Charging inlet

Abstract

To obtain a charging inlet which is a good design, and does not deteriorate silent movability.SOLUTION: In a charging inlet 10 capable of inserting and extracting into / from a charging connector for charging a battery of a vehicle, a housing 11 includes: a plurality of cylinder parts 15 which is projected from a housing main body 14 to a first direction and in which a terminal 35 is provided to an inner side; and a plurality of outer walls 17 that is partially arranged along a virtual circle for surrounding a formation region of the plurality of cylinder parts 15, and is projected from the housing main body 14 to the first direction. A cover 12 includes: a cover main body 21 that can be viewed when inserting the charging connector and partially covers the housing main body 14 excluding the formation region; and an attachment piece 22 that is provided so as to be extended from a cover main body 21 to a second direction. The attachment piece 22 is positioned between adjacent two outer walls 17 along the virtual circle, and a rubber ring 13 is provided along an outer surface of the outer walls 17 and the outer surface of the attachment piece 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging inlet.

Background Art

[0002] In order to charge a battery mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle, a charging inlet is provided in a part of the vehicle body. A charging connector (charging gun) connected to an external power source is connected to the charging inlet, and the battery is charged through the charging inlet. A charging inlet is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When not in use, that is, when the vehicle is running, the charging inlet is covered by a door of, for example, the same color as the vehicle body. When charging, the door is opened and the charging connector is connected to the charging inlet. Although the charging inlet is used in this way, it may be desirable to improve the commercial value by making a design improvement.

[0005] Here, in the case of an electric vehicle, since the quiet performance is high, even a slight abnormal noise such as a vibration sound is annoying to the passengers. Therefore, in an electric vehicle, it is particularly necessary to suppress the generation of abnormal noise as much as possible. In the charging inlet, even if a design improvement is made, care must be taken not to cause abnormal noise.

[0006] In Patent Document 1, a plurality of cylindrical portions (terminal accommodating portions) protrude from a housing main body (inlet main body), and a configuration is disclosed in which a plate-shaped mask member covers a portion around these cylindrical portions. A cavity seal made of an elastic member is attached to the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion. In Patent Document 1, after the cavity seal is attached to the cylindrical portion, the mask member is attached to the housing main body, which is a characteristic. The mask member is only attached to the housing main body by locking claws and is not configured to be pressed against the housing main body by the cavity seal. For this reason, when the vehicle is running, the mask member may vibrate and repeatedly contact the housing main body, generating abnormal noise.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a charging inlet that is excellent as a design and does not reduce the quieting performance.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The charging inlet of the present disclosure is a charging inlet for inserting and removing a charging connector to charge a battery of a vehicle, and includes a housing having a housing main body fixed to the body of the vehicle, a cover separate from the housing main body, and a rubber ring for attaching the cover to the housing. When the direction of removing the charging connector is defined as the first direction and the direction of inserting the charging connector is defined as the second direction, the housing has a plurality of cylindrical portions that protrude from the housing main body in the first direction and have terminals provided inside, and a plurality of outer walls that are partially arranged along a virtual circle surrounding the formation region of the plurality of cylindrical portions and protrude from the housing main body in the first direction. The cover has a cover main body that is visible when the charging connector is inserted and covers a part of the housing main body excluding the formation region, and an attachment piece that extends from the cover main body in the second direction. The attachment piece is located between two adjacent outer walls along the virtual circle, and the rubber ring is provided along the outer surface of the outer wall and the outer surface of the attachment piece.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain a charging inlet that is excellent as a design and does not reduce the quiet performance.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] <Summary of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure> Hereinafter, the summary of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. (1) The charging inlet of this embodiment is a charging inlet for inserting and removing a charging connector to charge the battery of a vehicle, and includes a housing having a housing body fixed to the body of the vehicle, a cover separate from the housing body, and a rubber ring for attaching the cover to the housing. When the direction of removing the charging connector is defined as the first direction and the direction of inserting the charging connector is defined as the second direction, the housing has a plurality of cylindrical portions protruding from the housing body in the first direction and having terminals provided inside, and a plurality of outer walls partially arranged along a virtual circle surrounding the formation region of the plurality of cylindrical portions and protruding from the housing body in the first direction. The cover has a cover body that is visible when the charging connector is inserted and covers a part of the housing body excluding the formation region, and an attachment piece provided extending in the second direction from the cover body. The attachment piece is located between two adjacent outer walls along the virtual circle, and the rubber ring is provided along the outer surface of the outer wall and the outer surface of the attachment piece.

[0012] According to this embodiment, the cover body is visible when an operator inserts the charging connector into the charging inlet, and since the cover body covers a part of the housing body, a charging inlet with excellent design can be obtained. The attachment piece of the cover is located between the two outer walls of the housing, and the attachment piece is tightened by the rubber ring, so that the cover is attached to the housing. Although the cover is separate from the housing, the vibration of the cover is suppressed by the rubber ring, and the quiet performance of the vehicle is not deteriorated.

[0013] (2) Preferably, the outer surface of the attachment piece is located farther from the forming region in a direction orthogonal to the virtual line along the first direction than the outer surface of the outer wall. In this case, it is possible to generate a force that causes the attachment piece of the cover to face the center of the charging inlet on the forming region side by the elastic force of the rubber ring. That is, the action of the rubber ring tightening the attachment piece of the cover toward the center is enhanced. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively suppress the vibration of the cover.

[0014] (3) Preferably, the attachment pieces are provided at four locations in a region where each of two axes orthogonal to the virtual line along the first direction and orthogonal to each other intersects the virtual circle. In this case, the cover is aligned with the center of the charging inlet on the forming region side by the force of the rubber ring. That is, the cover is centered.

[0015] (4) Preferably, the rubber ring contacts both the outer surface of the outer wall and the outer surface of the attachment piece. With this configuration, the outer wall and the attachment piece are tightened by the rubber ring, and the cover is attached to the housing.

[0016] (5) Preferably, a gap is provided between the cover and the housing, so that the cover is displaceable in a direction orthogonal to the virtual line along the first direction with respect to the housing in a state before the rubber ring is attached, and relative displacement of the cover in a direction orthogonal to the virtual line along the first direction with respect to the housing is suppressed in a state after the rubber ring is attached. In this case, the gap facilitates the operation of assembling the cover to the housing. After that operation, in a state before the rubber ring is attached, the cover is displaceable with respect to the housing, but after attachment, the cover is positioned and attached to the housing by the rubber ring.

[0017] (6) Preferably, the cover has an engaging portion that engages with the housing. In this case, after temporarily fixing the cover to the housing by the engaging portion, the rubber ring can be attached to the cover and the housing. The assembly workability of the charging inlet is improved.

[0018] (7) Preferably, the cover has a guide piece provided to extend in the second direction from the cover body, and the housing is provided with a hole portion for guiding and inserting the guide piece. In this case, when the cover is brought close to the housing and attached along the second direction, the cover can be positioned with respect to the housing by guiding and inserting the guide piece into the hole portion. It becomes easy to attach the cover to the housing.

[0019] (8) Further, preferably, in the charging inlet of (7) above, the guide piece is non-contact with the rubber ring. In this case, the attachment piece and the guide piece of the cover function independently.

[0020] (9) Preferably, a drain passage is provided at a lower position between the cover and the housing to allow water to pass from the internal space formed between the cover and a part of the housing to the outside. In this case, even if, for example, rainwater or the like enters between the housing and the cover, it is possible to discharge the rainwater from the drain passage.

[0021] <Details of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure> Hereinafter, details of embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that at least a part of the embodiments described below may be arbitrarily combined.

[0022] 〔Overall Configuration of Charging Inlet 10〕 FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a vehicle 5 including a charging inlet 10 and a charging station 1. The charging inlet 10 is provided as a part of a body 7 of a vehicle 5 such as an electric vehicle, and is used to charge a battery (secondary battery) 6 mounted on the vehicle 5. A door 9 is provided on the body 7, and the charging inlet 10 is exposed to the outside by opening the door 9.

[0023] The charging station 1 includes a charging connector 4 and a converter 3. The charging connector 4 is also called a charging gun. The converter 3 is connected to an external power supply 2 and the charging connector 4. When the charging connector 4 is connected to the charging inlet 10, the battery 6 is charged by a charger 8 mounted on the vehicle 5 based on the energy of the external power supply 2. In this way, the charging inlet 10 is a device to which the charging connector 4 is inserted and removed in order to charge the battery 6 of the vehicle 5. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the charging inlet 10.

[0024] The directions related to the charging inlet 10 of the present disclosure are defined. The direction (first direction) of pulling out the charging connector 4 (see FIG. 1) from the charging inlet 10 is defined as "front", and the direction (second direction) of inserting the charging connector 4 into the charging inlet 10 is defined as "rear". That is, when the door 9 (see FIG. 1) is opened, the front part of the charging inlet 10 is exposed. With the charging inlet 10 fixed to the body 7 of the vehicle 5, the "up and down" of the charging inlet 10 is defined. When a charging operator looks at the charging inlet 10 fixed to the body 7, the left hand side is defined as "left" and the right hand side is defined as "right".

[0025] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the charging inlet 10 shown in FIG. 2. The charging inlet 10 includes a housing 11 fixed to a body 7 of a vehicle 5 (see FIG. 1), a cover 12, and a rubber ring 13 for attaching the cover 12 to the housing 11. The cover 12 is a design cover that can hide functional shape parts (concave and convex parts) such as ribs 36 formed on the housing 11. Hereinafter, each component of the charging inlet 10 will be described.

[0026] Regarding the housing 11 The housing 11 is made of synthetic resin and manufactured by injection molding. The housing 11 has a housing body 14 fixed to the body 7 of the vehicle 5 (see FIG. 1), a plurality of cylindrical portions 15, and a plurality of outer walls 17. The housing body 14 has a plate portion 31 that is flat and a hood portion 32 that is a bottomed cylindrical shape. The plate portion 31 has fixing portions 33 fixed to the body 7 of the vehicle 5 at four locations thereof. The fixing portions 33 are fixed to the body 7 by bolts (not shown). A plurality of outer walls 17 are provided on the plate portion 31. The hood portion 32 is provided in the center of the plate portion 31 and penetrates the plate portion 31. The hood portion 32 is open toward the front. A plurality of cylindrical portions 15 are provided inside the hood portion 32.

[0027] In the form shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 11 has four cylindrical portions 15. Each of the four cylindrical portions 15 is provided so as to project forward from the bottom plate 34 of the hood portion 32. The cylindrical portion 15 has a hollow shape, and a terminal 35 is provided inside thereof. The cylindrical portion 15 serves as a terminal housing portion that houses the metal terminal 35. The charging inlet 10 has, as the terminals 35, two power terminals 35a and 35b for power supply and two signal terminals 35c and 35d for signals. The power terminals 35a and 35b are terminals for supplying power to the battery 6 (see FIG. 1) and are connected to a power supply cable (not shown). The signal terminals 35c and 35d are terminals used to communicate information such as the charge amount of the battery 6 between the charger 8 (see FIG. 1) and the charging station 1 and are connected to a signal cable (not shown) that is connected to the charger 8.

[0028] In the form shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 11 has four outer walls 17. The outer walls 17 are walls that project forward from the plate portion 31 of the housing body 14. The outer walls 17 have an arc shape. The outer walls 17 are provided at four locations: upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right of the plate portion 31. As shown in FIG. 4, the four outer walls 17 are arranged along an oval virtual circle K1. FIG. 4 is a view of the housing 11 seen from the front, and the virtual circle K1 is shown by a two-dot chain line. The virtual circle K1 is a virtual circle set at a position away from the hood portion 32 in the vertical and horizontal directions.

[0029] As described above, four cylindrical portions 15 are provided inside the hood portion 32. That is, the inner region from the hood portion 32 becomes the formation region 16 of the four cylindrical portions 15 (see FIG. 2). The four outer walls 17 are partially arranged along a virtual circle K1 that surrounds the formation region 16 of the four cylindrical portions 15. A rib 36 is provided between the outer wall 17 and the front portion of the hood portion 32. Note that the outer wall 17 only needs to be provided along the virtual circle K1, its arrangement can be changed, and the number of outer walls 17 can also be changed.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 4, a recess 37 that recesses toward the formation region 16 is provided in each of the upper left outer wall 17 and the upper right outer wall 17. A protrusion 38 is provided in the recess 37. An engaging portion 24 of the cover 12 (see FIG. 5) described later engages with the protrusion 38. Note that the outer walls 17 in which the recesses 37 are provided may be the lower left and lower right outer walls 17. In this embodiment, the cover 12 engages with the housing 11 at three locations by the engaging portion 24. For this purpose, the housing 11 has an auxiliary wall 40 at its lower part, and a recess 39 that recesses toward the formation region 16 is formed in the auxiliary wall 40. The auxiliary wall 40 is a wall that projects forward from the plate portion 31. A protrusion 38 with which the engaging portion 24 engages is provided in the recess 39.

[0031] In FIG. 4, holes 19 for inserting guide pieces 25 (see FIG. 5) of a cover 12 described later are provided in the upper left outer wall 17 and the upper right outer wall 17, respectively. The holes 19 function when attaching the cover 12 to the housing 11. The function will be described later. The holes 19 are formed between a part of the outer wall 17 and a part of the hood portion 32 and are holes that open forward.

[0032] 〔Regarding the cover 12〕 The cover 12 is made of synthetic resin, is separate from the housing 11, and is manufactured by injection molding. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the cover 12 is separate from the housing 11 (housing main body 14). The cover 12 has one cover main body 21 and a plurality of attachment pieces 22. The cover main body 21 is a plate-like portion having a hole in the center with the front-rear direction as the plate thickness direction. The cover main body 21 has a large outer peripheral contour shape with dimensions smaller than the virtual circle K1. In the state where the cover 12 is attached to the housing 11, as shown in FIG. 2, the cover main body 21 covers a part of the housing main body 14 excluding the formation regions 16 of the four cylindrical portions 15 of the housing 11 from the front. The formation regions 16 are not covered by the cover main body 21 and are open to the front. Each part of the charging connector 4 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the cylindrical portion 15 of the formation region 16, and the mating terminal of the charging connector 4 is electrically connected to the terminal 35, and charging of the battery 6 is performed.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, the front portion of the hood portion 32 and the fixing portion 33 of the housing main body 14 are also not covered by the cover main body 21. When an operator inserts the charging connector 4 into the charging inlet 10 in a state where the charging inlet 10 is fixed to the body 7 of the vehicle 5 (see FIG. 1), the cover main body 21 becomes a visible part for the operator. The front surface 21a of the cover main body 21 is a decorative surface, and as a process for enhancing the design property, it is preferable that, for example, embossing is applied to the front surface 21a. On the other hand, the housing main body 14 is not subjected to a process for enhancing the design property. Since the cover 12 and the housing 11 are separate members, it is easy to apply decorations such as embossing to the cover 12.

[0034] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cover 12 as seen from the rear. The attachment piece 22 is provided so as to extend rearward from the cover body 21 which is plate-shaped. In the present embodiment, in the cover 12, attachment pieces 22 are provided at four locations, namely, the upper, lower, left, and right positions. As described above (see FIG. 4), the housing 11 has four outer walls 17, and these outer walls 17 are provided at intervals along a virtual circle K1. For this reason, a missing region 45 is formed between two adjacent outer walls 17, 17 along the virtual circle K1. The attachment piece 22 shown in FIG. 5 is provided in this missing region 45. The attachment piece 22 is located between two adjacent outer walls 17, 17 along the virtual circle K1. A rib 48 is provided on the rear surface of the cover 12 for reinforcing the cover body 21.

[0035] In a state where the cover 12 is attached to the housing 11, as shown in FIG. 6, the attachment pieces 22 and the outer walls 17 are alternately arranged side by side along the virtual circle K1. FIG. 6 is a schematic view for explaining the arrangement of the attachment pieces 22 and the outer walls 17 in a state where the cover 12 is attached to the housing 11. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the symbol of a virtual line passing through the formation region 16 and extending in the front-rear direction is “Q1”.

[0036] As will be described later (see FIG. 7), the rubber ring 13 is provided along the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 and the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22, and elastically deforms in the diameter-expanding direction in the attached state. Due to the elastic restoring force of the rubber ring 13, the cover 12 is pressed from above, below, left, and right through the attachment pieces 22, and the cover 12 is centered and attached to the housing 11 (see FIG. 6). That centered state is the attachment completion state.

[0037] The four attachment pieces 22 and the four outer walls 17 are arranged along a common virtual circle K1. However, in the present embodiment, in the attachment completion state, the attachment pieces 22 protrude to the side farther from the formation region 16 than the outer walls 17 (see FIG. 7). That is, the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22 is located at a position slightly farther from the formation region 16 than the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 in a direction orthogonal to the virtual line Q1.

[0038] FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the upper mounting piece 22 and the outer walls 17, 17 on both sides thereof in the state where the mounting is completed. The outer surface 23 of the mounting piece 22 and the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 are not arranged on the same surface (the same curved surface), and the outer surface 23 of the mounting piece 22 protrudes outward beyond the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17. When the center side of the formation region 16 (see FIG. 6) is used as a reference, there is a dimensional difference between the outer surface 23 of the mounting piece 22 and the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17. That is, when the center side of the formation region 16 (see FIG. 6) is used as a reference, the dimension from the reference to the outer surface 23 of the mounting piece 22 is larger. The dimensional difference is, for example, less than 1 millimeter. Note that the outer surface 23 and the outer surface 18 are surfaces desired to be on the outer side in the radial direction when the center of the formation region 16 is used as a reference.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 7, a gap e is provided between the mounting piece 22 and the outer walls 17, 17 on both sides thereof. As a result, a gap e is provided between the cover 12 and the housing 11. The gap e facilitates the operation of assembling the cover 12 to the housing 11. Before the rubber ring 13 is mounted (see FIG. 6), the cover 12 is displaceable in a direction perpendicular to the virtual line Q1 with respect to the housing 11, that is, in the left-right direction and the up-down direction. In the completed mounting state where the rubber ring 13 is mounted, the displacement of the cover 12 due to the gap e is suppressed (restricted). In FIG. 7, the rubber ring 13 (ring portion 51 described later) is shown by a two-dot chain line.

[0040] Regarding the positional relationship between the outer surface 23 of the mounting piece 22 and the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17, and the gap e between the mounting piece 22 and the outer wall 17 described with reference to FIG. 7, the same applies to the relationship between the left and right mounting pieces 22 and the outer walls 17, 17 on both sides thereof, and the relationship between the lower mounting piece 22 and the outer walls 17, 17 on both sides thereof.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 5, the cover 12 has guide pieces 25 that extend rearward from the cover body 21. The guide pieces 25 are provided at two locations on both the left and right sides of the cover body 21. As described above (see Fig. 4), the housing 11 is provided with holes 19 for guiding and inserting the guide pieces 25. The guide pieces 25 have inclined surfaces 49 for reducing the overall shape as they extend rearward. According to this guide piece 25, when the cover 12 is brought close to and attached to the housing 11, the guide piece 25 can be guided and inserted into the hole 19. As a result, it becomes easy to attach the cover 12 to the housing 11.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 5, the cover 12 has an engaging portion 24 that engages with the housing 11. The engaging portion 24 extends rearward from the cover body 21. The engaging portion 24 is provided at three locations on both the left and right sides and the bottom of the cover body 21. The engaging portion 24 has claws 47 that engage with the protrusions 38 (see Fig. 4) of the housing 11. In the state where the cover 12 is attached to the housing 11, the claws 47 are located behind the protrusions 38. When the cover 12 attempts to displace forward, the claws 47 come into contact with the protrusions 38, making it impossible for the cover 12 to displace forward. That is, the cover 12 cannot fall off from the housing 11. When attaching the cover 12 to the housing 11, the engaging portion 24 including the claws 47 elastically deforms in order to cross over the protrusions 38. Thereby, it becomes possible to attach the cover 12.

[0043] On each of the left and right sides of the cover 12, one engaging portion 24 and one guide piece 25 are provided adjacent to each other. The guide piece 25 is guided by the hole 19, and the cover 12 is attached to the housing 11. Then, the engaging portion 24 engages with the protrusion 38 which is a part of the housing 11, and the cover 12 is temporarily fixed to the housing 11. After this temporary fixing, the rubber ring 13 is attached to the outside of the attachment piece 22 and the outer wall 17, whereby the cover 12 is fixedly attached to the housing 11.

[0044] 〔Regarding the rubber ring 13〕 The rubber ring 13 is made of synthetic rubber. The rubber ring 13 is annular as a whole. As described above (see FIG. 7), the rubber ring 13 is provided along the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 and the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22. The rubber ring 13 (see FIG. 3) has a ring portion 51 that contacts the outer wall 17 and the attachment piece 22.

[0045] Before the rubber ring 13 is mounted on the outer wall 17 and the attachment piece 22, the inner peripheral contour shape of the ring portion 51 is smaller than the contour shape of the virtual annular surface passing through the outer surfaces 23 of the four attachment pieces 22. Further, in the state before the rubber ring 13 is mounted, the inner peripheral contour shape of the ring portion 51 is smaller than the contour shape of the virtual annular surface passing through the outer surfaces 23 of the four outer walls 17. For this reason, the rubber ring 13 (ring portion 51) is elastically deformed in the diameter-expanding direction in the mounted state of being externally fitted to the outer wall 17 and the attachment piece 22, and the rubber ring 13 contacts both the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 and the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22. The rubber ring 13 is in a state of being in close contact with the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 and the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22.

[0046] 〔Regarding the drainage structure of the charging inlet 10〕 As shown in FIG. 6, a groove 42 is formed in the lower part of the housing body 14. In the present embodiment, the groove 42 is formed at two locations on both sides of the auxiliary wall 40. The groove 42 is formed so as to penetrate the inside and the outside of the virtual circle K1. The groove 42 opens at the lower surface 14b of the housing body 14. When the cover 12 is mounted on the housing 11, a space is formed between the cover 12 (the lower attachment piece 22) and the desired groove bottom surface 43 that the groove 42 has in the front. This space becomes the drainage channel 20. Even if water such as rainwater enters the internal space formed between the cover 12 and a part of the housing 11 covered by the cover 12, the water is discharged to the outside through the drainage channel 20.

[0047] The position of the groove 43 for constituting the drainage channel 20 and the number of the grooves 43 are changeable. Further, instead of forming the groove 43 on the housing main body 14 side, although not shown, a notch may be provided at a position below the cover 12, and the drainage channel may be constituted by the notch. From the above, it is sufficient that the drainage channel 20 is provided at a lower position between the cover 12 and the housing 11. The drainage channel 20 allows water to pass from the internal space formed between the cover 12 and a part of the housing 11 covered by the cover 12 to the outside.

[0048] 〔Second form of the charging inlet 10〕 FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a second form of the charging inlet 10, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the charging inlet 10 shown in FIG. 8. One of the differences between the second form and the form shown in FIG. 2 (the first form) is the range in which the cover 12 covers the housing 11. Further, in the second form, the form of the cylindrical portion 15 that houses the signal terminals 35c and 35d for signals is different as compared with the form shown in FIG. 2 (the first form). In the second form, the number of the cylindrical portions 15 is larger as compared with the first form.

[0049] In the charging inlet 10 shown in FIG. 2, the cover 12 covers the entire circumference around the formation region 16 of the plurality of cylindrical portions 15. On the other hand, in the charging inlet 10 shown in FIG. 8, the cover 12 covers the left and right sides and the lower side range of the formation region 16 of the plurality of cylindrical portions 15, but does not cover the upper side range. That is, the housing main body 14 is partially exposed from the upper part of the central opening provided in the cover 12. This is because, in the second form, a latch portion 61 with which the charging connector 4 (see FIG. 1) engages is provided at the upper part of the hood portion 32 that partitions the formation region 16. That is, when connecting the charging connector 4 to the charging inlet 10, a part of the charging connector 4 penetrates the upper part of the cover 12.

[0050] Also in the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the charging inlet 10 includes a housing 11 having a housing body 14 fixed to the body 7 of the vehicle 5 (see FIG. 1), a cover 12 separate from the housing body 14, and a rubber ring 13 for attaching the cover 12 to the housing 11. For the same components in the first and second embodiments, the same reference numerals are used, and the detailed description of the same components is omitted here. The charging inlet 10 according to the second embodiment includes each component of the charging inlet 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0051] 〔Third Embodiment of Charging Inlet 10〕 FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the charging inlet 10, and FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the charging inlet 10 shown in FIG. 10. One of the differences between the third embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 (first embodiment) is, similar to the second embodiment, the range in which the cover 12 covers the housing 11. In the charging inlet 10 shown in FIG. 10, the cover 12 covers the left and right sides and the lower side of the formation region 16 of the plurality of cylindrical portions 15, but does not cover the upper side. That is, the housing body 14 is partially exposed from the upper part of the central opening provided in the cover 12. The reason is that, similar to the second embodiment, a latch portion 61 with which the charging connector 4 (see FIG. 1) engages is provided at the upper part of the hood portion 32.

[0052] Further, the charging inlet 10 of the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment (see FIG. 2) and the second embodiment (see FIG. 8) in that, in addition to the cylindrical portions 15, 15 that accommodate the power terminals 35a, 35b for power supply, it further has a cylindrical portion 15 that accommodates the ground terminal 35e. Furthermore, in the third embodiment, compared with the first and second embodiments, the form of the cylindrical portions 15 that accommodate the signal terminals 35c, 35d for signals is different.

[0053] Also in the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the charging inlet 10 includes a housing 11 having a housing body 14 fixed to the body 7 of the vehicle 5 (see FIG. 1), a cover 12 separate from the housing body 14, and a rubber ring 13 for attaching the cover 12 to the housing 11. For the same components in the first and third embodiments, the same reference numerals are used, and the detailed description of the same components is omitted here. The charging inlet 10 according to the third embodiment includes each component of the charging inlet 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0054] 〔Regarding the charging inlet 10 of each of the above embodiments〕 The charging inlets 10 of the first, second, and third embodiments are devices for inserting and removing the charging connector 4 to charge the battery 6 of the vehicle 5 (see FIG. 1). The charging inlet 10 includes a housing 11 having a housing body 14, a cover 12 separate from the housing body 14, and a rubber ring 13 for attaching the cover 12 to the housing 11.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 3, 9, and 11, the housing 11 has a plurality of cylindrical portions 15 protruding forward from the housing body 14 and a plurality of outer walls 17 protruding forward from the housing body 14. The cylindrical portion 15 is a terminal accommodation portion provided with a terminal 35 inside thereof. The outer wall 17 is partially arranged along a virtual circle K1 surrounding the formation region 16 of the plurality of cylindrical portions 15. The cover 12 has a cover body 21 and an attachment piece 22 extending rearward from the cover body 21. The cover body 21 is visible when inserting the charging connector 4 and covers a part of the housing body 14 excluding the formation region 16. The attachment piece 22 is located between two adjacent outer walls 17, 17 along the virtual circle K1. And the rubber ring 13 is provided along the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 and the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22.

[0056] According to the charging inlet 10 of each of the above forms, as shown in FIGS. 2, 8, and 10, the cover body 21 is visible when an operator inserts the charging connector 4 into the charging inlet 10, and since the cover body 21 covers a part of the housing body 14, a charging inlet 10 with excellent design can be obtained. Between the two outer walls 17, 17 of the housing 11, the attachment piece 22 of the cover 12 is located, and the attachment piece 22 is tightened by the rubber ring 13, and the cover 12 is attached to the housing 11. Although the cover 12 is separate from the housing 11, the vibration of the cover 12 is suppressed by the rubber ring 13, and the quiet performance of the vehicle 5 is not deteriorated.

[0057] In each of the above forms, since the attachment structure of the cover 12 to the housing 11 is not, for example, a screw fastening structure, a space for screw fastening is not required, and an increase in screw parts is prevented. In each of the above forms, the cover 12 is not only temporarily fixed to the housing 11 by the engaging portion 24 (see FIG. 5 for example), but the cover 12 is tightened and fixed (permanently fixed) to the housing 11 by the rubber ring 13. With only temporary fixing, the cover 12 may vibrate and repeatedly contact the housing 11 to generate abnormal noise. However, the vibration of the cover 12 is suppressed by the rubber ring 13, and the cover 12 is prevented from repeatedly contacting the housing 11, making it possible to suppress the generation of abnormal noise.

[0058] In each of the above forms (described by taking FIGS. 6 and 7 as representatives), the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22 is located at a position farther from the forming region 16 in a direction perpendicular to the virtual line Q1 along the front-rear direction than the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17. For this reason, it is possible to generate a force that makes the attachment piece 22 face the center of the charging inlet 10 on the forming region 16 side by the elastic force of the rubber ring 13. That is, the action of the rubber ring 13 tightening the attachment piece 22 to the center is enhanced.

[0059] The rubber ring 13 provides a binding force of the cover 12 to the housing 11, making it possible to more effectively suppress the vibration of the cover 12. The rubber ring 13 contacts both the outer surface 18 of the outer wall 17 and the outer surface 23 of the attachment piece 22. The outer wall 17 and the attachment piece 22 are tightened by the rubber ring 13, and the cover 12 is attached to the housing 11.

[0060] A gap e (see Fig. 7) is provided between the cover 12 and the housing 11, so that the cover 12 can be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the virtual line Q1 with respect to the housing 11 before the rubber ring 13 is installed. However, in the state after the rubber ring 13 is installed, the relative displacement of the cover 12 in the direction perpendicular to the virtual line Q1 with respect to the housing 11 is suppressed. After the operation of assembling the cover 12 to the housing 11, the cover 12 can be displaced with respect to the housing 11 before the rubber ring 13 is installed, but after installation, the cover 12 is positioned and attached to the housing 11 by the rubber ring 13.

[0061] In each of the above embodiments (illustrated and described by way of Figs. 5 and 6), the attachment pieces 22 are provided at four locations in the region where the first axis Z in the vertical direction perpendicular to the virtual line Q1 along the front-rear direction and the second axis X in the left-right direction perpendicular to the virtual line Q1 respectively intersect with the virtual circle K1. Specifically, the attachment pieces 22 are provided at four locations in the vertical and horizontal directions at intervals along the virtual circle K1. For this reason, the cover 12 is aligned with the center of the charging inlet 10 on the forming region 16 side by the force of the rubber ring 13. That is, the cover 12 is centered. Even when a gap is formed between the cover 12 and the hood portion 32, the gap is likely to be uniform and has a good appearance.

[0062] Incidentally, the arrangement of the attachment pieces 22 can be changed in the same manner as the arrangement of the outer wall 17 of the housing 11. However, the attachment pieces 22 are preferably provided at four positions in a region where each of two axes orthogonal to the virtual line Q1 and orthogonal to each other intersects with the virtual circle K1. By centering the cover 12 with respect to the housing 11, it is possible to prevent the appearance from deteriorating due to misalignment of the cover 12.

[0063] In each of the above embodiments, the cover 12 has a guide piece 25 provided to extend rearward from the cover body 21 (see FIG. 5). The housing 11 is provided with a hole 19 for guiding and inserting the guide piece 25 (see FIG. 6). Therefore, when the cover 12 is attached close to the housing 11, the guide piece 25 can be guided and inserted into the hole 19. The attachment of the cover 12 to the housing 11 becomes easy. The hole 19 is provided inside the virtual circle K1, and the guide piece 25 inserted into the hole 19 is not in contact with the rubber ring 13. Therefore, the attachment pieces 22 and the guide piece 25 of the cover 12 function independently.

[0064] 〔Others〕 The outer peripheral contour shape of the housing 11 and the hood portion 32 of the housing 11 may be other than the illustrated form. Further, although not shown, the hood portion 32 may have a holding portion or the like for holding a cable connected to the terminal 35. Although the case where the attachment pieces 22 are provided at four positions, i.e., up, down, left, and right, has been described, it is preferably at least four positions. Incidentally, the attachment pieces 22 may be provided at two or three positions separated from each other along the virtual circle K1.

[0065] The above embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the rights of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims, and includes all modifications within the scope equivalent to the configurations described in the claims.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0066] 1 Charging station 2 External power supply 3 Converter 4 Charging connector 5 Vehicle 6 Battery 7 Body 8 Charger 9 Door 10 Charging inlet 11 Housing 12 Cover 13 Rubber ring 14 Housing body 14b Bottom surface 15 Cylindrical part 16 Forming area 17 Outer wall 18 Outer surface 19 Hole part 20 Drainage channel 21 Cover body 21a Front surface 22 Mounting piece 23 Outer surface 24 Engaging part 25 Guide piece 31 Plate part 32 Hood part 33 Fixing part 34 Bottom plate 35 Terminal 35a, 35b Power terminals 35c, 35d Signal terminals 35e Grounding terminal 36 Rib 37 Recess 38 Protrusion 39 Recess 40 Auxiliary wall 42 Groove 43 Groove bottom surface 45 Defective area 47 Claw 48 Rib 49 Inclined surface 51 Ring part 61 Latch part K1 Virtual circle Q1 Virtual line e Gap

Claims

1. A charging inlet for inserting and removing a charging connector to charge a battery of a vehicle, comprising a housing having a housing body fixed to the body of the vehicle, a cover separate from the housing body, and a rubber ring for attaching the cover to the housing, When a direction in which the charging connector is removed is defined as a first direction and a direction in which the charging connector is inserted is defined as a second direction, the housing has a plurality of cylindrical portions protruding from the housing body in the first direction and having terminals provided inside, and a plurality of outer walls partially arranged along a virtual circle surrounding a formation region of the plurality of cylindrical portions and protruding from the housing body in the first direction, and the cover has a cover body that is visible when the charging connector is inserted and covers a part of the housing body excluding the formation region, and an attachment piece provided to extend from the cover body in the second direction, and the attachment piece is located between two adjacent outer walls along the virtual circle, and the rubber ring is provided along an outer surface of the outer wall and an outer surface of the attachment piece, a charging inlet.

2. The charging inlet according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the attachment piece is located farther from the formation region in a direction orthogonal to a virtual line along the first direction than the outer surface of the outer wall.

3. The charging inlet according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the attachment piece is provided at four locations in a region where two axes orthogonal to each other and orthogonal to a virtual line along the first direction intersect with the virtual circle.

4. The rubber ring contacts both the outer surface of the outer wall and the outer surface of the mounting piece, and the charging inlet according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A gap is provided between the cover and the housing, so that in a state before the rubber ring is mounted, the cover can be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the virtual line along the first direction with respect to the housing. In a state after the rubber ring is mounted, relative displacement of the cover in a direction perpendicular to the virtual line along the first direction with respect to the housing is suppressed, and the charging inlet according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The cover has an engaging portion that engages with the housing, and the charging inlet according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The cover has a guide piece provided to extend in the second direction from the cover body. The housing is provided with a hole portion for guiding and inserting the guide piece, and the charging inlet according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The guide piece is non-contact with the rubber ring, and the charging inlet according to claim 7.

9. A drainage channel for allowing water to pass from the internal space formed between the cover and a part of the housing to the outside is provided at a lower position between the cover and the housing, and the charging inlet according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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