Charging device

Abstract

To provide a charger which is excellent in operability and safety.SOLUTION: A charger 1 includes: a housing (a charging cable guide case 3); a flexible charging cable 5 which is connected at one end to a charger body in the housing and connected at the other end to a charging coupler 4; and charing cable support means (an elastic body, a support part 7, and a support plate 8) which are fixed to the housing and support the charging cable in an inverted U shape. The charging cable support means can support the charging cable with a support mechanism (the support part 7 and the support plate 8) biased upward by the elastic body provided in the housing. The support mechanism may be biased in a direction opposite to a tensile direction of the charging cable.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for charging an electric vehicle, and more particularly to a charging device that takes into consideration operability and safety. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the development of electric vehicles as environmentally friendly vehicles has progressed at a rapid pace, and the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles has become important. Charging infrastructure includes normal charging systems that take several hours to charge the on-board battery installed in an electric vehicle, and rapid charging systems that charge the on-board battery in a short time of about 30 minutes. To improve convenience, there is a growing need for rapid charging systems (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Figures 5 and 6 show conventional charging devices 31, 41 used in normal charging systems and rapid charging systems, respectively. These charging devices 31, 41 include a main body case 32, 42 that houses the charger main body (not shown) and a charging cable guide case 33, 43 arranged on the side of the main body case 32, 42, and charging is performed by connecting charging couplers 34, 44 provided at the ends of charging cables 35, 45 led out from the charging cable guide cases 33, 43 to charging ports 10a, 20a of electric vehicles 10, 20. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-34554 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when charging with the above-mentioned conventional charging devices 31, 41, the positions of the charging ports 10a, 20a of the electric vehicles 10, 20 vary depending on the vehicle model, so the charging cables 35, 45 are required to have a sufficient length. Furthermore, the charging cables 35, 45 have problems in that the built-in electric wires become thick to supply a large current, the diameter becomes large, making them difficult to bend, and they are heavy and difficult to operate.

[0006] In addition, because charging cables 35, 45 are long, as shown in Fig. 5, charging cable 35 tends to crawl along the ground, and when the surface of charging cable 35 comes into contact with the ground, it is rubbed and scratched, causing damage to charging cable 35 itself and causing dirt, etc. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 6, if charging cable 45 is lifted above electric vehicle 20, charging cable 45 may come into contact with electric vehicle 20, damaging electric vehicle 20.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide a charging device that is easy to operate and safe. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a charging device, Case containing the charger and, one The edge The above Connected to the charger body and the other end but Charging coupler To a flexible charging cable to be connected to the a charging cable guide case provided on a side surface of the main body case and configured to accommodate the charging cable, The charging cable is supported by a charging cable support means for supporting the charging cable in an inverted U-shape.

[0009] According to the present invention, the charging cable is supported in an inverted U-shape, which prevents damage to the charging cable and the electric vehicle and reduces the operational load of the charging cable, making it easier to handle.

[0010] In the above-mentioned charging device, the charging cable support means supports the charging cable using a support mechanism that is biased upward by an elastic body provided within the housing, so that it is only necessary to lightly hold the charging cable during charging, further improving operability.

[0011] In addition, by biasing the support mechanism in the direction opposite to the pulling direction of the charging cable, the charging coupler and the charging cable can be smoothly guided into the charging port of the electric vehicle, and can be easily returned to the standby position after charging is completed.

[0012] In the above charging device, the charging cable support means can include a rod-shaped member rotatably supported in a horizontal plane on the upper part of the housing, a wire winding portion movable in the axial direction of the rod-shaped member, and a wire wound around the wire winding portion and having one end connected to the charging cable to move the charging cable in an up and down direction, making it easy to handle without damaging the charging cable.

[0013] In addition, the wire winding section biases the wire in the direction opposite to the pulling direction of the charging cable, thereby enabling the charging coupler and the charging cable to be smoothly guided into the charging port of the electric vehicle and easily returned to the standby position after charging is completed. Effect of the Invention

[0014] As described above, according to the present invention, a charging device with excellent operability and safety can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view showing a first embodiment of a charging device according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view showing a main part of the charging device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view showing a second embodiment of a charging device according to the present invention. [Figure 4]4 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view showing a main part of the charging device of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional charging device. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of a conventional charging device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a charging device according to the present invention. The charging device 1 comprises a main body case 2 that houses a charger main body (not shown) and a charging cable guide case 3 arranged on the side of the main body case 2.

[0018] An operating section 2 a for operating the charger main body is provided on the front surface of the main body case 2 , and the outlet side of the charger main body of the main body case 2 is led into the interior of the charging cable guide case 3 .

[0019] Inside the charging cable guide case 3, as shown in Fig. 2, one end of a flexible charging cable 5 is connected to a connection part 3a provided on the outlet side of the charger main body, and a charging coupler 4 (see Fig. 1) is provided on the other end of the charging cable 5. A charging coupler holder 3b is provided on the front side of the charging cable guide case 3.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, flexible charging cable 5 is supported by support part 7 that is biased upward (in the direction of arrow A) by an elastic body (not shown), and by support plate 8 that is formed integrally with support part 7. This charging cable support means (elastic body, support part 7, and support plate 8) supports charging cable 5 in an inverted U-shape, as shown in Fig. 1.

[0021] By supporting the charging cable 5 in an inverted U-shape, even if the charging cable 5 is long, it does not crawl along the ground and does not come into contact with the electric vehicle 10, which prevents damage to the charging cable 5 and the electric vehicle 10 and also reduces the operational load of the charging cable 5, improving ease of handling. Furthermore, since the charging cable 5 is supported by the support portion 7 that is biased upward, it is only necessary to lightly hold the charging cable 5 during charging. Furthermore, since the charging cable support mechanism (support portion 7 and support plate 8) biases the charging cable 5 in the direction opposite to the pulling direction, the charging coupler 4 and charging cable 5 can be smoothly guided to the charging port of the electric vehicle 10 and can be easily returned to the standby position (charging coupler holder 3b) after charging is completed.

[0022] Next, a second embodiment of the charging device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0023] The charging device 11 includes a main body case 2 that houses a charger main body (not shown), and a charging cable guide case 13 disposed on a side surface of the main body case 2.

[0024] The main body case 2 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and is provided with an operating unit 2a on the front for operating the charger main body, and the outlet side of the charger main body of the main body case 2 is led into the interior of the charging cable guide case 13.

[0025] Inside the charging cable guide case 13, as shown in Fig. 4, one end of a flexible charging cable 5 is connected to a connection part 13a provided on the outlet side of the charger main body, and a charging coupler 4 (see Fig. 3) is provided on the other end of the charging cable 5. A charging coupler holder 13b is provided on the front side of the charging cable guide case 13. The charging cable 5 and charging coupler 4 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0026] 4, the charging cable support means in this embodiment is composed of a swivel torque hinge 15 that is fixed to the upper part of charging cable guide case 13, is freely rotatable 360° and can be stopped and held at any position, a support arm (rod-shaped member) 16 that is integrated with swivel torque hinge 15 and is rotatable within a horizontal plane, a wire winding part 17 that is movable in the axial direction (direction of arrow B) within support arm 16, a wire 18 that is wound around wire winding part 17 and is movable in the vertical direction, and a clamp 19 connected to the lower end of wire 18. The clamp 19 holds the charging cable 5, and can support the charging cable 5 in an inverted U-shape.

[0027] In this embodiment as well, by supporting the charging cable 5 in an inverted U-shape, even if the charging cable 5 is long, it does not crawl along the ground and does not come into contact with the electric vehicle 10, thereby preventing damage to the charging cable 5 and the electric vehicle 10. Furthermore, by using the wire winding unit 17 that is movable in the axial direction of the support arm 16, the operational load of the charging cable 5 is reduced and the workability of handling it is improved. Furthermore, by biasing the wire 18 in the direction opposite to the pulling direction of the charging cable 5 by the wire winding unit 17, the charging coupler 4 and the charging cable 5 can be smoothly guided to the charging port of the electric vehicle 10 and can be easily returned to the standby position (charging coupler holder 13b) after charging is completed.

[0028] In the above embodiment, the charging devices 1, 11 are described as including the main body case 2 and the charging cable guide case 3, 13. However, for example, a charging cable support means for supporting the charging cable 5 in an inverted U-shape may be fixed to a case (housing) in which the main body case 2 and the charging cable guide case 3, 13 are integrated. Also, the main body case 2 and the charging cable guide case 3, 13 may be arranged apart rather than adjacent to each other. Furthermore, the configuration of the charging cable support means is not limited to that described above as long as it can support the charging cable 5 in an inverted U-shape.

[0029] The illustrated embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 Charging device 2 Main unit case 3 Charging cable guide case 4 Charging coupler 5 Charging cable 7 Support part 8 Support plate 10. Electric Vehicles 11 Charging device 13 Charging cable guide case 15 Swivel Torque Hinge 16 Support Arm 17 Wire winding section 18 Wire 19 Clamp

Claims

1. A main body case that houses a charger body, a flexible charging cable having one end connected to the charger body and the other end connected to a charging coupler; a charging cable guide case provided on a side surface of the main body case and configured to house the charging cable; The charging device is characterized in that the charging cable guide case is provided with a charging cable support means that supports the charging cable in an inverted U-shape.

2. 2. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein the charging cable support means supports the charging cable by a support mechanism that is biased upward by an elastic body provided within the housing.

3. The charging device according to claim 2 , wherein the support mechanism is biased in a direction opposite to a pulling direction of the charging cable.

4. The charging device according to claim 1, characterized in that the charging cable support means comprises a rod-shaped member rotatably supported on the upper part of the housing in a horizontal plane, a wire winding portion movable in the axial direction of the rod-shaped member, and a wire wound around the wire winding portion and having one end connected to the charging cable to move the charging cable in an up and down direction.

5. The charging device according to claim 4 , wherein the wire winding portion biases the wire in a direction opposite to a pulling direction of the charging cable.

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