Charging connector holder

Abstract

To provide a charging connector holder which holds a charging cable so that the charging cable is not entangled and is easily removed.SOLUTION: A charging connector holder 1 includes a connector holding part 2 for holding a charging connector 5, and a cable winding part 3 around which a charging cable 6 is wound. The cable winding part 3 has a hanging part 31 extending downward from the lower surface of the connector holding part 2, and a horizontal part 32 extending horizontally from the hanging part 31. A projection piece 33 projecting upward is provided on the tip side of the horizontal part 32, and an interval H between the upper surface of the horizontal part 32 and the lower surface of the connector holding part 2 facing each other is set to be twice or less of the outer diameter of the charging cable 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging connector holder. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle charging device that includes "a charging cable for an electric vehicle extending from the bottom of the device body, a charging connector provided at the tip of the charging cable, and a hook that serves as a first holding part provided at the bottom of the device body and that is used to wrap the charging cable around the device body in a loop shape multiple times."

[0003] The hook serving as the first holding portion is formed into a U-shape by bending a single metal rod in the middle, and then bending the tip back to form a J-shape when viewed from the side. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6378881 (JP 2015-133849) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In Patent Document 1, the first holding portion is formed by bending a single metal rod, and the portion bent into a J-shape in side view has a small hooking margin for the charging cable. Therefore, if the charging cable is long, the charging cable may be looped and wrapped around a single hook multiple times. In this case, there is a concern that the charging cable may become tangled inside the hook, making it difficult to remove the charging cable from the hook.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging connector holder that holds a charging cable without tangling and makes it easy to remove the charging cable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is a charging connector holder having a connector holding portion that holds a charging connector and a cable winding portion around which a charging cable is wound, wherein the cable winding portion has a hanging portion extending downward from the underside of the connector holding portion and a horizontal portion extending horizontally from the hanging portion, and a protruding piece that protrudes upward is provided on the tip side of the horizontal portion, and the width between the upper surface of the horizontal portion and the lower surface of the connector holding portion is set to be no more than twice the outer diameter of the charging cable.

[0008] According to this configuration, when the charging cable is wound around the cable winding section, the charging cable is wound into multiple loops and inserted radially between the opposing upper surface of the horizontal section and the opposing lower surface of the connector holding section, but in this case, only one loop of the charging cable can be inserted between the opposing surfaces.

[0009] This means that when the multiple loops of the charging cable are wound one by one around the cable winding section, the multiple loops of the charging cable are arranged radially adjacent to each other, i.e., side by side, making it possible to prevent the charging cable from becoming tangled.

[0010] Therefore, when removing the charging cable from the cable winding portion, it becomes possible to remove the charging cable smoothly and quickly, thereby improving usability.

[0011] Incidentally, the charging connector holder may be configured such that a locking portion is provided below the cable winding portion to which a separate cable winding device is detachably locked.

[0012] With this configuration, it is possible to wind the area of ​​the charging cable closer to the charging connector (referred to as the tip area) around the cable winding portion, and to wind the remaining area of ​​the charging cable (referred to as the base area) around a separate cable winding device that is engaged with the cable winding portion.

[0013] This reduces the number of times the tip region of the charging cable is wound around the cable winding part compared to when the entire length of the charging cable is wound in one place, which is advantageous in preventing the charging cable from becoming tangled when wound around the cable winding part.

[0014] In addition, the charging connector holder may be configured such that a cable winding portion similar to the cable winding portion is integrally provided below the cable winding portion.

[0015] With this configuration, it is possible to wind the area of ​​the charging cable closer to the charging connector (referred to as the tip area) around the upper cable winding portion, and the remaining area of ​​the charging cable (referred to as the base area) around the lower cable winding portion.

[0016] This reduces the number of times the tip region of the charging cable is wound around the cable winding part compared to when the entire length of the charging cable is wound in one place, which is advantageous in preventing the charging cable from becoming tangled when wound around the cable winding part.

[0017] Furthermore, because the upper and lower cable winding sections are integrally formed, the effort required to attach and detach the cable winding device, which is required when a cable winding device is separate from the charging connector holder, is eliminated, resulting in improved usability compared to when a cable winding device is separate from the charging connector holder. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a charging connector holder that holds a charging cable without tangling and makes it easy to remove the charging cable. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a charging connector holder according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the charging connector holder of FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line (3)-(3) in FIG. 2, viewed from the direction of the arrow. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the charging connector holder according to the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a front view of the charging connector holder of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line (6)-(6) in FIG. 5, viewed from the direction of the arrow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0021] 1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. A charging connector holder 1 in the illustrated example includes a connector holding portion 2 and a cable winding portion 3.

[0022] The connector holding portion 2 holds the charging connector 5 as shown in FIG. 3, and the outer shape of the upper half region 22 is semi-cylindrical, and the outer shape of the lower half region 23 is rectangular tubular.

[0023] The connector holding portion 2 has a horizontal recess 21 into which the charging connector 5 is inserted and held.

[0024] In the connector holding portion 2, a latch receiver 24 is provided on the upper outer surface of the upper half region 22, on which a latch 51 of the charging cable 6 is hooked.

[0025] The cable winding section 3 is a section around which the charging cable 6 is wound in a loop shape and includes a hanging section 31 and a horizontal section 32.

[0026] Hanging portion 31 extends downward from the lower surface of connector holding portion 2. The front surface of hanging portion 31 is a concave curved surface recessed in a C-shape.

[0027] Horizontal portion 32 extends in a direction perpendicular to (horizontally) the lower end of hanging portion 31. Horizontal portion 32 is shaped like a flat plate, and is provided at its tip with a protruding piece 33 that extends upward. The inner surface of protruding piece 33 is a concave curved surface that is recessed in a C-shape.

[0028] 3, a locked portion 34 is provided below the horizontal portion 32, to which the separate cable winding device 7 is removably locked.

[0029] The cable winding device 7 is a so-called wire lock, and includes a U-shaped flexible wire 71 made of metal or the like, and a dial lock 72.

[0030] One end of the wire 71 is fixed to the lock 72, and the other end of the wire 71 is removably attached to the lock 72. The locked portion 34 is, for example, a through hole. For example, by inserting the wire 71 into the through hole that serves as the locked portion 34, the cable winding device 7 is locked in a suspended state to the locked portion 34. Note that the cable winding device 7 is not limited to the above-mentioned wire lock, and it can also be one that can lock a cable, such as a hook.

[0031] A storage space 4 for the charging cable 6 is provided between the lower surface of the lower half region 23 of the connector holding portion 2 and the upper surface of the horizontal portion 32 .

[0032] Furthermore, the distance H (vertical width) between the upper surface of the horizontal portion 32 and the lower surface of the connector holding portion 2 (storage space 4) is set to be equal to or less than twice the outer diameter of the charging cable 6.

[0033] Although not shown, the charging connector 5 is connected to an inlet (not shown) of a charging device for an on-board battery equipped in a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can run using the driving force of an electric motor.

[0034] Although not shown, the base of the charging cable 6 is connected to an AC outlet (not shown) installed in a building or the like or to a charging device (not shown) at a charging station.

[0035] Next, a method of using the charging connector holder 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.

[0036] Although not shown, the charging connector holder 1 is installed on, for example, a side wall of a general house or a charging station.

[0037] In the charging connector holder 1 thus installed, the charging connector 5 is held by the connector holding portion 2, and the charging cable 6 is wound around the cable winding portion 3, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

[0038] When charging an in-vehicle battery, for example, the charging connector 5 is removed from the connector holding portion 2 of the charging connector holder 1 and connected to an inlet (not shown) of the vehicle.

[0039] After charging of the vehicle battery is completed, the charging connector 5 is removed from the inlet and held by the connector holding portion 2 of the charging connector holder 1, and the charging cable 6 is wound around the cable winding portion 3 of the charging connector holder 1.

[0040] Next, the procedure for winding the charging cable 6 will be described.

[0041] First of all, in the case of a charging cable 6 used for normal charging at home or the like, the overall length is generally set to be relatively long, at 7 m or more.

[0042] As a rule for winding up such a charging cable 6, the charging cable 6 is divided into a "normally used length range" and an "other range."

[0043] The "normally used length region" refers to the region of the charging cable 6 closer to the charging connector 5 (referred to as the tip region 61), and the "other region" refers to the base region 62 of the charging cable 6.

[0044] Specifically, for example, the tip end region of a 7 m charging cable 6 is set to be approximately 3 m long, and the base end region 62 of the charging cable 6 is set to be approximately 4 m long. Then, the tip end region 61 of the charging cable 6 is wound into two loops with a diameter of 1.5 m, and one loop is inserted between the upper end of the protrusion 33 and the underside of the connector holding portion 2 (entrance 41). As shown by the dotted line in Figure 3, the two loops of the charging cable 6 are wound around the cable winding portion 3 in a radially adjacent manner, i.e., side-by-side, within the storage space 4.

[0045] Then, a separate cable winding device 7 is engaged with the engaging portion 34 of the charging connector holder 1, and two loops with a diameter of 2 m are wound around the base side region 62 of the charging cable 6, and these are hooked onto the cable winding device 7.

[0046] This prevents the tip region 61 of the charging cable 6 from becoming tangled, making it easier to remove the charging cable 6 from the cable winding section 3 and improving usability.

[0047] When removing the tip region 61 of the charging cable 6 from the cable winding section 3, the loops of the charging cable 6 are removed one by one in the reverse order of the order in which the charging cable 6 was hooked onto the cable winding section 3.

[0048] In this way, when removing the charging cable 6 from the cable winding portion 3, it is possible to remove the charging cable 6 smoothly and quickly.

[0049] As described above, according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, it is possible to wind the area of ​​the charging cable 6 closer to the charging connector 5 (tip side area 61) around the cable winding section 3, and wind the remaining area of ​​the charging cable 6 (base side area 62) around a separate cable winding device 7 that is engaged with the cable winding section 3.

[0050] This reduces the number of times that the tip end region 61 of the charging cable 6 is wound around the cable winding portion 3 compared to when the entire length of the charging cable 6 is wound around one location.

[0051] Furthermore, the tip region 61 of the charging cable 6 is made into a two-wrap loop, and one wrap of each is inserted from the opposing gap (entrance 41) between the upper end of the protrusion 33 and the underside of the connector holding portion 2, so that the two wraps of the charging cable 6 are arranged radially adjacent to each other in the storage space 4, i.e., side by side, and are wound around the cable winding portion 3. Therefore, when the charging cable 6 is wound around the cable winding portion 3, it is possible to prevent the charging cable 6 from becoming tangled within the storage space 4.

[0052] Therefore, when removing the charging cable 6 from the cable winding portion 3, it becomes possible to remove the charging cable 6 smoothly and quickly, thereby improving usability.

[0053] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereto.

[0054] (1) In the above embodiment, an example in which the cable winding unit 3 is formed as one unit is given, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0055] For example, as shown in Figures 4 to 6, two cable winding portions 3A and 3B are provided vertically spaced apart on the charging connector holder 1, and the locked portion 34 shown in Figures 1 to 3 is eliminated. The other configurations are basically the same as those of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 3. Note that 31A and 31B in Figures 4 to 6 are hanging portions.

[0056] The upper cable winding portion 3A and the lower cable winding portion 3B have the same shape.

[0057] The space between the lower surface of the lower half region 23 of the connector holding portion 2 and the upper surface of the horizontal portion 32A of the upper cable winding portion 3A, and the space between the lower surface of the horizontal portion 32A of the upper cable winding portion 3A and the upper surface of the horizontal portion 32B of the lower cable winding portion 3B are storage spaces 4A, 4B, respectively, for storing the charging cable 6.

[0058] The distance (vertical width) H1 between the lower surface of the connector holding portion 2 and the upper surface of the horizontal portion 32A of the upper cable winding portion 3A (storage space 4A), and the distance (vertical width) H2 between the lower surface of the horizontal portion 32A of the upper cable winding portion 3A and the upper surface of the horizontal portion 32B of the lower cable winding portion 3B (storage space 4B) are each set to be less than twice the outer diameter of the charging cable 6.

[0059] In this embodiment, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, for example, the tip end region 61 of the 7 m charging cable 6 is set to be about 3 m, and the base end region 62 of the charging cable 6 is set to be about 4 m, and the tip end region 61 of the charging cable 6 is wound with two loops of 1.5 m in diameter. By inserting each of these loops from the opposing gap (entrance 41A) between the lower surface of the connector holding portion 2 and the upper end of the protruding piece 33A of the upper cable winding portion 3A, the two loops of the charging cable 6 are arranged radially adjacent to each other in the storage space 4A. The charging cable 6 is hooked onto the upper cable winding section 3A in a state where it is arranged side by side in a diametrically opposed manner, while two loops of 2 m diameter are wound around the base side region 62, and one winding at a time is inserted from the opposing gap (entrance 41B) between the underside of the horizontal section 32A of the upper cable winding section 3A and the upper end of the protrusion 33B of the lower cable winding section 3B, so that the two windings of the charging cable 6 are arranged side by side in the radial direction within the storage space 4B and hooked onto the lower cable winding section 3B.

[0060] This prevents the charging cable 6 from becoming tangled in the storage spaces 4A, 4B, making it easier to remove the charging cable 6 from the upper and lower cable winding portions 3A, 3B, improving usability.

[0061] Moreover, because the upper cable winding portion 3A and the lower cable winding portion 3B are integrally provided, there is no need to take the time to attach and detach the cable winding device 7 as in the case where a separate cable winding device 7 is used as shown in Fig. 3. This improves usability compared to the case where the charging connector holder 1 and the separate cable winding device 7 are used. [Industrial Applicability]

[0062] The present invention can be suitably used for a charging connector holder. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1 Charging connector holder 2 Connector holder 21 Horizontal recess 22 Upper half area 23 Lower half area 24 Latch holder 3 Cable winding section 31 Drooping part 32 Horizontal section 33 Projection piece 34 Locked part 4. Storage space 41 Entrance 5 Charging connector 51 Latch 6 charging cables 61 Distal region 62 Base area 7 Cable winding device 71 Wire 72 tablets

Claims

1. A charging connector holder having a connector holding portion that holds a charging connector and a cable winding portion around which a charging cable is wound, the cable winding portion has a hanging portion extending downward from a lower surface of the connector holding portion and a horizontal portion extending horizontally from the hanging portion, A protruding piece that protrudes upward is provided on the tip side of the horizontal portion, a width between the upper surface of the horizontal portion and the lower surface of the connector holding portion that faces each other is set to be equal to or less than twice the outer diameter of the charging cable;

2. 2. The charging connector holder according to claim 1, The charging connector holder is characterized in that a locking portion is provided below the cable winding portion to which a separate cable winding device is detachably locked.

3. 3. The charging connector holder according to claim 1, The charging connector holder is characterized in that another cable winding portion similar to the cable winding portion is integrally provided below the cable winding portion.

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