MOTOR VEHICLE WITH A CONCEALABLE ACCESS HATCH

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle (100) comprising an access hatch (1) to a compartment (2) having a fuel tank or a charging port (3), said vehicle (100) comprising a body (4), said compartment (2) having an opening (5) leading to a housing (6) for receiving said access hatch, said compartment comprising at least one guide rail, said access hatch being capable of having three positions: a first closed position (A) in which the access hatch completely covers the access to the compartment, the access hatch being in the same plane as the body; a second intermediate position (B) in which the access hatch is recessed relative to the body; and a third open position (C) in which the access hatch has undergone a translational movement in order to be fully inserted under the vehicle body. Figure 2

Description

Title of the invention: MOTOR VEHICLE COMPRISING A CONCEALED ACCESS HATCH

[0001] The invention relates to the field of motor vehicles and more particularly to access hatches for motor vehicles of the thermal, electric or hybrid type.

[0002] Known from the prior art is a patent application US 10878644 describing a charging hatch for an electric motor vehicle that can be opened so that the hatch partially penetrates into a receptacle provided for this purpose. When the hatch is closed, it covers the entire charging socket. To uncover the charging socket, the hatch is rotated through an angle of 90° around hinges so that it can partially engage in the receptacle. However, a drawback remains. When the hatch is in the open position, it always partially protrudes from the body of the vehicle. Thus, there is a risk of damage to the hatch, which may be intentional in the case of damage by a malicious third party or involuntary in the case of an accident causing an impact during the recharging of the vehicle, for example.

[0003] The objective of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a hatch that is fully protected when open.

[0004] To achieve this objective, the invention proposes a vehicle comprising an access hatch to a compartment having a fuel tank or a recharging socket, said motor vehicle having a running gear whose points of contact with the ground define a base plane defined by a first longitudinal direction corresponding to straight-line driving, and by a second transverse direction orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction and a third vertical direction orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction and to the second transverse direction and is oriented away from the ground, said vehicle comprising a body, said compartment having an opening opening onto a housing intended to receive said access hatch, said compartment comprising at least one guide rail, said access hatch being capable of having three positions: - a first closed position in which the access hatch completely covers access to the compartment, the access hatch being in the same plane as the bodywork; - a second intermediate position in which the access hatch is pushed in relative to the bodywork; - a third open position in which the access hatch is fully inserted into the bodywork following the application of a translational movement to start from second position.

[0005] Thanks to the invention, the vehicle access hatch only remains open to the outside of the vehicle for a short transitional period before being housed in the vehicle bodywork. Thus, during the filling of the fuel tank or during the recharging of the vehicle battery, the hatch does not remain open to the outside of the vehicle. In this way, the probability of damage, whether intentional or involuntary, to the access hatch is drastically reduced. Furthermore, the aesthetics of the vehicle are preserved even when the hatch is open because it is concealed.

[0006] Advantageously, said compartment comprises a system having a spring and a pusher, said system being intended to hold the access hatch in place in the first position or in the second position.

[0007] Such a system has the advantage of minimizing the effort required by the user to open the access hatch. Indeed, rather than having to push and slide the access hatch in a single movement, it is more comfortable to proceed in two stages. Initially, the system allows the access hatch to be held in the first position. A first movement allows the access hatch to be pushed into the compartment. The system then holds the hatch in the second position before it is inserted into the housing.

[0008] Advantageously, said housing comprises a stop capable of limiting the translational movement of the access hatch.

[0009] This prevents the access hatch from being translated too deeply into the housing.

[0010] Advantageously, said guide rail is arranged along an axis parallel to the second transverse direction to guide the access hatch from the first position to the second direction.

[0011] The presence of a guide rail for guiding the access hatch from the first position to the second position provides additional comfort to the user. Indeed, the force required to push the access hatch is reduced when a guide rail is present.

[0012] Furthermore, said housing comprises an additional guide rail arranged along an axis parallel to the first longitudinal direction.

[0013] The presence of at least one guide rail in the housing makes it easier to slide the access hatch into the latter. Thus, moving from the second position to the third position requires less force from the user.

[0014] Preferably, the compartment comprises an additional guide rail arranged along an axis parallel to the third longitudinal direction.

[0015] The invention also relates to a method for opening an access hatch of the motor vehicle according to the invention, said method comprising the following steps: - a step of pressing on the access hatch from the first position to the second position in the second transverse direction; - a step of sliding the access hatch from the second position to the third position.

[0016] The invention will be further detailed by the description of non-limiting embodiments, and on the basis of the appended figures illustrating variants of the invention, in which: - [Fig.l] schematically illustrates a perspective view of a motor vehicle according to the invention; - [Fig.2] schematically illustrates a top view of an access hatch of a motor vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0017] [Fig.l] schematically illustrates a perspective view of a motor vehicle 100. The vehicle comprises a running gear whose points of contact with the ground define a base plane XY defined by a first longitudinal direction X corresponding to straight-line travel, and by a second transverse direction Y and orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction X and a third vertical direction Z orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction X and to the second transverse direction Y and is oriented away from the ground. The vehicle comprises a body having an access hatch 1. The access hatch 1 is shown in three different positions. In a first position A, the access hatch 1 is flush with the body and covers a compartment 2 (not shown in [Fig.l]).To open the access hatch 1, a user exerts pressure in the direction indicated by an arrow parallel to the second transverse direction Y. The access hatch 1 is then in the second position B. In said second position B, the access hatch 1 is no longer flush with the bodywork but is pushed into the compartment in the second transverse direction Y. To fully open the compartment, the user slides the access hatch 1 in the direction of an arrow parallel to the first longitudinal direction X. In this way, the access hatch 1 is in a third position C, entirely concealed in a housing located in the bodywork of said vehicle.

[0018] Referring now to [Fig. 2], the access hatch 1 is shown in three different positions. In the first position A, the compartment 2 has access to the charging socket 3 if it is an electric vehicle. This example is not limiting, said compartment 2 can house access to the fuel tank for a thermal vehicle. The compartment 2 can also include both a charging socket and access to the fuel tank in the case of a hybrid vehicle. In the first position A, the access hatch 1 is flush with the bodywork 4 of the vehicle 100. Preferably, a spring-push system is integrated. The spring-push system allows the access hatch 1 to be held when it is in the first position A or in the second position B. The spring-push system allows the user to be able to open the access hatch 1 in two movements, which is more comfortable. Indeed, without this system the user is forced to push the access hatch 1 from the first position A to the second position B and then slide the access hatch 1 until it is in the third position C without releasing the access hatch 1. When the spring-push system is installed, the user can press on the access hatch 1 to move it from the first position A to the second position B and then, in a second step, slide the access hatch 1 to the third position C.A guide rail (not shown in the figure) arranged along an axis parallel to the second transverse direction Y may also be present in order to facilitate the pushing of the access hatch 1 from the first position A to the second position B. An easier movement of the access hatch 1 provides comfort to the user who thus does not have to exert a very significant effort to open his access hatch 1. In a second position B, the access hatch 1 is pushed into the compartment 2 without said access hatch 1 coming into contact with the recharging socket 3. Contact between said access hatch 1 and the recharging socket 3 would cause a shock and / or friction likely to cause damage to these two elements. Compartment 2 is not accessible when the access hatch 1 is placed in the second position B. The compartment has an opening 5.In a third position C, the access hatch 1 has passed through the opening 5 in order to be inserted into a housing 6. The access hatch 1 is then entirely concealed. The opening 5 allows passage to the housing 6 intended to receive the access hatch 1. This sliding allows passage from the second position B to the third position C of the access hatch 1. In an alternative, the compartment 2 comprises a guide rail (not shown in the figure) arranged along an axis parallel to the first longitudinal direction X in order to facilitate the translational movement of the access hatch 1 from the second position B to the third position C. This example is not limiting, the movement of the access hatch 1 can also be carried out upwards or downwards in the third vertical direction Z. In this case, the housing 6 is located respectively at the top or bottom of the compartment 2.

Claims

Claims

1. Vehicle (100) comprising an access hatch (1) to a compartment (2) having a fuel tank or a recharging socket (3), said motor vehicle (100) having a running gear whose points of contact with the ground define a base plane (XY) defined by a first longitudinal direction (X) corresponding to straight-line driving, and by a second transverse direction (Y) and orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction (X) and a third vertical direction (Z) orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction (X) and to the second transverse direction (Y) and is oriented away from the ground, said vehicle (100) comprising a body (4), said compartment (2) having an opening (5) opening onto a housing (6) intended to receive said access hatch (1), said compartment (2) comprising at least one guide rail,said access hatch being capable of having three positions: - a first closed position (A) in which the access hatch (1) completely covers the access to the compartment (2), the access hatch (1) being in the same plane as the bodywork (4); - a second intermediate position (B) in which the access hatch (1) is pushed in relative to the bodywork (4); - a third open position (C) in which the access hatch (1) is inserted completely into the bodywork (4) following the application of a translational movement from the second position (B).,

2. Vehicle (100) according to claim 1 characterized in that said compartment (2) comprises a system having a spring and a pusher, said system being intended to hold the access hatch (1) in place in the first position (A) or in the second position (B).

3. Vehicle (100) according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that said housing (6) comprises a stop capable of limiting the translational movement of the access hatch (1).

4. Vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that said guide rail is arranged along an axis parallel to the second transverse direction (Y) to guide the access hatch (1) from the first position (A) to the second direction (B).

5. Vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the compartment (2) comprises an additional guide rail arranged along an axis parallel to the first longitudinal direction. tudinal (X).

6. Vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the compartment (2) comprises an additional guide rail arranged along an axis parallel to the third vertical direction (Z).

7. Method for opening an access hatch of the motor vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said method comprises the following steps: - a step of pressing on the access hatch (1) from the first position (A) to the second position (B) in the second transverse direction (Y); - a step of sliding the access hatch (1) from the second position (B) to the third position (C).

Images