Charging box

Abstract

To suppress impairment of a function of a connection member provided outside a housing of a charging box.SOLUTION: A charging box 10 includes a charging part 20 connectable to a connector of an external power supply device, a housing 12 housing an electric wire 25 connected to the charging part 20, and a connection member 30 exposed to the outside of the housing 12 and connecting the electric wire 25 to an electric wire 8 connected to a device on a vehicle body side. The connecting member 30 is provided on the housing upper surface 16 that becomes an upper surface in the vertical direction when attached to the vehicle body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging box for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle is provided with a box-shaped charging box into which a charging gun is connected to charge the battery (see Patent Document 1 below). The charging box has a charging port and a housing that houses an electric wire (hereinafter referred to as a first electric wire) connected to the charging port. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-84973 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A charging box has been proposed in which a connecting member that connects the first electric wire and the second electric wire connected to the device on the vehicle is provided on the outside of the housing. If the connecting member is located on the outside of the housing, there is a risk that water may penetrate the connecting member. If water penetrates the connecting member, the function of the connecting member will be impaired.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to prevent the functionality of a connecting member provided on the outside of a housing of a charging box from being impaired. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charging box that is attached to a vehicle body and can be powered by an external power supply device, the charging box comprising: a charging unit that can be connected to a connector of the external power supply device; a housing that houses a first electric wire connected to the charging unit; and a connecting member that is exposed to the outside of the housing and connects the first electric wire to a second electric wire that is connected to a device on the vehicle body side, the connecting member being provided on the top surface of the housing that becomes the vertical upper surface when attached to the vehicle body.

[0007] The upper surface of the housing may have an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and the connecting member may be provided on the inclined surface.

[0008] The connecting member may also have a main body portion and a connecting protrusion portion that protrudes from the main body portion and connects to the second electric wire, and the connecting protrusion portion may protrude diagonally downward from the main body portion.

[0009] The connection protrusion may be connected to a curved end of the second electric wire located above the housing.

[0010] The inclined surface may be located at one end of the upper surface of the housing in a predetermined direction, and the connecting protrusion may protrude toward the other end in the predetermined direction.

[0011] The connecting protrusion may be parallel to the inclined surface. The connecting member may also have a main body and a connecting protrusion that protrudes from the main body and connects to the second electric wire, and the connecting protrusion may be parallel to the top surface of the housing.

[0012] The connection member may also have a socket located within the housing and connected to the first electric wire, and a plug located outside the housing, engaged with the socket, and connected to the second electric wire. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress impairment of the function of the connection member provided on the outside of the housing of the charging box. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of a vehicle 1 equipped with a charging box 10 according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of equipment provided in an equipment room 3. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a charging box 10. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a charging box 110 according to a comparative example. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining water flowing along an electric wire 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] <Vehicle Overview> An overview of a vehicle 1 equipped with a charging box according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle 1 equipped with a charging box 10 according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of equipment provided in an equipment room 3. The vehicle 1 is, for example, an electric vehicle that can be driven by a motor. Here, the vehicle 1 is a bus as shown in FIG. 1, but is not limited to this and may be, for example, a truck.

[0017] The vehicle 1 has an equipment compartment 3 located at the rear of the vehicle body. The equipment compartment 3 is located behind the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1. The equipment compartment 3 forms a space that houses equipment for driving the vehicle 1 with a motor. As shown in FIG. 2, the equipment compartment 3 is provided with a battery 4, a junction box 5, an air vent 6, and a charging box 10.

[0018] The battery 4 is a secondary battery that can be repeatedly charged. Here, a plurality of batteries 4 are provided. The battery 4 supplies electricity to a motor, for example, to drive the motor and cause the vehicle 1 to run.

[0019] The charging box 10 is a device that can receive power from an external power supply device. Specifically, the charging box 10 charges the battery 4 of the vehicle 1 with electricity supplied via a connector of the external power supply device (specifically, a charging gun 90 shown in FIG. 4). The charging box 10 is provided on the side of the rear of the vehicle 1 (specifically, the equipment compartment 3) as shown in FIG. 1.

[0020] The junction box 5 is provided between the charging box 10 and the battery 4. The junction box 5 has a function of distributing electricity supplied from an external source via the charging box 10 to each of the multiple batteries 4, for example. The junction box 5 is connected to the connection member 30 of the charging box 10 by an electric wire 8, and is connected to the battery 4 by an electric wire 9. Here, each of the electric wires 8 and 9 is a wire harness. Note that, for the sake of convenience in explanation, in FIG. 2, the electric wires 8 and 9 are shown as a single line, but in reality they are a set of electric wires connected to a positive terminal and a negative terminal.

[0021] The vent 6 is an opening for taking in outside air into the equipment compartment 3. A mesh member is attached to the vent 6 to allow outside air to pass through. As shown in FIG. 1 , the vent 6 is located above the charging box 10 on the side of the equipment compartment 3. The vent 6 takes in outside air that flows toward an air-cooled radiator 7 provided inside the equipment compartment 3. The radiator 7 cools the refrigerant and other components using the air from the vent 6. The radiator 7 is located opposite the vent 6 and above the charging box 10.

[0022] Incidentally, water (e.g., raindrops) may seep in through the ventilation opening 6 as shown in Fig. 2. The water that seeps in through the ventilation opening 6 falls into the charging box 10 located below the ventilation opening 6. If water, which is a conductor, remains in contact with the connection member 30 of the charging box 10, the insulation resistance of the connection member 30 may decrease, and the function of the connection member 30 may be impaired.

[0023] In contrast, the charging box 10 of this embodiment has an attachment structure for the connection member 30 that prevents water entering through the ventilation hole 6 from impairing the function of the connection member 30.

[0024] <Charging box configuration> Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the charging box 10. Fig. 3 shows the charging box 10 as seen from the direction of arrow A in Fig. 2. Note that in Fig. 3, the cover member covering the rear opening 13 of the housing 12 is omitted in order to show the internal configuration of the charging box 10.

[0025] The charging box 10 includes a housing 12, a charging section 20, an electric wire 25, a connecting member 30, and an attachment section 40.

[0026] The housing 12 is a rectangular box. The front side of the housing 12 is the back side of the paper in FIG. 3, and the back side of the housing 12 is the front side of the paper in FIG. 3. The housing 12 has an internal storage space for storing electric wires 25. The charging unit 20 is attached to a front panel 14 located on the front side of the housing 12. The back side of the housing 12 is fixed to the vehicle body (equipment compartment 3) with fastening members.

[0027] The charging unit 20 is provided inside the housing 12 and has a charging port that can be connected to a charging gun 90 (see FIG. 4). The charging port is a connector portion that is the plug-in port of the charging gun 90. The charging unit 20 is provided so that the charging port is exposed from the front panel 14 of the housing 12. The charging box 10 has an openable door that can close the charging port. The charging unit 20 is located in the center of the front panel 14 of the housing 12.

[0028] The electric wires 25 connect between the charging unit 20 and the connection member 30. One end of the electric wires 25 is connected to the charging unit 20, and the other end of the electric wires 25 is connected to the connection member 30 of the charging unit 20. The electric wires 25 are a wire harness in this case, and are provided in pairs. The pair of electric wires 25 are arranged adjacent to each other inside the housing 12. One of the pair of electric wires 25 is connected to the positive terminal of the charging unit 20, and the other is connected to the negative terminal of the charging unit 20.

[0029] The connection member 30 is exposed outside the housing 12, and connects the electric wire 8 connected to a device on the vehicle body side (specifically, the junction box 5 shown in FIG. 2 ) to the electric wire 25. That is, the connection member 30 connects the pair of electric wires 25 inside the housing 12 to the pair of electric wires 8 located outside the housing 12. As a result, electricity received by the charging unit 20 is supplied to the junction box 5 via the electric wires 25 and 8. The connection member 30 is provided on the housing upper surface 16, which becomes the upper surface in the vertical direction when attached to the vehicle body. In this embodiment, the electric wire 25 corresponds to the first electric wire, and the electric wire 8 corresponds to the second electric wire.

[0030] The connecting member 30 has a socket 32 ​​and a plug 34 that fit together. The socket 32 ​​is located inside the housing 12 and is connected to a pair of electric wires 25. The socket 32 ​​is located inside an extension portion 17 that extends from the top of the housing 12 to one end side in the width direction. The socket 32 ​​is fixed to the extension portion 17.

[0031] The plug 34 is exposed to the outside of the housing 12. The plug 34 is fitted into the socket 32 ​​while positioned outside the housing 12, and is connected to the electric wire 8. The plug 34 is positioned above the mounting portion 40, and is fitted into the socket 32 ​​with the mounting portion 40 in between. The plug 34 is detachable from the socket 32. A seal member is provided inside at least one of the socket 32 ​​and the plug 34.

[0032] The mounting portion 40 is a portion to which the connection member 30 is attached. The mounting portion 40 is provided on the upper portion of the housing 12. In this embodiment, the connection member 30 is attached to the mounting portion 40 by fitting the socket 32 ​​into the plug 34 fixed to the mounting portion 40.

[0033] The attachment portion 40 is located on the upper portion of the extension portion 17. The upper surface of the extension portion 17 forms part of the housing upper surface 16 of the housing 12. Therefore, the attachment portion 40 is provided on the housing upper surface 16.

[0034] The upper surface of extension portion 17 forms inclined surface 18 that is inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, 15 to 30 degrees) with respect to the horizontal plane. In other words, housing top surface 16 includes inclined surface 18. Inclined surface 18 is located at one end of housing top surface 16 in the width direction. Connection member 30 is attached to inclined surface 18. Specifically, plug 34 of connection member 30 is located on inclined surface 18. In this embodiment, the width direction corresponds to the predetermined direction.

[0035] By providing the connection member 30 on the housing upper surface 16 (particularly the inclined surface 18), it is possible to prevent water that has fallen through the ventilation hole 6 from accumulating around the connection member 30. Below, a further explanation will be given in comparison with a comparative example shown in FIG.

[0036] 4 is a schematic diagram showing charging box 110 according to a comparative example. In the comparative example, connecting member 130 is attached to bottom surface 119 of housing 112. Connecting member 130 has socket 132 located inside housing 112 and plug 134 located outside housing 112. Socket 132 is fixed to bottom surface 119 of housing 112, and is connected to charging unit 120 by electric wire 125. Water that seeps in through the aforementioned ventilation hole 6 falls into the charging box 110. Some of the water that falls into the charging box 110 seeps into the housing 112 through gaps in the housing 112 and accumulates on the bottom surface 119 as shown in FIG. 4 (the portion indicated by the symbol W in FIG. 4). The socket 132, which is fixed to the bottom surface 119, remains in contact with the water that has accumulated on the bottom surface 119. When water, which is a conductor, comes into contact with the socket 132, the insulation resistance of the socket 132 decreases. Furthermore, when water seeps in and accumulates inside the socket 132, the sealing material inside the socket 132 deteriorates, and the waterproofness of the connection member 130, for example, is impaired.

[0037] In contrast, when the connection member 30 is provided on the housing top surface 16 as in this embodiment, water that drops from the ventilation hole 6 is less likely to accumulate on the housing top surface 16, and therefore the socket 32 ​​and plug 34 of the connection member 30 can be prevented from remaining in contact with water. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in the insulation resistance of the connection member 30 and deterioration of the sealing member due to water. In particular, when the connection member 30 is attached to the inclined surface 18, water that drops from the ventilation hole 6 flows along the inclined surface 18, and therefore water can be prevented from accumulating around the connection member 30. It should be noted that some of the water that falls from the ventilation hole 6 may seep into the housing 12 and accumulate on the underside 19 of the housing 12, but since the connecting member 30 is not provided on the underside 19, the function of the connecting member 30 can be prevented from being impaired by water.

[0038] Next, a detailed description will be given of the configuration of the plug 34 located outside the housing 12. The plug 34 has a main body 35 and a connecting protrusion 36, as shown in FIG. The main body 35 is a portion that forms the framework of the plug 34. The main body 35 is located on one end side in the width direction on the housing top surface 16. Here, the main body 35 is formed in an L-shape. The portion of the main body 35 that contacts the housing top surface 16 has a fitting portion that fits into the socket 32.

[0039] The connection protrusion 36 is a portion that protrudes from the main body 35 and is connected to the electric wire 8. Two connection protrusions 36 are provided so as to connect to each of the two electric wires 8. The connection protrusions 36 protrude from the end of the main body 35 along the housing top surface 16. Specifically, the connection protrusions 36 protrude from the end of the main body 35 toward the other end in the width direction of the housing top surface 16. In this case, the plug 34 that connects to the electric wire 8 can be arranged within the limited space in the width direction of the housing top surface 16.

[0040] The connection protrusion 36 is connected to a curved end of the electric wire 8 located above the housing 12. Because the end of the electric wire 8 is curved, water that has fallen onto the electric wire 8 from the ventilation hole 6 is unlikely to reach the connection protrusion 36 even if it flows along the electric wire 8. This makes it possible to prevent water that has fallen onto the electric wire 8 from the ventilation hole 6 from entering the connection member 30 (specifically, the plug 34).

[0041] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating water flowing down the electric wire 8. The connection protrusion 36 protrudes diagonally downward from the main body 35. Specifically, the connection protrusion 36 is parallel to the inclined surface 18. In this case, the lower portion 8a, which is located at the lowest position in the vertical direction of the curved end (here, the U-shaped curved end) of the electric wire 8, is likely to be located lower than the connection protrusion 36. In this case, even if water that has fallen from the ventilation hole 6 onto the electric wire 8 flows down the electric wire 8 in the direction of the dashed arrow shown in FIG. 5, it remains at the lower portion 8a of the second electric wire and is unlikely to reach the connection protrusion 36. This makes it possible to prevent water that has fallen from the ventilation hole 6 from entering the plug 34.

[0042] (Variation) In the above description, the connecting member 30 is attached to the inclined surface 18 of the housing top surface 16, but this is not limiting. For example, the connecting member 30 may be attached to a non-inclined surface of the housing top surface 16. In this case, the connecting protrusion 36 of the connecting member 30 is parallel to the housing top surface 16. Even with the above configuration, water is less likely to accumulate on the surface to which the connecting member 30 is attached, and therefore water intrusion into the connecting member 30 can be suppressed.

[0043] <Effects of this embodiment> The charging box 10 of the above-described embodiment includes a housing 12 that houses therein electric wires 25 connected to the charging unit 20, and a connecting member 30 that connects electric wires 25 to electric wires 8 that are exposed to the outside of the housing 12 and connected to the junction box 5. The connecting member 30 is provided on an upper surface 16 of the housing, which becomes the upper surface in the vertical direction when the charging box 10 is attached to the vehicle body. In the above configuration, water is less likely to accumulate on the housing top surface 16, and therefore the connection member 30 can be prevented from remaining in contact with water. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in the insulation resistance of the connection member 30 due to water and deterioration of the connection member 30 (specifically, deterioration of the sealing member due to water that has penetrated into the connection member 30). As a result, it is possible to suppress impairment of the functionality of the connection member 30.

[0044] The present invention has been described above using embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by functionally or physically distributing or integrating any unit. Furthermore, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combination also have the effects of the original embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1 vehicle 5 Junction Box 8 Electric wire 10 Charging Box 12. Case 16 Top of the housing 18 Slope 20 Live parts 25 Electric wire 30 Connecting member 32 sockets 34 Plug 35 Main body 36 Connection protrusion 40 Mounting part

Claims

1. A charging box attached to a vehicle body and capable of receiving power from an external power supply device, a charging unit connectable to a connector of an external power supply device; a housing that accommodates a first electric wire connected to the charging unit; a connecting member exposed to the outside of the housing and connecting the first electric wire to a second electric wire connected to a device on the vehicle body side; Equipped with the connecting member is provided on an upper surface of the housing that becomes an upper surface in the vertical direction when attached to the vehicle body; Charging box.

2. the upper surface of the housing has an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, The connecting member is provided on the inclined surface. The charging box according to claim 1 .

3. the connecting member has a main body and a connecting protrusion protruding from the main body and connected to the second electric wire, The connecting protrusion protrudes obliquely downward from the main body. The charging box according to claim 2 .

4. the connecting protrusion is connected to a curved end of the second electric wire located above the housing; The charging box according to claim 3 .

5. the inclined surface is located at one end of the upper surface of the housing in a predetermined direction, The connecting protrusion protrudes toward the other end in the predetermined direction. The charging box according to claim 3 .

6. The connecting protrusion is parallel to the inclined surface. The charging box according to claim 3 .

7. the connecting member has a main body and a connecting protrusion protruding from the main body and connected to the second electric wire, The connecting protrusion is parallel to the upper surface of the housing. The charging box according to claim 1 .

8. The connecting member is a socket located within the housing and connected to the first electric wire; a plug that is fitted to the socket while being positioned outside the housing and that is connected to the second electric wire, The charging box according to claim 1 .

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