JP2012205312A - Vehicle battery charger - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle battery charger comprising a charging cable that can reduce a burden resulting from the charge cable routing work.SOLUTION: The vehicle battery charger has power supplying means in an enclosure 1 and comprises a charging cable 2 for supplying electricity from the power supplying means to a vehicle with a vehicle-mounted battery. The vehicle battery charger comprises a connector 4 to be connected to a vehicle and a connector holding section 5 for holding the connector which is not connected to the vehicle at an end of the charging cable 2 pulled out from inside of the enclosure 1. The connector holding section 5 is formed on the side or front of the enclosure 1. At the side of the enclosure 1, a connection surface 6 of the end of the connector is held toward the front of the body 1. At the front of the enclosure 1, the connection surface 6 of the end of the connector of the charge cable 2 pulled out from one side 1a of the enclosure 1 or the connection surface 6 of the end of the connector of the charge cable 2 pulled out from the back 1c of the enclosure 1 and passed through the one side 1a is held toward the other side 1b of the enclosure 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle charging device that can charge a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle battery such as a plug-in hybrid car or an electric vehicle.

  In the future, while rapid spread of plug-in hybrid cars and electric cars is expected, charging to a charging device (for example, Patent Document 1) capable of rapid charging, particularly in the same time as gasoline refueling time at a gas station. Demand is expected to increase.

  A charging cable used for quick charging requires several times larger current than a normal charging cable having an allowable current of about 16 to 20 A, and thus requires a large cross-sectional area, resulting in an increase in weight.

  In general, a quick charging compatible vehicle charging device employs a structure in which a charging cable having a connector at the tip is drawn out from the inside of the housing of the vehicle charging device. Note that the length of the charging cable is usually designed with a predetermined extra length in order to flexibly correspond to the type and stopping position of the charging vehicle.

  In conventional vehicle charging devices that support rapid charging, when an operator standing on the front side of the vehicle charging device grasps the grip portion of the connector and performs charging work, it is not charged. As shown in FIG. 19, the connector housing portion for housing the connector usually employs a structure for housing the connection surface of the connector 4 toward the back surface of the housing 1 constituting the vehicle charging device. It is. In this storage, the number of times the connector 4 is stored from the right direction toward the back side of the housing 1 is different from the number of times the connector 4 is stored from the left direction toward the back direction of the housing 1. Twist is likely to occur in the extra length, and it is necessary to carry out the charging work by drawing the twisted cable during charging.

  However, particularly in the case of a charging cable used for quick charging and having a large cross-sectional area and a large total weight as described above, the charging work burden associated with the twisted cable routing increases. In addition, since the charging cable used for quick charging is heavy, storing the charging cable removed from the vehicle by reversing it by about 180 degrees requires a considerable amount of force, and there is a problem that workability is poor. .

JP-A-5-207668

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a vehicle charging device including a charging cable that has power supply means in a housing and supplies power from the power supply means to a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle battery such as an electric vehicle. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular charging device that is less likely to cause twisting in a charging cable drawn out from a cable lead-out portion and that can reduce the burden associated with the operation of drawing the charging cable.

The vehicle charging device of the present invention made to solve the above problems is a vehicle charging device including a charging cable for supplying electric power from a power supply means to a vehicle including an in-vehicle battery,
At the tip of the charging cable pulled out from the inside of the housing, the connector for connecting to the vehicle is provided with a connector holding portion that holds the connector when not connected to the vehicle,
The connector holding portion is formed on either the side surface or the front surface of the housing,
On the side of the housing, hold the connection surface at the tip of the connector toward the front of the housing,
On the front of the housing, the connecting surface at the tip of the connector of the charging cable drawn from one side of the housing or the connecting surface of the tip of the connector of the charging cable drawn from the back of the housing and passing through one side Is held toward the other side surface of the housing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle charging apparatus according to the first aspect, in the case where the connector holding portion is provided on the side surface of the housing, the charging is performed by holding the charging cable on the same side surface as the connector holding portion. An arm for slidably holding the cable fixing portion is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicular charging apparatus according to the second aspect, the charging cable is wound in a spiral shape and held by an arm by at least one charging cable fixing portion. It is characterized by this.

  In the vehicle charging device according to the present invention, the charging device includes a connector holding portion that is provided at the tip of the charging cable and holds a connector that is connected to the vehicle when not connected to the vehicle. It is formed on either side of the front, and on the side of the housing, the connection surface of the connector tip is held toward the front of the housing, and on the front of the housing, from one side of the housing Uses a structure that holds the connection surface at the connector tip of the drawn-out charging cable or the connection surface at the connector tip of the charging cable that is pulled out from the back of the case and passes through one side, toward the other side of the case is doing. According to this configuration, when the charging cable is stored, it is not necessary to store the connector toward the back surface of the housing, so that the force required by the operator can be reduced. In addition, the charging cable drawn out from the cable drawing portion can be held by the connector holding portion without causing twisting, and it becomes unnecessary to carry out charging work by drawing the twisted cable during charging. It is possible to improve the performance.

1 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the charging device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the charging device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the charging device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the charging device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the other modification of the charging device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a third embodiment. It is a front view of the vehicle charging device which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 9 is a front view of a vehicle charging device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 6 is an overall view of a vehicle charging device according to a fifth embodiment. It is a general view of the charging device which shows the modification of this invention. It is a general view of the conventional vehicle charging device.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below. FIGS. 1-17 has shown the whole vehicle charging device which concerns on the following Embodiments 1-7, respectively. In all of the following embodiments, the vehicle charging device includes a charging cable 2 that has power supply means in the housing 1 and supplies DC power from the power supply means to a vehicle that includes a vehicle-mounted battery. The power supply means includes a power conversion device, a switch, a control device, and the like installed in the housing 1. The charging cable 2 is drawn out from a cable lead-out portion 3 formed on the side surface of the housing 1 and has a connector 4 at the tip thereof. A display operation unit 10 is provided on the front surface of the housing 1 to perform an operation for starting charging, a progress display, and the like, and an operator can perform these operations on the front surface of the housing 1. The vehicle charging device is installed so that the vehicle is positioned on the front side.

In the present invention, the connector holding portion 5 that holds the connector 4 when not connected to the vehicle is formed on either the side surface or the front surface of the housing 1, and the connector holding portion 5 is formed on the side surface of the housing 1. In this case, when the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector is held toward the front surface of the housing 1 and the connector holding portion 5 is formed on the front surface of the housing 1, The connecting surface 6 at the connector tip of the drawn charging cable 2 or the connecting surface 6 at the connector tip of the charging cable 2 drawn out from the back surface 1 c of the housing 1 and passing through one side surface 1 a is connected to the other side surface of the housing 1. It is set as the structure hold | maintained in parallel with the front of a housing | casing toward 1b. Accordingly, when the charging is completed and the charging cable 2 is stored in the housing 1, it is not necessary to direct the connector 4 removed from the vehicle toward the back surface of the housing 1, which effectively prevents the cable from being twisted during storage. Is suppressed.
Hereinafter, each embodiment in which the form of the connector holding part 5 is different will be described.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the vehicle charging device according to the first embodiment includes a cable lead-out portion 3 on the back side of the upper portion of the side surface of the housing 1, and includes a connector holding portion 5 on the front side of the same side surface. ing.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the connector holding portion 5 is composed of three holding bars 8, and supports the cable connection portion 7 of the connector 4 between the two holding bars 8 arranged on the lower side. The main body of the connector 4 is supported by a single holding bar 8 arranged on the upper side. In order to prevent the connector from falling and stably hold it, it is preferable to adopt a fall prevention structure by means such as forming a large diameter portion on the tip end side of the holding bar 8 with which the main body portion of the connector 4 contacts.
In this embodiment, when the connector 4 is removed from the connector holding portion 5 and connected to the vehicle, the charging cable 2 is twisted because the connector 4 has only to be moved in the same direction as the direction in which the connector 4 is held. There is no. Further, when the charging is completed and the charging cable 2 is stored in the housing 1, it is not necessary to direct the connector 4 removed from the vehicle toward the back of the housing 1. Suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connection surface 6 of the connector 4 supported by the holding bar 8 is directed to the front surface of the housing 1, and a protective cover 9 is disposed at a position covering the connection surface 6. In addition to the function of preventing contact with the connection surface 6 while the protective cover 9 is supported by the holding bar 8, the operator can connect the connector 4 in the opposite direction (the connection surface 6 of the connector 4 is connected to the cable lead-out portion). (Direction toward 3) also has a function of preventing the charging cable 2 from being twisted.

  From the viewpoint of preventing twisting of the charging cable 2, it is preferable not to unnecessarily increase the length of the charging cable 2, and the cable lead-out portion 3 and the connector holding portion 5 are formed on the same plane as in this embodiment. It is preferable to do.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the three holding bars 8 are arranged so that the connection surface 6 of the connector 4 faces the front and is held with an upward inclination, but the structure of the connector holding portion 5 is as follows. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the four holding bars 8 are arranged so that the connection surface 6 of the connector 4 faces the front and is held with a downward inclination, as shown in FIG. 2. be able to. By holding the connection surface 6 of the connector 4 with a downward inclination, water is not collected in the plug or the like provided on the connection surface 4 even when exposed to wind and rain outdoors, and corrosion can be prevented. . Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the above effect can be obtained by using the connector holding portion 5 as a case-like structure for housing the entire connector 4. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a structure in which the entire connector 4 is housed in a connector housing box 16 provided with an openable / closable cover, and an openable / closable door portion is provided as shown in FIG. It is also possible to adopt a structure in which the entire connector 4 is stored in the connector storage box 16.

(Embodiment 2)
In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the cable lead-out portion 3 is formed on the side surface of the housing 1, and the connector holding portion 5 is formed on the front surface of the housing 1. As shown in the present embodiment, when the connector holding portion 5 is formed on the front surface of the housing 1, the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector of the charging cable 2 drawn from one side surface 1 a of the housing 1 is connected to the housing. With the configuration of holding the body 1 toward the other side surface 1b, the cable in the holding state can be held without causing unnecessary twisting.
That is, when the connector 4 is removed from the connector holding portion 5 and connected to the vehicle, the connector 4 is moved in a direction different from the direction in which the connector 4 is held, but the angle is approximately 90 °. The charging cable 2 is not traversed and the charging cable 2 is not twisted. Further, when the charging is completed and the charging cable 2 is stored in the housing 1, it is not necessary to direct the connector 4 removed from the vehicle toward the back of the housing 1. Suppressed.
In the present embodiment, the charging cable 2 is pulled out from the back surface 1c of the housing 1, passes through one side surface 1a, and holds the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector toward the other side surface 1b of the housing 1. Alternatively, the connector holding portion 5 may be formed on the front surface of the housing 1.
As in the first embodiment, the connector holding portion 5 may be constituted by four holding bars 8 or may be a case-like structure that accommodates the entire connector 4.

(Embodiment 3)
In Embodiment 3 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, an arm 12 supported by an arm support portion 11 is provided on the side surface of the housing 1. A groove portion is formed on the lower surface of the arm 12, and a charging cable fixing portion 13 that holds an intermediate portion of the charging cable 2 drawn from the cable lead portion 3 provided below the side surface of the housing 1 is formed in the arm portion 12. It is slidably held against.

  In this embodiment, the charging cable fixing part 13 is composed of a gripping part 13a that grips the charging cable 2 and a moving part 13b that moves in the groove of the arm, and the gripping part 13a is housed inside the moving part 13b. The spring member 13c thus connected is biased toward the moving part 13b.

  When the connector 4 is housed in the connector holding portion 5, the charging cable fixing portion 13 is positioned on the back side of the arm 12, but when the connector 4 is removed from the connector holding portion 5 and moved forward, As shown in FIG. 9, the charging cable fixing portion 5 slides the arm 12 and moves forward. When the connector 4 is further moved forward, as shown in FIG. 10, the spring member 13c housed in the moving portion 13b is pulled out, and the connector 4 can be moved further forward. In addition, you may comprise the charging cable fixing | fixed part 13 with the member which has winding functions, such as a reel.

In the present embodiment, the connector holding portion 5 is provided on the same side as the side on which the arm 12 is installed, and the connector 4 is held with the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector facing the front of the housing 1. This has the same effect as the first embodiment.
Further, the charging cable 2 is not twisted from the gripping portion 13a to the cable lead-out portion 3 by suspending the charging cable 2 from the gripping portion 13a. Furthermore, since the length of the charging cable 2 from the gripping part 13a to the connector 4 is shorter than the length from the lead-out part 3 to the connector 4 of the first embodiment, the structure is difficult to twist.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, by adopting this structure, the charging cable 2 does not come into contact with the ground, and there is a problem that the burden associated with the extra work of the extra length of the charge cable 2 is great. This effectively avoids the problem that 2 is easily damaged by contact with foreign matter on the ground.

  The arm 12 may be supported by the arm support portion 11 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction with respect to the housing 1 so that the charging cable 2 can be moved further forward. Further, it is preferable that the drawer portion 3 provided below the side surface of the housing 1 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the housing 1 in response to the movement of the charging cable 2 in the front-rear direction.

(Embodiment 4)
In the fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 as well, the arm 12 supported by the arm support portion 11 is provided on the side surface of the housing 1 in the same manner as the mobile phone 3. A groove portion is formed on the lower surface of the arm 12, and at least one charging cable fixing portion 13 that holds an intermediate portion of the charging cable 2 drawn from the cable drawing portion 3 provided on the side surface of the housing 1. Is slidably held with respect to the arm 4. The charging cable 2 is wound in a spiral shape by at least one or more charging cable fixing portions 13, and the upper edge thereof is suspended and held.

  With this structure, when the connector 4 is housed in the connector holding portion 5, as shown in FIG. 12, the charging cable fixing portion 13 is located on the back side of the arm 12, but the connector 4 is removed. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the charging cable fixing portion 13 slides the arm 12 and the charging cable 2 moves forward. As shown in FIG. 14, the arm 12 may be supported by the arm support portion 11 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction with respect to the housing 1, and the charging cable 2 may be moved further forward.

Although the charging cable 2 for quick charging is not very flexible, the charging cable 2 for rapid charging that is not flexible is adopted by adopting the structure in which the charging cable 2 is wound and held in a spiral shape as described above. The charging cable 2 and the connector 4 can be easily moved in the front-rear direction. In addition, since the connector holding portion 5 is provided on the same side as the side on which the arm 12 is installed, and the connector 4 is held with the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector facing the front of the housing 1, Embodiment 3 It has the same effect.
In addition, in the said embodiment, although all the arms 12 are provided in the side surface of the housing | casing 1, you may provide in the ceiling surface. Also in this case, the connector holding portion 5 is provided on the side surface of the housing 1, and the connector 4 is held with the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector facing the front of the housing 1. Similar effects can be obtained. Further, the arm 12 may be one whose middle part bends and stretches.
Furthermore, when the cable lead-out part 3 and the connector holding part 5 are provided on the same side surface, the connector holding part 5 may be provided on the front side of the cable lead-out part 3 in the depth direction of the housing 1. Although preferable, it is not limited to this. The cable lead-out part 3 may be provided at the tip of the arm 12 protruding from the front side of the housing 1.

(Embodiment 5)
15 to 17, the vehicle charging device according to the fifth embodiment includes a roof portion 14 that projects to one of the side surfaces of the housing 1 and the front side, an outer wall portion 15 that hangs down from an end of the projected roof portion 14, and A rail member 17 is provided that extends in the depth direction of the protruding roof portion 14, and the connector holding portion 5 is formed inside the outer wall portion 15.
The rail member 17 has a function corresponding to the arm 12 of the third to fourth embodiments, a groove is formed on the lower surface of the rail member 17, and the charging cable 2 is slidably held in the groove. The charging cable 2 is wound and held in a spiral shape.
In this embodiment, the connector holding portion 5 holds the connector 4 of the charging cable 2 suspended from the rail member 17 with the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector facing the front of the housing 1 as in the third embodiment. Therefore, it has the same effect as that of the third embodiment.
The rail member 17 itself may be configured to slide forward.

In any of the above embodiments, the power supply means is provided inside the housing 1, but as shown in FIG. 18, the power supply means is provided in a separate housing 20, and a cable or the like wired in the ground. It is good also as a structure which draws out a charge cable from the housing | casing 1 connected through this, and hold | maintains at the housing | casing 1 provided with the operation display part 10 in the front side.
In this case as well, as in the above embodiment, the connector holding portion 5 provided on the side surface of the housing 1 may be configured to hold the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector toward the front of the housing 1. Further, when the connector holding portion 5 is formed on the front surface of the housing 1, the connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector of the charging cable 2 drawn from one side surface 1 a of the housing 1 or the back surface 1 c of the housing 1. The connection surface 6 at the tip of the connector of the charging cable 2 that is drawn out and passes through the one side surface 1 a can also be held toward the other side surface 1 b of the housing 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Charging cable 3 Cable lead-out part 4 Connector 5 Connector holding part 6 Connection surface 7 Cable connection part 8 Holding bar 9 Protection cover 10 Display operation part 11 Arm support part 12 Arm 13 Charging cable fixing part 14 Roof part 15 Outer wall part 16 Connector storage box 17 Rail member

Claims (3)

A charging device for a vehicle including a charging cable for supplying power from a power supply means to a vehicle including a vehicle-mounted battery,
At the tip of the charging cable pulled out from the inside of the housing, the connector for connecting to the vehicle is provided with a connector holding portion that holds the connector when not connected to the vehicle,
The connector holding portion is formed on either the side surface or the front surface of the housing,
On the side of the housing, hold the connection surface at the tip of the connector toward the front of the housing,
On the front of the housing, the connecting surface at the tip of the connector of the charging cable drawn from one side of the housing or the connecting surface of the tip of the connector of the charging cable drawn from the back of the housing and passing through one side Is held toward the other side surface of the housing.   In the case where the connector holding portion is provided on the side surface of the housing, an arm for slidably holding the charging cable fixing portion for gripping the charging cable is provided on the same side surface as the connector holding portion. Item 2. The vehicle charging device according to Item 1.   The charging device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the charging cable is spirally wound and held by an arm by at least one charging cable fixing portion.

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