CN115693243A - Charging connector - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a charging connector, and aims to provide a technology capable of facilitating the assembling operation of the charging connector. The charging connector (10) is provided with a power supply terminal (22), a signal terminal (24), a housing (50) for holding the power supply terminal (22) and the signal terminal (24), and a stopper body (60) integrated with the housing (50). The signal terminal (24) has a cylindrical portion (25 a) provided on the tip end side and into which a terminal of an external charging connector is inserted. A slit (25 f) is formed at the distal end of the tube (25 a) to separate one part from another part along the circumferential direction of the tube (25 a). The width of the tip of the slit (25 f) is smaller than the width of a wall of a projection (53 g) or the like exposed at the rear end of the housing (50) when the rear end of the housing (50) is viewed in the insertion/removal direction.

Description

Charging connector

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a charging connector.

Background

Patent document 1 discloses a vehicle connector such as a charging socket mounted on a vehicle. In the connector for a vehicle, the terminal is attached to the housing.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2020-83130

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

It is desirable to facilitate the assembling work of the connector such as the assembling work of the terminal to the housing.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique capable of facilitating an assembling operation of a charging connector.

Means for solving the problems

A charging connector according to the present disclosure is mounted on a vehicle, is fitted to an external charging connector connected to an external power supply of the vehicle, and is used for charging a battery provided in the vehicle, and includes: a 1 st power supply terminal and a 2 nd power supply terminal for supplying power to the battery; a plurality of signal terminals, which are formed to be thinner than the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal, and which transmit signals between the outside of the vehicle and a control unit of the vehicle; a housing that holds the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal and the plurality of signal terminals, and that is fitted to the external charging connector at a distal end portion along an insertion/removal direction of the external charging connector; and a stopper body that is integrated with a rear end portion of the housing and holds the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal and the plurality of signal terminals together with the housing, each of the plurality of signal terminals having a cylindrical portion that is provided on a distal end side and into which a terminal of the external charging connector is inserted, a slit that separates a part of the cylindrical portion from another part along a circumferential direction being formed in a distal end portion of the cylindrical portion, a width of a distal end of the slit being smaller than a width of a wall exposed at the rear end portion of the housing when the rear end portion of the housing is viewed from the insertion and extraction direction.

Effects of the invention

According to the present disclosure, the assembly work of the charging connector becomes easy.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a charging connector according to embodiment 1 and an assembly method thereof.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a charging connector according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a charging connector according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is a front view showing a charging connector of embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the terminal-equipped wire and the storage position thereof.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a wire path in the charging connector.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating differences of signal terminals.

Fig. 9 is a rear view showing the rear end portion of the housing main body.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the housing main body and the signal terminals.

Fig. 11 is a rear view showing the stopper body.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the stopper body.

Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the stopper body presses the terminal from behind.

Fig. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which three types of signal terminals are housed in regular terminal housing portions.

Fig. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which one type of signal terminal is accommodated in three types of terminal accommodating portions.

Fig. 16 is a schematic sectional view of another type of signal terminal in a state of being accommodated in three types of terminal accommodation parts.

Fig. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which still another type of signal terminal is accommodated in three types of terminal accommodating portions.

Fig. 18 is a schematic rear view showing a state in which two types of signal terminals are housed in regular terminal housing portions.

Fig. 19 is a rear view showing the charging connector of embodiment 2.

Fig. 20 is a perspective view showing the signal terminal.

Fig. 21 is a rear view showing the stopper body.

Fig. 22 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the signal terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion.

Detailed Description

[ description of embodiments of the present disclosure ]

First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

The charging connector of the present disclosure is as follows.

(1) A charging connector mounted on a vehicle, fitted to an external charging connector connected to an external power supply of the vehicle, and used for charging a battery provided in the vehicle, the charging connector including: a 1 st power supply terminal and a 2 nd power supply terminal for supplying power to the battery; a plurality of signal terminals, which are formed to be thinner than the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal, and transmit signals between the outside of the vehicle and a control unit of the vehicle; a housing that holds the 1 st and 2 nd power supply terminals and the plurality of signal terminals and is fitted to the external charging connector at a distal end portion along an insertion/removal direction of the external charging connector; and a stopper body that is integrated with a rear end portion of the housing and holds the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal and the plurality of signal terminals together with the housing, each of the plurality of signal terminals having a cylindrical portion that is provided on a distal end side and into which a terminal of the external charging connector is inserted, a slit that separates a part of the cylindrical portion from another part along a circumferential direction being formed in a distal end portion of the cylindrical portion, a width of a distal end of the slit being smaller than a width of a wall exposed at the rear end portion of the housing when the rear end portion of the housing is viewed from the insertion and extraction direction. Since the width of the slit of the cylindrical portion is smaller than the width of the wall of the housing, the wall of the housing can be prevented from entering the slit when the signal terminal is not inserted into the housing satisfactorily. This facilitates the work of assembling the terminal to the housing.

(2) In the charging connector of (1), each of the plurality of signal terminals may further include a wire connecting portion provided on a rear end side and electrically connected to a signal wire, and an intermediate portion provided between the cylindrical portion and the wire connecting portion, the intermediate portion may include a protruding portion protruding from the cylindrical portion in a direction intersecting the inserting and extracting direction, and the stopper body may include a terminal pressing portion extending along the wire connecting portion and pressing the protruding portion toward the housing. Thus, the signal terminal can be prevented from falling off by using the protruding part. The protrusion is held between the housing and the stopper to prevent the protrusion from coming off, so that the protrusion does not need to be deformed when the terminal is inserted into the housing.

(3) In the charging connector according to (2), a through hole penetrating the stopper body in the insertion and extraction direction may be formed in the stopper body, the terminal pressing portion may be formed at a peripheral edge of the through hole, and the through hole may be larger than a maximum width dimension of the intermediate portion of the signal terminal. Thus, after the signal terminal is connected to the signal line, the signal terminal can pass through the stopper body through the through-hole, and the terminal pressing portion can be locked to the protruding portion after the signal terminal passed through the through-hole is housed in the case. This eliminates the need to connect the signal line terminals after passing through the stopper, and facilitates the assembly of the connector.

(4) In the charging connector of (3), the terminal pressing portion may have a protruding cylindrical portion on the wire connecting portion side with respect to the protruding portion, the protruding cylindrical portion may be formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the periphery of the signal terminal, and the through hole may include: a hollow portion of the protruding cylinder portion; a terminal insertion hole located outside the protruding cylinder portion; and a terminal pressing portion side slit formed in the protruding cylindrical portion and communicating the hollow portion with the terminal insertion hole, wherein a minimum width dimension of the signal terminal on the electric connection portion side of the protruding portion or a diameter of a signal wire connected to the signal terminal is the same as or smaller than a width dimension of the terminal pressing portion side slit, and a maximum width dimension of the intermediate portion is larger than the width dimension of the terminal pressing portion side slit. Thus, after the signal terminal with the signal wire is accommodated in the housing through the through hole, the rear end portion of the signal terminal or the signal wire can be inserted into the hollow portion of the protruding cylindrical portion through the terminal pressing portion side slit. Further, after the rear end portion of the signal terminal or the signal wire is accommodated in the hollow portion, the stopper body is moved along the signal terminal with the signal wire and is attached to the housing, so that the signal terminal can be accommodated in the projecting cylindrical portion, and the distal end portion of the projecting cylindrical portion can be locked to the projecting portion.

(5) In the charging connector of (4), a common through-hole may be provided as the through-hole, and the common through-hole may be configured to: one of the terminal insertion through holes communicates with the hollow portion of the 1 st projecting tube portion via the 1 st terminal pressing portion side slit and also communicates with the hollow portion of the 2 nd projecting tube portion via the 2 nd terminal pressing portion side slit, and an insulating wall is provided in a portion where the 1 st terminal pressing portion side slit and the 2 nd terminal pressing portion side slit are linearly connected in the common through hole. This ensures the insulation distance of the plurality of signal terminals inserted into the housing through the common insertion hole.

(6) Any one of the charging connectors (3) to (5) may further include: a thermistor mounted on the power supply terminal; and the wire is assembled on the thermistor, the thermistor and the power supply terminal are jointly accommodated in the shell, and the wire of the thermistor penetrates through the stop body through the through hole. Thus, even if the thermistor and the power supply terminal are housed in the case together, the wire of the thermistor can be extended toward the vehicle interior side. In addition, the thermistor can be disposed in the power supply terminal at a position close to the connection portion of the other side terminal, and the temperature detection accuracy of the power supply terminal using the thermistor can be improved.

(7) In the charging connector according to any one of (1) to (6), the cylindrical portion may include a cylindrical portion main body and a plurality of elastic pieces protruding from a distal end portion of the cylindrical portion main body, the plurality of elastic pieces may protrude from positions spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion main body, the slits may be formed between the plurality of elastic pieces arranged in the circumferential direction, and a main body side slit extending from one end to the other end in an axial direction of the cylindrical portion main body may be formed in the cylindrical portion main body. Thus, there is room for the cylindrical portion to deform in the radial direction during insertion and removal.

(8) In the charging connector of (7), a width dimension of a rear end portion of the plurality of elastic pieces may be smaller than a width dimension of a tip portion of the plurality of elastic pieces, and a width of a rear end portion of the slit may be larger than a width of the tip portion of the slit. Therefore, the plurality of elastic pieces are easily deformed in the radial direction during insertion and removal.

(9) In the charging connector of (7) or (8), a diameter of the tube portion at a distal end portion of the plurality of elastic pieces may be smaller than a diameter of the tube portion at a rear end portion of the plurality of elastic pieces.

[ details of embodiments of the present disclosure ]

Specific examples of the charging connector according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to these examples, and the claims are intended to show that all modifications equivalent in meaning and scope to the claims are intended to be included.

[ embodiment 1]

Hereinafter, a charging connector according to embodiment 1 will be described.

< vehicle >

First, a vehicle incorporating the charging connector will be described.

The vehicle incorporating the charging connector is an electrically powered vehicle including a power storage device and a motor. The vehicle runs by being driven by electric power of the power storage device by the electric motor. The vehicle may be an electric vehicle provided with only an electric motor as a drive source, or may be a hybrid vehicle provided with an electric motor and an engine. The power storage device in the vehicle is charged with electric power supplied from an external power supply. The charging connector is configured such that an external charging connector can be inserted and electrically connected. The external charging connector is a connector of a charging cable extending from an external power supply.

As a charging method of the power storage device in the vehicle, general charging and rapid charging are generally available. The quick charge allows a current larger than that in the normal charge to flow, thereby enabling charging for a shorter time than in the normal charge. It is assumed that the general charging uses a household power supply or an external power supply equivalent thereto. In the quick charging, it is assumed that a dedicated power supply such as a charging pile is used. The description is made on the assumption that the charging connector of the present disclosure is a charging connector corresponding to quick charging.

< charging connector in vehicle >

An assembly method of the charging connector in the vehicle will be described with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a charging connector 10 according to embodiment 1 and an assembly method thereof.

The charging connector 10 is mounted to a mounting portion 100 provided on an outer surface of a vehicle body in a vehicle, for example. Fig. 1 shows an example of the mounting portion 100. The fitting portion 100 is formed in a concave shape in which a part of a panel constituting a vehicle body is recessed toward the inside of the vehicle, for example. A through-hole 104 is formed in the bottom panel 102 of the fitting portion 100.

A connection portion with an external charging connector is provided on the front side of the charging connector 10. The connection portion includes a portion into which the external charging connector is inserted and electrically connected. A part of the charging connector 10 including the connection portion is exposed outside the panel 102 through the through-hole 104. The other part of charging connector 10 is disposed on the vehicle inner side of panel 102. Generally, a vehicle body side cover 106 is provided at the fitting portion 100. The body-side cover 106 is openably and closably attached by a hinge or the like. In a state where the body-side cover 106 is closed, the body-side cover 106 covers the opening of the panel 102. In a state where the vehicle body side cover 106 is open, the charging connector 10 is exposed and can be connected to the charging connector 10 from the outside.

In the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 1, the X direction among the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction orthogonal to each other is a direction parallel to the direction in which the charging connector 10 penetrates the through-hole 104 of the panel 102. The charging connector 10 and the external charging connector are connected in the X direction. The Z direction is, for example, a plumb direction. For example, when the charging connector 10 is provided on a side surface of the vehicle, the Y direction is the front-rear direction of the vehicle. For example, in the case where the charging connector 10 is provided on the front surface or the rear surface of the vehicle, the Y direction is the width direction of the vehicle. Hereinafter, the components that are not in the assembled state will be described with reference to directions corresponding to the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction in the assembled state.

< overall construction >

In addition to fig. 1, the overall configuration of the charging connector 10 will be described with reference to fig. 2 to 7. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing charging connector 10 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the charging connector 10 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 4 is a front view showing the charging connector 10 of embodiment 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V of fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the terminal-equipped electric wire 38 and its storage position. Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the path of the electric wire 30 in the charging connector 10. In fig. 3, the electric wire 30 is omitted. In fig. 6, a part of the terminal-equipped wire 38 is omitted.

The charging connector 10 includes a terminal 20, an electric wire 30, a thermistor unit 40, a housing 50, a stopper 60, an electric wire cover 70, a cover unit 80, and a grommet 90.

< terminal >

The terminal 20 includes a connector terminal 21 and a relay terminal 28. The connector terminal 21 is housed in the housing 50. The connector terminal 21 is connected to a terminal of a mating connector. The number and type of the connector terminals 21 are appropriately set according to the specification of the charging connector 10. In the example of the present embodiment, two power supply terminals 22, six signal terminals 24, and one ground terminal 26 are provided as the connector terminal 21. The relay terminal 28 is sandwiched between the power supply terminal 22 and the electric wire 30. The relay terminals 28 are provided with the same number (two here) as the power supply terminals 22. The two power supply terminals 22 exemplify the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal. Of the two power supply terminals 22, the 1 st power supply terminal may be any one.

The power supply terminal 22 includes a mating-side connection portion 23a, a terminal fixing portion 23b, and a protruding portion 23c. The power terminal 22 also has a thermistor mounting portion 23d. The signal terminal 24 has a mating-side connection portion 25a, an electric wire connection portion 25b, and a protruding portion 25c. The ground terminal 26 has a mating-side connecting portion 27a, a wire connecting portion 27b, and a protruding portion 27c. The relay terminal 28 includes a terminal fixing portion 29a and a wire connecting portion 29b.

The mating- side connection portions 23a, 25a, and 27a are electrically connected to connector terminals of the external charging connector. The terminal fixing portions 23b and 29a are formed with holes through which the screws S can be inserted. The power supply terminal 22 and the relay terminal 28 are fixed to the terminal fixing portions 23b and 29a by screws S, and are electrically connected and fixed. The electric wire connection parts 25b, 27b, 29b are crimping parts having a barrel. The barrels in the wire connection portions 25b, 27b, 29b of the signal terminal 24, the ground terminal 26, and the relay terminal 28 are respectively crimped to the ends of the corresponding wires 30. Thereby, the signal terminal 24, the ground terminal 26, and the relay terminal 28 are electrically connected to and fixed to the corresponding wires 30, respectively. The protruding portions 23c, 25c, and 27c are provided at the intermediate portion of each connector terminal 21. The protrusions 23c, 25c, 27c are portions pressed by the stopper 60. The thermistor fitting portion 23d is a portion where the thermistor unit 40 is fitted.

Each terminal 20 is formed by pressing (bending) a metal plate. The thickness of each terminal 20 may be set according to an allowable current value or the like. The larger the thickness is, the larger the conductor cross-sectional area is, and the larger the allowable current value is. In this example, the plate thickness of the signal terminal 24 is thinner than the plate thickness of the power supply terminal 22 and the plate thickness of the ground terminal 26. The ground terminal 26 has a plate thickness smaller than that of the power supply terminal 22. The plate thickness of the relay terminal 28 is the same as that of the power supply terminal 22.

The signal terminal 24 is thinner than the power supply terminal 22 and the ground terminal 26, and the ground terminal 26 is thinner than the power supply terminal 22. The mating- side connecting portions 23a, 25a, and 27a of the power supply terminal 22, the signal terminal 24, and the ground terminal 26 are formed in a cylindrical shape. The mating-side land 25a of the signal terminal 24 is smaller in diameter than the mating- side lands 23a and 27a of the power terminal 22 and the ground terminal 26, and the mating-side land 27a of the ground terminal 26 is smaller in diameter than the mating-side land 23a of the power terminal 22.

< Electrical wire >

One end of each wire 30 is connected to the terminal 20. The other end of each wire 30 extends outward from the grommet 90. In a state where the charging connector 10 is mounted on the vehicle, the other end of each wire 30 is connected to another device mounted on the vehicle. Such a device is appropriately set according to the type of the electric wire 30, and for example, a battery, an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), or the like may be assumed. The number and kind of the electric wires 30 correspond to those of the connector terminals 21. In the example of the present embodiment, the electric wires 30 include two power lines 32, six signal lines 34, and one ground line 36. One end of power line 32 is connected to relay terminal 28. The power line 32 is connected to the power supply terminal 22 via the relay terminal 28. One end of the signal line 34 is connected to the signal terminal 24. One end of the ground wire 36 is connected to the ground terminal 26. One end of the thermistor wire 44 is connected to the thermistor 42.

Each of the wires 30 is a covered wire. The covered electric wire has a core wire 31a and a covering portion 31b covering the core wire 31 a. The core wire 31a is formed by twisting a plurality of metal wires, for example. The covering portion 31b is formed by, for example, extrusion molding of an insulating resin around the core wire 31 a. As the plurality of electric wires 30, a plurality of kinds of electric wires 30 having different thicknesses are used. The thickness of the wire 30 is set according to an allowable current value or the like. In general, in order to increase the allowable current value, the conductor cross-sectional area needs to be increased, and accordingly, the thickness of the electric wire 30 becomes thicker. In addition, the thickness of the electric wire 30 generally has a correlation with the difficulty of bending the electric wire 30, and as the electric wire 30 becomes thicker, the electric wire 30 becomes difficult to bend. For example, when an easily bendable electric wire and a hardly bendable electric wire are bent by the same angle amount, the radius of curvature of the hardly bendable electric wire becomes larger than that of the easily bendable electric wire, and accordingly, a large arrangement space is required.

In this example, the power line 32 is thicker than the ground line 36 and the signal line 34. Therefore, the power line 32 is less likely to bend than the ground line 36 and the signal line 34. The ground line 36 is thicker than the signal line 34. Therefore, the ground line 36 is less likely to be bent than the signal line 34. The power supply terminal 22, the relay terminal 28, and the power line 32 are used for power supply to the battery. The signal terminal 24 and the signal line 34 transmit signals between the outside of the vehicle and the control unit of the vehicle. The ground terminal 26 and the ground line 36 are used for grounding.

< electric wire with terminal >

The terminal 20 and the electric wire 30 are electrically connected to each other by crimping at a stage midway in the manufacturing of the charging connector 10, and are fixed and integrated. Such an integrated structure of the electric wire 30 and the terminal 20 is sometimes referred to as a terminal-equipped electric wire 38. In this example, a terminal-equipped wire 38 in which the power line 32 and the relay terminal 28 are integrated, a terminal-equipped wire 38 in which the signal line 34 and the signal terminal 24 are integrated, and a terminal-equipped wire 38 in which the ground line 36 and the ground terminal 26 are integrated are provided.

As shown in fig. 5, the shrink tube 39 may be covered with the terminal-equipped electric wire 38 to form a water stop portion. The shrinkage tube 39 covers the connection portion of the electric wire 30 and the terminal 20. This can prevent water from splashing at the connection portion between the wire 30 and the terminal 20, and water from entering the coating portion. The connection portions of the electric wire 30 and the terminal 20 are crimping portions of the barrels in the electric wire connection portions 25b, 27b, 29b and core wires of the signal wire 34, the ground wire 36, and the power wire 32.

The shrink tube 39 covers a portion of the terminal 20, which is located forward of a portion to which the electric wire 30 is connected, to a portion of the electric wire 30 having a coating portion. The shrink tube 39 is a heat shrink tube 39 that is shrunk by heating. The heat shrinkable tube 39 is covered to the terminal-equipped wire 38 in a state of a large diameter before being heated. Then, the heat shrinkable tube 39 becomes a shape corresponding to the shape of the connection portion when it is shrunk by heating, and can be brought into close contact with the connection portion. For example, a hot-melt adhesive may be provided on the inner surface of the heat-shrinkable tube 39. This enables the hot-melt adhesive to fill the gap between the heat-shrinkable tube 39 and the terminal 20 and the gap between the heat-shrinkable tube 39 and the electric wire 30, thereby improving the water resistance of the shrinkable tube 39. The inner surface of the heat shrinkable tube 39 may not be provided with a hot melt adhesive.

In the terminated electric wire 38, the water stopper may not be the shrink tube 39. For example, instead of the shrink tube 39, a resin such as an adhesive may be provided. In the terminal-equipped electric wire 38, the pressure-bonding section may be exposed without providing a water stop section. The terminal-equipped wire 38 may be sealed by a rubber plug or the like.

< thermistor Unit >

The thermistor unit 40 measures the temperature of the power supply circuit. In the charging connector 10 for quick charging, a large current flows in a power supply circuit for charging the battery, and therefore, the temperature rise of the power supply circuit increases accordingly. By monitoring the temperature of the power supply circuit using the thermistor unit 40, it is possible to suppress an excessive increase in the temperature of the power supply circuit. The thermistor unit 40 includes a thermistor 42 and a thermistor wire 44. In this example, the thermistors 42 are mounted on the pair of power supply terminals 22, respectively, and the temperatures of the pair of power supply terminals 22 are measured, respectively. One end of the thermistor wire 44 is connected to the thermistor 42. The other end of the thermistor wire 44 extends outward from the grommet 90, similarly to the other end of the electric wire 30. The other end of the thermistor wire 44 is connected to, for example, an ECU or the like in a state where the charging connector 10 is mounted on the vehicle. The thermistor wire 44 is thinner than the power line 32 and the ground line 36. Therefore, the thermistor wire 44 is more easily bent than the power line 32 and the ground line 36.

< housing >

The housing 50 holds the connector terminal 21 at a predetermined position (a position of the external charging connector to which the connector terminal 21 can be connected). The housing 50 is fitted to the external charging connector at a front end portion along the insertion/removal direction of the external charging connector. The housing 50 includes a housing main body 51, a vehicle mounting portion 54, and a wire pressing portion 57.

The housing main body 51 houses the connector terminal 21. The housing main body 51 has a plurality of terminal receiving portions 53 and an outer frame portion 52. Each of the plurality of terminal receiving portions 53 is formed in a cylindrical shape capable of receiving a corresponding connector terminal 21. The outer frame portion 52 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the plurality of terminal receiving portions 53. The plurality of terminal housing portions 53 and the outer frame portion 52 are connected to each other by a flat plate-shaped connecting portion at an intermediate portion of the terminal housing portion 53. A cover unit 80 is mounted on the front of the housing main body 51. A stopper 60 is fitted to the rear of the housing main body 51.

The vehicle mounting portion 54 is a portion for mounting the charging connector 10 to the mounting portion 100. The vehicle attachment portion 54 is formed in a plate shape protruding toward the periphery of the outer frame portion 52 at the intermediate portion of the case main body 51. The vehicle mounting portion 54 is mounted to the mounting portion 100 with, for example, screws S.

The wire pressing portion 57 presses the intermediate portion of the wire 30 extending from the terminal 20. Thus, the vibration generated on the other end side of the wire 30 from the portion pressed by the wire pressing portion 57 is less likely to be transmitted to the terminal 20, and the friction between the terminal 20 and the housing main body 51 can be suppressed. A block-shaped arm 56 projects from the outer frame 52 in the Y direction behind the housing main body 51. A wire pressing portion 57 is provided at a distal end portion of the arm 56 along a protruding direction from the housing main body 51. The electric wire pressing portions 57 are provided in three. Two of the three wire pressing portions 57 press the two power lines 32, and the remaining one of the wire pressing portions 57 presses one ground line 36.

< stopper >

The stopper 60 inhibits the terminal 20 from being detached from the housing 50. The stopper 60 is integrated with the rear end of the housing 50, and holds the terminal 20 together with the housing 50. The stopper body 60 includes a terminal pressing portion 61 and ribs 69a, 69b.

The terminal pressing portion 61 presses the rear of the connector terminal 21 housed in the housing 50. This suppresses rearward detachment of the connector terminal 21 from the housing 50. The terminal pressing portion 61 includes a rear cover portion 62 and a plurality of projecting tube portions 63. The projecting cylindrical portion 63 presses the signal terminal 24. The terminal pressing portion 61 further includes two power terminal pressing portions 63P and a ground terminal pressing portion 63G. The power terminal 22 is pressed by the power terminal pressing portion 63P, and the ground terminal 26 is pressed by the ground terminal pressing portion 63G.

The rear cover 62 closes the rear opening of the outer frame 52. The plurality of projecting cylindrical portions 63 project forward (toward the housing 50) from the rear cover 62. Each protruding cylindrical portion 63 is formed in a cylindrical shape. Projecting cylindrical portions 63 are formed at positions of the six signal terminals 24 corresponding to the terminal accommodating portions 53, respectively. The protruding cylindrical portion 63 is inserted into the terminal accommodating portion 53. Each of the projecting cylindrical portions 63 surrounds the signal terminal 24 on the wire connecting portion 25b side of the projecting portion 25c. The projecting cylindrical portions 63 are open at the front and rear of the stopper 60. When the protruding cylindrical portion 63 is inserted into the terminal accommodating portion 53, the rear end portion of the connector terminal 21 accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 53 is accommodated in the protruding cylindrical portion 63 from the front opening of the protruding cylindrical portion 63. When each of the projecting cylindrical portions 63 is inserted into the terminal accommodating portion 53, each of the projecting cylindrical portions 63 extends along the wire connecting portion 25b of the accommodated signal terminal 24. The tip of each protruding cylindrical portion 63 presses the protruding portion 25c of the corresponding signal terminal 24 from behind toward the housing 50. The signal line 34 is drawn out from an opening at the rear of the corresponding protruding cylindrical portion 63.

The two power terminal pressing portions 63P and the one ground terminal pressing portion 63G protrude forward (toward the housing 50) from the rear cover portion 62. The power supply terminal pressing portion 63P is formed in a cylindrical shape like the protruding cylindrical portion 63. The ground terminal pressing portion 63G is formed in a plate shape extending in the Y direction. Each power terminal pressing portion 63P presses the protruding portion 23c of the corresponding power terminal 22 toward the housing 50 from behind. The ground terminal pressing portion 63G presses the protruding portion 27c of the ground terminal 26 from behind toward the housing 50. The power supply terminal 22 and the relay terminal 28 are brought into contact and locked by a screw through an opening at the rear of the power supply terminal pressing portion 63P. Relay terminal 28 is disposed on the back surface of rear cover 62. The opening at the rear of the power supply terminal pressing portion 63P is closed by the relay terminal 28. The ground wire 36 is drawn out from a hole below the ground terminal pressing portion 63G.

Ribs 69a, 69b project rearward from rear lid 62. The ribs 69a, 69b space the relay terminals 28 from each other. In addition, the ribs 69a, 69b separate the relay terminal 28 and the signal terminal 24. The ribs 69a, 69b also position the relay terminal 28. The relay terminal 28 is disposed along the ribs 69a and 69b at a portion connected to the power supply terminal 22. The ribs 69a, 69b separate the housing space of the terminal 20 from the drain space inside the grommet 90. Dust and the like entering the drain space from the drain port 93 can be prevented from reaching the housing space of the terminal 20. This can prevent dust and the like from adhering to the terminal 20.

The housing 50 and the stopper 60 are provided with locking portions. In this example, as the locking portion, a locking projection formed on the housing 50 and a locking piece formed on the stopper body 60 are provided. The housing 50 and the stopper 60 are maintained in a state of being fitted to each other by the engagement piece being engaged with the engagement projection.

< wire cover >

The wire cover 70 is fitted to the wire pressing portion 57. The wire cover 70 suppresses the wire 30 from being detached from the wire pressing portion 57. The entire periphery of the wire 30 is covered with the wire cover 70 and the wire pressing portion 57. In the present embodiment, two wire covers 70 are provided. One of the two electric wire covers 70 presses the two electric power wires 32. The other of the two wire covers 70 presses one ground wire 36.

< cover Unit >

The cover unit 80 is openably and closably provided in front of the housing main body 51. When the cover unit 80 is opened, the connection port of the housing main body 51 is exposed. Thereby, an external charging connector can be connected to the charging connector 10. When the cover unit 80 is closed, the connection port of the housing main body 51 is closed by the cover unit 80. The cover unit 80 has a cover 82, a hinge unit 84, and a locking unit 86. The cover 82 is openably and closably attached to the housing main body 51 via a hinge unit 84. The locking unit 86 maintains the cover 82 in a closed state. During the charging operation, the operator can operate the lock unit 86 to open the cover 82.

< wire sheath >

The grommet 90 is an example of an exterior member that covers the entire range from the rear end portion of the case 50 to the intermediate portion of the power line 32 and the signal line 34. The grommet 90 is not necessarily provided as an exterior member. For example, a protector may be provided as the exterior member. The grommet 90 covers the case 50 and the stopper 60. The grommet 90 includes a 1 st protector 91 and a 2 nd protector 94. The 1 st protector 91 covers the stopper 60 and the rear end of the housing main body 51. The 2 nd protective part 94 covers the wire pressing part 57. The grommet 90 is made of an elastomer such as EPDM.

The 1 st protector 91 has a case drawing port 92 and a drain port 93. The front end of the housing main body 51 extends outside the grommet 90 through the housing outlet 92. Drain port 93 is an opening for discharging water that has entered the interior of charging connector 10 to the outside. Such water may be assumed to enter from the opening portion of the housing main body 51 when the cover unit 80 is opened, for example. A binding band 98 is attached to an outer surface of the housing outlet 92. The wire sheath 90 is mounted to the housing 50 with a binding band 98.

The 2 nd protection portion 94 is formed with a wire drawing port 95. The other end of the electric wire 30 extends outside the grommet 90 through the electric wire outlet 95. Three wire drawing ports 95 are provided in one wire sheath 90. Two of the three electric wire outlet openings 95 are provided for the two electric power wires 32. One power line 32 is inserted into each of the two wire outlet ports 95. The remaining one of the three wire drawing ports 95 is collectively passed through the signal wire 34, the ground wire 36, and the thermistor wire 44.

< route of electric wire in charging connector >

The power line 32 extends in a straight line inside the grommet 90 from one end connected to the relay terminal 28 to the other end, and extends outside the grommet 90 through the wire outlet 95. Therefore, one end of the power line 32 is not inserted into the through hole 64 of the stopper body 60.

Two power lines 32 extend in the sheath 90 in a Z-direction arrangement. The two power terminals 22 are accommodated in the housing main body 51 in a row in the Y direction. The difference between the direction in which the two power lines 32 are aligned and the direction in which the two power terminals 22 are aligned is absorbed by the relay terminal 28. More specifically, two relay terminals 28 are disposed on rear cover 62, respectively. The two relay terminals 28 extend in a direction intersecting the insertion and extraction direction. Of the two relay terminals 28, the relay terminal 28A is connected to the power supply terminal 22 located near the wire drawing port 95, and the relay terminal 28B is connected to the power supply terminal 22 located far from the wire drawing port 95. Relay terminals 28A and 28B are arranged in the Y direction at the portion connected to power supply terminal 22, and arranged in the Z direction at the portion connected to electric wire 30. The relay terminal 28A extends in a straight line along the rear cover 62 between a portion connected to the power supply terminal 22 and a portion connected to the power line 32. The relay terminal 28B is bent away from the rear cover 62 in the middle of the portion connected to the power supply terminal 22 toward the portion connected to the power line 32. The relay terminal 28B changes the orientation of the main surface between a portion connected to the power supply terminal 22 and a portion connected to the power line 32.

One end of the signal line 34 is inserted into the terminal receiving portion 53. The other end of the signal wire 34 extends from the through hole 64 of the stopper body 60, is bent inside the grommet 90, and faces the wire outlet 95 of the grommet 90. Among the plurality of signal lines 34, the signal line 34A is connected to the signal terminal 24 located above the power supply terminal 22, and the signal line 34B is connected to the signal terminal 24 located below the power supply terminal 22. The signal line 34A extends from the through-hole 64, passes between the pair of power lines 32, merges with the signal line 34B, and extends in the Y direction.

One end of the ground wire 36 is inserted into the terminal receiving portion 53. The ground wire 36 extends from the through hole 64 of the stopper body 60 from one end portion toward the other end portion, is bent inside the grommet 90, and faces the wire drawing port 95 of the grommet 90 together with the signal wire 34. As described above, since the ground line 36 is less likely to bend than the signal line 34, the curvature radius of the ground line 36 is likely to be larger than that of the signal line 34 in the portion where the signal line 34 and the ground line 36 bend from the X direction toward the Y direction. By pressing the other end of the ground wire 36 with the wire pressing portion 57 and the wire cover 70 of the housing 50, the ground wire 36 can be prevented from excessively bulging inside the grommet 90.

The thermistor 42 is housed in the case body 51 together with the power supply terminal 22. Therefore, one end of the thermistor wire 44 is also housed in the case main body 51. The other end of the thermistor wire 44 extends outside the rear cover 62 through the through hole 64 of the stopper 60, is bent inside the grommet 90, and faces the outlet of the grommet 90. The thermistor wire 44 is inserted through the through hole 64 at a portion for inserting the terminal-equipped wire 38. The thermistor wire 44 passes between the pair of power lines 32, and extends in the Y direction together with the signal line 34.

< relationship between housing body and signal terminal >

The relationship between the housing main body 51 and the signal terminals 24 will be further described with reference to fig. 8 to 10. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the difference of the signal terminals 24. Fig. 9 is a rear view showing the rear end portion of the housing main body 51. In fig. 9, the connector terminals 21 are illustrated in the same arrangement as that of the terminal receiving portions 53. Is a rear view showing the rear end portion of the housing main body 51. Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the housing main body 51 and the signal terminals 24. In fig. 10, the signal terminal 24 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 8, and the housing main body 51 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 9.

As shown in fig. 8, in this example, the plurality of signal terminals 24 include three types of signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C. Here, one signal terminal 24A, three signal terminals 24B, and two signal terminals 24C are provided. The signal terminal 24A is housed in the terminal housing portion 53A, and the signal terminal 24B is housed in the terminal housing portion 53B. The terminal housing portions 53A and 53B are located above a line connecting the centers of the terminal housing portions 53 of the two power supply terminals 22 in the Z direction. The terminal receiving portions 53A are surrounded by three terminal receiving portions 53B. In the Y direction, the terminal receiving portions 53B are located adjacent to the terminal receiving portions 53A, respectively. One terminal housing portion 53B is located adjacent to the lower side of the terminal housing portion 53A in the Z direction. The terminal receiving portion 53A and the terminal receiving portion 53B on the lower side thereof are located at the center of the terminal receiving portions 53 of the two power supply terminals 22 in the Y direction.

The three kinds of signal terminals 24A, 24B, 24C have mutually different shapes. In the three types of signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C, the shape of the projecting portion 25C is different from each other. In each of the signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C, the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 25C extend in opposite directions to each other. The intermediate portion of each signal terminal 24 is formed in a half-cylindrical shape as a coupling portion for coupling the mating connection portion 25a and the wire connection portion 25 b. The 1 st projection 25c extends from one end of the semi-cylindrical coupling portion in a direction away from the coupling portion. The 2 nd projecting portion 25c extends from the other end portion of the semi-cylindrical coupling portion in a direction away from the coupling portion. The distance between the tip of the 1 st protruding portion 25c and the tip of the 2 nd protruding portion 25c from the semi-cylindrical connecting portion is the maximum width dimension of the signal terminal 24.

In the example shown in fig. 8, the vertical direction on the paper surface is a direction parallel to the insertion and extraction direction of the external charging connector. In the protruding portion 25c of the signal terminal 24, the dimension in the insertion and extraction direction is the width dimension of the protruding portion 25c. In the example shown in fig. 8, the width dimensions W1A, W1B, and W1C are the width dimensions of the protruding portions 25C of the respective signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C. As shown in fig. 8, the width dimensions W1A, W1C of the protruding portions 25C of the signal terminals 24A, 24C are smaller than the width dimension W1B of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24B. The width W1A of the projecting portion 25C of the signal terminal 24A is the same as the width W1C of the projecting portion 25C of the signal terminal 24C.

In the example shown in fig. 8, the paper surface left-right direction is a direction parallel to the direction in which the protruding portion 25c extends from the semi-cylindrical coupling portion. In the projecting portion 25c of the signal terminal 24, a dimension along a direction in which the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 25c extend is a width dimension of the signal terminal 24. In the example shown in fig. 8, the width dimensions W2A, W2B, and W2C are the width dimensions of the respective signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C. As shown in fig. 8, the width W2A of the signal terminal 24A is smaller than the width W2B and W2C of the signal terminals 24B and 24C. The width W2B of the signal terminal 24B is smaller than the width W2C of the signal terminal 24C.

Each signal terminal 24 has a cylindrical portion 25a of the mating connection portion 25a. The cylindrical portion 25a is provided on the tip end side of the signal terminal 24. The cylindrical portion 25a is inserted with a terminal of an external charging connector. The tube portion 25a includes a tube portion main body 25d and a plurality of elastic pieces 25e. The plurality of elastic pieces 25e protrude from the distal end portion of the tube main body 25d toward the distal end side. The plurality of elastic pieces 25e constitute distal end portions of the signal terminals 24. The semi-cylindrical coupling portion projects from the rear end portion of the tube main body 25d toward the rear end side.

In the example shown in fig. 8, the longitudinal dimensions LA, LB, LC are dimensions of the cylindrical body 25d of the signal terminals 24A, 24B, 24C in the insertion and extraction direction. The length LA of the cylindrical body 25d of the signal terminal 24A is longer than the length LB and LC of the cylindrical body 25d of the signal terminals 24B and 24C. The length LB of the cylindrical body 25d of the signal terminal 24B is the same as the length LC of the cylindrical body 25d of the signal terminal 24C.

The terminal housing 53 for the signal terminal 24 has a 1 st housing 53d and a 2 nd housing 53e. The 1 st receiving portion 53d receives the tip end portion of the signal terminal 24 from the protruding portion 25c. The 1 st housing portion 53d is formed to be the same as or slightly smaller than the cylinder main body 25 d. The 2 nd receiving portion 53e receives the projecting portion 25c and the rear end portion of the signal terminal 24 with respect to the projecting portion 25c. The 2 nd accommodation portion 53e is formed in a size that the protruding cylindrical portion 63 can enter. The 2 nd housing portion 53e is larger than the 1 st housing portion 53d in a direction intersecting the inserting and extracting direction, and a step is generated between the 1 st housing portion 53d and the 2 nd housing portion 53e. Therefore, as shown in fig. 9, the rear end surface of the 1 st housing portion 53d is exposed at the rear end side through the 2 nd housing portion 53e. When the signal terminal 24 is about to move toward the distal end side of the terminal accommodating portion 53 from a predetermined position in the inserting and extracting direction, the projecting portion 25c is hooked on the rear end surface of the 1 st accommodating portion 53d, and further movement is restricted.

Two recesses 53f are formed in each 1 st accommodation portion 53 d. The two recesses 53f are circumferentially separated in the inner surface of the 1 st accommodation portion 53 d. The two recesses 53f are formed in the 1 st accommodation portion 53d to accommodate the cylindrical portion body 25d and a portion closer to the rear end portion thereof. A convex portion 53g is formed between the two concave portions 53f. The two concave portions 53f and the convex portion 53g extend from the rear end portion to the intermediate portion of the 1 st accommodation portion 53 d. Two concave portions 53f are provided adjacent to each other at the lowermost portion in the Z direction in the inner surface of the 1 st receiving portion 53 d. The convex portion 53g is provided at the lowermost portion in the Z direction among the inner surfaces of the 1 st accommodation portion 53 d. The two concave portions 53f are recessed downward along the Z direction. The rear end of the recess 53f is recessed in the Z direction by a larger amount than the tip of the recess 53f. In the rear end surface of the 1 st accommodation portion 53d, the concave portion 53f and the convex portion 53g form a concave-convex shape in the X direction.

A groove 53h into which the projection 25C is fitted is formed in the 2 nd housing portion 53e of some of the terminal housing portions 53B and 53C. The 1 st and 2 nd grooves 53h into which the 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 25C are fitted are formed in the 2 nd receiving portions 53e of the terminal receiving portions 53B and 53C. The 1 st and 2 nd grooves 53h are formed in the inner surface of the 2 nd accommodating portion 53e at positions 180 degrees apart from each other. Each groove 53h is formed to have a size corresponding to the received projection 25c. Further, each groove 53h is recessed from the inner surface of the 2 nd housing portion 53e toward the direction corresponding to the direction of the signal terminal 24. The signal terminal 24B is housed in the terminal housing portion 53B such that the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 25c extend in the Y direction. The 1 st and 2 nd grooves 53h in the terminal receiving portion 53B are recessed in the Y direction from the inner surface of the 2 nd receiving portion 53e. The signal terminal 24C is housed in the terminal housing portion 53C such that the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 25C extend in a direction intersecting the Y direction and the Z direction. The 1 st and 2 nd grooves 53h in the terminal accommodating portion 53C are recessed from the inner surface of the 2 nd accommodating portion 53e in a direction intersecting the Y direction and the Z direction. The 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 25C of the signal terminals 24B, 24C are accommodated in the 1 st and 2 nd grooves 53h of the terminal accommodating portions 53B, 53C. This can suppress the signal terminals 24B and 24C from rotating about an axis along the insertion/removal direction.

The groove 53h is not formed in the 2 nd receiving portion 53e of a part of the terminal receiving portion 53A. The 2 nd receiving portion 53e of the terminal receiving portion 53A is formed in a size in which the protruding portion 25c can be received. A rotation-inhibiting projection 53i is formed in the 2 nd housing portion 53e of the terminal housing portion 53A. The rotation-suppressing convex portion 53i protrudes from a part of the inner surface of the 2 nd accommodating portion 53e to the inside of the 2 nd accommodating portion 53e. The rotation-suppressing projection 53i is located on the trajectory of the protrusion 25c when the signal terminal 24A rotates about the axis along the insertion/extraction direction. As shown in fig. 9, the rotation-suppressing convex portion 53i is provided at a position apart from the concave portion 53f and the convex portion 53g as viewed from the X direction.

A slit 25f is formed at the distal end of the tube portion 25a. The slit 25f separates one part of the cylindrical portion 25a from another part in the circumferential direction. Here, slits 25f are formed between the plurality of elastic pieces 25e. The plurality of elastic pieces 25e protrude from positions spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the tube main body 25 d. Slits 25f are formed between the plurality of elastic pieces 25e arranged in the circumferential direction. In this example, in one signal terminal 24, three elastic pieces 25e are arranged in the circumferential direction. Therefore, three slits 25f are formed in one signal terminal 24.

In the example shown in fig. 10, the width dimension W3 is the width of the tip of the slit 25f in the signal terminal 24C. In the example shown in fig. 10, the width W4 is the width of the convex portion 53g in the terminal housing portion 53 of the signal terminal 24C. The width W4 is a width of a wall exposed at the rear end of the housing 50 when the rear end of the housing 50 is viewed from the insertion and extraction direction. The width W3 of the slit 25f is smaller than the width W4 of the projection 53g as a wall. Therefore, when the signal terminal 24C is inserted into the terminal housing portion 53, the protrusion 53g is prevented from entering the slit 25f, and the terminal insertion is facilitated.

Further, the width dimension of the tip of the slit 25f in the signal terminals 24A, 24B is the same as the width dimension of the tip of the slit 25f in the signal terminal 24C. The width of the convex portion 53g in the terminal receiving portion 53 of the signal terminal 24A or 24B is the same as the width of the convex portion 53g in the terminal receiving portion 53 of the signal terminal 24C. Therefore, even when the signal terminals 24A and 24B are inserted into the terminal accommodating portion 53, the projection 53g is prevented from entering the slit 25f, and the terminal insertion is facilitated.

In the example shown in fig. 10, the width W5 is the width of the projection 53g in the terminal receiving portion 53 of the ground terminal 26. The protruding portion 53g of the terminal receiving portion 53 of the ground terminal 26 is the wall having the smallest width among the walls exposed at the rear end portion of the housing 50 when the rear end portion of the housing 50 is viewed from the inserting/removing direction. Here, the width W3 of the slit 25f is smaller than the width W5 of the wall. This suppresses entry of any wall of the rear end portion of the housing 50 into the slit 25f when each signal terminal 24 is inserted into the terminal housing portion 53, and facilitates insertion of the terminal.

The slit 25f extends rearward from the distal end of the tube portion 25a. The convex portion 53g of the terminal accommodating portion 53 extends forward from the rear end of the 1 st accommodating portion 53 d. When the rear end portion of the housing 50 is viewed from the insertion and extraction direction, the rear end of the projection 53g is exposed.

In the example shown in fig. 10, the width W6 is the width of the rear end of the slit 25f. The width W6 of the rear end of the slit 25f is larger than the width W3 of the tip of the slit 25f.

The plurality of elastic pieces 25e are bent at intermediate portions such that distal end portions of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e are positioned closer to the radial center side than rear end portions of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e. Thus, the diameter of the tube portion 25a at the tip end of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e is smaller than the diameter of the tube portion 25a at the rear end of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e. Thus, the interval between the adjacent elastic pieces 25e at the tip end portions of the elastic pieces 25e is smaller than the interval between the adjacent elastic pieces 25e at the rear end portions of the elastic pieces 25e.

Here, in each elastic piece 25e, the plate width at the rear end portion is smaller than the plate width at the tip end portion. Thus, the interval between the adjacent elastic pieces 25e at the tip end portions of the elastic pieces 25e is smaller than the interval between the adjacent elastic pieces 25e at the rear end portions of the elastic pieces 25e.

Further, a main body side slit 25g is formed in the tube main body 25 d. The main body side slit 25g extends from one end to the other end in the axial direction of the tube main body 25 d. As described above, the signal terminals 24 are formed by bending a metal plate. The circumferential length of the metal plate in the tube main body 25d is slightly shorter than the circumferential length of a circle corresponding to the diameter of the tube main body 25 d. One end portion and the other end portion of the metal plate in the circumferential direction are not overlapped in the radial direction and are separated in the circumferential direction. Thereby, a main body side slit 25g is formed between one end portion and the other end portion of the metal plate in the circumferential direction.

< relationship between stopper and terminal >

The relationship between the stopper 60 and the connector terminal 21 will be described with reference to fig. 11 to 13. Fig. 11 is a rear view showing the stopper body 60. Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the stopper body 60. Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the stopper body 60 presses the connector terminal 21 from the rear.

The stopper body 60 is formed with a plurality of through holes 64. Each through hole 64 penetrates the stopper body 60 in the insertion and extraction direction. The through-hole 64 is formed at a position corresponding to the terminal receiving portion 53. A protruding cylindrical portion 63 is formed on the periphery of the through-hole 64. Each protruding cylinder 63 has a protruding cylinder body 63a. The projecting cylindrical portion 63 of the pressing signal terminal 24B further has a projecting portion pressing convex portion 63B. The protruding portion pressing projection 63b protrudes outward from the outer surface of the protruding tube main body 63a. The protrusion pressing projection 63b enters the groove 53h to press the protrusion 25c. The projecting cylindrical portions 63 of the pressing signal terminals 24A, 24C do not have the projecting portion pressing convex portions 63b. In this example, four through holes 64 are formed in one stopper body 60 so as to correspond to the terminal receiving portions 53 of the six signal terminals 24.

Each of the four through holes 64 has a hollow portion 65 protruding from the cylindrical portion 63, a terminal insertion hole 66, and a terminal pressing portion side slit 67. The hollow portion 65 of the protruding cylinder 63 connects the front opening and the rear opening of the protruding cylinder 63. The terminal insertion through hole 66 is located outside the protruding cylindrical portion 63 in a direction intersecting the insertion and extraction direction. The terminal pressing portion side slit 67 is formed over the entire length of the protruding cylindrical portion 63 in the insertion and extraction direction. The terminal pressing portion side slit 67 communicates the hollow portion 65 and the terminal insertion hole 66.

Of two through holes 64A, 64B of the four through holes 64, one terminal insertion hole 66 communicates with the hollow portion 65 of one projecting tube portion 63. The hollow portion 65 of the protruding tube 63 in the through holes 64A, 64B is separated from the hollow portion 65 of the other protruding tube 63.

Of two through holes 64C, 64D of the four through holes 64, one terminal insertion hole 66 communicates with the hollow portions 65 of the two projecting cylindrical portions 63. These two through holes 64C, 64D are common through holes 64C, 64D. In the common through-hole 64C, one terminal insertion hole 66C communicates with one hollow portion 65C1 via one terminal pressing portion side slit 67C1, and also communicates with the other hollow portion 65C2 via the other terminal pressing portion side slit 67C 2. In the common through hole 64D, one terminal insertion hole 66D communicates with one hollow portion 65D1 via one terminal pressing portion side slit 67D1, and also communicates with the other hollow portion 65D2 via the other terminal pressing portion side slit 67D 2.

The six signal terminals 24 are connected to the signal lines 34 to form the terminal-equipped electric wires 38, and then pass through the stopper body 60 through the through-holes 64 corresponding to the terminal receiving portions 53 that receive the six signal terminals themselves, out of the four through-holes 64. Specifically, the signal terminal 24A and the signal terminal 24B adjacent to the left side of the signal terminal 24A among the three signal terminals 24B penetrate the stopper body 60 through the through hole 64C. The signal terminal 24B adjacent to the right side of the signal terminal 24A among the three signal terminals 24B passes through the stopper 60 through the through hole 64A. Among the three signal terminals 24B, the signal terminal 24 adjacent to the lower side of the signal terminal 24A passes through the stopper 60 via the through hole 64B. The two signal terminals 24C penetrate the stopper body 60 through the through holes 64D.

The four through holes 64 are each formed to have a size that allows the corresponding signal terminal 24 to pass therethrough. Each of the four through holes 64 is larger than the maximum width dimension of the intermediate portion of the signal terminal 24 that passes therethrough. The maximum width dimension of the intermediate portion of the signal terminal 24 is the width dimension of the protruding portion 25c. Specifically, the through- holes 64A, 64B are larger than the width dimension W1B of the protruding portion 25c of the signal terminal 24B. The through-hole 64C is larger than the width W1A of the protrusion 25C of the signal terminal 24A and the width W1B of the protrusion 25C of the signal terminal 24B. The through-hole 64D is larger than the width W1C of the protrusion 25C of the signal terminal 24C.

The maximum width of the intermediate portion of the signal terminal 24 is larger than the width of the terminal pressing portion side slit 67. The intermediate portion of the signal terminal 24 cannot pass through the terminal pressing portion side slit 67.

The minimum width dimension of the signal terminal 24 on the wire connecting portion 25b side of the protrusion 25c or the diameter of the signal wire 34 connected to the signal terminal 24 is the same as or smaller than the width dimension of the terminal pressing portion side slit 67. Thus, after the projecting portion 25c passes through the through-hole 64, the signal terminal 24 or the signal wire 34 can move to the hollow portion 65 of the projecting cylindrical portion 63 through the terminal pressing portion side slit 67. Here, the diameter of the signal line 34 is smaller than the width of the terminal pressing portion side slit 67. The signal line 34 can pass through the terminal pressing portion side slit 67.

In the common through-hole 64C, an insulating wall 68C is provided at a portion where the terminal pressing portion side slit 67C1 and the terminal pressing portion side slit 67C2 are linearly connected. The insulating wall 68C is a part of the protruding cylindrical portion 63. The insulating wall 68C ensures an insulating distance between the two signal terminals 24A and 24B passing through the common through hole 64C.

In the common through-hole 64D, insulating walls 68D1 and 68D2 are provided at portions where the terminal pressing portion side slit 67D1 and the terminal pressing portion side slit 67D2 are linearly connected. The insulating wall 68D1 is a part of the protruding cylindrical portion 63. The insulating wall 68D2 is a wall provided separately from the protruding cylindrical portion 63. The insulating wall 68D2 extends downward in the Z direction from an end of the insulating wall 68D 1. The four through holes 64 are partitioned by the rear lid 62 of the stopper 60. The insulating walls 68D1 and 68D2 ensure an insulation distance between the two signal terminals 24C and the ground terminal 26 passing through the common through hole 64C.

The opening at the rear of the cylindrical power supply terminal pressing portion 63P is closed by the relay terminal 28. Therefore, the thermistor wire 44 cannot be drawn out through the opening at the rear of the power terminal pressing portion 63P. The thermistor wire 44 penetrates the stopper 60 through any one of the four through-holes 64. For example, the thermistor wire 44 of the thermistor 42 connected to the one power terminal 22 penetrates the stopper body 60 through the through-hole 64A. The thermistor wire 44 of the thermistor 42 connected to the other power terminal 22 penetrates the stopper 60 through the through hole 64C.

< prevention of erroneous assembling of signal terminal >

The erroneous assembly prevention of the three types of signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C will be described with reference to fig. 14 to 17. Fig. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which three types of signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C are housed in regular terminal housing portions 53A, 53B, and 53C.

Fig. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which one type of the signal terminal 24A is accommodated in the three types of the terminal accommodating portions 53A, 53B, 53C. Fig. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which another type of signal terminal 24B is accommodated in the three types of terminal accommodation parts 53A, 53B, 53C. Fig. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which still another type of signal terminal 24C is accommodated in the three types of terminal accommodating portions 53A, 53B, and 53C.

In the three types of signal terminals 24A, 24B, 24C, as described above, the sizes of the protruding portions 25C are different from each other. Further, the cylindrical portion 25a of the signal terminal 24A is longer than the cylindrical portions 25a of the signal terminals 24B and 24C. Thus, the signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C cannot be normally housed in the terminal housing portions 53 other than the corresponding terminal housing portions 53A, 53B, and 53C. Here, the case where the signal terminal 24 cannot be normally housed in the terminal housing portion 53 includes a case where the stopper 60 is not attached to the housing 50 when the signal terminal 24 is inserted into the terminal housing portion 53, in addition to a case where the signal terminal 24 cannot be inserted into the terminal housing portion 53.

As shown in fig. 14, when the stopper 60 is attached to the housing 50 in a state where the signal terminals 24A, 24B, and 24C are accommodated in the corresponding terminal accommodating portions 53A, 53B, and 53C, the projecting cylindrical portions 63 are inserted to predetermined positions in the 2 nd accommodating portion 53e of the terminal accommodating portion 53. Thereby, the housing 50 and the stopper 60 can be locked at the locking portion, and the housing 50 and the stopper 60 can be assembled.

As shown in fig. 15, the signal terminal 24A can be inserted into the terminal receiving portions 53B, 53C. This is because: the maximum width of the signal terminal 24A is smaller than the maximum width of the signal terminals 24B and 24C and the width of the corresponding terminal receiving portions 53B and 53C. However, the length dimension of the cylindrical portion 25a in the signal terminal 24A is longer than the length dimension of the cylindrical portion 25a in the signal terminals 24B, 24C. Therefore, in the state where the signal terminal 24A is inserted into the terminal receiving portions 53B and 53C, the projecting portion 25C of the signal terminal 24A is located on the rear side of the regular position of the projecting portion 25C. Therefore, when the stopper 60 is attached to the housing 50 in a state where the signal terminal 24A is inserted into the terminal receiving portions 53B and 53C, the projecting tube portion 63 cannot be inserted into a proper position with respect to the terminal receiving portions 53B and 53C that receive the signal terminal 24A. Thus, the housing 50 and the stopper 60 cannot be locked at the locking portion, and the housing 50 and the stopper 60 cannot be assembled. Therefore, erroneous assembly of the signal terminal 24A into the terminal receiving portions 53B, 53C can be suppressed.

As shown in fig. 16, the signal terminals 24B cannot be inserted into the terminal receiving portions 53A. This is because: the maximum width of the signal terminal 24B is larger than the maximum width of the signal terminal 24A and the corresponding width of the terminal receiving portion 53A. Therefore, erroneous assembly of the signal terminal 24B into the terminal housing portion 53A can be suppressed.

The signal terminal 24B can be inserted into the terminal housing 53C. This is because: the maximum width of the signal terminal 24B is smaller than the maximum width of the signal terminal 24C and the corresponding width of the terminal receiving portion 53C. However, the width dimension of the protruding portion 25C in the signal terminal 24B is larger than the width dimension of the protruding portion 25C in the signal terminal 24C. Therefore, in a state where the signal terminal 24B is inserted into the terminal accommodating portion 53C, the rear end portion of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24B is located on the rear side of the normal position. Therefore, when the stopper 60 is attached to the housing 50 in a state where the signal terminal 24B is inserted into the terminal receiving portion 53C, the projecting tube portion 63 cannot be inserted to a proper position with respect to the terminal receiving portion 53C receiving the signal terminal 24B. Thus, the housing 50 and the stopper 60 cannot be locked at the locking portion, and the housing 50 and the stopper 60 cannot be assembled. Therefore, erroneous assembly of the signal terminal 24B into the terminal housing portion 53C can be suppressed.

As shown in fig. 17, the signal terminals 24C cannot be inserted into the terminal receiving portions 53A, 53B. This is because: the maximum width of the signal terminal 24C is larger than the maximum width of the signal terminals 24A and 24B and the width of the corresponding terminal receiving portions 53A and 53B. Therefore, erroneous assembly of the signal terminal 24C into the terminal receiving portions 53A, 53B can be suppressed.

In the above example, the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24B is larger than the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminals 24A, 24C in the insertion and extraction direction. Therefore, the combination of the signal terminals 24 satisfying the 1 st condition that the size of the projecting portion 25C of the 1 st signal terminal 24 is larger than the size of the projecting portion 25C of the 2 nd signal terminal 24 in the inserting and extracting direction is the combination of the signal terminals 24B, 24C and the combination of the signal terminals 24A, 24C.

In the above example, the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24C is larger than the size of the protruding portions 25C of the signal terminals 24A and 24B, and the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24B is larger than the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24A in the extending direction of the protruding portion 25C. Therefore, the combination of the signal terminals 24 satisfying the 2 nd condition that the size of the projecting portion 25C of the 2 nd signal terminal 24 is larger than the size of the projecting portion 25C of the 1 st signal terminal 24 in the extending direction of the projecting portion 25C is the combination of the signal terminals 24A, 24B, the combination of the signal terminals 24B, 24C, and the combination of the signal terminals 24A, 24C.

In the above example, the signal terminals 24A and 24B are disposed on the opposite side of the signal terminal 24C with the two power supply terminals 22 interposed therebetween. Therefore, the combination of the signal terminals 24 satisfying the 3 rd condition that the 1 st signal terminal 24 is disposed on the opposite side of the 2 nd signal terminal 24 with the two power supply terminals 22 interposed therebetween is the combination of the signal terminals 24A and 24C and the combination of the signal terminals 24B and 24C.

In the above example, the combination of the signal terminals 24 satisfying all of the 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd conditions is the combination of the signal terminals 24B and 24C. That is, the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24B is larger than the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24C in the inserting and extracting direction. In addition, the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24C is larger than the size of the protruding portion 25C of the signal terminal 24B in the extending direction of the protruding portion 25C. The signal terminal 24B is disposed on the opposite side of the signal terminal 24C with the two power supply terminals 22 interposed therebetween.

< holding state of signal terminal >

The holding state of the signal terminal 24 will be further described with reference to fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a schematic rear view showing a state in which two types of signal terminals 24A, 24B are housed in regular terminal housing portions 53A, 53B.

In a state where the signal terminal 24A is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 53A, a rotation-inhibiting projection 53i is provided at a position of the projection 25c in the insertion and extraction direction. Therefore, when the signal terminal 24A is about to rotate about the axis along the insertion and extraction direction, as shown in fig. 18, the protruding portion 25c comes into contact with the rotation-suppressing convex portion 53i in any rotation direction, and further rotation can be suppressed. Thereby, the rotation of the signal terminal 24A about the axis along the inserting and extracting direction is suppressed to less than one turn. This can suppress an increase in the amount of twist of the signal line 34 connected to the signal terminal 24A.

Further, the rotation-inhibiting projection 53i continues to the rear end portion in the terminal-receiving portion 53A. The rotation-suppressing convex portion 53i is accommodated in the terminal pressing portion side slit 67 in the protruding cylindrical portion 63 of the pressing signal terminal 24A on the rear end side of the protruding portion 25c. The terminal pressing portion side slit 67 is closed by the rotation-suppressing convex portion 53i. The signal terminal 24A can rotate less than once around an axis along the insertion and extraction direction. Even in this case, since the terminal pressing portion side slit 67 is closed by the rotation-suppressing projection 53i, when the signal terminal 24A is rotated about the axis along the inserting/extracting direction, the signal terminal 24A or the signal line 34 connected thereto can be suppressed from being fitted into the terminal pressing portion side slit 67.

In a state where the signal terminal 24B is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 53B, as shown in fig. 18, the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 25c are accommodated in the 1 st and 2 nd grooves 53h, respectively. Thus, when the signal terminal 24B is about to rotate about the axis along the inserting and extracting direction, the protrusion 25c contacts the inner surface of the groove 53h, and further rotation can be suppressed. The amount of rotation of the signal terminal 24b about the axis along the inserting/extracting direction is small and is small compared to the amount of rotation of the signal terminal 24A about the axis along the inserting/extracting direction.

Similarly to the signal terminal 24B, the signal terminal 24C is also restrained from rotating about an axis in the insertion/extraction direction by the 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 25C being accommodated in the 1 st and 2 nd grooves 53h, respectively.

The cylindrical body 25d of the signal terminal 24A is longer than the cylindrical bodies 25d of the signal terminals 24B and 24C in the insertion and extraction direction. Therefore, the signal terminal 24A is supported by the terminal housing 53 at the cylindrical body 25d by a distance longer than the distance between the signal terminals 24B and 24C in the insertion and extraction direction. Thus, the signal terminal 24A is hard to rotate about an axis (e.g., about the Y axis or about the Z axis) intersecting the insertion/removal direction.

The cylindrical main bodies 25d of the signal terminals 24B and 24C are shorter than the cylindrical main bodies 25d of the signal terminal 24A in the insertion and extraction direction. Even in this case, the projecting portions 25C of the signal terminals 24B, 24C are supported by the inner surfaces of the grooves 53h. Accordingly, the signal terminals 24B and 24C are also less likely to rotate about an axis extending in a direction intersecting the insertion/removal direction (e.g., about the Y axis or about the Z axis).

< relation of ground terminal, housing, and stopper >

The mating side connection portion 27a and the wire connection portion 27b of the ground terminal 26 are examples of a ground terminal side tube portion and a ground terminal side wire connection portion. The ground terminal 26 has a ground terminal-side intermediate portion provided between the mating-side connecting portion 27a and the wire connecting portion 27 b. The projecting portion 27c is an example of a ground terminal side projecting from the ground terminal side cylindrical portion in a direction intersecting the inserting/extracting direction. The ground terminal pressing portion 63G of the stopper 60 extends along the wire connecting portion 27b to press the protruding portion 27c toward the housing 50.

The 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 27c extend in the same direction (here, the Z-direction positive side) as the 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 25c, unlike the 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 25c. The ground terminal pressing portion 63G is formed on the peripheral edge portion of the front surface of the rear cover portion 62 above the terminal insertion hole 66D. The ground terminal pressing portion 63G is formed in a flat plate shape extending in the Y direction, and presses the distal end portions of the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 27c.

In this example, the ground terminal 26 may be formed to penetrate the stopper 60 in a state of being formed into the terminal-equipped wire 38. As shown in fig. 11, the through-hole 64D is formed in a size through which the terminal-equipped wire 38 of the ground terminal 26 can be inserted.

< Effect, etc. >

According to the charging connector 10 configured as described above, the width of the slit 25f of the cylindrical portion 25a is smaller than the width of the wall of the projection 53g or the like of the housing 50. Therefore, when the signal terminal 24 is not properly inserted into the housing 50, the wall of the projection 53g of the housing 50 can be prevented from entering the slit 25f. This facilitates the work of mounting the signal terminal 24 to the housing 50. The signal terminal 24 is thinner than the power supply terminal 22. Therefore, the signal terminals 24 are easily deformed with an external force smaller than the power supply terminals 22. In this case as well, the wall of the convex portion 53g of the narrow case 50 can be prevented from entering the slit 25f, and therefore the wall of the convex portion 53g of the case 50 can be prevented from entering the slit 25f and deforming the cylindrical portion 25a.

The signal terminal 24 is prevented from coming off by the protrusion 25c and the terminal pressing portion 61. Since the protrusion 25c is held between the housing 50 and the stopper 60 so as to be prevented from coming off, the protrusion 25c does not need to be deformed when the signal terminal 24 is inserted into the housing 50.

After the signal terminal 24 is connected to the signal line 34, the terminal-equipped wire 38 of the signal terminal 24 can pass through the through-hole 64 and pass through the stopper 60, and the terminal pressing portion 61 can be locked to the protrusion 25c after the signal terminal 24 passed through the through-hole 64 is housed in the housing 50. This eliminates the need to connect the signal terminal 24 to the signal wire 34 passing through the stopper 60, and facilitates the assembly of the charging connector 10.

After the signal terminals 24 with the signal wires 34 are accommodated in the housing 50 through the through-holes 64, the rear end portions of the signal terminals 24 or the signal wires 34 can be inserted into the hollow portions 65 of the protruding tubular portions 63 through the terminal pressing portion side slits 67. After the rear end portions of the signal terminals 24 or the signal wires 34 are accommodated in the hollow portions 65, the stopper body 60 is moved along the signal terminals 24 of the signal wires 34 and is attached to the housing 50, so that the signal terminals 24 can be accommodated in the projecting cylindrical portions 63 and the distal end portions of the projecting cylindrical portions 63 can be locked to the projecting portions 25c.

Further, in the common through-hole 64C, an insulating wall 68C is provided at a portion where the 1 st terminal pressing portion side slit 67C1 and the 2 nd terminal pressing portion side slit 67C2 are linearly connected. This ensures an insulation distance between the plurality of signal terminals 24A and 24B inserted into the housing 50 through the common through-hole 64C. In the common through-hole 64D, insulating walls 68D1 and 68D2 are provided at portions where the 1 st terminal pressing portion side slit 67D1 and the 2 nd terminal pressing portion side slit 67D2 are linearly connected. This ensures an insulation distance between the plurality of signal terminals 24C and the ground terminal 26 inserted into the housing 50 through the common through-hole 64D.

The electric wire 44 of the thermistor 42 passes through the stopper 60 through the through-hole 64. Thus, even if the thermistor 42 is housed in the case 50 together with the power supply terminal 22, the electric wire 44 of the thermistor 42 can be extended toward the vehicle interior side. Further, the thermistor 42 can be disposed at a position of the power supply terminal 22 close to the mating connecting portion 23a, and the temperature detection accuracy of the power supply terminal 22 using the thermistor 42 can be improved.

Further, a main body side slit 25g extending from one end to the other end in the axial direction of the tube main body 25d is formed in the tube main body 25 d. Thus, the cylindrical portion 25a has room for radial deformation during insertion and removal. The width of the slit 25f of the cylindrical portion 25a is the width dimension between the adjacent elastic pieces 25e.

The width of the rear end of each of the elastic pieces 25e is smaller than the width of the tip of each of the elastic pieces 25e, and the width of the rear end of the slit 25f is larger than the width of the tip of the slit 25f. This reduces the connecting portion between the elastic piece 25e and the tube main body 25d, and the elastic pieces 25e are easily deformed in the radial direction during insertion and removal.

Further, the diameter of the tube portion 25a at the tip end of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e is smaller than the diameter of the tube portion 25a at the rear end of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e. This makes it easy for the plurality of elastic pieces 25e to come into contact with the counterpart terminals during insertion and removal.

[ embodiment 2]

A charging connector according to embodiment 2 will be described. Fig. 19 is a rear view showing the charging connector 110 of embodiment 2. The signal line 34 is omitted in fig. 19. Fig. 20 is a perspective view illustrating the signal terminals 124 in the charging connector 110. Fig. 21 is a rear view showing the stopper body 160 in the charging connector 110. Fig. 22 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the signal terminal 124 is housed in the terminal housing portion 153. In the description of the present embodiment, the same components as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

In the charging connector 110, the ground terminal 26 and the ground line 36 are omitted. Thus, the structure of the ground terminal 26 and the ground wire 36 is omitted in the case 150 and the stopper 160. In addition, eight signal terminals 124 are provided in the charging connector 110. The eight signal terminals 124 are housed so as to be divided into four through the power supply terminal 22. In the rear view of fig. 19, the arrangement of the four signal terminals 124 corresponds to the arrangement of the four vertices of the square. The square is inclined at 45 degrees with one diagonal along the Z direction. In this example, all the eight signal terminals 124 have the same shape.

In the signal terminal 124, a slit 25f is also formed between the elastic pieces 125 e. In the case 150, the wall of the projection 53g and the like is also exposed at the rear end. In this example as well, since the width of the slit 25f is smaller than the width of the wall, the wall of the projection 53g and the like can be prevented from fitting into the slit 25f when the signal terminal 124 is inserted into the housing 150.

As shown in fig. 20, in the signal terminal 124, the width of the front end of the slit 25f is also smaller than the width of the rear end of the slit 25f. In the signal terminal 124, the diameter of the cylindrical portion 125a at the tip end of the elastic piece 125e is also smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical portion 125a at the rear end of the elastic piece 125 e. In the elastic piece 125e, the width dimension of the tip portion is smaller than the width dimension of the rear end portion. As shown in fig. 20, in the elastic piece 125e of the signal terminal 124, the width of the front end is smaller than the width of the rear end. The diameter of the tube portion 125a at the distal end of the elastic piece 125e is smaller than the diameter of the tube portion 25a at the distal end of the elastic piece 25e.

The shape of the protruding portion 125c of the signal terminal 124 is different from the shape of the protruding portion 25c of the signal terminal 24. In the signal terminal 124, the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 125c extend in the same direction as the projecting portion 23c of the power terminal 22 and the projecting portion 27c of the ground terminal 26. The protruding cylinder portion 163 is formed in a cylindrical shape similarly to the protruding cylinder portion 63. The distal end of the protruding tube 163 presses the 1 st and 2 nd protruding portions 125c toward the housing 150. As shown in fig. 22, the distal ends of the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 125c are pressed by the projecting cylindrical portion 163.

The signal terminal 124 is also formed as the terminal-equipped wire 38 and then passes through the through hole 164 of the stopper body 160, similarly to the signal terminal 24. Since the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 125c extend in the same direction, the maximum width of the signal terminal 124 is smaller than the maximum width of the signal terminal 24. Thus, the through-hole 164 in the stopper body 160 is also smaller than the through-hole 64 of the stopper body 60. The stopper body 160 is not provided with the common through holes 64C and 64D, and eight through holes 164 are formed so as to correspond to the eight signal terminals 124.

In the terminal accommodating portion 153, the groove 53h for accommodating the protruding portion 125c is not formed. Instead, the rotation suppressing projections 53i are provided in all the eight terminal housing portions 153 in the same manner as the terminal housing portions 53A. On the rear end side of the projecting portion 125c, the rotation-suppressing projecting portion 53i is accommodated in the terminal pressing portion side slit 167 of the projecting tube portion 163 in the same manner as described above. Since the distance of the signal terminals 124 is short and the space is limited, the width of the terminal holding portion side slits 167A of the three through-holes 164A positioned at the middle in the Y direction among the eight through-holes 164 is larger than the width of the terminal holding portion side slits 167B of the other five through-holes 164B. Therefore, the rotation-restraining projection 53i accommodated in the terminal holding portion-side slit 167A has a larger width than the rotation-restraining projection 53i accommodated in the terminal holding portion-side slit 167B. The rotation-inhibiting projecting portions 53i accommodated in the terminal pressing portion side slit 167A are formed so that small projecting portions are separated in the circumferential direction, and thus the width dimension of the rotation-inhibiting projecting portions 53i is increased.

[ attached notes ]

Although the description has been made assuming that the protrusion 25c and the terminal pressing portion 61 suppress the signal terminal 24 from coming off the housing 50, this is not an essential configuration. A structure for suppressing the signal terminal 24 from coming off the housing 50 may be provided separately from the protruding portion 25c and the terminal pressing portion 61. For example, the signal terminal 24 and the housing 50 may be locked by a lance portion, a recess portion, or the like.

It is to be noted that the description has been given assuming that the signal terminal 24 is connected to the signal line 34 to form the terminal-equipped wire 38, and then the through hole 64 of the stopper 60 penetrates the stopper 60. The signal line 34 may be connected to the signal terminal 24 after penetrating the stopper body 60. In this case, if the front and rear openings are formed in the projecting tube portion 63, the terminal insertion hole 66 and the terminal pressing portion side slit 67 may be omitted.

In addition, although the description has been made assuming that the insulating walls 68C, 68D1, 68D2 are provided in the common through holes 64C, 64D, this is not an essential configuration. The insulating walls 68C, 68D1, 68D2 may be omitted from the common through holes 64C, 64D. In this case, the insulation distance between the signal terminals 24 may be ensured even without the insulation walls 68C, 68D1, and 68D2, such as when the signal terminals 24 become distant.

In addition, although the description has been made on the assumption that the electric wire 44 of the thermistor 42 penetrates the stopper body 60 through the through-hole 64, this is not an essential configuration. The electric wire 44 of the thermistor 42 may pass through the stopper 60 through a hole other than the through hole 64. Further, the following configuration is also possible: the thermistor 42 is attached to the rear end side of the rear cover 62, and the electric wire 44 of the thermistor 42 does not need to penetrate the stopper 60.

In addition, although the description has been made assuming that the main body side slit 25g is formed in the tube main body 25d, this is not an essential configuration. The main body side slit 25g may not be formed in the tube main body 25 d. For example, the main body side slit 25g may not be formed, for example, by overlapping one end portion and the other end portion in the circumferential direction in the radial direction.

In addition, although the description has been made assuming that the width of the rear end portion of the slit 25f is larger than the width of the distal end portion of the slit 25f, this is not an essential configuration. For example, the width of the slit 25f may be constant from the distal end portion to the rear end portion. For example, the width of the tip of the slit 25f may be larger than the width of the rear end of the slit 25f.

Further, although the description has been given assuming that the diameter of the tube portion 25a at the tip end of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e is smaller than the diameter of the tube portion 25a at the rear end of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e, this is not an essential configuration. For example, the diameter of the tube portion 25a of the plurality of elastic pieces 25e may be constant from the distal end portion to the rear end portion.

The configurations described in the above embodiments and modifications can be appropriately combined as long as they do not contradict each other.

Description of the reference numerals

10. 110 charging connector

20. Terminal with a terminal body

21. Connector terminal

22. Power supply terminal

23a counterpart connecting part

23b terminal fixing part

23c projection

23d thermistor mounting part

24. 24A, 24B, 24C, 124 signal terminal

25a, 125a are connected to each other via a connecting portion (tube portion)

25b wire connection part

25c, 125c projection

25d tube body

25e, 125e elastic sheet

25f slit

25g Main body side slit

26. Grounding terminal

27a mating side connection part (grounding terminal side tube part)

27b wire connection part (grounding terminal side wire connection part)

27c projection (ground terminal side projection)

28. 28A, 28B relay terminal

29a terminal fixing part

29b wire connection part

30. Electric wire

31a core wire

31b coating part

32. Power line

34. Signal line

36. Ground wire

38. Electric wire with terminal

39. Shrinkage pipe

40. Thermistor unit

42. Thermal resistor

44. Wire for thermistor

50. 150 casing

51. Shell body

52. Outer frame part

53. 53A, 53B, 53C, 153 terminal receiving part

53d No. 1 accommodating part

53e No. 2 storage part

53f recess

53g convex part (wall)

53h groove

53i rotation-suppressing projection

54. Vehicle mounting section

56. Arm(s)

57. Wire pressing part

60. 160 stop body

61. Terminal pressing part

62. Rear cover

63. 163 protruding tube section

63a projecting from the cylinder body

63b convex part

63P power supply terminal pressing part

63G ground terminal pressing part

64. 64A, 64B, 164A, 164B pass through the hole

64C, 64D share a through hole (through hole)

65. 65C1, 65C2, 65D1, 65D2 hollow part

66. 66C1, 66C2, 66D1, 66D2 terminal general-purpose hole

67. 67C, 67C1, 67C2, 67D1, 67D2, 167A, 167B terminal pressing portion side slits

68. 68C, 68D1, 68D2 insulating wall

69a, 69b wall

70. Wire cover

80. Cover unit

82. Cover

84. Hinge unit

86. Locking unit

89. Sealing member

90. Wire sheath (protector)

91. No. 1 protective part

92. Shell lead-out port

93. Water outlet

94. No. 2 protective part

95. Electric wire outlet

98. Strapping tape

100. Assembling part

102. Panel board

104. Through hole

106. Vehicle body side cover

S screw

Claims (9)

1. A charging connector mounted on a vehicle, fitted to an external charging connector connected to an external power supply of the vehicle, and used for charging a battery provided in the vehicle, the charging connector comprising:

1 st and 2 nd power supply terminals for supplying power to the battery;

a plurality of signal terminals, which are formed to be thinner than the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal, and transmit signals between the outside of the vehicle and a control unit of the vehicle;

a housing that holds the 1 st and 2 nd power supply terminals and the plurality of signal terminals and is fitted to the external charging connector at a distal end portion along an insertion/removal direction of the external charging connector; and

a stopper body which is integrated with a rear end portion of the housing and holds the 1 st power supply terminal and the 2 nd power supply terminal and the plurality of signal terminals together with the housing,

each of the plurality of signal terminals has a barrel portion provided on a tip end side and into which a terminal of the external charging connector is inserted,

a slit for separating one part of the cylindrical part from the other part along the circumferential direction is formed at the front end part of the cylindrical part,

the width of the tip of the slit is smaller than the width of a wall exposed at the rear end portion of the housing when the rear end portion of the housing is viewed from the insertion and extraction direction.

2. The charging connector according to claim 1,

each of the plurality of signal terminals further includes a wire connecting portion provided on a rear end side and electrically connected to a signal wire, and an intermediate portion provided between the barrel portion and the wire connecting portion,

the intermediate portion has a protruding portion protruding from the cylindrical portion in a direction intersecting the insertion/removal direction,

the stopper body has a terminal pressing portion that extends along the wire connecting portion and presses the protruding portion toward the housing.

3. The charging connector according to claim 2,

a through hole penetrating through the stopper body along the inserting and pulling direction is formed on the stopper body,

the terminal pressing portion is formed on the peripheral edge of the through hole,

the through hole is larger than a maximum width dimension of the intermediate portion of the signal terminal.

4. The charging connector according to claim 3,

the terminal pressing portion has a protruding cylindrical portion on the wire connecting portion side with respect to the protruding portion, the protruding cylindrical portion being formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the signal terminal,

the through hole has: a hollow portion of the protruding cylinder portion; a terminal insertion through hole located outside the protruding cylindrical portion; and a terminal pressing portion side slit formed in the projecting cylindrical portion and communicating the hollow portion with the terminal insertion hole,

a minimum width dimension of the signal terminal on the electric connection section side of the protrusion or a diameter of a signal wire connected to the signal terminal is equal to or smaller than a width dimension of the terminal pressing section side slit,

the maximum width dimension of the intermediate portion is larger than the width dimension of the terminal pressing portion side slit.

5. The charging connector according to claim 4,

a common through-hole is provided as the through-hole, and the common through-hole is configured to: one of the terminal insertion through holes communicates with the hollow portion of the 1 st projecting tube portion via the 1 st terminal pressing portion side slit and also communicates with the hollow portion of the 2 nd projecting tube portion via the 2 nd terminal pressing portion side slit,

in the common through-hole, an insulating wall is provided at a portion where the 1 st terminal pressing portion side slit and the 2 nd terminal pressing portion side slit are linearly connected.

6. The charging connector according to any one of claims 3 to 5,

the charging connector further includes:

a thermistor mounted to the power terminal; and

an electric wire fitted to the thermistor,

the thermistor and the power supply terminal are accommodated in the housing together,

the wire of the thermistor penetrates through the stop body through the through hole.

7. The charging connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the tube portion has a tube portion main body and a plurality of elastic pieces protruding from a distal end portion of the tube portion main body,

a plurality of the elastic pieces protrude from positions separated from each other along a circumferential direction of the cylinder main body,

the slits are formed between the plurality of elastic pieces arranged in the circumferential direction,

the cylindrical body is formed with a body-side slit extending from one end to the other end in the axial direction of the cylindrical body.

8. The charging connector according to claim 7,

the width of the rear end of each of the elastic pieces is smaller than the width of the tip of each of the elastic pieces,

the width of the rear end portion of the slit is larger than the width of the tip portion of the slit.

9. The charging connector according to claim 7 or claim 8,

the diameter of the tube portion at the tip end portions of the plurality of elastic pieces is smaller than the diameter of the tube portion at the rear end portions of the plurality of elastic pieces.

Images