JP2856231B2 - Charging device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charging device installed in a service station or the like having a charging facility for an electric vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, electric vehicles equipped with a battery and powered by electricity are attracting attention due to environmental problems and energy problems linked thereto, and their active introduction is being studied. If electric vehicles become popular in the future,
It is necessary to provide a service station equipped with a charging device.

To charge a battery mounted on an electric vehicle, the electric vehicle is moved to a place where a charging device is installed, and a connector provided at the end of the electric vehicle is usually connected to a predetermined portion of the electric vehicle via a cable. This is done by connecting the parts.

[0004]

However, if the electric vehicle accidentally moves from the charging place during charging,
In some cases, not only the connector and the cable but also the charging device main body may be damaged, and a danger may be caused due to a short circuit of electricity accompanying the damage. In addition, such a charging device
Since it is expected that it will be installed at the current gas station, it was necessary to provide safety functions from various directions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a charging device that can prevent damage to a connector or a cable due to movement of an electric vehicle during charging and a danger accompanying the damage.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, according to the Invention The charging apparatus of the present invention, the charge start from charger Star
In a charging device for charging an electric vehicle via a cable by a switch, the cable is connected at its tip to the electric vehicle.
Connected to the outlet of the vehicle and its connection status
A connector provided with a connect switch for detecting
On the way, the cable consists of a plug and a socket.
A machine for connecting the plug and the socket when a tensile force is applied
Equipped with a connection detection switch that detects temporary separation
A charger and a signal from a connection switch provided at the end of the cable , a signal from a connection detection switch provided at a safety connection, and a signal from a start switch for starting charging, and the charger is operated. It is.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a charger is operated by a signal from a connect switch for detecting a connection state of a connector, a signal from a connection detection switch for detecting a connection state of a safety joint, and a signal from a start switch. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the risk of damage to the connectors and cables due to the movement of the electric vehicle during charging and the resulting short circuit of electricity.

[0008]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a charging device in a service station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a service station for an automobile according to this embodiment is provided with a refueling facility for an automobile (hereinafter referred to as a gasoline automobile) that runs on gasoline, light oil or the like as a fuel, and a charging facility for an electric vehicle. And
A charging device 12 for charging the electric vehicle 11 is arranged at a predetermined charging place, and the charging device 12 is a POS (Point of Sales) terminal that is installed in a building 13 such as a sales room and performs point-of-sale management. 14. It is connected to a charging lamp 15 that indicates that charging is in progress. This POS
The terminal 14 is also a terminal for a normal gasoline meter.

The charging device 12 is, for example, a device for supplying daytime power or midnight power stored by an AC / DC converter, a storage battery or the like (not shown) as DC power, and has a box shape fixed on the ground. Formed body 1
6 and a charger 1
7, and a sensor 18 that is turned off when detecting a vaporized gas or the like that is heavier than air, such as gasoline vapor generated during refueling, is provided.
IC card reader / writer that detects and reports the charge battery life according to the charge record and the record, an operation unit 19 having a slip issuing machine, etc., and a display that displays the charge amount, charge amount, unit price, etc. in the power transaction. Unit 20, a start switch 21 for starting charging, a cable 22 for supplying electric power on the side surface, and a charging lamp 2 for indicating charging on the top side
3 and the like are provided. The cable 23 is provided at its tip with a connector 25 for connecting to the insertion port 24 of the electric vehicle 11 and a safety joint 26 for separating when an extra tensile force is applied to the cable 22 on the way. .
A waterproof case 27 for accommodating the cable 22 is provided on a side surface of the main body 16, and its door is opened only when an IC card is input, for example.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a safety joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the separated state of the safety joint of the embodiment of the present invention.

In these figures, the safety joint 26 of the present embodiment includes a plug 31 connected to the charging device 12 side,
And a socket part 32 connected to the connector 25 side. The plug portion 31 has one end side of the cable 22 fixed to one end side of a cylindrical guide portion 33 via an adapter 34 by a tightening screw 35, and plug pins 37, 37 fixed in the guide portion 33 by an insulator 36. Are connected to the positive and negative electric wires 38 of the cable 22, respectively, and a connection detecting switch 39 for detecting a connection by cutting a part of the insulator 36 is provided in the guide portion 33. Signal line 4 to detection switch 39
0 is connected. The socket portion 32 has one end of the cable 22 fixed to one end of a substantially cylindrical guide 41 fitted to the plug 31 via an adapter 42 with a tightening screw 43, and the other end of the guide 41. Are fixed by an insulator 44 inside the plug pin 37,
Socket pins 45, 45 having holes into which 37 is inserted
Is one end of the cable 22 plus and minus the electric wire 3
8, 38 respectively. Guide section 3
Pin holes 46 and 47 are formed in the side portions of the pair 3 and 41 when they are fitted to each other, and pass through the respective pin holes 46 and 47 in common and are separated by applying a shearing force. The pins 48, 48 made of a soft material are fitted. When the plug part 31 and the socket part 32 are correctly connected, the connection detection switch 39 is turned on, and when it is separated, it is turned off and the connection state is detected. The connection detection switch 39 and the plug pin 37,
37 is provided inside the guide part 33 so that the connection detection switch 39 is turned off at the initial stage when the socket part 32 is about to be separated from the plug part 31, and before the socket part 32 is completely separated, the plug pins 37, 37 and the socket pin The connection with 45 and 45 is broken so that no electric spark is generated at the time of separation, and even if a spark is generated, the spark is not leaked to the outside. The reference numerals 33 'and 41' in FIG.
Are convex portions and concave portions for preventing the plus and minus from being reversed at the time of assembling.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of the cable according to the embodiment of the present invention and the insertion portion of the electric vehicle.

In FIG. 1, a connector 25 at the distal end of the cable 22 is formed in the same manner as the plug portion 31, and one end of the cable 22 is connected to one end of a cylindrical guide 51 via an adapter 52, and a tightening screw is provided. Positive and negative wires 38, 38 of the cable 22 are connected to plug pins 55, 55, which are fixed by a guide 53 and an insulator 54 in the guide 51, respectively. A connection switch 56 is provided to detect a loose connection by cutting out a part of the connection switch, and a signal line 57 is connected to the connection switch 56. When the connector 25 is correctly connected, the connect switch 56 is turned off, and when the connection is loose, the connect switch 56 is turned on to detect the connection state.

The socket 24 is provided with a socket portion 62 to which the connector 25 is connected in a concave portion 61 formed on one side surface of the electric vehicle 11. A door 63 that opens and closes is provided.
One end of a cable 66 connected to a battery mounted on the electric vehicle 11 (not shown) is fixed to one side of a cylindrical guide 64 via an adapter 65, and the socket 62 is fixed to the guide 64. One end of socket pins 68, 68 fixed to the inside of the other side by an insulator 67 and having holes into which plug pins 55, 55 are inserted are connected to positive and negative electric wires 69, 69 of a cable 66.
Connected to each other. The socket portion 62 is attached such that a flange portion formed around the guide portion 64 abuts on the concave portion 61. The connect switch 56 and the plug pins 55, 55 are provided inside the guide portion 51, and after the connection portion is sealed by the connector 25 and the socket portion 62, the plug pins 55, 55 and the socket pins 6
The connection switch 56 is turned off after the connection with the connection 8 and 68 is completed and completely connected, so that no electric spark is generated at the time of connection, and even if the connection is generated, the spark does not leak to the outside. Note that reference numerals 51 'and 6 in FIG.
Reference numeral 4 'denotes a convex portion and a concave portion for preventing plus and minus from being reversed when the connector 25 is inserted into the socket portion 62.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram for explaining the operation of the charging device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a start switch 21 is
The connection switch 56 is connected to the reset input terminal of the flip-flop 71, and the connection detection switch 39 and the output terminal of the flip-flop 71 are connected to the AND gate 72, respectively.
And an output signal of the AND gate 72 is supplied to an operation control section on the charger side.

According to the above configuration, first, the safety joint 26
Are pin holes 46, 47 in which the plug portion 31 is connected to the socket portion 32 and the pins 48, 48 are formed respectively.
Are used in a state where they are fitted through the common. In this state, the cable 22 is electrically connected at that portion,
In addition, the connection detection switch 39 is turned on to detect that the safety joint 26 is connected in a normal state. next,
When charging the battery mounted on the electric vehicle 11, the door 63 of the insertion slot 24 is opened with a key, and the plug pins 55, 55 of the connector 25 are inserted into the holes of the socket pins 68, 68 of the socket portion 62. Connection. At this time, the connect switch 56 is turned off at the same time, and it is detected that the connector 25 is completely connected to the socket portion 62. Next, by pressing the start switch 21,
Electric power from the charger 17 is supplied to the battery via the cable 22 to perform charging. That is, the output signal of the flip-flop 71 in which the signal of the start switch 21 is input to the set terminal and the signal of the connection detection switch 39 are input to the AND gate 72, and the operation of the charger 17 is controlled by the output signal. Thus, charging is normally performed only when all the switches are in a normal state. Connector 25
Before the flip-flop 71 is connected to the socket 62,
Since the ON signal of the connect switch 56 is input to the reset terminal, if the connector 25 is not properly connected to the socket 62 of the electric vehicle 11 first, it does not operate even if the start switch 21 is turned on. When the connection detection switch 39 is turned off, the charger side is turned off.

Next, when the electric vehicle 11 is erroneously moved during charging and a tensile force is applied to the cable 22, a force is applied in a direction in which the plug portion 31 and the socket portion 32 of the safety joint 23 are separated. Therefore, the shear force is applied to the pins 48, 48 to separate them, and at the same time, the connection detection switch 39 is turned off to detect the separation. Therefore, even when the electric vehicle 11 is erroneously moved and a tensile force is applied to the cable 22, the pin 4
Since the cables 8 and 48 are separated and mechanically separated at the safety joint 23, the cable 22 and the connector 25 are not damaged. At the same time, the connection detection switch 39 is turned off and the separation is detected, so that the charger stops charging, so that there is no danger due to an electric short circuit or the like. If the connector 25 is loosened during charging, the connect switch 56 is turned on and the flip-flop 7
1 is reset and charging is stopped. Further, in the present embodiment, the charging device 17 is arranged at a position of 60 cm or more from the ground, and the sensor 18 for detecting vaporized gas such as gasoline vapor is provided, so that the charging device 12 is provided at the gas station. Even if you do, it is possible to ensure safety.

In the charging device 12 of the above-described embodiment, the example in which the start switch 21 is provided on the main body 16 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the start switch 21 is provided on the connector 25 as shown by a dotted line in FIG. You may. In addition, safety joint 26
Are a plug part 31 and a socket part 32 which are electrically connected.
May be provided on either side, and the connector 25
The structure may be any structure as long as it is electrically connected to the insertion port 24 of the electric vehicle 11, and is not limited to the structure of the embodiment.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a signal from a connect switch for detecting a connection state of a connector, a signal from a connection detection switch for detecting a connection state of a safety joint, and a signal from a start switch are provided. Since the charger is operated with the signal, there is an effect that the risk of damage to the connectors and cables due to the movement of the electric vehicle during charging and the resulting short circuit of electricity can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a charging device in a service station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the safety joint according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a separated state of the safety joint according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of the cable according to the embodiment of the present invention and the insertion portion of the electric vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating the operation of the charging device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Electric vehicle 12 Charging device 16 Main body 17 Charger 18 Sensor 19 Operation part 20 Display part 21 Start switch 22 Cable 23 Charging lamp 24 Insertion port 25 Connector 26 Safety connection 39 Connection detection switch 48 Pin 56 Connect switch 71 Flip-flop 72 AND Gate

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-48-20085 (JP, A) JP-A-59-2521 (JP, A) JP-A-62-293939 (JP, A) JP-A-5-276675 (JP) JP-A-5-276676 (JP, A) JP-A-5-17792 (JP, U) JP-A-56-37284 (JP, U) JP-A-3-1644 (JP, U) 3-124751 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60L 11/00-11/18 H01R 13/56-13/72 H02G 7/00-7/22 H02J 7 / 00-7/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A start switch for starting charging from a charger.
In a charging device for charging an electric vehicle via a cable, the cable has a distal end portion of the electric vehicle.
Connected to the outlet and detects the connection status
A connector equipped with a connect switch and a connector
The cable consists of a plug section and a socket section.
The plug and socket are mechanically separated from each other.
A safety connection with a connection detection switch for detecting
A charger that operates the charger with a signal from a connect switch provided at the end of the cable , a signal from a connection detection switch provided at a safety joint, and a signal from a start switch for starting charging.