Harness connection structure

Abstract

To provide a harness connection structure that can improve the heat dissipation efficiency at the connection portion of a wire harness without increasing the size and weight of the wire harness itself.SOLUTION: A harness connection structure 1 includes a connection portion 5 that connects a conductor 11 and a terminal 15 of a wire harness 3, a housing 7 that houses the connection portion 5, and a cooling water pipe 9 that is disposed inside the housing 7 and through which cooling water W flows. The inside of the housing 7 is filled with insulating oil 41 having insulating properties.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a harness connection structure.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in order to supply (charge) electric power from outside the vehicle to a battery mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid vehicle, a charging system including a charging connector and a charging inlet has been used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The charging inlet described in Patent Document 1 includes a housing and a plurality of power supply terminals held by the housing, and each power supply terminal includes a pin and a block. A power cable (wire harness) extends from the charging inlet to the battery pack, and this power cable is mechanically coupled and electrically connected to the block of the power supply terminal. A cooling tube (cooling water pipe) extends from the charging inlet to the heat sink, and this cooling tube extends into the port of the block of the power supply terminal.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a vehicle, as the vehicle becomes more electrified, a larger current flows through the wire harness. Along with this increase in current, heat generated particularly at the connection portion connecting the conductor and the terminal of the wire harness can increase. For this reason, when heat dissipation by heat conduction, natural air cooling, and cooling using a cooling water pipe is not sufficient, it has been necessary to increase the size of the components constituting the wire harness in order to suppress heat generation at the connection portion of the wire harness.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the problems of such prior art. The object of the present invention is to provide a harness connection part structure capable of improving the heat dissipation efficiency at the connection part of a wire harness without causing an increase in size and weight of the wire harness itself.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The harness connection part structure according to an aspect of the present invention includes a connection part that connects a conductor of a wire harness and a terminal, a housing that houses the connection part, and a cooling water pipe that is disposed inside the housing and through which cooling water flows, and insulating oil is enclosed inside the housing.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a harness connection part structure capable of improving the heat dissipation efficiency at the connection part of a wire harness without causing an increase in size and weight of the wire harness itself.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, the harness connection part structure according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and may be different from the actual ratios.

[0010] The harness connection part structure 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be applied to a charging connector used when charging a battery mounted on a vehicle or a charging inlet installed in a vehicle.

[0011] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the harness connection part structure 1 includes a connection part 5 of a wire harness 3 for supplying power and the like from a power circuit (not shown), a housing 7, and a cooling water pipe 9.

[0012] A plurality of (two in this embodiment) wire harnesses 3 are used and have conductors 11 made of a conductive material. This conductor 11 is made of a metal material such as copper or aluminum, for example. In this embodiment, the conductor 11 is constituted by a plate-shaped conductor (bus bar), but is not limited thereto, and the conductor 11 may be constituted by a general wire conductor.

[0013] Further, the wire harness 3 is inserted into a through hole 21a formed in a housing main body part 21 described later. And the wire harness 3 is attached to the housing main body part 21 by, for example, adhesion, welding, fitting, etc., so that no gap is generated between the outer periphery of the wire harness 3 and the inner periphery of the through hole 21a.

[0014] The connection part 5 connects the conductor 11 of the wire harness 3 and the terminal 15. Specifically, the terminals 15 are fixed (connected) to the ends of the wire harness 3 (conductor 11) using fixing members such as bolts 13. This terminal 15 is made of a metal material such as copper or aluminum, for example.

[0015] The housing 7 may be made of a synthetic resin material or may be made of a metal material such as aluminum die-casting, for example. This housing 7 has a housing main body part 21 and a lid part 23 detachably attached to the housing main body part 21. A seal member such as a packing 25 may be disposed between the housing main body part 21 and the lid part 23. The connection part 5 and the cooling water pipe 9 described above are disposed and accommodated in a space surrounded by the housing main body part 21 and the lid part 23 (that is, inside the housing 7).

[0016] In addition, a cylindrical portion 27 formed in a cylindrical shape is integrally formed on the end face portion of the housing main body portion 21 where the lid portion 23 faces. In the present embodiment, the cylindrical portion 27 is formed in a cylindrical shape, but it is not limited thereto, and the cylindrical portion 27 may be formed in a square cylindrical shape. An electrical connection portion 17 to which a mating terminal (not shown) of the terminal 15 is electrically connected is disposed and accommodated in the space surrounded by the cylindrical portion 27 (that is, the inner side of the cylindrical portion 27), and a sealing member such as a rubber plug 29 is disposed between the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 27 and the outer periphery of the terminal 15.

[0017] The cooling water pipe 9 is constituted by a metal pipe such as a stainless steel pipe, for example. The cooling water pipe 9 is connected to a cooling device (not shown) such as a radiator, and the cooling water W circulates between the cooling water pipe 9 and the cooling device. In the cooling water pipe 9 of the present embodiment, the intermediate portion 33 of the pipe body 31 is bent in the same plane (that is, the direction is reversed) to form a U shape, and both end portions 35, 35 of the pipe body 31 penetrate the housing 7 (housing main body portion 21) and protrude to the outside. That is, the cooling water pipe 9 disposed inside the housing 7 is formed in a U-shaped tube.

[0018] The cooling water pipe 9 is inserted into a through hole 21b formed in the housing main body portion 21. Then, the cooling water pipe 9 is attached to the housing main body portion 21 by, for example, adhesion, welding, fitting, etc. so that no gap is generated between the outer periphery of the cooling water pipe 9 and the inner periphery of the through hole 21b.

[0019] Then, the inside of the housing 7 such as a charging connector or a charging inlet constituting the harness connection portion structure 1 is filled and sealed with an insulating oil 41 having high insulating properties. However, it is not necessary for the inside of the housing 7 to be completely filled with the insulating oil 41, and it is sufficient that the insulating oil 41 is filled up to a height at which the entire connection portion 5 and the cooling water pipe 9 are immersed. This insulating oil 41 has high insulating properties and sufficient insulating properties even against a large current. The insulating oil 41 enclosed inside the housing 7 is in contact with both the connection portion 5 and the cooling water pipe 9 inside the housing 7, and is configured to perform heat exchange between the connection portion 5 and the cooling water pipe 9.

[0020] That is, in the harness connection part structure 1 according to the present embodiment, the Joule heat generated in the connection part 5 (conductor 11 and terminal 15) is transferred to the cooling water W flowing inside the cooling water pipe 9 through the insulating oil 41. Further, the insulating oil 41 convects (natural convection) inside the housing 7, so that heat exchange for transferring heat between the connection part 5 (conductor 11 and terminal 15) and the cooling water pipe 9 is performed. Since the entire connection part 5 is immersed in the insulating oil 41, heat can be transmitted from every corner of the outer surface to the insulating oil 41 regardless of the shape of the connection part 5 (conductor 11 and terminal 15), and the heat dissipation efficiency in the connection part 5 of the wire harness 3 can be improved.

[0021] As described above, the harness connection part structure 1 according to the aspect of the present embodiment includes a connection part 5 that connects the conductor 11 and the terminal 15 of the wire harness 3, a housing 7 that houses the connection part 5, and a cooling water pipe 9 that is disposed inside the housing 7 and through which the cooling water W flows. The insulating oil 41 is enclosed inside the housing 7.

[0022] In the present embodiment, since the insulating oil 41 is enclosed inside the housing 7, the Joule heat generated in the connection part 5 (conductor 11 and terminal 15) can be transferred to the cooling water W flowing inside the cooling water pipe 9 through the insulating oil 41. Further, since the insulating oil 41 convects (natural convection) inside the housing 7, heat can be efficiently transferred from the connection part 5 (conductor 11 and terminal 15) to the cooling water pipe 9.

[0023] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a harness connection part structure 1 that can improve the heat dissipation efficiency in the connection part 5 of the wire harness 3 without causing the wire harness 3 itself to become larger and heavier.

[0024] In the harness connection part structure 1, the insulating oil 41 may be configured to be in contact with both the connection part 5 and the cooling water pipe 9 inside the housing 7 so as to perform heat exchange between the connection part 5 and the cooling water pipe 9.

[0025] Since the insulating oil 41, which is a liquid, comes into contact with the terminal 15 having a complex shape without any gaps, the heat generated at the terminal 15 can be efficiently transferred from the entire outer surface of the terminal 15 to the insulating oil 41 in contact with the outer surface of the terminal 15. Further, due to the convection (natural convection) of the insulating oil 41 inside the housing 7, heat can be efficiently transferred from the entire outer surface of the terminal 15 in contact with the insulating oil 41 to the cooling water pipe 9.

[0026] In the harness connection part structure 1, the cooling water pipe 9 may be configured to have a pipe body 31 that is bent in the middle and formed in a U shape.

[0027] In the present embodiment, the cooling water pipe 9 disposed inside the housing 7 is formed in a U-shaped tube. Compared with the case where the cooling water pipe 9 (pipe body 31) is formed in a straight tube shape, the flow path of the cooling water W flowing inside the cooling water pipe 9 can be lengthened, and heat can be transferred more efficiently from the insulating oil 41 to the cooling water W flowing inside the cooling water pipe 9.

[0028] As described above, the present embodiment has been described, but the present embodiment is not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0029] 1 Harness connection part structure 3 Wire harness 5 Connection part 7 Housing 9 Cooling water pipe 11 Conductor 15 Terminal 31 Pipe body 41 Insulating oil W Cooling water

Claims

1. A connection part for connecting a conductor and a terminal of a wire harness, a housing for accommodating the connection part, and a cooling water pipe disposed inside the housing through which cooling water flows, wherein insulating oil is enclosed inside the housing, a harness connection part structure.

2. The harness connection part structure according to claim 1, wherein the insulating oil contacts both the connection part and the cooling water pipe inside the housing, and is configured to perform heat exchange between the connection part and the cooling water pipe.

3. The harness connection part structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling water pipe is configured to have a pipe body that is bent in the middle and formed in a U shape.

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