CN117477267A - Cap opening and closing structure and charging connector - Google Patents

Abstract

A charging connector includes a cap opening and closing structure having a housing, a hinge portion, and a cap having a receiving portion. The hinge portion includes a spring configured to bias the cap so that the cap rotates from a closed position to an open position about a rotation axis (pin), a damper disposed about the rotation axis, and an O-ring disposed between the small diameter portion of the damper and the cap. The accommodation portion is capable of accommodating the damper and the O-ring, and has an inner peripheral surface including an upward slope extending in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft. The O-ring is sandwiched between an outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion and an inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion.

Description

Cap opening and closing structure and charging connector

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cap opening and closing structure and a charging connector.

Background

A charging connector mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle is implemented so that a cap can be opened and closed to cover a connection portion connected to a mating connection portion (for example, see patent document 1). The charging connector disclosed in patent document 1 includes a housing, a cap rotatably supported on the housing about a pin serving as a shaft, and a torsion spring urging the cap to rotate from a closed position to an open position. The charging connector includes a damper that controls torque of the torsion spring and an inlet damper spring provided between the damper and the cap, and the damper obtains a reaction force through the inlet damper spring. When the cap is opened by the torsion spring, the damper and the housing are in contact with each other on wall surfaces facing each other. Thus, a friction force is generated, which is a resistance to opening the cap. The charging connector controls the resistance by providing a slope in part on each wall surface of the damper and the housing.

CITATION LIST

Patent literature

Patent document 1: JP2018-101547A

Disclosure of Invention

However, since the charging connector described in patent document 1 has a structure in which the resistance to opening the cap is adjusted by the frictional force generated between the damper and the opposite facing wall surfaces of the housing, it is difficult to adjust the resistance. Therefore, according to this structure, the swinging of the cap can be prevented, but it is difficult to alleviate the opening speed of the cap.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cap opening and closing structure and a charging connector that can gently open a cap with a simple configuration.

In order to achieve the above object, the cap opening and closing structure according to the present invention is characterized as follows.

The cap opening and closing structure includes: a housing having an opening; a hinge portion; and a cap rotatably supported by the housing via a hinge portion between a closed position and an open position, and configured to cover the opening in the closed position and open the opening in the open position. The hinge portion includes: a biasing member configured to bias the cap such that the cap rotates about the rotation axis from a closed position to an open position; a damper disposed around the rotation shaft; an annular elastic member disposed between the damper and the cap; and a receiving portion provided in the cap and configured to receive the damper and the elastic member. The damper includes a holding portion configured to hold the elastic member and a fixing portion fixed to the housing. The accommodating portion has an inner peripheral surface including a slope extending in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft, and the elastic member is sandwiched between an outer peripheral surface of the holding portion and the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the charging connector according to the present invention is characterized as follows.

The charging connector includes the cap opening and closing structure described above.

According to the cap opening and closing structure and the charging connector in the present invention, the cap can be gently opened with a simple configuration.

The present invention is briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further elucidated by reading the mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") described below with reference to the drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a charging connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cap;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a damper;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the housing;

fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the receiving portion of the cap;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 1 and showing the cap in a closed position;

fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to fig. 6, and showing a state in which the cap is opened; and

fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to fig. 6 and showing the cap in an open position.

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, a cap opening and closing structure and a charging connector including the cap opening and closing structure will be described. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, as shown in fig. 1 to 8, "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front-rear direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" are defined. The "front-rear direction", the "left-right direction", and the "up-down direction" are orthogonal to each other.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a charging connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows the charging connector 1 through the cap 10 in a state where the cap 10 is closed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of cap 10. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the damper 20. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the housing 30. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the accommodating portion 17 of the cap 10 as viewed in the front-rear direction. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in fig. 1, and shows the cap 10 in a closed position. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to fig. 6, and shows a state in which the cap 10 is opened. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to fig. 6, and shows the cap 10 in an open position.

The charging connector 1 according to the present embodiment is provided in a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle, for example, and is electrically connected to a charging connector outside the vehicle for charging a battery mounted on the vehicle. The charging connector 1 is mainly made of synthetic resin, and is fixed to a body panel or the like of a vehicle. The charging connector 1 has a cap opening and closing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cap opening and closing structure includes a cap 10, a hinge portion H, and a housing 30.

The cap 10 is rotatably connected to the housing 30 via a hinge portion H. The cap 10 is rotatably supported by the housing 30 between a closed position and an open position via a hinge portion H. The cap 10 covers the opening 32 of the housing 30 in the closed position (see fig. 4), and opens the opening 32 in the open position.

As shown in fig. 2, the cap 10 includes a cap body 11 and a protrusion 15. The cap body 11 is a substantially circular plate-like member, and has a receiving groove 13 on its lower surface that receives the annular seal 41. The protrusion 15 protrudes leftward and downward from the left end of the cap body 11. The projection 15 has a receiving portion 17 capable of receiving a damper 20 and an O-ring 47, which will be described later, and a side wall 18 provided on the right side of the receiving portion 17 in a spaced-apart manner from the receiving portion 17.

The accommodating portion 17 has a substantially circular plate-like bottom wall 175 and an accommodating wall 171 extending vertically from an outer peripheral edge of the bottom wall 175, and has a substantially hollow cylindrical shape. A pin insertion hole 19 is formed at a central position of the bottom wall 175, and the pin 43 is inserted through the pin insertion hole 19. The pin 43 is a rod-shaped member made of metal, and is an example of a rotation shaft.

As shown in fig. 5, the accommodating wall 171 has upward slopes 173, 173 and downward surfaces 174, 174 on a portion of the inner peripheral surface 172. The upward inclined surfaces 173, 173 are examples of inclined surfaces extending in the circumferential direction of the pin 43 (rotation axis). The two upward inclined surfaces 173 are symmetrical with respect to the center position O of the pin insertion hole 19 as the center of the rotation shaft. The upward slope 173 is formed such that the distance from the pin 43 gradually increases in the circumferential direction. Each downward surface 174 is a curved surface that connects two upward ramps 173. The inner peripheral surface 172 is formed such that the distance from the center position O is R2< R3< R1. R1 and R2 are distances from the center position O to both end edges of the upward slope 173 in the extending direction of the upward slope 173. R3 is a distance from the center position O to an intermediate position (hereinafter simply referred to as "intermediate position") of the downward surface 174 in the circumferential direction. In the cap 10, the inner peripheral surface 172 is shaped so that the O-ring 47 accommodated in the accommodation portion 17 lifts up the upward slope 173 at the beginning of opening the cap 10 and gently lowers down the downward surface 174 at the end of opening the cap 10.

The side wall 18 is spaced apart from the bottom wall 175 of the accommodating portion 17 and extends parallel to the bottom wall 175, and an accommodating space capable of accommodating the spring 45 is formed between the side wall 18 and the bottom wall 175. The side wall 18 is formed with a pin insertion hole through which the pin 43 is inserted at a position corresponding to the pin insertion hole 19 in the bottom wall 175.

The hinge portion H includes a pin 43, a spring 45 as an example of a biasing member, a damper 20, an O-ring 47 as an example of an annular elastic member, and a receiving portion 17.

The spring 45 is a metal coil spring that biases the cap 10 so that the cap 10 rotates about a rotation axis (pin 43) from the closed position to the open position.

As shown in fig. 3, the damper 20 has an insertion hole 25, a pin 43 is inserted through the insertion hole 25, and the damper 20 is disposed around the pin 43. The damper 20 has a stepped substantially cylindrical shape. The damper 20 includes a small diameter portion 21 holding the O-ring 47, a large diameter portion 23 having an outer diameter larger than that of the small diameter portion 21, and two protrusions 27 fixed to the housing 30. The small diameter portion 21 is an example of a holding portion, and the protruding portion 27 is an example of a fixing portion. The large diameter portion 23 has a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction, the small diameter portion 21 is provided on the front surface of the large diameter portion 23, and two protrusions 27 are provided on the rear surface of the large diameter portion 23. The small diameter portion 21 has a cylindrical portion extending forward from the large diameter portion 23, and has an elliptical shape as viewed in the front-rear direction (i.e., in the extending direction of the pin 43). The protruding portion 27 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member protruding rearward from the rear surface of the large diameter portion 23. Two protrusions 27 are vertically provided on the rear surface of the large diameter portion 23 with the insertion hole 25 interposed therebetween.

The O-ring 47 is an annular elastic member provided between the damper 20 and the cap 10. The O-ring 47 is made of rubber, for example. The O-ring 47 is sandwiched between an outer peripheral surface 21A (see fig. 3) of the small diameter portion 21 in the damper 20 and an inner peripheral surface 172 of the accommodating portion 17 in the cap 10. The O-ring 47 can perform biasing in the entire circumferential direction and radial direction around the pin 43. In the O-ring 47, the magnitude of the pressing margin between the outer peripheral surface 21A and the inner peripheral surface 172 varies according to the opening angle of the cap 10, and the reaction force applied to the damper 20 varies according to the magnitude of the pressing margin.

As shown in fig. 4, the housing 30 includes a housing main body 31, an attaching portion 33, and a cover portion 35. The case main body 31 has a hollow cylindrical shape, and can hold therein a connection portion electrically connected to a connection target outside the vehicle. The connection target outside the vehicle is, for example, a charging connector. The attachment portion 33 has a substantially rectangular plate shape, and through holes as attachment holes to a vehicle body panel (not shown) are formed at four corners of the attachment portion 33. The attachment portion 33 is fixed to the vehicle body panel by inserting bolts (not shown) into the four through holes and fastening the bolts to the vehicle body panel. The cover portion 35 has a substantially hollow cylindrical shape along the outer periphery of the housing main body 31, and covers the upper half of the housing main body 31. The cover portion 35 is provided integrally with the attachment portion 33. The locking portion 35 includes a pair of holding walls 37 on the outer peripheral surface of the cover portion 35 and a pair of holding walls holding the locking portion for holding the cap 10 in the closed state, respectively, on the left and right sides of the cover portion 35.

The pair of holding walls 37 are substantially rectangular plate-like members extending vertically from the upper surface of the attachment portion 33 in such a manner as to be spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction and face each other, and each holding wall 37 has a corresponding one of the pin insertion holes 37b into which the pin 43 is inserted. The rear holding wall 37 has a holding groove 37a on the front surface thereof. The holding groove 37a extends downward from the upper end edge of the rear holding wall 37, and has a U-shape as viewed in the up-down direction. The dimension of the holding groove 37a in the left-right direction corresponds to the dimension of the protruding portion 27 provided in the damper 20 in the left-right direction. The lower surface of the holding groove 37a is an inclined surface descending from the rear to the front. The pair of holding walls 37 rotatably support the cap 10 by inserting the pin 43 into the pin insertion hole 37b in a state where the protrusion 15 of the cap 10 is inserted between the pair of holding walls 37.

For example, the charging connector 1 is assembled as follows. An O-ring 47 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface 21A of the small diameter portion 21 in the damper 20, and the damper 20 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 17 of the cap 10, in which cap 10 the seal 41 is attached to the accommodation groove 13. The spring 45 is accommodated between the bottom wall 175 and the side wall 18. In this state, the projection 15 is inserted between the pair of holding walls 37 of the housing 30 from above, and the two protruding portions 27 are inserted into the holding grooves 37a of the rear holding wall 37 from above. Thus, the damper 20 is fixed to the housing 30. Next, the pin 43 passes through the pin insertion hole 37b of the holding wall 37, the insertion hole 25 of the damper 20, the inside of the spring 45, and the pin insertion hole 37b of the holding wall 37, and is held in the holding wall 37. In this way, the cap 10 and the housing 30 are integrated. The locking portion is attached to the right end of the cover portion 35 of the housing 30, and the cap 10 can be maintained in the closed position.

In the charging connector 1 implemented as described above, since the damper 20 obtains a reaction force due to the pressing of the O-ring 47, the reaction force and the friction force serve as resistance to control the torque of the spring 45. By using the O-ring 47, the friction force increases, and the resistance force can be obtained with a small reaction force. In the charging connector 1, since the upward inclined surface 173 is provided on the inner peripheral surface 172 of the accommodation wall 171, the distance (hereinafter referred to as the pressing margin) by which the O-ring 47 is sandwiched between the small diameter portion 21 and the inner peripheral surface 172 in the longitudinal direction of the small diameter portion 21 and is compressed varies according to the opening angle of the cap 10. The opening angle of the cap 10 is an angle formed between the cap 10 and the upper end surface of the housing 30.

The operation of opening the cap 10 will be described with reference to fig. 6 to 8. Fig. 6 to 8 show states in which the opening angles of the cap 10 are 0 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees. As shown in fig. 6, when the cap 10 is in the closed position, the O-ring 47 is sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface 21A of the small diameter portion 21 and the upward slope 173, and the pressing margin in the longitudinal direction of the small diameter portion 21 is maximized. Therefore, in a state in which the cap 10 is biased by the spring 45 by releasing the lock of the cap 10 and the cap 10 starts to open, that is, in a state in which the opening angle of the cap 10 is 0 degrees, the resistance to the torque of the spring 45 is the greatest. As shown in fig. 7, in a state where the opening angle of the cap 10 is 45 degrees when the cap 10 is being opened, the O-ring 47 is sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface 21A of the small diameter portion 21 and an intermediate position P (see fig. 5) of the downward surface 174. The intermediate position P is a position having a distance RP from the center position O of R2< RP < R3. Therefore, when the opening angle of the cap 1 is 45 degrees, the pressing margin is moderate, and the resistance to the torque of the spring 45 is moderate. Further, in a state where the cap 10 is opened and the cap 10 has completed opening as shown in fig. 8, that is, in a state where the opening angle of the cap 10 is 90 degrees, the O-ring 47 is sandwiched between the intermediate positions of the outer peripheral surface 21A and the downward surface 174, the pressing margin is minimum, and the resistance to the torque of the spring 45 is small.

As described above, in the charging connector 1, the inner peripheral surface 172 of the cap 10 includes the upward inclined surfaces 173, 173 and the downward surfaces 174, 174 symmetrically arranged with respect to the center position O, and the pressing margin of the O-ring 47 is changed according to the opening angle of the cap 10. With this configuration, the resistance of the damper 20 is controlled in the operation of opening the cap 10. Therefore, by adjusting the inclined shape of the inner peripheral surface 172 of the accommodating wall 171 in the cap 10, the resistance of the damper 20 can be finely adjusted, and the cap 10 can be gently opened at a constant speed. The swinging of the cap 10 can be prevented. Further, since the reaction force of the O-ring 47 is symmetrically applied to the pin 43 (rotation axis) in the rotation direction and the load is not applied to one side of the holding wall 37, displacement or breakage of the cap 10 due to the load applied to the housing 30 and the cap 10 in one direction does not occur. Further, since the reaction force of the damper 20 is obtained by pressing the O-ring 47, the assembling performance can be improved and the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the reaction force of the damper 20 is obtained using, for example, a coil spring.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be appropriately modified, improved, or the like. In addition, the materials, shapes, sizes, numerical values, forms, numbers, arrangement positions, and the like of the components in the above-described embodiments are freely selected, and are not limited as long as the present invention can be implemented. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the small diameter portion 21 has an elliptical shape as viewed in the rotation axis direction. Alternatively, the small diameter portion 21 may have a shape in which the distance from the rotation axis is not constant, for example, a cam shape such as an egg shape, when viewed in the rotation axis direction.

Here, the cap opening and closing structure and the features of the charging connector according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention are briefly summarized and listed in [1] to [5] below.

[1] A cap opening and closing structure, comprising:

a housing (30) having an opening (32);

a hinge portion (H); and

a cap (10) rotatably supported by the housing via the hinge portion between a closed position and an open position, and configured to cover the opening in the closed position and to open the opening in the open position,

wherein the hinge portion (H) comprises

A biasing member (spring 45) configured to bias the cap such that the cap rotates about a rotation axis (pin 43) from the closed position to the open position,

a damper (20) provided around the rotation shaft,

an annular elastic member (O-ring 47) provided between the damper and the cap, and

a housing portion (17) provided in the cap and configured to house the damper and the elastic member,

wherein the damper includes a holding portion (small diameter portion 21) configured to hold the elastic member and a fixing portion (projection 27) fixed to the housing,

wherein the housing portion (17) has an inner peripheral surface (172) including a slope (upward slope 173) extending in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft, and

wherein the elastic member (O-ring 47) is sandwiched between an outer peripheral surface (21A) of the holding portion (small diameter portion 21) and an inner peripheral surface (172) of the accommodating portion (17).

According to the cap opening and closing structure having the configuration in [1] above, the elastic member is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the holding portion of the damper and the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion provided in the cap, and has a slope extending in the circumferential direction of the rotary shaft on the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion. Accordingly, the pressing margin of the elastic member may be changed according to the opening angle of the cap (i.e., the position of the cap from the closed position to the open position). Therefore, with a simple configuration, the cap can be gently opened, and the cap can be prevented from shaking.

[2] The cap opening and closing structure according to the above [1],

wherein the inclined surface gradually increases in distance from the rotation axis along the circumferential direction.

[3] The cap opening and closing structure according to the above [2],

wherein the holding portion includes a cylindrical portion extending along the rotation axis, the cylindrical portion having an elliptical shape when viewed in a direction of the rotation axis.

[4] The cap opening and closing structure according to the above [3],

wherein the bevel is formed such that a squeeze margin of the elastic member along a major axis of the elliptical shape is greatest when the cap is in a closed position and the squeeze margin is smallest when the cap is in an open position.

[5] A charging connector (1) comprising

The cap opening and closing structure according to any one of the above [1] to [4 ].

According to the charging connector having the configuration in [5] above, the elastic member is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the holding portion of the damper and the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion provided in the cap, and has the inclined surface extending in the circumferential direction of the rotary shaft on the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion. Accordingly, the pressing margin of the elastic member may be changed according to the opening angle of the cap (i.e., the position of the cap from the closed position to the open position). Therefore, with a simple configuration, the cap can be gently opened, and the cap can be prevented from shaking.

Claims (5)

1. A cap opening and closing structure, comprising:

a housing having an opening;

a hinge portion; and

a cap rotatably supported by the housing via the hinge portion between a closed position and an open position, and configured to cover the opening in the closed position and to open the opening in the open position,

wherein the hinge portion comprises

A biasing member configured to bias the cap such that the cap rotates about a rotation axis from the closed position to the open position,

a damper provided around the rotation shaft,

an annular elastic member provided between the damper and the cap, and

a housing portion provided in the cap and configured to house the damper and the elastic member,

wherein the damper includes a holding portion configured to hold the elastic member and a fixing portion fixed to the housing,

wherein the accommodation portion has an inner peripheral surface including a slope extending in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft, and

wherein the elastic member is sandwiched between an outer peripheral surface of the holding portion and an inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion.

2. The cap opening and closing structure according to claim 1,

wherein the inclined surface gradually increases in distance from the rotation axis along the circumferential direction.

3. The cap opening and closing structure according to claim 2,

wherein the holding portion includes a cylindrical portion extending along the rotation axis, the cylindrical portion having an elliptical shape when viewed in a direction of the rotation axis.

4. The cap opening and closing structure according to claim 3,

wherein the bevel is formed such that a squeeze margin of the elastic member along a major axis of the elliptical shape is greatest when the cap is in a closed position and the squeeze margin is smallest when the cap is in an open position.

5. A charging connector comprising

Cap opening and closing structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4.