JP2016059093A - charging cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging cable that makes adhering sludge less likely to be transferred in a longitudinal direction of a charging cable, thus making it possible to reduce soiling of a worker carrying out a charging operation, and that is able to prevent damage to a main body or wear even if a worker carrying out a charging operation treats a charging cable roughly.SOLUTION: In a cable to the end part of which a charging connector is connected, a corrugated tube 4 is enclosed in the cable 2, and the charging connector 3 and the end part 4a of the corrugated tube 4 enclosed in the cable 1 are integrated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a cable for a vehicle, and more particularly to a charging cable used when charging an in-vehicle battery used in an electric vehicle.

The place where the electric vehicle is parked and the vehicle-mounted battery of the electric vehicle is charged is not limited to a garage or a pavement parking lot, and a cable part may be placed on the unground pavement. In such a case, the portion of the contact area of the cable portion with the unpaved soil ground may become dirty with mud.
Therefore, conventionally, a charging cable cleaning mechanism provided with a cleaning means for cleaning the cable part soiled with mud has been used.

  A conventional charging cable cleaning mechanism has a configuration as shown in Patent Document 1. That is, the charging cable cleaning mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a ring portion 1 and a brush 2 as shown in FIGS. The ring portion 1 has a sufficiently large inner diameter compared to the outer diameter of the cable portion 11 in the target charging cable, and the cable portion 11 is formed in an annular shape passing through the inside.

The brush 2 in the charging cable cleaning mechanism cleans the surface of the cable portion 11, and the root is installed on the inner peripheral surface of the ring portion 1 and is in contact with the cable portion 11.
And when dirt, such as dry soil, adheres to the surface of the cable part 11, when the charging cable cleaning mechanism is moved along the cable part 11, the surface of the cable part 11 contacts the brush 2. Abut. When the cable portion 11 is allowed to pass while the brush 2 is in contact with the cable portion 11, dirt attached to the cable portion 11 is removed by the brush 2.

This conventional charging cable cleaning mechanism is fixed to installation locations 5 a and 5 b on the body (sheet metal panel) of the electric vehicle 14 by a magnet 4 on the outer peripheral surface of the ring portion 1. Thus, by installing the charging cable cleaning mechanism at a position higher than the ground 15, a part (or all) of the cable portion 11 passing inside the charging cable cleaning mechanism is lifted from the ground 15.
In this manner, the conventional charging cable cleaning mechanism is detachably attached to the body of the electric vehicle 14 by the magnet 4, and is fixed to the body to contact the cable portion 11 and the ground 15 when the electric vehicle 14 is charged. The length is reduced and contamination of the cable part 11 is suppressed.

JP 2013-236500 A

As described above, the conventional charging cable cleaning mechanism appropriately attaches a dirt prevention jig by the brush 2 erected on the inner peripheral surface of the annular cable through hole inside the ring portion 1 to the vehicle by the magnet 4, The dirt on 11 is removed.
For this reason, in the conventional charging cable cleaning mechanism, the effect of removing dirt by the brush 2 can be expected in the initial stage of use, but if the dirt is attached to the brush 2 after being used several times, the dirt prevention function is effective. There is a problem of a significant decrease.
In addition, since the conventional charging cable cleaning mechanism is attached to the vehicle by the magnet 4, there is a problem that the magnet 4 may scratch the vehicle body of the vehicle.

In general, EV (electric vehicle) and PHEV (plug-in hybrid vehicle) have the greatest advantage of low environmental load.
In contrast, the conventional charging cable cleaning mechanism includes a plurality of separate parts including the magnet 4 and the brush 2, and the magnet 4 and the brush 2 are inferior in recyclability, and LCA (life cycle assessment). ) And other environmental assessments are difficult to recognize.

In addition, in charging work for charging an in-vehicle battery used in an electric vehicle, a person performing the charging work has a gun part provided at one end of the cable connected to both charging ports. That is, the person who performs the charging work works by dragging the charging cable during the charging work. Therefore, dirt adheres only to the portion of the charging cable that contacts the ground.
For this reason, when the charging cable is operated, the entire charging cable is not originally contaminated. However, the charging cable is laid outdoors, and when rainwater falls on the charging cable, the rainwater travels along the surface of the charging cable and diffuses dirt throughout the surface of the charging cable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and the attached sludge is difficult to be transmitted in the longitudinal direction of the charging cable, so that the adhesion of dirt to the worker performing the charging operation can be reduced, and the worker performing the charging operation can An object of the present invention is to provide a charging cable that can prevent the cable body from being damaged or worn even when the charging cable is handled roughly.

  The charging cable of the present invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-described problem, is a cable in which a charging connector is connected to an end portion, the corrugated tube being surrounded by the cable, and the charging connector and the cable The corrugated tube is surrounded by an end portion of the corrugated tube.

According to the invention described in claim 1 of the present application, since the outer periphery of the charging cable is formed in a corrugated shape, sludge adhering to the charging cable is accumulated in the groove and can hardly be transmitted in the longitudinal direction of the cable. Therefore, the dirt adhering to the charging cable is limited to only a part of the outer periphery of the charging cable, and the adhesion of dirt to the worker who performs the charging work can be reduced.
According to the invention described in claim 1 of the present application, since the corrugated tube is surrounded by a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the charging cable, an operator who performs the charging operation handles the charging cable roughly. The cable body can be prevented from being damaged or worn even if it hits the surrounding objects.

  A charging cable according to a second aspect of the present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, is characterized in that the member to be integrated in the charging cable according to the first aspect is formed of a heat shrinkable tube.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the member to be integrated is formed of a heat shrinkable tube, the length change is reduced by heating and the diameter is increased (1/2 or more). Therefore, the charging connector and the end portion of the corrugated tube surrounded by the charging cable can be reliably integrated.

  The charging cable of the present invention according to claim 3, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, has a hardness of the corrugated tube in the charging cable according to claim 1 or 2 greater than the hardness of the sheath material of the cable. It is characterized by.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the hardness of the corrugated tube in the charging cable is larger than the hardness of the sheath material of the cable, an operator who performs the charging operation bends or twists the charging cable. Even so, it is possible to prevent the so-called swell, in which the cable is damaged or the appearance of the cable is deformed in a wave shape.

  The charging cable of the present invention according to claim 4, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, is equipped with the surrounding of the corrugated tube in the charging cable according to claim 1, 2 or 3 from the charging connector portion side. It is characterized in that it is performed within a range of 1.2 to 2.5 m from the terminal of the part.

  According to the invention described in claim 4 of the present application, the corrugated tube surrounding the cable is mounted from the charging connector portion side, and the length of the surrounding corrugated tube is 1.2 to 2.5 m from the end of the charging connector portion. Therefore, when the worker who performs the charging operation picks up the charging connector part side of the charging cable, it can be the part where the corrugated tube is surrounded to contact the ground. It can prevent that the exposed part of the cable which is not enclosed contacts the ground.

  The charging cable of the present invention according to claim 5 made to solve the above-mentioned problem is formed by integrating the cable side of the corrugated tube and the cable in the charging cable according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4. It is characterized by that.

According to the invention described in claim 5, the corrugated tube in the charging cable according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 is integrated with the charging connector and the end of the corrugated tube surrounded by the charging cable. Therefore, the dirt adhering to the corrugated tube of the charging cable does not enter the inner surface of the corrugated tube and contaminate the surface of the cable.
Further, according to the invention described in claim 5, since the cable side of the corrugated tube and the cable in the charging cable according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 are integrated, the charging connector is connected. Intrusion of rainwater or the like can be prevented from between the corrugated tube and the cable on the side opposite to the side on which it is located.

  According to the present invention, dirt such as sludge adhering to the charging cable can be made difficult to be transmitted in the longitudinal direction of the charging cable, and even if the worker who performs the charging operation picks up the charging cable, the adhesion of dirt is reduced. can do.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if the operator who performs a charging operation handles a charging cable roughly, it can prevent that a cable main body is damaged or worn out.

1 is an overall view of a charging cable according to the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the charging cable shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the Example of the corrugated tube shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows another Example of the corrugated tube shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is an assembly diagram of the charging cable illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure for demonstrating the use condition of the charging cable shown in FIG. It is a general view of the conventional vehicle charging cable. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment state of the charging cable for vehicles shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the other charge cable shown in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 8 of the drawings show an embodiment of a temperature sensor according to the present invention.
1 is an overall view of a charging cable according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the charging cable shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the corrugated tube shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the corrugated tube shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an assembled view of the charging cable shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a charging cable according to the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the charging cable 1 includes a cable 2, a charging connector 3, a corrugated tube 4, and members 5 and 6 to be integrated.
The charging cable 1 is attached to a charging stand and is used for charging an EV (electric vehicle) or a PHEV (plug-in hybrid vehicle) by an operator who performs a charging operation. Generally, electricity as a power source of EV (electric vehicle) and PHEV (plug-in hybrid vehicle) is obtained by charging a battery mounted on the vehicle with electric power supplied from the outside. Charging the EV and PHEV car batteries is performed from the outside by a dedicated charging cable.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cable 2 has a power line 13 (two in this example) in which an insulating layer 11 made of vinyl chloride resin is provided around a conductor 10 made of a soft copper flexible aggregate twisted conductor, A signal transmission insulating wire core 14 for various signal transmissions, in which an insulating layer made of vinyl chloride resin is provided around a conductor made of a wire conductor of an annealed copper flexible assembly, and a signal transmission insulating wire core 15 are twisted together. It has become. The power line 13 is a power line for supplying power from the charging station 40 (see FIG. 6) to the vehicle 30 (see FIG. 6). The signal transmission insulating cores 14 and 15 are signal lines for performing communication between the charging station 40 and the vehicle 30.
And this twisted wire is twisted together with polypropylene intervening yarn 16 together with the core, wound with presser winding tape 17 made of non-woven fabric and arranged so that the cross-sectional shape of the cable becomes circular, and has heat and oil resistance as the outermost layer. It has a sheath 18 made of a flexible vinyl chloride resin.

The charging connector 3 is connected to the cable 2 and is inserted into a charging port of the EV or PHEV, and is connected to the cable 2 and a power circuit of the EV or PHEV. The charging connector 3 supplies electricity as a power source supplied via the cable 2 to the PHEV power circuit.
The cable 2 and the charging connector 3 constitute a cable body 7.

The corrugated tube 4 is formed in a bellows cylindrical shape using a synthetic resin as a material. A cable body 7 is inserted into the corrugated tube 4, and the cable body 7 is protected by the corrugated tube 4 from external interference, rainwater, dust, and the like. That is, the corrugated tube 4 is surrounded by the cable body 7.
The corrugated tube 4 includes an annular peripheral wall 20 that forms a bellows-shaped valley, and a plurality of hollow annular ridges 21 that protrude outward from the peripheral wall 20. The ridge 21 is composed of an outer peripheral wall 22 and both side walls 23, 24. The both side walls 23, 24 intersect the peripheral wall 20 at a substantially right angle, and each of the plurality of ridges 21 is independently a perfect circle with respect to the peripheral wall 20. It is provided in the shape.

The corrugated tube 4 has a configuration in which each of the plurality of protrusions 21 is independently provided in a perfect circle shape with respect to the peripheral wall 20, but is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. The protrusion 21 may be formed in a spiral shape. In this case, since the corrugated tube 4 does not have a configuration in which each of the plurality of protrusions 21 is independently provided in a perfect circle shape with respect to the peripheral wall 20, each of the plurality of protrusions 21 is independent of each other. Compared to the corrugated tube 4 that is configured to be a perfect circle with respect to the peripheral wall 20, the effect of making sludge adhering to the charging cable 1 accumulated in the groove and difficult to transmit in the longitudinal direction of the cable is small. Become.
As shown in FIG. 3, a slit portion 25 is formed in the corrugated tube 4 over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and the charging cable 1 is inserted into the corrugated tube 4 from the slit portion 25. That is, the corrugated tube 4 is formed in half by the slit portion 25.

As described above, the corrugated tube 4 is formed of a synthetic resin as a material, and the annular peripheral wall 20 and the plurality of hollow annular protrusions 21 protruding from the peripheral wall 20 form a schematic shape (bellows wall). The peripheral wall 20 is also a trough with respect to a convex part (mountain part).
The corrugated tube 4 has flexibility in the radial direction. That is, the corrugated tube 4 can be bent (elastically deformed) or bent (plastically deformed) at the peripheral wall 20.

The corrugated tube 4 that surrounds the cable body 7 has a length of at least 1.5 m from the terminal portion of the charging connector 3. The length of the corrugated tube 4 is 1.5 m because the exposed portion of the cable 2 that is not surrounded by the corrugated tube 4 is on the ground when the operator who performs the charging operation picks up the charging connector 3. This is because the length that does not contact is sufficient.
Specifically, the length of the corrugated tube 4 surrounding the cable body 7 is preferably in the range of 1.2 m to 2.5 m from the terminal portion of the charging connector 3.
Thus, the length of the corrugated tube 4 is set to the range of 1.2 m to 2.5 m. If the length of the corrugated tube 4 is 1.2 m, the worker who performs the charging operation holds the charging connector 3 in his hand. This is because the exposed portion of the cable 2 does not contact the ground when taken.
The length of the corrugated tube 4 is up to 2.5 m. If the corrugated tube 4 is 2.5 m, the worker who performs the charging operation picks up the charging connector 3 and makes the charging cable 1 accidentally contact the ground. This is because the portion surrounded by the corrugated tube 4 can contact the ground, and the exposed portion of the cable 2 can be prevented from contacting the ground.

In addition, the corrugated tube 4 surrounding the charging cable 1 is preferably harder than the sheath 18 of the cable 2 from the viewpoint of preventing damage to the cable due to bending and twisting and undulation.
In FIG. 3, the corrugated tube 4 is shown in which a slit portion 25 is formed over the entire length in the longitudinal direction and is formed in half, and the slit portion 25 is only to match both ends. ing. Therefore, in order to prevent the corrugated tube 4 from spreading at the slit portion 25, it is effective to press the tape with a tape or the like after being surrounded by the corrugated tube 4.

Therefore, the corrugated tube 4 may be a corrugated tube as shown in FIG. The corrugated tube 4 shown in FIG. 4 is provided with a female lock 26 and a male lock 27 as locking means on both sides of the slit portion 25, and the slit 25 is not opened by engaging the female lock 26 and the male lock 27. You can keep it like this.
By configuring in this way, it is possible to prevent the corrugated tube 4 surrounding the cable body 7 from being opened at the slit portion 25 when the charging cable 1 is bent.

A heat-shrinkable tube 5 (corresponding to “a member to be integrated” in the claims) is wound around the charging connector side end 4a of the corrugated tube 4 surrounded by the cable body 7 and the charging connector 3. . This heat-shrinkable tube 5 is a tube made of a synthetic resin that shrinks to a shape stored in advance by applying heat.
Thus, the charging connector 3 and the charging connector side end 4 a of the corrugated tube 4 are integrated by the heat shrinkable tube 5. Therefore, since it is hung from the charging connector 3 side end 4a of the corrugated tube 4 to the charging connector 3 and sealed by the heat shrinkable tube 5, the cable main body 7 and the corrugated corrugated tube 4 from the charging connector side end 4a. Sludge does not enter between the tube 4.

Further, a heat-shrinkable tube 6 (corresponding to “a member to be integrated” in the claims) is wound around the cable side end 4 b of the corrugated tube 4 and the cable 2. The heat-shrinkable tube 6 is a tube made of a synthetic resin that shrinks to a shape stored in advance by applying heat, like the heat-shrinkable tube 5.
In this way, the charging connector 3 and the cable side end 4 b of the corrugated tube 4 are integrated by the heat shrinkable tube 6. Therefore, since the cable 2 side end 4b of the corrugated tube 4 is hung on the cable 2 and sealed by the heat shrinkable tube 6, the cable body 7 and the corrugated tube 4 are connected from the cable side end 4b of the corrugated tube 4 to each other. Sludge does not get in between.

Thus, both ends of the corrugated tube 4 are integrated with the cable body 7 by the heat shrinkable tubes 5 and 6. The reason why the corrugated tube 4 is integrated with the cable body 7 by the heat-shrinkable tubes 5 and 6 is to suppress bending and twisting of the charging cable 1.
The section in which the corrugated tube 4 is surrounded by the cable 2 is sealed by the heat shrinkable tube 5 and the heat shrinkable tube 6, and sludge enters between the cable 2 and the corrugated tube 4. Absent.

  The corrugated tube 4 includes an annular peripheral wall 20 forming a bellows-shaped valley, and a plurality of hollow annular protrusions 21 protruding outward from the peripheral wall 20, and each of the plurality of protrusions 21 is independent. And since it is the structure provided in perfect circle shape with respect to the surrounding wall 20, sludge accumulates in a groove | channel and it is hard to be transmitted to the longitudinal direction of the cable 2. FIG.

Next, a method for assembling the corrugated tube 4 to the cable body 7 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a method of assembling the corrugated tube 4 and the heat-shrinkable tubes 5 and 6 to the charging cable 1 according to this embodiment.
In FIG. 5, the corrugated tube 4 has a length in the range of 1.2 m to 2.5 m, is inserted into the cable body 7 from the charging connector 3 side, and as shown by the arrow A shown in FIG. The corrugated tube 4 is attached to the outer periphery of the main body 7.

Thereafter, the heat shrinkable tube 6 is wound around the cable 2 of the cable body 7 from the cable side end 4a of the corrugated tube 4 as shown by an arrow C shown in FIG. Further, the heat shrinkable tube 5 is wound around the cable 2 of the cable body 7 from the charging connector side end 4b of the corrugated tube 4 as shown by an arrow B shown in FIG.
The heat-shrinkable tube 6 is shrunk by applying heat, and is hung on the cable 2 of the cable body 7 from the cable side end 4 a of the corrugated tube 4 and integrated by the heat-shrinkable tube 6. Further, heat is applied to the heat-shrinkable tube 5 to be shrunk, and the heat-shrinkable tube 5 is integrated from the cable 2 of the cable body 7 to the charging connector side end 4 b of the corrugated tube 4.
Thus, the charging cable 1 as shown in FIG. 1 is formed.

Next, the usage method of the charging cable 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated, referring drawings.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a usage state of the charging cable 1 according to the present embodiment.
In FIG. 6, charging operation is performed on the charging connector 3 of the charging cable 1 connected to a charging stand 40 that is a ground-installed charging device or charging facility used for charging an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV). The operator performing the operation pulls out the charging cable 1 in his hand. At this time, the worker who performs the charging operation holds the charging cable 1 so as not to contact the ground. However, even if the intermediate portion 50 of the charging cable 1 contacts the ground, the charging cable 1 is not connected to the end of the charging connector 3. Since the corrugated tube 4 is surrounded over a length in the range of 1.2 m to 2.5 m, dirt adheres to the corrugated tube 4.

In this way, the middle portion 50 of the charging cable 1 that surrounds the cable 2 of the cable body 7 by the corrugated tube 4 does not adhere to the exposed portion of the cable 2 that is not surrounded by the corrugated tube 4.
Even if the charging cable 1 comes into contact with the ground by the worker who performs the charging work, the sludge on the ground adheres to the surface of the corrugated tube 4 surrounding the cable 2 of the cable body 7, and the cable body 7 It does not adhere to the cable 2.
Thus, the worker who performs the charging operation holds the charging connector 3 of the charging cable 1 in his / her hand, inserts the charging connector 3 into the charging port 31 of the vehicle 30, and charges the battery of the vehicle 30.

The cable 2 may be formed as shown in FIG. That is,
Power wires 60 and 61 (two in this example) in which an insulating layer made of a vinyl chloride resin is provided around a conductor made of a soft copper flexible stranded conductor, a ground wire 62, and a wire conductor of a soft copper flexible assembly A signal transmission insulating wire core 62 for various signal transmissions, in which an insulating layer made of a vinyl chloride resin is provided around a conductor made of, is twisted.

  In addition, the present invention can of course be modified in various ways within the scope not changing the gist of the present invention.

1 …………………… Charging cable 2 …………………… Cable 3 …………………… Charging connector 4 …………………… Corrugated tube 4a ……………… ... Charging connector side end 4b ……………… Cable side end 5,6 ……………… Integrating member (heat shrinkable tube)
7 …………………… Cable body 10 …………………… Conductor 11 ………………… Insulation layer 12, 13 ………… Power line 14,15 ………… Insulation for signal transmission Wire core 16 …………………… Intervening thread 17 ………………… Presser winding tape 18 ………………… Sheath 20 ………………… Surrounding wall 21 ………………… Article 22 …………………… Outer wall 23,24 ………… Side wall 25 ………………… Slit 26 ………………… Female lock 27 ………………… Male lock 30 …… …………… Vehicle 31 ………………… Charging port 40 ………………… Charging stand 50 ………………… Intermediate part 60, 61 ………… Power line 62 ………… ……… Ground wire 63 ………………… Insulated wire core for signal transmission

Claims (5)

A cable to which a charging connector is connected at the end,
The cable is surrounded by a corrugated tube,
The charging cable, wherein the charging connector and an end of the corrugated tube surrounded by the cable are integrated. The charging cable according to claim 1,
The charging member is characterized in that the member to be integrated is a heat-shrinkable tube. The charging cable according to claim 1 or 2,
The charging cable, wherein the corrugated tube has a hardness greater than that of the sheath material of the cable. In the charging cable according to claim 1, 2, or 3,
Enclosure of the corrugated tube into the cable is
A charging cable, which is mounted from the charging connector side and is in a range of 1.2 m to 2.5 m from a terminal of the charging connector. In the charging cable according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4,
The charging cable, wherein the cable side of the corrugated tube and the cable are integrated.

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