Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Filling means with receiver or receiver coacting means – Extensible or expansible inserted coupler or centering means...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-24
2001-10-16
Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Filling means with receiver or receiver coacting means
Extensible or expansible inserted coupler or centering means...
C141S301000, C220S086200, C220SDIG003
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302170
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-closing filler cap for a fuel tank filler neck, the neck including a restrictive flap hinged thereto, the invention relating more particularly to a self-closing filler cap configured adapted for use with an automatic fuelling system.
2. Description of Prior Art
Such self-closing filler caps for automotive vehicle fuel tanks are known, they enabling the vehicle operator to fuel his vehicle without having to remove the filler cap from the filler neck.
Such filler caps generally comprise a cap body with either screw threads or a bayonet lock for securing the cap body onto the open end of the filler neck of the vehicle tank. The cap body has a centrally disposed opening for receiving the fuel nozzle of a corresponding fuel pump, this opening normally being covered by a spring-loaded closure flap hinged to the cap body. One such filler cap is screwed by the vehicle operator onto the filler neck of the fuel tank. To then fill the tank the fuel nozzle is inserted through the opening in the cap body to open the closure flap. After fuelling the fuel nozzle is removed from the opening of the cap body, resulting in the spring-loaded closure flap closing of its own accord. One such self-closing filler cap reads from and is claimed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,439, the entire text of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
When the fuel tank of an automotive vehicle is to be filled by an automatic fuelling system, for example by a robotic system, the fuel nozzle is no longer introduced by the vehicle operator through the opening of the cap body into the filler neck, but via a robotic arm capable of moving both vertically and horizontally for aligning the nozzle of a fuel pump with the filler neck of the fuel tank. Such alignment is faciliated by the use of a magnetic position sensor in the robotic arm. On completion of alignment the robotic arm extends the fuel nozzle towards the filler neck at an angle that is substantially at a right angle to the vehicle panel housing the filler neck. The robotic arm then extends the nozzle through the opening in the cap body and into the filler neck of the fuel tank by pushing down the closure flap in the cap. On vehicles that run exclusively on unleaded fuel, the fuel nozzle also needs to be extended through a second hinged flap in the filler neck before actual fuelling can commence On completion of automatic fuelling the robotic arm withdraws the fuel nozzle from the filler neck and out of the cap to allow both the restrictive flap in the filler neck and the closure flap in the cap to each resume its closed position.
In this arrangement it is necessary that the hinged mount of the restrictive flap in the filler neck and the hinged mount of the closure flap of the filler cap are arranged offset by approx. 180
i
to each other so that inserting the fuel nozzle into the filler neck as well as removing it therefrom and from the self-closing filler cap arranged thereon by the robotic arm can be sequenced so that no tilting or jamming at the restrictive flap or closure flap of the cap occurs. One particularly good example of such a self-closing filler cap for automatic fuelling reads from and is claimed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,328, the entire text of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Although the filler cap claimed in this U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,328 has a proven record of success it has been found out that it cannot be put to use on all automotive vehicles, it having being discovered namely that the space available for applying the filler cap to the filler neck of the fuel tank is very small on some vehicles. This may then result in the hinged body lid closing off this space for access to the filler neck coming into contact with the filler cap secured to the filler neck.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is thus based on the object, in eliminating this problem, of providing a self-closing filler cap which is particularly suitable for automatic fuelling and is characterized by having a compact design taking up little space and is vested with high strength since it needs to be reckoned with that the robotic arm employed in automatic fuelling may yank the fuel nozzle from the filler cap without thereby damaging the filler cap.
To achieve this object the invention comprises the features as they read from claim
1
. Advantageous aspects thereof read from the further claims.
The invention is based on the knowledge that the diameter of an opening for inserting the fuel nozzle into the filler neck cannot be changed and thus the components needed to configure the filler cap and more particularly their functional faces need to be arranged radially inwards as far as possible for the filler cap quite generally circular in shape to achieve a compact design of the filler cap and thus also to enhance the rugged performance of the filler cap.
In accordance with the invention a self-closing filler cap for a fuel tank filler neck is provided in which the filler neck has a restrictive flap hinged thereto, the filler cap comprising a closure ring for releasable assembly on the neck and a closure flap assembly rotatively arranged on the closure ring and a closure flap hinged thereto and a locking ratchet mechanism including at least one detent spring and lugs such that the closure flap assembly is rotatable in one direction only, the at least one detent spring and the lugs being provided on the annular member and on the closure ring respectively. This assembly of the detent spring(s) on the annular member of the closure flap assembly achieves an assembly in which the detent springs may be arranged radially inwards to such an extent that the space taken up by the filler cap in accordance with the invention may be significantly reduced. The lug(s) assigned to the detent spring(s) is/are provided integrally on the closure ring so that the closure ring is configurable totally in one piece, i.e. without any components molded to the closure ring via parting faces or the like, thus also resulting in the closure ring being simple to manufacture.
In this arrangement the lugs provided on the closure ring may be configured on an annular face substantially equispaced circumferentially, i.e. in other words an annular functional face is provided on the closure ring on which the lugs are configured integrally to cooperate with the detent spring(s) arranged on the closure flap assembly so that relative to the closure ring arranged on the filler neck of the fuel tank the closure flap assembly has substantially full freedom of rotation in the direction provided for rotation whilst being blocked in the other direction.
This now enables the vehicle operator to define the filler cap in accordance with the invention via for example threads or a bayonet lock on the filler neck of the fuel tank such that the filler cap is screwed on in the substantially freely rotative direction on the filler neck to such an extent that it is fixedly arranged thereon and further rotation of the filler cap resulting in the closure flap assembly being turned relative to the closure ring so that any stronger screwing on of the filler cap on the filler neck of the fuel tank is no longer possible. When the filler cap in accordance with the invention is to be turned in the opposite direction to remove it from the filler neck of the fuel tank no movement of the closure flap assembly relative to the closure ring is possible so that the filler cap is removable from the filler neck. By turning the closure flap assembly relative to the closure ring the closure flap hinged to the annular member of the closure flap assembly may be turned relative to the restrictive flap hinged to the neck so that the hinging point of the restrictive flap and the hinging point of the closure flap are diametrally opposed by 180
i
. This makes it possible for the robotic arm employed in the automatic fuelling system to insert the fuel nozzle without tilting through the opening covered by the closure flap of the annular mem
Cole Thomas W.
Maust Timothy L.
Mecrom Ott U. Holey Ohg
Nixon & Peabody LLP
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