Car port

Abstract

To provide a carport that can reduce the burden of handling a charging cable and reduce the dirt on the charging cable.SOLUTION: A carport 100 includes purlins 310, 320 erected on support columns 210, 220, and roof members 400, 500 installed on the purlins 310, 320. A rail mounting member 600 is installed on the support columns 210, 220 so as to be approximately horizontal and in a direction different from the extension direction of the purlins 310, 320, and a rail member 610 is attached to the rail mounting member 600 so as to maintain an approximately horizontal position. In addition, a hoisting wheel member 640 that can move horizontally by the rail member 610 is attached to the rail member 610, and a charging cable 720 of a charging device 700 that supplies power to an electric vehicle parked in a parking space S is attached to the hoisting wheel member 640.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a carport, and more particularly to a carport in which a charging cable can be hung. [Background technology]

[0002] Today, in addition to internal combustion engine vehicles that run by burning gasoline or other fuel (including diesel), many electric vehicles are sold that are equipped with a motor and a battery to store electricity, and run by driving the motor using electricity charged in the battery.

[0003] Electric vehicles can be broadly classified into four types: (1) battery electric vehicles (BEVs), (2) hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), (3) plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and (4) fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Of these electric vehicles, (1) electric vehicles and (3) plug-in hybrid vehicles are equipped with a charging port (inlet), allowing the battery to be charged directly from the outside using a charging adapter. For ease of explanation, electric vehicles equipped with a charging port will be referred to as "EVs (electrically powered vehicles)."

[0004] Recently, it has become common to install charging devices in carports at home (or in the immediate vicinity of carports). By installing a charging device in a carport or the like, the battery of an EV can be charged while the EV is parked (for example, at night) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-52230 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] A charging device installed in a carport comprises a charging device main body that is installed on a support pillar of the carport, and a charging cable with a charging adapter attached to one end, and is installed with the other end of the charging cable connected to the charging device main body. The charging cable has a certain length (for example, about 10 meters) so that the charging adapter can reach from the charging device main body to the charging port of the EV, and when not in use, the charging cable is often coiled up and hung on a hook attached to a support pillar of the carport.

[0007] However, typical carports have a roof attached to pillars and often no side walls, making it easy for rainwater, dirt, and dust to seep into the parking space. As a result, when unhooking a charging cable from a hook to charge an EV, the charging cable comes into contact with the ground of the parking space, creating the problem of the charging cable becoming easily soiled.

[0008] In particular, since the charging cable has a certain diameter and a certain weight, it is not easy to handle the charging cable, and it is difficult to handle the charging cable without contacting the ground.

[0009] In addition, many conventional charging cables lack flexibility, making it difficult to wrap them around the device and lift them up to the hook. Female and elderly users, in particular, have been requesting improvements to the handling of charging cables.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and its objective is to provide a carport that can reduce the burden of handling charging cables in charging devices and reduce dirt on the charging cables. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the carport of the present invention is characterized by comprising a pair of support pillars, a main building material erected on the support pillars, a roof material installed on the main building material, a rail mounting member installed on the support pillars so as to be approximately horizontal and in a direction different from the extension direction of the main building material, a rail material attached to the rail mounting member so as to remain approximately horizontal, and a hoist member attached to the rail material so as to be able to move horizontally and on which a charging cable of a charging device for supplying power to an electric vehicle parked in a parking space can be suspend.

[0012] The carport of the present invention is characterized by comprising a pair of support pillars, a main building material erected on the support pillars, a roof member installed on the main building material, a rail material attached to the main building material so as to maintain it approximately horizontal, and a hoist member attached to the rail material so as to be able to move horizontally and capable of suspending a charging cable of a charging device for supplying power to an electric vehicle parked in a parking space.

[0013] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned carport, the charging cable may be suspended from the hoist member so as to maintain a state in which it does not come into contact with the ground of the parking space regardless of the movement state of the hoist member.

[0014] In addition, in the above-mentioned carport, the charging cable may be suspended from the hoist member so as to maintain a state in which it does not come into contact with the electric vehicle parked in the parking space, regardless of the movement state of the hoist member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] The carport according to the present invention can reduce the burden of handling the charging cable in the charging device and also reduce the amount of dirt on the charging cable. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a carport according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a side view of the carport showing the charging cable positioned near the support pole. [Figure 3] 5(a) is a cross-sectional view showing the rail mounting member, the rail member, and the hoisting wheel, and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the IIIb-IIIb cross section shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the rail material and the hoisting wheel. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a side view of a carport showing a charging cable unfolded. [Figure 6] This is a side view showing a carport with rail materials attached to the main building materials. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] An example of a carport according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a carport according to an embodiment. The carport 100 includes a plurality of support pillars 210, 220, a plurality of purlins 310, 320 erected on the support pillars 210, 220, a plurality of rafters (roof members) 400 attached to the purlins 310, 320, a plurality of solar panel members (roof members) 500 arranged on the rafters 400, and a rail mounting member (rail mounting member) 600. A charging device 700 is also provided on the support pillar 210.

[0018] The carport 100 has a structure in which a foundation 800 made of concrete or the like is buried in the parking space S, and support pillars 210, 220 are erected on the foundation 800. The support pillars 210, 220 shown in Figure 1 are two pairs of support pillars. Purlin members 310, 320 are erected on each of the support pillars 210, 220.

[0019] One support column 210 has a lower height from the foundation 800 to its upper end (shorter height dimension) than the other support column 220. Therefore, the purlins 310, 320 are installed horizontally at different heights, like staggered parallel bars. The carport 100 according to the embodiment has two pairs of support columns 210, 220, and one purlin 310, 320 for each of the two pairs of support columns 210, 220. However, the number of pairs of support columns and the number of purlins are merely examples and are not limited to these numbers. For example, one or three or more purlins may be erected using one or three or more sets of support columns. Furthermore, three or more support columns may be used as a set, and one purlin (or multiple purlins joined together) may be erected for each of the three or more support columns.

[0020] The rafters 400 are installed so as to span the purlins 310, 320. Specifically, multiple rafters 400 are installed so as to cross the purlins 310, 320 at right angles. For ease of explanation, the extension direction of the rafters 400 will be referred to as the vertical direction as shown in Figure 1, and the extension direction of the purlins 310, 320 will be referred to as the horizontal direction. The rafters 400 are installed at equal intervals in the horizontal direction relative to the purlins 310, 320.

[0021] The solar panel components 500 are installed so as to span the rafters 400 and are aligned vertically and horizontally. The solar panel components 500 also function as roof components for the carport 100. Instead of installing the solar panel components 500 on a folded-plate roof as in the past, the solar panel components 500 can be fixed directly to the rafters 400 without a folded-plate roof, allowing the solar panel components 500 to be used as roof components. Water-stopping components and sealing components (not shown) are provided between adjacent solar panel components, and the installation of the water-stopping components, etc., prevents rain leaks and the like from occurring in the carport 100.

[0022] As shown in Figure 1, a rain gutter 900 is provided at the vertical end of the rafter 400. The rain gutter 900 has an eaves gutter 910 that is installed at a slight incline with respect to the horizontal, and a vertical gutter 920 that is connected to the end of the eaves gutter 910 and guides rainwater directly downward. Rainwater that flows along the solar panel component 400 is guided into the eaves gutter 910 and drains into the corner of the parking space S through the vertical gutter 920.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a side view of the carport, showing the support post to which the rail mounting member is attached. FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) and 4 are cross-sectional views showing the rail mounting member, rail member, and hoisting wheel (hoisting wheel member). The rail mounting member 600 is installed so as to maintain a horizontal position relative to the support posts 210 and 220 located at the same lateral end of a pair of support posts 210 and 220. The rail mounting member 600 is a hollow rectangular pillar and is fixed to the support posts 210 and 220 in a state of extending vertically. The carport 100 according to the embodiment will be described using, as an example, a pillar material having the same shape and dimensions as the support posts 210 and 220 as the rail mounting member 600.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3(a), a rail member 610 for horizontally moving a hoisting wheel 640 is attached to the bottom surface of the rail mounting member 600 via a bracket 602 so as to be kept substantially horizontal.

[0025] The bracket 602 has an abutment surface 603 that abuts against the bottom surface of the rail mounting member 600, a locking claw 604 provided on one side end of the abutment surface 603, and a mounting plate 605 that is formed integrally with the other side end of the abutment surface 603 and to which a locking piece 606 is rotatably attached. Two screw holes are formed in the abutment surface 603 for receiving screws 601 that secure the bracket 602 to the bottom surface of the rail mounting member 600, and the rail member 610 is secured to the rail mounting member 600 by securing the screws 601 to the rail mounting member 600 through the screw holes.

[0026] The locking claw portion 604 has the role of holding one end of the rail material 610 by fitting its tip into one of the locking recesses 626a (described below) of the rail material 610. The mounting plate portion 605 maintains a substantially horizontal position when the abutment surface portion 603 is attached to the rail mounting material 600. Rectangular flat locking pieces 606 are stacked on the bottom surface of the mounting plate portion 605, and the locking pieces 606 are attached to the mounting plate portion 605 so as to be rotatable around a rotation protrusion 607 provided on the bottom surface of the mounting plate portion 605 as a rotation axis. When the locking pieces 606 are rotated, the distance between the locking claw portion 604 and an end 606a of the locking piece 606 on the locking claw portion 604 side narrows in accordance with the rotation angle of the locking pieces 606. Therefore, by rotating the locking piece 606, the end 606a of the locking piece 606 can be fitted into the other locking recess 626b (described below) of the rail material 610. In this way, by fitting the tip of the locking claw portion 604 and the end 606a of the locking piece 606 into both locking recesses 626a, 626b of the rail material 610, the rail material 610 is gripped by the bracket 602, and the rail material 610 is fixed to the bottom surface of the rail mounting member 600.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 4, the rail member 610 is a hollow, approximately rectangular pillar, with an opening 612 formed in the center of the bottom surface and the above-mentioned locking recesses 626a, 626b formed in the left and right side wall surfaces (side wall portions 626, 626). The opening 612 of the rail member 610 is provided with middle wall portions 620, 620 that stand up at opposing edge portions 615, 615 of the opening 612. Furthermore, the middle wall portions 620, 620 extend horizontally at their upper ends 624, 624 to the sides of the rail member 610 (towards the side wall portions 626, 626) and are further bent downward at their ends 628, 628 to form rail portions 630, 630 for the hoist wheel 640.

[0028] The hoist 640 has a wheel portion 650 that moves along the upper surface of the rail portions 630, 630 (a surface formed horizontally from the upper end portions 624, 624 to the end portions 628, 628), a hook portion 660 that is O-shaped and to which a charging cable described later is fixed, and a connecting portion 670 for attaching the hook portion 660 to the wheel portion 650 so that it can rotate freely.

[0029] The wheel unit 650 is provided with a pair of wheels 654, 654 that come into contact with the upper surfaces of the rail units 630, 630 and move horizontally. The pair of wheels 654, 654 are connected to a shaft unit 656, which is rotatably attached to the upper end of a connecting unit 670. A rotating unit 672 that freely rotates around the vertical axis is provided at the lower end of the connecting unit 670, and an upper end 662 of a hook unit 660 is fixed to this rotating unit 672. When the wheel unit 650 of the hoisting wheel 640 is attached to the rail units 630, 630 of the rail material 610, the hoisting wheel 640 can be smoothly moved horizontally relative to the rail material 610 as the wheels 654 rotate.

[0030] The charging device 700 has a charging main unit 710 and a charging cable 720. When charging an EV in a home carport or the like, one of the following charging devices is generally installed. The first charging device is a 200V (sometimes 100V) charging outlet. The EV can be charged by inserting the outlet terminal of an on-board charging cable into the charging outlet. The second charging device is a device in which a dedicated charging cable different from the on-board charging cable is connected to the charging main unit 710, and charging can be performed by inserting the charging connector at the end of the charging cable into the charging port of the EV. The carport 100 according to the embodiment will be described using as an example a case in which a charging device 700 for charging using the second charging method is installed.

[0031] One end of charging cable 720 is connected to charging main body 710 and is not designed to be detachable. Therefore, charging cable 720 remains connected to charging main body 710 when the user uses charging device 700 and when the user puts it away after use. Furthermore, charging cable 720 is a relatively thick cable used to charge an EV at high voltage, and is approximately 10 meters long. As a result, charging cable 720 tends to be relatively heavy, thick, and inflexible, making it difficult to handle.

[0032] A charging connector 730 is attached to the other end of charging cable 720. The shape of charging connector 730 varies depending on the charging standard of the EV (for example, the European and American standard "CCS (Combined Charging System)" or the Japanese standard "CHAdeMO (registered trademark)"), and a connector with an appropriate shape is used depending on the charging standard of the EV.

[0033] As shown in Figures 2 and 5, charging cable 720 is fixed to three hoisting wheels 640 at three locations in the middle of the cable. More specifically, the lower end of each hook portion 660 and each portion of charging cable 720 are tied and fixed with stainless steel cable ties 750, as shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) and 4. At this time, cable ties 750 are fastened relatively tightly to prevent charging cable 720 from easily falling off hook portions 660 or the attachment portions of charging cable 720 from shifting.

[0034] 2 and 5, by fixing the charging cable 720 to the hook portion 660 in this way, the charging cable 720 is suspended and supported (suspended) by the hook portion 660 of the hoisting wheel 640, and the charging cable 720 does not come into contact with the ground of the parking space S. This prevents the charging cable 720 from coming into contact with sand and dust on the ground of the parking space S and becoming dirty.

[0035] Furthermore, because the charging cable 720 is attached to the rail mounting member 600 via the hoisting wheels 640, the charging connector 730 can be easily moved to the charging port. Specifically, when the charging port of an EV parked in the carport 100 is located on the opposite side (near the support column 220) of the support column 210 on which the charging main body 710 is installed, the charging connector 730 can be easily guided to the charging port on the support column 220 side by pulling the charging connector 730 and moving it along the support column 610 while widening the cable spacing of the charging cable 720. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5 , the hoisting wheels 640 move smoothly relative to the rail member 610, so that the spacing between adjacent hoisting wheels 640 (widened cable spacing) becomes approximately equal (substantially regular). On the other hand, when the charging port of the EV vehicle is located near the support pillar 210 on the charging main body 710 side, the charging connector 730 can be easily guided to the charging port without having to move the charging cable 720 along the rail material 610 from the charging main body 710 side.

[0036] As already explained, charging cable 720 tends to be thick, inflexible, and relatively heavy. Therefore, by installing charging cable 720 by suspending it from rail material 610 using hoist 640 as described above, it is no longer necessary to carry charging cable 720 as in the past, and it is also no longer necessary to bundle charging cable 720 into a ring, which significantly reduces the burden of handling charging cable 720.

[0037] Furthermore, because charging cable 720 is suspended from rail member 610 and installed so as to be horizontally movable, the weight load imposed when a user moves charging cable 720 by pulling charging connector 730 can be reduced. The weight imposed on the user when moving charging cable 720 corresponds to the weight from the attachment position of charging cable 720, which is installed by hanging from hoisting wheel 640, to charging connector 730, and is therefore reduced to one-fifth of the weight of the entire charging cable 720. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 5 , the weight imposed on the user corresponds to the weight from the attachment position of charging cable 720 attached to the rightmost hoisting wheel 640 of the three hoisting wheels 640 to the tip of charging cable 720. Therefore, even women, elderly people, and the like can move charging cable 720 horizontally with a relatively light force and easily guide charging connector 730 to a charging port.

[0038] Furthermore, even when the charging cable 720 is moved toward the charging main unit 710 and gathered near the support pole after charging of the EV is completed, there is no need to wind the charging cable 720 into a loop and hang it on a hook on a support pole or the like, as in the past. By pulling the charging connector 730 toward the charging main unit 710 and moving the three hoisting wheels 640 to which the charging cable 720 is fixed along the rail material 610 toward the charging main unit 710, as shown in FIG. 2, the charging cable 720 naturally winds into a loop and is gathered on the side of the support pole 210. This eliminates the need to tidy up the charging cable 720 by winding it into a loop and hanging it on a hook, as in the case of conventional charging devices, thereby reducing the burden of handling.

[0039] Although the carport according to the present invention has been described in detail above using the drawings, the carport according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the embodiment. For example, in the carport 100 shown in the embodiment, the rail mounting member 600 is bridged between the support columns 210 and 220, and the rail member 610 is installed horizontally in the vertical direction of the carport 100. However, the installation direction of the rail member 610 is not limited to the configuration in which it is installed in the vertical direction of the carport 100.

[0040] 6 is a side view showing carport 100a in which rail members 610 are installed on the bottom surface of purlin member 310. By attaching rail members 610 to purlin member 310 in this way (installing them horizontally facing the lateral direction of carport 100a), charging cable 720 can be easily moved laterally across carport 100a. For example, if two EVs can be parked side by side in parking space S of carport 100a, charging connector 730 can be easily guided from charging main body 710 of charging device 700 installed on support pole 210 to the charging port regardless of which side the EV is parked in.

[0041] As shown in Figure 6, even when the rail material 610 is installed horizontally along the lateral direction, as with the carport 100 described in the embodiment, it is possible to reduce the burden of handling the charging cable 720 and reduce dirt on the charging cable 720.

[0042] 6 shows a configuration in which rail material 610 is installed on purlin material 310 of support pillar 210 on which rain gutter 900 is installed, but rail material 610 is not limited to being installed on purlin material 310, and may be installed on purlin material 320 on the opposite side. Even when rail material 610 is installed on purlin material 320, it is possible to achieve the same effect as carport 100a shown in FIG.

[0043] Furthermore, in the carport 100 according to the embodiment, the rail mounting member 600 is bridged between the support columns 210 and 220, and the rail mounting member 600 is installed in the vertical direction of the carport 100. However, the installation direction of the rail mounting member 600 is not particularly limited, as long as the rail material 610 attached to the rail mounting member 600 maintains a horizontal state. The installation direction of the rail mounting member 600 may be parallel to the purlins 310, 320 or may be in a different direction.

[0044] For example, the rail mounting member 600 may be installed so as to span between opposing support columns 210 and 220 of the carport 100, and may be configured to diagonally cross the upper space of the parking space S. In this case, the attachment portion of the charging cable 720 to the hoisting wheel 640 is adjusted so that the charging cable 720 suspended from the hoisting wheel 640 does not come into contact with the electric vehicle (vehicle) parked in the parking space S or the ground of the parking space S, regardless of the movement state of the hoisting wheel 640.

[0045] Furthermore, the rail mounting material 600 is not limited to a pillar shape (specifically, a shape that appears I-shaped when viewed up from the parking space S), and its shape is not limited as long as it allows the rail material 610 to be installed horizontally. For example, the rail mounting material 600 may be bent so as to form a square shape when viewed up, allowing the rail material 610 to be placed in the spaces above the four sides of the parking space S, or may be bent so as to form a U-shape when viewed up, allowing the rail material 610 to be placed in the spaces above three sides of the parking space S.

[0046] Furthermore, as long as the rail material 610 has a shape that allows the charging cable 720 to be moved horizontally using the space above the electric vehicle, the rail material 610 may be bent into an S-shape or an O-shape when viewed from the parking space S, and installed on the support pillars 210, 220, etc. By bending the rail material 610 into an S-shape or an O-shape, it becomes possible to install the rail material 610 so that the charging cable 720 can be moved using the space above the electric vehicle. When the charging cable 720 is moved using the space above the electric vehicle, as described above, the attachment portion of the charging cable 720 to the hoist wheel 640 is adjusted so that the charging cable 720 suspended from the hoist wheel 640 does not come into contact with the electric vehicle or the ground of the parking space S, regardless of the state of movement of the hoist wheel 640. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 100,100a...Carport 210,220…Support column 310,320 ... Purlin material 400...Rafters (roofing members) 500...Solar panel components (roofing components) 600 ... Rail mounting material (rail mounting member) 601...bis 602...Bracket 603 ... (bracket) contact surface 604 ... (bracket) locking claw 605 ...(bracket) mounting plate part 606 ... (bracket) locking piece 606a...End of (bracket locking piece) 607 ... Rotating protrusion (of mounting plate) 610 ... Rail material 612 ... (rail material) opening 615 ... Edge part (of rail material) 620...Middle wall (of rail material) 624 ... Upper end (of the middle wall of the rail material) 626 ... Side wall (of rail material) 626a, 626b ... (Side wall of rail) locking recess 628 ... (rail material) end 630 ... Rail section 640 ... Hoist (hoist component) 650 ... (hoisting wheel) wheel 654 ... Wheel (of the wheel part of a hoist) 656 ... (wheel part of hoisting wheel) shaft 660 ... (hoisting wheel) hook 662 ...(Top end of the hook of the hoist) 670 ... (hoisting wheel) connection part 672 ... Rotating part (of the connecting part of the hoist) 700…Charging device 710 ... Charging main body (of charging device) 720 ... Charging cable (for charging devices) 730 ... Charging connector (for charging equipment) 750 ... Cable ties 800…Basics 900...rain gutter 910 ...(Rain gutter) Eaves gutter 920...downspout (rain gutter) S...Parking space

Claims

1. A pair of support columns; a purlin member erected on the support pillar; A roof member installed on the purlin material; a rail mounting member that is installed on the support column so as to be substantially horizontal and in a direction different from the extension direction of the purlin; a rail member attached to the rail mounting member so as to be kept substantially horizontal; a hoist member that is attached to the rail material so as to be horizontally movable and that can suspend a charging cable of a charging device for supplying power to an electric vehicle parked in the parking space; A carport characterized by comprising:

2. A pair of support columns; a purlin member erected on the support pillar; A roof member installed on the purlin material; A rail member attached to the purlin member so as to be kept substantially horizontal; a hoist member that is attached to the rail material so as to be horizontally movable and that can suspend a charging cable of a charging device for supplying power to an electric vehicle parked in the parking space; A carport characterized by comprising:

3. The charging cable is suspended from the hoist member so as to maintain a state where it does not come into contact with the ground of the parking space regardless of the movement state of the hoist member. A carport according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that:

4. The charging cable is suspended from the hoist member so as to maintain a state where it does not come into contact with the electric vehicle parked in the parking space regardless of the movement state of the hoist member. A carport according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that:

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