JPH11299008A - Charger of electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the charger of an electric vehicle which facilitates a charging work. SOLUTION: A battery provided in an electric vehicle can be charged not only by a high frequency exclusive power supply but also by a household ordinary frequency commercial power supply 23. A charging cable 24 is extended in a trunk room 11, and a car-side connector 30 is attached to the end of the charging cable 24. The car-side connector 30 is detachably attached to a cylindrical unit penetrating through a wall between the trunk room 11 and a receiving unit 12. In order to charge the electric vehicle by the commercial power supply 23, the car-side connector 30 is detached from the cylindrical unit, the charging cable 24 is drawn out of the trunk room 11, and the connector 30 is connected to a plug-socket 23A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a charging device provided in an electric vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric vehicle is provided with a charging device for charging a battery as a power source of the vehicle. A conventional charging device for an electric vehicle has a configuration in which a vehicle-side connector is provided at a terminal of a cable extending from a battery, and the vehicle-side connector is fixed to a vehicle body. And
When charging an electric vehicle, stop the electric vehicle near the power supply for charging the electric vehicle, take the power supply side connector connected to the power supply via a cable to the electric vehicle, and connect it to the vehicle side connector. Power was being supplied from the power supply to the battery.

[0003]

However, charging an electric vehicle cannot be performed as quickly as refueling a gasoline-powered vehicle. It is assumed that charging is performed using a commercial power supply provided in a parking lot. In such a case, since the outlet connected to the commercial power supply is usually fixed to a building or the like, in the above-described configuration of the conventional electric vehicle charging device, a relay cable for connecting the vehicle-side connector and the outlet is used. Without it, charging could not be performed and workability was poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a charging apparatus for an electric vehicle that can easily perform a charging operation.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a vehicle-side connector connected to a power storage device of an electric vehicle via a charging cable is connected to a power receiving section provided in a vehicle body. A power supply side connector connected to a power supply for charging an electric vehicle is set in the power receiving section so that the vehicle side connector is coupled to the power supply side connector so that power is supplied from the power supply to the power storage device. In the charging device for an electric vehicle, the vehicle-side connector is detachably attached to the power receiving unit by a locking means, and the charging cable is connected to the power-side connector at a position separated from the vehicle body by removing the vehicle-side connector from the power receiving unit. It is characterized in that it is formed to a length that can be combined.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electric vehicle charging apparatus according to the first aspect, the power storage device of the electric vehicle can be charged by a commercial power supply, and the vehicle-side connector is connected to an outlet of the commercial power supply. It has a feature that it can be combined.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the charging device for an electric vehicle according to the first or second aspect, the power receiving unit includes a tubular body into which the vehicle-side connector is inserted from one end so as to be prevented from falling off. The power supply side connector is inserted into the other end of the cylindrical body so that the vehicle side connector is connected to the power supply side connector.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the charging device for an electric vehicle according to the third aspect, the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body is formed with a groove or a groove that can be fitted with the concave and convex portion of the outer peripheral surface of the power supply side connector. The rib is characterized in that it extends in the direction in which the power supply side connector is inserted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the charging device for an electric vehicle according to the third or fourth aspect, the tubular body is provided so as to penetrate the vehicle body, and the vehicle-side connector includes a trunk lid or a bonnet. It is characterized in that it is attached to a position where it can be removed from the cylinder in the open state.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the locking means is released, the vehicle-side connector is detached from the power receiving portion, and the vehicle-side connector can be moved to a position away from the vehicle body. Therefore, for example, the electric vehicle can be easily charged even with a power source in which the power supply side connector is fixed to the facility and cannot be moved to the electric vehicle side.

According to the configuration of claim 2, the power storage device can be charged simply by removing the vehicle-side connector from the power receiving unit and plugging the vehicle-side connector into a commercial power outlet.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the power supply side connector is inserted from one end of the cylindrical body, and the power supply side connector is inserted from the other end of the cylindrical body to connect the two connectors. At this time, since the two connectors are coaxially positioned by the cylindrical body, the joining operation can be easily performed.

According to the structure of the fourth aspect, when the power supply side connector and the cylindrical body are assembled, the peripheral surfaces of the two are fitted into the concave and convex, and are assembled in a phase-determined state.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, in order to remove the vehicle-side connector from the power receiving portion, the trunk lid or the bonnet may be opened, and the vehicle-side connector located inside the trunk lid or the hood may be removed from the cylinder.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle 10 is provided with a power receiving unit 12 by recessing an outer surface of a vehicle body on a side of a trunk room 11, and a charging device 13 for an electric vehicle according to the present invention is provided here. Note that an opening / closing lid 12A is rotatably provided at an open portion of the power receiving unit 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the back wall 15 of the power receiving section 12 partitions the power receiving section 12 and the trunk room 11, and a cylindrical body 14 having a circular cross section penetrates the back wall 15. Have been. Both ends of the cylindrical body 14 project into the power receiving unit 12 and the trunk room 11, and the internal space of the cylindrical body 14 communicates with the power receiving unit 12 and the trunk room 11.

A large-diameter portion 16 having a stepped inner diameter is formed at the open end of the cylindrical body 14 on the trunk room 11 side and in the vicinity thereof.
0 is fitted and inserted from the trunk room 11 side. As shown in FIG. 3, J-slots 17 for retaining the vehicle-side connector 30 are formed in the large-diameter portion 16 in a point-symmetric manner with a 180-degree interval therebetween (in FIG. 3, one slot is provided). Only the J slot 17 is shown). The J-slot 17 has a groove shape with one end open at the end surface of the cylindrical body 14, extends straight along the axial direction to the far side of the large-diameter portion 16, and is bent at a right angle at the tip thereof and extends in the circumferential direction. I have. Further, the front of the inner part of the part extending in the circumferential direction is slightly narrowed by the projection 18.
The cam protrusion 3 provided on the peripheral surface of the vehicle-side connector 30
1 is inserted into the J-slot 17 and pushed over the projection 18 to the back.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical body 14 has a small-diameter portion 19 from the large-diameter portion 16 to the end on the power receiving portion 12 side, and O-ring grooves 20 are formed near both ends thereof. The O-ring 20A is incorporated therein. Also,
A rib 21 extends along the axial direction above the small-diameter portion 19 in FIG.
0 (see FIG. 6).

A battery (not shown) provided in the electric vehicle 10 (corresponding to a power storage device of the present invention) is a high-frequency dedicated power supply 22 (see FIG. 1) for charging the electric vehicle.
And can be charged also by a commercial power supply 23 (see FIG. 9) of a normal frequency provided in a general household. The charging cable 24 (see FIG. 9) connected to the battery is connected to the back wall 1 of the trunk room 11.
5 and its terminal is connected to the vehicle-side connector 30.
Is provided. The charging cable 24 has a length that can be extended outward from the trunk room 11, and is usually wound appropriately and accommodated in the trunk room 11. In this state, the vehicle-side connector 3
0 is mounted on the cylindrical body 14 as shown in FIG.

The vehicle-side connector 30 is configured to be plugged into an outlet 23A of the commercial power supply 23. In detail, as shown in FIG. 2, a cylindrical male housing base 32 is provided with a front cover 33 for closing a front open portion thereof. The front cover 33 has a terminal insertion hole 23B of an outlet 23A. Corresponding to (see FIG. 9), a pair of male power terminals 34A (only one power terminal is shown in FIG. 2) and one male ground terminal 3
4B and the male housing base 32
It protrudes long forward. As shown in FIG. 2, a fixed wall 33A protrudes from the inner surface of the front cover 33, and each terminal 34 is located between the fixed wall 33A and the fixed wall 33A.
The bolt 35 is tightened so as to sandwich one end of A, 34B. Then, a rear cover 36 for closing the rear part of the male housing base 32, a rubber plug 37, and an electric wire pressing plate 38 are fitted to the charging cable 24 in advance, and the front cover 33 is removed from the male housing base 32. , A pair of power line 24A and ground line 24B provided on charging cable 24
Are fixed to the terminals 34A and 34B in an electrically connected state by bolts 35, and these are fixed to the male housing base 32.
And pushed forward from the rear end to assemble it (see FIG. 2).

A flange 39 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the male housing base 32 near the front, and a pair of cam projections 31 corresponding to the J-slot 17 of the cylindrical body 14 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the flange 39. It is formed with an interval of 180 degrees. Behind the flange 39 of the male housing base 32, four ribs 39A having the same height as the flange 39 extend in the axial direction at intervals of 90 degrees, and the upper end of the rib 39A has the cylindrical body. 14 is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 16. In addition, a portion of the male housing base 32 that is located forward of the flange 39 is fitted into the small-diameter portion 19 of the tubular body 14 so as to be in close contact with the O-ring 20A.

As shown in FIG. 1, the power supply side connector 40 has a power supply cable 5 extending from a power supply for charging an electric vehicle.
1 terminal. As shown in FIG. 6, the power supply side connector 40 also has a cylindrical female housing base 4.
2, a front cover 43, an electric wire holder 48, and a rubber stopper 47.
The rear cover 46 is pushed in and assembled. The front cover 43 has female terminals 44A, 44 corresponding to the terminals 34A, 34B of the vehicle-side connector 30.
B is built in, and these female terminals 44A, 44B
The power line 51A of the power cable 51 and the ground line 51B are electrically connected to the power cable 51.

At the front of the outer peripheral surface of the female housing base 42, a single groove 41 extends along the axial direction, and the rib 21 of the cylindrical body 14 is fitted into the concave and convex. A plurality of abutting ribs 49 are provided at the rear of the female housing base 42.
Are projected so that the front end of the rib 49 abuts on the end face of the cylindrical body 14.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The vehicle-side connector 30 is usually mounted on the cylinder 14 provided in the power receiving unit 12. To attach the vehicle-side connector 30 to the cylinder 14, the trunk lid 11A is opened and the vehicle-side connector 30 is inserted into the cylinder 14 from inside the trunk room 11. At this time, the cam projection 31 of the vehicle-side connector 30 is inserted into the opening of the J-slot 17 formed in the cylinder 14, and the vehicle-side connector 30 is pushed into the cylinder 14 according to the guidance of the J-slot 17. Then, the cam projection 31 reaches the bent portion of the J-slot 17, and the flange 39 of the vehicle-side connector 30 comes into contact with the stepped surface 14A of the cylindrical body 14 as shown in FIG. In this state, the vehicle-side connector 30 is turned this time. Then, the cam projection 31 gets over the projection 18 in the J-slot 17 and reaches the inner side thereof, and the vehicle-side connector 30 is prevented from coming off in the cylindrical body 14 and the phase is determined. Complete (see FIG. 2).

According to the charging device 13 of the present embodiment, the charging can be performed by either the dedicated power source 22 for charging the electric vehicle or the commercial power source 23. Electric vehicle 10 is powered by dedicated power source 2
In the case of charging by 2, the following is performed. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle 10 is stopped near a dedicated power supply 22, and an opening / closing lid 12 </ b> A provided in the power receiving unit 12 is opened. The power supply cable 51 connected to the power supply 22 is routed, the power supply side connector 40 is moved to the electric vehicle 10 side, and inserted into the cylindrical body 14 protruding from the back of the power receiving unit 12.
At this time, the phase is determined by fitting the groove 41 of the power supply side connector 40 and the rib 21 in the cylindrical body 14 into and out of concave and convex. Push the power supply side connector 40 as far as it will go. Then, as shown in FIG.
0 is connected inside the cylinder 14. At this time, the connectors 30 and 40 are coaxially positioned and phase-determined by the cylindrical body 14, so that the connectors 30 and 40 are
Terminals are smoothly connected to each other, and the joining operation of both terminals can be easily performed. Also, if a connector of another specification is erroneously inserted into the cylindrical body 14, the other connector and the rib 21 in the cylindrical body 14 interfere with each other, thereby preventing erroneous assembly.

When the charging start switch provided on the electric vehicle 10 is turned on, for example, in a state where the two connectors 30 and 40 are connected, the electric power source 1
0 is supplied with power. In this case, since the dedicated power supply 22 supplies power at a high frequency, charging is completed in a relatively short time.

Now, the case of charging using the commercial power supply 23 is as follows. The trunk lid 11A of the electric vehicle 10 is opened, and the vehicle-side connector 30 is detached from the cylinder 14. For this purpose, the vehicle-side connector 30 is pulled out from the tubular body 14 by performing the operation reverse to the above-described mounting operation. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the charging cable 24 is extended to connect the power supply side connector 40 to the trunk room 11.
And the vehicle-side connector 30 is moved to the outlet 23A of the commercial power supply 23. When the vehicle-side connector 30 is plugged into the outlet 23A and the charging start switch provided on the electric vehicle 10 is turned on, electric power is supplied from the commercial power supply 23 to the battery of the electric vehicle 10.

In this case, power is supplied at a frequency lower than that of the dedicated power supply 22, and charging is completed over a relatively long time. Therefore, this charging method is used when the electric vehicle 10 is parked in a private parking lot for a long time.

As described above, according to the electric vehicle charging apparatus 13 of the present embodiment, the battery can be charged not only by the dedicated power supply 22 but also by the commercial power supply 23 provided in a general household. When charging with the commercial power supply 23,
It is only necessary to remove the vehicle-side connector 30 from the power receiving unit 12 and plug it into the outlet 23A.
The charging operation can be easily performed without the necessity of, for example, a relay cable or the like connecting the A and the vehicle-side connector 30.

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

(1) The charging device according to the above-described embodiment has a configuration in which the trunk lid 11A can be opened and the vehicle-side connector 30 can be taken out. For example, the power receiving unit 12 is provided on the side wall of the engine room, and the hood is opened. It is good also as composition which can take out vehicle side connector 30 with.

(2) For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a charging cable 24 is passed through a cylindrical body 14 penetrating the power receiving unit 12 and the trunk room 11 so that a vehicle-side connector 30 provided at the terminal is provided. The rear end may be configured to be attached to the open end of the cylindrical body 14 on the side of the power receiving unit 12 by using the engagement between the J-slot 17 and the cam projection 31 so as to be prevented from falling off. In this case, when the vehicle-side connector 30 is attached to the cylinder 14 and can be coupled to the power supply-side connector 40, and when the vehicle-side connector 30 is detached from the cylinder 14 and moved to a position away from the vehicle body, It is only necessary to take out from the opening of the power receiving unit 12 to the outside, so that the attaching / detaching operation of the vehicle-side connector 30 becomes easy.

(3) In the above embodiment, the J slot 17
The vehicle-side connector 30 is connected to the cylindrical body 1 by the
4, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the vehicle-side connector 30 is engaged with a lock arm 52 provided on the cylindrical body 14 and a lock projection 53 provided on the vehicle-side connector 30. It is good also as composition which stops.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rear portion of an electric vehicle and a dedicated power supply.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of a back portion of a power receiving unit.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a J-slot of a cylindrical body.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a vehicle-side connector.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a power supply side connector.

FIG. 7 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where both connectors are coupled inside the cylindrical body.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which an electric vehicle is charged by a commercial power supply.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a modification of the charging device.

FIG. 11 is a sectional side view showing a modification of the locking means for locking the vehicle-side connector to the cylindrical body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electric vehicle 11A ... Trunk lid 12 ... Power receiving part 13 ... Charging device 17 ... J slot (locking means) 21 ... Rib 22 ... Dedicated power supply 23 ... Commercial power supply 23A ... Outlet 24 ... Charging cable 30 ... Vehicle side connector 31 ... Cam protrusion (locking means) 40 ... power supply side connector 41 ... groove (concavo-convex portion) 52 ... lock arm (locking means) 53 ... lock protrusion (locking means)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Soji Kihira 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Harness Research Institute, Inc.

Claims (5)

[Claims] A vehicle-side connector connected to a power storage device of an electric vehicle via a charging cable is attached to a power receiving unit provided in a vehicle body, and a power supply side connected to the power receiving unit and connected to a power supply for charging the electric vehicle. By setting a connector, the vehicle-side connector is coupled to the power-supply-side connector so that power is supplied from the power supply to the power storage device. The charging cable is detachably attached to the power receiving unit by locking means, and the charging cable is formed to have a length that allows the vehicle-side connector to be removed from the power receiving unit and coupled to the power-side connector at a position away from the vehicle body. A charging device for an electric vehicle, comprising: 2. The power storage device of the electric vehicle is chargeable by a commercial power supply, and the vehicle-side connector includes:
The charging device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the charging device is configured to be connectable to an outlet of the commercial power supply. 3. The power receiving unit is provided with a tubular body into which the vehicle-side connector is inserted from one end so as to prevent the vehicle-side connector from coming off, and the vehicle-side connector is inserted into the other end of the tubular body by inserting the power-supply-side connector. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a connector is coupled to the power supply side connector.
3. The charging device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1. 4. A groove or a rib, which can be fitted into the concave and convex portion of the outer peripheral surface of the power supply side connector, on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body along a direction in which the power supply side connector is inserted. The charging device for an electric vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the charging device is used. 5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder is provided so as to penetrate the vehicle body, and the vehicle-side connector is mounted at a position where the vehicle-side connector can be removed from the cylinder with a trunk lid or a hood open. The charging device for an electric vehicle according to claim 3 or 4, wherein