drive pinion of the drive shaft of the transmission mechanism 6, wherein the output pinion and the drive pinion are coaxially positioned and driven with respect to the axis of rotation D. In other words, the form-locking clutch is arranged between the drive shaft and the output shaft coaxial with the drive shaft. The form-locking clutch, that is, the clutch mechanism 7, has two clutch jaw plates, which are supported in a manner that allows them to move radially relative to the drive shaft along the axis of rotation D and thus are restricted in their movement relative to the axis of rotation D, and are permanently and torque-resistantly connected to the drive shaft. The clutch jaw plates are preloaded radially outward by means of a spring device. The corresponding spring element of the spring device is designed as a leaf spring, which causes a persistent load acting radially outward on the clutch jaw plates. When the clutch jaw plates move outward accordingly, the output shaft and thus the output pinion are lifted, thereby canceling the form-locking between the clutch jaw plates and the drive shaft. Therefore, the clutch mechanism 7 is switched to the disengaged state.

[0028] To maintain the shape-locking clutch in the engaged state, the emergency operating mechanism has a clamping housing 8 with a resilient, arc-shaped, and locking lug-like clamping tab 11. This clamping tab, together with a corresponding clamping section of the clamping housing 8, holds the clutch jaw plate of the clutch mechanism 7 in the engaged state, in which the drive mechanism A applies drive transmission to the guide slider of the cover 2. This engaged state is achieved by means of… Figure 4 , 6 7 and 9, 10 are used to illustrate.

[0029] Due to the external load, the clamping plate 11 is unintentionally squeezed outward in the engaged state of the clutch mechanism 7, which may cause the clamping housing 8 to move vertically relative to the rotation axis D and unintentionally cancel the operative connection between the drive mechanism A and the cover 2. To avoid the aforementioned situation, an additional stop mechanism is provided for the clamping housing 8, which is a component of the emergency operating mechanism. This stop mechanism has a stop cam 12 fixed to the housing and arranged on the device housing 4. In the stopped state (see especially...), Figure 6(In the stopped state, the clamping tab 11 is locked by the stop cam 12 to prevent elastic expansion outward), and the clamping housing 8 is twisted at an acute angle relative to the vertical direction of the vehicle. In this position, the emergency operating mechanism is deactivated. The clamping housing 8 has an integrally molded support protrusion above the clamping section surrounding the clutch mechanism 7, which is provided with a slide guide mechanism 9, which is oriented at an acute angle upward relative to the longitudinal extension of the clamping housing 8. A slide pin 10 is guided in the slide guide mechanism 9 in a rotatable and longitudinally movable manner, such that the slide guide mechanism 9 and the slide pin 10 form a sliding joint for the emergency operating mechanism. The slide pin 10 extends upward into a longitudinally extending operating element 5, which has an operating handle at its upper end. The operating element 5 is also part of the emergency operating mechanism and is supported in a manner that allows linear movement relative to the device housing 4 along the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0030] If now from the aforementioned emergency operation mechanism according to Figure 6 Alternatively, starting from the deactivation position of 9, manually pull the control element 5 upwards along the vertical direction of the vehicle, then the sliding joint will necessarily cause the clamping housing 8 of the emergency control mechanism to rotate clockwise (according to...). Figure 6 The downward deflection around the rotation axis D causes the clamping piece 11, along with its arc-shaped outer contour concentric with the rotation axis D, to slide downward along the stop cam 12, which is fixed in position by the stop mechanism. Therefore, at this position ( Figure 7 In this configuration, once the clamping housing 8 is pulled upward relative to the clutch mechanism 7, the clamping plate 11 is already elastically offset radially outward. The upward manual pull of the operating element 5, via the slide pin 10 at the upper end of the slide guide mechanism, inevitably causes a tensile load acting upward along the vertical direction of the vehicle on the clamping housing 8, thereby disengaging the clutch mechanism 7 from the encirclement created by the clamping section of the clamping housing 8 and the clamping plate 11 (see...). Figure 5 and Figure 8 as well as Figure 11 In this position, the clutch mechanism 7 is raised because the leaf spring presses the clutch jaw plate radially outward. The clamping housing 8 of the emergency operating mechanism, similar to the device according to DE 102020209609A1, is provided with teeth in the region of the elongated inner contour of the clamping housing 8. These teeth drive the output pinion during the upward movement of the clamping housing 8, thus transferring the cover to the open position via the guide slider and the associated rack section. This corresponds to the activation function of the emergency operating mechanism.

[0031] To move the emergency operating mechanism from its activated position back to its deactivated position, the operating element 5 is pressed downwards again along the vehicle's vertical direction. This causes the sliding joints 9 and 10 to move linearly downwards along the elongated hole of the clamping housing 8 until the clutch mechanism 7 re-enters the clamping section and clamping plate 11 of the clamping housing 8, and the clutch mechanism 7 is once again form-locked and coupled to the drive mechanism A. Continuing to apply pressure linearly downwards along the vehicle's vertical direction to the operating element 5 inevitably causes the clamping housing 8 to rotate counterclockwise around the rotation axis D (from...). Figure 7 towards Figure 6 The direction of the deflection causes the stop cam 12 of the stop mechanism to lock the clamping piece 11 radially outward again. In this position, the release of the clutch mechanism 7 from the drive mechanism A is disengaged. This position also corresponds to the deactivation position of the emergency operating mechanism.

Claims

1. A device (1) for locking and releasing a charging connector (L) of a motor vehicle: comprising a cover (2) movable between a closed position locking the charging connector (L) and an open position releasing the charging connector (L) by means of a guide mechanism fixed to the vehicle in a ready-to-install state; having a manually operable emergency operating mechanism for moving the cover (2) to the open position; and having a drive mechanism (A) for controlling the movement of the cover (2) between the closed and open positions when driven; and having a clutch mechanism (7) for activating the emergency operating mechanism and for deactivating the drive mechanism (A), wherein the clutch mechanism (7) is mechanically operably connected to the emergency operating mechanism, characterized in that, A mechanical stop mechanism (12) is provided for the clutch mechanism (7), which works in conjunction with the emergency operating mechanism such that, when the emergency operating mechanism is deactivated, the stop mechanism (12) causes additional clutch shape lock to ensure force transmission of the drive mechanism (A), wherein the additional clutch shape lock is canceled when the emergency operating mechanism is activated. The emergency operating mechanism has a clamping housing (8) that surrounds the clutch mechanism (7) in a force-limited manner. The clamping housing is arranged to swing about the clutch rotation axis (D). The clamping housing (8) is coupled to an operating element (5) that can be gripped by hand so as to apply the swinging motion to the clamping housing (8).

2. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that The emergency operating mechanism and the stop mechanism (12) are arranged in a manner that allows them to move relative to each other so as to enable or cancel additional stopping by means of the stop mechanism (12).

3. The apparatus (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that, The stop mechanism (12) is fixedly positioned, and the emergency operating mechanism is supported in a manner that allows it to move between an active position and a deactivated position.

4. The apparatus (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The manipulation element (5) is coupled to the clamping housing (8) by means of sliding joints (9, 10).

5. The apparatus (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that, The sliding joint has a groove guide mechanism (9) that is at least segmentally oriented at an angle relative to the longitudinal extension direction of the clamping housing (8) of the emergency operating mechanism.

6. The apparatus (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The clamping housing (8) has at least one resiliently retractable clamping tab (11) that segments radially surrounds the clutch mechanism (7) on its outer side, and the stop mechanism has a stop cam that contacts the clamping tab (11) on its outer radial side so that the clamping tab (11) is form-locked in the deactivation position of the emergency operating mechanism to prevent radial outward expansion, and the clamping tab (11) is released in the activation position of the emergency operating mechanism to allow for radial resilient outward expansion.

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