DE-102025125807-B3 - Method for closing a loading hatch

DE102025125807B3DE 102025125807 B3DE102025125807 B3DE 102025125807B3DE-102025125807-B3

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for closing a charging flap, comprising the steps of: receiving (S2) a closing instruction from a user via an input device on which a physical and/or virtual closing button is held down; determining (S3) that no charging plug is in a charging socket associated with the charging flap as a first condition; determining (S4) that the input device is in a predetermined area around the charging flap as a second condition; and closing (S5) the charging flap by operating an actuator motor when at least the first and second conditions are met, as long as the closing button is pressed (S6) and the charging flap has not yet reached its closed position (S8).

Inventors

Sebastian Liebert
Basem Abdelfattah

Assignees

BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20250702

Claims (4)

Method for closing a charging port flap, comprising the steps: Receiving (S2) a closing instruction from a user via an input device on which a physical and/or virtual closing button is pressed and held; Determining (S3) that no charging plug is in a charging socket associated with the charging port flap as the first condition; Determining (S4) that the input device is within a predefined area around the charging port flap as the second condition; and Closing (S5) the charging port flap by operating an actuator motor when at least the first and second conditions are met, as long as the closing button is pressed (S6) and the charging port flap has not yet reached its closed position (S8).
Procedure according to Claim 1 , whereby it is determined that the closed position of the loading flap is reached when a closing force to be applied by the actuator exceeds a predetermined limit, a predetermined time period has elapsed, the loading flap has traveled a predetermined distance and/or the actuator has run a certain number of revolutions.
A method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, after receiving the closing instruction, the following step is performed: Checking whether sensors prevent automated closing of the loading flap, and implementing the closing instruction only if an error occurs during automated closing.
Motor vehicle with a charging socket that can be concealed by a charging flap, and a control device which executes a procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 executes.

Description

The invention relates to a method for closing, in particular for emergency closing, a loading flap of a motor vehicle. Motor vehicles are known from the prior art in which a charging flap automatically opens and closes to cover and expose a charging socket. For example, the charging flap opens automatically when an impending charging process is detected and closes after the charging plug is disconnected. Furthermore, it is known to provide an anti-pinch device in such an automatically operated charging flap, which interrupts the closing process so that a finger could not be pinched. If a sensor used to determine the charging flap position fails or malfunctions, the closing process of the charging flap cannot be successfully completed because an anti-pinch protection system that relies on this sensor prevents the charging flap from closing, so that the vehicle may not be put into driving readiness due to the open charging flap. In such a case, the vehicle would then break down due to the failure or fault in the sensors used to detect the charging flap position. The WO 2024 / 037 225 A1 This concerns a method for closing a charging port, wherein the method determines that no charging plug is in a charging socket associated with the charging port and that a user's body part is outside a predefined area around the charging port. If both conditions are met, the charging port is closed. From the JP 2020 - 127 329 A A method for closing a loading flap is known in which it is determined that a vehicle key or key fob is located outside a predetermined area around the loading flap and then the loading flap is closed after a predetermined time has elapsed. The DE 10 2019 103 040 A1 This concerns a method for automatically closing a charging port flap a few seconds after a person unplugs the charging cable. Alternatively, the person can also activate a capacitive sensor to close the charging port flap. From the WO 2022 / 064 064 A1 A method for closing a charging flap is known, wherein, after determining that no charging plug is in a charging socket, the charging flap is closed. The DE 10 2018 003 563 A1 This concerns a method for closing a charging port flap, whereby a camera system determines that no charging plug is in any of the charging ports associated with the flap. The camera system further determines that a person with a charging plug is moving away from the vehicle. If both conditions are met, the charging port flap closes automatically. It is an object of the present invention to at least partially eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages. This object is achieved by a method according to claim 1 and a motor vehicle according to claim 4. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims. According to an embodiment of the invention, a method for closing a charging port is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a closing instruction from a user via an input device on which a physical and/or virtual closing button is pressed and held; determining, as a first condition, that no charging plug is in a charging socket associated with the charging port; determining, as a second condition, that the input device is located within a predetermined area around the charging port; and closing the charging port by operating an actuator motor when at least the first and second conditions are met, as long as the closing button is pressed and the charging port has not yet reached its closed position. This offers the advantage that the user can close the charging port themselves, particularly in the event of a failure of a sensor for detecting the charging port position, thereby preventing the vehicle from breaking down. Since the user can close the charging flaps independently of the malfunctioning sensor, this method ensures that the user is near the charging flap with the input device and can therefore guarantee that no one's fingers are trapped by the closing mechanism. The closing process is also only executed as long as the closing button is held down. This method thus constitutes an emergency closing procedure, which, particularly in the case of charging flaps that close/open automatically, prevents the system from becoming stuck due to a sensor malfunction. The basic principle of the invention is based on the "hold to close" action for closing the charging flap in conjunction with the presence of the user. gen, which closes the charging flap, in the immediate vicinity of the charging flap. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the closed position of the loading flap is determined when a closing force applied by the actuator exceeds a predetermined limit, a predetermined time period has elapsed, the loading flap has traveled a predetermined distance, and/or the actuator has completed a certain number of revolutions. In the event of a failure of the sensor for detecting the loading flap position, this provides an alternative means of determining whether