Machine element or mechanism – Gearing – Disconnecting means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-12
2001-10-16
Bucci, David A. (Department: 3682)
Machine element or mechanism
Gearing
Disconnecting means
C220S086200, C141S094000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301985
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a driving device for a closing arrangement of a vehicle-tank filler neck.
Closing arrangements that can be actuated by means of a driving device and are intended for vehicle-tank filler necks are described, for example, in AT 403 141, AT 403 563 or DE 43 40 418. Such closing arrangements use either what is referred to as the “lead-free flap” or separate shut-off valves within the filler neck as an alternative to the well-known filler caps to allow the neck to be closed after refueling. The mouth of the filler neck and the closing arrangement are situated in a set-back area of the vehicle body which is covered, during driving, by a body flap which ends flush with the body.
These closing systems are particularly suitable for use in robotic fueling systems in which the driver unlocks the closing arrangement remotely without leaving the driver's seat, possibly also at the same time opening the body flap to allow the robotic fuel pump nozzle to start the refueling operation immediately.
The driving device for the closing arrangement must meet various requirements. On the one hand, it must be ensured for safety reasons that the closing arrangement does not open unintentionally when shocks occur or in the event of a crash and that it offers sufficient resistance to unauthorized attempts at entry, and, on the other hand, for reasons of operational reliability and maintenance, it should also be possible to actuate it quickly and simply by hand when necessary, even if the drive motor, i.e. the electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics or the like, fail completely. It is the aim of the present invention to unite these different requirements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, the foregoing is achieved in the case of a driving device of the type stated above by virtue of the fact that the gear mechanism is a worm wheel/worm mechanism with a self-locking action in the direction from the output shaft to the input shaft, a clutch is arranged between the gear mechanism and the output shaft, and a manual actuating arrangement with a predetermined actuating travel is provided which, over a first part of the actuating travel, moves the clutch into the disengaged position and, over a second part of the actuating travel, drives the output shaft.
The use of a self-locking worm gear mechanism ensures effective locking of the closing device in the driveless state in a particularly simple manner that is not susceptible to faults; however, the locking can be deactivated at any time by means of the clutch and the manual actuating arrangement in order to allow emergency operation if the drive motor fails.
A particularly compact structure can be achieved for the gear mechanism and the clutch by means of a preferred embodiment which comprises the worm of the gear mechanism being connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the input shaft and the worm wheel of the gear mechanism being rotatably mounted on the output shaft, and the clutch having an engagement part which is mounted in a rotationally fixed and axially moveable manner on the output shaft, is preloaded by a spring into engagement in the worm wheel, and can be disengaged by a tappet used as a control mechanism for the clutch.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, it is envisioned that the manual actuating arrangement comprises a cam disc rotatably mounted on the output shaft and having a guide ramp, and the clutch is controlled by a tappet, which, over said first part of the actuating travel, slides up the guide ramp, opening the clutch in the process.
In this arrangement, the output shaft is preferably provided with a driver pin and the control cam is preferably provided with a stop which interacts with it and takes the driver pin along over said second part of the actuating travel.
The use of a rotatable cam disc with a first and a second cam section corresponding to the first and the second part of actuation makes it possible to achieve the emergency manual actuating function in a particularly simple and compact manner.
Another embodiment of the invention, which furthermore also serves to drive a vehicle body flap covering the filler neck comprises a linkage, one end of which is intended for connection to the body flap and the other end of which is actuated by the output shaft via a cam. By means of this linkage it is possible to vary and adjust the point of installation of the device relative to the vehicle body flap.
Moreover, a linkage/cam arrangement of this kind makes it possible to construct a torque sensor if the cam is rotatably spring-mounted on the output shaft, a sensor switch being provided which responds to a relative rotation between the cam and the output shaft and is suitable for controlling the drive motor. This makes it possible to provide a self- and/or emergency deactivation function for the flap drive: an excessive torque occurs, for example, once the end position of the pivoting motion of the flap has been reached, in which case the motor switches off automatically, or when there is an obstacle in the pivoting path of the flap, thus eliminating the risk that the user's fingers will be trapped as the flap closes.
It is particularly advantageous if the sensor switch is formed by two pressure switches which are mounted facing one another on the cam and between which a finger carried on the output shaft engages. It is, of course, also possible to use any other form of known sensor switch instead of this particularly simple solution.
The rotational springing arrangement for the cam relative to the output shaft is preferably formed by two compression springs which are mounted facing one another on the cam and between which said finger engages, so that the same finger is used both for the rotational springing arrangement and for the torque sensor.
In each of the above embodiments of the invention, the device can furthermore comprise a return spring-which acts on the output shaft. This allows the manual actuating arrangement to be embodied in such a way that it acts in only one direction, i.e. in a direction from the first part to the second part of the actuating travel, because the return spring closes the body flap when the actuating arrangement is released. A manual actuating arrangement of this kind, which exhibits positive engagement in only one direction, has the advantage that the body flap remains motionless during motor operation.
It is particularly advantageous if the output shaft passes through the housing and the return spring is a pretensionable coil-spring energy storage device which can be flanged to the housing in engagement with one end of the output shaft, this considerably simplifying installation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3802770 (1974-04-01), Betts
patent: 3901407 (1975-08-01), Mitchell et al.
patent: 4494707 (1985-01-01), Niibori et al.
patent: 4704152 (1987-11-01), Davey
patent: 4945780 (1990-08-01), Bosma
patent: 5385256 (1995-01-01), Brown
patent: 5533766 (1996-07-01), Farber
patent: 5921424 (1999-07-01), Palvolgyi
patent: 5988238 (1999-11-01), Palvolgyi
patent: 6056140 (2000-05-01), Muth et al.
Bachman & LaPointe P.C.
Bucci David A.
Hansen Colby
Tesma Motoren-und Getriebetechnik Ges.m.b.H.
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