connector

Abstract

To provide a connector which can suppress temperature rise in a terminal.SOLUTION: A connector 1 is fitted to a vehicle body of an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and the like and is engaged with a charging plug provided on a charging stand and the like, thereby charging an on-vehicle battery. The connector 1 comprises: a terminal 3 crimped to an end of an electric wire 2; a heat storage member 7 surrounding an electric wire crimping part 32 of the terminal 3; a housing 4; and a sheet-like heat transfer member 8. The electric wire crimping part 32 is provided with a recessed part 33 which is a crimping mark formed at the time of crimping the electric wire. The heat storage member 7 has a first heat storage member 71 and a second heat storage member 72 which are assembled to each other with the electric wire crimping part 32 sandwiched therebetween. The heat transfer member 8 is interposed between the first heat storage member 71 and the electric wire crimping part 32. A protruding part 76 formed on the second heat storage member 72 is located inside the recessed part 33 and comes into contact with the recessed part 33.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] A connector for charging a battery mounted on an electric vehicle, hybrid vehicle, or other vehicle body is attached to the vehicle body (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This connector is fitted with a charging plug provided on a charging stand or the like, and includes a terminal connected to an end of an electric wire and a housing that contains the terminal. Such a connector is sometimes called a "charging inlet." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-77573 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above connectors, currents are becoming larger due to the need for larger battery capacities and shorter charging times, and there has been a problem in that when charging, the temperature of the terminals rises rapidly due to heat generation from high-resistance areas such as the contact point with the charging plug and the connection point with the electric wire.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of suppressing a rise in temperature of the terminals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention is a connector comprising a terminal crimped to an end of an electric wire, a heat storage member surrounding the wire crimping portion of the terminal, a housing that accommodates the terminal and the heat storage member, and a sheet-shaped heat transfer member, wherein the wire crimping portion has a recess formed therein which is a crimping mark left when the electric wire is crimped, the heat storage member comprises a first heat storage member and a second heat storage member assembled to each other with the wire crimping portion sandwiched between them, the heat transfer member is interposed between the first heat storage member and the wire crimping portion, and a protrusion formed on the second heat storage member is positioned within the recess and is in contact with the recess. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, the temperature rise of the terminals can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a perspective view showing an assembly of an electric wire with terminal, a heat storage member, and a rubber plug which constitute the connector of FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a front view of the assembly of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the assembly of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] A "connector" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

[0010] 1 and 2 is attached to the body of an electric vehicle, hybrid vehicle, etc., and is mated with a charging plug provided at a charging station or the like to charge the on-board battery. This connector 1 is sometimes called a "charging inlet."

[0011] The connector 1 comprises a terminal 3 crimped to the end of an electric wire 2, a heat storage member 7 surrounding the electric wire crimping portion 32 of the terminal 3, a housing 4 made of synthetic resin that accommodates the terminal 3 and the heat storage member 7, a heat transfer member 8, a rubber stopper 5, and a holder 6.

[0012] Moreover, the connector 1 of this example is connected to two electric wires 2. Therefore, the connector 1 has two terminals 3 and two heat storage members 7. The two terminals 3 are the same part, and the two heat storage members 7 are also the same part.

[0013] Rubber plug 5 is attached to the rear of housing 4 (the side where the charging plug is fitted is considered the front) to seal the gap between the inner surface of housing 4 and the outer surface of electric wire 2. Holder 6 is for preventing rubber plug 5 from falling off housing 4. In this way, connector 1 sealed with rubber plug 5 has a structure in which heat is likely to build up inside housing 4.

[0014] The electric wire 2 is a round electric wire including a core wire 21 and an insulating coating 22. At the end of the electric wire 2, the insulating coating 22 is removed to expose the core wire 21. The electric wire crimping portion 32 of the terminal 3 is crimped to the exposed portion of the core wire 21.

[0015] The terminal 3 includes a first connection portion 31 that is fitted with a mating terminal provided on a charging plug, and an electric wire crimping portion 32 that is crimped to the core wire 21 of the electric wire 2. The electric wire crimping portion 32 before the electric wire is crimped is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape that is open on the side opposite to the first connection portion 31. As shown in Fig. 6, the electric wire crimping portion 32 after the electric wire is crimped has a plurality of recesses 33 formed in the circumferential direction, which are crimping marks made when the electric wire is crimped.

[0016] 4 to 7, the heat storage member 7 includes a first heat storage member 71 and a second heat storage member 72 that are assembled together with the electric wire crimping portion 32 sandwiched therebetween. In this example, the first heat storage member 71 and the second heat storage member 72 are assembled together by fastening two bolts 11 to them.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 6, the first heat storage member 71 and the second heat storage member 72 have abutment surfaces 73 that abut during assembly, a groove 74 for positioning the electric wire crimping portion 32, and a bolt hole 75 into which the bolt 11 is fastened.

[0018] Further, the second heat storage member 72 is formed with a protruding portion 76 that protrudes from the inner surface of the groove 74 toward the first heat storage member 71. The protruding portion 76 is formed with a trapezoidal cross section that imitates the recessed portion 33 of the terminal 3. When the connector 1 is assembled, the second heat storage member 72 is positioned on the terminal 3 by positioning this protruding portion 76 within the recessed portion 33. Furthermore, the tip surface of the protruding portion 76 is in contact with the inner surface of the recessed portion 33. As a result, heat generated in the electric wire crimping portion 32 during charging is efficiently transferred from this contact surface to the second heat storage member 72.

[0019] The heat transfer member 8 is an elastic sheet containing a thermally conductive filler. In this example, a silicone rubber sheet containing aluminum oxide powder is used. As shown in FIG. 7, the heat transfer member 8 is interposed between the first heat storage member 71 and the electric wire crimping portion 32. The heat transfer member 8 efficiently transfers heat generated at the electric wire crimping portion 32 during charging to the first heat storage member 71.

[0020] In this example, the first heat storage member 71 and the second heat storage member 72 are assembled to each other by fastening the bolt 11, so that the axial force of the bolt 11 can ensure a surface pressure at the contact surface between the recess 33 of the terminal 3 and the protrusion 76 of the second heat storage member 72. Similarly, the axial force of the bolt 11 can compress the heat transfer member 8 interposed between the first heat storage member 71 and the electric wire crimping portion 32, so that the surface pressure can be ensured (see Figs. 3 and 7). In addition, a configuration is adopted in which the first heat storage member 71 and the second heat storage member 72 are assembled to each other by fastening the bolt 11, so that it is not necessary to pre-pass the heat storage member 7 into the electric wire 2, and the assembling property of the connector 1 can be improved.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the two heat storage members 7 described above are accommodated in the housing 4 in an orientation such that the second heat storage members 72 are adjacent to each other and the first heat storage members 71 are spaced apart from each other.

[0022] When a charging plug is fitted into such a connector 1 and charging begins, heat is generated from the electric wire crimping portion 32, which is a portion with high resistance, but this heat is stored in the heat storage member 7, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of the terminals 3 and slowing down the rate of temperature rise of the terminals 3. Since the heat storage member 7 can thus suppress the temperature rise of the terminals 3, it is possible to avoid adding a cooling structure or increasing the diameter of the electric wires, and therefore to avoid increases in the cost and weight of the connector 1.

[0023] In addition, in this example, as described above, the two heat storage members 7 are arranged such that the second heat storage members 72 are arranged in the center of the housing 4, and the heat transfer members 8 and the first heat storage members 71 are arranged toward the outside of the housing 4. In the center of the housing 4, heat from the terminals 3 interferes with each other, making it easy for the temperature of the heat storage member 7 to become saturated. Therefore, by arranging them as described above, it is possible to suppress temperature saturation of the second heat storage member 72 and to increase the heat dissipation from the first heat storage member 71 to the outside of the housing 4, making it difficult for the temperature of the heat storage member 7 to become saturated, and enabling efficient heat absorption.

[0024] The above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be embodied in various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as the configuration of the present invention is still provided even with such modifications, it is of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1 Connector 2 electric wire 3 Terminal 4. Housing 5 Rubber stopper 6 Holder 7 Heat storage material 8 Heat transfer materials

Claims

1. A terminal crimped to the end of the electric wire; a heat storage member surrounding the electric wire crimping portion of the terminal; a housing that accommodates the terminal and the heat storage member; A sheet-shaped heat transfer member, The electric wire crimping portion has a recess formed therein, which is a crimping mark formed when the electric wire is crimped, the heat storage member includes a first heat storage member and a second heat storage member assembled to each other with the wire crimping portion sandwiched therebetween, The heat transfer member is interposed between the first heat storage member and the electric wire crimping portion, A protrusion formed on the second heat storage member is positioned within the recess and is in contact with the recess. A connector characterized by:

2. The first heat storage member and the second heat storage member are assembled to each other by fastening bolts to each other.

2. The connector according to claim 1 .

3. The heat storage device includes two of the terminals and two of the heat storage members, The two heat storage members are accommodated in the housing such that the second heat storage members are adjacent to each other and the first heat storage members are spaced apart from each other.

2. The connector according to claim 1 .

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