CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is based on, claims priority to, and incorporates by reference in its entirety Chinese patent application number 201711445559.5, filed Dec. 27, 2017.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a door lock, and in particular to a refueling or charging port door lock assembly of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND

A fuel vehicle is provided with a refueling port for fuel or oil supply, and an electric vehicle is also correspondingly provided with a charging port for electric power supply. The current refueling or charging port is covered by a flap, and a door lock is used to lock the flap on the refueling or charging port. When refueling or charging is required, the flap can open to expose the refueling or charging port, and then can close after replenishment of fuel or electric power. However, in the process of opening and closing the flap of the current refueling or charging port, the movement speed of the flap cannot be controlled, causing the flap to shake and fail to open at a constant speed and in a steady manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a refueling or charging port door lock assembly, which can realize the opening of a refueling or charging port flap at a constant speed and in a steady manner.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present disclosure provides a refueling or charging port door lock assembly, comprising: a housing having a hollow structure; a lifting shaft provided inside the housing, with a top end of the lifting shaft being configured for assembling a refueling or charging port flap, the lifting shaft being rotationally fixed and linearly movable relative to the housing along a first portion and threadably engaged with the housing along a second portion; a driving spring, with one end of the driving spring being fixed, and the other end thereof abutting against the lifting shaft for driving the lifting shaft to move relative to the housing; and a buffering device configured to provide a buffering function as the second portion moves relative to the housing.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, an upper part of the housing is provided with a mounting plate and the buffering device is connected to the mounting plate.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, the buffering device comprises: a gear mounted to an upper part of the lifting shaft; and a damper mounted above the mounting plate and meshes with the gear.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, the lifting shaft has a hollow cylinder shape, the one end of the driving spring is fixed to a lower end of the housing, and the other end thereof abuts against the inside of the lifting shaft.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, the lifting shaft is provided with at least one guide groove thereon, an upper part of the at least one guide groove is a linear guide groove, and a lower part thereof is a rotary guide groove; an inner wall of the housing is provided with at least one guide pin, and the guide pin can move in the guide groove, such that the lifting shaft can move linearly along the first portion and move linearly and rotationally along the second portion relative to the housing; and an inner wall of the gear is provided with at least one limiting pin, and the limiting pin can move in the guide groove, such that the gear does not move with the lifting shaft when the first portion is engaged with the guide pin and the lifting shaft drives the gear to rotate when the second portion is engaged with the guide pin.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, the door lock assembly further comprises a locking means, wherein the locking means is mounted to a bottom end of the lifting shaft, the locking means has two working states, including a locking state in which the locking means keeps the driving spring in a compressed state and a releasing state in which the locking means releases the driving spring, so that a restoring force of the driving spring can drive the lifting shaft to move relative to the housing.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, the locking means comprises: a locking ring provided around the bottom end of the lifting shaft, an inner wall of the locking ring being provided with at least one locking protrusion; and a locking chute connected to the bottom end of the guide groove, the locking chute comprising at least one locking groove and at least one inclined driving surface, and the locking groove being in shape fit with the locking protrusion; wherein the locking ring can be driven by the inclined driving surface to rotate, so that the locking protrusion is accommodated in the locking groove, or that the locking protrusion is released from the locking groove.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, the number of the at least one guide groove is five, the number of the at least one guide pin is five, the number of the at least one limiting pin is also five, and each of the guide pin or limiting pin can slide in the respective guide groove.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, an outer wall of the locking ring is provided with at least one elastic rib, one end of the elastic rib is fixed to the outer wall of the locking ring, and the other end thereof extends outwards freely, such that the locking ring can rotate only in one direction.

According to the refueling or charging port door lock assembly described above, the housing comprises: an upper housing comprising an accommodation cavity configured for mounting the buffering device; a lifting shaft housing configured for accommodating the lifting shaft; and a bottom cover, the one end of the driving spring being fixed to the bottom cover; wherein the upper housing is connected to a top end of the lifting shaft housing, and the bottom cover is connected to a bottom end of the lifting shaft housing.

The refueling or charging port door lock assembly according to the present disclosure uses the driving spring in the compressed state to drive the lifting shaft to slide relative to the housing along a first portion of the lifting shaft and the threadably move relative to the housing along a second portion of the lifting shaft, thus driving the refueling or charging port flap that is assembled at the top end of the lifting shaft to move together, and enabling the refueling or charging port flap to be opened or closed. In the present disclosure, the movement speed of the lifting shaft is controlled by providing the buffering device, such that the refueling or charging port flap can be opened or closed at a constant speed and steadily when the driving spring drives the lifting shaft to move relative to the housing. In addition, the refueling or charging port door lock assembly according to the present disclosure is provided with the housing, the lifting shaft and the driving spring in sequence from outside to inside, which on the one hand can make the movement of the lifting shaft more steady, and on the other hand can increase the diameter of the lifting shaft to further contribute to the steady movement of the lifting shaft.

