Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector that can suppress temperature rise in the terminal to which the plate conductor of a wiring material is connected, without increasing the size and weight of the entire wiring material.SOLUTION: A charging inlet 1 includes a wiring material 3 having a conductive first busbar 11, an inlet terminal 5 connected to the first busbar 11, and a housing 7 that accommodates a connection portion 43 between the first busbar 11 and the inlet terminal 5. A conductive second busbar 21 is overlapped on the first busbar 11 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in order to supply (charge) electric power from outside the vehicle to a battery pack 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 port (charging inlet) has been used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A high-power shield bus bar (wiring material) used for charging and power distribution inside an electric vehicle is connected to the charging port described in Patent Document 1. This high-power shield bus bar sends electric power from, for example, the charging port to the battery pack. The conductor of the high-power shield bus bar is formed of a conductive material such as aluminum and copper.

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 plate-shaped conductor (bus bar) of the wiring material for transmitting electric power. Along with this increase in current, the heat generated particularly at the terminals to which the plate-shaped conductor is connected can increase. Therefore, when it is necessary to suppress the temperature rise of the terminals, generally, it has been necessary to increase the size by making the entire wiring material thicker (increasing the cross-sectional area of the plate-shaped conductor over substantially the entire length of the wiring material) in order to increase the heat capacity of the plate-shaped conductor.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the problems of such conventional technologies. An object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of suppressing a temperature rise at a terminal to which a plate-shaped conductor of a wiring material is connected without causing an increase in size and weight of the entire wiring material.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The connector according to an aspect of the present invention includes a wiring material having a conductive plate-shaped conductor, a terminal connected to the plate-shaped conductor, and a housing that houses a connection portion between the plate-shaped conductor and the terminal. A metal plate having conductivity is overlapped on the plate-shaped conductor in the vicinity of the terminal.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector capable of suppressing a temperature rise at a terminal to which a plate-shaped conductor of a wiring material is connected without causing an increase in size and weight of the entire wiring material.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, the connector 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 convenience of explanation and may be different from the actual ratios.

[0010] The connector according to the present embodiment can be applied to a charging connector used when charging a battery mounted on a vehicle or a charging inlet arranged at a charging port of the vehicle.

[0011] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector (charging inlet 1) according to this embodiment includes a wiring material 3, an inlet terminal 5 as a terminal, and a housing 7.

[0012] A plurality (two in this embodiment) of wiring materials 3 are used and have a plate-shaped conductor (first bus bar 11) made of a conductive material. This first bus bar 11 is made of a metal material such as, for example, a copper-based material (copper or copper alloy) or an aluminum-based material (aluminum or aluminum alloy). By forming the first bus bar 11 from copper or a copper alloy, since copper has a higher conductivity than aluminum, the size (cross-sectional area) of the first bus bar 11 can be made smaller compared to the case of using aluminum. Further, a first bolt insertion hole 13 for inserting a bolt 9 described later is formed at an end portion of the first bus bar 11.

[0013] A plurality (two in this embodiment) of inlet terminals 5 are used. This inlet terminal 5 is made of a metal material such as, for example, a copper-based material (copper or copper alloy) or an aluminum-based material (aluminum or aluminum alloy).

[0014] In this embodiment, the inlet terminal 5 is configured to have a small-diameter portion 31, a medium-diameter portion 33 located on the rear side of the small-diameter portion 31, and a large-diameter portion 35 located on the rear side of the medium-diameter portion 33. An annular first step portion 37 is formed at the boundary between the small-diameter portion 31 and the medium-diameter portion 33, and an annular second step portion 39 is formed at the boundary between the medium-diameter portion 33 and the large-diameter portion 35 (see FIG. 2). Further, a bolt fastening hole 41 for fastening (screwing) the bolt 9 is formed on the rear end surface of the large-diameter portion 35 of the inlet terminal 5.

[0015] Each of these plurality of inlet terminals 5 is fastened (connected) to the first bus bar 11 of the wiring material 3 using a fastening member such as a bolt 9. By fastening with this bolt 9, the first bus bar 11 and the inlet terminal 5 are electrically connected. The end portion of the first bus bar 11 and the large-diameter portion 35 of the inlet terminal 5 constitute the connection portion 43 between the first bus bar 11 and the inlet terminal 5.

[0016] The housing 7 includes an inner housing main body 51, a terminal holder 53 that holds the inlet terminal 5, and an outer housing main body 57 having an inlet opening 55 in which a charging connector (not shown) can be inserted. This housing 7 may be made of a synthetic resin material or a metal material.

[0017] The inner housing main body 51 has an accommodation space portion 59 inside that accommodates the connection portion 43 between the first bus bar 11 and the inlet terminal 5. Further, the terminal holder 53 has a first terminal insertion hole 61 for inserting the large-diameter portion 35 of the inlet terminal 5. Furthermore, the outer housing main body 57 has a bottom wall portion 63 and a cylindrical side wall portion 65, and a second terminal insertion hole 67 for inserting the medium-diameter portion 33 of the inlet terminal 5 is formed in the bottom wall portion 63.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in order to increase the conductor cross-sectional area of the wiring material 3 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5, a second bus bar 21 as a conductive metal plate is superposed on the first bus bar 11 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5. A plurality (two in this embodiment) of the second bus bars 21 are used, and these plurality of second bus bars 21 are respectively superposed on the first bus bar 11 of the wiring material 3. The second bus bar 21 is made of a metal material such as, for example, a copper-based material (copper or copper alloy) or an aluminum-based material (aluminum or aluminum alloy). By forming the second bus bar 21 from copper or a copper alloy, since copper has a higher conductivity than aluminum, the size (cross-sectional area) of the second bus bar 21 can be made smaller compared to the case where aluminum is used. Further, a second bolt insertion hole 23 for inserting the bolt 9 is formed at the end of the second bus bar 21.

[0019] Since the first bus bar 11 and the second bus bar 21 of the wiring material 3 basically have the same structure (shape), it is possible to use, as the second bus bar 21, end materials that cannot be used as the first bus bar 11.

[0020] Incidentally, both the first bus bar 11 and the second bus bar 21 may be made of a copper-based material (copper or copper alloy), or both the first bus bar 11 and the second bus bar 21 may be made of an aluminum-based material (aluminum or aluminum alloy). Further, one of the first bus bar 11 and the second bus bar 21 may be made of a copper-based material (copper or copper alloy), and the other of the first bus bar 11 and the second bus bar 21 may be made of an aluminum-based material (aluminum or aluminum alloy).

[0021] In this embodiment, the second bus bar 21 partially overlapped with the first bus bar 11 is fastened together with the first bus bar 11 to the inlet terminal 5 using bolts 9. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the second bus bar 21 may be fixed to the first bus bar 11 by being fastened by a fastening member such as a bolt at a location other than the co-fastening location by the bolts 9. Further, the second bus bar 21 may be joined to the first bus bar 11 by welding or the like, or may be sandwiched together with the first bus bar 11 by a sandwiching member such as a clip.

[0022] Also, in this embodiment, the number of the second bus bars 21 partially overlapped with the first bus bar 11 is one. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of the second bus bars 21 partially overlapped with the first bus bar 11 may be a plurality (two or more).

[0023] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the thickness T and the width W of the second bus bar 21 are respectively equal to the thickness and the width of the first bus bar 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the thickness T and the width W of the second bus bar 21 may be different from the thickness and the width of the first bus bar 11, respectively. That is, the thickness T of the second bus bar 21 may be thicker than the thickness of the first bus bar 11, or the thickness T of the second bus bar 21 may be thinner than the thickness of the first bus bar 11. Also, the width W of the second bus bar 21 may be larger than the width of the first bus bar 11, or the width W of the second bus bar 21 may be smaller than the width of the first bus bar 11.

[0024] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second bus bar 21 is formed to have a length L that fits inside the accommodation space portion 59 of the housing 7. That is, the second bus bar 21 is arranged so as to fit inside the accommodation space portion 59 of the housing 7. The longer the length L of the second bus bar 21 is, the more advantageous it is for suppressing the temperature rise of the inlet terminal 5. However, by increasing the conductor cross-sectional area of the wiring material 3 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5, the temperature rise at the inlet terminal 5 can be sufficiently suppressed.

[0025] As described above, the connector (charging inlet 1) according to the aspect of the present embodiment includes a wiring material 3 having a conductive plate-like conductor (first bus bar 11), and a terminal (inlet terminal 5) connected to the plate-like conductor (first bus bar 11). The connector (charging inlet 1) includes a housing 7 that houses a connection portion 43 between the plate-like conductor (first bus bar 11) and the terminal (inlet terminal 5). A metal plate (second bus bar 21) having conductivity is overlapped on the plate-like conductor (first bus bar 11) in the vicinity of the terminal (inlet terminal 5).

[0026] In the present embodiment, by overlapping the second bus bar 21 on the first bus bar 11 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5, the conductor cross-sectional area of the wiring material 3 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5 can be increased, and the heat capacity of the wiring material 3 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5 can be increased. Therefore, due to the heat storage effect of the wiring material 3, it becomes possible to effectively suppress the temperature rise at the inlet terminal 5 to which the first bus bar 11 of the wiring material 3 is connected. Further, by overlapping the second bus bar 21 on the first bus bar 11 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5, it is possible to suppress the increase in size and weight of the entire wiring material 3.

[0027] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a connector (charging inlet 1) that can suppress the temperature rise at the terminal (inlet terminal 5) to which the plate-like conductor (first bus bar 11) of the wiring material 3 is connected without causing an increase in size and weight of the entire wiring material 3.

[0028] In the connector (charging inlet 1), the metal plate (second bus bar 21) may be arranged so as to fit inside the housing 7 (accommodation space portion 59).

[0029] In the present embodiment, the second bus bar 21 is arranged so as to fit inside the charging inlet 1. The longer the length L of the second bus bar 21, the more advantageous it is for suppressing the temperature rise of the inlet terminal 5. However, by increasing the conductor cross-sectional area of the wiring material 3 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5, the temperature rise at the inlet terminal 5 can be sufficiently suppressed.

[0030] In the connector (charging inlet 1), the metal plate (second bus bar 21) may be fastened together with the plate-shaped conductor (first bus bar 11) to the terminal (inlet terminal 5) using a fastening member (bolt 9).

[0031] By fastening the first bus bar 11 and the second bus bar 21 together to the inlet terminal 5, the first bus bar 11 and the second bus bar 21 come into contact with each other in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5, and the conductor cross-sectional area of the wiring material 3 in the vicinity of the inlet terminal 5 can be increased.

[0032] In the connector (charging inlet 1), the metal plate (second bus bar 21) may be formed of copper or a copper alloy.

[0033] By configuring the second bus bar 21 from copper or a copper alloy, since copper has a higher conductivity than aluminum, the size (cross-sectional area) of the second bus bar 21 can be made smaller compared to the case where aluminum is used.

[0034] Although the present embodiment has been described above, 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

[0035] 1 Charging inlet 3 Wiring material 5 Inlet terminal 7 Housing 11 First bus bar 21 Second bus bar 43 Connection part 59 Accommodation space part

Claims

1. A wiring material having a conductive plate-like conductor, a terminal connected to the plate-like conductor, and a housing that houses a connection portion between the plate-like conductor and the terminal, wherein a metal plate having conductivity is superposed on the plate-like conductor in the vicinity of the terminal. Connector.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the metal plate is arranged so as to fit inside the housing.

3. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the metal plate is jointly fastened to the terminal together with the plate-like conductor using a fastening member.

4. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the metal plate is formed of copper or a copper alloy.

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