An electrically operated door assembly to access an input connector for recharging a motor-vehicle battery pack, provided with a manually operated emergency mechanism to move the door from the closed position to the open position

Abstract

A motor-vehicle comprising: - a door assembly (1 ) to access a connector for recharging a battery pack, comprising a door (2) movable between a closed position and an open position, a locking member for locking the door in its closed position, and electrically operated actuator means (4) to cause a movement of said locking member towards its deactivated position, - a manually operated emergency mechanism (6) to move the door (2) from the closed position to the open position, when said battery pack is completely discharged, wherein said emergency mechanism (6) comprises a cable (7) having a first end portion operatively connected to the locking member and a second end portion having a gripping member (8) for manual operation by a person, - wherein said gripping member (8) is covered by a covering element (5) comprising at least one fastening element (11 ) which can be operated manually to open the covering element (5), without having to use an unlocking key exclusively provided for such function, - wherein said door assembly (1 ) and said covering element (5) are both mounted on a bumper structure (9) of the vehicle, in such a way that the gripping member (8) can be operated without having to open the hood or the doors of the vehicle.

Description

[0001] “An electrically operated door assembly to access an input connector for recharging a motor-vehicle battery pack, provided with a manually operated emergency mechanism to move the door from the closed position to the open position”

[0002] ****

[0003] TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

[0004] Field of the invention

[0005] The present invention relates to a motor-vehicle including a battery pack provided for powering the vehicle propulsion, comprising:

[0006] - a door assembly to access an input electrical connector for recharging said battery pack, comprising a door pivotally mounted on a support structure and movable between a closed position and an open position, a locking member for locking the door in its closed position, movable between an active locked position and a deactivated position which allows opening of the door, and electrically operated actuator means to cause a movement of said locking member towards its deactivated position,

[0007] - a manually operated emergency mechanism to move the door from the closed position to the open position, when said battery pack is completely discharged so as to prevent electrical operation of the actuator means.

[0008] Prior art

[0009] Solutions of the type indicated above have been known and used for some time. For high-end so-called “premium” vehicles, manufacturers choose to provide the door assembly for recharging the batteries with electrically operated actuator means for opening and closing the door. The door is associated with a manually operated safety device - designed to ensure the door opening when the batteries are completely flat - located at the door ring of one of the side doors of the vehicle, or near the engine compartment, under the hood. Other known solutions have a safety device that can be operated using a safety key exclusively provided for this purpose, associated with the remote control for vehicle opening.

[0010] These known solutions have the drawback of requiring operations for accessing the manual operation mechanism, which are generally laborious, having to open the doors and / or the hood of the vehicle, and in some cases also using a special safety key.

[0011] Object of the invention

[0012] The object of the present invention is to provide a door assembly and a related manually operated emergency mechanism that are able to overcome the drawbacks described above with reference to the prior art.

[0013] A further object of the invention is to provide a door assembly and a related manually operated emergency mechanism that can be operated with simple and rapid operations.

[0014] Summary of the invention

[0015] In order to achieve one or more of the aforementioned purposes, the invention has as its object a motor-vehicle comprising a battery pack provided for powering the vehicle propulsion, comprising:

[0016] - a door assembly to access an input electrical connector for recharging said battery pack, comprising a door pivotally mounted on a support structure and movable between a closed position and an open position, a locking member for locking the door in its closed position, movable between an active locked position and a deactivated position, which allows opening of the door, and electrically operated actuator means to cause a movement of said locking member towards its deactivated position,

[0017] - a manually operated emergency mechanism to move the door from the closed position to the open position, when said battery pack is completely discharged, so as to prevent electrical operation of the actuator means, wherein said emergency mechanism comprises a cable having a first end portion operatively connected to the locking member and a second end portion having a gripping member for manual operation by a subject,

[0018] - wherein said gripping member is covered by a covering element comprising at least one fastening element which can be operated manually to open the covering element, without having to use an unlocking key exclusively provided for this function,

[0019] - wherein said door assembly and said covering element are both mounted on a bumper structure of the vehicle, in such a way that the gripping member can be operated without having to open the hood or the doors of the vehicle.

[0020] In the preferred embodiment, the covering element is arranged in a lower lateral area of the bumper structure, with reference to the assembled condition on the vehicle, substantially parallel to the vehicle floor.

[0021] Brief description of the figures

[0022] Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the attached drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which:

[0023] - figure 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a bumper structure of a motor-vehicle according to the invention, comprising a door assembly to access an input connector for recharging the vehicle, and a covering element of a manually operated emergency mechanism for opening the door,

[0024] - figure 2 is an enlarged scale view of the covering element illustrated in the previous figure,

[0025] - figure 3 is an enlarged scale view of the internal side of the bumper structure,

[0026] - figure 4 is an enlarged scale view of some components illustrated in the previous figure,

[0027] - figure 5 is an elevation view of the covering element and a gripping member of the manually operated emergency mechanism, in accordance with what is illustrated in figure 3,

[0028] - figures 6, 7, 8 are sectional views along the lines VI-VI, VII-VII and VIII-VIII indicated in figure 5, which illustrate various features of the covering element, and

[0029] - figure 9 is an enlarged scale perspective view showing the covering element in an open position to allow access to the gripping member of the manually operated emergency mechanism.

[0030] Detailed description of multiple embodiments

[0031] The following description illustrates various specific details aimed at a thorough understanding of examples of one or more embodiments. The embodiments may be implemented without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc.

[0032] In other instances, known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of the embodiments. Reference to “an / one embodiment” in this specification means that a particular configuration, structure, or feature described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.

[0033] Thus, phrases such as “in an / one embodiment,” which may appear in various places in this specification, do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0034] Furthermore, particular configurations, structures, or features may be appropriately combined in one or more embodiments and / or associated with embodiments differently from the way illustrated herein, such that, for example, a feature exemplified herein in connection with one figure may be applied to one or more embodiments exemplified in a different figure.

[0035] References herein are for convenience only and do not limit the scope or extent of the embodiments.

[0036] In figures 1 , 3, 4, the number 1 indicates as a whole a door assembly to access an input electrical connector (not illustrated) for recharging a battery pack of a motor-vehicle. The door assembly 1 comprises a door 2 pivotally mounted on a support structure 3, thus being movable between a closed position and an open position. In a manner known per se, the door assembly 1 comprises a locking member arranged to lock the door 2 in its closed position, movable between an active locked position and a deactivated position to allow the opening of the door 2. The door assembly 1 also comprises electrically operated actuator means 4 to cause a movement of said locking member towards its deactivated position.

[0037] In figures 1 -3, 5-9, the number 5 indicates as a whole a covering element associated with a manually operated emergency mechanism 6 to move the door 2 from the closed position to the open position when the vehicle batteries are completely flat, so as to prevent the electrical operation of the actuator means 4. The covering element 5 may be a plate-shaped element made of plastic material.

[0038] The manually operated emergency mechanism 6 comprises a cable 7, for example a Bowden cable, having a first end portion operatively connected to the locking member of the door 2 and a second end portion that ends with a gripping member 8 arranged to be operated manually by a subject, to unlock the locking member and open the door 2. The gripping member 8 is protected by the covering element 5, which can be moved to the open position, to access the gripping member 8, so as to manually operate the opening of the door 2. It will therefore be appreciated that the bumper structure 9 comprises an opening 9’ at the covering element 5, so that the gripping member 8 can be easily grasped once the covering element 5 has been removed.

[0039] According to a feature of the invention, the door assembly 1 and the covering element 5 are both mounted on a bumper structure 9 of the motorvehicle (front or rear), so that the emergency mechanism 6 can be operated without having to open moving parts of the vehicle, such as the hood or side doors of the vehicle.

[0040] According to a preferred embodiment, the covering element 5 is arranged in a lower lateral area of the bumper structure 9, with reference to the assembled condition on the vehicle, substantially parallel to the vehicle floor. Still according to a preferred feature, the door assembly 1 is arranged along an upper lateral area of the bumper structure, below one of the light units.

[0041] Figures 2, 5 respectively show the external surface of the covering element 5 and the internal surface of the covering element 5 hidden from view in the assembled and closed position of the covering element 5. Further features of the covering element 5, the gripping member 8 and the cable 7 are described below.

[0042] In one or more embodiments, the internal surface of the covering element 5 comprises an anti-vibration pad 10 to prevent noise during vehicle dynamics deriving from any contact between the gripping member 8 and the internal surface of the covering element 5. The pad 10 can be glued by means of an adhesive layer on the internal surface of the covering element 5.

[0043] In one or more embodiments, as illustrated in figures 3, 5, 9, the gripping member 8 is an ergonomically shaped eyelet designed to be pulled by the subject, along a predetermined direction, to unlock the locking member of the door 2. In other words, the subject exerts a traction force on the eyelet to transmit the corresponding stress to the locking member operatively connected to the first end portion of the cable 7.

[0044] According to a further feature, as illustrated in figures 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, the covering element 5 comprises at least one fastening element 11 which can be operated manually to allow the opening of the covering element 5 (when access to the gripping member 8 is required) and to lock the covering element 5 in the closed position (after opening the door 2 by means of the gripping member 8). The fastening element 11 can be operated without having to use an unlocking key exclusively provided for this function.

[0045] According to a preferred embodiment, the fastening element 11 is a fastening pin arranged to be operated by a roto-translation movement which results in the locking in position or the unlocking of the covering element 5 from the bumper structure 9. The fastening pin 11 comprises an upper portion 11 ’ secured to a support flange 12 integral with the bumper structure 9, and a lower portion 11 ” protruding from a seat 13 integrated with the covering element 5. The lower portion 11 ” includes an end on which a notch is made for operation by means of a tool, for example a screwdriver. When the covering element 5 needs to be opened, the roto-translation movement of the fastening element 11 comprises a first translation movement along an axial direction of the fastening element 11 following pressure on the terminal end, a rotational movement, for example of 90°, to disengage the upper portion 1 T from a securing position with the flange 12, and a second translation movement opposite to the first translation movement (pulling the lower portion 1 T downwards), so that the fastening element 11 separates from the flange 12. When the covering element 5 needs to be repositioned at the opening 9’, the roto-translation movement of the fastening element 11 comprises a translation movement along an axial direction of the fastening element 11 , pressing the terminal end upwards, and a rotational movement to secure the upper portion 1 T to the flange 12.

[0046] According to a further feature, illustrated in particular in figure 9, the fastening element 11 is arranged to remain secured to the seat 13 of the covering element 5 even when it is opened, thanks to a part of the upper portion 11 ’ which remains permanently in mutual engagement with the seat 13.

[0047] According to a further feature, illustrated in particular in figures 5, 8, the covering element 5 comprises at least two elastic coupling teeth 16 arranged to cooperate with a counterpart of the surface of the bumper structure 9 surrounding the opening 9’, in such a way that, to reposition the covering element 5 into the closed position, they enable a preliminary locking of the element 5 on the bumper structure 9, before operating the fastening element 11 to lock the element 5 firmly in position.

[0048] According to a further feature, illustrated in particular in figures 5, 9, the covering element 5 comprises a coupling flange 17 arranged to cooperate with a counterpart of the surface of the bumper structure 9 surrounding the opening 9’.

[0049] According to a further feature, as illustrated in figure 9, the covering element 5 comprises an additional retaining element 14 arranged to bind the covering element 5 in the open position to the bumper structure 9. Thanks to this feature, the covering element 5 always remains secured to the vehicle structure, to eliminate the risk of losing the element 5 when it is separated from the opening 9’. Preferably, the retaining element is a mechanical connection cable having a first end connected to the covering element 5 and a second end permanently hooked to the bumper structure 9 in proximity to the opening 9’.

[0050] According to a further feature illustrated in figures 5, 7, in proximity to the gripping member 8 and the opening 9’, the cable 7 is held into a position adhering to the internal surface of the bumper structure 9 by means of at least one snap fastening member 15 defining a receptacle provided to receive and lock in position the cable 7. Similarly, along the extension of the cable 7 towards the door 2, further snap fastening members 18 are provided on the bumper structure 9, defining a respective receptacle provided to receive and lock in position a section of the cable 7.

[0051] Of course, notwithstanding the principle of the invention, the construction details and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what is described and illustrated purely by way of example, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A motor-vehicle including a battery pack provided for powering the vehicle propulsion, comprising:- a door assembly (1 ) to access an input electrical connector for recharging said battery pack, comprising a door (2) pivotally mounted on a support structure (3) and movable between a closed position and an open position, a locking member for locking the door in its closed position, movable between an active locked position and an deactivated position, which allows opening of the door (2), and electrically operated actuator means (4) to cause a movement of said locking member towards its deactivated position,- a manually operated emergency mechanism (6) to move the door (2) from the closed position to the open position, when said battery pack is completely discharged, wherein said emergency mechanism (6) comprises a cable (7) having a first end portion operatively connected to the locking member and a second end portion having a gripping member (8) for manual operation by a subject,- wherein said gripping member (8) is covered by a covering element (5) comprising at least one fastening element (11 ) which can be operated manually to open the covering element (5), without having to use an unlocking key exclusively provided for this function,- wherein said door assembly (1 ) and said covering element (5) are both mounted on a bumper structure (9) of the vehicle, in such a way that the gripping member (8) can be operated without having to open the hood or the doors of the vehicle.

2. The motor-vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the covering element (5) is arranged in a lower lateral area of the bumper structure (9), with reference to the assembled condition on the vehicle, substantially parallel to the vehicle floor.

3. The motor-vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the covering element (5) comprises an anti-vibration pad (10) arranged along at least a part of the internal surface of the covering element (5), to avoid noise during vehicle dynamics deriving from any contact between the gripping member (8) and the internal surface of the covering element (5).

4. The motor-vehicle according to any of the previous claims, whereinthe covering element (5) comprises at least two elastic coupling teeth (16) arranged to cooperate with a counterpart of the surface of the bumper structure (9), in such a way that, to reposition the covering element (5) into the closed position, the elastic teeth (16) enable a preliminary locking of the element (5) on the bumper structure (9), before operating the fastening element (11 ) to lock the element (5) firmly in position.

5. The motor-vehicle according to any of the previous claims, wherein the covering element (5) comprises a coupling flange (17) arranged to cooperate with a counterpart of the surface of the bumper structure (9).

6. The motor-vehicle according to any of the previous claims, wherein the covering element (5) includes an additional retaining element (14) arranged to bind the covering element (5) in the open position to the bumper structure (9).

7. The motor-vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the retaining element (14) is a mechanical connection cable having a first end connected to the covering element (5) and a second end permanently hooked to the bumper structure (9) in proximity to an opening (9’) from which the gripping member (8) protrudes.

8. The motor-vehicle according to any of the previous claims, wherein adjacent to the gripping member (8), the cable (7) is held into a position adhering to the internal surface of the bumper structure (9) by means of at least one snap fastening member (15) defining a receptacle provided to receive and lock in position a section of the cable (7).

9. The motor-vehicle according to any of the previous claims, wherein the fastening element (11 ) is a fastening pin arranged to be operated by a roto-translation movement which results in the locking or the unlocking of the covering element (5).

10. The motor-vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the fastening pin comprises an upper portion (1 T) secured to a support flange (12) integral with the bumper structure (9), and a lower portion (11 ”) protruding from a seat (13) integrated into the covering element (5), wherein the lower portion (11 ”) includes an end on which a notch is made for activating the roto- translation movement using a tool, wherein the upper portion (1 T) is configured to remain secured to the seat (13) even when the covering element (5) is opened.

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