JP2012240645A - Vehicle inlet box assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the lighting time of an illumination device to absolute minimum by providing a switch of the illumination device in an inlet box, and to prevent the opening area of the inlet box from becoming large caused by providing the switch.SOLUTION: A vehicle inlet box assembly 10 includes an inlet box 20, and a cover 30 for opening and closing the opening 22 of the inlet box 20. The vehicle inlet box assembly 10 further includes: a pressurizing mechanism 60 for pressurizing the cover 30 in an opening direction from the inside of the inlet box 20 when the cover 30 is to be touched to perform the opening operation of the cover 30; an illumination device provided inside the inlet box 20; and a switch for lighting the illumination device. The switch is configured to be ON by the operation of pressurizing the cover 30 in the opening direction by the pressurizing mechanism 60 and to be OFF when the pressurizing mechanism 60 is pushed back by the closing operation of the cover 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to an inlet box assembly for a vehicle including an inlet box attached to an outer panel of the vehicle, and a lid that is connected to the inlet box via a hinge mechanism and opens and closes an opening of the inlet box.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique related to the above-described vehicle inlet box assembly.
In the technique of Patent Document 1, the lid portion of the inlet box having the fuel filler opening is configured to be opened and closed by remote operation from the passenger compartment. And when the said cover part is open | released, it is comprised so that the illumination in the said inlet box may light.
For this reason, the efficiency of the refueling work in a dark place is improved.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-121920

However, in the above-described inlet box assembly, the illumination in the inlet box is turned on when the lid is opened by a remote operation from the passenger compartment. For this reason, the light is turned on not only while the occupant is refueling but also when the occupant is in the driver's seat. That is, since the lighting is turned on other than when the occupant performs the refueling operation, battery power is wasted.
In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to provide a lighting switch in the inlet box. However, in order to provide a lighting switch at a position where an occupant can easily operate in the inlet box, it is necessary to increase the opening area of the inlet box, which is not preferable because the inlet box is enlarged.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to minimize the lighting time of the lighting by providing a lighting switch in the inlet box. In addition, the opening area of the inlet box is not increased by providing the switch.

The above-described problems are solved by the inventions of the claims.
The invention of claim 1 is an inlet box assembly for a vehicle comprising an inlet box attached to an outer panel of the vehicle, and a lid that is connected to the inlet box via a hinge mechanism and opens and closes the opening of the inlet box. When the lid is touched to open the lid, a pressing mechanism that presses the lid from the inlet box in the opening direction, illumination provided in the inlet box, and the illumination The switch is turned on when the pressing mechanism presses the lid portion in the opening direction, and the pressing mechanism is pushed back by the closing operation of the lid portion. It is characterized by being configured to be turned off.

According to the present invention, when the lid is touched and opened, the pressing mechanism presses the lid in the opening direction, thereby turning on the illumination switch. Accordingly, the illumination in the inlet box is turned on only when the vehicle is charged or refueled. Then, when the charging operation or the refueling operation is completed and the lid portion is closed, the illumination is turned off. For this reason, the lighting time of the illumination is minimized and battery power is not wasted.
Further, since the lighting is not turned on by directly operating the switch, it is not necessary to arrange the switch at an operable position in the inlet box. For this reason, the freedom degree of arrangement | positioning of the said switch improves and it becomes unnecessary to enlarge the opening area of an inlet box by providing the said switch.

According to the invention of claim 2, the pressing mechanism is attached to the inlet box and the shaft-shaped member that presses the lid portion on one end side in the axial direction and presses the movable portion of the switch on the other end side in the axial direction. A guide tube portion that supports the shaft member in a state in which the shaft member is slidable in the axial direction, a spring that biases the shaft member in the pressing direction of the lid portion with respect to the guide tube portion, and the guide tube And a connecting mechanism configured to be able to release the connection in the axial direction, and the connecting mechanism is configured such that the lid is closed and the shaft-shaped member is connected. When the shaft member is pushed to a predetermined position against the spring force, the shaft member and the guide tube portion are connected, and the lid portion is further pressed in the closing direction from the closed position, so that the shaft member Is pushed from a predetermined position so that the shaft-shaped member and the guide And cancels the connection between the cylindrical portion.
Thus, since the switch is provided at a position overlapping the pressing mechanism, it is not necessary to increase the opening area of the inlet box by providing the switch.

  According to the invention of claim 3, a charging connector to which a power source side connector is connected when charging a vehicle battery is housed in the inlet box.

  According to the present invention, the illumination lighting time can be minimized by providing the illumination switch in the inlet box. Even if the switch is provided, it is not necessary to increase the opening area of the inlet box.

It is a perspective view of a vehicle provided with the inlet box assembly concerning this embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the inlet box assembly concerning this embodiment from the front side. It is the perspective view (A figure) showing the state which opened the cover part of the inlet box assembly which concerns on this embodiment, and the electrical circuit schematic diagram (B figure) for the illumination in an inlet box. It is a disassembled perspective view showing the attachment structure of the said inlet box assembly. It is a plane sectional view showing the fully closed state of the lid part of the inlet box assembly. It is a plane sectional view showing the fully closed vicinity state of the lid part of the inlet box assembly. They are an expanded plane sectional view (A figure) of the press mechanism of the said inlet box assembly, a perspective view (B figure) of the shaft-shaped member which comprises the said press mechanism, and the C section enlarged view (C figure) of B figure. It is the plane sectional view (A figure) showing the lid pressing operation of the said press mechanism, and the B section enlarged view (B figure) of A figure.

[Embodiment 1]
The vehicle inlet box assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
<About the outline of the inlet box assembly 10>
The vehicle inlet box assembly according to the present embodiment is a resin inlet box assembly to which a charging connector such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle is attached. As shown in FIG. 1, a predetermined position on the side surface of the outer panel 2 of the vehicle is provided. Mounted on. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and the like, the inlet box assembly 10 includes a resin inlet box 20, a resin lid 30 that opens and closes the opening 22 of the inlet box 20, and the inlet box 20. It is comprised from the hinge mechanism 40 which connects the cover part 30 in the state which can be rotated.
Here, front and rear, left and right, and top and bottom in the figure correspond to front and rear, left and right, and top and bottom of a vehicle including the inlet box assembly.

<Inlet box 20>
As shown in FIGS. 3A, 4, and the like, the inlet box 20 includes a box main body portion 21 that houses the charging connector 50, and a front overhang portion 23 that protrudes forward from the front side surface of the box main body portion 21. It consists of and. The box body portion 21 is formed in a substantially cup shape, and a circular flange portion 21 f is formed on the periphery of the opening 22 of the box body portion 21. A rubber seal 21e is attached along the periphery of the flange portion 21f.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, an illumination 27 that illuminates the charging connector 50 is provided on the upper side surface of the box body 21. Furthermore, a pressing mechanism 60 (described later) is provided on the rear upper surface of the box main body 21 to press the rotation free end side of the lid 30 when the lid 30 is opened.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a floor surface opening 21h through which a cable (not shown) connected to the charging connector 50 housed in the box main body 21 is formed is formed at the bottom of the box main body 21. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 4, a bolt 215 for attaching the inlet box 20 to the outer panel 2 of the vehicle protrudes substantially perpendicularly to the back surface of the flange portion 21f on the back side of the flange portion 21f of the box body portion 21. Is formed. The bolts 215 are provided at intervals of about 90 ° in the circumferential direction of the flange portion 21 f so that two bolts 215 are arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the box main body portion 21.
The front overhanging portion 23 of the inlet box 20 is formed in a substantially square bag shape opened on the box body portion 21 side. Then, in the front overhanging portion 23 of the inlet box 20, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, etc., the planar substantially U-shaped hinge lever 35 constituting the lid portion 30 of the inlet box assembly 10 rotates the hinge mechanism 40. It is stored so that it can rotate around the center.
Further, on the right side of the front end of the front overhanging portion 23 of the inlet box 20, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper bearing portion 23j through which the end portions of the hinge pins 41 of the hinge mechanism 40 are respectively passed through the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion. And a lower bearing portion (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and the like, the outer panel 2 of the vehicle is formed with a circular recess 2k in which the lid portion 30 of the inlet box assembly 10 is accommodated, and the inlet is located at the bottom of the recess 2k. A substantially cross-shaped hole 2j into which the box 20 is inserted is formed. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, bolt holes 215 through which the four bolts 215 provided in the flange portion 21 f of the inlet box 20 are respectively inserted at the peripheral edge 2 f of the hole portion 2 j, that is, at the bottom of the recess 2 k. 2b is formed.
Therefore, the inlet box 20 is inserted into the hole 2j of the outer panel 2, and the four bolts 215 of the inlet box 20 are passed through the bolt holes 2b of the outer panel 2 as shown in FIG. By tightening the nut N to each bolt 215, the inlet box 20 can be attached to the vehicle.

<About the lid 30>
The lid 30 is a disc-shaped lid that closes the opening 22 of the inlet box 20 in a state where the lid 30 is arranged coaxially with the flange 21f of the inlet box 20 as shown in FIGS. The main body 32 and the hinge lever 35 that connects the lid main body 32 to the inlet box 20 via the hinge mechanism 40 as described above. The lid body 32 is set to have an outer diameter that is substantially equal to the flange portion 21 f of the inlet box 20, and is configured to be stored in the circular recess 2 k of the outer panel 2. As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the lid body 32 is configured by combining a front surface plate portion 32f and a back surface plate portion 32u. And the cover part 32c of the connector 50 for charge is formed in the center position of the back surface board part 32u. Moreover, the rotation free end side of the hinge lever 35 is connected with the front-end part of the back surface board part 32u.
The hinge mechanism 40 is a mechanism for connecting the lid 30 to the inlet box 20 in a state in which the lid 30 can be rotated substantially horizontally, and the lid 30 is fully closed or fully opened by the spring force of a spring (not shown). It is configured so that it can be retained.

<Pressing mechanism 60>
As shown in FIG. 6, the pressing mechanism 60 presses the rotation free end side of the lid 30 from the inlet box 20 and opens the switch 28 of the illumination 27 (FIG. 3B). ))). As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pressing mechanism 60 includes a pressing mechanism main body 61 and a switch operating unit 70.
As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the pressing mechanism main body portion 61 includes a guide cylinder portion 62 that is attached to the box main body portion 21 at a right angle to the lid portion 30 of the inlet box 20. The guide cylinder part 62 is composed of an outer cylinder 62t and an inner cylinder 62e fitted together in the axial direction, and one end side of the outer cylinder 62t is fixed to the box body part 21. And the shaft-shaped member 64 is accommodated in the guide cylinder part 62 in the state which can slide to an axial direction. The shaft-like member 64 includes a lid pressing shaft 64p protruding from an opening on the inner cylinder 62e side (upper opening in FIG. 7) and a switch pressing shaft 64s protruding from an opening on the outer cylinder 62t side (lower opening). It is configured.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the lid pressing shaft 64p includes a shaft portion main body 64m, a flange portion 64f, and a small-diameter connecting shaft portion 64c, and the lid pressing shaft 64p. When the connecting shaft portion 64c is fitted into the connecting hole 64h of the switch pressing shaft 64s, both the pressing shafts 64p and 64s are coaxially connected.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the shaft-like member 64 is disposed on the inner cylinder 62e side opening (upper side) of the guide cylinder portion 62 around the switch pressing shaft 64s of the shaft-like member 64 inside the guide cylinder portion 62. A coil spring 65 biased so as to protrude from the opening) is mounted.
Further, between the inner cylinder 62e of the guide cylinder portion 62 and the lid pressing shaft 64p of the shaft-like member 64, the inner cylinder 62e and the lid pressing shaft 64p can be connected in the axial direction, or the connection can be released. A structured coupling mechanism 68 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the connecting mechanism 68 includes a ring member 68w that is rotatably mounted around the connecting shaft portion 64c of the lid pressing shaft 64p. The ring member 68w has an outer peripheral claw (not shown) on the outer peripheral surface, and the outer peripheral claw is fitted to a guide groove 68m formed in the inner cylinder 62e of the guide cylinder portion 62 or an engagement groove 68s (described later). Is configured to be possible.
FIG. 8B shows a state where the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is fitted with the guide groove 68m.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7C, one end surface in the axial direction of the ring member 68w (upper surface in FIG. 8B) is formed on one surface (lower surface) of the flange portion 64f of the lid pressing shaft 64p. An inclined surface (not shown) that can slide along the corrugated inclined surface 68k is formed. For this reason, every time the ring member 68w is pushed by the flange portion 64f of the lid pressing shaft 64p and moves in the axial direction together with the lid pressing shaft 64p, the ring member 68w acts as an inclined surface 68k etc. It rotates around the connecting shaft part 64c by a certain angle.
As described above, the guide groove 68m or the engagement groove 68s of the guide cylinder portion 62 is a groove into which the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is fitted, and is constant on the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 62e of the guide cylinder portion 62. They are staggered at angular intervals. For this reason, every time the ring member 68w rotates by a certain angle in accordance with the movement of the lid pressing shaft 64p, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is alternately engaged with the guide groove 68m or the engagement groove 68s. Here, the guide groove 68m is formed from one end side in the axial direction of the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 62e to the other end side, and the engagement groove 68s is an end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 62e (the guide cylinder portion 62). (Center part).

With the above configuration, when the shaft member 64 is pushed in the axial direction against the spring force of the coil spring 65 from the state shown in FIG. 8A, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w extends along the guide groove 68m of the inner cylinder 62e. The ring member 68w is rotated by a certain angle by the action of the inclined surface 68k of the lid pressing shaft 64p when it moves away from the guide groove 68m. Thereby, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is aligned with the position of the engaging groove 68s. As a result, when the hand is released from the shaft-shaped member 64, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is engaged with the engaging groove 68s by the spring force of the coil spring 65, and the shaft-shaped member 64 is pushed into the pressing mechanism main body 61. The state is maintained (see FIG. 7A).
Next, in this state, when the shaft-like member 64 is pushed in the axial direction against the spring force of the coil spring 65, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w comes off from the engagement groove 68s of the inner cylinder 62e, and the ring member 68w. However, the tilting surface 68k of the lid pressing shaft 64p makes a certain angle. Thereby, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is aligned with the position of the guide groove 68m. As a result, when the hand is released from the shaft-like member 64, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is moved along the guide groove 68m by the spring force of the coil spring 65, and the shaft-like member 64 is moved together with the ring member 68w. The shaped member 64 protrudes from the guide tube portion 62 in the direction in which the lid portion 30 is pressed. That is, the pressing mechanism main body 61 is held in a state in which the shaft-like member 64 protrudes (see FIG. 8A).
Here, the pressing mechanism main body 61 is provided with a bellows-shaped protective cover 69 that covers the protruding portion of the shaft-shaped member 64 (lid pressing shaft 64p) so as not to hinder the movement of the shaft-shaped member 64. .

As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the switch operating portion 70 of the pressing mechanism 60 is provided on the other end side (the portion disposed on the back side of the inlet box 20) of the guide cylinder portion 62 (outer cylinder 62t) of the pressing mechanism main body portion 61. The housing portion 72 is attached, and the switch operation lever 74 is configured to be movable in the housing portion 72 and connected to the shaft-like member 64 (switch pressing shaft 64s) of the pressing mechanism main body 61. Yes. Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the switch 30 is pressed against the guide cylindrical portion 62 with the shaft 30 being closed and the shaft 64 of the pressing mechanism main body 61 is pressed. The protrusion amount of 64 s is maximized, and the switch operation lever 74 is held at the lower limit position in FIG. In this state, as shown in FIG. 3B, the switch 28 is turned off and the illumination 27 is turned off.
Also, as shown in FIG. 8A, the switch pressing shaft 64s of the shaft-shaped member 64 with respect to the guide tube portion 62 in a state where the lid portion 30 is opened and the shaft-shaped member 64 of the pressing mechanism main body 61 projects. And the switch operation lever 74 is held at the upper limit position in FIG. In this state, the switch 28 is turned on and the illumination 27 is turned on.
That is, the switch operating lever 74 corresponds to the movable portion of the switch in the present invention.

<Operation of Inlet Box Assembly 10>
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7A, when the lid portion 30 of the inlet box assembly 10 is closed, the shaft-like member 64 of the pressing mechanism main body 61 of the pressing mechanism 60 is held in a pressed state. Therefore, the switch 27 is turned off and the illumination 27 is turned off. Further, the lid portion 30 of the inlet box assembly 10 is held in the fully closed position by a spring force of a spring (not shown) of the hinge mechanism 40.
When the lid 30 is opened in this state, the lid 30 is pressed in the closing direction, and the shaft member 64 of the pressing mechanism 60 (the pressing mechanism main body 61) is pushed by the lid 30. Thereby, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w of the pressing mechanism main body 61 is disengaged from the engagement groove 68s of the inner cylinder 62e, and the ring member 68w is rotated by a fixed angle by the action of the inclined surface 68k of the shaft-like member 64. Thereby, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is aligned with the position of the guide groove 68m of the inner cylinder 62e. As a result, when the hand is released from the lid portion 30, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68 w moves along the guide groove 68 m by the spring force of the coil spring 65, and the shaft-like member 64 moves the lid portion 30 from the guide tube portion 62. It protrudes in the pressing direction (see FIGS. 6 and 8A).
As a result, the lid 30 is opened by a certain amount, and the switch 28 is turned on to turn on the illumination 27. In this state, the lid 30 can be opened to the fully open position. Further, since the illumination 27 is turned on, it becomes easy to connect the power supply side connector (not shown) to the charging connector 50 even in a dark position.

  When closing the lid 30 of the inlet box assembly 10, the fully opened lid 30 is closed to the position near the fully closed position in FIG. 8A against the spring force of the spring (not shown) of the hinge mechanism 40. Next, the lid 30 is pressed in the closing direction, and the shaft-like member 64 of the pressing mechanism 60 (the pressing mechanism main body 61) is pushed in by the lid 30. Thereby, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w of the pressing mechanism main body 61 is disengaged from the guide groove 68m of the inner cylinder 62e, and the ring member 68w is rotated by a fixed angle by the action of the inclined surface 68k of the shaft member 64. Thereby, the outer peripheral claw of the ring member 68w is aligned with the position of the engagement groove 68s of the inner cylinder 62e. As a result, when the hand is released from the lid 30, the outer circumferential claw of the ring member 68 w is engaged with the engagement groove 68 s by the spring force of the coil spring 65, and the pressing mechanism main body 61 is in a state where the shaft-like member 64 is pushed in. Retained. Further, when the switch 28 is turned off, the illumination 27 is turned off. The lid 30 is held in the fully closed position by the spring force of the spring (not shown) of the hinge mechanism 40.

<Advantages of the inlet box assembly 10 according to the present embodiment>
According to the inlet box assembly 10 according to the present embodiment, when the lid portion 30 is touched and opened, the pressing mechanism 60 presses the lid portion 30 in the opening direction, and thereby the switch 28 of the illumination 27 is turned on. It becomes like this. Therefore, the illumination 27 in the inlet box 20 is turned on only when the vehicle is actually charged. Then, when the charging operation is finished and the lid portion 30 is closed, the illumination 27 is turned off. For this reason, the lighting time of the illumination is minimized and battery power is not wasted.
Further, since the switch 28 is not directly operated to turn on the illumination 27, it is not necessary to arrange the switch 28 at an operable position in the inlet box 20. For this reason, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the switch 28 is improved, and it is not necessary to increase the opening area of the inlet box 20 by providing the switch 28.
That is, since the switch 28 is provided at a position overlapping the pressing mechanism 60, the opening area of the inlet box 20 is not increased by providing the switch 28.

<Example of change>
Here, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, an example in which the shaft-like member 64 is configured by the lid pressing shaft 64p and the switch pressing shaft 64s has been described, but the lid pressing shaft 64p and the switch pressing shaft 64s can be integrally formed. is there.
Moreover, although the inlet box assembly 10 provided with the connector 50 for charging was illustrated in this embodiment, it is also possible to apply this invention to the inlet box assembly provided with an oil filler port instead of the connector 50 for charging.

2 ... Outer panel 20 ... Inlet box 27 ... Illumination 28 ... Switch 30 ... Lid 40 ... Hinge mechanism 50 ... Charging connector 60 ... Pressing mechanism 62 ...・ Guide cylinder part 64 ... shaft-like member 65 ... coil spring (spring)
68 ... coupling mechanism 70 ... switch operation part 72 ... housing part 74 ... switch operation lever (movable part of the switch)

Claims (3)

An inlet box assembly for a vehicle comprising: an inlet box attached to an outer panel of the vehicle; and a lid that is connected to the inlet box via a hinge mechanism and opens and closes the opening of the inlet box,
When the lid is touched to open the lid, the pressing mechanism presses the lid in the opening direction from the inlet box;
Lighting provided in the inlet box;
A switch for turning on the illumination,
The switch is configured to be turned on when the pressing mechanism presses the lid portion in the opening direction, and to be turned off when the pressing mechanism is pushed back by the closing operation of the lid portion. Vehicle inlet box assembly. An inlet box assembly for a vehicle according to claim 1,
The pressing mechanism is
An axial member that presses the lid at one axial end, and presses the movable portion of the switch at the other axial end;
A guide tube portion attached to the inlet box and supporting the shaft-like member in a state in which the shaft-like member is slidable in an axial direction;
A spring for urging the shaft-shaped member in the pressing direction of the lid portion with respect to the guide tube portion;
The guide tube portion and the shaft-shaped member are connected in the axial direction, or a connection mechanism configured to be able to release the connection,
The connecting mechanism connects the shaft-shaped member and the guide tube portion when the cover is closed and the shaft-shaped member is pushed to a predetermined position against the spring force. An inlet box for a vehicle, wherein the shaft portion is further pushed in the closing direction from the closed position, and the shaft-like member is pushed from a predetermined position to release the connection between the shaft-like member and the guide tube portion. Assembly. An inlet box assembly for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 and 2,
The vehicle inlet box assembly is characterized in that a charging connector to which a power supply side connector is connected when the vehicle battery is charged is housed in the inlet box.

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