Vehicle charger

Abstract

The objective of this invention is to ensure that, when the charging cable is stored in the charger, it is not stored in a predetermined position, but can be easily stored in a different position each time. The vehicle charger includes: a main body having a front face; and a charging cable, the front face having a first magnetic element, and the charging cable having a second magnetic element capable of magnetically adsorbing onto the first magnetic element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a charger for vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-070479 (Patent Document 1), there is a known vehicle charger. The fast charger for electric vehicles disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a main frame, a control unit, an operation panel, a charging cable, a charging connector storage unit, and a charging cable support member, the charging cable support member having the function of holding the middle part of the charging cable.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-070479 Summary of the Invention

[0004] In the structure described in Patent Document 1, when the charging cable is stored in the charger, the charging cable is not stored in a preset position, but can be easily stored in a different position each time.

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a vehicle charger with a structure that allows the charging cable to be easily stored in a designated location.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle charger includes: a main body having a front face; and a charging cable, wherein the front face has a first magnetic element and the charging cable has a second magnetic element capable of being magnetically attracted to the first magnetic element.

[0007] According to the above structure, the charging cable can be easily stored in a specified position by magnetically adsorbing the second magnetic body onto the first magnetic body.

[0008] In the aforementioned vehicle charger, the main body may further have a first side portion adjacent to the front portion, the first side portion having a third magnet, and the charging cable having a fourth magnet capable of magnetically adsorbing onto the third magnet. The main body may also have a second side portion adjacent to the front portion and opposite to the first side portion, the second side portion having a fifth magnet, and the charging cable having a sixth magnet capable of magnetically adsorbing onto the fifth magnet. With this structure, by having the fourth magnet magnetically adsorbed onto the third magnet and the sixth magnet magnetically adsorbed onto the fifth magnet, the charging cable can be easily and neatly stored on the first and second side portions.

[0009] In the aforementioned vehicle charger, the second magnetic material can be made of iron. This structure reduces the likelihood that the second magnetic material, located on the charging cable, will be attracted by magnetic force to an iron structure other than the vehicle charger, such as a vehicle.

[0010] In the aforementioned vehicle charger, the second magnetic element can be configured to cover the entire circumference of the charging cable or to partially cover it in the circumference. Based on this structure, the shape of the second magnetic element can be selected to correspond to the design of the vehicle charger.

[0011] In the aforementioned vehicle charger, the first magnetic element may have a different color than the portion surrounding it on the front side, and the second magnetic element may have a different color than the portion of the charging cable adjacent to the second magnetic element. With this structure, the user of the vehicle charger can easily identify the positions of the first and second magnetic elements, thus encouraging the user to tuck the portion of the charging cable containing the second magnetic element into the location of the first magnetic element.

[0012] Invention Effects

[0013] According to the present invention, a vehicle charger having a structure that allows the charging cable to be easily stored in a designated location can be obtained. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the vehicle charger 1 in the state of not housing the charging cable 3 in Embodiment 1.

[0015] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of the vehicle charger 1 in embodiment 1, showing the state of the charging cable 3 being housed in the first side view 11.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the vehicle charger 1 in embodiment 1, showing the state of the charging cable 3 being housed in the second side 12.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view showing the charging cable 3 in Embodiment 1, which is covered by the second magnetic body 20 in its entire circumference.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view showing the charging cable 3 in Embodiment 1, which is partially covered in the circumferential direction by the second magnetic body 20. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures. In the following description, the same symbols will be used to denote the same components. These components also have the same names and functions. Therefore, detailed descriptions of these components will not be repeated.

[0020] [Implementation Method 1]

[0021] (Vehicle charger 1)

[0022] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the vehicle charger 1 in the state without the charging cable 3 in Embodiment 1. The vehicle charger 1 includes a main body 2, a charging cable 3, and a charging connector 4. The main body 2 has a front part 10, a first side part 11 adjacent to the front part 10, and a second side part 12 adjacent to the front part 10 and opposite to the first side part 11. Figure 3 The front panel 10 has a first magnetic body 14 and an operation screen 17.

[0023] The charging cable 3 has a second magnetic body 20. The second magnetic body 20 can be magnetically attracted to the first magnetic body 14 provided on the front face portion 10. The front end of the charging cable 3 is connected to the charging connector 4, and the other end is connected to the first side face portion 11 of the main body portion 2.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of the vehicle charger 1 with the charging cable 3 already housed, as shown from the first side 11. Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the vehicle charger 1 in embodiment 1, showing the state of the charging cable 3 being housed in the second side 12.

[0025] The first side face 11 has a third magnetic body 15 ( Figure 2 The second side portion 12 has a fifth magnetic body 16. Figure 3 The charging cable 3 has a fourth magnetic body 21 that can be magnetically attracted to the third magnetic body 15. Figure 2 ) and the sixth magnetic body 22 that can be magnetically adsorbed onto the fifth magnetic body 16 ( Figure 3 ).

[0026] The number of the first magnetic body 14, the second magnetic body 20, the third magnetic body 15, the fourth magnetic body 21, the fifth magnetic body 16, and the sixth magnetic body 22, or their total number, can be increased or decreased according to the shape of the main body 2 and the shape of the charging cable 3.

[0027] The second magnetic body 20 can be made of iron. Furthermore, the fourth magnetic body 21 and the sixth magnetic body 22 can also be made of iron.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view showing the charging cable 3 in Embodiment 1, which is covered by the second magnetic body 20 throughout its circumference. The second magnetic body 20 can be configured to cover the entire circumference of the charging cable 3. The fourth magnetic body 21 and the sixth magnetic body 22 can also be configured similarly to the second magnetic body 20 to cover the entire circumference of the charging cable 3.

[0029] Figure 5This is a cross-sectional view showing the charging cable 3 partially covered circumferentially by the second magnetic body 20 in Embodiment 1. The second magnetic body 20 can be configured to partially cover the charging cable 3 circumferentially. The fourth magnetic body 21 and the sixth magnetic body 22 can also be configured similarly to the second magnetic body 20 to partially cover the charging cable 3 circumferentially.

[0030] The first magnetic body 14 may have a different color than the area surrounding the first magnetic body 14 in the front face portion 10. The third magnetic body 15 may have a different color than the area surrounding the third magnetic body 15 in the first side face portion 11. The fifth magnetic body 16 may have a different color than the area surrounding the second side face portion 12.

[0031] The second magnetic body 20 may have a different color than the portion of the charging cable 3 adjacent to the second magnetic body 20. The fourth magnetic body 21 may have a different color than the portion of the charging cable 3 adjacent to the fourth magnetic body 21. The sixth magnetic body 22 may have a different color than the portion of the charging cable 3 adjacent to the sixth magnetic body 22.

[0032] (Functions and Effects)

[0033] The charging cable 3 is easily stored in a designated location by being magnetically attracted to the first magnetic body 14 by the second magnetic body 20. Therefore, after using the vehicle charger 1, it can prevent the charging cable 3 from being scattered around the vehicle charger 1 instead of returning to the designated location.

[0034] The charging cable 3 is easily stored in a designated position by being magnetically attracted to the third magnetic body 15 provided on the first side portion 11 by the fourth magnetic body 21. The charging cable 3 is also easily stored in a designated position by being magnetically attracted to the fifth magnetic body 16 provided on the second side portion 12 by the sixth magnetic body 22.

[0035] By using iron-based magnetic elements 20, 4, 6, and 22 instead of magnets, the possibility of the charging cable 3 being attracted by magnetic force to iron structures other than vehicle chargers, such as vehicles, can be reduced.

[0036] The second magnetic body 20 can be configured to cover the entire circumference of the charging cable 3, or to partially cover it relative to the circumference, depending on the design of the vehicle charger 1. Therefore, the second magnetic body 20 does not limit the design of the vehicle charger 1. The same applies to the fourth magnetic body 21 and the sixth magnetic body 22.

[0037] By coloring the first magnetic body 14 with a color different from that of the main body 2, the first magnetic body 14 becomes more conspicuous than the main body 2, which enables the user of the vehicle charger 1 to identify the storage location of the charging cable 3 and store the charging cable 3 in the designated location.

[0038] The embodiments disclosed herein are considered illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The scope of the invention is not shown in the foregoing description, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0039] Symbol Explanation

[0040] 1-Vehicle charger, 2-Main body, 3-Charging cable, 4-Charging connector, 10-Front side, 11-First side, 12-Second side, 14-First magnetic element, 15-Third magnetic element, 16-Fifth magnetic element, 17-Operation screen, 20-Second magnetic element, 21-Fourth magnetic element, 22-Sixth magnetic element.

Claims

1. A vehicle charger, characterized in that, have: The main body, which has a front face; and Charging cable, The front face has a first magnetic body. The charging cable has a second magnetic body that can be magnetically attracted to the first magnetic body.

2. The vehicle charger according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main body portion also has a first side portion adjacent to the front portion. The first side face has a third magnetic body. The charging cable has a fourth magnetic body capable of being magnetically attracted to the third magnetic body. The main body portion also has a second side portion adjacent to the front portion and opposite to the first side portion. The second side portion has a fifth magnetic element. The charging cable has a sixth magnetic body that can be magnetically attracted to the fifth magnetic body.

3. The vehicle charger according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The second magnetic material is iron.

4. The vehicle charger according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The second magnetic body is configured to cover the entire circumference of the charging cable or to partially cover it circumferentially.

5. The vehicle charger according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first magnetic element has a different color from the portion surrounding the first magnetic element on the front face. The second magnet has a different color than the portion of the charging cable adjacent to the second magnet.

Images