ANTI-MISFUELING FILLER NECK DEVICE

• US 20140332529A1
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: KIM, Myeong Hwan, Ryu, Bu Yeol, LEE, Bo Sung
• Granted Patent: US 9,272,617 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 220/86.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 15/04 Tank inlets B60K15/077 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2015/0458 Details of the tank inlet
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2015/0461 comprising a filler pipe shutter, e.g. trap, door or flap for fuel inlet
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2015/0483 Means to inhibit the introduction of too small or too big filler nozzles

Abstract

An anti-misfueling filler neck device includes sliding projections mounted at the bottom of a housing to move laterally to allow a flapper to be opened only when a fuel gun for a diesel vehicle is inserted, thus preventing gasoline from being injected into the diesel vehicle.

Claims

1. An anti-misfueling filler neck device configured to prevent different types of fuel from being supplied, the anti-misfueling filler neck device comprising:

a housing into which a fuel gun is inserted;

sliding projections mounted at the bottom of the housing so as to slide laterally and face each other;

springs interconnecting the sliding projections horizontally to elastically support the sliding projections;

a stopper including a locking groove and formed on one of the sliding projections; and

a flapper having a hinge structure and rotatably mounted on the other sliding projection to open and close a lower opening of the housing,

wherein when a fuel gun having a relatively small diameter is inserted while the flapper is locked and closed by the locking groove of the stopper, the sliding projections are tightened by the springs such that the flapper is maintained in the closed state, and when a fuel gun having a relatively large diameter is inserted, the sliding projections are opened more widely than the length of the flapper such that the flapper is released from the stopper and opened.

2. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the flapper is rotated to its original position by a torsion spring and is opened only when a diesel fuel gun is inserted.

3. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the stopper is in the form of a locking groove with a C-shaped cross-section, and is formed on a lower end of the sliding projection and a tapered portion is formed to be inclined downwardly from an inlet end of the stopper such that the flapper is rotated to its original position and inserted and locked into the stopper.

4. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the sliding projection comprises horizontal wing portions formed in parallel to project laterally from both sides of the sling projection, the horizontal wing portions being inserted into guide grooves formed horizontally on the side of the housing to guide the horizontal movement of the sliding projection.

5. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 4, wherein the horizontal wing portions of the sling projection have flat upper and lower surfaces and are prevented from being rotated when they are moved along the guide grooves of the housing.

6. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises side plates formed in parallel to project laterally from both sides of the bottom of the housing and the guide grooves formed horizontally on the side plates, thus guiding the horizontal movement of the sliding projections.

7. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the sliding projection comprises an sliding portion including a substantially right-angled triangular cross-section on the top of the sliding projection and has a round edge in contact with the fuel gun such that the interval between the sliding projections is minimized even when the fuel gun is inserted obliquely, thus preventing the flapper from being released from the locking groove of the stopper.

8. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, the housing comprises semi-circular plate springs arranged axially on the inside of the housing, thus preventing the flapper from being opened when the fuel gun is inserted obliquely.

9. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises an inlet portion including a diameter that increases toward the top of the housing and is formed at an upper end of the housing, and thus the housing has an integrated structure with a retainer.

10. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 9, wherein one side of the inlet portion of the housing is biased from the central axis of the housing and has a large opening area, and an air vent hole is formed on one side the biased inlet portion, thus easily discharging air to the outside during fueling.

11. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a position regulation groove formed on one side of an upper edge of the housing, thereby preventing misassembling of the housing.

12. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, further comprising a case including a fuel inlet, mounted on a vehicle body and into which the fuel gun is installed, and a fuel pipe detachably connected to a lower end of the fuel inlet, wherein the housing is supported between a flange portion formed at a lower end of the fuel inlet and a flange portion formed at an upper end of the fuel pipe using a side support plate projecting from the side of the housing.

13. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, wherein the rear side of the sliding projection is in the form of a circular curved shape with a constant curvature so as to minimize the size of the case surrounding the housing, the sliding projections, and the flapper.

14. The anti-misfueling filler neck device of claim 1, further comprising an elastic ring mounted to surround the sliding projections at both sides and the outer surface of the housing such that the sliding projections are located in the center of the housing when the fuel gun is removed from the fuel inlet.