Cap opening and closing structure and charging connector

Abstract

To provide a cap opening / closing structure and a charging connector that can reduce a possibility of breakage.SOLUTION: A cap opening / closing structure 1A includes a housing 2, a cap 3 rotatably supported with respect to the housing 2, and a biasing member 43 that applies biasing force near a rotation shaft 42 of the cap 3, and at least one of a support portion 32 which is a sliding contact portion on a cap side and a sliding contact member 45 which is a sliding contact portion on a biasing member side is provided with open position maintaining means that maintains the cap 3 in the open position by the biasing force of the biasing member 43, and reaction force applying means that applies reaction force in the closing direction by the biasing member 43 to the cap 3 in response to the movement of the cap 3 in an opening direction from the open position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cap opening and closing structure and a charging connector. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, vehicles such as electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) use a vehicle-side charging connector in which an openable and closable cap is provided to cover a connection portion to which a power supply connector is connected (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the charging connector, a biasing member such as a spring biases the cap in a direction to open it. When the cap is in a closed state, the cap is engaged with the housing, but when the operator releases this engagement, the cap opens due to the biasing force of the biasing member.

[0003] As such a cap opening / closing structure, the structure shown in Fig. 7 is considered. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a charging connector. The charging connector 100 is provided in a vehicle such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV), and is electrically connected to a power supply connector outside the vehicle for charging a battery mounted on the vehicle. The charging connector 100 is fixed to a body panel of the vehicle, for example. The cap opening / closing structure is configured to have a housing 101 and a cap 110.

[0004] Housing 101 is fixed to a vehicle and connected to a power supply connector from outside the vehicle, and includes housing body 102 having a cylindrical hood portion, cap support portion 103, and cap lock portion 104. Cap support portion 103 rotatably supports cap 110 by a rotary shaft 105, and has biasing member 106 that biases cap 110 in the closing direction and the opening direction. Biasing member 106 has compression spring 107 and sliding member 108 having a convex arc-shaped sliding surface (cam surface).

[0005] Cap 110 has cap body 111 covering the hood portion of housing body 102, support portion 112 rotatably supported by pivot shaft 105, and abutment portion 113 extending to the opposite side of cap body 111 across pivot shaft 105. Support portion 112 has a cap-side cam surface that comes into sliding contact with sliding member 108 of biasing member 106. Cap-side cam surface is configured to have first cam surface 114 whose distance from pivot shaft 105 gradually increases, cam tip surface 115 whose distance from pivot shaft 105 is maximum, and second cam surface 116 whose distance from pivot shaft 105 gradually decreases beyond cam tip surface 115 on the opposite side of first cam surface 114.

[0006] In the above-described cap opening / closing structure, as shown in Fig. 7(A), the sliding member 108 of the biasing member 106 abuts against the first cam surface 114, so that a pushing force from the compression spring 107 acts on the support portion 112, and the cap 110 is engaged with the cap lock portion 104 while being urged in the closing direction. On the other hand, when the operator releases the engagement of the cap lock portion 104, opens the cap 110 against the urging force of the compression spring 107, and rotates it to the open position shown in Fig. 7(B), the sliding member 108 of the biasing member 106 abuts against the second cam surface 116. In this state, a pushing force from the compression spring 107 acts on the support portion 112, the cap 110 is urged in the opening direction, and the abutting portion 113 abuts against the housing 101. In such an open position, the cap 110 is biased in the opening direction by the biasing member 106, and the abutting portion 113 abuts against the housing 101, so that the cap 110 is maintained in the open position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-115123 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, in conventional cap opening and closing structures, the cap is maintained in the open position by abutting the cap's contact portion against the housing, so if excessive load is applied in the opening direction to the cap when in the open position, the cap may be damaged.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a cap opening and closing structure and a charging connector that can reduce the possibility of breakage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the opening and closing structure of the cap of the present invention comprises a housing that accommodates an electrical connection portion therein, a cap that is rotatably supported on the housing, closes an opening of the housing in a closed position, and exposes the electrical connection portion through the opening in an open position, and a biasing member that applies a biasing force to the vicinity of a pivot axis of the cap, and the cap is opened and closed while a cap side sliding contact portion provided on the cap and a biasing member side sliding contact portion provided on the biasing member are in sliding contact with each other, and at least one of the cap side sliding contact portion and the biasing member side sliding contact portion is provided with an open position maintaining means that maintains the cap in the open position by the biasing force of the biasing member, and a reaction force applying means that applies a reaction force in the closing direction by the biasing member to the cap against the movement of the cap from the open position in a further opening direction. At least one of the cap side sliding contact portion and the biasing member side sliding contact portion is provided with a closed position maintaining means for maintaining the cap at the closed position by the biasing force of the biasing member, the biasing member side sliding contact portion is formed with an arc-shaped biasing cam surface that is convex toward the rotation axis of the cap, the cap side sliding contact portion has a first cam surface that is arc-shaped that is convex in a direction away from the rotation axis, and a second cam surface that is arc-shaped and has a different circumferential position from the first cam surface and is convex in a direction away from the rotation axis, and the open position maintaining means is configured by the biasing cam surface abutting against both a first contact portion of the first cam surface and a second contact portion of the second cam surface. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, even if a load is applied in the opening direction to a cap in the open position, a reaction force from the reaction force applying means can be applied in the closing direction to maintain the cap in the open position, thereby reducing the possibility of damage to the cap. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view of the charging connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an opening and closing structure of a cap of the charging connector. [Diagram 3] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the cap opening and closing structure in the cap closed position. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the cap opening and closing structure in the cap open position. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a side view showing a state in which an excessive force is applied to the cap in the open position. FIG. [Figure 6] 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the cap opening and closing structure when an excessive load is applied. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a cap opening and closing structure in a conventional charging connector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] A cap opening / closing structure and a charging connector according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. A charging connector 1 according to this embodiment is provided in a vehicle such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) and is electrically connected to a power supply connector outside the vehicle for charging a battery mounted on the vehicle. The charging connector 1 is fixed to a body panel of the vehicle or the like. The cap opening / closing structure 1A is composed of a housing 2, a cap 3, and a cap support portion 4.

[0014] The housing 2 has an electric connection part inside that is electrically connected to a power supply connector outside the vehicle through an opening. The housing 2 has a vehicle body mounting part 21 and a housing main body 22. The vehicle body mounting part 21 is provided in a flange shape protruding from the housing main body 22, and has through holes at four corners that are mounting holes to a vehicle body panel (not shown). The vehicle body mounting part 21 is fixed to the vehicle body panel by inserting bolts (not shown) through the four through holes and tightening them to the vehicle body panel. The housing main body 22 is made of a hollow member made of synthetic resin and has an opening that opens toward the outside of the vehicle. A terminal fitting (not shown) connected to an electric wire (not shown) extending from a battery (not shown) inside the vehicle is accommodated inside the housing main body 22.

[0015] The cap 3 is made of synthetic resin and formed into an overall flat plate shape, and includes a cap body 31 that covers and closes the opening of the housing body 22, and a support part 32 that is continuous with one end side (the left side in FIG. 1) of the cap body 31. A rotation shaft 42 of the cap support part 4 is provided penetrating the support part 32, whereby the cap 3 is supported by the housing 22 so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 42. When an operator lifts the right end part in FIG. 1, the cap 3 is lifted upward and leftward to be opened.

[0016] 2 to 4, the cap support part 4 includes a pair of bearings 41 erected on the upper surface of the housing main body 22, a rotating shaft 42 journaled by the pair of bearings 41, and a biasing member 43 provided in a recess recessed from the upper surface of the housing main body 22. The biasing member 43 applies a biasing force to the support part 32 of the cap 3 in a direction toward the rotating shaft 42 (upward). The biasing member 43 includes a compression spring 44 and a sliding member 45 fixed to the tip side of the compression spring.

[0017] The sliding contact member 45 is formed with an arc-shaped biasing cam surface 45a at its tip side (upper end side) that is convex toward the rotation shaft 42. The biasing cam surface 45a is pressed against the support portion 32 of the cap 3 by the biasing force of the compression spring 44, and the support portion 32 and the biasing cam surface 45a come into sliding contact with each other as the cap 3 rotates. In other words, the support portion 32 constitutes a cap side sliding contact portion, and the sliding contact member 45 constitutes a biasing member side sliding contact portion.

[0018] The support portion 32 of the cap 3 is provided with a first cam surface 32a having an arc shape convex in a direction away from the rotation shaft 42, and a second cam surface 32b having an arc shape convex in a direction away from the rotation shaft 42 and at a different circumferential position from the first cam surface 32a. The first cam surface 32a is provided in a pair at both ends in the axial direction along the rotation shaft 42, and the second cam surface 32b is provided between the pair of first cam surfaces 32a. The first cam surface 32a and the second cam surface 32b are each formed in an arc shape in which the distance from the rotation shaft 42 gradually increases from one side to the other in the circumferential direction around the rotation shaft 42, have an apex where the distance from the rotation shaft 42 is maximum, and gradually approaches the rotation shaft 42 after passing the apex.

[0019] 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the cap 3 is in the closed position, that is, a state in which the opening of the housing main body 22 is closed by the cap main body 31 of the cap 3. As shown in FIG. 3, when the cap 3 is in the closed position, the biasing cam surface 45a of the sliding contact member 45 abuts against the abutment portion P1 on one side (counterclockwise side in FIG. 3) of the top of the first cam surface 32a of the support portion 32 of the cap 3. When the biasing cam surface 45a abuts against the abutment portion P1 of the first cam surface 32a in this way, a pushing-up force due to the biasing force of the compression spring 44 acts on the first cam surface 32a, and a force F1 that tends to rotate the cap 3 in the closing direction acts on the cap 3. That is, when the biasing cam surface 45a abuts against the abutment portion P1 of the first cam surface 32a, a closed position maintaining means that maintains the cap 3 in the closed position is configured.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the cap 3 is in the open position. As shown in FIG. 4, when the cap 3 is in the open position, the biasing cam surface 45a of the sliding contact member 45 abuts against the first cam surface 32a of the support portion 32 of the cap 3, against the first abutment portion P2 on the other side (clockwise side in FIG. 4) of the top of the first cam surface 32a. Furthermore, the biasing cam surface 45a abuts against the second abutment portion P3 on one side (counterclockwise side in FIG. 4) of the top of the second cam surface 32b of the support portion 32. In this way, the biasing cam surface 45a abuts against both the first abutment portion P2 and the second abutment portion P3, so that a pushing-up force due to the biasing force of the compression spring 44 acts on the first cam surface 32a and the second cam surface 32b. As a result, both the force F2 that rotates the cap 3 in the opening direction and the force F3 that rotates the cap 3 in the closing direction act on the cap 3, and these forces F2 and F3 are balanced. Therefore, the biasing cam surface 45a comes into contact with both the first contact portion P2 and the second contact portion P3, thereby forming an open position maintaining means for maintaining the cap 3 in the open position.

[0021] 5 and 6 are diagrams showing a state in which an excessive load F acts on the cap 3 in the open position (position indicated by a two-dot chain line), causing the cap 3 to rotate further in the open direction than the open position. As shown in FIG. 6, when the cap 3 rotates further from the open position, the biasing cam surface 45a of the sliding contact member 45 abuts against the second cam surface 32b of the support portion 32 of the cap 3, at a position closer to the top than the second abutment portion P3. When the biasing cam surface 45a abuts against a position beyond the second abutment portion P3 in this way, a pushing-up force due to the biasing force of the compression spring 44 strongly acts on the second cam surface 32b, and a force F3' that tends to rotate the cap 3 in the closing direction acts on the cap 3. Here, the force F3', which is a reaction force against the excessive load F, is larger than the force F3 at the open position, so that the cap 3 is easily returned in the closing direction. In other words, the biasing cam surface 45a abuts at a position beyond the second abutment portion P3 of the second cam surface 32b, thereby forming a reaction force acting means that applies a reaction force to return the cap 3 to the open position.

[0022] According to the opening / closing structure 1A for the cap 3 and the charging connector 1 of the present embodiment as described above, even if an excessive load F is applied in the opening direction to the cap 3 in the open position, the reaction force F3' by the reaction force application means can be applied in the closing direction to maintain the cap 3 in the open position, thereby reducing the possibility of damage to the cap 3. At this time, the force F3' which is the reaction force against the excessive load F becomes large, so that the cap 3 can be reliably returned in the closing direction and maintained in the open position.

[0023] Furthermore, when the cap 3 is in the open position, the biasing cam surface 45a comes into contact with both the first contact portion P2 and the second contact portion P3, thereby balancing the force F2 that tends to rotate the cap 3 in the opening direction and the force F3 that tends to rotate the cap 3 in the closing direction. By using such an open position maintaining means, the cap 3 can be reliably maintained in the open position.

[0024] Furthermore, when the cap 3 is in the closed position, the biasing cam surface 45a comes into contact with the contact portion P1 of the first cam surface 32a, thereby applying a force F1 that rotates the cap 3 in the closing direction. Such a closed position maintaining means can reliably maintain the cap 3 in the closed position. This makes it possible to omit a cap lock portion that locks the cap 3 in the closed position.

[0025] The above describes in detail the embodiment of the cap opening and closing structure with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to the above embodiment, and the present invention includes design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0026] For example, in the above embodiment, the first cam surface 32a and the second cam surface 32b are provided on the support portion 32 of the cap 3, and the biasing cam surface 45a that slides against them is provided on the sliding member 45 of the biasing member 43. However, the location where each cam surface is provided and the shape of the cam surface are not limited to those in the above embodiment. That is, the first cam surface and the second cam surface may be provided on the sliding member 45 of the biasing member 43, and a sliding portion that slides against them may be provided on the support portion 32 of the cap 3. In addition, each cam surface is not limited to being formed in a convex arc shape, and may be triangular or concave. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1 Charging connector 1A Cap opening and closing structure 2. Housing 3 Cap 4 Cap support 32 Support part (sliding part on cap side) 32a First cam surface 32b Second cam surface 43 Pressing member 45 sliding contact member (urging member side sliding contact portion) 45a energizing cam surface P2 First contact part P3 Second contact part

Claims

1. a housing having electrical connections therein; a cap that is rotatably supported on the housing, closes the opening of the housing in a closed position, and exposes the electrical connection portion through the opening in an open position; a biasing member that applies a biasing force to a portion of the cap adjacent to the pivot shaft, The cap is opened and closed while a cap-side sliding contact portion provided on the cap and a biasing member-side sliding contact portion provided on the biasing member are in sliding contact with each other, At least one of the cap side sliding contact portion and the biasing member side sliding contact portion is provided with an open position maintaining means for maintaining the cap at the open position by the biasing force of the biasing member, and a reaction force acting means for applying a reaction force in a closing direction by the biasing member to the cap against the movement of the cap from the open position in a further opening direction, At least one of the cap side sliding contact portion and the biasing member side sliding contact portion is provided with a closed position maintaining means for maintaining the cap at the closed position by the biasing force of the biasing member, the biasing member side sliding contact portion is formed with a biasing cam surface having a convex arc shape toward the rotation axis of the cap, the cap side sliding contact portion has a first cam surface having an arc-shaped convex in a direction away from the rotation shaft, and a second cam surface having an arc-shaped convex in a direction away from the rotation shaft and located at a different circumferential position from the first cam surface, A cap opening and closing structure, characterized in that the open position maintaining means is formed by the biasing cam surface abutting against both the first abutment portion of the first cam surface and the second abutment portion of the second cam surface.

2. 2. The cap opening and closing structure according to claim 1, wherein the reaction force acting means is constituted by the biasing cam surface abutting on a position beyond the second abutment portion of the second cam surface.

3. 2. The cap opening and closing structure according to claim 1, wherein the closed position maintaining means is configured by the biasing cam surface abutting against a side of the first cam surface opposite to the first abutment portion.

4. A charging connector comprising the cap opening / closing structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and electrically connected to a power supply connector outside a vehicle.

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