JPH06310219A - Electric vehicle charging connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the use without notice of an electric vehicle charging connector. CONSTITUTION:A lock device 30 is built in the grip part 21 of a charger-side connector 20, and the lock device 30 can be locked and unlocked by the ignition key 31 of an electric vehicle in which the charger-side connector 20 is used. When the lock device 30 is laid in the locked state, a key switch is switched to operate a relay built in the grip part 21, whereby the charge to the electric vehicle through the connector body is prohibited.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safety charging connector for charging an electric vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, electric vehicles equipped with a battery have been attracting attention due to social demands such as environment and energy, and some have already been put into practical use. Charging the battery is essential for such electric vehicles, so the battery and charger must be able to be easily connected to each other. The charger side connector provided at the tip of the cable is detachably connected.

[0003]

By the way, since charging an electric vehicle requires a relatively long time compared to refueling a gasoline vehicle, a charger is installed in each home of the vehicle owner and the charger is used. Then, it is considered to charge each electric vehicle that is parked. When adopting such a charging system, the charger will be installed in the garage or parking lot of each home.

However, in the conventional connector of this type, no consideration was given to its unauthorized use. Therefore, for example, a person who has entered the parking lot may operate the charger without permission.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle charging connector capable of reliably preventing unauthorized use.

[0006]

An electric vehicle charger side connector of the present invention is detachably connected to a vehicle side connector provided on a vehicle body for charging an electric vehicle. Characterized by a connector body electrically connected, a locking device, and a key switch that switches in response to locking and unlocking of the locking device to switch or allow charging of an electric vehicle through the connector body. (The invention of claim 1).

The key for locking and unlocking the lock device may be an ignition key for a vehicle (the invention of claim 2).

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when not in use, the locking device is locked and the key switch is operated to disable the charging, and when in use (when charging the electric vehicle), the charging is allowed. Good.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the locking device of the connector can be locked and unlocked by the vehicle ignition key.

[0010]

As described above, according to the electric vehicle charger side connector of the invention of claim 1, the charging prohibited state can be achieved by locking, so that unauthorized use can be reliably prevented, and the claim According to the electric vehicle charger side connector of the item 2, the locking device of the connector can be locked and unlocked by the vehicle ignition key.
This makes it even more rational because the vehicle administrator can manage charging as well as the need for a dedicated key.

[0011]

【Example】

<First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. A vehicle-side connector 10 attached to the body of an electric vehicle (not shown) is shown on the left side of FIG. 1, and a charger-side connector 20 to which the present invention is applied is shown on the right side. Of these, the vehicle-side connector 10 is connected to a battery 40 (illustrated only in FIG. 2) of an electric vehicle, and the charger-side connector 20 is an end of a charging cable 51 pulled out from a charger 50 (illustrated only in FIG. 2). Is provided in the part, and both connectors 10, 20
The battery 40 of the electric vehicle can be charged by the charger 50 by connecting the battery.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle-side connector 10 has a guide cylinder 11 and a rectangular flange 12 formed integrally therewith, and a pair of male terminals 13 having a cylindrical shape are formed in the guide cylinder 11. It is provided. The guide tube portion 11 is open at the front end portion, and two spiral grooves 14 are formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof.

On the other hand, the connector 20 on the charger side is constructed so as to form a so-called gun type as a whole by providing a tubular connector body 22 at the tip of a connector body 21 having a substantially rectangular frame shape. The charging cable 51 is pulled out from the lower part. Connector body 22
Is configured by providing a pair of female terminals 25 near the front opening end of the cylindrical inner case 23.
Is inserted into the guide tube portion 11 of the vehicle side connector 10, the female terminal 25 of the charger side connector 20 is inserted into the male terminal 13 of the vehicle connector 10 and electrically connected.

On the outer periphery of the inner case 23 of the connector main body 22, a cylindrical sleeve 26 formed shorter than the inner sleeve 23 is immovable in the axial direction with respect to the inner case 23 and is freely rotatable. It is installed in a closed state. The sleeve 26 has a bulged distal end and a large diameter, and is positioned outside the guide cylinder portion 11 when the connector body 22 is inserted into the vehicle-side connector 10. Further, an engagement pin 27 is provided on the inner peripheral portion of the distal end of the sleeve 26 so as to project inward, and the engagement pin 27 can be engaged with the spiral groove 14 of the guide cylinder portion 11. When the sleeve 26 rotates, The engaging pin 27 moves along the spiral groove 14 to move the sleeve 26 and thus the entire charger-side connector 20 in the axial direction. In the state where the sleeve 26 is fully rotated and the engagement pin 27 is moved to the vicinity of the end of the spiral groove 14, the connector main body 22 can be held in the state of being completely connected to the vehicle side connector 10,
If the sleeve 26 is rotated in the opposite direction from that state, the engaging pin 27 can be pulled out from the opening end of the spiral groove 14 and the charger side connector 20 can be detached from the vehicle side connector 10. An operating handle 29 is provided on the sleeve 24 so as to extend in the radial direction in order to easily rotate the sleeve 26.

A lock device 30 is built in the connector body 21 of the charger side connector 20. The lock device 30 is a well-known cylinder type that can be locked and unlocked by an ignition key 31 of an electric vehicle in which the charger-side connector 20 is used, and as shown in FIG. 1, a key insertion hole 30a. Is located on the side surface of the connector body 21.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the connector body 21 has a built-in key switch 32 and a relay 33 which are opened and closed according to the locking and unlocking operations of the locking device 30. The wires are connected as shown in FIG. That is, the relay switch 33a of the relay 33 is interposed in each circuit on the positive electrode side and the negative electrode side of the charging DC power circuit, and is simultaneously closed when the relay coil 33b is energized, and when the relay coil 33b is disconnected. It is designed to open at the same time. Also, the key switch 32
Is a configuration in which the locking device 30 is closed when it is in an unlocked state and is opened when it is in a locked state. The key switch 32 and the relay coil 33b are connected in series via a charging cable 51 to a control power supply circuit (not shown) in the charger 50.

Now, charging the battery of the electric vehicle using the charger side connector 20 of this embodiment is performed as follows. First, the connector body 21 of the charger-side connector 20 is held with one hand, and the tip of the connector body 22 is applied to the guide tube portion 11 of the vehicle-side connector 10. Next, the operating handle 29 of the sleeve 26 is grasped by the other hand, and the sleeve 26 is rotated clockwise while the entire connector is lightly pushed forward. Then, the engagement pin 27 of the sleeve 26 enters into the spiral groove 14 and moves along the spiral groove 14, and the connector main body 22 advances and is inserted into the guide tube portion 11 of the vehicle-side connector 10, and finally the male and female. The terminals 13 and 25 are electrically connected. In this state, the relay switch 33a of the charger-side connector 20 is open, so charging of the vehicle battery 40 is not yet started.

Next, the vehicle ignition key 31 is inserted into the key insertion hole 30a of the locking device 30 of the connector body 21, and this is rotated in the unlocking direction. As a result, the lock device 30 is unlocked and the key switch 32 is closed, so that the relay coil 33b is energized and the relay switch 33a provided in the DC power circuit for charging is closed, so that the battery 40 of the vehicle is charged. Be started. After that, if the ignition key 31 is removed from the lock device 30, the key switch 32 remains closed, and therefore the relay switch 33a also keeps closing, so that the charging is continued.

When charging is completed, the ignition key 3
1 is again inserted into the key insertion hole 30a and operated in the locking direction to open the relay switch 33a, and the sleeve 26 is rotated in the opposite direction to remove the charger side connector 20 from the vehicle side connector 10. Good.

As described above, in this embodiment, charging is allowed only after the lock device 30 is unlocked, and in that locked state, charging is prohibited while the relay switch 33a remains open. It is possible to surely prevent an unauthorized person from using the charger without permission.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This is an example in which an electronic lock device for locking and unlocking by inputting a so-called personal identification number is used as the lock device, and other configurations are basically the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, detailed description thereof will be omitted, and different parts will be described. That is, the charger side connector 20 is provided with the key input portion 90 on the upper surface of the connector body 21,
It is provided with a numeral input section of "0" to "9" and a lock / unlock input section. In the connector body 21, as shown in FIG. 4, an electronic lock circuit 91 that operates based on a signal from the key input section 90.
And a relay 33 that operates in response to a drive signal from the electronic lock circuit 91. This relay 33 is configured to close the relay switch 33a of the DC power circuit for charging by being energized in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the relay switch 33a is open to charge the battery 40 unless it is energized. Is prohibited.

The electronic lock circuit 91 operates the relay 33 via a drive circuit 92, and is inputted from a password storing memory 94 for storing a password for unlocking, and a key input section 90. A buffer 95 for temporarily storing the stored number and a CP for performing an operation of comparing the data stored in the memory 94 for storing the personal identification number with the data in the buffer 95.
This is a well-known configuration including U96. The CPU 96 normally disconnects the relay 33, but the personal identification number is input through the key input unit 90, and at that time, the data in the buffer 95 matches the data stored in the personal identification number storage memory 94. Under such a condition, the relay 33 is energized via the drive circuit 92. Therefore, relay 3 is always
The DC power circuit for charging is open due to the disconnection of No. 3, and charging is prohibited.

In order to charge the battery of the electric vehicle using the charger side connector 20 of this embodiment, first, the connector body 22 is connected to the vehicle side connector 1 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
0 and rotate the sleeve 26 to fully connect both connectors. Then, for example, a predetermined 4-digit personal identification number is input in the key input unit 90 and the unlocking key is operated. Then, the entered personal identification number is stored in the buffer 9
5, the CPU 96 determines whether or not this is the same as the number stored in the personal identification number storage memory 94. If these are the same, the CPU 96
Since the relay 33 is energized via the drive circuit 92, the relay switch 33a of the DC power circuit is closed and charging is started. When a person who does not know the personal identification number inputs the number from the key input unit 90, the number does not match the number stored in the personal identification number storage memory 94, so that the relay 33 is not energized and the relay switch is turned off. 33
Charging is not possible with a left open.

As described above, also in this embodiment, charging is not permitted unless the electronic lock circuit 91 is unlocked, so that it is possible to reliably prevent unauthorized use of the charger by a person who does not know the personal identification number. You can

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but the following modifications are possible.

(1) In each of the above embodiments, the relay 33 is provided in the DC power circuit on the charger side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the relay 33 may be provided on the vehicle side. Good. Even in this case, the key switch 32
Is arranged on the charger side connector 20, so that a terminal group for connecting the key switch 32 and the relay coil 33b is provided on both the vehicle side connector 10 and the connector body 22 of the charger side connector 20. Become.

(2) Further, as in the above embodiment, the relay 3
3 may not be provided in the charger side connector 20 or the vehicle body, but may be provided in the charger 50. Further, the AC power supply circuit to the charger 50 is not limited to opening and closing the DC power circuit for charging, and a relay or It may be configured to open and close by a switching element such as a thyristor. Of course, if a sufficiently large current capacity of the key switch can be ensured, the power circuit may be directly opened and closed by the key switch without using a switching element such as a relay.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Circuit diagram

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment in which the arrangement position of the relay switch is different.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Vehicle side connector 20 ... Charger side connector 21 ... Connector body 22 ... Connector body 30 ... Lock device 31 ... Ignition key 32 ... Key switch 33 ... Relay 40 ... Battery 51 ... Charging cable

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A connector body detachably connected to a vehicle-side connector provided on a vehicle body for charging an electric vehicle, the connector body electrically connected to the vehicle-side connector, and a locking device. An electric vehicle charging connector comprising: a key switch that switches in response to locking and unlocking of the locking device and permits or prohibits charging of the electric vehicle through the connector body. 2. The electric vehicle charging connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock device is configured to be locked and unlocked by an ignition key for a vehicle.