CN111064046B

CN111064046B - Connector device

Info

Publication number: CN111064046B
Application number: CN201910762778.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 北本慎治
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-10-15
Filing date: 2019-08-19
Publication date: 2021-08-24
Anticipated expiration: 2039-08-19
Also published as: CN111064046A; JP2020064714A

Abstract

The invention provides a connector device, which can reduce the power consumption of locking and unlocking a connector and can easily connect and disconnect the connector. The connector device includes a vehicle connector and a charging connector detachably connected to each other, an electromagnet control member controls the electromagnet to be in an excited state or a non-excited state by turning on or off energization to the electromagnet, and when the charging connector is attached to the vehicle connector, the electromagnet control member maintains the energization to the electromagnet off, thereby controlling the electromagnet to be in the non-excited state, and when the charging connector is detached from the vehicle connector, the electromagnet control member turns on the energization to the electromagnet, thereby controlling the electromagnet to be in the excited state, thereby generating a repulsive force between one end portion of the electromagnet and the magnet for attachment and detachment, and attracting the lock body to the lock release position by the other end portion of the electromagnet.

Description

Connector device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a connector (connector) device suitable for use in, for example, an electric vehicle, and more particularly to a connector device that locks and releases a vehicle-side connector and a charging device-side connector for charging a battery of the vehicle in a connected state by using a magnet.

Background

Conventionally, as such a connector device, for example, one described in patent document 1 is known. The connector device is provided with a connector with an electromagnetic lock (hereinafter, referred to as a "vehicle connector" in this column) on the vehicle side of the electric vehicle, and a connector for charging (hereinafter, referred to as a "charging connector" in this column) on a charging station as a charging device. The vehicle connector is provided with an electromagnetic locking device that locks the charging connector in a fitted state when the electromagnetic locking device is connected to the charging connector.

The electromagnetic locking device includes: a latch (latch) provided at a lower portion of the vehicle connector and rotatable in a vertical direction between a lock position and an unlock position; a spring (spring) for urging the latch toward the locking position; a permanent magnet attracting the latch toward the unlocking position side by magnetic force; and an electromagnet provided adjacent to the permanent magnet and acting to cancel the magnetic force of the permanent magnet by energization.

When charging the battery of the electric vehicle, first, the charging connector is fitted to the vehicle connector. Then, a charging switch provided in the charging station is turned ON (ON). Thereby, charging of the vehicle battery is started, and the electromagnet of the electromagnetic locking device is energized. By energizing the electromagnet, the magnetic force of the permanent magnet is cancelled, whereby the latch at the lock release position is rotated to the lock position by the urging force of the spring, and the charging connector is locked to the vehicle connector. After the charging of the battery is completed, the charging switch is turned OFF (OFF) to stop the energization of the electromagnet, and the latch at the lock position is thereby rotated to the unlock position against the biasing force of the spring by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet. Thereby, the charging connector can be pulled out from the vehicle connector.

[ Prior art documents ]

[ patent document ]

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. Hei 6-60978

Disclosure of Invention

[ problems to be solved by the invention ]

In the conventional connector device, the electromagnet is energized during charging of the vehicle in order to lock the charging connector to the vehicle connector. That is, the electromagnet is energized for the entire charging time, and accordingly, electric power is consumed. Further, depending on the degree of fitting between the vehicle connector and the charging connector, a force for fitting the charging connector or a force for pulling out the charging connector may be required for connecting or separating the two connectors, and in this case, the work of connecting and separating the connectors may become complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector device capable of reducing power consumption for locking and unlocking a connector and easily connecting and disconnecting the connector.

[ means for solving problems ]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a connector device 1 including a first connector (in an embodiment (hereinafter, the same shall apply to this embodiment)) and a second connector (a charging connector 3) that are detachably connected to each other, the first connector of the connector device 1 including: a first connector body (vehicle connector body 11); a first magnet (a magnet 12 for mounting and dismounting) provided on the first connector body and including a permanent magnet; and an engaging portion (engaging ring) provided in the first connector body, the second connector having: a second connector body (charging connector body 21) that can be attached to the first connector body; an electromagnet 22 provided in the second connector body, one end of which abuts against the first magnet when the second connector body is mounted to the first connector body; and a lock member 23 provided on the second connector body, which is configured to be movable between a lock position and an unlock position, and which is configured to be attracted to the unlock position by an electromagnet, the lock position being a position at which the second connector is locked to the first connector by the lock member engaging with the engaging portion when the second connector body is attached to the first connector body, the unlock position being a position at which the lock is unlocked by the lock member disengaging from the engaging portion, the connector device 1 further includes an electromagnet control member (control portion 43) which controls the electromagnet to be in an excited state or a non-excited state by turning on or off energization of the electromagnet, the electromagnet control member controls the electromagnet to be in the non-excited state by maintaining the energization of the electromagnet off when the second connector is attached to the first connector, when the second connector is detached from the first connector, the electromagnet is controlled to be in an excited state by turning on the energization of the electromagnet, so that a repulsive force is generated between one end portion of the electromagnet (the front portion of the core 24) and the first magnet, and the locking body is attracted to the lock release position by the other end portion of the electromagnet (the rear portion of the core 24).

According to this configuration, the connector device includes the first connector and the second connector detachably connected to each other, the first connector includes the first connector body, the first magnet, and the engaging portion, and the second connector includes the second connector body, the electromagnet, and the locking body. The locking body of the second connector is configured to be movable between a locking position where the locking body is engaged with the engaging portion of the first connector and an unlocking position where the locking body is disengaged from the engaging portion, and to be attracted to the unlocking position by the electromagnet. The electromagnet is controlled to be in an excited state or a non-excited state by turning on/off energization by an electromagnet control means.

When the second connector is attached to the first connector, the electromagnet is kept off. At this time, when the second connector approaches the first connector, the electromagnet in the non-excited state of the second connector is attracted by the first magnet including the permanent magnet of the first connector, and thereby the second connector is attached to the first connector in a state where one end portion of the electromagnet abuts against the first magnet. At this time, the locking body of the second connector is engaged with the engaging portion of the first connector, and the second connector is locked to the first connector.

On the other hand, when the second connector is detached from the first connector, the electromagnet is energized. At this time, the electromagnet is controlled to be in an excited state, so that a repulsive force is generated between one end portion of the electromagnet and the first magnet of the first connector, and the other end portion of the electromagnet attracts the lock body to the lock release position. Thereby, the lock of the second connector with respect to the first connector is released, and at the same time, a force acts on the second connector in a direction away from the first connector.

As described above, according to the present invention, the electromagnet only needs to be energized when the second connector is detached from the first connector at the time of attachment and detachment of the connectors, and therefore, unlike the conventional connector device in which the electromagnet is energized for a long time during the entire charging process, it is possible to reduce the consumption of electric power. Further, when the second connector is attached to the first connector, the attractive force of the first magnet of the first connector is used, and when the second connector is detached from the first connector, the repulsive force between the first magnet of the first connector and the electromagnet of the second connector is used, whereby the connection and disconnection of the two connectors can be easily performed while reducing the force required for the connection and disconnection. In addition, the lock body is attracted to the unlocking position by energization of the electromagnet when the second connector is removed, and the lock of the second connector with respect to the first connector can be easily unlocked.

The invention of claim 2 is the connector device according to claim 1, wherein the locking body includes: a lock member 31 which can be engaged with and disengaged from the engagement portion of the first connector; and a second magnet (locking magnet 32) provided on the locking member and including a permanent magnet, wherein when the second connector is attached to the first connector, the locking body is moved to the locking position by a repulsive force generated between the second magnet and the other end of the electromagnet magnetized by attracting one end of the electromagnet to the first magnet, so that the locking member is engaged with the engaging portion of the first connector.

According to this structure, when the second connector is mounted to the first connector, one end portion of the electromagnet in the non-excited state of the second connector is attracted to the first magnet of the first connector, whereby the electromagnet is magnetized. At this time, the locking body is moved to the locking position by the repulsive force generated between the other end portion of the electromagnet and the second magnet of the locking body, and the locking member is engaged with the engaging portion of the first connector. In this way, when the second connector is attached to the first connector, the lock body can be moved to the lock position by the electromagnet in the non-excited state, and the second connector can be easily locked to the first connector.

The invention of claim 3 is the connector device according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising: the connector distance measuring means (connector sensor 41, controller 43) measures the distance between the first connector and the second connector (inter-connector distance D), and turns off the energization of the electromagnet (step S7) when the distance between the first connector and the second connector is equal to or more than a predetermined distance DREF when the second connector is detached from the first connector (YES in step S4).

According to this configuration, when the second connector is detached from the first connector, the distance between the two connectors measured by the connector distance measuring means is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance, the electromagnet is turned off. When it is confirmed that the second connector is separated from the first connector and the two connectors are properly separated, the electromagnet does not need to be energized for unlocking, and therefore, as described above, the electromagnet is turned off, so that the electromagnet is not energized more than necessary, and thus, wasteful power consumption can be prevented.

The invention of claim 4 is the connector device according to claim 3, further comprising: connector removal elapsed time measuring means (control unit 43) measures an elapsed time T from the start of removal of the second connector from the first connector, and turns off the energization of the electromagnet when the elapsed time T from the start of removal of the second connector reaches a predetermined time TREF or more (YES at step S5) (step S7).

According to this configuration, the connector removal elapsed time measuring means measures the connector removal elapsed time, and when the elapsed time counted from the start of removal of the second connector reaches a predetermined time or more, the electromagnet is turned off. Accordingly, since the energization of the electromagnet is not continued for more than a predetermined time, it is possible to prevent the subsequent energization of the electromagnet from causing an endless consumption of electric energy and to prevent the electromagnet from being overheated due to the continued energization. When a predetermined time has elapsed since the second connector was removed, the second connector is originally sufficiently separated from the first connector, but if this is not the case, a warning or the like may be given as a removal error (error) of the second connector.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a connector device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state before a vehicle connector on an electric vehicle side and a charging connector on a charging device side are opposed to each other and both connectors are connected.

Fig. 2(a) and 2(b) are external views of the vehicle connector and the charging connector, respectively, as viewed from the subject connector side.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram centering on a control unit in the charging apparatus.

Fig. 4(a) to 4(c) are explanatory diagrams for sequentially explaining the operation when the charging connector is attached to the vehicle connector.

Fig. 5(a) to 5(c) are explanatory diagrams for sequentially explaining an operation when the charging connector is detached from the vehicle connector.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the removal control of the charging connector.

[ description of symbols ]

1: connector device

2: vehicle connector

3: charging connector

11: vehicle connector body

12: magnet for loading and unloading

13: snap-in ring

13 a: stop part

21: charging connector body

22: electromagnet

23: locking body

24: iron core

24 a: front end face

24 b: rear side end face

28: coil

29: circuit arrangement

29 a: power supply for unlocking

29 b: connector switch

31: locking member

32: magnet for locking

40: charging device

41: connector sensor

42: mechanical arm

43: control unit

D: distance between connectors

DREF: set distance

T: elapsed time

TREF: set time

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 schematically shows a connector device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The connector device 1 is, for example, a connector on the electric vehicle side (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle connector 2"), not shown, and a connector on the charging device side (hereinafter referred to as "charging connector 3") for charging the battery of the vehicle, which are detachably connected to each other.

Although detailed description is omitted, the electric vehicle is an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid (plug-in hybrid) vehicle that can travel using a built-in battery as a power source. Further, in the charging device, the charging connector 3 (second connector) is provided at a distal end portion of a predetermined robot arm (robot arm), and the charging connector 3 is automatically connected to the vehicle connector 2 (first connector) of the electric vehicle parked at a predetermined position in the vicinity of the charging device by the operation of the robot arm.

Fig. 2(a) and 2(b) show external views of vehicle connector 2 and charging connector 3, respectively, when viewed from the connector side of the subject side. As shown in fig. 1 and 2(a), the vehicle connector 2 includes: a vehicle connector body 11 (first connector body); a plurality of (three in the present embodiment) removable magnets 12 (first magnets) provided in the vehicle connector body 11 and including permanent magnets; and an engaging ring 13 (engaging portion) provided integrally with the vehicle connector body 11 and engaged with a lock body 23 to be described later so as to be able to be engaged and disengaged.

The vehicle connector body 11 has: a case 15 made of a nonmagnetic metal, synthetic resin, or the like and having a cylindrical outer shape; a plurality of (three in the present embodiment) power line terminals 16; and a plurality of (three in this embodiment) signal line terminals 17. As shown in fig. 2(a), three power line terminals 16 are arranged on the front surface of the housing 15, i.e., on the circular connection surface 11a of the vehicle connector body 11, at equal angles with each other in the circumferential direction in the vicinity of the center of the connection surface 11 a. The tip end of each power line terminal 16 is configured to be substantially flush and flat with the connection surface 11a, and is disposed so as to face outward. Each power line terminal 16 is provided at an end portion of a power line (not shown) that is connected to a battery of the vehicle and that transmits power to the battery during charging.

The engaging ring 13 is formed so as to protrude outward (rightward in fig. 1) from the vehicle connector body 11 by a predetermined length and to extend in the radial direction of the connection surface 11 a. Further, at the tip end of the engaging ring 13, a locking portion 13a is provided, and the locking portion 13a is bent inward by a predetermined length to lock a locking member 31 of a locking body 23 described later.

On the other hand, the three signal line terminals 17 are arranged at equal angles in the circumferential direction in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the connection surface 11 a. Each signal line terminal 17 is configured to have a tip end portion substantially flush with the connection surface 11a and flat, and to face outward, as in the power line terminal 16. These signal line terminals 17 are connected to signal lines, not shown, inside the case 15, and are used for determining the propriety of connection between the vehicle connector 2 and the charging connector 3.

In the case 15 of the vehicle connector body 11, the three removable magnets 12 are fixed in a state of being arranged between the signal line terminals 17 adjacent to each other at equal angles in the circumferential direction in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the connection surface 11a, similarly to the signal line terminals 17. Each of the removable magnets 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape, has one end surface having a predetermined magnetic pole (S pole in the present embodiment) flush with the connection surface 11a and is flat, and is fixed so as to face outward.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 1 and 2(b), the charging connector 3 includes: a charging connector body 21 (second connector body) mountable to the vehicle connector body 11; and a plurality of (three in the present embodiment) electromagnets 22 and locking bodies 23 provided on the charging connector body 21.

The charging connector body 21 has: a case 25 made of a nonmagnetic metal, synthetic resin, or the like and having a cylindrical outer shape; and a plurality of power line terminals 26 and signal line terminals 27 similar to the power line terminals 16 and signal line terminals 17 of the vehicle connector body 11 described above. Specifically, as shown in fig. 2(b), three power line terminals 26 are arranged at equal angles with each other in the circumferential direction on the front surface of the case 25, that is, in the vicinity of the center of the circular connection surface 21a of the charging connector main body 21. The tip end of each power line terminal 26 is configured to be substantially flush and flat with the connection surface 21a, and is disposed so as to face outward. Each power line terminal 26 is provided at an end of a power line (not shown) that is connected to a power supply of the charging device and that transmits power from the power supply during charging.

The three signal line terminals 27 are arranged at equal angles in the circumferential direction in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the connection surface 21 a. Each signal line terminal 27 is configured to have a tip end portion substantially flush with the connection surface 21a and flat, and to face outward, similarly to the power line terminal 26. These signal line terminals 27 are connected to signal lines, not shown, inside the case 25, and whether or not the connection between the vehicle connector 2 and the charging connector 3 is appropriate is determined based on the connection results with the three signal line terminals 17 on the vehicle connector 2 side.

In the case 25 of the charging connector main body 21, the three electromagnets 22 are fixed in a state of being arranged between the signal line terminals 27 adjacent to each other at equal angles in the circumferential direction in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the connection surface 21a, similarly to the above-described signal line terminals 27. Each electromagnet 22 has a core 24, and the core 24 is formed by extending a predetermined length in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in fig. 1) and bending the rear portion toward the outer peripheral surface side of the case 25, and a coil 28 is wound around the core 24 by a predetermined number of turns (in the left direction and in the counterclockwise direction in fig. 1). The front end (left side in fig. 1) of the core 24 is configured to be substantially flush with and flat with the connection surface 21a of the charging connector body 21, and the front end surface 24a thereof faces outward. Further, a rear side portion (right side in fig. 1) of the core 24 projects toward the outer peripheral surface of the housing 25, and a rear side end surface 24b, which is a front end surface thereof, is configured to be flat and attracted to a locking magnet 32, which will be described later, of the locking body 23.

In the three electromagnets 22 configured as described above, the coils 28 are connected in series to an electric circuit 29, and a lock release power source 29a and a connector switch 29b are provided in the electric circuit 29, the lock release power source 29a supplying electric power for lock release, and the connector switch 29b turning on/off the energization of the electromagnet 22.

The three locking bodies 23 are provided in the vicinity of the rear-side end surface 24b of the corresponding electromagnet 22. Each locking body 23 has: a lock member 31 that can freely protrude and retract through an opening 25a provided in the outer peripheral surface of the housing 25; and a locking magnet 32 (second magnet) fixed to the electromagnet 22 side of the locking member 31.

As shown in fig. 1, the side surface of the lock member 31 is formed in a wedge shape with a thickness that decreases toward the front. On the other hand, the locking magnet 32 includes a permanent magnet, and one end surface having a predetermined magnetic pole (S pole in the present embodiment) faces the corresponding rear-side end surface 24b of the electromagnet 22.

The lock body 23 configured as described above is configured to be movable between a lock position (see fig. 4(c) and the like) at which the entire lock member 31 protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the housing 25 and an unlock position (see fig. 5(a) and 1) at which the lock member is recessed inward from the outer peripheral surface of the housing 25.

Although detailed description is omitted, for example, as shown in fig. 3, the charging device 40 includes: a connector sensor 41 that detects the position of the vehicle connector 2 of the electric vehicle to be charged; and a control unit 43 (connector distance measuring means and connector removal elapsed time measuring means) and the like for controlling the operation of the robot arm 42 and the on/off of the connector switch 29b based on the detection result.

Next, the operation of attaching and detaching the charging connector 3 to and from the vehicle connector 2 will be described with reference to fig. 4(a) to 6. As described above, the charging connector 3 is provided at the tip of the robot arm 42 of the charging device 40 capable of automatically charging the electric vehicle, and starts the mounting operation of the charging connector 3 to the vehicle connector 2 when a charging command is given to the charging device 40 in a state where the electric vehicle to be charged is stopped at a predetermined position near the charging device 40.

Fig. 4(a) to 4(c) sequentially show operations when charging connector 3 is attached to vehicle connector 2. Fig. 4(a) is a view similar to fig. 1 described above, showing a state before charging connector 3 is connected to vehicle connector 2. At this time, the connector switch 29b is in the off state, and the electromagnets 22 of the charging connector 3 are not energized, so that the electromagnets 22 are in the non-excited state. Each lock body 23 is positioned at the unlock position by the lock magnet 32 being attracted to the rear end surface 24b of the core 24 of the electromagnet 22.

When the robot arm 42 is driven based on the charging command, the charging connector 3 at the tip end portion thereof approaches the vehicle connector 2 as shown in fig. 4(a), and the charging connector body 21 of the charging connector 3 is inserted into the inside of the engaging ring 13 of the vehicle connector 2 as shown in fig. 4 (b). Then, when the connection surface 21a of the charging connector body 21 comes close to the connection surface 11a of the vehicle connector body 11, the three electromagnets 22 of the charging connector 3 are attracted by the magnetic forces of the three detachable magnets 12 of the vehicle connector 2. As a result, as shown in fig. 4(c), the tip end surfaces 24a of the cores 24 of the electromagnets 22 of the charging connector 3 are attracted to the removable magnets 12 of the vehicle connector 2, more specifically, to the south poles of the removable magnets 12.

At this time, the iron core 24 of each electromagnet 22 is attracted to each detachable magnet 12 of the vehicle connector 2, and at the same time, a repulsive force is generated between each locking body 23 and the rear end face 24b of the magnetized iron core 24 of the corresponding electromagnet 22. Then, the lock body 23 is moved to the lock position by the repulsive force, and the lock member 31 is engaged with the engagement ring 13 of the vehicle connector 2, whereby the charging connector 2 is locked to the vehicle connector 2.

The repulsive force is generated for the following reason. That is, as described above, the core 24 of the electromagnet 22 is attracted to the S-pole of the removable magnet 12, whereby the front half of the core 24 including the front end face 24a becomes the N-pole, while the rear half of the core 24 including the rear side end face 24b is magnetized to the S-pole. As a result, a repulsive force due to the same magnetic pole is generated between the lock body 23 having the locking magnet 32 attracted to the S-pole and the magnetized rear end face 24 of the S-pole of the core 24 on the rear end face 24b of the core 24.

As described above, by connecting the charging connector 3 to the vehicle connector 2, the power line terminals 26 and the signal line terminals 27 of the charging connector 3 are conductively connected in a state of surface contact with the corresponding power line terminals 16 and signal line terminals 17 of the vehicle connector 2, respectively. Then, power is transmitted from the charging device 40 side via the power line to charge the battery of the vehicle.

After the charging is completed, the control unit 43 executes the removal control process of removing the charging connector 3 from the vehicle connector 2. Fig. 6 is a flowchart of the removal control process of the charging connector 3. As shown in fig. 6, in the present process, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the charging connector detachment permission flag (flag) F _ PULLOK is "1". When the determination result is NO (NO) and the removal of the electrical connector 3 is not permitted, the process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, if the determination result at step S1 is yes, the connector switch 29b is turned on, so that the current flows in the counterclockwise direction in fig. 5(a) to 5(c) through the electric circuit 29, and the energization of the electromagnets 22 is started (step S2).

By the energization, each electromagnet 22 is excited, and the front half of the core 24 including the front end face 24a becomes an S pole, while the rear half of the core 24 including the rear end face 24b becomes an N pole. As a result, as shown in fig. 5(a), the locking magnet 32 of each locking body 23 is attracted to the rear end surface 24b of the iron core 24 of the electromagnet 22, and the locking body 23 moves to the unlocking position in response to this, whereby the locking of the charging connector 3 with respect to the vehicle connector 2 is unlocked. At this time, since the front half portion of the core 24 including the front end surface 24a of each electromagnet 22 attracted to each handling magnet 12 of the vehicle connector 2 has the same S-pole as the attracting surface side of the handling magnet 12, a repulsive force is generated between the electromagnet 22 and the handling magnet 12. Thereby, a force acts on the charging connector 3 in a direction away from the vehicle connector 2 (the right direction in fig. 5(a) to 5 (c)).

Then, in step S3, the detachment of the charging connector 3 is started. That is, by the operation of the robot arm 42, the charging connector 3 moves away from the vehicle connector 2 while moving backward as shown in fig. 5 (b). At this time, the distance between vehicle connector 2 and charging connector 3 (hereinafter referred to as "inter-connector distance D") is detected based on the detection result of connector sensor 41.

In the next step S4, it is determined whether the inter-connector distance D is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance DREF. If the result of the determination is no and D < DREF, it is determined that charging connector 3 has not sufficiently moved away from vehicle connector 2, and the process proceeds to step S5, where it is determined whether or not elapsed time T from the start of removal of charging connector 3 is equal to or longer than predetermined time TREF. If the determination result is no, the step S4 is executed again.

If the determination result at step S4 is yes, since charging connector 3 is sufficiently separated from vehicle connector 2, and energization of each electromagnet 22 for unlocking lock body 23 is no longer necessary, connector switch 29b is turned off as shown in fig. 5 c (step S7), and the present process is ended. By executing step S7, the energization of each electromagnet 22 is terminated. At this time, as shown in fig. 5(c), in each of the locking bodies 23, the locking magnet 32 is still attracted to the rear end surface 24b of the core 24 of the electromagnet 22 in the non-excited state, and therefore the locking body 23 is maintained at the unlocked position.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step S5 is yes, that is, if the elapsed time T is equal to or longer than the predetermined time TREF, the charging connector 3 is still not sufficiently separated from the vehicle connector 2, and the predetermined time TREF has elapsed, and it is considered that a removal ERROR of the charging connector 3 has occurred, an ERROR flag F _ ERROR indicating this is set (set) to "1", and the above-described step S7 is executed, and the present process is ended. That is, when a removal error of the charging connector 3 occurs, the energization of each electromagnet 22 is stopped. This prevents the continuous energization from causing an endless consumption of electric power and overheating of the electromagnet 22.

As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, in attaching and detaching the charging connector 3 to and from the vehicle connector 2, the electromagnet 22 only needs to be energized when the charging connector 3 is detached, and therefore, unlike the conventional connector device in which the electromagnet 22 is energized for a long time during the entire charging process, it is possible to reduce the consumption of electric energy. Further, when the charging connector 3 is attached to the vehicle connector 2, the attractive force of the attaching/detaching magnet 12 of the vehicle connector 2 is used, and when the charging connector 3 is detached from the vehicle connector 2, the repulsive force between the attaching/detaching magnet 12 of the vehicle connector 2 and the electromagnet 22 of the charging connector 3 is used, whereby the force required for the attachment and detachment of the vehicle connector 2 and the charging connector 3 can be reduced and the attachment and detachment can be easily performed.

Further, as long as charging connector 3 is attached to vehicle connector 2, locking body 23 can be moved to the locking position by electromagnet 22 in the non-excited state, and charging connector 3 can be easily locked to vehicle connector 2. Further, by energizing electromagnet 22 when charging connector 3 is detached, lock body 23 can be attracted to the unlocking position, and the lock of charging connector 3 with respect to vehicle connector 2 can be easily unlocked.

Further, when the charging connector 3 is detached from the vehicle connector 2, the energization of the electromagnet 22 is stopped when the inter-connector distance D between the vehicle connector 2 and the charging connector 3 becomes equal to or more than the predetermined distance DREF or when the elapsed time T from the start of detachment becomes equal to or more than the predetermined time TREF, so that the energization of the electromagnet 22 is not performed more than necessary, and it is possible to prevent the wasteful power consumption and also prevent the overheating of the electromagnet 22 caused by the continued energization.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms. For example, in the embodiment, the case where the charging connector 3 of the connector device 1 is provided at the tip end portion of the arm 42 of the charging device 40 and the charging connector 3 is automatically connected to the vehicle connector 2 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a manual charging device. In connector device 1, each of detachable magnet 12 of vehicle connector 2, electromagnet 22 of charging connector 3, and lock 23 is provided in three numbers, but the number of these is not particularly limited, and may be other than three. Further, the detailed configurations and the like of the vehicle connector 2 and the charging connector 3 of the connector device 1 shown in the embodiment are merely examples, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A connector device comprising a first connector and a second connector detachably connected to each other, characterized in that,

the first connector has:

a first connector body;

a first magnet provided in the first connector body and including a permanent magnet; and

a clamping part arranged on the first connector body,

the second connector has:

a second connector body mountable to the first connector body;

an electromagnet provided in the second connector body, one end of the electromagnet abutting against the first magnet when the second connector body is mounted to the first connector body; and

a lock body provided on the second connector body, configured to be movable between a lock position and an unlock position, and configured to be attracted to the unlock position by the electromagnet, the lock position being a position in which the second connector is locked to the first connector by the lock body engaging with the engagement portion when the second connector body is attached to the first connector body, the unlock position being a position in which the lock is released by the lock body disengaging from the engagement portion,

the connector device further includes an electromagnet control part that controls the electromagnet to be in an excited state or a non-excited state by turning on or off energization to the electromagnet,

the electromagnet control means controls the electromagnet to be in a non-excited state by maintaining the energization of the electromagnet to be off when the second connector is attached to the first connector,

when the second connector is detached from the first connector, the electromagnet is controlled to be in an excited state by turning on the energization of the electromagnet, so that a repulsive force is generated between the one end portion of the electromagnet and the first magnet, and the locking body is attracted to the lock release position by the other end portion of the electromagnet, and the second connector is detached from the first connector

The locking body has:

a locking member which can be engaged with and disengaged from the engaging portion of the first connector; and

a second magnet provided on the locking member and including a permanent magnet,

when the second connector is attached to the first connector, the locking member is moved to the locking position by a repulsive force generated between the second magnet and the other end portion of the electromagnet magnetized by the one end portion of the electromagnet being attracted to the first magnet, so that the locking member is engaged with the engaging portion of the first connector.

2. The connector device of claim 1, further comprising:

a connector distance measuring part that measures a distance between the first connector and the second connector,

when the second connector is detached from the first connector and the distance between the first connector and the second connector is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance, the electromagnet is turned off.

3. The connector device of claim 2, further comprising:

a connector detachment elapsed time measuring section that measures an elapsed time counted from the start of detachment of the second connector with respect to the first connector,

when the elapsed time from the start of removal of the second connector reaches a predetermined time or more, the electromagnet is turned off.