WO2014157317A1

WO2014157317A1 - Charging connector

Info

Publication number: WO2014157317A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/058494
Authority: WO
Inventors: 剛紀大村; 慎一佐伯
Original assignee: 矢崎総業株式会社
Priority date: 2013-03-27
Filing date: 2014-03-26
Publication date: 2014-10-02
Also published as: JP6169385B2; JP2014191958A

Abstract

A charging connector (1) is provided with: electrical connection parts which connect with reception-side terminals in a vehicle-side inlet; and a connector fitting part (10) having, provided therein, a plurality of supply-side terminals comprising terminal fixation parts fixed to terminals of electric cables. The connector fitting part (10) is provided with: a housing (20) provided with a plurality of terminal accommodation parts (21) which respectively accommodate the terminal fixation part of each of the supply-side terminals, and cylindrical hood parts (22) which respectively surround an electrical connection part of each of the supply-side terminals, said electrical connection parts protruding from each of the terminal accommodation parts (21); and a housing cover (30) which is provided with an inner peripheral surface (31A) extending along a portion of an outer periphery of each of the hood parts (22), and which comprises a member separate to the housing (20). The housing cover (30) is fixed to the housing (20) such that the inner peripheral surface (31A) is in a state of extending along a portion of the outer periphery of each of the hood parts (22).

Description

Charging connector

The present invention relates to a charging connector, and more particularly, to a charging connector fitted in a fitting chamber of a vehicle side inlet.

In recent years, from the improvement of environmental awareness, the spread of electric vehicles (for example, electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV)) that can run by mounting a storage battery (hereinafter referred to as a battery) and driving a motor with the electric power. Is underway. As such infrastructure development of the vehicle, chargers are being expanded, and an example of the charger connector on the charger side will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the charging connector 100 has a connector fitting portion 110 that is fitted into a fitting chamber of a vehicle side inlet (not shown). The connector fitting portion 110 includes an outer housing 111 as an outer fitting portion that comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the fitting chamber in the fitted state, and an inner fitting portion as an inner fitting portion disposed on the inner circumference of the outer housing 111. And a housing 112.

Inside the inner housing 112, a plurality of supply side terminals (not shown) connected to each receiving side terminal (not shown) in the fitting chamber are provided. The inner housing 112 is formed in a cylindrical shape along the inner periphery of the outer housing 111. That is, the entire outer periphery of the inner housing 112 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the outer housing 111.

JP 2012-234775 A

However, when the charging connector 100 is accidentally dropped during the fitting / removing operation of the charging connector 100 with respect to the vehicle side inlet, the leading end side of the charging connector 100 (that is, the heavy connector fitting portion 110 side). The impact force acts on.

Then, an impact force acts on the outer housing 111 and the outer housing 111 may be damaged. In addition, the impact force acting on the outer housing 111 may also act on the inner housing 112 along the inner periphery of the outer housing 111, and the inner housing 112 may be damaged.

Here, when only the outer housing 111 is damaged, it is only necessary to replace the outer housing 111. On the other hand, if the inner housing 112 is damaged, it is necessary to first remove the outer housing 111 and then remove the supply-side terminals and the like from the inner housing 112, and the replacement work is complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging connector that can prevent damage to the housing and facilitate replacement work.

1st aspect of this invention is a charging connector, Comprising: The connector which provided in the inside the some terminal which consists of the electrical connection part connected with the other party terminal of the other party connector, and the terminal fixing part fixed to the terminal of an electric wire The connector fitting portion includes a plurality of terminal accommodating portions that respectively accommodate the terminal fixing portions of the terminals, and the electrical connection portions of the terminals that protrude from the terminal accommodating portions. A housing having a cylindrical hood portion surrounding the housing; an inner peripheral surface along a part of an outer periphery of each hood portion; and a housing cover formed of a separate member from the housing. The gist is that the housing cover is fixed to the housing in a state along a part of the outer periphery of each hood portion.

The housing has a fixing part, the housing cover has a fixed part fixed to the fixing part, and the fixing part and the fixed part are between the plurality of hood parts and the hood. You may form in the outer side position of a part.

The tip of the housing cover may protrude from the tip of each hood part.

The thickness of each hood part may be greater than the thickness of the housing cover located at a portion corresponding to the outermost part of the outer periphery of each hood part.

According to the present invention, since the housing and the housing cover are separate members, it is difficult for an external force acting on the housing cover to act directly on the housing. Therefore, damage of each hood part by external force can be prevented. Also, since the inner peripheral surface of the housing cover is along a part of the outer periphery of each hood part, the external force acting on the housing cover can be transmitted only from a part of each hood part. It can be surely prevented. Therefore, even if the housing cover may be damaged, the housing can be prevented from being damaged, so that the replacement work can be facilitated.

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view showing a connector fitting portion of a charging connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector fitting portion of the charging connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1) showing the connector fitting portion of the charging connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front perspective view showing a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view showing a housing cover according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the charging connector according to the background art.

A charging connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and ratios of dimensions and the like are different from actual ones. Accordingly, specific dimensions and the like should be determined in consideration of the following description. Moreover, the part from which the relationship and ratio of a mutual dimension differ also in between drawings may be contained.

(Configuration of charging connector)
First, the configuration of the charging connector 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view showing a connector fitting portion of the charging connector, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the connector fitting portion of the charging connector. 3 is a cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1) showing a connector fitting portion of the charging connector, FIG. 4 is a front perspective view showing the housing, and FIG. It is a front view which shows a cover.

Here, the charging connector 1 according to the present embodiment is fitted into a vehicle-side inlet (not shown) as a mating connector on which a receiving-side terminal as a mating terminal is arranged, and supplies power to the vehicle battery. It is what is used. This charging connector 1 is attached to the tip of an electric wire (not shown) extending from a charger (not shown). For convenience of explanation, the vehicle side inlet side (left side in FIGS. 1 to 3) is defined as the “front end side” and the side opposite to the vehicle side inlet side (right side in FIGS. 1 to 3) is defined as “rear side”. "End side".

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the charging connector 1 includes an electrical connection portion connected to a plurality of receiving side terminals of the vehicle side inlet, and a terminal fixing portion fixed to a terminal of an electric wire (not shown). The connector fitting part 10 which provided the some supply side terminal (not shown) inside is provided.

The front end side of the connector fitting portion 10 protrudes toward the vehicle side inlet from the front ends of two substantially mirror-symmetric split cases (not shown) in which the end faces are combined. The rear end side of the connector fitting part 10 is accommodated in two combined divided cases. In the two split cases, in addition to the rear end of the connector fitting portion 10, various electric wires (not shown) connected to each supply side terminal in the connector fitting portion 10 and the charging connector 1 and the vehicle side A lock mechanism (not shown) or the like that holds the fitting state with the inlet is provided.

The connector fitting portion 10 includes a housing 20 and a housing cover 30 attached to the housing 20. The housing 20 and the housing cover 30 are formed separately from each other and are fixed by a removable screw N.

(housing)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the housing 20 includes a plurality of terminal accommodating portions 21 each accommodating a terminal fixing portion (not shown) of each supply side terminal, and each supply side terminal protruding from each terminal accommodation portion 21. A cylindrical hood portion 22 that surrounds each of the electrical connection portions, and a flange portion 23 provided between the terminal accommodating portion 21 and the hood portion 22.

Each terminal accommodating portion 21 is provided behind the flange portion 23 and is formed in a cylindrical shape like the outer shape of the hood portion 22.

Each hood portion 22 is provided in front of the flange portion 23, and surrounds each of the electrical connection portions of the supply side terminal. Specifically, charging terminals (not shown) as supply-side terminals are arranged in two hood parts 22 (left and right hood parts 22) facing each other, and the other two hood parts 22 (upper and lower parts) The hood portion 22) is provided with a signal terminal (not shown) as a supply side terminal.

A part of the outer periphery (arc-shaped outer portion) of each hood portion 22 is in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the housing cover 30 (an inner peripheral surface 31A of a tip chamber portion 31 described later) in a state where the housing 20 and the housing cover 30 are attached. . The thickness T22 (see FIG. 4) of each hood portion 22 is thicker than the thickness T30 (see FIG. 5) of the housing cover 30. The thickness T30 of the housing cover 30 indicates the thickness (thickness of the thinnest portion) of the housing cover 30 located at a portion corresponding to the outermost part of the outer periphery of the hood portion 22.

The flange portion 23 is in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the housing cover 30 (an inner surface of a rear end chamber portion 32 described later). On the front side of the flange portion 23, a contact surface 23 A (fixed portion) is provided at a position outside each hood portion 22 and in contact with each internal overhang portion 33 described later of the housing cover 30. A screw receiving member 24 having a screw hole 24A into which a screw N is inserted is provided integrally with the flange portion 23 so as to penetrate the flange portion 23 from the contact surface 23A. The contact surface 23 A is formed at a position outside each hood portion 22 and between the plurality of hood portions 22.

(Housing cover)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5, the housing cover 30 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape in appearance. The tip 30A of the housing cover 30 protrudes from the tip 22A of each hood portion 22 in the housing 20 (see FIG. 3). That is, a gap G is provided between the tip 30A of the housing cover 30 and the tip 22A of each hood portion 22 described above.

The housing cover 30 is provided with a front end chamber portion 31 located on the vehicle side inlet side and a rear end chamber portion 32 provided on the insertion side of the housing 20 on the side opposite to the vehicle side inlet side. Four inner peripheral surfaces 31 A having substantially semicircular arcs along a part of the outer periphery of the hood portion 22 are provided on the inner periphery of the tip chamber 31. On the other hand, the inner periphery of the rear end chamber portion 32 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape.

At the rear end side of these front end chamber portions 31, there is provided an internal overhang portion 33 (fixed portion) that projects to the inner peripheral side of the housing cover 30 and contacts the contact surface 23A. A screw receiving member 34 having a screw hole 34 A into which a screw N is inserted is provided integrally with the inner overhang 33 so as to penetrate each inner overhang 33.

(Assembly of connector fitting part)
Next, assembly of the connector fitting portion 10 described above will be briefly described with reference to the drawings.

First, the housing 20 and the housing cover 30 in the state shown in FIG. 2 are assembled and attached to each other. Then, the inner peripheral surface 31 A of the housing cover 30 is in a state along a part of the outer periphery (the arc-shaped outer portion) of the hood portion 22 of the housing 20.

Next, the screw N is inserted from the distal end chamber portion 31 side of the housing cover 30, and the screw N is screwed in order into the screw hole 34 A of the internal overhang portion 33 and the screw hole 24 A of the flange portion 23. Thereby, the housing cover 30 and the housing 20 are completely fixed, and the assembly of the connector fitting portion 10 is completed (see FIGS. 1 and 3).

When the assembly of the connector fitting portion 10 is completed, the screw N, the screw receiving member 24, and the screw receiving member 34 are provided outside the hood portion 22 and between the plurality of hood portions 22. Further, the head of the screw N that is screwed in is disposed at a position that enters the inside of the front end 22A of the housing 20 and the front end 30A of the housing cover 30 (see FIG. 3).

(Action / Effect)
In the embodiment described above, since the housing 20 and the housing cover 30 are separate members, the external force acting on the housing cover 30 is unlikely to act directly on the housing 20, so that damage to each hood portion 22 due to the external force can be prevented. . Further, the inner peripheral surface 31A of the front end chamber portion 31 of the housing cover 30 is along a part of the outer periphery of each hood portion 22 (in other words, not along the entire circumference of each hood portion), thereby the housing cover 30. Since the external force acting on the hood part 22 is transmitted only from a part of each hood part 22, damage to each hood part 22 can be prevented more reliably. Therefore, even if the housing cover 30 may be damaged, the housing 20 can be prevented from being damaged, so that the replacement work can be facilitated.

In the present embodiment, the contact surface 23 A and the internal overhang portion 33 (that is, the screw N, the screw receiving member 34, and the screw receiving member 24) are provided outside the hood portion 22 and between the plurality of hood portions 22. As a result, the screws N and the like cannot be easily removed due to mischief or the like, so that the safety of the charging connector 1 is improved.

Particularly, since the housing cover 30 and the housing 20 are fixed by a removable screw N or the like, for example, when the housing cover 30 is damaged, only the damaged housing cover 30 can be replaced, and the housing 20 can be used as it is.

In addition, since the head of the screw N that has been screwed in is disposed at a position that is inward of the tip 30A of the housing cover 30 and the tip 22A of the housing 20, the screw N is applied by the impact force to the connector fitting portion 110. Therefore, the strength and safety of the charging connector 1 can be compatible.

In the present embodiment, when the tip end 30A of the housing cover 30 protrudes from the tip end 22A of the housing 20 and an impact force acts on the tip end of the connector fitting portion 110, the impact force acts on the tip end 30A of the housing cover 30. Even so, since the impact force does not act directly on the housing 20, the housing 20 can be further prevented from being damaged.

In the present embodiment, even if an external force acting on the tip chamber portion 31 is transmitted from the outermost portion of each hood portion 22, the thickness T30 of the hood portion 22 is thicker than the thickness T20 of the tip chamber portion 31. Damage can be prevented more reliably.

In the present embodiment, since the internal overhang portion 33 is provided on the rear end side of the distal end chamber portion 31, the thickness of the internal overhang portion 33 can be secured, so that the housing cover 30 can be prevented from being damaged as much as possible. .

(Other embodiments)
Although the contents of the present invention have been disclosed through the embodiments of the present invention as described above, it should not be understood that the descriptions and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples, and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

For example, the embodiment of the present invention can be modified as follows. Specifically, the charging connector 1 has been described as being used to supply power to the battery of the vehicle. However, the charging connector 1 is not limited to this, and is mounted on the movement of ships other than the vehicle, submarines, airplanes, and the like. The present invention can also be applied to an inlet of a power storage device, an inlet of a power storage device installed in a home, a building, a factory, or the like.

In addition, each of the hood portions 22 of the housing 20 has been described as being provided with four along the inner periphery of the housing cover 30, but is not limited to this, and if two or more are provided. Good.

Further, although the housing 20 and the housing cover 30 are described as being fixed by the removable screw N, the present invention is not limited to this, and the non-removable screw N may be used. In addition, as fixing means other than the screw N, for example, there is a mutual locking mechanism (such as a locking claw or a locking hole) of the flange portion 23 (fixed portion) and the internal overhang portion 33 (fixed portion). Also good.

Further, the screw N has been described as being screwed into the screw receiving member 24 of the housing 20 and the screw receiving member 34 of the housing cover 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be directly screwed into the portion 33 or the flange portion 23.

Further, although the screw N has been described as being provided on the inner peripheral side of the housing cover 30, the screw N is not limited thereto, and may be provided on the outer peripheral side of the housing cover 30, for example. It should be noted that the head of the screw N screwed in does not necessarily have to be disposed at a position entering the inside of the tip 30A of the housing cover 30 and the tip 22A of the housing 20.

Further, the front end 30A of the housing cover 30 has been described as projecting from the front end 22A of the housing 20, but is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, the same position as the front end 22A of the housing 20.

Further, a part of the outer periphery of each hood portion 22 has been described as being in contact with the inner peripheral surface 31A of the housing cover 30 in the mounted state of the housing 20 and the housing cover 30, but is not limited thereto. For example, only the inner projecting portion 33 may be in contact with the inner peripheral surface 31 A of the housing cover 30 and the other part may be separated from the inner peripheral surface 31 A of the housing cover 30.

Thus, it goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments that are not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is determined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

Claims

A charging connector,
A connector fitting portion provided internally with a plurality of terminals composed of an electrical connection portion connected to the counterpart terminal of the counterpart connector and a terminal fixing portion fixed to the end of the electric wire,
The connector fitting portion is
A housing having a plurality of terminal housing portions each housing the terminal fixing portion of each terminal and a cylindrical hood portion surrounding each of the electrical connection portions of each terminal protruding from each terminal housing portion;
A housing cover having an inner peripheral surface along a part of the outer periphery of each of the hood portions;
The charging connector, wherein the housing cover is fixed to the housing in a state where the inner peripheral surface is along a part of the outer periphery of each hood portion.
The charging connector according to claim 1,
The housing has a fixed portion;
The housing cover has a fixed part fixed to the fixing part,
The charging connector according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion and the fixed portion are formed between the plurality of hood portions and at positions outside the hood portions.
The charging connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The charging connector according to claim 1, wherein a front end of the housing cover protrudes from a front end of each of the hood portions.
The charging connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The charging connector according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of each hood portion is thicker than the thickness of the housing cover located at a portion corresponding to the outermost part of the outer periphery of each hood portion.