Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of automobiles. Particularly,
5 but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to the construction and
mechanism for a shutter for a lock on a cap of a fuel tank.
Background
Generally, vehicle manufacturers are proving vehicles with a fuel tank that may
10 have different shapes. The shape of the fuel tank may be decided in accordance
with space available during providing space to other parts/units. Accordingly, a
fuel tank 15 cap may have different configurations and correspondingly size of the
fuel tank cap may also vary. As shown in FIG. 1.1 and 1.2, in existing caps of fuel
tank, in which there is lock in-built, a shutter is provided prevent the exposure of
15 the lock opening to dust and other environment conditions, or to hide the keyhole
of a lock. The shutter is moved to access the keyhole of the lock. In conventions
caps, the shutter is mounted using a screw assembly.
The screw assembly may include screw and washers along with other components.
20 The screw of the screw assembly also acts as an axis of rotation of the shutter for
movement of the shutter to access the keyhole. The screw assembly for mounting
of the shutter requires considerably large amount of space to accommodate the
components of the screw assembly such as screw and washer. Also, the
corresponding provisions provided in the shutter, such as corresponding threads to
25 receive the screw threads, may also require space and increase the overall size and
space requirement for the overall cap assembly. Also, the screw might need to be
adjusted during assembly or repair and the screw might interfere with overall
working of the fuel tank cap. For example, the head of the screw might interfere in
proper sealing of the cap over the neck of the fuel tank. Therefore, there may be
30 loss of sealing of the fuel tank which may be hazardous.
3
Present disclosure addresses one or more problems as discussed above, and other
problems associated with the art.
Summary
5
An assembly of cap for a fuel tank is disclosed. The cap has a lock for locking the
cap over the fuel tank. The assembly includes a cover that defines an opening for
access to the lock. The assembly has a shutter having a plate configured to cover
the opening and a shaft extending from the plate. The shaft is configured for
10 passing through a hole defined in the cover. A groove is defined at a distal end of
the shaft. A circlip is inserted in the groove for retaining the shutter on the cover.
In an aspect, the assembly includes a shutter spring positioned on the shaft between
the cover and the circlip. The shutter spring is configured to bias the plate towards
15 the cover.
In an aspect, the assembly includes a washer placed between the shutter spring and
the circlip, the washer retained on the shaft by the circlip and the washer configured
to abut the shutter spring.
20
In an aspect, the shutter spring is a conical spring.
In an aspect, the plate is circular in shape.
25 In an aspect, the shaft is cylindrical in shape.
In an aspect, the lock is a cylinder lock.
In an aspect, the assembly includes a rubber pad placed between the cover and the
30 shutter.
4
In an aspect, the cover defines a seat on an inner surface of the cover, the seat
configured for supporting the shutter spring.
In an aspect, the circlip has a rectangular cross section.
5
Brief Description of Drawings
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-section of a conventional cap of a fuel tank.
FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of a cap for a fuel tank in accordance with an
embodiment of the present disclosure.
10 FIG. 3 illustrates a magnified view of the portion marked in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of an assembly of the cap as shown in FIG. 2.
Detailed Description
Present disclosure provides for a cap assembly for a fuel tank. In particular the
15 present disclosure provides for a mounting construction for mounting a shutter on
the cap. The cap may have a lock inbuilt for locking and/or unlocking of the cap
over a filler neck of a fuel tank of the vehicle as known in the art. The lock may be
cylinder lock or any other lock operable by a key. The top portion of the cap may
have a provision for access to the lock, for example, the provision may be a
20 keyhole. The cap further has a shutter that is configured for covering the provision
for access to the lock. The shutter may be in form of a plate made of durable
material to cover the provision such as a keyhole of the lock. The shutter is
mounted and secured on the cap using a retainer affixed to the shaft.
25 Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a cap assembly (10) for a fuel tank is disclosed.
The assembly (10) may have a housing (12), a cover (14), a lock, and a shutter
(16). The cover (14) is mounted over the housing (12). The housing (12) and the
cover (14) define a cavity wherein the lock is positioned. The cover (14) defines
an opening (18) on the top portion of the cover (14) to provide access to lock. As
30 shown in FIG. 2, a keyhole of the lock may be positioned flush with a top surface
of the cover (14).
5
The housing (12) supports the cover (14) and the lock. Further, the housing (12)
also defines engagement means, such as threads, for engagement of the cap with a
filler neck of a fuel tank. The housing (12) may have several provisions for
5 mounting and supporting of other components of the cap. For example, the housing
(12) defines a circular groove for receiving a string (20) that securely tethers the
cap with the filler neck.
The lock may be a cylinder lock. The lock may have a rotor (22), a stator (24) and
10 a lever (26). The lock may be assembled with suitable components, such as a
retaining plate (28) and a lever spring (30), in the cap assembly (10). Suitable
provision may be provided in the housing (12) and the cover (14) for mounting of
the lock as required.
15 As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the shutter (16) has a plate (32) and a shaft
(34). The plate (32) may be configured to cover the opening (18) defined by the
cover (14). The opening (18) may be configured for providing access to the lock.
The plate (32) may be circular in shape.
20 The shaft (34) extends perpendicularly from the plane of the plate (32). The shaft
(34) preferably extends from the peripheral portion the plate (32). The shaft (34)
and the plate (32) may be made integrally. The dimensions of the shutter (16) and
the cover (14) are such that the plate (32) of the shutter (16) partially covers the
top portion of the cover (14). The plate (32) of the shutter (16) is positioned on the
25 top portion of the cover (14) such that the plate (32) of the shutter (16) covers
access (such as a keyhole) to the lock when the shutter (16) is in a closed position.
FIG. 2 illustrates the shutter (16) in closed position.
As shown in FIG. 2, in an assembled state of the cap assembly (10), the shaft (34)
30 of the shutter (16) is positioned offset from an axis (36) of the cap. The shutter (16)
is configured for rotation relative to the cover (14) about the axis (38) of the shaft
6
(34) when the cap is in assembled state. The plate (32) may move in a plane
substantially perpendicular to the axis (36) of the cap for movement of shutter (16)
between the closed position and an open position. In open position, the plate (32)
of the shutter (16) uncovers the access to the lock for a user to access the lock. The
5 shaft (34) may be cylindrical in shape.
The shutter (16) is mounted on the cover (14). FIG. 3 illustrates a magnified view
of the portion of FIG 2 marked in rectangle (100). Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.
The cover (14) defines a hole (40) for receiving the shaft (34) of the shutter (16).
10 The width of the hole (40) may correspond with width of the shaft (34). The hole
(40) may receive the shaft (34) abuttingly however, may allow the shutter (16) to
rotate about the shaft (34) for movement of the shutter (16) between the closed
position to the open position. After the shaft (34) is inserted through the hole (40),
the plate (32) may abut the top of the cover (14). As shown in FIG. 2, the length of
15 the shaft (34) is greater than the thickness of the portion of the cover (14) around
the hole (40). Therefore, the shaft (34) passes through the hole (40) and juts out
towards the inner portion of the cover (14).
The shaft (34) may have a plate end adjoining the plate (32) and a distal end away
20 from the plate (32). The shaft (34) defines a groove (42) on the distal end of the
shaft (34). The groove (42) is configured for receiving a retainer (44). In the
embodiment as shown, the retainer (44) is shown as a circlip (44). The circlip (44)
and the groove (42) may have a rectangular cross section. Further, the dimensions
of the circlip (44) may be such that after inserting the circlip (44) in the groove
25 (42), an outer portion of the circlip (44) juts out from the outer surface of the shaft
(34). In other words, after insertion of the circlip (44) in the groove (42), the outer
diameter of the circlip (44) may be greater than the outer diameter of the shaft (34)
and the diameter of the hole (40) in the cover (14). This way the circlip (44) may
provide a retaining surface for retaining the cover (14) or other components on the
30 shaft (34).
7
As shown in FIG. 2, a shutter spring (46) may be placed between the circlip (44)
and the cover (14) to bias the plate (32) of the shutter (16) towards the top portion
of the cover (14). The shutter spbring (46) may have a circlip end and a cover end.
As shown in FIG. 2, an inner surface of the cover (14) may define a seat (48) for
5 receiving the cover end of a shutter spring (46). The circlip end of the shutter spring
(46) may be oriented towards the circlip (44). As shown in FIG. 2, the shutter
spring (46) may be any known spring such as compressions spring, conical spring,
etc. Conical spring may provide greater rotating torque. The conical spring may
provide greater compression on the rubber pad (52) as compared to a helical spring
10 resulting in providing more effective sealing contact between the rubber pad (52)
and the plate (32) of the shutter (16). In addition, the Conical spring may require
less height as compared to the normal compression spring, thus making the
assembly compact. The shutter spring (46) may be placed over the shaft (34). The
narrower end may be the circlip end and the wider end may be the cover end of the
15 spring.
In the embodiment as shown, a circlip (44) is used as a retainer (44). It may be
understood that any other provision may be used as a retainer (44). For example,
the groove (42) may be a transverse hole oriented in an axis perpendicular to the
20 axis (38) of the shaft (34). The retainer (44), instead of the circlip, may be a pin.
The pin may be inserted into the hole to retain the shutter on the cover, and to retain
the washer (50) and/or the shutter spring (46) on the shaft (34).
Yet, in an embodiment, instead of washer and a shutter spring, a conical washer
25 may be used. The conical washer may act as both, the shutter spring and the washer.
This may further reduce the overall number of parts and may further reduce the
overall height of the mounting construction of the shutter.
A washer (50) may be placed between the circlip end and the circlip (44). The
30 washer (50) may be supported on the shaft (34) of the shutter (16) with the circlip
(44). In other words, the circlip (44) may be configured for retaining the washer
8
(50) on the shaft (34). The shutter spring (46) thus may abut the washer (50) at one
end the seat (48) on the cover (14) at the other end to bias the plate (32) of the
shutter (16) against top of the cover (14).
5 A rubber pad (52) may be provided on the top of the cover (14). The rubber pad
(52) may be positioned between the plate (32) and the cover (14) when the shutter
(16) is in closed position. The rubber pad (52) may prevent abrasion between the
cover (14) and the shutter (16) due to movement of the shutter (16) relative to the
cover (14). Also, the rubber pad (52) may provide for friction to retain the shutter
10 (16) in the closed position. In addition, the rubber pad provides a sealing contact
with the shutter to prevent entry of dust and/or water towards the keyhole.
A method of assembly of the cap is described now. The rubber pad (52) is placed
on the top portion of the cover (14). Then the shaft (34) of the shutter (16) is
15 inserted in the hole (40) provided on the top portion of the cover (14). The shutter
spring (46) is placed over the shaft (34) with the cover end of the shutter spring
(46) towards the seat (48) defined on the inner surface of the cover (14) and the
circlip end positioned towards the groove (42). A washer (50) may be placed over
the shaft (34) and over the circlip end of the shutter spring (46). While pressing the
20 washer (50) and/or the spring to expose the groove (42), the circlip (44) may be
inserted in the groove (42) to retain the washer (50) and the spring on the shaft
(34). This completes the assembly of the shutter (16) with the cover (14) of the cap.
Rest of the components of the cap may be assembled as known in the art. The lock
may be placed in the housing (12) and the housing (12) may be placed against the
25 bottom portion of the cover (14) to attach the cover (14) with the housing (12) and
thus retain the lock.
The cap assembly (10) as disclosed herein provides for a cap that is lesser in
number of parts. Further, the assembly of the shutter (16) with the cap requires less
30 space. Therefore, there is greater degree of freedom in design of the cap. Also, the
cap can be made compact. Furthermore, the overall assembly process is made
9
simpler and quicker. Therefore, manufacturing the cap as disclosed herein is
economical. The assembly of shutter (16) with the cap as disclosed herein has less
height that is easily adjustable in space constrained area. Due to lesser height of
the shutter (16) mounting assembly, the height of the cover (14) may also be
5 reduced.
The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended
to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device that comprises a list
of components does not include only those components but may include other
10 components not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device. In other words,
one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does
not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or
additional elements in the system or apparatus. Accordingly, the present disclosure
relates to the construction and mechanism of a shutter (16) for fuel tank cap lock
15 for vehicles.
List of Reference Numerals
Cap assembly (10)
20 Housing (12)
Cover (14)
Shutter (16)
Opening (18)
String (20)
25 Rotor (22)
Stator (24)
Lever (26)
Retaining plate (28)
Lever spring (30)
30 Plate (32)
Shaft (34)
10
Axis of cap (36)
Axis of shaft (38)
Hole (40)
Groove (42)
5 Retainer (44)
Shutter spring (46)
Seat (48)
Washer (50)
Rubber pad (52)

We claim:

1. An assembly (10) of cap for a fuel tank, the cap having a lock for locking
the cap over the fuel tank, the assembly (10) comprising:
a cover (14) defining an opening (18) for access to the lock;
5 a shutter (16) having a plate (32) configured to cover the opening (18) and
a shaft (34) extending from the plate (32), the shaft (34) configured for passing
through a hole (40) defined in the cover (14);
a retainer (44) inserted in the groove (42) for retaining the shutter (16) on
the cover (14).
10
2. The assembly (10) as claimed in the claim 1, comprising a shutter spring
(46) positioned on the shaft (34) between the cover (14) and the retainer (44), the
shutter spring (46) configured to bias the plate (32) towards the cover (14).
15 3. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 2, comprising a washer (50) placed
between the shutter spring (46) and the retainer (44), the washer (50) retained on
the shaft (34) by the retainer (44) and the washer (50) configured to abut the shutter
spring (46).
20 4. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the shutter
spring (46) is a conical spring.
5. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plate (32) is circular
in shape.
25
12
6. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft (34) is
cylindrical in shape.
7. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lock is a cylinder
5 lock.
8. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a rubber pad (52)
placed between the cover (14) and the shutter (16).
10 9. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 2 or claim 4, wherein the cover (14)
defines a seat (48) on an inner surface of the cover (14), the seat (48) configured
for supporting the shutter spring (46).
10. The assembly (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circlip (44) has a
15 rectangular cross section.
11. A method of assembly of the cap as claimed in claims 1-3, the method
comprising:
passing the shaft (34) of the shutter into the (16) through the hole (40) of
20 the cover (14); and
installing the retainer (44) in the groove (42) of the shaft (34).
12. The method as claimed in claim 11, the method comprising:
placing the shutter spring (46) on the shaft (34) after passing the
25 shaft (34) through the hole (40) and before installing the retainer (44).
13
13. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising:
placing washer (50) over the shaft (34) after placing the shutter
spring (46) and before installing the retainer (44).