Charging connector

Abstract

To provide a charging connector that can be held in a direction and angle that is convenient for the user. [Solution] A charging connector 1 comprises a connector housing 5 fixed integrally with an outlet 4 that can be inserted into a vehicle-side inlet or a power conditioner-side inlet, and a charging cable 3 that connects to the outlet 4 and covers a plurality of core wires 9 for supplying power with a covering material, wherein a movable unit 6 is provided interposed between the connector housing 5 and the core wires 9, and the movable unit 6 consists of a cylindrical movable pipe portion 7 into which the core wires 9 are inserted, and a pipe bearing portion 8 supported by the connector housing 5 and moving the movable pipe portion 7 radially and covering at least a part of the outer circumference of the movable pipe portion 7, and the movable pipe portion 7 is further provided with a stopper portion that restricts axial movement between the movable pipe portion 7 and the pipe bearing portion 8.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a charging connector provided at the tip of a charging cable in a vehicle that requires charging.

Background Art

[0002] In vehicles that require electric power supply, such as electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, charging the battery is essential. Therefore, it is desirable that a charging power source can be easily connected to the charging battery of the vehicle.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a holding structure for a charging connector that can easily accommodate the charging connector while avoiding the dropping of the charging connector during the winding operation of the charging cable. According to the configuration described in Patent Document 1, by providing a charging connector holding portion and a hanging portion in a connector housing (housing), the charging connector is supported by the holding portion, and the charging cable can be wound by the hanging portion. Therefore, it is said that the charging connector can be accommodated while avoiding dropping.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When the user inserts the charging connector into the charging insertion port of the vehicle for charging, power is supplied by connecting to the connection part (vehicle-side inlet) of the vehicle through the charging cable and the charging connector from a device having a function of charging a power storage device of the vehicle called a power conditioner.

[0006] To ensure the charging connector is securely inserted into the vehicle's inlet, the charging cable and connector must be brought close to the vehicle's inlet, and the charging connector must be oriented in the direction of insertion into the inlet. However, because the charging cable consists of multiple wires, such as power lines and signal lines, it is not very flexible, and attempting to bend or move the cable presents a challenge in terms of user-friendly movement. Furthermore, depending on the vehicle's parking position, the low flexibility of the charging cable can make it difficult to insert the charging connector into the vehicle's inlet in the correct orientation, indicating that there is still room for improvement.

[0007] This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned technical problems, and aims to provide a charging connector that can be held in a direction and angle that is convenient for the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above objective, this invention provides a charging connector comprising a connector housing integrally fixed to an outlet insertable into a vehicle-side inlet or a power conditioner-side inlet, and a charging cable connecting to the outlet and covering a plurality of core wires for supplying power with a covering material, wherein a movable unit is provided interposed between the connector housing and the core wires, the movable unit comprising a cylindrical movable pipe portion into which the core wires are inserted, and a pipe bearing portion supported by the connector housing and covering a part of the outer circumference of the movable pipe portion while allowing radial movement and rotation, and the movable pipe portion is further provided with a stopper portion that restricts axial movement between the movable pipe portion and the pipe bearing portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the charging connector of this invention, in a movable unit having a movable pipe section into which multiple core wires of a charging cable are inserted, and a pipe bearing section supported by the connector housing, the movable pipe section and the pipe bearing section are configured to move radially relative to the pipe bearing section fixed to the housing by utilizing the excess length of the core wires. As a result, the direction of connection between the connector housing and the charging cable can be changed, and it can be held in a direction and angle that is convenient for the user. In addition, the presence of a stopper section prevents the movable unit 6 from separating. Therefore, when inserting the outlet of the connector housing into the vehicle-side inlet or the power conditioner-side inlet, the direction of the charging cable can be easily changed, so that it can be reliably inserted into the inlet. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of a power conditioner using the charging connector of this invention. [Figure 2] (a) is an explanatory diagram of the movable pipe section and pipe bearing section of the charging connector of this invention, and (b) is an assembly diagram of the pipe bearing section and the movable pipe section. [Figure 3] This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the charging connector of this invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The charging connector in the embodiment of this invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, this invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0012] The charging connector of this invention can be applied to both the vehicle-side charging connector 1 and the power conditioner-side charging connector (or plug) 1' shown in FIG. 1. First, in the vehicle-side charging connector 1, when supplying power to an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle, it is inserted into the vehicle-side inlet. On the other hand, the power conditioner-side charging connector 1' is inserted into the power conditioner-side inlet in order to connect the charging cable 3 to the power conditioner 2 of the housing that houses a charge / discharge unit for converting the supplied power, a fan unit for cooling, etc. The charging cable 3 has conductors for supplying power housed therein and is connected to the vehicle-side charging connector 1.

[0013] The vehicle-side charging connector 1 is composed of a connector outlet 4 attached to the tip of the charging cable 3, a connector housing 5 for fixing the connector outlet 4, and a movable unit 6 interposed between the connector housing 5 and the charging cable 3.

[0014] Next, the movable unit 6 in the embodiment of this invention will be described using FIGS. 2 and 3. The movable unit 6 is composed of a movable pipe portion 7 and a pipe bearing portion 8. Specifically, the movable pipe portion 7 is cylindrical, and its inner circumference is sized such that the core wires 9 (three core wires in the embodiment), such as power lines and signal lines excluding the outer covering material (sheath) of the charging cable 3, can be inserted in a separated state. The separated core wires 9 are connected to the connector outlet 4, which is a charging port terminal, as shown in FIG. 3. On the other hand, at the outer covering material portion of the charging cable 3 immediately before the core wires 9 are separated, it is joined to the movable pipe portion 7 by fitting or the like. Thus, the charging cable 3 and the movable pipe portion 7 are integrated. And, in the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the movable pipe portion 7, there is a portion with a larger diameter in the radial direction. In the movable pipe portion 7 in the embodiment, the outer peripheral diameter A2 of the central portion is larger than the outer peripheral diameter A1 of both end portions (A1 < A2). Further, the movable pipe portion 7 may be cylindrical, and the bearing side may be elliptical or rectangular with a long side and a short side.

[0015] Subsequently, the pipe bearing portion 8 is a cylindrical member supported by the connector outlet 4 or the connector housing 5 of the power conditioner side outlet, and covers at least a part of the outer periphery of the movable pipe portion 7. And the pipe bearing portion 8 in the embodiment has a portion with a larger diameter in the radial direction at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the pipe bearing portion 8, similar to the shape of the movable pipe portion 7. The inner peripheral diameter B2 of the central portion is larger than the inner peripheral diameters B1 of both end portions (B1 < B2). Further, as shown in the X-X cross section of FIG. 2(a), at least the cross section of the central portion is in a vertically long elliptical shape.

[0016] A diagram of assembling the pipe bearing portion 8 to the outer periphery of the movable pipe portion 7 is shown in FIG. 2(b). When the two are assembled with respect to the outer peripheral diameter A1 of both end portions of the movable pipe portion 7, as shown in FIG. 2(a), the inner peripheral diameters of both end portions of the pipe bearing portion 8 are the minor diameter B1 and the major diameter B1', and the minor diameter B1 < major diameter B1'. Therefore, as shown in the Y-Y cross section of FIG. 2(b), there is a space 10 due to (B1' - B1) between the movable pipe portion 7 and the pipe bearing portion 8. Also, since both the minor diameter B1 and the major diameter B1' of the inner peripheral diameters of both end portions of the pipe bearing portion 8 are smaller than the outer peripheral diameter A2 of the central portion of the movable pipe portion 7, when the pipe bearing portion 8 is fixed, even if an attempt is made to move the movable pipe portion 7 in the axial direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2), the outer peripheral surface of the movable pipe portion 7 and the inner peripheral surface of the pipe bearing portion 8 come into contact. That is, it functions as a stopper portion that restricts movement in the axial direction.

[0017] Next, the operation of the charging connector of this invention will be explained using Figures 2 and 3. In a movable unit 6 having a movable pipe section 7 into which the loose core wires 9 of the charging cable 3 are inserted, and a pipe bearing section 8 supported by a connector housing 5, there is a space 10 between the movable pipe section 7 and the pipe bearing section 8, allowing the movable pipe section 7 and the pipe bearing section 8 to move relative to each other. In this embodiment of the invention, as shown in the YY cross-section of Figure 2(b), the movable pipe section 7 can move vertically with respect to the pipe bearing section 8 which is supported (fixed) by the connector housing 5. In addition, in the axial direction, the outer surface of the movable pipe section 7 and the inner surface of the pipe bearing section 8 are in contact and therefore cannot move. In other words, the movable pipe section 7 and the pipe bearing section 8 in the movable unit 6 do not separate, and the movable pipe section moves relative to the connector housing 5 that supports the pipe bearing section 8, so that the excess length of the core wires 9 can be used to absorb the bending amount of the core wires 9, the joining direction of the connector housing 5 and the charging cable 3 can be changed, and it can be held in a direction and angle that is convenient for the user. Furthermore, by having a stopper that restricts movement in the axial direction, the movable unit 6 can be prevented from separating.

[0018] The above-described embodiment is merely one example of how the present invention can be implemented and does not limit the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the movable unit 6 is configured to have bulging portions formed in the central parts of two cylindrical members (movable pipe portion 7 and pipe bearing portion 8), with the outer and inner surfaces in contact with each other. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the same function and effect can be achieved by having two cylindrical members both be straight cylinders and by newly providing stopper portions to restrict their movement in the axial direction. In short, it is sufficient that one of the two members is supported by the connector housing 5, the core wire 9 of the charging cable 3 is inserted into the other member, and that a space 10 is provided in the radial direction of both members so that they can move by the amount of the space 10, and that the connector housing 5 and the charging cable 3 can move by absorbing the excess length of the core wire 9. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0019] 1 Charging connector 2 Power conditioner 3 Charging cable 4 Connector outlet 5 Connector housing 6 Movable unit 7 Movable pipe section 8 Pipe bearing section 9 Core wire 10 Space

Claims

[Claim 1] A charging connector comprising a connector housing fixed integrally with an outlet that can be inserted into a vehicle-side inlet or a power conditioner-side inlet, and a charging cable that connects to the outlet and covers a plurality of core wires for supplying power with a covering material, A movable unit is provided between the connector housing and the core wire. The movable unit consists of a cylindrical movable pipe section into which the core wire is inserted, and a pipe bearing section supported by the connector housing and which moves the movable pipe section radially and covers at least a portion of the outer circumference of the movable pipe section. The movable pipe portion is further provided with a stopper portion that restricts axial movement between the movable pipe portion and the pipe bearing portion. A charging connector characterized by the following features.

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