Patent Publication Number: US-2021172214-A1

Title: Apparatus for opening/closing fuel lid of vehicle

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     A claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 is made to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0159709 filed Dec. 4, 2019 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     The described technology generally relates to an apparatus for opening/closing a fuel lid of a vehicle. 
     Description of Related Technology 
     In general, a fuel lid is opened or closed by a hinge and is mounted on a vehicle such that in a closed position, the fuel lid closes a fueling opening and the surface of the fuel lid coincides with the contour of a vehicle body. 
     A fueling port on which a cap is mounted is disposed in the fueling opening. To prevent the fuel lid from being unintentionally opened, the fuel lid is locked. 
     SUMMARY 
     One aspect is a vehicle fuel lid opening/closing apparatus for simplifying a structure for opening/closing a fuel lid, decreasing the number of parts to achieve a reduction in the number of assembly steps and an improvement in assembly efficiency, and making the apparatus compact. 
     Another aspect is an apparatus for opening/closing a fuel lid of a vehicle includes a housing, a push rod that is provided in the housing and that reciprocates between an open position in which the fuel lid of the vehicle is opened and a closed position in which the fuel lid of the vehicle is closed, and a locking part that locks the push rod such that the push rod does not move from the closed position to the open position. The locking part includes a drive motor that is received in the housing and that rotates in forward and reverse directions to correspond to the open position and the closed position, a pinion gear that is mounted on a shaft of the drive motor and that rotates in the forward and reverse directions, a linear moving body having a plurality of gear teeth formed to be engaged with the pinion gear in one direction and a locking protrusion protruding toward the push rod, in which the linear moving body linearly reciprocates by the rotation of the pinion gear in the forward and reverse directions, a locking recess formed on part of an outer circumferential surface of the push rod, the locking protrusion being locked to the locking recess, and a guide part that guides linear reciprocation of the linear moving body in a direction perpendicular to an axis line of the push rod. 
     The guide part may include a guide protrusion protruding from one of the housing and the linear moving body along a direction perpendicular to the push rod and a guide track that is provided on the other of the housing and the linear moving body along the direction perpendicular to the push rod and that guides a movement of the guide protrusion. 
     The linear moving body may have a gear receiving hole formed therein in which the pinion gear is received, the gear receiving hole having a long hole shape, and the plurality of gear teeth may be formed on the remaining inner surfaces other than one side of the gear receiving hole. 
     The apparatus may further include a rotary rod that is provided in the housing and that turns the push rod relative to the housing when the push rod repeatedly moves between the open position and the closed position. A helical path may be formed on an outer circumference of the rotary rod to correspond to a linear travel distance of the push rod for the open position and the closed position, and the push rod may have a tappet that is formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof and that moves along the helical path to turn the push rod. 
     The apparatus may further include an elastic member that is received inside the rotary rod and the push rod and that exerts an elastic force on the push rod to move the push rod to the open position. 
     The apparatus may further include a damper provided on an end portion of the linear moving body that is on the opposite side to the locking protrusion, in which the damper relieves impact when the linear moving body collides with the housing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The above and other objects and features will become apparent from the following description with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a fuel lid opening/closing apparatus for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the described technology. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional perspective view of major parts in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the major parts in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a linear moving body in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view illustrating a state in which a push rod of  FIG. 1  is located in an open position. 
         FIG. 7  is a vertical sectional view of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the push rod of  FIG. 1  is located in a closed position. 
         FIG. 9  is a vertical sectional view of  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An example fuel lid opening/closing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-223150. In the disclosed fuel lid opening/closing apparatus, when a push rod moves downward to close a fuel lid, a stopping member engaged to rotate together with a rotary gear integrally rotating with an output shaft of a motor is stopped by a recess of the push rod while the stopping member remains stopped by the recess of the push rod by the elastic force of a torsion spring, and accordingly the push rod is not raised. 
     However, in the fuel lid opening/closing apparatus, the stopping member is stopped by the recess of the push rod while rotating in the state of being engaged with the rotary gear integrally rotating with the output shaft of the motor. Furthermore, the stopping member is elastically supported by the elastic force of the torsion spring so as to be stopped without being separated from the recess of the push rod. Therefore, the structure for opening/closing the fuel lid is complex, and due to a number of parts, assembly work is not easy so that the number of assembly steps is increased. Especially, the apparatus is large in size because the radius of rotation of the stopping member in a narrow space has to be ensured. 
     Embodiments will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the described technology is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein and may be implemented in various different forms. Herein, the embodiments are provided to provide complete disclosure of the described technology and to provide thorough understanding of the described technology to those skilled in the art to which the described technology pertains, and the scope of the inventive concept should be limited only by the accompanying claims and equivalents thereof. 
     Terms used herein are only for description of embodiments and are not intended to limit the inventive concept. As used herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise” and/or “comprising” specify the presence of stated features, components, and/or operations, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, components, and/or operations. In addition, identical numerals will denote identical components throughout the specification, and the meaning of “and/or” includes each mentioned item and every combination of mentioned items. It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another component. Thus, a first component discussed below could be termed a second component without departing from the teachings of the inventive concept. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the described technology pertains. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the described technology will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIGS. 1 to 5  illustrate a fuel lid opening/closing apparatus for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the described technology. 
     As illustrated in these drawings, the vehicle fuel lid opening/closing apparatus  1  according to the embodiment of the described technology includes a housing  10 , a push rod  20 , and a locking part (not shown in  FIG. 1  and to be described with respect to  FIGS. 2-5 ). 
     The housing  10  has a hollow container shape and has a structure that can be divided into left and right parts. 
     The push rod  20  is received on one side of the housing  10 , and a drive motor  51  that will be described below is received on an opposite side of the housing  10 . 
     The push rod  20  has a rod shape with a predetermined length and is provided on the one side of the housing  10  so as to reciprocate. The push rod  20  reciprocates between an open position in which a fuel lid  100  (refer to  FIGS. 7 and 9 ) of the vehicle is opened and a closed position in which the fuel lid  100  is closed. 
     One end portion of the push rod  20  is exposed outside the housing  10 , and an opposite end portion of the push rod  20  is received in a rotary rod  30 , which will be described below, so as to move inward or outward. 
     The push rod  20  includes, on the one end portion thereof, a locking protrusion  23  for the fuel lid  100 . The locking protrusion  23  is locked with the fuel lid  100  in the closed position in which the fuel lid  100  of the vehicle closes a fueling opening (not illustrated). The locking protrusion  23  is unlocked from the fuel lid  100  in the open position in which the fuel lid  100  of the vehicle opens the fueling opening. 
     The push rod  20  repeatedly moves between the open position and the closed position while being turned by the rotary rod  30 . 
     The rotary rod  30  is provided in the housing  10 , and the opposite end portion of the push rod  20  is received in the rotary rod  30  so as to move inward or outward. 
     A helical path  33  is formed on an outer circumference of the rotary rod  30  by cutting away a portion of the rotary rod  30 . 
     The helical path  33  has a length corresponding to a linear travel distance of the push rod  20  for the open position and the closed position of the push rod  20 , for example, the amount by which the push rod  20  pops up. 
     Meanwhile, the push rod  20  has, on an outer circumferential surface thereof, a tappet  25  that moves along the helical path  33  to turn the push rod  20 . 
     When the push rod  20  repeatedly moves between the open position and the closed position, the tappet  25  slides along the helical path  332 , and accordingly the push rod  20  turns relative to the housing  10  in forward and reverse directions. 
     When the push rod  20  is located in the open position, the tappet  25  is stopped by a stopper recess  15  formed on the housing  10 , and the push rod  20  no longer moves upward relative to the housing  10 . 
     Furthermore, when the push rod  20  is located in the closed position, the tappet  25  is brought into close contact with a bottom surface of the rotary rod  30 , and the push rod  20  no longer moves downward relative to the housing  10 . 
     Meanwhile, an elastic member  40  is received between the rotary rod  30  and the push rod  20 . The elastic member  40  is partly received inside the push rod  20  at the same time as being partly received inside the rotary rod  30 . Accordingly, the elastic member  40  exerts an elastic force on the push rod  20  such that the push rod  20  moves to the open position. 
     Here, in this embodiment, a coil spring is illustrated as the elastic member  40 . Without being limited thereto, however, the elastic member  40  may be implemented with various forms of elastic bodies capable of generating an elastic force as the elastic member  40 . 
     The locking part locks the push rod  20  such that the push rod  20  does not move from the closed position to the open position. 
     The locking part includes the drive motor  51 , a pinion gear  55 , a linear moving body  61 , a locking recess  81 , and a guide part  90 . 
     The drive motor  51  is received on the opposite side of the housing  10 . The drive motor  51  is disposed such that the axis line of the drive motor  51  is parallel to the axis line of the push rod  20 . 
     The drive motor  51  rotates in forward and reverse directions to correspond to the open position and the closed position of the push rod  20 . 
     The pinion gear  55  has a plurality of gear teeth  57  formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof. The pinion gear  55  is mounted on a shaft of the drive motor  51  and rotates in the forward and reverse directions. 
     The linear moving body  61  has a rectangular block shape with a predetermined thickness. 
     The linear moving body  61  has a gear receiving hole  63  formed therein in which the pinion gear  55  is received. 
     The gear receiving hole  63  has a cross-sectional shape of a long hole that includes first and second sides disposed to face each other with an interval therebetween and opposite end portions formed to be curved with a predetermined radius of curvature between the first side and the second side. Here, the interval between the first side and the second side of the gear receiving hole  63  is greater than the diameter of the pinion gear  55 . 
     A plurality of gear teeth  65  engaged with the gear teeth  57  of the pinion gear  55  in one direction are formed in the gear receiving hole  63 . In this embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the plurality of gear teeth  65  are formed on the remaining inner surfaces other than the first side of the gear receiving hole  63 . 
     As the plurality of gear teeth  65  are formed along the second side of the gear receiving hole  63  and on the curved opposite end portions between the first side and the second side as described above, even though the pinion gear  55  rotates in a state of being located on the opposite end portions of the gear receiving hole  63 , the linear moving body  61  may be prevented from moving toward the push rod  20 , or moving away from the push rod  20 , beyond a predetermined travel range by forward and reverse rotation of the pinion gear  55 . Accordingly, linear reciprocation of the linear moving body  61  may be precisely controlled, and damage to the linear moving body  61  may be prevented. 
     Furthermore, a locking protrusion  71  that is locked to or unlocked from the locking recess  81  protrudes from one end portion of the linear moving body  61 , for example, an end portion facing toward the push rod  20 . 
     A damper  75  protrudes from an opposite end portion of the linear moving body  61 , for example, an end portion of the linear moving body  61  that is on the opposite side to the locking protrusion  71 . The damper  75  is formed of a rubber or sponge material. 
     Accordingly, when the linear moving body  61  moves away from the push rod  20  to a maximum travel range, the damper  75  reduces noise caused by collision with the housing  10  and relieves impact applied to the housing  10 . 
     The locking recess  81  is concavely formed on part of the outer circumferential surface of the push rod  20  and has a predetermined width. When the push rod  20  is turned and located in the closed position, the locking recess  81  is disposed toward the locking protrusion  71  of the linear moving body  61 . When the push rod  20  is turned and located in the closed position, the locking protrusion  71  is locked to the locking recess  81 , and when the locking protrusion  71  is unlocked from the locking recess  81 , the push rod  20  deviates from the closed position while turning. 
     As described above, the locking protrusion  71  of the locking part is firmly locked by the locking recess  81 , and thus the push rod  20  is not easily moved from the closed position to the open position by an external force and is stably locked. 
     The guide part  90  guides linear reciprocation of the linear moving body  61  in a direction crossing (e.g., perpendicular to) the axis line of the push rod  20 . 
     The guide part  90  includes guide protrusions  91  and a guide track  95 . 
     The guide protrusions  91  are formed on opposite sides of the linear moving body  61  along the lengthwise direction of the linear moving body  61  that is crossing (e.g., perpendicular to) the push rod  20 . 
     The guide track  95  is formed in the housing  10  in the direction perpendicular to the axis line of the push rod  20 . The guide track  95  not only surrounds the guide protrusions  91  to guide reciprocation of the guide protrusions  91 , but also surrounds the linear moving body  61  to guide reciprocation of the linear moving body  61 . Accordingly, the linear moving body  61  stably moves toward or away from the push rod  20  while being guided by the guide track  95 . 
     Here, in this embodiment, it has been exemplified that the guide track  95  guides reciprocation of the linear moving body  61  while surrounding the linear moving body  61  and the guide protrusions  91 . Without being limited thereto, however, the guide track  95  may guide reciprocation of the linear moving body  61  while surrounding only the guide protrusions  91 . 
     A process of opening or closing the fuel lid  100  using the vehicle fuel lid opening/closing apparatus  1  according to the embodiment of the described technology will be described below. 
     First, a process of switching the fueling opening from the open position to the closed position will be described. 
     When the push rod  20  is pressed toward the housing  10  in a state in which the push rod  20  is located in the open position as illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the tappet  25  of the push rod  20  located on an upper end of the rotary rod  30  slides along the helical path  33 , and the push rod  20  moves down toward a lower end of the rotary rod  30  while turning about the center axis line of the rotary rod  30 . The tappet  25  of the push rod  20  is located on the bottom surface of the rotary rod  30 , and the push rod  20  is located in the closed position as illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     At this time, the locking recess  81  formed on the push rod  20  is disposed toward the locking protrusion  71  of the linear moving body  61 , and the elastic member  40  is compressed. 
     Further, when the drive motor  51  rotates in one direction, the pinion gear  55  rotates in the gear receiving hole  63  of the linear moving body  61  in the one direction, the linear moving body  61  is guided by the guide protrusions  91  and the guide track  95  of the guide part  90  so as to move toward the push rod  20  in the direction perpendicular to the axis line of the push rod  20 , and the locking protrusion  71  of the linear moving body  61  is locked to the locking recess  81  formed on the push rod  20 . 
     Accordingly, the fuel lid  100  connected to the push rod  20  stably closes the fueling opening, and the push rod  20  and the fuel lid  100  remain in the closed position. 
     Next, a process of switching the fueling opening from the closed position to the open position will be described. 
     When the drive motor  51  is rotated in an opposite direction in the state in which the push rod  20  is located in the closed position as illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the pinion gear  55  rotates in the gear receiving hole  63  of the linear moving body  61  in the opposite direction, the linear moving body  61  is guided by the guide protrusions  91  and the guide track  95  of the guide part  90  so as to move away from the push rod  20  in the direction perpendicular to the axis line of the push rod  20 , and the locking protrusion  71  of the linear moving body  61  is unlocked from the locking recess  81  formed on the push rod  20 . 
     At this time, the push rod  20  is moved away from the rotary rod  30  by a tensile force of the elastic member  40 . That is, the tappet  25  of the push rod  20  that is located on the lower end of the rotary rod  30  slides along the helical path  33 , and the push rod  20  moves up toward the upper end of the rotary rod  30  while turning about the center axis line of the rotary rod  30 . The tappet  25  of the push rod  20  is stopped by the stopper recess  15  of the housing  10 , and the push rod  20  no longer moves upward relative to the housing  10 . 
     Accordingly, the push rod  20  is located in the open position as illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , and the fuel lid  100  connected to the push rod  20  opens the fueling opening. 
     As described above, according to the described technology, the linear moving body  61  having the locking protrusion  71  formed thereon linearly moves toward or away from the push rod  20  by forward or reverse rotation of the pinion gear  55  mounted on the drive motor  51 , and the locking protrusion  71  of the linear moving body  61  is locked to or unlocked from the locking recess  81  formed on the push rod  20  depending on the closed position or the open position of the push rod  20 . Accordingly, the structure for opening/closing the fuel lid  100  may be simplified. Furthermore, the number of parts may be decreased, which results in a reduction in the number of assembly steps and an improvement in assembly efficiency. In addition, the apparatus may be made compact. 
     According to the described technology, the structure for opening/closing the fuel lid may be simplified. Furthermore, the number of parts may be decreased, which results in a reduction in the number of assembly steps and an improvement in assembly efficiency. In addition, the apparatus may be made compact. 
     While the described technology has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive concept. Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are not limiting, but illustrative.