Granted Patent B2

US 12,606,018 · App. 18/739,949 · Granted Apr 21, 2026

Inventors: Zsolt Wilke (Bad Mergentheim, DE); Andreas Rudolf (Würzburg, DE); Christian Beck (Röttingen, DE); Matthias Hegwein (Ippesheim, DE)

Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.

B60K15/05B60K2015/053B60K2015/0538B60K2015/0546B60K2015/0561

Abstract

Claims (43)

1 . A covering device for a vehicle, wherein the covering device has the following:

a cover which is formed to cover an opening or a recess in the vehicle;

a drive element which is formed to enable a movement of the cover,

wherein the drive element brings about a force which acts on the cover and which enables the movement of the cover, wherein the covering device furthermore has a force-limitation apparatus which limits the force brought about by the drive element to a limit force so that the covering device is protected in the event of an overload acting on the covering device and/or a user is protected when using the covering device;

wherein the force-limitation apparatus has a force-take-up part and a force-output part;

wherein the force-limitation apparatus has an elastic element, for limiting force, which elastic element is arranged at least substantially within the force-take-up part.

2 . The covering device as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the force-limitation apparatus is an automatically torque-shifting safety clutch which separates the cover from the drive element when the limit force is reached.

3 . The covering device as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the force-output part is connected to a pivot arm of the cover and has an axis of rotation which corresponds to the pivot axis of the pivot arm.

4 . The covering device as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the force-limitation apparatus is a locking body clutch which has the following:

at least one groove which is formed in the force-output part;

at least one locking body which, in a transmission state of the force-limitation apparatus, lies in the at least one groove; and

at least one pretensioning body which pushes the at least one locking body into the at least one groove,

wherein the at least one locking body reversibly slips out of the at least one groove when the limit torque is reached.

5 . The covering device as claimed in claim 4 ,

wherein the force-limitation apparatus furthermore has a restoring mechanism which is formed to restore the force-limitation apparatus to a transmission state if the overload acting on the covering device is reduced or is no longer present.

6 . The covering device as claimed in claim 5 ,

wherein the restoring mechanism is pretensioned if the at least one locking body has reversibly slipped out of the at least one groove and restores the at least one locking body back into the at least one groove if the overload acting on the covering device is reduced or is no longer present.

7 . The covering device as claimed in claim 6 ,

wherein the restoring mechanism is a torsion spring which is fastened with a first side to the force-take-up part, is fastened with a second side to the force-output part and is arranged at least substantially within the force-take-up part.

8 . A covering device for a vehicle, wherein the covering device has the following:

a cover which is formed to cover an opening or a recess in the vehicle;

a drive element which is formed to enable a movement of the cover,

wherein the drive element brings about a force which acts on the cover and which enables the movement of the cover, wherein the covering device furthermore has a force-limitation apparatus which limits the force brought about by the drive element to a limit force so that the covering device is protected in the event of an overload acting on the covering device and/or a user is protected when using the covering device;

wherein the force-limitation apparatus has a force-take-up part and a force-output part;

wherein the force-limitation apparatus is a locking body clutch which has the following:

at least one groove;

at least one locking body which, in a transmission state of the force-limitation apparatus, lies in the at least one groove; and

at least one pretensioning body which pushes the at least one locking body into the at least one groove,

wherein the at least one locking body reversibly slips out of the at least one groove when the limit torque is reached.

9 . The covering device as claimed in claim 8 ,

wherein the force-limitation apparatus is an automatically torque-shifting safety clutch which separates the cover from the drive element when the limit force is reached.

10 . The covering device as claimed in claim 8 ,

wherein the force-take-up part forms a part of a sliding block guide which is connected to the drive element.

11 . The covering device as claimed in claim 8 ,

wherein the force-limitation apparatus furthermore has a restoring mechanism which is formed to restore the force-limitation apparatus to a transmission state if the overload acting on the covering device is reduced or is no longer present.

12 . The covering device as claimed in claim 11 ,

wherein the restoring mechanism is pretensioned if the at least one locking body has reversibly slipped out of the at least one groove and restores the at least one locking body back into the at least one groove if the overload acting on the covering device is reduced or is no longer present.

13 . The covering device as claimed in claim 12 ,

wherein the restoring mechanism is a torsion spring which is fastened with a first side to the force-take-up part, is fastened with a second side to the force-output part and is arranged at least substantially within the force-take-up part.

14 . The covering device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the at least one groove is formed in the force-output part.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (21)