Mercedes-benz Aktiengesellschaft

Tilo Schumann

Adolf Kremer

Reinhard Steinkaemper

Axel Fischer

A filling system for robot-capable filling of a vehicle with fuel has a filler nozzle and a tank filler neck on which a docking extension provided with a central opening is mounted on the filling side. The extension is rotatable by an upper section around the axis of symmetry for opening and closing a tank closure. The filler nozzle is dockable by its end on an outlet side, forming a positive connection between the filler nozzle and the docking extension, with positive elements in the form of teeth distributed around its circumference. The teeth have a hub section and interlock with one another positively when the filler nozzle is ready for filling. In order to achieve functionally reliable docking of the filler nozzle on the filler neck of the vehicle fuel tank and to permit rapid undocking of the filler nozzle from the filler extension, a locking body, urged radially outward by a pretensioning spring, is provided on the outlet side of the filler nozzle. The locking body is guidable relative to an upwardly adjacent positive element of the filler nozzle along a guide path that runs in the circumferential direction, and is inserted completely into the filler nozzle by rotating the filler nozzle at one end of the guide path. The body also projects radially out of the filler nozzle at the other end in such fashion that its bevelled surface abuts underneath the matching positive element of the docking extension beneath which it grips.

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Dieburg, Germany

Tilo Schumann