CN118578862A

CN118578862A - Actuation assembly and filler/charging port flip assembly

Info

Publication number: CN118578862A
Application number: CN202410206014.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙源; 陈标
Original assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc
Current assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc
Priority date: 2023-03-03
Filing date: 2024-02-23
Publication date: 2024-09-03

Abstract

The application provides an actuation assembly and a filler/charging port flip assembly. The flip assembly includes a flip and a lock and unlock feature. The flip cover includes a lock engagement portion, and the lock-unlock structure has a lock position for locking the flip cover and an unlock position for locking the flip cover. The locking engagement is capable of driving the locking and unlocking structure out of the locked position, thus enabling the flip cover to be moved to the closed position even when the locking and unlocking structure is locked first. The actuation assembly includes a driver and an unlocking drive structure. The driving piece can rotate to drive the flip to move, and the unlocking driving structure can rotate to drive the driving piece to rotate. The unlocking driving structure is capable of converting a driving force applied thereto into an increased transmission driving force to be applied to the driving piece, thereby reducing power applied to the unlocking driving structure required for emergency unlocking by a user. The unlocking drive structure can also drive the drive member to move to partially open the flip, so that the user can know that the unlocking is in place and easily open the flip.

Description

Actuation assembly and filler/charging port flip assembly

Technical Field

The present application relates to flip cover assemblies and, more particularly, to flip cover assemblies for fuel or charge ports of vehicles.

Background

In order to be able to refuel or charge, the vehicle body is equipped with a filler opening or charging opening with a flap. Early, the closing and opening of the filler or charging port flaps was manually operated. As vehicle functions develop, consumers need to operate the fuel filler or charge port flaps in an automated manner. That is, when refueling or charging is required, the flip cover needs to be automatically driven to the unlock state first and then to the open position; after the refueling or charging is completed, the filler or charging port flip is actuated to a closed position and then automatically actuated to a locked state. An actuating assembly is therefore provided on the vehicle body for automatically controlling the opening, closing, locking and unlocking of the flap.

Disclosure of Invention

The fuel filler/charging port flip cover of the vehicle has a locked and unlocked position and a closed and open position.

An actuation assembly is used to actuate a filler/charging port flip. When the fuel filler/charging port flap is in the closed position and the locked position, the flap needs to be unlocked first and then opened, thereby completing the operation of opening the flap. In one automated manner, the actuation assembly is driven by a power source to unlock the flip cover and open the flip cover in sequence. When the oil filler/charging port flip cover is in the open position and the unlocking position, the flip cover is closed first, and then the flip cover is locked, so that the operation of closing the flip cover is completed. In one automated manner, the actuation assembly is driven by a power source to sequentially close the flip and lock the flip.

An actuation assembly includes a drive member capable of rotating clockwise and counterclockwise, with a push drive structure and a rotary drive structure provided on the drive member.

One manner of operation for opening the fuel filler/charging port flip cover when in the closed and locked positions (i.e., the drive member is in the locked position) is as follows: the power source drives the driving piece to rotate, so that the pushing driving structure on the driving piece moves, and then the pushing rod is driven to move, and the locking and unlocking structure moves to the unlocking position, so that the flip cover is unlocked. Then, the driving piece continues to rotate along the same direction, the pushing driving structure on the driving piece is separated from the pushing rod, and the rotating driving structure on the driving piece starts to rotate, so that the rotating shaft is driven to rotate, and the flip cover is opened.

One operation of closing the fuel filler/charging port flip cover when in the open position and the unlocked position (i.e., the drive member is in the unlocked position) is as follows: the power source drives the driving piece to move so that the rotary driving structure on the driving piece rotates to drive the rotating shaft to rotate to close the flip. Then, the driving piece continues to rotate along the same direction, the rotary driving structure on the driving piece is isolated, and the pushing driving structure on the driving piece starts to move so as to drive the pushing rod to move, so that the locking and unlocking structure moves to the locking position, and the flip cover is locked.

In a first aspect, if the flip cover encounters an obstruction during movement of the flip cover from the open position to the closed position, the obstruction prevents the flip cover from moving to the closed position, while the lock release mechanism remains to move to the locked position. After the obstruction is removed, the flip hole in the flip is blocked by the latch of the lock and unlock structure in the locked position and cannot move to the closed position.

In order to solve the problem that the flip cover cannot be closed, in the application, the flip cover and the locking and unlocking structure are provided with mutually matched structures, so that after the obstacle is removed, the flip cover can drive the locking and unlocking structure to move out of the locking position, and the flip cover can move to the closing position. Specifically, the flip hole of the flip and the lock pin of the locking and unlocking structure have mutually matched structures. After the obstruction is removed, the flip cover aperture in the flip cover can actuate the latch of the lock release mechanism to move, e.g., the latch to an unlocked position to move out of the locked position, by a restoring force generated by the flexible bending of the flip cover. The latch is driven to move out of the locked position and thus does not block the flip to the closed position, so that the flip aperture and flip can move to the closed position.

In addition, the locking and unlocking structure is arranged to be separated from the actuating component when the locking and unlocking structure is driven to move by the flip hole, so that resistance required to be overcome when the flip hole moves to the closed position is reduced, and smooth movement of the flip hole to the closed position is facilitated. The lock-unlock structure is in contact with and abuts against the actuation assembly without being fixedly connected. The application further provides an elastic component for restoring the locking and unlocking structure which is driven to move by the flip hole to the locking position, so that the locking and unlocking structure is prevented from being unable to restore to the locking position due to separation from the actuating component.

According to a first aspect of the present application, there is provided a flip assembly comprising a flip and a lock release mechanism. The flip cover includes a locking engagement (e.g., a flip cover aperture) and is configured to be closed and opened. The lock-unlock structure has a lock position and an unlock position, and is configured to be engageable with the lock engagement portion in the lock position to lock the flip cover, and to be disengageable from the lock engagement portion in the unlock position to unlock the flip cover. The lock engagement portion and the lock unlocking structure are configured to: the locking engagement is capable of driving the locking and unlocking structure out of the locked position to enable the flip cover to be closed.

According to a first aspect of the application, the flip cover has an open position, a partially open position and a closed position, wherein the partially open position is between the open position and the closed position. The flip and lock unlocking structure is configured to: when the locking and unlocking structure is in the locked position and the flip cover is in the partially open position, the locking engagement portion of the flip cover can drive the locking and unlocking structure to move away from the locking engagement portion and toward the unlocked position to move out of the locked position, thereby enabling the flip cover to move from the partially open position to the closed position.

According to a first aspect of the application, the lock engagement portion comprises a drive portion and the lock release structure comprises a drive engagement portion, the drive portion being configured to be able to drive the drive engagement portion to move away from the drive portion such that the lock release structure moves away from the lock engagement portion and towards the release position to move out of the locked position.

According to a first aspect of the application, the drive portion comprises a first ramp or arcuate raised surface and the drive engagement portion comprises a second ramp.

According to a first aspect of the application, the flip cover is configured to be moved from the partially open position to the closed position by its restoring force.

According to a first aspect of the application, the flip assembly further comprises an actuation assembly. The actuation assembly is configured to cooperatively contact the lock-unlock structure and is capable of driving the lock-unlock structure toward the unlock position.

According to a first aspect of the application, the actuation assembly is further configured to: the lock release structure is out of contact with the actuation assembly when the lock engagement portion drives the lock release structure out of the locked position. The application facilitates smooth movement of the locking engagement and flip cover to the closed position by providing the locking and unlocking structure to disengage from the actuating assembly when the locking engagement drives the locking and unlocking structure out of the locked position, thereby reducing the resistance that the locking engagement needs to overcome to move to the closed position.

According to a first aspect of the application, the flip assembly further comprises a resilient member. The elastic component is fixedly connected with the locking and unlocking structure. The elastic member is configured to be able to drive the lock-unlock structure to move toward the lock engagement portion to return to the lock position after the lock engagement portion drives the lock-unlock structure out of the lock position. The application further provides an elastic component for restoring the locking and unlocking structure driven by the locking joint part to move out of the locking position to the locking position, so that the flip cover is further locked after being closed, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the flip cover component.

According to a first aspect of the application, the locking engagement includes a receiving aperture. The lock-unlock structure includes a lock pin including a drive engagement portion. The locking pin is received in the receiving hole when the lock unlocking structure is engaged with the lock engagement portion.

According to a first aspect of the application, the actuation assembly is configured to drive the flip cover from the open position to the closed position and then drive the lock-unlock structure from the unlock position to the lock position. The actuation assembly is further configured to drive the lock-unlock structure from the locked position to the unlocked position and then drive the flip cover from the closed position to the open position.

In the second aspect, in the case of emergency unlocking of the flip cover, the operator needs to apply a large force to complete the unlocking operation. Also, after the operator unlocks the flip cover, the flip cover is still in the closed position, so the operator cannot know whether the flip cover is unlocked in place (the operation of unlocking is completed), and it is difficult for the operator to manually move the flip cover in the closed position toward the open position.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problem that the operator needs to apply a large power to unlock the flip cover, the present application provides an unlock driving structure in the actuating assembly for reducing the force applied by the operator to unlock the flip cover, so that the operator can unlock the flip cover easily. And the unlocking driving structure is configured to be capable of rotating by a predetermined angle to drive the driving piece to further drive the flip cover to open by a certain angle after driving the locking and unlocking structure to the unlocking position. In this way, the operator can be aware that the flip has been manually unlocked in place by observing that the flip has been opened at an angle, and the operator can also easily move the flip open at an angle to the open position.

According to a second aspect of the application there is provided an actuation assembly comprising a drive member and an unlocking drive arrangement. The driving member is capable of rotational movement, and the unlocking driving structure is capable of rotational movement to drive the driving member to rotate. The unlocking driving structure is configured to be able to convert a driving force applied thereto into an increased transmission driving force to be applied to the driving member, thereby driving the driving member to rotate. When a driving force is applied to drive the unlocking driving structure to rotate, the unlocking driving structure can transmit the driving force to the driving member to generate an increased transmission driving force, thereby driving the driving member to rotate. Therefore, the present application can reduce the power required for the user to urgently unlock the unlocking driving structure.

According to a second aspect of the present application, an unlock drive structure includes a drive force receiving portion and a drive force outputting portion. The driving force receiving portion is configured to receive driving force. The driving force output section is configured to output an increased transmission driving force to the driving member to drive the driving member to rotate when the driving force receiving section receives the driving force. The driving force receiving portion and the driving force output portion are configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis of the unlocking driving structure and are disposed opposite to each other with respect to the rotation axis.

According to the second aspect of the application, the first distance D1 between the position where the driving force receiving portion receives the driving force and the rotation shaft is larger than the second distance D2 between the position where the driving force output portion outputs the increased transmission driving force and the rotation shaft.

According to a second aspect of the application, the ratio of the first distance D1 to the second distance D2 is about 2 or greater than 2.

According to a second aspect of the present application, the driving member includes an engaging portion, the driving force output portion is configured to be able to engage with the engaging portion, and apply an increased transmission driving force to the engaging portion to drive the engaging portion to move, thereby rotating the driving member. The driving force output portion includes a first tooth surface S1, and the engagement portion includes a second tooth surface S2. When the driving force output portion drives the engaging portion to move, the first tooth surface S1 of the driving force output portion engages with the second tooth surface S2 of the engaging portion and drives the second tooth surface S2 to move. The tooth profile of the first tooth surface S1 and the tooth profile of the second tooth surface S2 form a pair of involute tooth profiles, the meshing line of which is a straight line.

According to a second aspect of the application, the driving member is in mating connection with the locking and unlocking structure and in mating connection with the flip cover. The drive member is configured for rotational movement to drive the flip open and closed and to drive movement of the lock-unlock structure to lock and unlock the flip.

According to a second aspect of the present application, the unlocking driving structure is configured to apply an increased transmission driving force to the driving member to drive the driving member to rotate in a direction such that the driving member drives the locking unlocking structure to move to unlock the flip cover, and further drives the flip cover to open by an angle.

According to a second aspect of the present application, the unlocking driving structure further includes a stopper portion. The stopper is configured to be able to restrict a rotation angle of the unlocking driving structure in the above direction so that the flip cover opens the above angle.

According to a second aspect of the application, the driving force is a force manually applied by an operator.

According to a third aspect of the present application there is provided a flip assembly comprising the flip, lock release arrangement and actuation assembly described previously. The lock-unlock structure is configured to be movable to lock and unlock the flip cover. The actuation assembly is configured to drive movement of the flip cover and the lock-unlock structure.

Drawings

The figures are not drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of the structure of the fuel filler or charge port flip assembly of the present application mounted to a vehicle body;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a fuel filler or charge port flip assembly with the flip cover in a closed position;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of a fuel filler or charge port flip assembly with the flip cover in an open position;

FIG. 1D is an exploded view of a fuel filler or charge port flip assembly;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 1D with the first housing removed from the front;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the second housing of the actuation assembly of FIG. 1D from the rear;

FIG. 2C is an exploded view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 1D;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly of FIG. 1A with the flip cover in a blocked state;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly of FIG. 1A with the flip cover in a partially closed position;

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly of FIG. 1A with the flip cover in a closed position and the locking and unlocking mechanism in a locked position;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of an actuation assembly of another embodiment of the fuel filler or charge port flip assembly of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A with the first housing removed from the front;

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of the first housing of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A from the rear;

FIG. 4D is a perspective view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A with the second housing removed from the back;

FIG. 4E is a perspective view of the second housing of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A from the front;

FIG. 4F is an exploded view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the unlocking drive mechanism in the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A from the front;

FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the unlocking drive mechanism in the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A from the back side;

FIG. 5C is a right side view of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A with the unlocking drive mechanism in an initial state;

FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A with the unlocking drive mechanism in an unlocked complete state;

FIG. 6C is a perspective view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4A with the unlocking drive mechanism in an unlocked completed state and the drive member in an open state;

FIG. 7A is a front view of the drive member and unlocking drive structure of FIG. 6A from the rear;

FIG. 7B is a front view of the drive member and unlocking drive structure of FIG. 6B from the rear;

FIG. 7C is a front view of the drive and unlocking drive structure of FIG. 6C from the rear;

FIG. 7D is a right side view of FIG. 7C;

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly of the alternative embodiment of FIG. 1A with the flip cover in a closed and locked state and the unlocking actuation structure in an initial state;

FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly of FIG. 8A with the flip cover in a partially unlocked and unlocked state and the unlock drive mechanism in an unlocked complete state; and

Fig. 8C is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly of fig. 8A with the flip cover in an open state and the unlock drive mechanism in an unlock completion state.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. It is to be understood that, although directional terms, such as "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", etc., may be used in describing various exemplary structural portions and elements of the present application, these terms are used herein for convenience of description only and are determined based on the exemplary orientations shown in the drawings. Since the disclosed embodiments of the application may be arranged in a variety of orientations, these directional terms are used by way of illustration only and are in no way limiting.

Ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" used in the present application are used merely for distinguishing and identifying, and do not have any other meaning, and do not denote a particular order, nor have particular relevance, unless otherwise indicated. For example, the term "first housing" does not itself imply the presence of "second housing" nor does the term "second housing" itself imply the presence of "first housing".

Fig. 1A shows a schematic view of the structure of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly of the present application mounted on a vehicle body to illustrate the positional and mating relationship of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly shown in fig. 1B-1D with the vehicle body. For convenience of illustration and description, the right side of the base 101 shown in fig. 1B to 1C is defined as a right side, and the other side opposite to the right side is defined as a left side. The front side of the base 101 shown in fig. 1B to 1C is defined as a front side, and the side opposite to the front side is defined as a rear side.

As shown in fig. 1A, a fuel filler or charge port flip assembly 100 is mounted to a vehicle body. The fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 includes a fuel filler or charging port flip 102 and a power source 105. The filler or charging port flip assembly 100 also includes other components (see fig. 1B-1D). The filler or charging port flip 102 is mounted on the vehicle body and the power source 105 is mounted within the vehicle body. When refueling or recharging is desired, a controller (not shown) controls the power source 105 to activate to move the filler or charging port flip 102 from a closed state (see fig. 1B) to an open state (see fig. 1C). When refueling or charging is completed, the controller controls the power source 105 to activate to move the filler or charging port flip 102 from an open state (see fig. 1C) to a closed state (see fig. 1B).

1B-1D illustrate structural details of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 of the present application, with the power source 105 not shown. Fig. 1B is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 with the flip 102 in a closed position to illustrate the components of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly and the positional and mating relationships between the components. Fig. 1C is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 with the flip 102 in an open state to illustrate the components of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly and the positional and mating relationships between the components. Fig. 1D is an exploded view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 of the present application to illustrate the various components of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly, as well as the positional and mating relationships between the components. The specific description of these figures 1B-1D follows:

The actuation assembly 103 in the filler or charging port flip assembly 100 is used to drive the closing and opening of the flip 102, and fig. 1B-1C illustrate the positional and mating relationship between the actuation assembly 103 and the associated components. As shown in fig. 1B-1C, the fuel filler or charge port flip assembly 100 includes a base 101, a flip 102, a hinge 109, an actuation assembly 103, a lock and unlock structure 104, a power source 105 (see fig. 1A), and an elastic member 106. An actuating assembly 103 is mounted on the base 101. The power source 105 (see fig. 1A) is in power connection with a drive shaft 209 on the front side of the actuation assembly 103. The power source 105 can be activated by a controller (not shown) to drive the drive shaft 209 and, in turn, the actuation assembly 103. The lock unlocking structure 104 is mounted on the front side of the base 101, and is capable of moving back and forth in a straight line in the left-right direction to lock and unlock the flip 102. The flip 102 is connected to a hinge 109, and the hinge 109 is mounted on the base 101. A rotation shaft 207 (see fig. 1D) extending from the rear side of the actuating assembly 103 cooperates with the hinge 109 so that rotation of the rotation shaft 207 can cause the flip 102 to open and close. When the flip cover 102 is in the open position, the cavity 107 of the base 101 is exposed so that an external component for refueling or charging can be inserted into the cavity 107 for a refueling or charging operation. When the flip 102 is in the closed position, the flip 102 covers the top of the cavity 107 of the base 101 to seal the top of the cavity 107.

As shown in fig. 1D, the flip 102 includes a body 111 and a connection portion 112. The connection portion 112 of the folder 102 is fixedly connected with the right end of the hinge 109, so that the hinge 109 can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise when rotated clockwise and counterclockwise, thereby closing and opening the folder 102. The engagement portion 113 at the left end of the hinge 109 is configured to engage with the hinge engagement portion 114 at the left side of the base 101 such that the hinge 109 is at least partially disposed within the base 101. The actuator assembly 103 includes a housing 201 with a drive shaft 209 extending from an opening in the front side of the housing 201, a push rod 205 extending from an opening 210 in the right side of the housing 201, and a spindle 207 extending from an opening in the rear side of the housing 201. In other embodiments, the actuation assembly 103 includes other suitable structures.

The actuation assembly 103 is driven in motion by the power source 105 to produce a linear drive to drive the lock release mechanism 104 in linear motion to release and lock the flip 102 and/or a rotational drive to drive the shaft 207 in rotation to open and close the flip 102. The push rod 205 in the actuating assembly 103 moves back and forth in a straight line left and right to output a linear drive of the actuating assembly 103, and the rotary shaft 207 in the actuating assembly 103 rotates clockwise and counterclockwise to output a rotational drive of the actuating assembly 103.

As shown in fig. 1B, when the flip cover 102 is in the closed and locked position, if the flip cover 102 needs to be opened, the flip cover 102 needs to be unlocked first and then the flip cover 102 needs to be opened. In operation, the power source 105 drives the actuation assembly 103 to move such that the push rod 205 moves rightward to push the lock-unlock structure 104 to move rightward to the unlock position, thereby unlocking the flip 102. Then, the power source 105 continues to drive the actuating assembly 103 to move, so that the rotating shaft 207 rotates anticlockwise, and drives the flip 102 to rotate anticlockwise, thereby opening the flip 102, and completing the operation of opening the flip 102. During the process of unlocking the flip, the lock pin 119 (see fig. 1D) at one end of the lock unlock structure 104 moves rightward to withdraw the flip hole (i.e., lock engagement portion) 110 on the flip 102, thereby enabling the flip 102 to be rotated with respect to the base 101 to be opened.

As shown in fig. 1C, when the flip cover 102 is in the open and unlocked position (i.e., the state after the operation of opening the flip cover 102 is completed as described above), the flip cover 102 may be closed, and the flip cover 102 may be further locked to prevent the flip cover 102 from being accidentally opened. In operation, the power source 105 drives the actuation assembly 103 to move such that the shaft 207 rotates clockwise, which rotates the flip 102 clockwise, thereby closing the flip 102. The power source 105 then continues to drive the actuation assembly 103 to move such that the push rod 205 moves to the left. At this time, the lock unlocking structure 104 is moved leftward as the push lever 205 is moved leftward by the elastic member 106 to reach the lock position, thereby locking the flip cover 102. During the process of locking the flip, a lock pin 119 (see fig. 1D) at one end of the lock unlock structure 104 moves leftward to pass through the through hole 108 of the base 101 and protrude into the flip hole 110 of the flip 102, so that the flip 102 remains locked to the base 101 and cannot be opened.

In the prior art, if the flip cover 102 encounters an obstruction during movement of the flip cover 102 from the open position to the closed position, the obstruction will prevent the flip cover aperture 110 of the flip cover 102 from moving to the closed position, i.e., the flip cover 102 is in the partially open position (i.e., the low angle open position), and the actuating assembly 103 drives the lock unlocking structure 104 to move to the locked position. After removing the obstacle, the latch 119 of the locking and unlocking structure 104 may block the flip cover 102 because the locking and unlocking structure 104 is located at the locking position, thereby making the flip cover 102 unable to be closed.

To solve the above problem that the flip cover 102 cannot be closed, the present application provides cooperating structures on the flip cover 102 and the locking and unlocking structure 104, so that after removing the obstacle, the flip cover 102 can drive the locking and unlocking structure 104 out of the locking position, so that the latch 119 of the locking and unlocking structure 104 does not block the flip cover 102, and thus the flip cover 102 can be moved from the partially opened position (i.e., the low angle opened position) to the closed position.

The circular dashed boxes a and B in fig. 1D show an enlarged view of the flip aperture (i.e., the lock engagement portion) 110 of the flip 102 and an enlarged view of the latch 119 of the lock release structure 104, as seen from the left side, respectively, in one embodiment. As shown in these enlarged views, the flip hole 110 includes a driving portion 301 located at the lower side of the flip hole 110. The lock pin 119 includes a drive engagement portion 302 located on an upper side of the lock pin 119. The driving portion 301 and the driving engagement portion 302 include two inclined surfaces that are inclined with respect to the horizontal direction of the base 101, which are engaged with each other. The circular dashed boxes a 'and B' in fig. 1D show an enlarged view of the flip hole (i.e., the lock engagement portion) 110 of the flip 102 and an enlarged view of the lock pin 119 of the lock-unlock structure 104, respectively, from the left side in another embodiment. In this embodiment, the driving portion 301 includes an arc-shaped convex surface, and the driving engagement portion 302 includes a slope surface that mates with the aforementioned arc-shaped convex surface.

The driving portion 301 and the driving engagement portion 302 are configured to be cooperatively driven such that the driving engagement portion 302 can be driven to move (move rightward) from the lock position to the unlock position to move out of the lock position when the driving portion 301 is moved (moved downward) to the close position, so that the driving portion 301 can be smoothly moved to the close position. The drive engagement 302 is configured such that the latch 119 does not block movement of the flip aperture 110 toward the closed position so that the flip 102 can resume the closed position. Therefore, the application can overcome the problem that the flip encounters an obstacle in the process of closing the flip and cannot automatically recover to the closing position.

As shown in fig. 1B-1C, a push rod 205 extending from the right side of the actuation assembly 103 is in mating contact with the lock release structure 104. The push rod 205 and the lock unlocking structure 104 are in contact and abut each other without being fixedly connected together. After the obstacle is removed, when the latch 119 of the locking and unlocking structure 104 is driven to move rightward out of the locking position by the flip hole 110 of the flip 102, the locking and unlocking structure 104 is separated from the actuating assembly 103 and from the power source 105, so that the resistance of the flip 102 to the closed position is greatly reduced, and the flip 102 can be smoothly restored to the closed position after the obstacle is removed. After the latch 119 of the lock release structure 104 is moved rightward by the flip hole 110 of the flip 102 out of the lock position, the flip 102 is moved to the closed position, and at the same time the elastic member 106 returns the lock release structure 104 from the position out of the lock position to the lock position, thereby ensuring a normal locking operation of the flip 102.

Also, when the actuating assembly 103 generates a linear drive to lock the flip 102, the elastic member 106 moves the locking and unlocking structure 104 from the unlocking position to the locking position to help achieve a locking operation of the flip 102. The push rod 205 is in mating contact with the abutment 120 (see fig. 1D) of the lock unlocking structure 104. One end 117 of the elastic member 106 is fixed to the fixed engagement portion 115 of the base 101, and the other end 118 is fixed to the fixed engagement portion 116 of the lock unlock structure 104. Movement of the push rod 205 to the right can push the lock unlocking structure 104 to the right to move the lock unlocking structure 104 from the locked position to the unlocked position. When the push rod 205 moves leftward, the push rod 205 cannot drive the lock unlocking structure 104 to move leftward. When the push rod 205 moves leftward, the elastic member 106 holds the lock unlocking structure 104 against the push rod 205 by an elastic restoring force generated by tensioning, so that the lock unlocking structure 104 can move leftward as the push rod 205 moves leftward to move from the unlock position to the lock position.

Fig. 2A is a perspective view of the actuation assembly 103 of fig. 1D with the first housing removed from the front, fig. 2B is a perspective view of the actuation assembly 103 of fig. 1D with the second housing removed from the back, and fig. 2C is an exploded view of the actuation assembly 103 of fig. 1D. Fig. 2A-2C illustrate various components of the actuation assembly 103, as well as the positional and mating relationships between these components.

As shown in fig. 2A-2C, the actuation assembly 103 includes a driver 202, a push drive structure 203 and rotary drive structures 204, 206, a push rod 205, and a spindle 207. The actuation assembly 103 also includes a housing 201 (see fig. 1D), the housing 201 including a first housing 2011 and a second housing 2012. A seal 208 is provided for sealing the housing 201. The driving member 202 is provided with a driving shaft 209, and the driving shaft 209 protrudes from an opening 211 on the front side of the housing 201 (i.e., on the first housing 2011) to be connected to the power source 105 (see fig. 1A). The rotation shaft 207 protrudes from an opening 212 on the rear side of the housing 201 (i.e., on the second housing 2012) to be connected to the flip 102 (see fig. 1A-1D). The driver 202 is rotatably mounted on the second housing 2012. In other embodiments, the actuation assembly 103 includes other suitable structures for actuating the flip 102.

The actuation assembly 103 performs the following operations when moving the flip 102 from the closed and locked position (see fig. 1B) to the open position (see fig. 1C): as shown in fig. 2A-2C and fig. 1B-1C, the power source 105 (see fig. 1A) drives the driving member 202 in the actuating assembly 103 to rotate clockwise, and then the driving structure 203 drives the pushing rod 205 to move rightward, so as to drive the locking and unlocking structure 104 (see fig. 1B) to move rightward to reach the unlocking position, thereby unlocking the flip cover 102. Then, the power source 105 continues to drive the driving member 202 to rotate clockwise, at this time, the driving member 202 is disengaged from the pushing rod 205, and the driving member 202 starts to drive the rotation driving structures 204 and 206 to move, so as to drive the driving shaft 207 to rotate counterclockwise, thereby opening the flip cover 102. The actuator 202 is now in the open completion position.

The actuation assembly 103 performs the following operations when moving the flip 102 from the open position (see fig. 1C) to the closed position (see fig. 1B): as shown in fig. 2A-2C and fig. 1B-1C, from the opening completion position, the driving member 202 is driven by the power source 105 (see fig. 1A) to rotate counterclockwise, so as to drive the rotation driving structures 204, 206 to move, and thus drive the rotating shaft 207 to rotate clockwise to close the flip cover 102. Then, the driving member 202 continues to be driven by the power source 105 to rotate counterclockwise, at this time, the driving member 202 is disengaged from the rotation driving structures 204 and 206, and the driving member 202 starts to engage with the pushing rod 205 by pushing the driving structure 203, so as to drive the pushing rod 205 to move leftwards, at this time, the locking and unlocking structure 104 moves leftwards following the leftward movement of the pushing rod 205 under the action of the elastic restoring force of the elastic component 106, so as to lock the flip 102. The actuator 202 is now in the closed position. The driving member 202 moves between the opening completion position and the closing completion position to open the flip cover and close the flip cover.

Fig. 3A illustrates a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 of fig. 1A with the flip 102 in a blocked state; FIG. 3B illustrates a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 of FIG. 1A with the flip 102 in a partially closed position; fig. 3C illustrates a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 of fig. 1A with the flip cover in a closed state and the lock release structure 104 in a locked state.

To facilitate the illustration of the positional relationship of the various components of the flip assembly 100 in the various states of the flip 102 of fig. 3A-3C, the first housing of the power source 150 and the actuation assembly 103 is removed in fig. 3A-3C to better illustrate the mating relationship of the various components of the flip assembly 100. The circular dashed box in fig. 3A-3C shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the latch 119 of the lock release structure 104 of one embodiment of fig. 1D in mating relationship with the flip aperture 110 of the flip 102. An enlarged cross-sectional view of the latch 119 of the lock and unlock structure 104 of the other embodiment of fig. 1D in mating relationship with the flip aperture 110 of the flip 102 is also shown in fig. 3A (see below circular dashed box).

As previously described, the lock release mechanism 104 is in the unlocked position when the flip cover 102 is in the open position. In the prior art, during normal locking of the flip cover 102, the actuating member 103 drives the flip cover 102 from the open position to the closed position, and then drives the locking and unlocking structure 104 fixedly connected to the actuating member 103 to move leftward from the unlocking position, and the lock pin 119 of the locking and unlocking structure 104 is driven to move leftward to be inserted into the flip cover hole 110 of the flip cover 102 (the locking and unlocking structure 104 and the lock pin 119 are in the locking position), so that the flip cover 102 is locked.

In the prior art, if the flip 102 encounters an obstruction during movement of the flip 102 from the open position to the closed position, the obstruction may prevent the flip aperture 110 of the flip 102 from moving to the closed position. The flip 102 is flexible and capable of bending. In the presence of an obstruction, the actuation assembly 103 drives the hinge 109, which is connected to the shaft 207, to a closed position, while the flip 102 is in a low angle open position (i.e., a partially open position) due to the flexibility being blocked by the obstruction. After the actuation assembly 103 drives the hinge 109 coupled to the shaft 207 to the closed position, the actuation assembly 103 drives the lock release structure 104 to move to the left, such that the latch 119 of the lock release structure 104 is driven to move to the left to be inserted into the flip hole 110 of the flip 102 to the locked position. In this case, the flip 102 is blocked by the obstacle in the low angle open position, and the latch 119 has reached the locked position. The latch 119 is now located on the exterior (e.g., below) of the flip 102, rather than being inserted into the flip aperture 110 of the flip 102. After the obstacle is removed, although the flip cover 102 moves toward the closed position due to flexibility, the latch 119 in the locked position may block the flip cover 102 so that the flip cover 102 cannot move to the closed position, thus rendering the flip cover 102 incapable of closing.

To solve the above problem that the flip cover 102 cannot be closed, the flip cover 102 and the lock unlocking structure 104 of the present application have structures that cooperate with each other, so that the flip cover 102 can drive the lock unlocking structure 104 to move out of the locking position, and thus the flip cover 102 can move to the closed position. Specifically, when the flip 102 is moved from the low angle open position toward the closed position by the restoring force generated by the flexible bending after the obstruction is removed, the flip 102 (e.g., its flip aperture 110, i.e., the locking engagement) is able to drive the locking and unlocking structure 104 away from the flip aperture 110 and toward the unlocked position to move out of the locked position. Accordingly, the lock unlocking structure 104 moved out of the lock position does not block the flip cover 102, and thus the flip cover 102 can be smoothly moved from the small-angle open position to the closed position.

As shown in fig. 3A-3C, a driving portion 301 is provided on the flip hole (i.e., the lock engagement portion) 110 of the flip 102, and a driving engagement portion 302 is provided on the lock pin 119 of the lock unlocking structure 104. The driving portion 301 and the driving engagement portion 302 abut against each other, so that when the flip hole 110 of the flip 102 is moved from the small-angle open position toward the closed position after the obstacle is removed, the driving portion 301 on the flip hole 110 can drive the driving engagement portion 302 on the lock pin 119 to move away from the driving portion 301 and toward the unlock position to move the lock pin 119 and the lock unlock structure 104 out of the lock position, so that the flip hole 110 can be smoothly moved from the small-angle open position to the closed position without being blocked by the lock pin 119. The driving portion 301 is located at the lower side of the flap hole 110, and the driving engagement portion 302 is located at the upper side of the lock pin 119 (see fig. 1D). In one embodiment, the driving portion 301 and the driving engagement portion 302 include two inclined surfaces (see circular dotted line boxes a and B in fig. 1D and circular dotted line box above fig. 3A) that are inclined with respect to the horizontal direction of the base 101, which are engaged with each other. In another embodiment, the driving portion 301 and the driving engagement portion 302 are in a line contact relationship, so that the friction force between each other can be further reduced, so that the lock pin 119 is more easily driven to the unlock position by the driving portion 301. Specifically, the driving portion 301 includes an arc-shaped convex surface, and the driving engagement portion 302 includes a slope surface that mates with the aforementioned arc-shaped convex surface (see circular dashed boxes a 'and B' in fig. 1D and circular dashed boxes below fig. 3A).

After the obstruction is removed, the flip cover aperture 110 moves from the low angle open position toward the closed position by means of a restoring force of the flip cover 102 from the low angle open bent position toward the restored position (closed position). The return force is to overcome the resistance created by the lock release structure 104 (including the lock pin 119) and the resistance created by the structure to which the lock release structure 104 is attached. If the resistance is too great, the restoring force of the flip 102 may not be able to move the flip 102 to the closed position. In the prior art, the locking and unlocking structure 104 is fixedly connected with the actuating assembly 103, so that when the pushing rod 205 of the actuating assembly 103 moves linearly back and forth, the locking and unlocking structure 104 can be driven to move linearly back and forth, and thus the flip cover 102 is unlocked and locked. And, the power source 105 is in power connection with the actuating assembly 103, and when the power source 105 drives the actuating assembly 103 to move so that the flip cover 102 is closed and the locking and unlocking structure 104 reaches the locking position, the starting of the power source 105 is finished and the working is stopped. At this time, the stationary power source 105 connected to the lock unlock structure 104 also generates resistance to the above-described restoring force of the flip cover 102. The resistance generated by the power source 105 is large such that the restoring force of the flip 102 may not be able to move the flip hole 110 to the closed position after the obstruction is removed.

In order to reduce the resistance that needs to be overcome by the above-mentioned restoring force of the flip 102, so that the restoring force of the flip 102 can smoothly move the flip 102 to the closed position after the obstacle is removed, as shown in fig. 3A to 3C, the present application further provides the push rod 205 and the lock unlocking structure 104 to be in contact with and abut against each other without being fixedly connected. In this way, when the flip 102 (including the flip aperture 110) is moved from the low angle open position toward the closed position, i.e., from fig. 3A-3B, the drive portion 301 on the flip aperture 110 drives the drive engagement portion 302 on the lock pin 119 to move toward the unlocked position (to the right) to move out of the locked position, the lock-unlock structure 104 disengages from the push rod 205 and also disengages from the actuation assembly 103 and the power source 105 (see fig. 3B), thus eliminating the need to overcome the resistance created by the actuation assembly 103 and the power source 105. When the flip cover 102 is moved toward the closed position, only the resistance generated by the latch 119 and the lock release structure 104 need be overcome, which is substantially reduced. Accordingly, after the obstacle is removed, the flap aperture 110 can be easily moved to the closed position by the restoring force of the flap 102. And, the present application can further avoid damaging the flip cover 102 and the lock release structure 104 or other structures.

In addition, after the obstruction is removed, the latch 119 is moved out of the latched position during movement of the flip aperture 110 from the low angle open position to the closed position. In order to enable the latch 119 to return to the locked position when the flip aperture 110 is moved to the closed position, the present application also provides an elastic member 106 for returning the latch 119 to the locked position from a position moved out of the locked position (e.g., an intermediate position between the locked position and the unlocked position), thereby returning the flip 102 and the lock release structure 104 to a normal locked state. The elastic member 106 includes a base engagement portion 117 and a lock unlock engagement portion 118. The base engagement portion 117 engages with the base 101, and the lock release engagement portion 118 engages with the lock release structure 104. As the drive portion 301 on the flip aperture 110 drives the drive engagement portion 302 on the latch 119 toward the unlocked position, the resilient member 106 is progressively stretched to the right, thereby creating a pulling force to the left on the latch 119. When the flip aperture 110 is moved to the closed position, the latch 119 is aligned with the opening 121 of the flip aperture 110 (i.e., the receiving aperture) such that a leftward pulling force of the latch 119 by the resilient member 106 causes the latch 119 to move leftward for insertion into the opening 121 of the flip aperture 110 to the locked position. When the flip cover 102 is moved from the small angle open position toward the closed position, a resistance force generated by the stretching of the elastic member 106 is also overcome, and the resistance force is small, so that the flip cover hole 110 can still be easily moved to the closed position by the restoring force of the flip cover 102.

In fig. 3A, flip 102 is in a blocking state, such as a small angle open position, due to the blocking of obstacle W (see dashed line). When the obstruction is removed, the drive portion 301 on the flip aperture 110 begins to drive the drive engagement portion 302 on the latch 119 to move. As the flip 102 moves toward the closed position, from fig. 3A to fig. 3B, the drive portion 301 on the flip aperture 110 has now driven the drive engagement portion 302 on the lock pin 119 a distance toward the unlocked position (to the right) in the through hole 108 on the base 101, i.e., out of the locked position, whereupon the flip 102 and flip aperture 110 move to the partially closed position. The flip cover 102 continues to move toward the closed position, turning from fig. 3B to fig. 3C, at which time the resilient member 106 returns the latch 119 to the locked position, the drive engagement portion 302 on the latch 119 moves to the left in the through hole 108 on the base 101 to reach the locked position, and the latch 119 and the drive engagement portion 302 are inserted into the opening 121 of the flip cover aperture 110, i.e., the flip cover 102 and the flip cover aperture 110 move to the closed position.

Fig. 4A is a perspective view of an actuation assembly 103 'of another embodiment of the fuel filler or charge port flip assembly 100 of fig. 1A, fig. 4B is a perspective view of the actuation assembly 103' of fig. 4A with the first housing 2011 'removed from the front, fig. 4C is a perspective view of the first housing 2011' of the actuation assembly 103 'of fig. 4A from the back, fig. 4D is a perspective view of the actuation assembly 103' of fig. 4A with the second housing 2012 'removed from the back, fig. 4E is a perspective view of the second housing 2012' of the actuation assembly 103 'of fig. 4A from the front, and fig. 4F is an exploded view of the actuation assembly 103' of fig. 4A.

In the prior art, upon emergency unlocking of the flip 102, an operator would need to manually apply a force to actuate the lock release structure 104 and/or the push rod 205 to move the lock release structure 104 from the locked position to the unlocked position to unlock the flip 102. When the lock release mechanism 104 is fixedly coupled to the actuation assembly 103, the operator is required to overcome the resistance generated by the actuation assembly 103 and the resistance generated by the power source 105 coupled to the actuation assembly 103, which are relatively large, such that the operator is required to apply relatively large power to manually unlock the flip cover 102. Moreover, the power applied by the operator is transmitted to the driving member 202 (which rotates to unlock the flip cover 102) of the actuating assembly 103 through the lock unlocking structure 104 and/or the push rod 205, so that only a part of the power applied by the operator can generate an effective force for driving the driving member 202 to rotate. The prior art arrangements reduce the transmission of power applied by the operator, and thus require the operator to apply a greater force to complete the operation of unlocking the flip 102.

And, after the operator unlocks the flip cover 102, the flip cover 102 is in the closed position. This can make it impossible for an operator to know whether to unlock it in place, and it can be difficult for an operator to manually move the flip cover 102 in the closed position toward the open position.

To overcome the above-described problem of requiring an operator to apply a large amount of power to manually unlock the flip cover, the present application provides an unlock drive 401 in the actuation assembly, as shown in fig. 4A-4F and 8A-8C, the unlock drive 401 being capable of driving the drive 202' to rotate. The driving force applied by the operator is converted into an increased transmission driving force by unlocking the driving structure 401 to be applied to the driving member 202', thereby driving the driving member 202' to rotate. Accordingly, the present application can reduce the power required to be applied when the operator unlocks the flip cover 102, so that the operator can easily unlock the flip cover 102 manually.

Also, in order to overcome the above-mentioned problem that the operator cannot know whether to unlock in place and cannot easily open the flip cover 102 manually, the present application further provides the unlock driving structure 401 to be rotatable by a predetermined angle to drive the driving piece 103' to further drive the flip cover 102 to open by a certain angle after driving the lock unlocking structure 104 to the unlock position. In this way, the operator can know that the flip 102 has been manually unlocked in place by observing that the flip 102 is open at an angle and can easily move the flip 102 open at an angle to the open position.

The actuation assembly 103' in fig. 4A-4B and 4D is substantially identical to the actuation assembly 103 in fig. 2A-2C. As shown in fig. 4A-4B and 4D, the actuation assembly 103' includes a driver 202', a push drive structure 203', a push rod 205', a rotary drive structure 204', 206' and a spindle 207', which are identical to the driver 202, the push drive structure 203, the push rod 205, the rotary drive structures 204, 206 and the spindle 207, respectively, of the actuation assembly 103.

Unlike the actuation assembly 103 of fig. 2A-2C, the actuation assembly 103' of fig. 4A-4B and 4D also includes an unlocking drive mechanism 401. And, the driving member 202 'of the actuating assembly 103' is provided with an engagement portion 402 for mating connection with the unlocking driving structure 401. The unlocking driving structure 401, when moving, can drive the engaging portion 402 on the driving member 202' to move, and further drive the driving member 202' to rotate to move the pushing rod 205', so as to move the locking and unlocking structure 104 to the unlocking position (see fig. 8B). As shown in fig. 4D, the engagement portion 402 is a protrusion provided on the bottom surface of the driving member 202'.

As shown in fig. 4B and 4D, the unlock drive structure 401 includes a drive force receiving portion 404 and a drive force outputting portion 501. The driving force receiving portion 404 is configured to receive a driving force applied by an operator. The driving force output portion 501 is configured to be able to output an increased transmission driving force to the driver 202 'to drive the driver 202' to rotate when the driving force receiving portion 404 receives the driving force applied by the operator. The driving force receiving portion 404 and the driving force output portion 501 rotate about the rotation axis X of the unlocking driving structure 401, and are disposed opposite to each other with respect to the rotation axis X. The driving force output 501 engages the engagement portion 402 on the driving member 202 'and is capable of applying an increased transmitted driving force to the engagement portion 402 to drive the engagement portion 402 to move, thereby rotating the driving member 202' and thereby driving the lock unlock structure 104 to move to the unlock position to unlock the flip 102.

The unlocking driving structure 401 further includes a main body portion 403. The driving force receiving portion 404 and the driving force output portion 501 are provided on the main body portion 403 or integrally formed with the main body portion 403. The body portion 403 is rotatably mounted on the second housing 2012'. The back surface of the main body portion 403 is provided with a protrusion 503 (see fig. 4D). The second housing 2012' has a recess 406 (see fig. 4E) provided thereon. The protrusion 503 is rotatably accommodated in the recess 406. The front surface of the body portion 403 is provided with an arc-shaped recess portion 504 (see fig. 4B). The first housing 2011' is provided with an arc-shaped protrusion 405 (see fig. 4C). The arc-shaped protrusion 405 is accommodated in the arc-shaped recess 504 for restricting the movement of the body portion 403 in the axial direction. The body 403 is substantially disk-shaped. The body 403 is further provided with a stopper 502. The limiting portion 502 is engageable with the blocking portion 407 on the second housing 2012', for limiting the rotation angle of the main body portion 403, and thus the rotation angle of the driving force receiving portion 404. When the main body 403 is rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in fig. 4B by a predetermined angle, the stopper 502 of the main body 403 is blocked by the blocking portion 407 on the second housing 2012' and cannot continue to rotate counterclockwise, thereby limiting the rotation angle of the main body 403. The driving force receiving portion 404 has a rod shape, one end of which is connected to the main body portion 403 and the other end of which is provided with a groove 505. The pull cord 410 is mounted in the groove 505 such that an operator can pull the pull cord 410 to drive the driving force receiving portion 404 to rotate, thereby driving the main body portion 403 and the driving force output portion 501 to rotate, and then driving the driving member 202' to rotate. The actuation assembly 103 does not include a pull cord 410.

When the actuating assembly 103 'is used to actuate the operation of the flip 102, the position of the actuating assembly 103' shown in fig. 4B is such that the flip 102 is in the closed position and the lock release structure 104 is in the locked position, the flip 102 being locked. As shown in fig. 4B, when emergency unlocking is required, the operator pulls the pull cord 410 so that the driving force receiving portion 404 moves rightward and upward, thereby rotating the main body portion 403 counterclockwise. When the main body 403 rotates counterclockwise, the driving force output part 501 (see fig. 4D) drives the engaging part 402 on the driving member 202 'to rotate clockwise around the central axis of the driving member 202', so that the driving member 202 'rotates clockwise, and drives the pushing rod 205' to move rightward, thereby pushing the locking and unlocking structure 104 to move rightward to reach the unlocking position, so that the flip cover 102 is unlocked.

When the operator applies the pulling force F1 at the groove 505, the pulling force F1 can be converted into the increased transmission driving force F2 by the unlocking driving structure 401, and the increased transmission driving force F2 is applied to the engaging portion 402. According to the lever principle, the tensile force F1 and the transmission driving force F2 have approximately the following relationship: f1 x D =f2 x D2. As shown in fig. 4D, D2 is the distance between the position on the driving force output portion 501 where the engagement portion 402 engages and the rotation axis X. D1 is the distance between the groove 505 and the rotation axis X. In one embodiment, the ratio of D1 to D2 is set to about 2:1, such that the ratio of F1 to F2 is set to about 1:2. In other embodiments, the ratio of D1 to D2 is set to other suitable values, such as greater than 1:1, greater than 2:1, and so forth. In the present application, the operator applies less pulling force F1 at the groove 505, and the pulling force F1 can generate a larger transmission driving force F2 to be applied to the driving piece 202' by unlocking the driving structure 401, thereby reducing the force required to be applied by the operator to unlock the flip cover 102, so that the operator can easily unlock the flip cover 102 manually.

In one embodiment, the engagement portion 402 is a tooth disposed on the driver 202'. The driving force output portion 501 has a tooth shape. The driving force output portion 501 includes a first tooth surface S1, and the engaging portion 402 includes a second tooth surface S2 (see fig. 7A). The tooth profile of the first tooth surface S1 and the tooth profile of the second tooth surface S2 form a pair of involute tooth profiles, and the meshing line formed by the pair of involute tooth profiles is a straight line. The linear engagement line keeps the direction of the transmission driving force F2 unchanged, thereby stabilizing the transmission. That is, in the process of unlocking the flip cover 102 by the operator, the pulling force F1 applied by the operator can be smoothly transmitted to the engaging portion 402. Therefore, in the process of the operator unlocking the flip cover 102, when the unlocking driving structure 401 is blocked by the blocking portion 407, the operator can easily perceive the increase in resistance, thereby knowing that the unlocking is in place. In the prior art, there are some limitations to using an unlocking drive mechanism to unlock the flip cover 102, for example, because the limitations of the prior art structure only drive the drive member to move the locking unlocking structure 104 to the unlocked position (when the flip cover 102 is in the closed state), and not further drive the drive member to open the flip cover 102 at an angle. In the present application, the unlocking driving structure 401 can rotate within a wide angle range, and the driving member 202 'is driven to rotate so that the locking unlocking structure 104 moves to the unlocking position, and the driving member 202' is further driven to rotate so that the flip cover 102 is opened by a certain angle.

And, when the flip cover 102 is unlocked, by unlocking the flip cover 102 and further driving the flip cover 102 to open by a certain angle, the operator can be made to easily know that the unlocking is in place, and the operator can easily open the flip cover 102 manually by the angle at which the flip cover 102 is opened.

Fig. 5A shows a perspective view of the unlocking driving structure 401 in the actuating assembly 103 'in fig. 4A from the front, fig. 5B is a perspective view of the unlocking driving structure 401 in the actuating assembly 103' in fig. 4A from the rear, and fig. 5C is a right side view of fig. 5A.

As shown in fig. 5A to 5C, the unlock drive structure 401 includes a main body portion 403, a drive force receiving portion 404, a drive force outputting portion 501, and a stopper portion 502. The driving force output portion 501 and the stopper portion 502 are circumferentially provided on the main body portion 403, and the driving force receiving portion 404 radially extends from the main body portion 403. The front surface of the body portion 403 is provided with a concave portion 504 (see fig. 5A), and the back surface is provided with a convex portion 503 (see fig. 5B). The concave portion 504 is recessed from the front surface of the body portion 403 to form an arc-shaped groove. The protrusion 503 protrudes outward from the back surface of the main body portion 403. The driving force receiving portion 404 is provided with a groove 505, and the groove 505 is provided in a hook shape for engagement with the pulling cord.

Fig. 6A is a perspective view of the actuating assembly 103 'in fig. 4A when the unlocking driving structure 401 is in an initial state, fig. 6B is a perspective view of the actuating assembly 103' in fig. 4A when the unlocking driving structure 401 is in an unlocking completed state, and fig. 6C is a perspective view of the actuating assembly 103 'in fig. 4A when the unlocking driving structure 401 is in an unlocking completed state and the driver 202' is in an open state. Fig. 7A is a front view of the driving piece 202' and the unlocking driving structure 401 in fig. 6A from the back, fig. 7B is a front view of the driving piece 202' and the unlocking driving structure 401 in fig. 6B from the back, fig. 7C is a front view of the driving piece 202' and the unlocking driving structure 401 in fig. 6C from the back, and fig. 7D is a right side view of fig. 7C.

Fig. 8A is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 200 of the other embodiment of fig. 1A with the flip 102 in the closed and locked state and the unlocking drive structure 401 in the initial state, fig. 8B is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 200 of fig. 8A with the flip 102 in the partially opened and unlocked state and the unlocking drive structure 401 in the unlocking completed state, and fig. 8C is a perspective view of the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 200 of fig. 8A with the flip 102 in the opened state (which corresponds to the drive 202' shown in fig. 6C being in the opened state) and the unlocking drive structure 401 being in the unlocking completed state. The unlocking driving structure 401 shown in fig. 8A being in the initial state corresponds to the unlocking driving structure 401 shown in fig. 6A being in the initial state. The unlocking driving structure 401 shown in fig. 8B being in the unlocking completed state corresponds to the unlocking driving structure 401 shown in fig. 6B being in the unlocking completed state. Fig. 8C shows the flip cover 102 in an open state and the unlock driving structure 401 in an unlock completion state corresponds to fig. 6C showing the driver 202' in an open state and the unlock driving structure 401 in an unlock completion state.

The fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 200 shown in fig. 8A-8C is substantially identical to the fuel filler or charging port flip assembly 100 shown in fig. 3A-3C, except that fig. 8A-8C uses the actuation assembly 103' of fig. 4A. The fuel filler or charge port flip assembly 200 of fig. 8A-8C incorporates the flip cap 102 (including the flip cap aperture 110), the lock and unlock structure 104 (including the latch 119 and the abutment 120), the structure of the resilient member 106, and the structure of the actuation assembly 103' of fig. 4A of fig. 3A-3C.

As shown in fig. 6A and 7A, the unlocking driving structure 401 is in an initial state, at which the driving force output portion 501 of the unlocking driving structure 401 is engaged with the engagement portion 402 of the driver 202'. Correspondingly, as shown in fig. 8A, the flip cover 102 is in a closed state, and the lock unlocking structure 104 is in a locked position.

As shown in fig. 6A and 8A, in an emergency unlocking, the operator pulls the pull cord 410 rightward, so that the unlocking driving structure 401 rotates counterclockwise, and the engaging portion 402 (see fig. 7A) of the driving member 202 'moves to rotate the driving member 202' clockwise. The driver 202' rotates clockwise to drive the push rod 205' to move rightward such that the lock-unlocking structure 104 in mating contact with the push rod 205' moves rightward to the unlock position (see fig. 8B). Moreover, the unlocking driving structure 401 can continue to rotate anticlockwise through the structure of the limiting portion 502, so as to drive the driving piece 202' to rotate clockwise, so that the driving piece 202' does not drive the pushing rod 205' to move any more, but starts to drive the rotating shaft 207' to rotate anticlockwise, and thus starts to drive the flip 102 fixedly connected with the rotating shaft 207' to open. After the unlocking driving structure 401 continues to rotate counterclockwise by a certain angle, when the stopper 502 is blocked by the blocking portion 407 on the second housing 2012', the unlocking driving structure 401 stops rotating to stop opening the flip 102, so that the flip 102 is opened to a certain angle (see fig. 8B). At this time, the unlock drive structure 401 reaches the unlock completion state shown in fig. 6B. As shown in fig. 7B, when the unlocking driving structure 401 is in the unlocking completed state, the driving force output portion 501 of the unlocking driving structure 401 is engaged with the engagement portion 402 of the driver 202'.

When the operator starts moving the flip cover 102 (see fig. 8B) opened by a certain angle toward the fully opened position (see fig. 8C), the unlock drive structure 401 starts to disengage from the engagement portion 402 of the drive 202' from the unlock completion state shown in fig. 6B. The operator's operation of opening the flip 102 causes the rotation shaft 207' to continue to rotate counterclockwise, which in turn causes the driver 202' to continue to rotate clockwise from the state shown in fig. 6B to the state shown in fig. 6C. As shown in fig. 7C, the unlock drive structure 401 is maintained in the unlock completion state, and the driver 202' is moved to a state where the flip cover 102 is in the fully open position (see fig. 8C).

During continued clockwise rotation of the driver 202 'from the state shown in fig. 6B, the unlocking drive structure 401 does not block rotation of the driver 202' in the axial direction either. As shown in fig. 7D, during continued clockwise rotation of the driver 202', the unlocking drive feature 401 is spaced apart from the pushing drive feature 203' on the driver 202 '.

As can be seen in conjunction with the above description, the fuel filler or charge port flip assembly 200 of fig. 8A-8C provides at least the following benefits:

1. When the flip cover 102 is blocked by the obstacle and is in the small-angle open position, and the locking and unlocking structure 104 has reached the locking position, after the obstacle is removed, the flip cover 102 can still move to the closed position, so that the problem that the flip cover 102 cannot be closed in the prior art is solved.

2. After the obstruction is removed, the flip 102 (e.g., its flip aperture 110) moves toward the closed position to drive the lock unlocking structure 104 to move toward the unlocked position, the lock unlocking structure 104 disengages from the push rod 205', and thus from the actuation assembly 103' and the power source 105. Thus, the resistance that needs to be overcome to move the flip 102 to the closed position is greatly reduced, thereby helping to enable the flip 102 to automatically return to the closed position smoothly by its restoring force after the obstruction is removed.

3. The use of the resilient member 106 to restore the lock release structure 104 to the locked position solves the problem of the lock release structure 104 being unable to restore to the locked position as a result of the disengagement of the lock release structure 104 from the actuation assembly 103'.

4. The unlocking drive structure 401 is used to reduce the force that the operator needs to apply to unlock the flip cover 102, so that the operator easily unlocks the flip cover 102.

5. The unlocking drive mechanism 401 is used to continue moving to the partially open position after the flip cover 102 is unlocked so that the operator can know that the unlock is in place and can easily open the flip cover 102.

The unlocking drive 401 of the present application may be applied to other suitable actuation assemblies and/or flip assemblies to reduce the force required to unlock the flip and to allow the operator to easily unlock the flip and to allow the operator to know that the unlock is in place and to easily open the flip. The unlocking drive mechanism 401 includes other suitable structures to convert the received drive force into an increased transmitted drive force for application to the drive member to unlock the flip cover. By unlocking the drive structure 401, the operator applies less power to unlock the flip cover, thus enabling the operator to easily unlock the flip cover.

While the application has been described in conjunction with the examples of embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or that are or may be presently or shortly envisioned, may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the technical effects and/or technical problems described in the present specification are exemplary rather than limiting; the disclosure in this specification may be used to solve other technical problems and to have other technical effects and/or may solve other technical problems. Accordingly, the examples of embodiments of the application as set forth above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Accordingly, the present application is intended to embrace all known or earlier developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents.

Claims

1. A flip assembly (100), the flip assembly (100) comprising:

A flip cover (102), the flip cover (102) comprising a locking engagement (110), the flip cover (102) being configured to be closed and opened; and

-A lock-unlock structure (104), the lock-unlock structure (104) having a locked position and an unlocked position, the lock-unlock structure (104) being configured to be engageable with the lock engagement portion (110) in the locked position to lock the flip (102) and to be disengageable with the lock engagement portion (110) in the unlocked position to unlock the flip (102);

Wherein the lock engagement portion (110) and the lock unlocking structure (104) are configured to: the lock engagement portion (110) is capable of driving the lock release structure (104) out of the locked position to enable the flip cover (102) to be closed.

2. The flip cover assembly (100) of claim 1, wherein:

The flip cover (102) has an open position, a partially open position, and a closed position, the partially open position being between the open position and the closed position;

The flip cover (102) and the lock unlocking structure (104) are configured to: when the lock-unlock structure (104) is in the locked position and the flip (102) is in the partially open position, the lock engagement portion (110) of the flip (102) is capable of driving the lock-unlock structure (104) away from the lock engagement portion (110) and toward the unlock position to move out of the locked position, thereby enabling the flip (102) to move from the partially open position to the closed position.

3. The flip cover assembly (100) of claim 1, wherein:

The lock engagement portion (110) comprises a drive portion (301), the lock release structure (104) comprises a drive engagement portion (302), the drive portion (301) is configured to be able to drive the drive engagement portion (302) to move away from the drive portion (301) such that the lock release structure (104) moves away from the lock engagement portion (110) and towards the release position to move out of the lock position.

4. A flip cover assembly (100) according to claim 3, wherein:

The drive portion (301) comprises a first inclined surface or an arcuate convex surface and the drive engagement portion (302) comprises a second inclined surface.

5. The flip cover assembly (100) of claim 2, wherein:

the flip cover (102) is configured to be moved from the partially open position to the closed position by its restoring force.

6. The flip assembly (100) of claim 1, wherein the flip assembly (100) further comprises:

-an actuation assembly (103), the actuation assembly (103) being configured to be in mating contact with the lock-unlock structure (104) and being capable of driving the lock-unlock structure (104) towards the unlock position.

7. The flip cover assembly (100) of claim 6, wherein:

the actuation assembly (103) is further configured to: the lock release structure (104) is out of contact with the actuation assembly (103) when the lock engagement portion (110) drives the lock release structure (104) out of the locked position.

8. The flip assembly (100) of claim 7, wherein the flip assembly (100) further comprises:

-an elastic member (106), the elastic member (106) being fixedly connected to the lock-and-unlock structure (104), the elastic member (106) being configured to be able to drive the lock-and-unlock structure (104) to move towards the lock-and-unlock structure (110) to resume the locked position after the lock-and-unlock structure (104) is driven by the lock-and-unlock structure (110) to move out of the locked position.

9. A flip cover assembly (100) according to claim 3, wherein:

The locking engagement (110) comprises a receiving aperture (121);

the lock-unlock structure (104) includes a lock pin (119), the lock pin (119) including the drive engagement portion (302);

wherein the lock pin (119) is received in the receiving hole (121) when the lock unlocking structure (104) is engaged with the lock engagement portion (110).

10. The flip cover assembly (100) of claim 2, wherein:

The actuation assembly (103) is configured to drive the flip (102) from the open position to the closed position and then drive the lock-unlock structure (104) from the unlock position to the lock position; and

The actuation assembly (103) is further configured to drive the lock-unlock structure (104) from the locked position to the unlocked position and then drive the flip (102) from the closed position to the open position.

11. An actuation assembly (103 '), characterized in that the actuation assembly (103') comprises:

A drive (202 '), the drive (202') being configured to be capable of rotational movement; and

An unlocking drive structure (401), the unlocking drive structure (401) being configured to be capable of rotational movement to drive the drive (202') in rotation,

Wherein the unlocking driving structure (401) is configured to be able to convert a driving force applied thereto into an increased transmission driving force to be applied to the driving member (202 ') so as to drive the driving member (202') to rotate.

12. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 11, wherein:

The unlocking drive structure (401) includes a drive force receiving portion (404) and a drive force outputting portion (501),

The driving force receiving portion (404) is configured to receive the driving force,

The driving force output portion (501) is configured to output the increased transmission driving force to the driving member (202 ') to drive the driving member (202') to rotate when the driving force receiving portion (404) receives the driving force,

The driving force receiving portion (404) and the driving force outputting portion (501) are configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis of the unlocking driving structure (401) and are disposed oppositely with respect to the rotation axis.

13. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 12, wherein:

The first distance D1 between the position where the driving force receiving portion (404) receives the driving force and the rotation shaft is larger than the second distance D2 between the position where the driving force output portion (501) outputs the increased transmission driving force and the rotation shaft.

14. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 13, wherein:

the ratio of the first distance D1 to the second distance D2 is about 2 or greater than 2.

15. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 12, wherein:

The driving member (202 ') includes an engagement portion (402), the driving force output portion (501) being configured to be engageable with the engagement portion (402) and apply the increased transmission driving force to the engagement portion (402) to drive the engagement portion (402) to move, thereby rotating the driving member (202');

The driving force output portion (501) includes a first tooth surface S1, and the engaging portion (402) includes a second tooth surface S2;

When the driving force output part (501) drives the joint part (402) to move, the first tooth surface S1 of the driving force output part (501) is engaged with the second tooth surface S2 of the joint part (402) and drives the second tooth surface S2 to move;

The tooth profile of the first tooth surface S1 and the tooth profile of the second tooth surface S2 form a pair of involute tooth profiles, and meshing lines of the pair of involute tooth profiles are straight lines.

16. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 11, wherein:

the driving piece (202') is matched and connected with the locking and unlocking structure (104) and matched and connected with the flip cover (102);

The drive member (202') is configured to be capable of the rotational movement to drive the flip (102) open and closed and to drive the lock release structure (104) to move to lock and unlock the flip (102).

17. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 16, wherein:

The unlocking drive structure (401) is configured to apply the increased transmission driving force to the driving member (202 ') to drive the driving member (202 ') to rotate in a direction such that the driving member (202 ') drives the locking unlocking structure (104) to move to unlock the flip (102) and further drive the flip (102) to open by an angle.

18. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 17, wherein:

the unlocking driving structure (401) also comprises a limit part (502),

The limit portion (502) is configured to be able to limit a rotation angle of the unlocking drive structure (401) in the direction so that the flip cover (102) opens the angle.

19. The actuation assembly (103') according to claim 11, wherein:

The driving force is a force manually applied by an operator.

20. A flip assembly (200), the flip assembly (200) comprising:

A flip cover (102);

-a lock-unlock structure (104), the lock-unlock structure (104) being configured to be movable to lock and unlock the flip (102); and

The actuation assembly (103 ') of claims 11-19, the actuation assembly (103') being configured to drive movement of the flip cover (102) and the lock-unlock structure (104).