Female terminal and terminal connection structure

Abstract

A female terminal (20) capable of being connected to a male terminal (10). At least one of the male terminal (10) and the female terminal (20) is capable of being cooled by a coolant. The female terminal (20) has a female terminal body (100) capable of being electrically connected to the male terminal (10), and a heat transfer member (200) that transfers the coldness of the coolant. The female terminal body (100) has a space forming portion (120) that forms a housing space (S) that houses the male terminal (10), and a contact portion (130) that protrudes from the space forming portion (120) and electrically contacts the male terminal (10). The heat transfer member (200) is electrically insulating, and is disposed in the housing space (S) and thermally contacts the male terminal (10) and the space forming portion (120) when the male terminal (10) is inserted into the housing space (S).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a female terminal and a terminal connection structure. Background Technology

[0002] The connection between the charging connector on the device side and the charging port on the vehicle side heats up due to contact resistance when energized. This is particularly noticeable during fast charging with a high current (e.g., 400A). Therefore, the charging connector or charging port is sometimes cooled with a coolant such as water.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-192446 discloses a connector with a female terminal, wherein the female terminal has a cooling mechanism. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In the connectors disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-192446, high cooling performance is desirable. This is not limited to the energization between the charging port and the charging connector, but is also widely used in connection structures between the male and female terminals.

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a female terminal that can improve cooling performance.

[0006] One embodiment of the present invention includes a female terminal capable of being connected to a male terminal, wherein at least one of the male terminal and the female terminal can be cooled by a coolant. The female terminal has: a female terminal body capable of being electrically connected to the male terminal; and a heat transfer member for transferring the heat of the coolant. The female terminal body has: a space forming portion forming a receiving space for accommodating the male terminal; and a contact portion protruding from the space forming portion toward the inside of the receiving space and making electrical contact with the male terminal. The heat transfer member is electrically insulating and is disposed within the receiving space, making thermal contact with the male terminal and the space forming portion when the male terminal is inserted into the receiving space.

[0007] The above and other objects, features, methods and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, which is understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1 It is a diagram that roughly represents the state of charging a vehicle. Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional view that roughly shows the connection structure between the male and female terminals. Figure 3 It is along Figure 2 A sectional view along line III-III. Figure 4 This is the front view of the heat transfer component. Figure 5 It is along Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of the VV line. Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view that roughly represents a modified example of a female terminal. Detailed Implementation

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, in the drawings referred to below, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0010] Figure 1 This is a diagram that roughly represents the state of charging a vehicle. Furthermore, vehicle 1 is, for example, an electric vehicle.

[0011] Vehicle 1 has an energy storage device 2 and a charging port 4. The energy storage device 2 includes multiple energy storage units. The charging port 4 is connected to the energy storage device 2 via a cable 3. The charging port 4 has a pair of female terminals 20 and a housing (not shown) holding the pair of female terminals 20.

[0012] The charging connector 7 is connected to the charging port 4 of the vehicle 1 via a cable 6, which is connected to equipment such as a charging station, thereby enabling the charging of the energy storage device 2. The charging connector 7 has a pair of male terminals 10 and a housing (not shown) that holds the pair of male terminals 10.

[0013] At least one of the female terminal 20 of the charging inlet 4 and the male terminal 10 of the charging connector 7 can be cooled by a coolant (cooling water, etc.). In this embodiment, the male terminal 10 is configured to be coolable. That is, the charging connector 7 is a so-called liquid-cooled charging connector. Furthermore, the coolant flows between the device 5 and the charging connector 7 via the cable 6.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the connection structure between the male and female terminals. The male terminal 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape. Furthermore, in... Figure 2 In the diagram, arrows indicate the coolant flowing within the male terminal 10. The charging connector 7 can also be based on the ChaoJi standard.

[0015] The female terminal 20 can be connected to the male terminal 10. The female terminal 20 has a female terminal body 100 and a heat transfer component 200.

[0016] The female terminal body 100 is electrically connected to the male terminal 10. When connected to the male terminal 10, the female terminal body 100 forms a current path. The female terminal body 100 has a connecting portion 110, a space-forming portion 120, and a contact portion 130.

[0017] The connecting part 110 is the part that connects to the cable 3. The connecting part 110 is formed in a cylindrical shape. However, the shape of the connecting part 110 is not limited to cylindrical.

[0018] The space-forming portion 120 forms a receiving space S for accommodating the male terminal 10. The space-forming portion 120 is continuous with the connecting portion 110. Specifically, the space-forming portion 120 extends from the connecting portion 110 in a direction parallel to the central axis AX of the connecting portion 110. Figure 3 As shown, the space forming portion 120 has a plurality of contact pieces 122 arranged at intervals around the central axis AX. In this embodiment, the space forming portion 120 has five contact pieces 122 arranged at equal intervals around the central axis AX. However, the number of contact pieces 122 is not limited to five. Each contact piece 122 can contact the male terminal 10. Each contact piece 122 can elastically deform relative to its base end (the connection between the contact piece 122 and the connection portion 110) by radial displacement of its front end along a circle centered on the central axis AX.

[0019] The contact portion 130 is the part that contacts the male terminal 10. The contact portion 130 protrudes from the space forming portion 120 toward the inside of the receiving space S. Figure 3 As shown, the inner edge of the aforementioned radially contact portion 130 has a curved shape that is convex toward the central axis AX.

[0020] The heat transfer component 200 is a component for transferring the heat of the coolant to the mating terminal (in this embodiment, the female terminal body 100). More specifically, the heat transfer component 200 is a component for transferring the heat of the coolant to the female terminal body 100 when energized between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal body 100 by increasing the contact area with the male terminal 10. The heat transfer component 200 is disposed within the receiving space S. The heat transfer component 200 is capable of thermal contact with both the male terminal 10 and the female terminal body 100. The heat transfer component 200 is electrically insulating. When the male terminal 10 is inserted into the receiving space S, the heat transfer component 200 is in thermal contact with both the male terminal 10 and the space forming portion 120. The heat transfer component 200 has an inner component 210 and an outer component 220.

[0021] The inner component 210 contacts the male terminal 10. The inner component 210 is made of metal. The inner component 210 has an annular portion 212, a plurality of flexible tabs 214, and a contact portion 216.

[0022] The annular portion 212 is formed in a circular shape. The outer diameter of the annular portion 212 is smaller than the inner diameter of the space forming portion 120.

[0023] Multiple flexible sheets 214 extend from the annular portion 212 in a direction parallel to the central axis of the annular portion 212. For example... Figure 4As shown, a plurality of flexible sheets 214 are arranged at intervals around the central axis. In this embodiment, the plurality of flexible sheets 214 have four flexible sheets 214 arranged at equal intervals around the central axis. However, the number of flexible sheets 214 is not limited to four. Each flexible sheet 214 can elastically deform by displacing its front end relative to its base end (the connection between the flexible sheet 214 and the annular portion 212) radially in a circle centered on the central axis. Figure 5 As shown, when the male terminal 10 is not inserted into the inner side of each flexible piece 214, the front end of each flexible piece 214 is closer to the central axis than the base end of the flexible piece 214.

[0024] The contact portion 216 protrudes from the front end of each flexible piece 214 toward the central axis of the annular portion 212. The contact portion 216 is the part that contacts the male terminal 10.

[0025] The outer component 220 is located between the inner component 210 and the space-forming portion 120. The outer component 220 prevents the inner component 210 from contacting the space-forming portion 120. The outer component 220 is made of an electrically insulating material (polybutylene terephthalate, ceramic, etc.). The outer component 220 has a bottom wall 222 and a peripheral wall 224.

[0026] The bottom wall 222 is formed in the shape of a circular plate. The bottom wall 222 is disposed between the male terminal 10 and the connecting portion 110. In this embodiment, the bottom wall 222 is fixed to the connecting portion 110.

[0027] The peripheral wall 224 is continuous with the peripheral edge of the bottom wall 222. The peripheral wall 224 has a shape that extends from the peripheral edge of the bottom wall 222 in a direction parallel to the central axis of the bottom wall 222, in a direction away from the connecting portion 110. The peripheral wall 224 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The peripheral wall 224 surrounds the inner member 210 in the entire circumferential direction. The outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 224 contacts the inner surface of the space forming portion 120.

[0028] The contact resistance between the male terminal 10 separated by the heat transfer component 200 and the space forming portion 120 is more than 100 times that between the male terminal 10 without the heat transfer component 200 and the contact portion 130. Therefore, when energized, current flows essentially only through the male terminal 10 and the contact portion 130. Furthermore, the contact resistance between the male terminal 10 separated by the heat transfer component 200 and the space forming portion 120 can be adjusted by the material or thickness of the heat transfer component 200.

[0029] As described above, the female terminal 20 of this embodiment has a heat transfer member 200 that is in thermal contact with the male terminal 10 and the space forming portion 120. Therefore, when energization is applied between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal body 100, the temperature of the coolant is transferred to the mating terminal via the heat transfer member 200. That is, regarding the heat generated in the male terminal 10 and the contact portion 130 when energized, as shown by arrow AR1, it is transferred from the contact portion 130 to the male terminal 10, and as shown by arrow AR2, it is transferred from the space forming portion 120 to the male terminal 10 via the heat transfer member 200. Therefore, the cooling performance is improved.

[0030] In the above embodiments, such as Figure 6 As shown, the heat transfer component 200 can also be arranged in the housing space S in such a way that the bottom wall 222 is located away from the connection part 110.

[0031] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example is shown where the male terminal 10 is configured to be coolable, but the female terminal 20 may also be configured to be coolable.

[0032] Furthermore, the connection structure of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 in the above embodiments is not limited to the connection structure between the charging port 4 and the charging connector 7.

[0033] The exemplary implementations described above are specific examples of the following methods.

[0034] The female terminal in the above embodiment is a female terminal that can be connected to the male terminal. At least one of the male terminal and the female terminal can be cooled by a coolant. The female terminal has: a female terminal body that can be electrically connected to the male terminal; and a heat transfer member that transfers the heat of the coolant. The female terminal body has: a space forming portion that forms a receiving space for accommodating the male terminal; and a contact portion that protrudes from the space forming portion toward the inside of the receiving space and makes electrical contact with the male terminal. The heat transfer member is electrically insulating and is disposed in the receiving space, and makes thermal contact with the male terminal and the space forming portion when the male terminal is inserted into the receiving space.

[0035] Because the female terminal has a heat transfer component that is in thermal contact with the male terminal and the space-forming portion, when energized between the male and female terminal bodies, the temperature of the coolant is transferred to the mating terminal via the heat transfer component. This improves cooling performance.

[0036] Furthermore, the aforementioned heat transfer component may also have an inner component that contacts the aforementioned male terminal and an outer component located between the inner component and the aforementioned space-forming portion. In this case, the outer component is preferably made of an electrically insulating material.

[0037] Furthermore, the aforementioned female terminal body may also have a connecting portion that is continuous with the aforementioned space-forming portion and connected to the cable. The aforementioned outer component may also have a bottom wall disposed between the aforementioned male terminal and the aforementioned connecting portion, and a peripheral wall that is continuous with the peripheral edge of the aforementioned bottom wall and surrounds the aforementioned inner component.

[0038] In this case, the bottom wall is preferably fixed to the connecting part.

[0039] In this way, the position of the heat transfer component relative to the female terminal body is determined.

[0040] Furthermore, the contact resistance between the male terminal and the space-forming portion separated by the heat transfer component is preferably more than 100 times that between the male terminal and the female terminal body without the heat transfer component.

[0041] In this way, when energized, current actually flows only through the male terminal and the contact portion.

[0042] While embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be considered that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative rather than restrictive in all respects. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, including all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

Claims

1. A female terminal, which is capable of being connected to a male terminal. The male terminal can be cooled by coolant. The female terminal has: The female terminal body is capable of being electrically connected to the male terminal; Heat transfer components that transfer the temperature of the coolant. The female terminal body has: A space-forming section forms a receiving space for accommodating the male terminal. The contact portion protrudes from the space-forming portion toward the inside of the receiving space and makes electrical contact with the male terminal. The heat transfer component is electrically insulating and is disposed within the receiving space. When the male terminal, which is inserted into the receiving space, is in contact with the contact portion and the heat transfer component, and when energized between the male terminal and the female terminal, the heat or cold of the coolant is transferred to the female terminal body.

2. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein, The heat transfer component has: The inner component is in contact with the male terminal; The outer component is located between the inner component and the space-forming portion. The outer component is made of an electrically insulating material.

3. The female terminal according to claim 2, wherein, The female terminal body also has a connecting portion, which is continuous with the space-forming portion and connected to the cable. The outer component has: The bottom wall is disposed between the male terminal and the connecting portion; The peripheral wall is continuous with the periphery of the bottom wall and surrounds the inner component.

4. The female terminal according to claim 3, wherein, The bottom wall is fixed to the connecting part.

5. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The contact resistance between the male terminal separated by the heat transfer component and the space forming portion is more than 100 times that between the male terminal and the female terminal body without the heat transfer component.

6. A terminal connection structure having a male terminal and a female terminal capable of being connected to the male terminal. The male terminal can be cooled by coolant. The female terminal has: The female terminal body is capable of being electrically connected to the male terminal; Heat transfer components that transfer the temperature of the coolant. The female terminal body has: A space-forming section forms a receiving space for accommodating the male terminal. The contact portion protrudes from the space-forming portion toward the inside of the receiving space and makes electrical contact with the male terminal. The heat transfer component is electrically insulating and is disposed within the receiving space. When the male terminal, which is inserted into the receiving space, is in contact with the contact portion and the heat transfer component, and when energized between the male terminal and the female terminal, the heat or cold of the coolant is transferred to the female terminal body.

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