Lock Releasing Device for Locks of a Fuel Oil Tank Lid and a Trunk Lid of a Vehicle

1. Field of The Invention

This invention relates to lock releasing device for locks of a fuel tank lid and a trunk lid of a vehicle.

2. Description of The Prior Art

In the prior art, locks for a fuel tank lid and a trunk lid of a vehicle were adapted to be released by keys, and also by handles or levers arranged beside a driver seat in the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, in a handle box A two handles or levers B and C for releasing locks E and G of the fuel oil tank lid and the trunk lid, which are connected to the handles B and C via pull wires D and F, are pivotally mounted.

In such a case, however, since the two handles are mounted in the control box, a driver may be confused by the two handles when he wants to open the fuel tank lid or the trunk lid. Further, since the two unlocking devices coupled are provided, the constructions thereof are complicated, rather wasteful, and of high cost.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an unlocking device for locks of a fuel tank lid and a trunk lid of a vehicle free from the abovementioned disadvantages, which are simple, convenient, and of low cost.

According to the present invention there is provided an unlocking device for locks of a fuel tank lid and a trunk lid of a vehicle, comprising: a base plate mounted to a body of the vehicle; first and second levers for releasing the locks, which are pivotally mounted to the base plate, and are so biased by spring means that each of said levers is biased in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the other lever; an actuating rod which pushes selectively the first or the second lever against the spring means so that the first or the second lever may release the locks; and a handle for actuating the actuating rod via a push-pull wire connected therebetween, which is positioned beside a driver seat in the vehicle.

The present invention will become more fully understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional unlocking device;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an unlocking device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a vehicle wherein an unlocking device of the present invention is provided;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an unlocking device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the unlocking device of FIG. 4, when it is in the neutral or non-actuated position;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the unlocking device of FIG. 4, when a fuel tank lid lock is released; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of the unlocking device of FIG. 4, when a trunk lid lock is released.

In FIGS. 2-7, there is shown an unlocking device for locks of a fuel tank lid and a trunk lid of a vehicle.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two locks for the fuel oil tank lid and the trunk lid of the vehicle are released by a handle, as described later.

In FIGS. 4-7, a vertical base plate 1 is mounted to the vehicle body 24 near a lock 23 of the fuel tank lid of the vehicle 20. A first lever 2 for releasing the lock 23 and a second lever 5 for releasing a lock 25 of a trunk lid are pivotally mounted vertically on the base plate 1 in their intermediate and top portions through shafts 4 and 6 mounted to the base plate 1 so that the upper part of the first lever 2 may pull out a locking lever 3 of the lock 23 against a spring therein when the lower part of the lever 2 is pushed toward the right, as shown in FIG. 4 by a push rod or actuating rod 16 arranged horizontally, and the lower part of the second lever 5 may pull a pull wire 19 connected to a locking lever 18 of the lock 25 against a spring located therein when the second lever 5 is pushed toward the left, as shown in FIG. 4 by the push rod 16.

A pair of first and second stop pieces 7 and 8 project from the base plate 1, perpendicular thereto, between the first and the second levers 2 and 5, and stop the pivot movements of the two levers 2 and 5 biased by a spring 9 coupling the two levers. The two levers 2 and 5 may be biased by another spring in another way, or by two springs independently.

The first and the second levers 2 and 5 include first and second guide pieces 10 and 11, each having a first or second guide groove 12 or 13, which face each other and project from the sides of the two levers 2 and 5 perpendicular to the base plate 1. In this embodiment, the guide pieces 10 and 11 are coupled by the spring 9, and the pull wire 19 for the lock 25 is connected to the lower end portion of the second guide piece 11. The push rod 16 having pairs of first and second projections 14 and 15 which project vertically adjacent to the first and the second guide pieces 10 and 11 between them, is arranged in the guide grooves 12 and 13.

One end of the actuating rod 16 is connected to one end of a push-pull wire or cable 17 the other end of which is connected to an control 22 in a handle box 21 positioned beside a driver's seat in the vehicle 20, as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The handle 22 is adapted to push or pull the cable 17 when it is pivoted forwards or rearwards.

Now, when the handle 22 is pivoted forwards, the push-pull wire 17 pushes the actuating rod 16 from the neutral or non-actuated position shown toward FIGS. 4 and 5, in the right, as shown in FIGS. 4-7, and the first projections 14 of the push rod 16 push the first guide piece 10. Thus, the first lever 2 is pivoted counterclockwise against the spring 9, and pulls the locking lever 3 against the spring, as shown in FIG. 6, thereby releasing the lock 23 of the fuel tank lid.

On the other hand, when the handle 22 is pivoted rearwards, the cable 17 pulls the actuating rod 16 from the neutral or non-actuated position in the left hand side direction in FIGS. 4-7, and the second projections 15 of the actuating rod 16 push the second guide piece 11. Then, the second lever 5 is pivoted clockwise against the spring 9, and pulls the pull wire 19 and the locking lever 18 connected thereto, as shown in FIG. 7, thereby releasing the lock 25 of the trunk lid.

In the embodiment described above, the first lever 2 actuates directly the locking lever 3 of the lock 23 of the fuel tank lid, but, of course, the first lever 2 can indirectly actuate the locking lever 3 through a coupling means such as a pull wire in the same manner as the lock 25. In this case, the unlocking device on the present invention may conveniently be mounted any position of the body in the vehicle.

Although the present invention has been shown and described in terms of a preferred embodiment thereof, various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.