JP5988279B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector for connecting a power storage device such as a storage battery or an electric double layer capacitor to an inlet of an electric apparatus that uses a power source as a power source and transmitting power between a cable and the power storage device. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector that can be pulled out from the inlet even when an emergency situation occurs in which the connector cannot be pulled out in a normal operation from the state where the insertion into the inlet is completed.

  In recent years, due to growing environmental awareness, electric vehicles (typically electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars) that are equipped with storage batteries (batteries) and run by driving motors with the electric power have been popularized. Battery chargers are being expanded as an infrastructure for electric vehicles. In addition, standardization of quick chargers for electric vehicles is being promoted for the spread of electric vehicles (for example, Japan Electric Vehicle Standard (JEVS)).

  As a technique related to the charging connector of this charger, for example, there is a charging connector disclosed in Patent Document 1. This charging connector includes a hook that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion and engages with a concave portion of the vehicle-side inlet by inserting an insertion portion provided at the tip of the main body portion into the vehicle-side inlet. Further, when the charging connector is pulled out from the vehicle-side inlet, a release lever is provided that rotates to house the hook in the connector and release the engagement with the vehicle-side inlet. Furthermore, a so-called solenoid (an electromagnetic component including a coil, a plunger (movable iron core), and a spring) that locks the release lever is provided. Due to the energization drive of the solenoid, the plunger protrudes so as to limit the rotation of the release lever and locks the release lever. By doing so, the release lever is prevented from being accidentally operated during charging. When this connector is removed from the vehicle inlet, energization to the solenoid is stopped and the release lever is unlocked when charging is completed. Next, the release lever is operated to retract the hook that engages the concave portion of the inner peripheral surface of the vehicle-side inlet, and the charging connector is pulled out from the vehicle-side inlet in a state where the engagement is released.

JP-A-7-192802

  The charging connector is desired to be excellent in safety and operability. However, the conventional charging connector as described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.

  When the connector is pulled out of the inlet after charging, the release lever does not normally operate due to unexpected problems such as foreign matter biting into the mechanism related to the rotation of the release lever, and the hook of the connector is released from the recess of the inlet. An impossible emergency situation can occur. In that case, it becomes difficult to pull out the connector from the inlet.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of its purposes is that even if an emergency situation occurs in which the connector cannot be pulled out in a normal operation from the state where the insertion into the inlet is completed, the inlet It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can be pulled out of a connector.

  The connector of the present invention is provided at the tip portion of the cable, and transmits power between the cable and the power storage device by connecting to the inlet of the electric device that uses the power storage device as a power source. A main body part and an insertion part inserted into an inlet provided in front of the main body part are provided. The main body includes a lock mechanism, a lock release mechanism, and an emergency release mechanism. The lock mechanism includes a movable holding member that holds the engaged state when the connector is inserted into the inlet and the connector and the inlet are engaged. The lock release mechanism releases the engagement state and releases the engagement state. The emergency release mechanism is a part of the main body part, and has a planned destruction portion that is locally low-strength so as to be broken into a specific state. In an emergency where the holding of the state cannot be released, at least one of the movable holding member and the movable releasing member is moved to a range exceeding the normal movable range, and the planned destruction portion is destroyed in the specific state with the connector. The engagement with the inlet can be released.

  The connector of the present invention keeps the movable holding member and the movable releasing member at least one of the movable holding member and the movable releasing member in a range beyond the normal movable range and destroys the planned destruction portion to a specific state even in an emergency. Since the engagement between the hook and the inlet can be released, the hook can be pulled out from the inlet. At that time, by using the planned destruction portion, the main body portion can be destroyed only in a specific range necessary for unlocking, so that unnecessary destruction that does not contribute to unlocking can be made unnecessary.

  As one form of the connector of the present invention, the planned destruction portion includes a first thin portion and a broken piece, and the emergency release mechanism further includes a movement allowance. In this case, the lock mechanism includes a swing arm and an arm spring. The movable holding member is a lock slider, and the movable release member is a release lever. The lock release mechanism further includes a release spring and a slider spring.

  The swing arm includes an arm intermediate portion that is swingably supported by the main body portion, a retaining hook provided in front of the arm intermediate portion, and an arm rear portion rearward of the arm intermediate portion. The swinging arm is engaged with and disengaged from the inlet by causing the retaining hook to protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion by swinging. The arm spring urges the swing arm so that the retaining hook comes out. The lock slider is slidably arranged in the front-rear direction of the main body within a range of forward limit and reverse limit. This lock slider allows the retaining hook to protrude and retract at the backward limit, and holds the retaining hook in the protruding state ahead of the backward limit. The release lever includes a lever middle portion that is swingably supported by the main body, a lever front portion that is in front of the lever middle portion and is opposed to the arm rear portion, and a lever rear portion that is provided behind the lever middle portion. With. This release lever interlocks the arm rear portion with the lever front portion by the swing of the lever rear portion by the user. The release spring biases the release lever in a direction in which the lever front portion is separated from the arm rear portion. The slider spring biases the lock slider backward. The first thin portion is formed on the rear side of the bearing portion provided in the main body portion to support the lever middle portion of the release lever. The broken piece is a part of the bearing portion, and is broken by the breakage of the first thin portion when the release lever is pulled rearward in an emergency. The movement allowance allows the lever intermediate portion to move to the rear side in accordance with breakage of the broken piece between the bearing portion and the surface of the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion facing the rear side of the bearing portion. The movement allowance is a length by which the lock slider can be retracted until the retracted hook is allowed to be retracted as the lever intermediate portion moves.

  According to the above configuration, even in an emergency, the connector can be removed from the inlet by releasing the engagement between the retaining hook and the inlet. By providing the first thin portion, the bearing portion can be easily damaged, so that the lever intermediate portion can be easily detached from the bearing portion. Moreover, by having the said movement allowance, a lever intermediate part can be removed from a bearing part, and it can be moved to the back side, and a lock slider can be retracted in connection with it, accept | permitting the fallen state of a retaining hook. The retaining hook can be brought into the depressed state by, for example, inserting an appropriate member from the boundary between the main body portion and the inlet and pressing the front side of the swing arm.

  As one form of the connector of the present invention, the planned destruction portion includes a second thin portion, a broken piece, and a third thin portion. In this case, the lock mechanism includes a swing arm and an arm spring. The movable holding member is a lock slider, and the movable release member is a release lever. The lock release mechanism further includes a release spring and a slider spring. The second thin portion is formed above the bearing portion provided in the main body portion to support the lever middle portion of the release lever. The broken piece is a part of the bearing portion, and is broken by the breakage of the second thin portion when the release lever is pulled upward in an emergency. The third thin portion is formed in the main body portion, and destroys the main body portion so that the release lever is moved to a range beyond the normal movable range.

  According to the above configuration, even in an emergency, the connector can be removed from the inlet by releasing the engagement between the retaining hook and the inlet. By providing the third thin-walled portion, the main body portion can be easily destroyed, so that the release lever can be easily moved to a range beyond the normal movable range. Further, by providing the second thin portion, the lever can be easily detached from the bearing portion because the release lever can be moved beyond the normal movable range and the upper side of the bearing portion can be easily damaged. Then, the lever intermediate portion can be removed from the bearing portion and moved upward, and accordingly, the lock slider can be retracted until the retracted state of the retaining hook is allowed. Thereby, for example, the retaining hook can be brought into a sunk state by inserting an appropriate member from the boundary between the main body portion and the inlet and pressing the front side of the swing arm.

  As one form of the connector of the present invention, the broken piece is broken and the bearing portion is opened so that the support of the lever middle portion is removed from the bearing portion.

  According to said structure, a lever intermediate part can be easily removed from a bearing part, and a connector can be extracted from an inlet also in emergency.

  The connector according to the present invention can be pulled out from the inlet even in an emergency situation in which the connector cannot be pulled out in a normal operation from the state where the insertion into the inlet is completed.

FIG. 3 is a right rear perspective view schematically showing the connector according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a right front perspective view schematically showing the connector according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a left front perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the connector according to Embodiment 1 in the initial state. It is a left front perspective view which shows the locking mechanism of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a left front perspective view which shows the lock release mechanism of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a right front perspective view schematically showing an internal structure of the connector according to the first embodiment in an initial state. 3 is a left rear partial exploded perspective view schematically showing an internal structure of the connector according to Embodiment 1 in an initial state. FIG. 3 is a right rear partial exploded perspective view schematically showing an internal structure of the connector according to Embodiment 1 in an initial state. FIG. The upper stage is a partially enlarged view showing before and after the fracture of the bearing part shown in the broken line circle of FIG. 7, and the lower stage is a partially enlarged view showing the before and after failure of the bearing part shown in the broken line circle of FIG. It is a left view which shows typically the internal structure in the initial state of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged right front perspective view of a main part schematically showing the vicinity of a solenoid of the connector according to the first embodiment. It is a right view which shows typically the internal structure in the initial state of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a right view which shows typically one state of the internal mechanism at the time of insertion of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a right view which shows typically the state of the internal mechanism at the time of completion of insertion of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a right view which shows typically one state of the internal mechanism at the time of the emergency of the lock release mechanism of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1, the abnormality of a lock holding mechanism, or the time of normal removal | extraction. It is a right view which shows typically the internal mechanism in the emergency cancellation | release of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a right view which shows typically the state of the internal mechanism at the time of the 1st step operation at the time of the normal removal of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a right view which shows typically the state of the internal mechanism at the time of the operation of the 2nd step at the time of the normal removal of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the emergency release mechanism of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 2, Comprising: The upper stage is the elements on larger scale which show before and after destruction of the bearing part vicinity of the right case side, and a lower stage is the bearing part vicinity of the left case side. It is the elements on larger scale which show before and after destruction. It is a right back perspective view showing a connector concerning a reference example typically. It is a right back perspective view showing typically an external structure in emergency release of a connector concerning a reference example.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, a connector for charging the storage battery or discharging from the storage battery by connecting to an inlet of an electric vehicle including the storage battery as an electricity storage device will be described as an example. Moreover, in the figure, the same code | symbol shows the same part.

Embodiment 1
[Overview of connector]
The connector 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided at the distal end of a cable 200 that extends from a household power supply via a power supply control device (for example, a power conditioner or power controller), and has a locking mechanism (solid line in FIG. 4) and unlocking. A main body portion 1 having a mechanism (solid line in FIG. 5) and an insertion portion 2 provided in front of the main body portion 1 are provided. This power supply control device includes an operation panel, and performs AC / DC conversion, power transmission control, connector operation control in the event of an abnormality, and the like. A retaining hook 12 constituting the tip of the swing arm 10 is exposed on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 2, and a release lever 20 (movable release member) for swinging the swing arm 10 is provided on the upper portion of the main body portion 1. Exposed. A lock slider 30 (movable holding member) that slides forward and backward of the main body 1 is provided below the release lever 20. When inserting the connector 100 into the inlet (not shown), the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the inlet, the retaining hook 12 is engaged with the inlet, and the engagement state is maintained by the lock slider 30. When the connector 100 is removed from the inlet, the engagement state is normally released by pushing down the release lever 20 to retract the lock slider 30. The main feature of this connector 100 is that it has a planned destruction portion that is locally low-strength so that a part of the main body portion 1 is broken into a specific state. Even if an emergency situation where the state cannot be released occurs, it is provided with an emergency release mechanism that makes it possible to release the engagement state by destroying a part of the main body part 1 to a specific state using the planned destruction portion The destruction to be in a state is that it is performed by moving at least one of the movable holding member and the movable releasing member to a range exceeding the normal movable range. In this example, the connector 100 has a two-step operation by the user during normal disconnection, specifically, a mechanism that pushes the release lever 20 twice, and between the cable 200 and the storage battery by the first pushing operation. The power transmission is cut off, and the engagement state is released by a second pushing operation. Hereinafter, the external structure and the internal structure of the connector 100 will be described in this order, and then the operation procedure of the connector 100 and the operation of the internal mechanism during the operation will be described.

[External structure]
The external structure of the connector 100 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. The main body 1 is a part in which mechanical parts and mechanical parts of the connector 100 are stored, and includes a bulging part 4 that bulges upward at the upper part of the cylindrical front end part. The box-like space in the bulging portion 4 accommodates pivot support portions of a swing arm 10 and a release lever 20 described later.

  The insertion portion 2 is a portion to be inserted into the inlet, and has a notch 81 that exposes the retaining hook 12 above the insertion portion 2 and a guide protrusion that fits to the inner peripheral surface of the inlet. The insertion portion 2 is constituted by a separate member from the main body portion 1.

  A handle portion 3 that is gripped by the user is provided behind the main body portion 1. Here, the cross section is formed in a rectangular tube shape. A cable 200 is introduced from the rear end of the handle portion 3. The release lever 20 and a part of the lock slider 30 are arranged in the opening 5 at the top of the handle portion 3 so as to protrude in parallel from the main body 1 and be exposed.

  The case C constituting the main body 1 and the handle portion 3 is formed by combining half-split pieces L and R, and has an insertion hole 6 communicating with the inside and outside of the case C as shown in FIG. The insertion hole 6 is a drain hole used mainly for discharging moisture that has entered the inside of the case C to the outside of the case C. The connector 100 is often used outdoors. For example, if the connector 100 is exposed to rain, there is a risk of rain entering the inside of the case C. Even in such a case, the rain that has entered the inside of the case C through the insertion hole 6 can be discharged to the outside of the case C. Further, depending on the environment, the inside of the case C may freeze, and the constituent members (described later) inside the case C may malfunction. By providing the insertion hole 6, even if it freezes, for example, hot water is poured into the main body 1 from the opening 5 etc. to melt ice at the frozen part, and the hot water is introduced from the insertion hole 6 to the outside of the main body 1. Can be discharged. Therefore, the hot water does not accumulate in the main body 1 and it is possible to prevent the above constituent members from operating completely due to freezing.

  Examples of the arrangement location of the insertion hole 6 include a location where moisture is easily discharged from the case C, for example, a lower portion of the case C. Here, the boundary between the split pieces at the lower part of case C straddles the boundary between the vicinity of the boundary with the insertion portion 2 and the rear side (the main body portion 1 side of the handle portion 3). As shown, an insertion hole 6 is provided. That is, semi-circular cutouts 6L and 6R (FIGS. 3 and 6) are formed in each of the divided pieces L and R, and when the divided pieces L and R are combined, the cutout 6L and the cutout 6R are inserted. Hole 6 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of through holes 80h are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the split piece R, and the inner peripheral surface of the split piece L extends toward the split piece R as shown in FIG. Are provided with a plurality of connecting portions 80p that are partially inserted into the connecting portions and connect the divided pieces. The integration of the divided pieces allows the tip of the connecting portion 80p of the split piece L to be inserted into the through hole 80h of the split piece R, and melts the tip of the connecting portion 80p to deform it larger than the inner diameter of the through hole 80h. In this way, the connecting portion 80p is prevented from coming out of the through hole 80h. Due to this fusion, the divided pieces are not separated from each other at normal times.

  The constituent material of each of the divided pieces L and R is plastic, specifically, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, fiber reinforced plastic, or the like.

[Internal structure]
The internal structure of the connector 100 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 3 to 5, 7, and 10 show a state in which the left divided piece is removed, and FIGS. 6 and 8 show a state in which the right divided piece is removed. In each figure, the state before the connector 100 is inserted into the inlet and fitted (initial state) ). For convenience of explanation, FIGS. 3 to 8 and 10 show a part of the insertion portion 2 in section. Further, in FIG. 4, members constituting a later-described lock mechanism are indicated by solid lines, and members constituting the other are indicated by two-dot chain lines, and in FIG. 5, members constituting the later-described lock release mechanism are indicated by solid lines, and other members are constituted. Is indicated by a two-dot chain line. 6 and 11, the solenoid bracket 70 (FIG. 8) is omitted, and in FIG. 10, the slider rear portion 30b (housing portion 36) of the lock slider 30 is shown in cross section.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 6 to 8, and 10, a cable 200 (FIG. 1) is disposed in the main body 1, and mechanical parts to be described later are stored. The insertion unit 2 stores a terminal (not shown). Hereinafter, a fitting mechanism for fitting the connector 100 to the inlet will be described. Note that the terminals have, for example, a terminal arrangement conforming to the specifications of CHAdeMO, and description thereof is omitted here.

(Swing arm and arm spring)
The swing arm 10 is a member that engages and disengages the retaining hook 12 with the inlet by swinging the retaining hook 12 from the outer peripheral surface of the inserting portion 2 by swinging in a state where the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the inlet. The arm spring 15 biases the swing arm 10 so that the retaining hook 12 comes out of the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 2.

  The swing arm 10 includes an arm intermediate portion 11 that is swingably supported by the main body 1, a retaining hook 12 provided in front of the arm intermediate portion 11, and an arm rear portion 13 behind the arm intermediate portion 11. And have. Here, the flat plate member extending from the main body 1 side to the insertion portion 2 side is used as the swing arm 10. An intermediate arm portion 11 is provided in the middle of the longitudinal direction, and the intermediate arm portion 11 is supported by the bulging portion 4 so as to be swingable. Specifically, the arm intermediate portion 11 is inserted into the cylindrical shaft penetration portion 11o having a circular hole and the shaft penetration portion 11o, and rotates to the bearing portion 82 (FIGS. 7 and 8) of the bulging portion 4. It is comprised with the round bar-shaped axis | shaft 11i supported freely. The swing arm 10 swings around the shaft penetrating portion 11o. The arm intermediate portion 11 may be swingable, and the shaft 11i and the shaft through portion 11o may be an integral member.

  The retaining hook 12 protrudes and retracts from a notch 81 (FIG. 1) formed in the insertion portion 2 by swinging of the swing arm 10, and engages / disengages with a recess (not shown) provided in the inlet. The retaining hook 12 is provided at the tip of the swing arm 10. The shape of the retaining hook 12 is a wedge shape having an inclined surface that is inclined so that the thickness becomes thinner toward the tip end side of the swing arm 10. The arrangement location of the retaining hook 12 is a position corresponding to a recess provided on the inner peripheral surface of the inlet when the insertion portion 2 is securely inserted into the inlet.

  The arm rear portion 13 is a portion that is swung by a release lever 20 described below. The arm rear part 13 extends from the shaft penetrating part 11o (arm intermediate part 11) to the rear of the main body part 1.

  The arm spring 15 uses a torsion spring. Specifically, the torsion spring is concentrically disposed on the shaft penetrating portion 11o (shaft 11i), one end of the torsion spring is pressed against the upper surface of the arm rear portion 13, and the other end is fixed to the main body portion 1. Then, the swing arm 10 is urged in a swinging (turning) direction so that the retaining hook 12 comes out of the insertion portion 2. The swing of the swing arm 10 by the arm spring 15 is allowed until the front portion of the swing arm 10 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the main body 1. This state is the initial state of the swing arm 10.

  Further, the swing arm 10 has a penetrating portion 14 provided at the center of the front portion thereof. When the rocking arm 10 is swung in a state in which the lock slider 30 is positioned at the retreat limit described later, the through portion 14 is fitted with a hook stopper 32 (described later: FIGS. 3 and 6) of the lock slider 30. Thus, it is a part for putting the retaining hook 12 into a sunk state (arm fitting mechanism). Here, the through portion 14 is a rectangular through hole. In addition to the through hole, the through portion 14 may be, for example, a notch in which a part of the front portion of the swing arm 10 is notched. The backward limit here means a position where the lock slider 30 is most retracted by the urging of the slider spring 39.

  The rocking arm 10 and the arm spring 15 and a lock slider 30 described later constitute a lock mechanism that locks the connector 100 so that the connector 100 does not come off from the inlet when the connector 100 is inserted into the inlet (solid line in FIG. 4). Details of the locking mechanism will be described later as an operation procedure of the connector 100 and an explanation of the operation of the internal mechanism during the operation.

(Release lever and release spring)
The release lever 20 is a movable release member that releases the held engagement state between the recessed portion of the inlet and the retaining hook 12 by the lock slider 30, which will be described later, and also releases the engagement state. Specifically, the lock slider 30 is a member that retracts the lock slider 30 and swings the swing arm 10 to bring the retaining hook 12 into the submerged state when the lock slider 30 is positioned at the forward limit (described later). . These operations are performed by a user operation (swing) from the outside of the main body 1. The release spring 24 biases the release lever 20 in a direction in which the lever front portion 22 described below is separated from the arm rear portion 13.

  The release lever 20 includes a lever intermediate portion 21 that is swingably supported by the main body 1, a lever front portion 22 that is in front of the lever intermediate portion 21 and is opposed to the arm rear portion 13, and a lever intermediate portion 21. A rear lever rear portion 23. Here, a release lever 20 is provided behind the swing arm 10 along the front-rear direction of the main body 1. The lever intermediate portion 21 is swingably supported by the bulging portion 4 of the main body portion 1. Specifically, the lever intermediate portion 21 includes a cylindrical shaft penetration portion 21o having a circular hole, and a bearing portion 83 of the bulging portion 4 (left side of FIGS. 7, 8, and 9). ) And a round bar-shaped shaft 21i that is rotatably supported. The release lever 20 swings around the shaft penetrating portion 21o. The lever intermediate portion 21 may be swingable, and the shaft penetration portion 21o and the shaft 21i may be an integral member. Details of the bearing portion 83 will be described later.

  The lever front part 22 is a part that interlocks the arm rear part 13 by swinging of the release lever 20, and is located below the arm rear part 13 here. The lever front portion 22 is a portion that constitutes an insertion position engagement mechanism that engages with a lock slider 30 described later to hold the lock slider 30 at a predetermined position in front. The position of the lock slider 30 (FIG. 14) engaged with the release lever 20 (lever front portion 22) in this way is defined as the forward limit of the lock slider 30. This engagement mechanism for insertion position will be described later together with the lock slider 30. The lever front portion 22 includes an arm pressing portion 22f on the side facing the arm rear portion 13 (substantially upper side), a protrusion advancing portion 22o on the opposite side (substantially lower side), an arm pressing portion 22f, and a protrusion advancing portion 22o. And a connecting portion for connecting the two.

  The arm pressing portion 22f is a portion facing the arm rear portion 13, and here is configured by a plane. As the release lever 20 swings, the arm pressing portion 22f directly presses the arm rear portion 13 to interlock the arm rear portion 13. The protrusion advancing portion 22o advances the lock slider 30 to the forward limit so that the lever front portion 22 gets over the stop protrusion 34 (described later: FIGS. 3 and 6) formed on the upper surface of the lock slider 30. It is the part that touches. It is preferable that the protrusion overpassing portion 22o has a shape substantially along the front surface of the stopper protrusion 34. Then, the lever front portion 22 can easily get over the stop projection 34. Here, the tip of the release lever 20 is provided with an inclined surface that is inclined so as to spread in the thickness direction. The connecting portion (the end surface of the lever front portion 22) is a portion that abuts against the back surface of the locking projection 34 after the lever front portion 22 gets over the locking projection 34, and holds the lock slider 30 at the forward limit. It is. The end surface of the lever front portion 22 is preferably substantially along the back surface of the stopper projection 34. If it does so, it will be easy to contact and stop to the contact protrusion 34. Here, the said connection part is comprised with the plane.

  The lever rear portion 23 is a portion directly operated by the user of the connector 100, and the lever rear portion 13 is swung by the lever front portion 22 by the operation. The lever rear portion 23 is provided at the rear end of the release lever 20 so as to be exposed to the outside of the connector from the opening 5 of the main body 1. The shape of the lever rear portion 23 is substantially a block shape.

  On the front surface (upper surface) of the lever rear portion 23, a plurality of protrusions parallel to the width direction are formed in parallel at equal intervals in the front-rear direction of the main body portion 1. This protrusion makes it difficult for the user to slip when the release lever 20 is operated (pressed).

  The release spring 24 uses a torsion spring. Specifically, the torsion spring is arranged concentrically with the shaft 21i (shaft penetrating portion 21o), one end of the torsion spring is pressed against the upper surface on the front side of the release lever 20, and the other end is fixed to the main body 1. . Accordingly, the release lever 20 is biased in a direction in which the lever front portion 22 is separated from the arm rear portion 13. The swing of the release lever 20 by the release spring 24 is in a state where the lever front portion 22 is farthest from the arm rear portion 13, that is, the protrusion advancing portion 22o of the lever front portion 22 is other than the stop protrusion 34 of the lock slider 30. Allowed to contact the top surface. The position of the lever rear portion 23 at this time is the open position. On the other hand, the lever rear portion 23 is swung against the urging force of the release spring 24, and the lever front portion 22 swings the swing arm 10 to operate the retaining hook 12 in the retracted state. The position of the part 23 is set as a release position. A predetermined position of the lever rear portion 23 between the open position and the release position is defined as a midway swing position.

  The release lever 20 has a rear end protrusion 23p (FIG. 10) that protrudes from the lower rear end of the lever rear portion 23 toward the lock slider 30 (substantially downward). The shape of the rear end protrusion 23p is a wedge shape that narrows toward the front end side of the rear end protrusion 23p. The rear end protrusion 23p constitutes a swing restricting engagement mechanism, a slide restricting engagement mechanism, and a pulling position engaging mechanism as engaging mechanisms that engage with the lock slider 30. Each of these engagement mechanisms will be described later together with the lock slider 30.

  Further, the release lever 20 has a swing preventing portion 23b for holding the lever rear portion 23 at a predetermined swing position (the open position) at the lever rear portion 23. The swing preventing portion 23b is preferably projected in a direction substantially orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the movable iron core 52 in the solenoid 50 described later. Here, it is a trapezoidal plate-like member that tapers toward the lock slider 30 at the lower front portion of the lever rear portion 23. The position where the rocking prevention portion 23b is formed is such that a coil (not shown) built in the solenoid 50 is excited and the movable iron core 52 is moved in one direction, so that the blocking portion receiver provided on the solenoid slider 60 is provided. The position corresponds to 63. Here, “corresponding” means that the rocking prevention part 23b and the prevention part receiver 63 may be opposed to each other with a slight gap (play), may be engaged with each other, or may be in contact with each other. Also good. Here, they face each other with a gap.

  The release lever 20 and the release spring 24, and a slider spring 39, which will be described later, constitute a lock release mechanism that releases the lock of the lock mechanism so that the connector 100 and the inlet are released by a two-step operation (the solid line in FIG. 5). ). Details of the lock release mechanism will be described later as the operation procedure of the connector 100 and the operation of the internal mechanism during the operation.

(Bearing and its vicinity)
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the bearing portion 83 that pivotally supports the shaft 21i of the lever intermediate portion 21 is formed integrally with the inner peripheral surface of the split pieces L and R, and always takes the entire outer periphery of the shaft 21i. cover. The rear side of the bearing portion 83 is not damaged by the swinging motion of the release lever 20, and will be described in detail later. However, when the release lever 20 is pulled backward in an emergency, the rear side is damaged. The first thin portion 83n is formed along the axial direction of the bearing portion 83 (upper left in FIG. 9, lower left in FIG. 9). The first thin portion 83n is configured by forming a groove-shaped notch along the axial direction of the bearing portion 83, as shown in FIG. Since the first thin-walled portion 83n is formed in a part in the circumferential direction of the bearing portion 83 by this notch, the rear side of the bearing portion 83 is easily damaged by the shaft 21i when the release lever 20 is pulled rearward.

  The location where the first thin portion 83n is provided may be any of the inner peripheral surface side, the outer peripheral surface side, and the interval (center side) of the bearing portion 83. That is, the location where the notch is provided is at least one of the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 83. If the portion where the first thin portion 83n is provided is on the inner peripheral surface side, a large local gap is not always formed between the shaft 21i and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 83, so that the shaft 21i can be supported stably. Easy to do. In an emergency, when the release lever 20 is pulled backward, it is easy to apply a load to the first thin portion 83n of the bearing portion 83, and the first thin portion 83n is easily damaged. Here, a notch is provided on the outer peripheral surface on the rear side of the bearing portion 83, and the position where the first thin portion 83n is provided is the inner peripheral surface side on the rear side of the bearing portion 83.

  Examples of the shape of the notch include a V shape and a U shape. Here, the shape of the notch is U-shaped. By doing so, the region that becomes the first thin portion 83n can be expanded compared to the V-shaped notch, and therefore, it is easily damaged. The number of first thin portions 83n is preferably plural. When providing a plurality of first thin portions 83n, the distance between the first thin portions 83n is equal to or greater than the outer diameter of the shaft 21i so that the distance between the centers of the farthest first thin portions 83n on the peripheral surface of the bearing portion 83 is equal. It is preferable to do so. By doing so, it is possible to easily remove the shaft 21i from the bearing portion 83 when the bearing portion 83 (first thin-walled portion 83n) is broken (broken). Here, the number of the first thin portions 83n is two, and the distance between the centers of the first thin portions 83n is equal to the outer diameter of the shaft 21i. As will be described in detail later, when the release lever 20 is pulled rearward in an emergency, there is a part of the bearing portion 83 between the two first thin portions 83, and the two first thin portions 83n. A broken piece 83c is formed that breaks due to the breakage of.

  A shaft attachment portion 83f that assists the support of the shaft 21i is integrally formed at the tip of the bearing portion 83 (upper and lower stages in FIG. 9). The shaft attaching portion 83f is formed of a plurality of arc-shaped pieces in this example, and the front and rear direction side of the shaft 21i is open. Even if the axial length of the bearing portion 83 is shortened, the shaft 21i can be reliably pivotally supported on the divided pieces L and R by the shaft attachment portion 83f. In addition, since the axial length of the bearing portion 83 can be shortened, the rear side (first thin portion 83n) of the bearing portion 83 is easily damaged (broken) by the shaft 21i in an emergency.

  A release spring 24 is disposed on the outer periphery of the shaft attachment portion 83f (lower left in FIG. 9) on the left split piece L side. Since a part of the shaft attaching portion 83f is open, a freezing region between the release spring 24 and the shaft attaching portion 83f is small. For this reason, even if it freezes, the release spring 24 is moved by appropriate swinging of the release lever 20 to easily remove ice at the frozen portion, so that it is easy to suppress the release spring 24 from completely malfunctioning due to freezing.

  As shown in the rear side of the bearing portion 83 (lever intermediate portion 21), that is, FIG. 15 (see also FIGS. 7 and 8), the lever intermediate portion 21 (bearing portion) of the inner peripheral surface of the bulging portion 4 is used. 83) and the lever middle portion 21 (bearing portion 83) between the surface facing the rear side and the lever intermediate portion 21 (bearing portion 83), the release lever 20 is pulled rearward so that the first thin-walled portion 83n (broken piece 83c) of the bearing portion 83 is removed. When ruptured (broken) (FIG. 9, upper right, lower right, FIG. 16), the lever intermediate portion 21 is provided with a movement allowance that can move rearward. As described later, the movement allowance changes from the state in which the lever front portion 22 and the contact projection 34 of the lock slider 30 are abutted to each other (see FIG. 15) to the state in which the hook 12 is released at least by the hook stopper 32. The length is such that the lock slider 30 can be retracted until it is released and the sinking state of the retaining hook 12 is allowed. Here, the length of the movement allowance is approximately the same as the slide range of the lock slider 30.

  In this example, the first thin-walled portion 83n and the broken piece 83c of the bearing portion 83 are locally low-strength (compared to the adjacent region) so that a part of the main body portion 1 is destroyed in a specific state assumed in advance. The above-mentioned movement allowance functions as an emergency release mechanism that makes it possible to release the engagement between the retaining hook 12 and the inlet in an emergency, together with the first thin portion 83n and the broken piece 83c. That is, the emergency release mechanism includes a planned destruction portion such as the first thin portion 83n and the broken piece 83c, a member for realizing destruction (here, release lever 20 (lever intermediate portion 21)), A part movement space is provided for securing a movement allowance of a part (here, the release lever 20) necessary to remove the retaining hook 12 from the recess of the inlet in accordance with the destruction of the planned destruction part. The specific state assumed in advance refers to a state in which a specific portion of the main body 1 is broken to a specific shape that cannot be reused so that the engagement state between the retaining hook 12 and the inlet can be released. In this example, the operation procedure of the connector 100 and the operation of the internal mechanism during the operation will be described in detail later. As shown in FIG. 16, the shaft 21i of the release lever 20 is disengaged from the bearing portion 83, and the release lever 20 In this state, the lock slider 30 is retracted together with the release lever 20 to the extent that the retaining hook 12 is allowed to sag while the lever front portion 22 and the contact projection 34 of the lock slider 30 are in contact with each other.

(Lock slider and slider spring)
The lock slider 30 is a movable holding member that holds the engagement state between the concave portion of the inlet and the retaining hook 12. That is, the main function is to hold the retaining hook 12 in the extended state. The lock slider 30 is slidably arranged in the front-rear direction of the main body 1 within a range of a forward limit and a backward limit. The slider spring 39 biases the lock slider 30 backward.

  Here, the lock slider 30 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped slider rear portion 30b partially exposed from the opening 5 of the main body 1, and a stepped shape from the upper front end surface of the slider rear portion 30b toward the front side. And a flat plate-shaped slider front portion 30f extending in the direction of. A region of the lower surface of the slider rear portion 30b of the lock slider 30 that is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surfaces of the divided pieces L and R is a curved waveform having a plurality of concavities and convexities. In this way, the contact surface with the inner peripheral surface of the divided pieces L, R is changed into a line contact instead of a surface contact as a waveform, thereby reducing the contact area with the inner peripheral surface of the divided pieces L, R and the frozen portion. it can. The connector 100 is often used outdoors, and depending on the environment, the inside of the connector 100 may freeze and the components inside the connector 100 may not move. However, since the freezing area is small even if it is frozen, it is easy to break the ice in the freezing area by appropriately moving these members, and it is possible to suppress the inoperability. In addition, since the contact area is small and the frictional resistance with the inner peripheral surfaces of the divided pieces L and R can be reduced, the sliding operation can be performed smoothly.

  In the lock slider 30, a pair of slide fins 31 protruding from the left and right divided pieces L and R of the slider rear portion 30b are fitted in guide grooves 84 (FIGS. 7 and 8) provided in the main body 1. And is slidably supported. The upper and lower surfaces of the slide fin 31 have a curved waveform having a plurality of concavities and convexities, like the lower surface of the slider rear portion 30b. Then, since the contact area (friction resistance) with the inner peripheral surface of the guide groove 84 can be reduced, the sliding operation can be easily performed, and the freezing region can be reduced, so that the inoperability can be suppressed.

  On the rear side of the slide fin 31 on the side surface of the slider rear portion 30b, a position display portion 30d is formed for distinguishing whether the position of the lock slider 30 is in the forward limit or backward (see FIGS. 1 and 3). , 6 etc.). Here, the position display unit 30d is configured by a dent inclined along the opening 5 of the main body 1. The position indicator 30d is exposed from the opening 5 of the main body 1 when the lock slider 30 is positioned behind the forward limit (FIG. 1), and the main body 1 when the lock slider 30 is positioned at the forward limit. It is housed in the opening 5 and cannot be seen from the outside. Thereby, it is possible to easily visually determine whether the lock slider 30 is in the forward limit or backward. Therefore, when the connector 100 is inserted into the inlet, it is easy to avoid forgetting to keep the locking hook 12 in the protruding state by the lock slider 30. Further, before the connector 100 is inserted into the inlet, it is easy to prevent the locking hook 30 from being inserted into the inlet while being held out by the lock slider 30. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the retaining hook 12 in the protruding state from damaging the inner peripheral surface of the inlet. In particular, the position of the lock slider 30 can be easily visually distinguished by coating the position display portion 30d in a color different from the surroundings or by attaching a tape.

  A projecting spring fixing portion (not shown) is provided on the front end surface of the slider rear portion 30b, and a slider spring 39 is fixed to the spring fixing portion.

  The slider spring 39 uses a compression spring. Specifically, one end of the compression spring is fixed to the spring fixing portion, and the other end is fixed to a spring stopper 85 (FIGS. 6 and 8) provided on the main body portion 1 (left divided piece L). The spring fixing portion is a protrusion inserted into one end of the compression spring, and in this example, is configured by a cross-shaped protrusion protruding from the front end surface of the slider rear portion 30b. By attaching the compression spring, the lock slider 30 is urged in the backward direction, that is, the direction opposite to the insertion portion 2 side.

  The lock slider 30 is a member that holds the retaining hook 12 in the extended state in the state positioned at the forward limit, and allows the retaining hook 12 to protrude and retract in the state positioned at the backward limit. Specifically, the front end of the lock slider 30 has a rod-like hook stop 32 (arm fitting mechanism). This hook stopper 32 abuts against the surface opposite to the protruding side of the retaining hook 12 of the swing arm 10 in the forward limit state, and faces the penetrating portion 14 of the swing arm 10 in the reverse limit state. When the retaining hook 12 is in the sunk state, it is loosely fitted into the penetrating portion 14. That is, the hook engaging portion 32 and the penetrating portion 14 constitute the arm fitting mechanism. On the other hand, when the locking slider 30 is advanced beyond the retreat limit while the retaining hook 12 protrudes from the insertion portion 2, the hook retaining portion 32 is displaced forward from the penetrating portion 14 and formed in the insertion portion 2. The guide groove 91 (FIGS. 3 and 6) is inserted. Thereby, the hook stopper 32 is interposed between the front portion of the swing arm 10 and the insertion portion 2. Since the front portion of the swing arm 10 is supported by the hook stopper 32, the swing of the swing arm 10 is restricted, and the retaining hook 12 is maintained in a protruding state protruding from the insertion portion 2.

  The lock slider 30 is a member that opens and closes a switch 40, which will be described later, according to the sliding operation. The lock slider 30 includes a button projection 33 as a switch operation unit that opens and closes the switch 40. The button projection 33 is provided at a position for opening and closing the switch 40 when the lock slider 30 is positioned at the forward limit. Here, it is composed of a corner portion below the front end of the slider rear portion 30b.

  Further, the lock slider 30 is a member having an engagement mechanism for insertion position as a mechanism for mutual engagement with the release lever 20 described above. The engagement mechanism for the insertion position holds the lock slider 30 at the forward limit against the biasing force of the slider spring 39 when the lock slider 30 is at the forward limit and the lever rear portion 23 is at the open position. It is a mechanism to do. Here, a stop projection 34 is formed on the upper surface of the slider front portion 30f so as to protrude toward the release lever 20 between the lever intermediate portion 21 and the lever front portion 22. When the lock slider 30 is advanced to the forward limit, the stop protrusion 34 is abutted against the lever front portion 22 to constitute the insertion position engaging mechanism. The front surface of the stopper projection 34 is formed with an inclined surface with a low front so that the lever front portion 22 (projection overpassing portion 22o) can easily get over the stopper projection 34 when the lock slider 30 is advanced. On the other hand, the back surface of the stopper projection 34 is formed of a substantially vertical plane so that it can easily come into contact with the lever front portion 22.

  The lock slider 30 is a member having a swing restricting engagement mechanism, a slide restricting engagement mechanism, and a pulling position engaging mechanism as a mechanism that engages with the release lever 20 described above. In the state where the lock slider 30 is positioned in front of the retreat limit, the swing restricting engagement mechanism restricts the lever rear portion 23 to the above-described midway swing position so that the arm rear portion 13 of the lever front portion 22 It is a mechanism that regulates interlocking. In the state where the lock slider 30 is positioned in front of the retreat limit, the slide restricting engagement mechanism disengages the insertion position engagement mechanism as the lever rear portion 23 swings to the midway swing position. This mechanism allows the lock slider 30 to move backward by the slider spring 39 to the middle slide position, and allows the slider slider 39 to further move the lock slider 30 backward from the middle slide position by returning the lever rear portion 23 to the open position. . The halfway slide position here refers to a predetermined position between the forward limit and the reverse limit of the lock slider 30. This predetermined position is a position where the protrusion overpassing portion 22o is allowed to get over the stop protrusion 34, but the backward movement of the lock slider 30 is not permitted until the retreat limit. The pull-out position engaging mechanism is a mechanism that allows the lever rear portion 23 to swing from the open position to the release position in a state where the lock slider 30 is positioned at the retreat limit.

  Here, the portions constituting these engagement mechanisms are provided in the slider rear portion 30b and are formed in a storage portion 36 for storing the lever rear portion 23 of the release lever 20. Specifically, in order from the rear side in the storage portion 36, a reference contact surface 36b that constitutes a rocking restriction engagement mechanism, a latching protrusion 36p that constitutes a slide restriction engagement mechanism, and a removal position And a slider recess 36c constituting an engagement mechanism (FIG. 10).

  The reference contact surface 36b regulates the swing range of the lever rear portion 23 to the extent that the lever rear portion 23 does not swing to the release position, that is, the swing arm 10 does not swing due to the swing of the lever rear portion 23. It is a part to do. Here, a part of the bottom surface in the storage portion 36 and a plane extending forward from the rear end of the bottom surface is defined as a reference contact surface 36b. The reference contact surface 36b is provided at a position in the storage portion 36 that divides the height (thickness) of the slider rear portion 30b into substantially equal parts. When the lever rear portion 23 is swung downward in the state where the lock slider 30 is positioned in front of the retreat limit, the rear end protrusion 23p of the lever rear portion 23 is brought into contact with the reference contact surface 36b. The The reference contact surface 36b and the rear end protrusion 23p constitute the above-described swing restricting engagement mechanism.

  The latching protrusion 36p is a protrusion-like part formed continuously at the front end of the reference contact surface 36b. When the release lever 20 is swung in the state where the lock slider 30 is located at the forward limit, the latching protrusion 36p is brought into contact with the reference contact surface 36b. Further, when the engagement of the above-described engagement mechanism for the insertion position is released and the lock slider 30 is retracted by the urging of the slider spring 39, the latching projection 36p is latched with the rear end projection 23p. Thereby, the lock slider 30 is held at the halfway slide position without being retracted to the retreat limit. As described above, the reference contact surface 36b, the latching protrusion 36p, and the rear end protrusion 23p constitute the slide restricting engagement mechanism.

  The slider recess 36c is a portion for swinging the lever rear portion 23 to the release position in a state where the lock slider 30 is positioned at the retreat limit. Here, it is constituted by a trough-shaped through-hole formed continuously on the front surface of the latching protrusion 36p. The slider recess 36c and the rear end projection 23p constitute the above-described pulling position engaging mechanism.

  The storage part 36 has an insertion hole 36h through which the rocking prevention part 23b of the release lever 20 described above is inserted in front of the slider recess 36c (FIG. 10). By this insertion hole 36h, the rocking prevention part 23b can be made to correspond to the later-described prevention part receiver 63.

  The lock slider 30 preferably includes an installation hole 37 for providing a locking member (described later) for holding the release lever 20 in the open position. Then, the swinging operation itself of the release lever 20 can be regulated. The installation hole 37 is provided below the release lever 20 located at the open position in the slider rear portion 30b so as to be orthogonal to the axial direction (front-rear direction) of the lock slider 30.

  The rear end surface 38 of the lock slider 30 is formed with a hemispherical depression. This depression makes it easy to push the lock slider 30 with a fingertip when the user moves the lock slider 30 forward.

(switch)
The connector 100 includes a switch 40 that opens and closes according to the slide operation of the lock slider 30 to turn the cable 200 and the storage battery between conductive and disconnected states (FIG. 10). Here, the switch 40 is located below the lock slider 30 and when the lock slider 30 is in the forward limit, the switch operating portion (button protrusion 33) of the lock slider 30 opens and closes (presses and separates) the switch. Is provided. That is, when the lock slider 30 is positioned behind the forward limit, the switch 40 is not pressed (opened / closed). The type of the switch 40 is not particularly limited as long as it can be opened and closed according to the sliding operation of the lock slider 30. Here, a hinge / lever type micro switch is used. Specifically, an open / close button 41 for opening and closing the switch 40 and a switch lever 42 for pressing the open / close button 41 are provided. One end of the switch lever 42 is fixed to the micro switch with a hinge, and the other end of the switch lever 42 is positioned above the open / close button 41. This state is the initial state of the switch 40.

(Lock holding mechanism)
The connector 100 holds the lock slider 30 at the forward limit to hold the retaining hook 12 in the extended state and prevents the release lever 20 from swinging and securely holds the lever rear portion 23 in the open position. Thus, it is preferable to provide a lock holding mechanism that holds the retaining hook 12 in the extended state. By restricting the swinging operation itself of the release lever 20 by this lock holding mechanism, the lock state of the lock mechanism can be held so that the connector 100 cannot be easily removed from the inlet. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the connector 100 from being removed from the inlet due to carelessness or mischief by the user.

  For example, a solenoid is used as the lock holding mechanism. Specifically, the lock holding mechanism includes a solenoid 50, a solenoid spring 54, and a solenoid slider 60 (FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8). The solenoid 50 includes a built-in coil (not shown) and a movable iron core 52 that moves forward and backward by exciting the coil (not shown). Here, a one-way moving solenoid 50 is used in which the movable iron core 52 moves in the forward direction of the lock slider 30 by exciting the coil (this state is referred to as an on state). In order to return the movable iron core 52 from the on state to the original position (exit this state), a solenoid spring 54 described later is used. This solenoid 50 prevents the release lever 20 from swinging by associating a blocking portion receiver 63 (described later) provided on the solenoid slider 60 interlocked with the movement of the movable iron core 52 with the swing blocking portion 23b of the release lever 20. regulate. The solenoid 50 is driven (the coil is energized) by the control from the power control device accompanying opening / closing of the switch 40 or the control from the power control device itself accompanying user operation. Specifically, the operation procedure will be described later.

  The solenoid 50 is positioned by the solenoid bracket 70 below the lock slider 30 (inside the main body 1). A bracket projection 87 (FIGS. 6 and 8) formed in the main body 1 (left divided piece L) is inserted into a circular projection insertion hole 72 formed in the flange portion of the solenoid bracket 70. Accordingly, the bracket 70 is fixed to the left divided piece L, and the solenoid 50 is positioned in the main body 1.

  The movable iron core 52 moves in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction (substantially up and down here) of the rocking prevention portion 23b of the release lever 20 and parallel to the sliding direction of the lock slider 30. The distal end portion of the movable iron core 52 includes a bifurcated portion having a notch and a through hole that penetrates the bifurcated portion in the radial direction of the movable iron core 52. A pin 55 is inserted through the through hole, and the movable iron core 52 is fixed to a connecting portion 62 of a solenoid slider 60 described later.

  The solenoid spring 54 biases the solenoid slider 60 to position the movable iron core 52 when the coil is demagnetized. Here, the solenoid spring 54 uses a compression spring that puts the movable iron core 52 in an extended state. One end of the compression spring is fixed to the surface of the solenoid 50 on the side where the movable iron core 52 protrudes, and the other end is fixed to the solenoid slider 60, and the solenoid slider 60 is biased to the rear side of the main body 1. This state is the initial state of the solenoid 50.

  The solenoid slider 60 is a member that slides back and forth in conjunction with the movable iron core 52, and is disposed below the lock slider 30 in this example. Specifically, the solenoid slider 60 slides on a J-shaped slider support portion 86 (FIG. 8) formed on the inner surface of the main body 1 (left divided piece L) so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the solenoid slider 60. It is fitted and fixed freely.

  The solenoid slider 60 has a long flat plate-shaped top plate portion 60t extending along the lock slider 30, and a pair of plate-like shafts parallel to the top plate portion 60t at the rear lower portion of the top plate portion 60t. A clamping unit 61 and a connecting unit 62 that couples the shaft clamping units 61 up and down are provided.

  Of the upper and lower surfaces of the top plate portion 60t of the solenoid slider 60, the regions that are in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surfaces of the divided pieces L and R have a plurality of irregularities, similar to the lower surface of the slider rear portion 30b and the upper and lower surfaces of the slide fins 31. It is a continuous curved waveform. Then, since the contact area (friction resistance) with the slider slider 86, such as the slider support portion 86, can be reduced, the sliding operation can be performed smoothly, and the freezing area can be reduced, so that it can be prevented from completely operating. .

  A blocking portion receiver 63 that protrudes toward the lock slider 30 is provided in front of the top surface of the top plate portion 60t. The blocking portion receiver 63 is formed at a position facing the swing blocking portion 23b of the release lever 20 by the sliding operation of the solenoid slider 60. Here, when the solenoid slider 60 is most advanced by the movable iron core 52, it is set to a position facing the rocking prevention portion 23b. The connecting portion 62 is sandwiched between the forked portions and connects the movable iron core 52. A pin hole 65 (FIG. 11) through which a pin 55 for fixing the movable iron core 52 is inserted is formed in the central portion. ing. Further, a notch 64 is formed in front of the blocking portion receiver 63 in the top plate portion 60t. This notch 64 prevents the rocking prevention unit 23b and the solenoid slider 60 from interfering with each other when the release lever 20 is swung to the release position in the initial state of the solenoid slider 60.

  In the above-described solenoid, even if the voltage of the coil is less than the voltage necessary for exciting the coil for bringing the movable iron core 52 into the on state (including zero), the movable iron core 52 is brought into the output state by the solenoid spring 54. Instead, it is possible to adopt a form in which the on state is maintained. Specifically, in the power supply control device, voltage control means for gradually reducing the coil voltage or PWM control is used. Then, in order to maintain the state after the movement of the movable iron core 52 as in the above-described solenoid, the same voltage as that when the movable iron core 52 is moved is continuously applied after the movable iron core 52 is moved. In addition to being able to save power, there is no need to reduce the thermal effect on the fuse 95 due to the coil temperature rise.

  The solenoid described above is a self-holding solenoid in which the movable iron core 52 does not return to its original position by the solenoid spring 54 even if the coil is demagnetized after moving the movable iron core 52 by exciting the coil. You can also. The difference between the self-holding solenoid and the above-described solenoid is that a permanent magnet is provided and that the movable iron core is advanced and retracted by excitation of the coil.

  In the self-holding solenoid, the coil is in a demagnetized state in the initial state. When the coil is excited in the initial state, the movable iron core moves in the forward direction of the lock slider 30 (becomes an on state). When the movable iron core is in the engaged state, the coil is demagnetized and the movable iron core keeps the engaged state by the permanent magnet. That is, it is not necessary to always excite the coil. Therefore, when the connector 100 is connected to the inlet for a long time, the heat of the coil does not become too high. Further, the thermal influence on the fuse 95 due to the temperature rise of the coil can be reduced. When returning the movable iron core from the on state to the initial state (out state), the polarity of the coil is reversed to cancel the magnetic field of the permanent magnet. At this time, the coil may be excited until the movable iron core returns to the extended state, or the magnetic field of the permanent magnet may be canceled and demagnetized, and the movable iron core may be returned to the extended state by biasing the solenoid spring.

(Locking member)
It is preferable to include a locking member (not shown) that is inserted into the installation hole 37 of the lock slider 30 and holds the release lever 20 in the open position. By doing so, the swinging motion of the release lever 20 can be restricted, so that the connector 100 can be prevented from being pulled out of the inlet due to mischief or the like. Examples of the locking member include a dial type that does not require a separate key for opening and closing, a key type padlock that requires a separate key, or a padlock that combines a dial type and a key type.

(Other parts)
In addition, the connector 100 preferably includes a fuse 95 for suppressing a failure of the connector 100. The voltage of the storage battery of the electric vehicle is generally higher than the voltage of the household power supply, and therefore, the fuse 95 blocks the overcurrent from the storage battery to the household power supply.

[Operation procedure and operation of internal mechanism]
Next, an operation procedure of the connector 100, an operation of inserting into the inlet, and an operation of the internal mechanism in an operation of pulling out from the inlet will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 12-18 has shown the state from which all removed the right division piece. 12 to 18, for convenience of explanation, a part of the insertion portion 2 is shown in cross section, and the slider rear portion 30b (housing portion 36) of the lock slider 30 is shown in cross section.

  In an initial state before the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the inlet, the retaining hook 12 is in a state of coming out of the notch 81 of the insertion portion 2 due to the urging by the arm spring 15 as shown in FIG. The lever rear portion 23 of the release lever 20 is located at the open position by the bias of the release spring 24. The lock slider 30 is located at the retreat limit by the bias of the slider spring 39. Therefore, the open / close button 41 of the switch 40 is not pressed. The movable iron core 52 of the solenoid 50 is in the advanced state, and the blocking portion receiver 63 of the solenoid slider 60 is positioned not behind the swing blocking portion 23b of the release lever 20 but behind the swing blocking portion 23b. .

<Insert operation>
When the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the inlet, the retaining hook 12 first comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the inlet, and the retaining hook 12 is pushed against the biasing force of the arm spring 15. Since the retaining hook 12 has an inclined surface, it can be easily inserted into the inlet even if it protrudes from the insertion portion 2. At this time, the penetrating portion 14 of the swing arm 10 is loosely fitted to the hook stopping portion 32 of the lock slider 30 so that the retaining hook 12 is in a sunk state. When the pushed-in retaining hook 12 faces a concave portion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the inlet, the retaining hook 12 projects from the insertion portion 2 by the urging of the arm spring 15. As a result, the retaining hook 12 is normally engaged and locked in the recess of the inlet, so that the connector 100 and the inlet are completely fitted.

  In this state, the lock slider 30 is advanced to the forward limit. In the middle of the forward movement, as shown in FIG. 13, the latching protrusion 36p of the lock slider 30 is moved forward from the rear of the rear end protrusion 23p of the release lever 20. At the same time, the lever front portion 22 (projection overpassing portion 22o) of the release lever 20 gets over the stop projection 34 of the lock slider 30. The lever front portion 22 that has passed over the stop projection 34 is urged by the release spring 24 and comes into contact with the upper surface of the lock slider 30. When the lock slider 30 moves forward to the forward limit, as shown in FIG. 14, the stopper projection 34 is held against the lever front portion 22, and the lock slider 30 resists the urging force of the slider spring 39 and the lever front portion 22. Is held at the forward limit. As the lock slider 30 slides, the hook stop portion 32 of the lock slider 30 advances to a position below the front portion of the swing arm 10 and shifted from the penetrating portion 14 of the swing arm 10. As a result, the front portion of the swing arm 10 abuts on the hook stopper 32, so that the swing of the swing arm 10 is restricted with the retaining hook 12 protruding from the insertion portion 2. That is, the retaining hook 12 is locked. Therefore, the retaining hook 12 does not fall out of the insertion portion 2, and the engagement between the retaining hook 12 and the recessed portion of the inlet can be reliably prevented.

  When the lock slider 30 is positioned at the forward limit, the button projection 33 of the lock slider 30 pushes down the switch lever 42 of the micro switch 40 and presses the open / close button 41. Thereby, the electrical connection between the inlet and the connector 100 is recognized by the power supply control device, and the power transmission standby state is set. When the open / close button 41 is pressed, the power supply controller drives the solenoid 50 to energize (excites the coil) to retract the movable iron core 52. The solenoid slider 60 moves forward in conjunction with the retraction of the movable iron core 52, and the blocking portion receiver 63 faces the swing blocking portion 23b of the release lever 20. Thus, the rocking of the release lever 20 is prevented (locked), and the rocking arm 10 is prevented from rocking. At this time, the coil of the solenoid 50 is continuously excited in order to maintain the release lever 20 in the locked state.

  On the other hand, when the above-described self-holding solenoid is used as the solenoid 50, the coil is demagnetized when the coil is energized and the movable iron core is retracted to enter the locked state in the same manner as described above. At this time, since the movable iron core is held by a permanent magnet included in the self-holding solenoid, it does not return to the original position. Further, it is not always necessary to energize the solenoid from the power control device side. Accordingly, the life of the solenoid can be extended.

  Thus, the operation for inserting the connector 100 into the inlet is completed. When the insertion operation of the connector 100 is completed, for example, the power transmission start button is operated by the power control device to start power transmission.

<Ejection operation in emergency>
When the connector 100 is disconnected from the inlet after the operation for inserting the connector 100 into the inlet is completed as described above and the power transmission between the storage battery and the cable 200 is interrupted, the release lever is normally used as described later. The engagement state between the retaining hook 12 and the inlet is released by the 20 swinging motion. However, in this normal pulling operation, there may be an emergency situation in which the engagement state between the retaining hook 12 and the inlet cannot be released. The coping procedure and the operation of each part in that case will be described. In this emergency situation, for example, the solenoid 50 does not operate normally, the correspondence between the rocking prevention unit 23b and the blocking unit receiver 63 is not released (FIG. 14), or the solenoid 50 operates normally and rocks. Although the correspondence between the blocking portion 23b and the blocking portion receiver 63 has been released (FIG. 15), the rocking of the release lever 20 is restricted by foreign matter or the like, and the lever front portion 22 and the locking projection portion In some cases, the current stoppage with 34 may not be released.

  First, power transmission between the storage battery and the cable 200 is interrupted. This interruption may be performed, for example, by elapse of the power transmission time set by the power supply control device, or by a power transmission stop operation from the power supply control device by the user.

  Next, a rod-like body (not shown) having a length sufficiently longer than the width of the lock slider 30 is inserted into the installation hole 37 of the lock slider 30, for example, a driver is inserted, and the lock slider 30 is pulled to the rear side of the connector 100 together with the rod-like body. . At this time, since the lever front portion 22 is held against the stop projection 34, the release lever 20 is also pulled rearward. Then, the load is applied to the first thin wall portion 83n and the broken piece 83c (upper left in FIG. 9, lower left in FIG. 9) by the shaft 21i of the lever intermediate portion 21 on the rear side of the bearing portion 83 of the split pieces L and R. When the load increases, for example, as shown in the upper right and lower right of FIG. 9, the first thin portion 83n formed in the bearing portion 83 breaks and the broken piece 83c (upper left in FIG. 9, lower left in FIG. 9) breaks down. As a result, the rear side of the bearing portion 83 is damaged. Accordingly, the rear side of the bearing portion 83 is opened so that the support of the shaft 21i of the lever intermediate portion 21 is detached from the bearing portion 83. Due to the notch formed in the bearing portion 83, the first thin portion 83n is formed in the bearing portion 83, so that the rear side of the bearing portion 83 is easily damaged. When the rod-like body is pulled rearward, the shaft 21i is disengaged from the bearing portion 83, the lock slider 30 moves backward from the forward limit, and the lever intermediate portion 21 moves rearward. Since the shaft attachment portion 83f of the bearing portion 83 is open on the rear side, the shaft 21i can be easily detached from the bearing portion 83 if the rear side of the bearing portion 83 is damaged. At this time, the release spring 24 disposed on the outer periphery of the shaft attachment portion 83f on the left split piece L side is pulled and extended rearward by the shaft 21i.

  The lock slider 30 is retracted to the retract limit as shown in FIG. Since the movement allowance is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the bulging portion 4 and the lever intermediate portion 21, the lock slider 30 can be retracted to the retreat limit. As a result, the hook stopper 32 moves to a position facing the penetrating portion 14 of the swing arm 10, the support of the swing arm 10 by the hook stop 32 is released, and the swing arm 10 becomes swingable. . At this time, as shown in the figure, the contact state between the lever front portion 22 and the contact protrusion 34 is not released but is maintained. Then, a thin member (not shown) such as a tip of a flathead screwdriver is inserted from the boundary between the main body 1 and the inlet, and the front part of the swing arm 10 is pushed down as shown by the broken line in FIG. The engagement state between the stop hook 12 and the recess of the inlet is released. In this state, by pulling out the connector 100 from the inlet, the pulling-out operation of the connector 100 from the inlet is completed.

<Drawing operation during normal operation>
When the connector 100 is removed, the solenoid 50 normally maintains the locked state as described above. In that case, the extraction operation is performed as follows.

  First, as described above, power transmission between the storage battery and the cable 200 is interrupted.

  In the case of a normal solenoid 50, the power supply control device stops energization to the solenoid 50 by interrupting power transmission, and advances the movable iron core 52 as shown in FIG. In conjunction with this, the solenoid slider 60 returns to the original position, and the position of the blocking portion receiver 63 is shifted from below the swinging blocking portion 23b, so that the unlocked lever 20 is unlocked.

  On the other hand, when the solenoid 50 is a self-holding solenoid, the coil of the self-holding solenoid is excited so as to have a polarity opposite to that at the time of insertion from the power supply control device by interrupting power transmission. As a result, the holding of the movable iron core 52 by the permanent magnet is released and the solenoid spring 54 returns to the original position. In conjunction with the return of the movable iron core 52 to the original position, the solenoid slider 60 also returns to the original position, the position of the rocking prevention part 23b and the blocking part receiver 63 is displaced, and the rocking prevention part 23b (released) Lever 20) is unlocked.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 17, the release lever 20 is swung (first time). At this time, the rear end protrusion 23p of the release lever 20 comes into contact with the reference contact surface 36b of the lock slider 30, so that the lever rear portion 23 (rear end protrusion 23p) of the release lever 20 is moved to the midway swing position. regulate. Therefore, the lever front portion 22 (arm pressing portion 22f) of the release lever 20 does not push up the arm rear portion 13. Then, the contact state between the lever front portion 22 of the release lever 20 and the contact protrusion 34 of the lock slider 30 is released, and the lock slider 30 is retracted from the forward limit by the urging of the slider spring 39. When the rear end protrusion 23p of the release lever 20 is hooked with the hook protrusion 36p of the lock slider 30, the lock slider 30 stops moving backward. That is, the lock slider 30 is not retracted to the retreat limit, but is held at the midway slide position.

  The lock slider 30 at the midway slide position releases the pressing of the open / close button 41 of the microswitch 40 by the button projection 33. Thereby, the power supply control device recognizes that the power transmission standby state between the connector 100 and the inlet is released. If power is being transmitted, the power transmission is forcibly interrupted by the control from the power control device by releasing the pressing of the open / close button 41 at this time.

  When the swinging of the release lever 20 is released, the release lever 20 returns to the open position again by the biasing force of the release spring 24, as shown by the broken line in FIG. At that time, the latching between the rear end projection 23p of the release lever 20 and the latching projection 36p of the lock slider 30 is released, and the lock slider 30 is retracted to the retreat limit by the urging of the slider spring 39. As a result, the release lever 20 can be swung to the release position. Further, in conjunction with the retraction of the lock slider 30, the hook stopper 32 of the lock slider 30 moves back to the position facing the penetrating portion 14 of the swing arm 10, and the lock of the retaining hook 12 is released.

  When the lock slider 30 is retracted to the retreat limit, as shown in FIG. 18, the lever rear portion 23 of the release lever 20 is swung to the release position (second time). The rear end protrusion 23p of the release lever 20 is fitted into the slider recess 36c of the lock slider 30, and the lever front portion 22 of the release lever 20 contacts the arm rear portion 13 so that the swing arm 10 swings. By this swinging, the retaining hook 12 is in a sunk state, and the engagement state between the retaining hook 12 (connector 100) and the recessed portion of the inlet is released.

  In this state, by pulling out the connector 100 from the inlet, the pulling-out operation of the connector 100 from the inlet is completed. After the pull-out operation is completed, the release lever 20 returns to the open position by the bias of the release spring 24, and the retaining hook 12 returns to the extended state, and returns to the initial position of the connector 100.

<Pulling out operation without solenoid>
The connector 100 described above may not include the solenoid 50, the solenoid spring 54, and the solenoid slider 60. In this case, the release lever 20 is not always locked regardless of whether power is transmitted or disconnected between the storage battery and the cable 200, and the release lever 20 can operate from the open position to the release position. Even in this case, even if the connector 100 is about to be disconnected during power transmission by pressing the release lever 20 similar to the above, it can be disconnected after the power transmission has been reliably cut off.

<Pullout operation when the lock holding mechanism is abnormal>
If the lock holding mechanism operates normally, the release lever 20 is prevented from swinging as described above. However, because the solenoid 50 (self-holding solenoid) does not operate normally, the movable iron core 52 There is a possibility that the release lever 20 cannot be prevented from swinging without moving backward (FIG. 15). In addition, the solenoid 50 (self-holding solenoid) operates normally. However, when the solenoid 50 is de-energized, or the self-holding solenoid does not hold the movable iron core 52 by the permanent magnet. In some cases, the movable iron core 52 may return to the original position (FIG. 15). Then, since the release lever 20 is in a swingable state, the release lever 20 can be operated due to mischief or the carelessness of the user even during power transmission. Even in such a case, even if the connector 100 is pulled out during power transmission by pressing the release lever 20 twice, it can be removed after the power transmission is reliably cut off.

[Function and effect]
In the connector 100 described above, even if the release lever 20 becomes inoperable and the locked state between the lever front portion 22 and the stopper projection 34 cannot be released and the lock slider 30 cannot be retracted from the forward limit, the connector 100 Can be removed from the inlet. By providing the bearing portion 83 with the first thin portion 83n, the shaft 21i of the release lever 20 can be detached from the bearing portion 83 when the release lever 20 is pulled rearward. Then, there is a movement allowance that allows the lock slider 30 to be retracted between the bearing portion 83 and the surface of the main body portion 1 facing the rear side of the bearing portion 83 until the retracted state of the retaining hook 12 is allowed. Therefore, without releasing the contact state between the lever front portion 22 and the stopper projection 34, the retention state of the retaining hook 12 can be released and the retaining hook 12 can be brought into a submerged state.

  In addition, even when the connector 100 is inadvertently disconnected during power transmission, the connector 100 can be disconnected from the inlet after the power transmission between the storage battery and the cable 200 has been reliably shut off before the connector 100 is disconnected. . When the connector 100 is inserted into and removed from the inlet 100, the retaining lever 12 cannot be retracted by the first swinging operation of the release lever 20, and the second swinging after the end is returned to the open position. The retaining hook 12 can be brought into the depressed state by the moving operation, and the engagement with the inlet can be released. Should the release lever 20 be able to swing due to an abnormal situation where the release lever 20 cannot be locked, such as when the solenoid 50 does not operate normally, even if the release lever 20 operates due to an error during power transmission, it will be released. In the first swinging motion of the lever 20, the switch 40 is opened and closed by the sliding motion of the lock slider 30, and the power transmission between the cable 200 and the storage battery is forcibly cut off by the control from the power control device. For this reason, even if the release lever 20 is swung to accidentally remove the connector 100 during power transmission, the power transmission is interrupted without being removed, and therefore power transmission is interrupted when the connector 100 is subsequently pulled out. Also, using a self-holding solenoid for the solenoid 50, the holding of the position of the movable iron core by the permanent magnet is canceled due to an unexpected situation during power transmission, and the connector 100 is pulled out due to mischief or carelessness of the user Even so, the connector 100 can be removed after the power transmission is cut off.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
In the second embodiment, an embodiment in which the engagement state between the retaining hook 12 and the inlet can be released by breaking the upper side of the bearing portion 83 that pivotally supports the shaft 21i of the release lever 20 in an emergency will be described. The following description will be mainly focused on differences from the first embodiment with reference to FIG.

  In this example, as shown on the left side of FIG. 19, two second thin portions 83t are provided on the inner peripheral surface side above the bearing portion 83, and a fracture piece 83c is provided between the two thin portions 83t. Further, the main body 1 (the bulging portion 4) has a bulging that partially covers the upper side of the releasing lever 20 so that the releasing lever 20 (FIGS. 3 and 6) can move to a range beyond the normal movable range. A third thin-walled portion 88 that destroys the portion 4 is provided. It is preferable that the lever intermediate portion 21 of the release lever 20 is exposed from the case C by the destruction of the bulging portion 4 by the third thin portion 88. Here, as indicated by the two-dot chain line on the left of FIG. It is provided substantially along. Normally, the release lever 20 contacts the edge of the opening 5 (FIGS. 3 and 6). Therefore, if the third thin portion 88 is formed so as to be connected to the edge of the opening 5, the third thin portion 88 can be easily broken when the release lever 20 (lever rear portion 23) is pulled up.

  Low strength locally (compared to the adjacent region) so that the second thin wall portion 83t and the fracture piece 83c of the bearing portion 83 and the third thin wall portion 88 are destroyed in a specific state in which a part of the main body portion 1 is assumed in advance. And function as an emergency release mechanism that enables the engagement between the retaining hook 12 and the inlet to be released in an emergency. That is, the emergency release mechanism has a planned destruction portion that itself is destroyed, such as the second thin portion 83t, the broken piece 83c, and the third thin portion 88.

  The lever rear portion 23 is preferably provided with a through hole (not shown) penetrating in a direction orthogonal to both side surfaces. Then, in an emergency, a rod-like body (for example, a driver) longer than the width of the lever rear portion 23 can be inserted into the through hole, and the lever rear portion 23 can be easily lifted upward together with the rod-like body.

<Ejection operation in emergency>
The insertion operation is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment to complete the insertion operation of the connector 100 into the inlet. Thereafter, when the connector 100 is pulled out from the inlet, as described above, when the swinging of the release lever 20 is restricted and the locked state between the lever front portion 22 and the locking projection 34 is not released, the following is performed. Pull the connector 100 out of the inlet.

  First, the rod-shaped body is inserted into the through hole of the lever rear portion 23, and the lever rear portion 23 is pulled upward together with the rod-shaped body. The release lever 20 is in contact with the edge of the opening 5, and when the load is applied to the edge of the opening 5 by the release lever 20, the third thin portion 88 is broken, and the upper surface of the bulging portion 4 (case C) is Turns upward (right side of FIG. 19). As a result, the lever intermediate portion 21 is exposed from the case C. Subsequently, when the lever rear portion 23 is further lifted upward, the second thin portion 83t of the bearing portion 83 is broken and the broken piece 83c is broken, so that the upper portion of the bearing portion 83 is damaged. Thereby, the upper part of the bearing part 83 is opened so that the support of the shaft 21i of the lever intermediate part 21 is released (right side in FIG. 19). When the release lever 20 is pulled upward, the support of the shaft 21i is disengaged from the bearing portion 83, and the contact state between the lever front portion 22 and the contact protrusion 34 of the lock slider 30 is released. With the release of the stop state, the lock slider 30 is retracted to the retreat limit by the urging of the slider spring 39. As a result, the hook stopper 32 moves to a position facing the penetrating portion 14 of the swing arm 10, the support of the swing arm 10 by the hook stop 32 is released, and the swing arm 10 becomes swingable. . Thereafter, as described above, a thin member is inserted from the boundary between the main body 1 and the inlet, and the front portion of the swing arm 10 is pushed down as shown by the broken line in FIG. The engagement state with the recess is released. In this state, by pulling out the connector 100 from the inlet, the pulling-out operation of the connector 100 from the inlet is completed. Note that the upper surface of the bulging portion 4 is turned up and the release lever 20 is pulled up. However, the upper surface of the bulging portion 4 is turned up and the release lever 20 is not lifted up. The retaining hook 12 may be in a sunk state by inserting a rod-shaped body of an appropriate length into the case C from the turned up position and directly operating the arm rear portion 13 of the swing arm 10. By doing so, the connector 100 can also be pulled out from the inlet.

[Function and effect]
According to this connector 100, as in the first embodiment, the release lever 20 becomes inoperable, and the contact state between the lever front portion 22 and the stopper projection 34 cannot be released, and the lock slider 30 cannot be retracted from the forward limit. Even in this case, the connector 100 can be removed from the inlet. By providing the third thin portion 88 in the bulging portion 4, the bulging portion 4 can be broken when the lever rear portion 23 is pulled upward. As a result, the lever rear portion 23 can be moved further upward, and the second thin portion 83t provided in the bearing portion 83 destroys the upper portion of the bearing portion 83 so that the shaft 21i of the lever intermediate portion 21 is moved to the bearing portion. Can be removed from 83. Therefore, the shaft 21i of the lever intermediate portion 21 can be raised until the locked state between the lever front portion 22 and the locking projection portion 34 is released, and the locked state between the lever front portion 22 and the locking projection portion 34 is changed. Can be canceled. As a result, the lock slider 30 is retracted, the holding of the protruding state of the retaining hook 12 by the hook retaining portion 32 can be released, and the retaining hook 12 can be brought into the depressed state.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the connector of the present invention is applied to a vehicle connector and connected to an inlet to supply power to a vehicle storage battery has been described as an example. In addition, for example, an inlet of a power storage device mounted on a moving body such as a ship other than a vehicle, a submersible, or an aircraft, or an inlet of a power storage device installed in a home, building, factory, or the like has the same shape as the above-described inlet. That is, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the inner peripheral surface of the inlet has a recess.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the forms of the swing arm, the release lever, and the lock slider can be changed as appropriate. The types of the arm spring, the release spring, the slider spring, and the solenoid spring may be appropriately changed according to the purpose.

<Appendix>
The following additional notes are disclosed in relation to the embodiment of the present invention described above.

[Appendix 1]
A connector for transmitting power between the cable and the power storage device by being connected to an inlet of an electric device that uses the power storage device as a power source, provided at the tip of the cable,
A main body with the cable side as the back;
An insertion portion provided in front of the main body portion and inserted into the inlet;
The main body is
When the insertion portion is inserted into the inlet, the connector and the inlet are engaged by a retaining hook that comes out of the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion and engages the recess of the inlet. A locking mechanism that locks the connector so that it does not come off;
A lock release mechanism for releasing the lock of the lock mechanism by bringing the retaining hook into a submerged state from the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion so that the connector and the inlet are disconnected;
A part of the main body part, having a planned destruction part locally configured to have a low strength so as to be broken into a specific state, the lock release mechanism does not normally operate, and the lock mechanism is locked A connector including an emergency release mechanism that enables the engagement between the retaining hook and the inlet to be released by destroying the planned destruction portion in the specific state in an emergency that cannot be released.

  According to the connector of Supplementary Note 1, since the engagement between the retaining hook and the inlet can be released even in an emergency, the connector can be pulled out from the inlet. At that time, by using the planned destruction portion, the main body portion can be destroyed only in a specific range necessary for unlocking, so that unnecessary destruction that does not contribute to unlocking can be made unnecessary.

[Appendix 2]
The locking mechanism is
A member having an arm intermediate portion swingably supported by the main body, the retaining hook provided in front of the arm intermediate portion, and an arm rear portion behind the arm intermediate portion; A swing arm that swings the retaining hook into the extended state or the retracted state;
An arm spring that biases the swing arm so that the retaining hook is in the extended state;
A member that is slidably disposed within the range of the forward limit and the backward limit in the front-rear direction of the main body, and allows the retaining hook to protrude and retract at the backward limit, and the retaining hook at the front of the backward limit. And a lock slider for holding in the protruding state,
The unlocking mechanism is
A lever middle portion swingably supported by the main body, a lever front portion opposed to the arm rear portion in front of the lever middle portion, and a lever rear portion rearward of the lever middle portion; A release lever that interlocks the arm rear portion with the lever front portion by swinging the lever rear portion by a user with a member having,
A release spring that biases the release lever in a direction separating the lever front portion from the arm rear portion;
A slider spring for urging the lock slider backward,
The planned destruction portion is
A thin portion formed on the rear side of the bearing portion provided in the main body portion to support the lever middle portion of the release lever;
A part of the bearing portion, and when the release lever is pulled rearward in the emergency, a broken piece that is broken by breakage of the thin-walled portion,
The emergency release mechanism is
Further, a movement margin that allows the lever intermediate portion to move rearward due to breakage of the broken piece between the bearing portion and the surface of the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion that faces the rear side of the bearing portion. With
The connector according to appendix 1, wherein the movement allowance is a length that allows the lock slider to be retracted until the retracted hook is allowed to sink in accordance with the movement of the lever intermediate portion.

  According to the connector of Supplementary Note 2, even in an emergency, the engagement between the retaining hook and the inlet can be released and the connector can be removed from the inlet. By providing the thin portion, the bearing portion can be easily damaged, so that the lever intermediate portion can be easily detached from the bearing portion. Moreover, by having the said movement allowance, a lever intermediate part can be removed from a bearing part, and it can be moved to the back side, and a lock slider can be retracted in connection with it, accept | permitting the fallen state of a retaining hook. The retaining hook can be brought into the depressed state by, for example, inserting an appropriate member from the boundary between the main body portion and the inlet and pressing the front side of the swing arm.

[Appendix 3]
The main body portion is a member different from the insertion portion, and includes a case formed by combining a plurality of divided pieces.
The locking mechanism is
A member having an arm intermediate portion swingably supported by the main body, the retaining hook provided in front of the arm intermediate portion, and an arm rear portion behind the arm intermediate portion; A swing arm that swings the retaining hook into the protruding state or the sinked state;
An arm spring that biases the swing arm so that the retaining hook is in the extended state;
A member that is slidably disposed within the range of the forward limit and the backward limit in the front-rear direction of the main body, and allows the retaining hook to protrude and retract at the backward limit, and the retaining hook at the front of the backward limit. And a lock slider for holding in the protruding state,
The unlocking mechanism is
A lever middle portion swingably supported by the main body, a lever front portion opposed to the arm rear portion in front of the lever middle portion, and a lever rear portion rearward of the lever middle portion; A release lever that interlocks the arm rear portion with the lever front portion by swinging the lever rear portion by a user with a member having,
A release spring that biases the release lever in a direction separating the lever front portion from the arm rear portion;
A slider spring for urging the lock slider backward,
The connector according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the planned destruction portion includes a thin portion that is formed in the case and causes the case to be broken so that the vicinity of the arm intermediate portion is exposed from the case.

  According to the connector of Supplementary Note 3, even in an emergency, the engagement between the retaining hook and the inlet can be released and the connector can be removed from the inlet. By providing the thin portion formed in the case, for example, the main body portion can be easily broken along the thin portion due to an external load, so that the vicinity of the middle portion of the arm can be easily exposed. For this reason, even if the swinging arm malfunctions due to a foreign object biting or the like, the foreign object can be easily taken out and the swinging arm can be easily swung. Alternatively, the swing arm itself can be removed from the main body by exposing the vicinity of the arm intermediate portion. In particular, since the main body portion and the insertion portion are configured as separate members, the vicinity of the arm intermediate portion and the swing arm itself are easily exposed even when the insertion portion is inserted into the inlet.

[Appendix 4]
The connector according to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the case communicates with the inside and the outside and includes an insertion hole serving as a starting point of destruction of the specific state.

  According to the connector of Supplementary Note 4, by providing the insertion hole, the case can be easily broken along the thin-walled portion starting from the insertion hole. Therefore, by exposing the inside of the case, it is possible to eliminate the malfunction of the swing arm and the release lever due to the biting of foreign matter and the like, and the retaining hook can be brought into a sunk state. This insertion hole may also serve for draining water, or may be provided separately from the draining hole.

[Appendix 5]
The connector according to appendix 4, wherein the insertion hole is provided so as to straddle a boundary between the split pieces in the case.

  According to the connector of Supplementary Note 5, since the insertion hole is provided so as to straddle the boundary between the divided pieces, the divided pieces can be easily separated using the insertion hole.

[Appendix 6]
The broken piece breaks,
The connector according to claim 2, wherein a rear side of the bearing portion is opened so that the support of the lever intermediate portion is detached from the bearing portion.

  According to the connector of Supplementary Note 6, the lever intermediate portion can be easily detached from the bearing portion, and the connector can be removed from the inlet even in an emergency.

[Reference Example 1]
A connector according to Reference Example 1 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, FIGS. 20 and 21 show a locked state in which the lock slider 30 is advanced to the forward limit. Here, a mode will be described in which a portion other than the bearing portion 83 is broken so that the engagement state can be released. In this example, except for the portion to be destroyed, the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. The following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

  Specifically, the engagement state can be released by destroying a part of the case C by using the insertion hole 6 (FIG. 2) used as the drain hole. The insertion hole 6 serves as a starting point for breaking the case C so that the vicinity of the arm intermediate portion 11 (the swing arm 10) is exposed. As an emergency that makes it possible to release the engagement state using the insertion hole 6, in addition to the malfunction of the release lever 20 as described in the first and second embodiments, an extremely rare swing may occur. The malfunction of the arm 10 is mentioned. The cause of the malfunction of the swing arm 10 is the inclusion of foreign matter. In this case, the rear side of the bearing portion 83 on which the shaft 21i of the lever intermediate portion 21 is supported is broken as described above. Even if the lock slider 30 is retracted, the connector 100 cannot be removed from the inlet. The coping procedure at this time will be described.

  When an emergency release is made using the insertion hole 6, as a planned destruction part, due to the destruction starting from the insertion hole 6, the vicinity of the arm intermediate part 11 (swing arm 10) from the case C (including the arm intermediate part 11) A thin-walled portion that breaks the case C so that is exposed.

  The thin portion may be formed intermittently with a specific interval, or may be formed continuously without any interval. The portion where the thin portion is provided may be the outer peripheral surface of the case C or the inner peripheral surface of the case C. If the thin portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the case C, the portion to be broken can be visually confirmed, and if it is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the case C, the appearance design is not affected. Specifically, the thin portion is provided so as to be connected to the insertion hole 6 on the insertion portion 2 side, or provided so as to be connected to the vicinity of the insertion hole 6, in particular, the boundary between the left and right divided pieces L, R. . Then, when the insertion hole 6 is used as the starting point of destruction, the case C is easily broken along the thin wall portion, so that the vicinity of the arm intermediate portion 11 can be easily exposed, and the swing arm 10 becomes inoperable. It is possible to make it easier to remove foreign matter and to remove the swing arm 10 itself.

  From the upper end of the right divided piece R (L) (one boundary with the left divided piece L (R)) on the inner peripheral surface of at least one of the divided pieces L, R between the two insertion holes 6 (FIG. 2) Although a thin portion may be formed across the lower end (the other boundary with the left split piece L (R)), as shown in FIG. 20, the connecting part 80p on the insertion part 2 side in the right split piece R is It is preferable to provide a pair of thin linear portions so as to be sandwiched from each other. At that time, it is preferable to select a thin portion of the right split piece R and provide a thin portion. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 20, it is preferable to provide a thin part also in the outer peripheral area | region of the upper and lower two through-holes 80h (connection part 80p) by the side of the insertion part 2. As shown in FIG. The thin portion may be concentric with the connecting portion 80p in the outer peripheral region of the connecting portion 80p.

  In this case, insert an appropriate tool that can enter the inside of the main body 1 from the insertion hole 6 into the insertion hole 6, such as a screwdriver, and turn up the area surrounded by the thin part of the right split piece R. By moving the tool to break the thin portion, as shown in FIG. 21, the periphery including the connecting portion 80p for connecting the left and right divided pieces L and R in the region between the pair of linear thin portions. The region excluding (the inner region of the annular thin portion) can be separated. Since the connecting portion 80p is fused as described above, the right split piece R can be easily broken by providing a thin portion surrounding the connecting portion 80p and removing this region from the region to be separated. As a result, the arm intermediate portion 11 (the shaft 11i and the shaft penetrating portion 11o) can be exposed, so that foreign matters that cause the malfunction of the swing arm 10 are removed from the outside of the case C, and the retaining hook 12 and the inlet The engaged state with the recess can be released.

[Reference Example 2]
As a reference example 2, a form different from the reference example 1 will be described in which a portion other than the bearing portion 83 is destroyed to enable the engagement state to be released.

  An appropriate tool is inserted into the body portion 1 from the insertion hole 6 into the insertion hole 6, and the tool is moved so that the insertion hole 6 expands, or the fusion part between the split pieces R and L, or the connection part 80p itself (or The tip) may be destroyed. Due to the destruction, the divided pieces are separated from each other so as to be separated from each other, and the swing arm 10 is exposed from the case C. Then, the engaged state is released by removing the foreign matter that causes the malfunction of the swing arm 10 or removing the swing arm 10 itself. As described above, the main body portion 1 and the insertion portion 2 are configured as separate members, that is, the main body portion 1 and the insertion portion 2 are not covered with the integral case C, so that the insertion portion 2 is formed in the inlet. Even in the inserted state, the divided pieces L and R of the main body 1 can be separated into left and right.

  As another configuration, when the insertion hole 6 is used, the connection part 80p itself that does not destroy the outside of the case C and inserts a driver into the main body part 1 from the insertion hole 6 and fuses the divided pieces is used. The split pieces can be separated from each other by breaking (breaking) the connecting portion 80p itself with the driver. In this case, the connecting portion 80p itself can be broken by inserting the driver obliquely from the insertion hole 6, but if the connecting portion 80p is provided near the insertion hole 6, for example, a position facing the insertion hole 6, the driver It is preferable because the connecting portion 80p can be easily pushed. In addition, as the planned destruction portion, the connecting portion 80p is preferably not provided with a normal connector 100, but is preferably provided with a thin portion having a small diameter in order to be easily broken when it is struck with a driver. In this way, when the connecting portion 80p is directly projected and folded, it is preferable to destroy the periphery of the insertion hole 6 in advance to increase the size of the insertion hole 6. If it does so, it will be easy to push connection part 80p itself with a tool.

  In addition, as the planned destruction part, the case C is destroyed so that the vicinity of the arm intermediate part 11 (the swing arm 10) (including the arm intermediate part 11) is exposed from the case C without using the insertion hole 6 as a starting point. It is also possible to provide a thin-walled portion. As a form of this thin portion, for example, an annular shape surrounding a part of the case C can be cited. The annular thin-walled portion is formed at the outer peripheral region of the through hole 80h (connecting portion 80p) in the same manner as in Reference Example 1 described above. In this outer peripheral region, the through-hole 80h (connecting portion 80p) and Concentricity is preferred. The connector 100 has a plurality of connecting portions 80p (FIGS. 1, 2, 7, and 8), and it is preferable to provide an annular thin portion in the outer peripheral region of all the connecting portions 80p. In this case, with the tool that has a sharp tip from the outside of the case C, such as the tip of the driver, hit the rear end (grip end) of the driver with a hammer to Can break. If the thin-walled portion is broken, the inner region of the thin-walled portion including the welded portion between the tip of the connecting portion 80p and the case C can be separated from the outer region of the thin-walled portion in the case C. If all the annular thin portions surrounding all the connecting portions 80p are similarly broken, the divided pieces L and R of the case C can be separated from each other. By this separation, the internal structure of the main body 1 can be exposed, and thereafter, the retaining hook 12 can be appropriately removed from the recess of the inlet.

[Function and effect]
As described in Reference Examples 1 and 2 above, the connector 100 not only operates when the release lever 20 malfunctions, but also the swing arm 10 malfunctions. Even when the engaged state cannot be released, it can be removed from the inlet.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a connector for transmitting power between an electric storage device and a cable by connecting to an inlet of an electric device that uses an electric storage device such as a storage battery or an electric double layer capacitor as a power source. It can be suitably used for a charger such as an in-hybrid car.

100 connector 200 cable
C Case L Left segment R Right segment
1 Body part 2 Insertion part 3 Handle part 4 Swelling part 5 Opening part
6 Insertion hole (drain hole) 6L, 6R Notch
10 Swing arm
11 Arm middle part 11i shaft 11o shaft penetration
12 Retaining hook 13 Arm rear part 14 Penetration part
15 Arm spring (torsion spring)
20 Release lever
21 Lever middle part 21i Shaft 21o Shaft penetrating part
22 Lever front part 22f Arm pressing part 22o Projection overpass part
23 Lever rear part 23p Rear end protrusion 23b Oscillation prevention part
24 Release spring (torsion spring)
30 Lock slider 30f Slider front 30b Slider rear
30d Position display
31 Slide fin 32 Hook stop
33 Button projection (switch operating section) 34 Stop projection
36 compartment
36b Reference abutment surface 36p Hook protrusion 36c Slider recess 36h Insertion hole
37 Installation hole (locking hole) 38 Rear end face
39 Slider spring (compression spring)
40 switch (micro switch (hinge lever type))
41 Open / close button 42 Switch lever
50 solenoid
52 Moving iron core 54 Solenoid spring (compression spring)
55 pin
60 Solenoid slider
60t Top plate part 61 Shaft clamping part 62 Connection part 63 Stopper part receiver 64 Notch
65 pin hole
70 Solenoid bracket
72 Protrusion insertion hole
80h Through hole 80p Connecting part
81 Notch
82, 83 Bearing part 83n First thin part 83t Second thin part 83c Broken fragment
83f Shaft support 84 Guide groove 85 Spring stop 86 Slider support
87 Bracket projection 88 Third thin wall
91 Guide groove
95 fuse

Claims (4)

A connector for transmitting power between the cable and the power storage device by being connected to an inlet of an electric device that uses the power storage device as a power source, provided at the tip of the cable,
A main body with the cable side as the back;
An insertion portion provided in front of the main body portion and inserted into the inlet;
The main body is
A lock mechanism having a movable holding member that holds the engaged state when the connector and the inlet are engaged by inserting the insertion portion into the inlet;
A lock release mechanism having a movable release member for releasing the engagement state and releasing the engagement state;
A part of the main body part, having a planned destruction part locally configured to have a low strength so as to be broken into a specific state, the lock release mechanism does not normally operate, and the engagement state is maintained. In an emergency that cannot be released, at least one of the movable holding member and the movable release member is moved to a range that exceeds the normal movable range, and the planned destruction portion is destroyed in the specific state. A connector comprising an emergency release mechanism that enables the engagement with the inlet to be released. The locking mechanism is
A member having an arm intermediate portion swingably supported by the main body, a retaining hook provided in front of the arm intermediate portion, and an arm rear portion behind the arm intermediate portion; A swinging arm in which the retaining hook is engaged with and disengaged from the inlet by causing the retaining hook to protrude from an outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion by movement;
An arm spring that urges the swing arm so that the retaining hook comes out of the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion,
The movable holding member is a member that is slidably disposed within the range of the forward limit and the backward limit in the front-rear direction of the main body portion, and allows the retaining hook to protrude and retract at the backward limit, and more than the backward limit. A locking slider for holding the retaining hook in the extended state in front;
The movable release member includes a lever middle portion that is swingably supported by the main body portion, a lever front portion that faces the arm rear portion in front of the lever middle portion, and rearward of the lever middle portion. A release lever that interlocks the arm rear portion with the lever front portion by swinging the lever rear portion by a user.
The unlocking mechanism further includes:
A release spring that biases the release lever in a direction separating the lever front portion from the arm rear portion;
A slider spring for urging the lock slider backward,
The planned destruction portion is
A first thin portion formed on the rear side of the bearing portion provided in the main body portion to support the lever middle portion of the release lever;
A part of the bearing portion, and when the release lever is pulled rearward in the emergency, a broken piece that is broken by breakage of the first thin portion,
The emergency release mechanism is
Further, a movement margin that allows the lever intermediate portion to move rearward due to breakage of the broken piece between the bearing portion and the surface of the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion that faces the rear side of the bearing portion. With
2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the movement allowance is a length that allows the lock slider to be retracted until the retracted hook is allowed to be retracted as the lever intermediate portion moves. The locking mechanism is
A member having an arm intermediate portion swingably supported by the main body, a retaining hook provided in front of the arm intermediate portion, and an arm rear portion behind the arm intermediate portion; A swinging arm in which the retaining hook is engaged with and disengaged from the inlet by causing the retaining hook to protrude from an outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion by movement;
An arm spring that urges the swing arm so that the retaining hook comes out of the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion,
The movable holding member is a member that is slidably disposed within the range of the forward limit and the backward limit in the front-rear direction of the main body portion, and allows the retaining hook to protrude and retract at the backward limit, and more than the backward limit. A locking slider for holding the retaining hook in the extended state in front;
The movable release member includes a lever middle portion that is swingably supported by the main body portion, a lever front portion that faces the arm rear portion in front of the lever middle portion, and rearward of the lever middle portion. A release lever that interlocks the arm rear portion with the lever front portion by swinging the lever rear portion by a user.
The unlocking mechanism further includes:
A release spring that biases the release lever in a direction separating the lever front portion from the arm rear portion;
A slider spring for urging the lock slider backward,
The planned destruction portion is
A second thin portion formed on the upper side of the bearing portion provided in the main body portion to support the lever middle portion of the release lever;
A part of the bearing part, and when the release lever is pulled upward in the emergency, a broken piece that is broken by the breakage of the second thin part;
The connector according to claim 1, further comprising: a third thin portion that is formed on the main body portion and breaks the main body portion so that the release lever is moved to a range beyond a normal movable range. The broken piece breaks,
The connector according to claim 2, wherein the bearing portion is opened so that the support of the lever intermediate portion is detached from the bearing portion.

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