Vehicle Energy Source Refueling System

Abstract

To allow a user to open a lid without needing a lot of user's effort even if a portion near a contact position between the lid or a housing part and an elastic shield body is frozen in an energy source supply port system.SOLUTION: An energy source supply port system includes: a housing part 14 which houses an energy source supply port; a lid 30 which covers an opening of the housing part 14 in an openable or closable manner; an elastic shield body 27 which is fixed to the housing part or the lid and seals a space between the housing part 14 and the lid 30 when the lid 30 is located in a closed position; an electric actuator which opens or closes the lid 30; and a control device which controls driving of the electric actuator. The control device causes the lid 30 to move to an open position after causing the lid 30 to move from the closed position in a direction of compressing the elastic shield body 27 when the electric actuator is driven to move the lid 30 from the closed position to the open position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an energy source refill port system for a vehicle that includes a storage section that houses an energy source refill port, a lid that covers the opening of the storage section, an elastic shield body that seals between the storage section and the lid when the lid is in a closed position, and an electric actuator that opens and closes the lid, and relates to enabling the lid to be opened regardless of the occurrence of freezing. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an energy source replenishment structure for a vehicle that includes a charging connector (energy source replenishment port), a housing that houses the charging connector, and a lid that opens and closes the opening of the housing. In this structure, when the lid is in the closed position, an elastomer (elastic shield) fixed to the housing abuts against the lid to seal the gap between the housing and the lid. This is said to prevent water from reaching the charging connector even if it enters the gap between the body panel and the lid.

[0003] Conventionally, there has been an energy source supply port structure for a vehicle of an electric opening and closing type in which a lid covering an opening of a housing portion that houses a charging connector is opened and closed by an electric actuator. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-068588 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As described in Patent Document 1, a structure in which an elastic shield seals between the lid and the storage unit when the lid is in the closed position, and an energy source supply structure for opening and closing the lid with an electric actuator is conceivable. However, in this case, when a vehicle having such a structure is used in a cold region in winter, there is a possibility that the vicinity of the contact position between the elastic shield and the lid or the storage unit may freeze. As a result, even if power is supplied to the electric actuator to move the lid to the open position, the load on the electric actuator may be too high and the lid may not be opened. For this reason, in the past, a user would hit the lid with his / her hand from outside the vehicle to melt the frozen portion with the force, and after the fixing force between the elastic shield and the lid or the storage unit caused by the frozen portion is reduced, the electric actuator is driven to open the lid. In this case, the user needs to go outside the vehicle to hit the lid in order to open the lid, and then operate an operation unit to instruct the electric actuator to be driven, which requires a lot of effort from the user.

[0006] Another possible structure is one in which a fuel supply port such as a fuel filler port is housed in a storage unit as the energy supply port, the supply port is blocked by a cap, the opening of the storage unit is covered by a lid that can be opened and closed, and the lid is opened and closed by an electric actuator. In this structure, when the lid is in the closed position, an elastic shield seals the gap between the lid and the storage unit, which may prevent water from entering the vicinity of the joint between the supply port and the cap and prevent freezing near the joint. However, even in this configuration, if the vicinity of the contact position between the elastic shield and the lid or the storage unit freezes, the same problem as above may occur.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide an energy recharge source port system that allows the user to open the lid without requiring much effort, even if the lid or the area around the abutment point between the storage portion and the elastic shield becomes frozen. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The energy source refill port system of the present invention comprises an energy source refill port provided in a vehicle, a storage section that accommodates the energy source refill port, a lid that covers the opening of the storage section in an openable and closable manner, an elastic shield body that is fixed to the storage section or the lid and seals the space between the storage section and the lid when the lid is in a closed position, an electric actuator that opens and closes the lid, and a control device that controls the driving of the electric actuator, wherein the energy source refill port is disposed in a space within the storage section that is sealed between the lid and the energy source refill port by the elastic shield body, and when the control device drives the electric actuator to move the lid from the closed position to an open position, the control device moves the lid from the closed position in a direction that compresses the elastic shield body, and then moves the lid to the open position.This is an energy source refill port system for a vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the energy supply source port system for a vehicle of the present invention, when the vicinity of the contact position between the lid or the storage unit and the elastic shield is frozen, the electric actuator is driven to move the lid from the closed position in a direction that compresses the elastic shield, thereby applying a compressive force to the frozen portion. This makes it easier to thaw the frozen portion, and reduces the adhesion force between the lid or the storage unit and the elastic shield near the contact position due to freezing. This allows the lid to be opened by driving the electric actuator, so that the lid can be opened without requiring much effort from the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an energy source refilling port system for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating an external view of the energy source refilling port structure when the lid is in a closed position. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing the energy source supply port structure of FIG. 1 with the lid open. FIG. [Diagram 3]2 is a view of the energy source supply port structure as viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, with a portion cut away to show the internal structure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a method for controlling an electric actuator according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, illustrating a state in which the lid has been moved from the closed position in the direction in which the elastic shield body is compressed by controlling the electric actuator when the lid is opened. FIG. [Figure 7] 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, illustrating a state in which the lid has been moved from the state in FIG. 6 to an open position by control of the electric actuator. [Figure 8] 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 and showing an energy source refill port structure of another embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an energy source refill port system for a vehicle according to another embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a method for controlling an electric actuator in an energy source refilling port system for a vehicle according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An embodiment of the energy source refill port system for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described below. Fig. 1 is an external view showing an energy source refill port system 10 for a vehicle according to the embodiment, and shows an energy source refill port structure 12 when a lid 30 is in a closed position. Fig. 2 shows the energy source refill port structure 12 in a state where the lid 30 is open.

[0012] The following mainly describes the case where the vehicle equipped with the vehicle energy source refill port system 10 is an electrically powered vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, and the energy source refill port provided in the energy source refill port structure 12 is a charging port 28 (FIG. 2) to which a plug connected to an external power source can be connected.

[0013] The vehicle energy source refill port system 10 includes an energy source refill port structure 12, a drive circuit 40 that drives the electric actuator 34 of the energy source refill port structure 12, a control device 50 that controls the drive circuit 40, and a lid opening switch 52. The vehicle energy source refill port system 10 is mounted on a vehicle and used, and connects an external power source and a charging circuit for charging an on-board battery via the energy source refill port structure 12, so that the on-board battery (not shown) can be charged from the outside. At this time, the energy source refill port structure 12 is disposed inside an opening 104 (FIG. 4) of a body panel 102 (FIG. 4) provided on the side of the vehicle. Hereinafter, the vehicle energy source refill port system 10 will be referred to as the refill port system 10, and the energy source refill port structure 12 will be referred to as the refill port structure 12.

[0014] As described below, the charging port structure 12 has a storage section 14 that houses a charging port 28, and a lid 30 that opens and closes to cover the opening of the storage section 14. By opening the lid 30 as shown in Fig. 2, a plug (not shown) connected to an external power source can be connected to the charging port 28 with the charging port 28 inside the storage section 14 exposed.

[0015] In this example, the lid 30 is opened and closed by driving the electric actuator 34. When charging the vehicle battery using an external power source, the driver of the vehicle or the like operates a lid opening switch 52 provided inside the vehicle cabin. In response to this, the control device 50 receives an operation signal from the lid opening switch 52 and controls the drive circuit 40 to drive the electric actuator 34, thereby opening the lid 30 and exposing the inside of the storage section 14.

[0016] In this example, as will be described in detail later, when the lid 30 is in the closed position, the elastic shield body 27 fixed to the storage section 14 seals the gap between the storage section 14 and the lid 30. When the electric actuator 34 is driven to move the lid 30 from the closed position to the open position, the control device 50 controls the electric actuator 34 to move the lid 30 from the closed position in a direction that compresses the elastic shield body 27, i.e., in a direction in which the lid 30 moves to the back side of the storage section 14, and then moves the lid 30 to the open position. As a result, when the vicinity of the contact position between the elastic shield body 27 and the lid 30 is frozen, a compressive force can be applied to the frozen portion, making it easier to thaw the frozen portion and reducing the adhesive force between the lid 30 and the elastic shield body 27. Therefore, even if freezing occurs, the lid 30 can be opened without requiring much effort from the user. Below, the configuration of the supply port system 10 including the supply port structure 12 will be described in more detail.

[0017] 3 is a view of the refilling port structure 12 of the refilling port system 10 as seen in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1, with a portion cut away to show the internal structure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the refilling port structure 12 includes a storage section 14 fixed to the vehicle body, and the opening of the storage section 14 is opened and closed by a lid 30. The tip of a charging port 28 is fixed inside the storage section 14, and as described above, the on-board battery can be charged by electrically connecting a charging plug connected to an external power source. An elastic shield body 27 surrounding the periphery of the charging port 28 is fixed to the storage section 14 side, and the charging port 28 can be airtightly sealed by being pressed against a rib 32 provided on the lid 30.

[0018] The housing 14 has a housing main body 15 provided opposite the lid 30, and an actuator housing 20. The housing main body 15 is substantially box-shaped with an open outer end in the vehicle width direction, and a closed inner end in the vehicle width direction with a bottom wall 16. The open end is formed with flanges 17a, 17b for fixing the housing 14 to the vehicle body. As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 14 can be supported on the inside of the body panel 102 by fixing the flanges 17a, 17b to a wall plate 105 on the side of the vehicle body. The bottom wall 16 of the housing main body 15 is formed with a substantially rectangular through hole 16a in which the charging port 28 is disposed on the inside. An elastic shield 27, which will be described later, is fixed to the periphery of the through hole 16a on the inner surface of the bottom wall 16. In this example, a seal member 106 seals between the outer periphery of the tip of the charging port 28 and the inner periphery of the through hole 16a. This makes it possible to prevent water from reaching the connection portion of charging port 28 with the plug, even if water seeps into the back surface side of housing portion 14.

[0019] The actuator accommodating portion 20 accommodates therein a gear mechanism 36 of an electric actuator 34, which will be described later.

[0020] The lid 30 includes a lid body 31 in the form of a substantially rectangular plate and a hinge 33. A rectangular cylindrical rib 32 is formed on the back surface of the lid body 31. As shown in FIG. 4, when the lid 30 is in the closed position, the tip of the rib 32 is in contact with the tip of the elastic shield body 27 (described later) over the entire circumference, thereby sealing the gap between the lid 30 and the storage section 14. The hinge 33 is generally in the form of a plate with a substantially C-shaped cross section, and its base end is rotatably supported by the wall of the actuator storage section 20 via a gear shaft 39 (described later), and a lid fixing plate portion 33a provided at the tip is fixed to the back surface of the lid body 31. The storage section 14 and the lid 30 are formed of, for example, resin or metal.

[0021] The elastic shield body 27 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastomer and is formed in a substantially rectangular ring shape. The base end of the elastic shield body 27 is fixed to the periphery of the through hole 16a on the inner surface of the bottom wall 16 of the housing main body 15 and extends toward the open end of the housing portion 14. When the lid 30 is in the closed position, the tip of the elastic shield body 27 abuts against the tip of the rib 32 provided on the back surface of the lid 30 over the entire circumference, thereby sealing the space between the lid 30 and the housing portion 14 in a ring shape. The elastic shield body 27 may be annular. The meaning of annular includes not only a substantially circular ring shape but also a substantially rectangular shape. With this configuration, the charging port 28 is disposed in a space sealed between the lid 30 and the housing portion 14 by the elastic shield body 27. Therefore, even if rainwater enters the inside of the vehicle body through the gap G (FIG. 4) between the body panel 102 and the lid 30, the rainwater can be prevented from entering the charging port 28.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, the electric actuator 34 includes a motor 35 and a gear mechanism 36. The motor 35 is a DC motor driven by a direct current or an AC motor driven by a three-phase alternating current. The motor 35 can rotate in both directions. A case 35a of the motor 35 is fixed to the outer surface of the wall 21 of the actuator housing 20, and a motor shaft 35b penetrates the wall 21 and protrudes into the actuator housing 20. The gear mechanism 36 is composed of a first gear 37 fixed to a portion of the motor shaft 35b protruding into the actuator housing 20, and a second gear 38 fixed to a gear shaft 39 arranged parallel to the motor shaft 35b and meshing with the first gear 37. Both ends of the gear shaft 39 are supported rotatably by penetrating the walls 21 and 22 at both ends of the actuator housing 20. The power of the motor shaft 35b is transmitted to the gear shaft 39 via the gear mechanism 36. The gear shaft 39 is fixed to a base end of the hinge 33. As a result, the rotation of the motor 35 causes the hinge 33 to rotate about the gear shaft 39, and the rotation causes the lid 30 fixed to the hinge 33 to move so as to open and close the opening of the storage section 14. As a result, the electric actuator 34 opens and closes the lid 30.

[0023] A drive circuit 40 for driving the electric actuator drives the motor 35 with power from an auxiliary battery separate from the vehicle battery. The drive circuit 40 is controlled by a control device 50. When the lid open switch 52 is operated, an operation signal from the lid open switch 52 is input to the control device 50, and the control device 50 drives the motor 35 by controlling the drive circuit 40. At this time, the control device 50 moves the lid 30 from the closed position in a direction that compresses the elastic shield body 27, and then moves the lid 30 to the open position. As a result, if the vicinity of the contact position between the elastic shield body 27 and the lid 30 is frozen, a compressive force is applied to the frozen portion to make it easier to thaw.

[0024] 5 is a flowchart showing a method of controlling the electric actuator 34. As shown in step S1 of FIG. 5, the control device 50 judges whether the lid opening switch 52 has been operated. If the judgment in step S1 is negative (NO), the process in step S1 is repeated. If the judgment in step S1 is positive (YES), the process proceeds to step S2, where the control device 50 drives the motor 35 in the direction opposite to the lid opening direction, thereby moving the lid 30 from the closed position in the direction of compressing the elastic shield body 27, as shown in FIG. 6. At this time, the amount by which the elastic shield body 27 can be compressed from the state in which the lid 30 is in the closed position is determined in advance, and the motor 35 is driven so that the lid 30 compresses the elastic shield body 27 by only the amount by which it can be compressed.

[0025] Next, in step S3, the control device 50 drives the motor 35 in the lid opening direction to move the lid 30 to the open position, and ends the process. As a result, as shown in Fig. 7, the lid 30 opens and the charging port 28 is exposed, making it possible to charge the battery from an external power source.

[0026] According to the above-mentioned supply port system 10, when the vicinity of the contact position between the lid 30 and the elastic shield body 27 is frozen, the electric actuator 34 drives the lid 30 to move from the closed position in a direction that compresses the elastic shield body 27, thereby applying a compressive force to the frozen portion. This makes it easier to melt the ice in the frozen portion by breaking it, etc., and reduces the adhesion force between the lid 30 and the elastic shield body 27 near the above-mentioned contact position due to freezing. FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of ice 108 being scattered and melted near the elastic shield body 27. This allows the lid 30 to be opened by driving the electric actuator 34, so that the lid 30 can be opened without requiring much effort from the user.

[0027] In the above, we have described a case in which the elastic shield body 27 is fixed to the storage section 14 and, when the lid 30 is in the closed position, the tip of the elastic shield body 27 abuts against the rib 32 provided on the back surface of the lid 30. However, the elastic shield body may be fixed to the back surface of the lid and, when the lid is in the closed position, the tip of the elastic shield body may abut against the entire periphery of the through hole 16a on the inner surface of the storage section.

[0028] FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a refilling port structure 12a in another example of the embodiment. In the configuration of this example, the outer shape of the lid body 31a of the lid 30a is larger than that of the configuration shown in FIG. 4, and when the lid 30a is in the closed position, the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the lid 30a faces the outer surfaces of the flanges 17a and 17b provided at the opening of the storage section 14. Then, an elastic shield body 60 is fixed in a substantially rectangular ring shape around the entire circumference near the outer peripheral edge of the back surface of the lid 30a. The elastic shield body 60 is, for example, a seal lip with a substantially triangular cross section. When the lid 30a is in the closed position, the tip of the elastic shield body 60 abuts against the outer surface of the flange 17 of the storage section 14. Also, the charging port 28 is arranged in a space sealed by the elastic shield body 60 between the lid 30a and the storage section 14. This makes it possible to prevent rainwater from entering the charging port 28 even if the rainwater enters the inside of the vehicle body through the gap G between the body panel 102 and the lid 30a.

[0029] In this configuration, even if the vicinity of the contact position between the elastic shield body 60 and the flanges 17a, 17b is frozen, the control device 50 moves the lid 30a from the closed position to the compression direction of the elastic shield body 60 and then moves the lid 30a to the open position, as in the configuration of Figures 1 to 7, so that a compressive force can be applied to the frozen portion. This reduces the adhesive force between the storage section 14 and the elastic shield body 27 near the above-mentioned contact position due to freezing, and the lid 30a can be opened by driving the electric actuator 34. In this example, the other configurations and functions are the same as those of Figures 1 to 7. Note that in the configuration of Figure 8, the fixed side of the elastic shield body 60 may be the storage section 14, and the tip of the elastic shield body 60 may be abutted against the lid 30a.

[0030] 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a refill port system 10a according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the configuration of this example, an outside air temperature sensor 62 is connected to the control device 50, and a detection signal of the outside air temperature is input to the control device 50.

[0031] In this example, only when the controller 50 determines that the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature based on the detection signal from the outside air temperature sensor 62, does it determine that there is a high possibility of freezing occurring near the contact position between the lid or the storage section and the elastic shield body, and performs the opening and closing operation of the lid in the same manner as in the configurations of Figures 1 to 7. On the other hand, when the controller 50 determines that the outside air temperature is above the predetermined temperature, it determines that there is a low possibility of freezing occurring, and when opening the lid, it does not move the lid in the direction in which the elastic shield body is compressed, but moves the lid only in the opening direction.

[0032] According to the configuration of this example, when the possibility of freezing is low, the lid is not moved in the compression direction of the elastic shield body, so that the time required for the lid opening operation can be shortened. In this example, other configurations and functions are the same as those of the configurations of Figures 1 to 7 or the configuration of Figure 8.

[0033] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a method of controlling the electric actuator 34 in a refill port system according to another example of the embodiment. In this example, unlike the configuration in Fig. 9, a detection signal from an outside air temperature sensor is not input to the control device 50. Instead, the control device 50 determines whether or not the load on the motor is excessive and the motor is locked when a driving current is applied to the motor to move the lid in the opening direction. If the motor is locked, the control device 50 determines that freezing has occurred, and performs the opening and closing operation of the lid in the same manner as in the configurations in Figs. 1 to 7.

[0034] Specifically, as shown in step S21 of FIG. 10, the control device 50 judges whether the lid open switch 52 has been operated. If the judgment in step S21 is negative (NO), the process in step S21 is repeated. If the judgment in step S21 is positive (YES), the process proceeds to step S22, where the control device 50 applies a current to the motor in a direction to move the lid to the open position. Then, in step S23, the control device 50 judges whether the motor lock has occurred. For example, a current detection unit is provided in the drive circuit 40, and a detection signal of the current detection unit is input to the control device 50. The control device 50 can judge from the current detection value that the load on the motor is excessive, and the motor has stopped rotating and locked. That is, the control device 50 can determine that the motor lock has occurred when the current detection value is equal to or greater than the current value at the time of motor lock. If the determination in step S23 is positive (YES), the process proceeds to steps S24 and S25, and if the determination in step S23 is negative (NO), the process proceeds to step S26. The processes in steps S24 and S25 are similar to the processes in steps S2 and S3 in Fig. 5. In step S26, the lid is moved to the open position without moving in the compression direction of the elastic shield body, and the process ends.

[0035] According to the configuration of this example, when the motor lock occurs, it can be determined that there is a high possibility of freezing, and in that case, the frozen portion can be easily thawed by moving the lid in the direction in which the elastic shield body is compressed. On the other hand, when the motor lock does not occur, it can be determined that there is a low possibility of freezing, and in that case, the lid is not moved in the direction in which the elastic shield body is compressed, so that the time required for the lid opening operation can be shortened. Also, unlike the configuration of FIG. 9, there is no need to use a temperature sensor. In this example, the other configurations and operations are the same as those of the configurations of FIGS. 1 to 7 or the configuration of FIG. 8.

[0036] In the above-mentioned refill port system, the energy refill port is the charging port 28 provided on the electric vehicle, but the energy refill port may be a fuel supply port such as a fuel filler provided on a vehicle with an engine. For example, in a refill port structure provided on a vehicle with an engine, the fuel filler is accommodated in a storage unit, and the opening of the fuel filler is closed with a cap. The storage unit, the lid, the elastic shield body, the electric actuator, and the control device are configured in the same manner as in the above-mentioned examples. With this configuration, as in the above-mentioned examples, even if the lid or the vicinity of the contact position between the storage unit and the elastic shield body is frozen, the lid can be opened without requiring much effort from the user. In addition, by disposing the fuel filler in a space sealed between the lid and the storage unit by the elastic shield body, water is prevented from entering the joint between the fuel filler and the cap, and the cap can be prevented from becoming difficult to open due to freezing of the joint. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 10 Vehicle energy source refilling port system (refilling port system), 12, 12a Energy source refilling port structure (refilling port structure), 14 Storage section, 15 Storage main body section, 16 Bottom wall, 16a Through hole, 17 Flange, 20 Actuator storage section, 21, 22 Wall, 27 Elastic shield body, 28 Charging port, 30, 30a Lid, 31, 31a Lid body, 32 Rib, 33 Hinge, 34 Electric actuator, 35 Motor, 35a Case, 35b Motor shaft, 36 Gear mechanism, 37 First gear, 38 Second gear, 39 Gear shaft, 40 Drive circuit, 50 Control device, 52 Lid opening switch, 60 Elastic shield body, 62 Outside air temperature sensor, 102 Body panel, 104 Opening, 105 Wall plate, 106 Sealing member, 108 Ice.

Claims

[Claim 1] an energy source supply port provided in the vehicle; A housing portion for housing the energy source supply port; A lid that covers the opening of the storage portion in an openable and closable manner; an elastic shield body that is fixed to the storage section or the lid and that seals between the storage section and the lid in a state where the elastic shield body is sandwiched between the storage section and the lid in a movable direction of the lid when the lid is in a closed position; an electric actuator for opening and closing the lid; A control device for controlling the driving of the electric actuator; An outside air temperature sensor connected to the control device, the energy source refill port is disposed in a space sealed between the lid and the housing by the elastic shield; When the control device drives the electric actuator to move the lid from the closed position to the open position in a case where the detection value of the outside air temperature obtained from the detection signal of the outside air temperature sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, the control device moves the lid from the closed position in a direction to compress the elastic shield body, and then moves the lid to the open position, but when the detection value exceeds the predetermined temperature, the control device moves the lid only in the open direction when moving the lid from the closed position to the open position. Vehicle energy source supply port system.

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