JP3228696B2 - Electric vehicle charging connector - 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 connector for an electric vehicle in which a terminal insertion hole into which a mating terminal is inserted can be opened and closed by a rotary shutter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of charging connector has a disk-shaped rotary shutter rotatably provided on the front surface of a connector housing, a through hole is formed at the center of the rotary shutter, and a cam projection is formed inside. When a cam pin provided on the mating connector is inserted into the through hole, the cam projection moves along the cam pin, and the rotary shutter rotates.

[0003]

However, in the charging connector described above, the through hole is opened when the charging connector is detached from the mating connector, so that there is a problem that foreign matter enters the inside. Therefore, a structure for preventing foreign matter from entering the through hole has been required. As a general configuration for that purpose, a structure in which a lid is attached to the front surface of the connector can be considered. However, such a structure requires the opening and closing operation of the lid, which causes a problem that workability is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can prevent foreign matter from entering a cam pin insertion hole.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a charging connector for an electric vehicle that can easily perform a connection operation with a mating connector.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a terminal insertion hole for inserting a mating terminal fitting opened in a front surface of a connector housing can be opened and closed by a rotary shutter provided in the connector housing. At the same time, a cam pin insertion hole for inserting a cam pin formed in the mating connector is provided, and the cam pin is inserted into the cam pin insertion hole by a connection operation with the mating connector so that the terminal insertion hole is opened and closed by the rotary shutter. In the connector housing, a plug that can be inserted into the cam pin insertion hole from the side opposite to the insertion direction of the cam pin is slidably provided in the connector housing, and this plug is inserted into the cam pin insertion hole by an elastic member. It is characterized by being energized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the charging connector for an electric vehicle according to the first aspect, the cam pin insertion hole is provided at the center of rotation of the rotary shutter, and the cross-sectional shapes of the cam pin insertion hole and the plug are mutually fitted. Non-circular shape,
The plug is characterized in that the rotation of the stopper is regulated so that the rotary shutter can be inserted into the cam pin insertion hole with a predetermined rotation phase.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the present connector is detached from the mating connector, the plug is inserted into the cam pin insertion hole, so that foreign matter can enter the cam pin insertion hole. Intrusion is prevented. Here, since the plug is to be inserted from the side opposite to the direction in which the cam pins are inserted into the cam pin insertion holes, when this connector is fitted to the mating connector, the plug is pushed by the cam pins. It is automatically evacuated to the back. Moreover, since the plug is urged into the cam pin insertion hole by the elastic member, when the connector is detached from the mating connector and the cam pin is pulled out from the cam pin insertion hole, the plug is automatically inserted into the cam pin hole. Return to the inserted state. Thus, according to the present invention,
The stopper prevents foreign matter from entering the cam pin insertion hole, and the opening and closing of the cam pin insertion hole by the stopper is automatically performed at the time of the fitting / removing operation of the connector, so that the operability is good.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cam pin insertion hole and the plug have a non-circular shape that can be fitted to each other. Also,
Since the rotation of the plug is restricted, the rotation of the rotary shutter is also restricted, and the stopper is held at a predetermined rotation position.
This prevents the rotary shutter from rotating without permission.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a charging connector 10 of the present embodiment,
FIG. 5 shows a vehicle-side connector 20 that can be fitted and connected thereto.

The charging connector 10 is provided at an end of a charging cable C extending from an external charging device (not shown). A connector housing 11 (hereinafter, referred to as “housing 11”) of the charging connector 10 is provided with a cylindrical main body 13, and is connected to the charging cable C near the front end inside the main body 13. Terminal fitting 12 is accommodated. This charging terminal fitting 12 is
A cylindrical connecting portion 12B is provided at the distal end, and its distal end surface 12A is provided.
And is electrically connected to the other terminal fitting, and is disposed closer to the front in the main body 13 with the front end surface 12A facing the front surface of the housing 11.

The details of the front portion of the main body 13 will be described below with reference to FIGS. Main part 1
A bottomed cylindrical hood member 16 is attached to the front end face of the main body 3 with its bottom wall 17 side facing the main body 13. The bottom wall 17 is formed with a terminal insertion hole 17A for inserting the power receiving terminal metal fitting 21 provided in the vehicle-side connector 20. The distal end of the charging terminal metal fitting 12 is located at the back of the terminal insertion hole 17A. The surface 12A faces forward (see FIG. 4).

A rotary shutter 30 is attached to the bottom wall 17, and the rotary shutter 30 opens and closes a terminal insertion hole 17A. The rotary shutter 30 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, an embossed rotary shaft 32 is provided at the center of the circular plate portion 31, and the rotary shaft 32 is passed through a through hole 33 formed at the center of the bottom wall 17, and the bottom wall 17 has It is rotatably mounted so as to overlap.
The circular plate portion 31 of the rotary shutter 30 has a plurality of alignment holes 34 which are aligned with the terminal insertion holes 17A at a predetermined rotation position.
Is provided, and a cam pin insertion hole 35 is formed through the center of the rotating shaft 32. When the cam pin 22 provided on the vehicle-side connector 20 is inserted into the cam pin insertion hole 35, the rotary shutter 30 has a predetermined phase, the matching hole 34 overlaps the terminal insertion hole 17A, and the terminal insertion hole 17A is When it is opened, the mating terminal fitting can be inserted therein. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cam pin insertion hole 35 has a configuration in which a cam projection 36 is provided near the front end of a cavity having a circular cross section. The cam projection 36 projects from the lower surface of the cam pin insertion hole 35 in FIG. 3 and has a flat upper part. The upper part of the cam projection 36 is a non-circular space 38.
Then, in the rotation phase in which the rotary shutter 30 closes the terminal insertion hole 17A (the state of FIG. 3), this non-circular space 3
8, a non-circular portion 43 (see FIG. 2) of the plug 40 described later is inserted.

In the interior of the housing 11, a bottomed cylindrical portion 45 is provided at a portion facing the cam pin insertion hole 35 with its opening side facing the cam pin insertion hole 35 (FIGS. 2 and 5). 4). A hollow 45A having the same inner diameter as the cam pin insertion hole 35 and having a circular cross section is formed inside the cylindrical portion 45, and a groove 46 is formed along the axial direction on the upper and lower surfaces of the hollow 45A.

The plug 40 according to the present invention is accommodated inside the cylinder 45 so as to be movable along the cylinder 45.
The plug 40 is urged toward the cam pin insertion hole 35 by a compression coil spring 47 provided on the inner side of the cylindrical portion 45. As shown in FIG. 2, the plug 40 has a pair of protrusions 42, 42 above and below a cylindrical main body 41, and the protrusions 42 are fitted into the grooves 46, 46 of the cylindrical portion 45. Thus, the plug 40 is slidable along the axial direction of the cylindrical portion 45 and is supported so as not to rotate. A non-circular portion 43 that can be fitted and inserted into the non-circular space 38 of the cam pin insertion hole 35 is provided at the distal end of the main body 41. Then, as described above, the non-circular portion 43 is fitted and inserted into the non-circular space 38 at a rotational phase when the rotary shutter 30 closes the terminal insertion hole 17A.
Also, as shown in FIG.
A coil spring 47 is provided on the rear end face 40A against which
Are formed so as to protrude.

As shown in FIG. 1, the charging connector 10 has a built-in lock lever 51, and a lock projection 52 of the lock lever 51 extends outward from an opening (not shown) formed in the housing 11. It protrudes. And
The lock projection 52 is connected to the hood 2 of the vehicle-side connector 20.
The two connectors 10 and 20 are engaged with the engagement holes 24 provided in the connector 7 in a regular fitting state. Housing 11
At the rear end, a handle 54 is provided.
An operation section 51A for releasing the lock of the lock lever 51 is disposed at the base end of the fourth section.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle-side connector 20 houses a plurality of power-receiving-side terminal fittings 21 in a connector housing 26 (hereinafter, referred to as “housing 26”) fixed to the body B of the electric vehicle. The electric wire D connected to the power receiving side terminal fitting 21 is connected to a battery (not shown) mounted on the electric vehicle. The housing 26 is provided with a cylindrical hood 27 that is open toward the outside of the body B, and on the upper surface of the hood 27,
An engagement hole 24 with which the lock mechanism is engaged is formed. A connecting portion 28 of the power receiving side terminal fitting 21 protrudes from a back surface 27A of the hood portion 27, and this connecting portion 28 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 17A. Is to be struck. Further, the power receiving side terminal fitting 21 has a cavity 26A.
And is urged forward by a coil spring 29 so that both terminal fittings 1
A contact pressure between 2 and 21 is obtained.

At the center of the back surface 27A of the hood 27,
The cam pins 22 inserted into the cam pin insertion holes 35 are projected. As shown in FIG. 2, the cam pin 22 has a non-circular portion 22A having the same shape as the plug body 40 at the distal end, and a flat portion 22B on the lower surface side of the non-circular portion 22A behind the non-circular portion 22A. Is formed, and the cam projection 36 of the cam pin insertion hole 35 moves along the spiral groove 22C, so that the rotary shutter 30 rotates. The lid 27 is provided at the tip of the hood 27.
B is provided, and an open end of the hood 27 can be opened and closed.

Next, the operation of the charging connector 10 of the present embodiment will be described. When the charging connector 10 is in a single state, the rotary shutter 30 is in a rotational phase in which the terminal insertion hole 17A is closed, and the plug 40 is moved into the cam pin insertion hole 35 by the coil spring 47 as shown in FIG. The non-circular portion 43 of the plug 40 is pushed into the cam pin insertion hole 35.
Are fitted and inserted into the non-circular space 38. As a result, the cam pin insertion hole 35 is closed by the plug 40, and no foreign matter such as dust enters the cam pin insertion hole 35. Of course, since the terminal insertion hole 17A is also in the closed state, entry of foreign matter into the terminal insertion hole 17A can be prevented. Here, since the cam pin insertion hole 35 and the plug 40 are fitted with non-circular portions (non-circular space 38 and non-circular portion 43) in cross section, the rotary shutter 30 is rotated in the rotational direction by vibration or the like. When the plug 40 receives the force, the plug 40 also receives the force in the rotation direction. However, the plug 40 does not rotate because it cannot rotate due to the engagement between the projection 42 and the groove 46. Therefore, the rotary shutter 30 does not rotate, and the terminal insertion hole 17A does not open without permission.

The connection of the charging connector 10 to the vehicle connector 20 is as follows. The lid 27B of the vehicle-side connector 20 is opened to open the hood 27, and the charging connector 10 is pushed into the hood 27. Then, the cam pins 22 enter the cam pin insertion holes 35 during the pushing process. Here, the plug 40
Since the cam pin 22 is inserted from the side opposite to the direction in which the cam pin 22 is inserted into the cam pin insertion hole 35, the plug 40 is pushed by the cam pin 22 and automatically retracts to the back side. When the cam pin 22 is pushed further into the cam pin insertion hole 35, the cam projection 36 of the cam pin insertion hole 35
2 along the helical groove 22C and the rotary shutter 30
Is rotated to open the terminal insertion hole 17A, and the connection portion 28 of the power receiving side terminal fitting 21 is connected to the terminal insertion hole 17A.
A enters the housing 11 through A. Then, the terminal fittings 12 and 21 are brought into abutting state and electrically connected to each other, and a charging operation is performed.

When charging is completed and the charging connector 10 is pulled out of the hood 27, the cam pins 22 are also pulled out of the cam pin insertion holes 35. Then, the plug 40 is pushed back into the cam pin insertion hole 35 by the coil spring 47.
Also, by pulling out the cam pin 22, the cam projection 36 moves along the spiral groove 22C, and the rotary shutter 30 returns to the original rotation phase and is closed, so that the cam pin insertion hole 35 is closed.
The non-circular portion 43 of the plug 40 is fitted and inserted into the non-circular space 38.

As described above, according to the present invention, foreign matter can be prevented from entering the cam pin insertion hole 35 by the stopper 40, and the cam pin insertion hole 35 by the stopper 40 can be prevented.
Opening / closing is automatically performed at the time of fitting / removing operation of the connectors 10 and 20, so that operability is also good. Moreover, the plug 40 is
Since it also has a rotation preventing function for preventing the rotary shutter 30 from rotating during non-charging, the phases of the cam pin 22 and the cam pin insertion hole 35 can be easily adjusted at the time of next charging.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
In addition to the following, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) The plug 40 of the above embodiment may not be provided with the above-mentioned detent function. For example, the stopper is formed in a simple columnar shape, and the cam pin insertion hole 35 is formed.
Of these, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which only the circular portion on the back side of the cam projection 36 is fitted and inserted. With such a configuration, the protrusion 42 and the groove 46 for preventing rotation are not required, so that the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost is not required.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a charging connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tip.

FIG. 3 is a partial front view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a mating vehicle-side connector;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Charging connector 11 ... Connector housing 17A ... Terminal insertion hole 20 ... Vehicle side connector (mating side connector) 22 ... Cam pin 30 ... Rotary shutter 35 ... Cam pin insertion hole 40 ... Plug

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Kazumoto Chikada 1-14 Nishisuehirocho, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. (56) References JP-A-8-153551 (JP, A) JP-A-7 JP-A-7-230801 (JP, A) JP-A-8-203601 (JP, A) JP-A-10-172646 (JP, A) JP-A-6-64378 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/52

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A terminal insertion hole for inserting a mating terminal fitting opened in a front surface of a connector housing can be opened and closed by a rotary shutter provided in the connector housing, and a cam pin formed on the mating connector can be opened and closed. A cam pin insertion hole capable of being inserted, wherein the cam pin is inserted into the cam pin insertion hole by a connection operation with the mating connector so that the rotary shutter opens and closes the terminal insertion hole. In the connector housing, a plug that can be inserted into the cam pin insertion hole from the side opposite to the insertion direction of the cam pin is slidably provided, and the plug is urged by an elastic member in a state where the plug is inserted into the cam pin insertion hole. A charging connector for an electric vehicle, comprising: 2. A cam pin insertion hole is provided at the center of rotation of the rotary shutter, and a cross-sectional shape of the cam pin insertion hole and the stopper is a non-circular shape that can be fitted to each other.
2. The charging connector for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the plug is regulated so that the rotary shutter can be inserted into the cam pin insertion hole at a predetermined rotation phase.