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US 9,327,593 B2Granted
Fuel housing assemblies with primary and secondary fuel door lock systems
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorDavid Lafayette Minock
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel housing assembly for a vehicle includes a fuel door. A primary fuel door lock system includes a locking shaft having a locked configuration where a locking end of the locking shaft engages a locking member of the fuel door to inhibit opening of the fuel door and an unlocked configuration where the locking end of the locking shaft is removed from the locking member to allow opening of the fuel door. A secondary fuel door lock system is connected to the locking shaft by a decoupling structure that allows movement of the locking shaft between the locked and unlocked configurations relative to the secondary fuel door lock system.
Claims20
A fuel housing assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a fuel door;
- a primary fuel door lock system comprising a locking shaft extending in a first direction, the locking shaft having a locked configuration where a locking end of the locking shaft engages a locking member of the fuel door to inhibit opening of the fuel door and an unlocked configuration where the locking end of the locking shaft is removed from the locking member to allow opening of the fuel door;
- and
- a secondary fuel door lock system that is connected to the locking shaft by a decoupling structure that allows movement of the locking shaft between the locked and unlocked configurations relative to the secondary fuel door lock system;
- wherein the decoupling structure comprises a loop portion, the loop portion receiving a connector component comprising a connecting portion extending outwardly from the locking shaft in a second direction, wherein the second direction is different from the first direction, wherein the connector component further comprises an enlarged head portion and a positioning paddle, and wherein the positioning paddle is connected to the locking shaft via the connecting portion and the positioning paddle extends outward along a lengthwise direction of the loop portion beyond the enlarged head portion.
2 more elements
A vehicle comprising:
- a fuel door;
- a primary fuel door lock system mounted within the vehicle comprising:
- a locking shaft having a locked configuration where a locking end of the locking shaft engages a locking member of the fuel door to inhibit opening of the fuel door and an unlocked configuration where the locking end of the locking shaft is removed from the locking member to allow opening of the fuel door;
- and
- an actuator for locating the locking shaft in the locked and unlocked configurations;
- and
- a secondary fuel door lock system that is connected to the locking shaft by a decoupling structure, the secondary fuel door lock system including a release cable that is manually graspable by an operator for locating the locking shaft in the unlocked configuration;
- wherein the decoupling structure comprises a loop portion, the loop portion receiving a connector component extending outwardly from the locking shaft, the connector component comprising an enlarged head portion and a positioning paddle that extends outward along a lengthwise direction of the loop portion beyond the enlarged head portion.
5 more elements
A vehicle comprising:
- a fuel door;
- a primary fuel door lock system mounted within the vehicle, the primary fuel door lock system comprising:
- a locking shaft extending in a first direction, the locking shaft having a locked configuration where a locking end of the locking shaft engages a locking member of the fuel door to inhibit opening of the fuel door and an unlocked configuration where the locking end of the locking shaft is removed from the locking member to allow opening of the fuel door;
- and
- an actuator mounted within the vehicle using a mounting bracket that locates the locking shaft in the locked and unlocked configurations;
- and
- a secondary fuel door lock system that is connected to the locking shaft by a decoupling structure that allows movement of the locking shaft between the locked and unlocked configurations relative to the secondary fuel door lock system;
- wherein the decoupling structure comprises a loop portion, the loop portion receiving a connector component comprising an enlarged head portion and a positioning paddle, wherein the positioning paddle is connected to the locking shaft via a first arm extending outwardly from the locking shaft in a second direction and a connecting portion extending outwardly from the locking shaft in a third direction, and wherein the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction are each different.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.