JP6709209B2 - Terminals and electric wires with terminals - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal and an electric wire with a terminal including the terminal.

As a charging connector to which a power supply plug can be attached, there is known a charging connector including a connection terminal having a plug connection part to which a terminal of the power supply plug can be connected and a terminal connection part located on the side opposite to the plug connection part. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2017-117711, A

By the way, in recent years, along with the widespread use of electric vehicles and the like, a power supply system capable of supplying a large current of, for example, about 250 A is required. In the power supply system using the above connection terminal, the temperature rise of the connection terminal due to the energization of such a large current becomes a problem. It is necessary to suppress the temperature of the connection terminal to a predetermined value or less in order to suppress the deterioration of the constituent members of the power plug and the charging connector and to comply with regulations (eg, CHAdeMO standard, etc.).

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a terminal capable of suppressing a temperature rise due to energization with a large current, and an electric wire with a terminal including the terminal.

[1] A terminal according to the present invention comprises a terminal connecting portion connectable to a counterpart terminal, a supporting portion supporting the terminal connecting portion, and a jacket portion including a tubular portion covering the supporting portion, A space through which a refrigerant can flow is formed between the tubular part and the support part, and the jacket part is a terminal having a pair of inlet/outlet parts communicating with the space.

[2] In the above invention, the support portion may have a groove provided on an outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion, the groove communicating with the inlet/outlet portion, and the space may be formed by the groove.

[3] In the above invention, the terminal may include a joint portion that joins the jacket portion and the support portion by brazing.

[4] In the above invention, the terminal connecting portion and the supporting portion are members independent of each other, and the terminal connecting portion has a plurality of contact pieces forming an insertion space into which the counterpart terminal is inserted. May be.

[5] An electric wire with a terminal according to the present invention includes the above-mentioned terminal, an electric wire, a fixed terminal to which the electric wire is connected, and a bolt for fixing the fixed terminal to the supporting portion, and the supporting portion is The fixed terminal is an electric wire with a terminal having a fastening hole into which the bolt is screwed, and the fixed terminal has an insertion hole into which the bolt is inserted.

According to the present invention, the jacket part having the inlet/outlet part covers the support part of the terminal, and the space through which the refrigerant can flow is formed between the support part and the tubular part of the jacket part. As a result, the refrigerant can be introduced into the jacket portion through the inlet/outlet portion and circulated in the space, so that the temperature rise of the terminal can be suppressed even when a large current is applied.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electric wire with a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a development view of the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion of the base portion of the terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. FIG. 6 is a rear view of the terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a fixed terminal and an electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8: is a figure which shows an example of the terminal cooling system using the electric wire with a terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 9: is a perspective view which shows the electric wire with a terminal in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal shown in FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the base portion of the terminal shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<< First Embodiment >>
1 is a sectional view showing an electric wire with a terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a terminal according to the present embodiment. 4 is a development view of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the base portion of the terminal shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a rear view of the terminal shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. It is a perspective view showing a fixed terminal and an electric wire in this embodiment.

The electric wire 1 with a terminal in the present embodiment is a member used for a charging connector mounted on the vehicle body of a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid car. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electric wire with terminal 1 is electrically connected to a terminal 10 that is fitted with a counterpart terminal 100 (see FIG. 2) and a secondary battery or the like that supplies electric power to an electric motor. And a fixed terminal 60 and a bolt 70 for electrically connecting the electric wire 50 to the terminal 10 and mechanically fixing the electric wire 50. The counterpart terminal 100 is a rod-shaped terminal included in the plug-type connector (power supply plug), and the charging connector provided with the terminal 10 is a receptacle-type connector that fits with the plug-type connector.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the terminal 10 includes a terminal body 15 and a jacket portion 40. The terminal body 15 includes a terminal connecting portion 20 that can be connected to the counterpart terminal 100, and a base portion 30 that supports the terminal connecting portion 20, and the base portion 30 is covered by the jacket portion 40. The base portion 40 in the present embodiment corresponds to an example of the support portion of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the terminal main body 15 is configured by integrally forming the terminal connecting portion 20 and the base portion 30. The terminal body 15 is made of a conductive material such as a metal material. As a result, the fixed terminal 60 to which the electric wire 50 is connected and the counterpart terminal 100 are electrically connected via the terminal body 15. Further, in the present embodiment, since the terminal body 15 and the jacket portion 40 are joined by brazing as described later, the jacket portion 40 is also made of a metal material. The jacket portion 40 may be made of a material having no conductivity.

The terminal connecting portion 20 includes a plurality of (four in this example) contact pieces 21 and a connecting portion 22 that connects the contact pieces 21. Each contact piece 21 has a plate-like shape extending along the axial direction of the terminal 10, and the tip end of the contact piece 21 is a free end, whereas the contact piece 21 has a rear end. The end is fixed to the connecting portion 22. The connecting portion 22 has a cylindrical shape, and the plurality of contact pieces 21 are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction. Therefore, the plurality of contact pieces 21 form an insertion space 211 into which the mating terminal 100 is inserted. The inner diameter of the insertion space 211 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the counterpart terminal 100, and when the counterpart terminal 100 is inserted into the insertion space 211, the contact piece 21 bends to contact the outer peripheral surface of the counterpart terminal 100. By doing so, the counterpart terminal 100 and the terminal 10 are electrically connected.

The base portion 30 includes a flange portion 31 to which the terminal connecting portion 20 is connected, and a cylindrical portion 32 to which the fixed terminal 60 is connected and which is provided on the rear end side of the flange portion 31 (on the side opposite to the terminal connecting portion 20). , Are provided. The flange portion 31 has a larger outer diameter than the terminal connecting portion 20 and the columnar portion 32, and projects in the radial direction in the terminal body 15.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a concave groove 322 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 321 of the columnar portion 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the groove 322 has a meandering shape that reciprocates along the axial direction over the entire area of the outer peripheral surface 3211 of the cylindrical portion 32. Note that the planar shape of the groove 322 is not particularly limited to the above as long as the groove 322 is provided over the entire outer peripheral surface 321. For example, the groove 322 may have a meandering shape that reciprocates along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface 321 of the columnar portion 32.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a fastening hole 325 into which a bolt 70 for fixing the fixed terminal 60 is screwed is formed in the rear end surface 324 of the columnar portion 32. A female screw is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the fastening hole 325. The rear end surface 324 of the columnar portion 32 extends substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the terminal 10, and functions as a mounting surface on which the fixed terminal 60 is fixed when the fixed terminal 60 is fixed to the terminal 10. To do.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the jacket portion 40 includes a tubular portion 41 having a tubular shape, and a pair of inlet/outlet portions 42, 43 provided upright on the tubular portion 41. I have it. The inner hole 411 of the tubular portion 41 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the columnar portion 32 of the base portion 30 and smaller than the outer diameter of the flange portion 31 of the base portion 30. The cylindrical portion 32 of the base portion 30 is inserted into the inner hole 411 of the tubular portion 41, and the end surface of the tubular portion 41 is in contact with the flange portion 31 of the base portion 30.

The inlet/outlet portions 42, 43 are provided in the tubular portion 41 so as to project radially from the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 41. The outlet part 42 has a through hole 421 penetrating in the radial direction, and is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular part 41 so that the through hole 421 faces the groove 322 of the base part 30. Similarly, the inlet part 43 also has a through hole 431 penetrating in the radial direction, and is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular part 41 so that the through hole 431 faces the groove 322 of the base part 30. There is.

In the present embodiment, when the cylindrical portion 32 of the base portion 30 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 41, the outer peripheral surface 321 of the cylindrical portion 32 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 41 are in close contact with each other. Therefore, by the groove 322 described above, a space 323 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) through which a refrigerant (described later) can flow is formed between the cylindrical portion 32 of the base portion 30 and the cylindrical portion 41 of the jacket portion 40. There is.

Further, in the present embodiment, the base portion 30 and the jacket portion 40 are joined by brazing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the contact portion between the flange portion 31 of the base portion 30 and the jacket portion 40 is joined over the entire circumference by brazing, so that the first joining is performed. The portion 44 is formed. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the contact portion between the rear end surface 324 of the base portion 30 and the rear end surface of the jacket portion 40 is joined over the entire circumference by brazing, so that the second joint portion is formed. 45 is formed. Therefore, the space 323 formed by the groove 322 is liquid-tightly sealed (sealed) by these joint portions 44 and 45, and communicates with the outside through only the inlet/outlet portions 42 and 43.

The shape of the space 323 between the base portion 30 and the jacket portion 40 is not particularly limited to the meandering shape as described above. For example, instead of the groove 322, the space 323 may be formed by entirely recessing the portion of the outer peripheral surface 321 of the columnar portion 32 other than both ends in the axial direction. Alternatively, instead of the groove 322 of the base portion 30, a groove may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the jacket portion 40, or a groove may be formed on both the base portion 30 and the jacket portion 40.

Instead of brazing, the space 323 may be sealed by the following structure. That is, a female screw is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the jacket portion 40 and a male screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion 32 of the base portion 30, and an O-ring is interposed between the jacket portion 40 and the base portion 30, The space 323 may be sealed by fixing the jacket portion 40 and the base portion 30 using these screw portions.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7, the electric wire 50 includes a conductive central conductor 51 and an insulating layer 52 that covers the central conductor 51. The electric wire 50 is composed of a stranded wire or a single wire made of a metal material such as copper or aluminum. The electric wire 50 is, for example, a cable conforming to the CHAdeMO standard capable of rapidly charging an electric vehicle battery, and a large current of, for example, about 250 A flows through the electric wire 50 during rapid charging.

As shown in FIG. 7, the fixed terminal 60 is a so-called LA terminal (round terminal) made of a conductive material such as a metal material, and has a holding portion 61, a fixing piece 62, and a flat plate portion 63. , Are provided. The holding portion 61 inserts the electric wire 50 and holds the insulating layer 52 of the electric wire 50. The insulating layer 52 is peeled off at the end of the electric wire 50 to expose the central conductor 51, and the central conductor 51 and the fixing piece 62 are caulked to electrically connect the electric wire 50 and the fixing terminal 60. Has been done. An insertion hole 631 is formed in the flat plate portion 63, and the bolt 70 is screwed into the female screw of the fastening hole 325 of the base portion 30 through the insertion hole 631, so that the fixed terminal 60 is fixed to the terminal main body 15. It is fixed to.

FIG. 8: is a figure which shows an example of the terminal cooling system 90 using the electric wire 1 with a terminal mentioned above. This terminal cooling system 90 is a system for cooling the above-mentioned terminal 10 using a refrigerant, and as shown in FIG. 8, a cooling device 91, a pump 92, insulating joints 93a and 93b, and pipes 94a to. And 94e.

The outlet 42 of the terminal 10 is connected to the cooling device 91 via the pipe 94a, the insulating joint 93a, and the pipe 94b. The cooling device 91 is connected to the pump 92 via a pipe 94c. The pump 92 is connected to the inlet portion 43 of the terminal 10 via a pipe 94d, a pipe joint 93b, and a pipe 94e. That is, in the terminal cooling system 90 of the present embodiment, the space 323 of the terminal 10→the outlet 42→the pipe 94a→the insulating joint 93a→the pipe 94b→the cooling device 91→the pipe 94c→the pump 92→the pipe 94d→the insulating joint 93b→the pipe A circulation path is formed by 94e→the inlet 43 and the space 323 of the terminal 10.

The cooling device 91 is a device that cools the refrigerant circulating in the terminal cooling system 90, and specific examples of the cooling device 91 include a chiller and a radiator. The refrigerant is a liquid having electrical insulation, and for example, insulating oil or the like can be used as the refrigerant. The insulating joints 93a and 93b each have a connection port 931 having an electrical insulation property, and have a function of electrically disconnecting the cooling device 91 and the pump 92 from the terminal 10 through which a large current flows. Further, the pipes 94a to 94e are also preferably made of a material having an electric insulating property.

In the terminal cooling system 90, the pump 92 pumps the refrigerant under pressure in the circulation path. This refrigerant is supplied to the terminal 10 through the pipe 94d, the pipe joint 93b, and the pipe 94e, and is introduced into the space 323 of the terminal 10 through the inlet portion 43. When the refrigerant flows in the space 323 along the groove 322, the heat of the terminal 10 is absorbed by the refrigerant and the terminal 10 is cooled. After that, the used refrigerant is discharged to the outside of the terminal 10 through the outlet 42, returns to the cooling device 91 through the pipe 94a, the pipe joint 93a, and the pipe 94b, and is cooled again by the cooling device 91. It is supposed to be done.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the base portion 30 of the terminal 10 is covered with the jacket portion 40 having the inlet/outlet portions 42, 43, and the groove 322 is formed in the outer peripheral surface 321 of the columnar portion 32 of the base portion 30. As a result, a space 323 through which the refrigerant can flow is formed between the base portion 30 and the tubular portion 42 of the jacket portion 40, and the refrigerant is introduced into the jacket portion 40 via the inlet/outlet portions 42 and 43 to create a space. Since it is possible to circulate in the inside of 323, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the terminal 10 even when a large current is applied.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the jacket portion 40 and the base portion 30 are joined by brazing, the space 323 formed between the jacket portion 40 and the columnar portion 32 can be appropriately sealed by the groove 322.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the electric wire 50 is connected to the terminal 10 using the fixed terminal 60 and the bolt 70, the electric wire 50 can be connected to the terminal 10 even if the base portion 30 is covered with the jacket portion 40. it can.

<<Second Embodiment>>
9 is a perspective view showing an electric wire with a terminal in the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a base portion of the terminal shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the configuration of the terminal main body is different from that of the first embodiment, but the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Below, only the points of difference between the electric wire with terminal 1B in the second embodiment and the first embodiment will be described, and the parts that have the same configuration as in the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the terminal connecting portion 20B and the base portion 30B of the terminal main body 15B in the present embodiment are composed of separate members. Both the terminal connecting portion 20B and the base portion 30B are made of a conductive material such as a metal material. From the viewpoint of ensuring a good connection with the counterpart terminal 100, the Young's modulus of the material forming the contact piece terminal connecting portion 20B is preferably higher than the Young's modulus of the material forming the base portion 30B.

The terminal connecting portion 20B includes first and second insertion pieces 23 and 24 in addition to a plurality (12 in this example) of contact pieces 21 and connecting portions 22. The first and second insertion pieces 23, 24 each have a plate-like shape extending along the axial direction of the terminal 10, and are fixed to the connecting member 22 at one end thereof and the contact piece 21. The first and second insertion pieces 23 and 24 extend in the opposite direction to the free ends. Since the connecting portion 22 has a cylindrical shape as described above, the first and second insertion pieces 23 and 24 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction. At the tip of the first insertion piece 23, a locking projection 231 that projects in the radial direction of the terminal connecting portion 20B is provided. The tip of the second insertion piece 24 is also provided with a contact protrusion 241 protruding in the radial direction of the terminal connecting portion 20B.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the base portion 30B includes a holding portion 33 that holds the terminal connecting portion 20B in addition to the flange portion 31 and the columnar portion 32. The holding portion 33 includes a hole portion 34 into which the connecting portion 22 of the terminal connecting portion 20B and the insertion pieces 23 and 24 can be inserted. The hole 34 includes a small diameter portion 341 having an opening 341a and a large diameter portion 342 having a bottom surface 342a. The large diameter portion 342 has an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the small diameter portion 341, and a step 343 is formed between the small diameter portion 341 and the large diameter portion 342.

In the present embodiment, when the terminal connecting portion 20B is inserted into the hole portion 34 of the base portion 30B, the locking projection 231 of the first insertion piece 23 is locked to the step 343 of the hole portion 34, so that the terminal connection is achieved. The part 20B is fixed to the base part 30B. Further, the contact protrusion 241 of the second insertion piece 24 abuts on the inner surface of the small diameter portion 341 of the base portion 30B, so that the electrical connection between the terminal connecting member 20B and the base portion 30B is reliably ensured.

As described above, in the present embodiment, similarly to the above-described first embodiment, the base portion 30B of the terminal 10B is covered with the jacket portion 40 having the inlet/outlet portions 42 and 43, and the outer periphery of the columnar portion 32 of the base portion 30B is covered. A groove 322 is formed on the surface 321. As a result, a space 323 through which the refrigerant can flow is formed between the base portion 30B and the tubular portion 42 of the jacket portion 40, and the refrigerant is introduced into the jacket portion 40 via the inlet/outlet portions 42 and 43 to create a space. Since it is possible to circulate in the inside of 323, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the terminal 10B even when a large current is passed.

Further, in the present embodiment, as in the above-described first embodiment, since the jacket portion 40 and the base portion 30B are joined by brazing, the space formed between the jacket portion 40 and the columnar portion 32 by the groove 322. 323 can be properly sealed.

Further, in the present embodiment, similarly to the above-described first embodiment, the electric wire 50 is connected to the terminal 10B using the fixed terminal 60 and the bolt 70. Therefore, the electric wire 50 can be connected to the base portion 30B with the jacket portion 40. It can be connected to the terminal 10B.

Further, in the present embodiment, the terminal connecting portion 20B of the terminal main body 15B and the base portion 30B are composed of independent members. Accordingly, after the jacket portion 40 and the base portion 30B are joined by brazing, the terminal connecting portion 20B can be attached to the base portion 30B. Therefore, when the jacket portion 40 and the base portion 30B are brazed, it is possible to prevent the spring characteristics of the contact piece 21 of the terminal connection portion 20B from changing due to the heat thereof.

The embodiments described above are described to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not described to limit the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above-described embodiments is intended to include all design changes and equivalents within the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the terminals of the charging connector provided in the vehicle are described as including the cooling structure including the jacket portion, but the invention is not particularly limited to this. For example, a terminal of a power plug provided in a charging stand or the like may have the cooling structure, or a plug-type terminal (rod-shaped terminal) may have the cooling structure.

1, 1B... Wire with terminal 10, 10B... Terminal 15, 15B... Terminal body 20, 20B... Terminal connection part 21... Contact piece 211... Insertion space 22... Connection part 23... First insertion piece 231... Locking projection 24 ... 2nd insertion piece 241... Contact protrusion 30, 30B... Base part 31... Flange part 32... Cylindrical part 321... Outer peripheral surface
322... Groove
323... Space 324... Rear end face
325... Fastening hole 33... Holding part 34... Hole part 341... Small diameter part
341a... Opening 342... Large diameter part
342a...bottom surface 343...step 40...jacket part 41...cylindrical part 411...inner hole 42,43...inlet/outlet part 421,431...through hole 44,45...joint part 50...electric wire 51...center conductor 52...insulating layer 60...fixing Terminal 61... Holding part 62... Fixing piece 63... Flat plate part 631... Insertion hole 70... Bolt 90... Terminal cooling system 91... Cooling device 92... Pump 93a, 93b... Insulation joint 931... Connection port 94a-94e... Piping 100... Counterpart Terminal

Claims (5)

A terminal connection part that can be connected to the counterpart terminal,
A support portion that supports the terminal connection portion,
A jacket portion including a tubular portion that covers the support portion,
Between the tubular portion and the support portion, a space through which a refrigerant can flow is formed,
The jacket portion is to have a pair of inlet and outlet portions communicating with said space,
The support portion has a columnar portion provided behind the terminal connection portion,
The columnar portion is
An outer peripheral surface covered by the tubular portion,
Terminal for chromatic and rear end face that serves as a mounting surface for fixing terminal wire is connected is attached to. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein
The support portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion, and has a groove communicating with the inlet/outlet portion,
The space is a terminal formed by the groove. The terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The terminal includes a joint portion that joins the jacket portion and the support portion by brazing. The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The terminal connecting portion and the support portion are members independent of each other,
The terminal connecting portion is a terminal having a plurality of contact pieces that form an insertion space into which the counterpart terminal is inserted. The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Electric wire,
A fixed terminal to which the electric wire is connected,
A bolt for fixing the fixed terminal to the rear end surface of the columnar portion,
The columnar portion has a fastening hole into which the bolt is screwed, on the rear end surface ,
The fixed terminal is an electric wire with a terminal having an insertion hole into which the bolt is inserted.

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