Heat generation suppression unit

Abstract

A heat generation suppression unit (1) comprises: a bus bar unit (10) provided with at least a conductive first bus bar (11); an accommodating case (30) having an accommodating portion (31a) for accommodating a part of the bus bar unit (10); and a cooling pipe (20) partially disposed in the accommodating portion (31a) and circulating a refrigerant (R). The first bus bar (11) has a plate shape in which a first terminal portion (11d) and a second terminal portion (11e), each of which is partially exposed to the outside of the accommodating case (30), are projected from an edge portion (11c). The first terminal portion (11d) or the second terminal portion (11e) connects the core wire (201) of an electric wire (200) for power supply, said electric wire (200) being led out from the electric wire introduction port portion (122a) of a charging inlet (100). The accommodating case (30) is held to a part of the charging inlet (100) different from the electric wire introduction port portion (122a) or a structure in which the charging inlet (100) is installed.

Description

fever suppression unit

[0001] The present invention relates to a heat suppression unit.

[0002] Conventionally, there are charging inlets that are installed in vehicles such as electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid vehicles to supply power from outside the vehicle to the onboard battery. It is important for charging inlets to further suppress heat generation in order to accommodate higher output to shorten charging times. Patent Document 1 discloses technology related to a charging inlet that includes a cover structure with a cooling mechanism at the opening of a housing that houses part of a power supply terminal, which generates a particularly large amount of heat during charging.

[0003] US Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0021077

[0004] In the charging inlet disclosed in Patent Document 1, a cover structure having a cooling structure is installed in an opening provided in a case member of the charging inlet. Therefore, the opening must have a shape that takes into account the installation of the cover structure. Furthermore, if the structure or shape of the cover structure is modified, the structure or shape of the opening must also be modified to match the modification.

[0005] On the other hand, another measure to suppress heat generation in the charging inlet is to dissipate heat by heat transfer through the power supply wire, but heat transfer is limited beyond the size of the wire. Therefore, if further suppression of heat generation is desired, the wire size must be increased, which may result in being forced to change the structure or shape of the opening in the case member.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the problems inherent in the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat suppression unit that improves the heat suppression performance of a charging inlet without requiring structural modifications to the charging inlet.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a heat suppression unit that suppresses heat generation in a charging inlet, comprising: a busbar unit including at least a conductive first busbar; a storage case having an accommodation portion that accommodates part of the busbar unit; and a cooling pipe that is partially disposed in the accommodation portion and through which a refrigerant circulates, wherein the first busbar is plate-shaped with a first terminal portion and a second terminal portion that protrude from an edge and are each partially exposed to the outside of the storage case, and the first terminal portion or the second terminal portion is connected to a core wire of an electric power supply cable that is led out from a wire inlet portion of the charging inlet, and the storage case is held by a part of the charging inlet that is different from the wire inlet portion, or by a structure on which the charging inlet is installed.

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heat suppression unit that improves the performance of suppressing heat generation in a charging inlet without requiring structural modifications to the charging inlet.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a heat generation suppression unit according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the heat generation suppression unit according to an embodiment. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the heat generation suppression unit corresponding to the section III-III in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the heat generation suppression unit corresponding to the section IV-IV in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a bus bar unit according to an embodiment.

[0010] A heat generation suppressing unit according to an embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional proportions in the drawings are exaggerated for the sake of convenience and may differ from the actual proportions.

[0011] 1 is a perspective view of a heat generation suppression unit 1 according to one embodiment, which is installed on the back side of a charging inlet 100. Here, the back side of charging inlet 100 refers to the side opposite to the front side of charging inlet 100, assuming that the side on which charging port 111a to which a charging connector is connected is provided.

[0012] The charging inlet 100 is installed in a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle, and is a connector for supplying power to an on-board battery by appropriately connecting a charging connector (not shown) from outside the vehicle. The external charging connector is sometimes called a "charging gun." The charging inlet 100 can be applied to various existing charging methods, but in this embodiment, a charging inlet compliant with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) is illustrated.

[0013] Charging inlet 100 includes, for example, a plurality of power supply terminals, an inlet housing 110, a rear case 120, and a plurality of inner terminals. Note that the plurality of terminals and the plurality of inner terminals are not shown for convenience.

[0014] The multiple power supply terminals are so-called charging terminals that are connected to female terminals (hereinafter referred to as "external terminals") (not shown) provided on the charging connector when the charging connector is connected to charging inlet 100. For example, charging inlet 100 that complies with NACS has two power supply terminals: a first terminal that functions as a DC positive or AC positive terminal, and a second terminal that functions as a DC negative or AC negative terminal. Note that charging inlets that comply with general standards include, in addition to power supply terminals, a ground terminal, a signal transmission terminal used to allow charging to begin, and a signal transmission terminal used to confirm the connection of the charging connector.

[0015] Inlet housing 110 is made of synthetic resin, holds each terminal, and forms an exterior portion that is exposed to the outside when the charging connector is connected. Inlet housing 110 integrally includes a cylindrical portion 111 and a mounting frame portion 112.

[0016] Cylindrical portion 111 protects the tip ends of the multiple terminals by arranging them in its internal space. A charging port 111a is provided at the front end of cylindrical portion 111 as an opening into which the tip end of a charging connector is fitted when starting charging.

[0017] Mounting frame 112 supports cylindrical portion 111 on the front side by integrating the end of cylindrical portion 111 opposite charging port 111a, and connects rear case 120 on the back side. Furthermore, when charging inlet 100 is installed in structure 300, which is part of a vehicle, mounting frame 112 is directly attached to structure 300. The specific shape of mounting frame 112 is determined appropriately according to the specifications of the vehicle in which charging inlet 100 will be installed.

[0018] The mounting frame 112 also has locking protrusions 112a that lock onto engaging pieces 121a provided on the rear case 120 when connecting the rear case 120. The mounting frame 112 also has a plurality of bolt insertion holes (not shown) formed in a plurality of locations on the mounting frame 112, in alignment with the positions of a plurality of bolt insertion holes 121b provided in the rear case 120.

[0019] The rear case 120 is made of synthetic resin, is connected to the inlet housing 110, and accommodates a plurality of terminals and a plurality of inner terminals. The rear case 120 integrally includes a housing connecting portion 121 and an electric wire connecting portion 122.

[0020] The housing connecting portion 121 connects to the mounting frame portion 112 of the inlet housing 110 on the front side, and supports the wire connecting portion 122 on the back side by integrating the end portion opposite the wire inlet portion 122a of the wire connecting portion 122.

[0021] Furthermore, housing connecting portion 121 has engaging pieces 121a that partially engage with locking protrusions 112a provided on mounting frame portion 112 when connecting mounting frame portion 112. Engagement of engaging pieces 121a with locking protrusions 112a maintains the connection between inlet housing 110 and rear case 120. Furthermore, a plurality of bolt insertion holes 121b are formed in a plurality of locations on housing connecting portion 121. When charging inlet 100 is installed on structure 300, bolts (not shown) are inserted successively through bolt insertion holes 121b and bolt insertion holes formed in mounting frame 112, and fastened to bolt holes previously formed in structure 300.

[0022] The electric wire connection portion 122 is a cylindrical portion that accommodates the ends of the electric wires 200 for power supply and defines a space therein for connecting the electric wires 200 to corresponding power supply terminals via inner terminals. In this embodiment, there are two electric wires 200. In this embodiment, the axial direction of the electric wire connection portion 122, which corresponds to the introduction direction of the electric wires 200, is aligned with the axial direction of the cylindrical portion 111 of the inlet housing 110.

[0023] The end of wire connection portion 122 opposite to the end integrated with housing coupling portion 121 is wire inlet portion 122a, which serves as an opening for introducing two electric wires 200 from the outside. Because the axial direction of wire connection portion 122 is along the axial direction of tubular portion 111, the opening of wire inlet portion 122a is open in the opposite direction from charging port 111a. The cross section of the entire opening of wire inlet portion 122a is shaped like an elongated hole whose major axis is set along the direction in which two electric wires 200 face each other, so that two electric wires 200 can be introduced in a parallel orientation.

[0024] Some of the inner terminals are connected to the base portions of the power supply terminals, and others are individually connected to the ends of the externally introduced electric wires 200. In this embodiment, there are two power supply terminals, a first terminal and a second terminal, and therefore there are two inner terminals.

[0025] A plurality of electric wires 200 corresponding to the respective terminals for supplying power are connected to the charging inlet 100. That is, in this embodiment, two electric wires 200, a first electric wire 200a corresponding to the first terminal and a second electric wire 200b corresponding to the second terminal, are connected to the charging inlet 100. Each electric wire 200 has a core wire 201 that is a conductor and a covering portion 202 that is an insulator that covers the core wire 201. An end portion of the core wire 201 exposed at one end of each electric wire 200 is joined to one of the two inner terminals.

[0026] In a typical charging inlet, the other end of the electric power supply wire is pre-connected to an object inside the vehicle, such as an on-board battery. In contrast, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1 , each electric wire 200 is separated immediately after extending outward from electric wire inlet 122a, and heat suppression unit 1, which will be described in detail below, is installed between the separated electric wires.

[0027] Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the heat generation suppression unit 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the heat generation suppression unit 1 corresponding to section III-III in Fig. 1 . Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the heat generation suppression unit 1 corresponding to section IV-IV in Fig. 1 . Figs. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views taken along an imaginary plane perpendicular to the opening surface of the opening 31d provided in the storage case 30. The cross-sectional view in Fig. 3 is an imaginary plane including the cooling pipe 20 arranged in the housing section 31a of the storage case 30. The cross-sectional view in Fig. 4 is an imaginary plane that passes between the two bus bar units 10 and the cooling pipe 20 and allows the open surface 12a of one of the second bus bars 12 included in each bus bar unit 10 to be seen.

[0028] To meet the demand for higher output from charging inlets, heat suppression unit 1 suppresses heat generation at charging inlet 100. Heat suppression unit 1 includes a plurality of busbar units 10, cooling pipes 20, a storage case 30, a storage lid 40, and a sealing member 50.

[0029] The busbar units 10 are conductive members connected between the separated electric wires 200. In this embodiment, there are two busbar units 10: a first busbar unit 10a and a second busbar unit 10b. The first busbar unit 10a is connected to the middle of the first electric wire 200a. The second busbar unit 10b is connected to the middle of the second electric wire 200b.

[0030] 5 is an exploded perspective view of one busbar unit 10. The busbar unit 10 is a combination of two types of busbars: a first busbar 11 and at least one second busbar 12.

[0031] First bus bar 11 is formed of a conductive material such as a copper alloy, and is directly joined to electric wire 200. First bus bar 11 has a main body portion 11a, a first terminal portion 11d, and a second terminal portion 11e.

[0032] The main body 11a is a plate-like portion whose main plane is roughly rectangular. The first surface 11b, which is one of the main planes of the main body 11a, and the other main plane (not shown), which is the opposite surface of the first surface 11b, are each capable of being attached to the second bus bar 12 while being in contact with each other. The main body 11a has a plurality of first bolt holes 11h penetrating through it in the thickness direction. In this embodiment, there are four first bolt holes 11h, each located near one of the four corners of the main plane.

[0033] The first terminal 11d and the second terminal 11e connect the core wire 201 of the electric wire 200. In this embodiment, the first terminal 11d and the second terminal 11e have the same shape and are continuous plate-like portions with their respective main planes flush with the main plane of the main body 11a. The first terminal 11d and the second terminal 11e are spaced apart from each other and protrude in the same direction from an edge 11c, which is one edge of the main body 11a. The first terminal 11d has a first through hole 11f penetrating in the thickness direction. Similarly, the second terminal 11e has a second through hole 11g penetrating in the thickness direction. The first through hole 11f and the second through hole 11g each receive a core wire 201 exposed from an end of one of the electric wires 200. The core wire 201 introduced into the first through hole 11f or the second through hole 11g is joined to the first terminal portion 11d or the second terminal portion 11e by welding or the like.

[0034] The first terminal portion 11d or the second terminal portion 11e connects the core wire 201 of the electric wire 200 that is led out from the electric wire inlet portion 122a of the two divided electric wires 200, or connects the core wire 201 of the electric wire 200 that is routed toward the charging battery.

[0035] First, in the first bus bar 11 provided in the first bus bar unit 10a, the first terminal 11d and the second terminal 11e connect the first electric wire 200a as follows: The core wire 201 of the first electric wire 200a leading out from the electric wire inlet 122a is connected to the second terminal 11e. The core wire 201 of the first electric wire 200a routed toward the charging battery is connected to the first terminal 11d. In other words, in the first bus bar 11 provided in the first bus bar unit 10a, the second terminal 11e is the input side terminal, and the first terminal 11d is the output side terminal.

[0036] On the other hand, in the first bus bar 11 provided in the second bus bar unit 10 b, the first terminal 11 d and the second terminal 11 e connect the second electric wire 200 b as follows: The core wire 201 of the second electric wire 200 b leading out from the electric wire inlet 122 a is connected to the first terminal 11 d. The core wire 201 of the second electric wire 200 b routed toward the charging battery is connected to the second terminal 11 e. In other words, in the first bus bar 11 provided in the second bus bar unit 10 b, the first terminal 11 d is the input side terminal, and the second terminal 11 e is the output side terminal.

[0037] The second busbar 12 is made of a conductive material such as a copper alloy, is not joined to the electric wire 200, and is held by the first busbar 11. In the present embodiment, as an example, one busbar unit 10 holds two second busbars 12 relative to the first busbar 11. The second busbar 12 is a plate-like portion whose main plane has a rectangular shape similar to that of the first busbar 11. The second busbar 12 has an open surface 12a, which is one of the main planes, and a contact surface 12b, which is the other main plane opposite the open surface 12a. When the second busbar 12 is held by the first busbar 11, the contact surface 12b comes into contact with one of the main planes, such as the first surface 11b, of the first busbar 11. In other words, the second busbar 12 is held in a stacked position relative to the first busbar 11.

[0038] The second bus bar 12 also has a plurality of second bolt holes 12c penetrating in the thickness direction. In this embodiment, there are four second bolt holes 12c, which are located near the four corners of the main plane and aligned with the positions of the plurality of first bolt holes 11h provided in the main body portion 11a of the first bus bar 11. In this case, the two second bus bars 12 are positioned so as to sandwich the main body portion 11a of the first bus bar 11, and then are held to the first bus bar 11 by fastening bolts (not shown) that pass through the first bolt holes 11h and the second bolt holes 12c.

[0039] Furthermore, the second bus bar 12 has heat dissipation fins 12d on the open surface 12a. In this embodiment, the heat dissipation fins 12d are a group of linear protrusions extending in the direction along the protrusion direction of the first terminal portion 11d and the second terminal portion 11e when the first bus bar 11 is holding the second bus bar 12. However, the specific shape of the heat dissipation fins 12d is not particularly limited as long as they are provided on the open surface 12a so as to avoid the formation positions of the multiple second bolt holes 12c.

[0040] A portion of the cooling pipe 20 is disposed within the housing portion 31a, through which the refrigerant R flows. For convenience, in each of FIGS. 1 to 3 , the cooling pipe 20 is depicted cut at both ends exposed to the outside from the housing lid 40. One of these ends is an inlet 21 for introducing the refrigerant R into the pipe portion disposed within the housing portion 31a, and the other end is an outlet 22 for discharging the refrigerant R from the pipe portion disposed within the housing portion 31a. The inlet 21 and the outlet 22 are connected to a refrigerant circulation device (not shown) via other pipe portions of the cooling pipe 20. The refrigerant R may be, for example, silicone oil, which is suitable for use in relatively high-temperature conditions, but is not particularly limited thereto.

[0041] Furthermore, the piping portion of the cooling piping 20 that is disposed in the accommodation portion 31a may be bent in a serpentine shape. Furthermore, the piping portion that has been bent in a serpentine shape may be disposed so as to closely face the open surface 12a of one of the second bus bars 12 of each of the first bus bar unit 10a and the second bus bar unit 10b. Since the open surface 12a is provided with the heat dissipation fins 12d, such a shape and arrangement of the cooling piping 20 allows the heat released from the heat dissipation fins 12d to be more efficiently discharged to the outside by the refrigerant R.

[0042] The storage case 30 is made of synthetic resin and accommodates a part of the bus bar unit 10 and a part of the cooling pipe 20. The storage case 30 integrally includes a case body 31, a flange portion 32, and a case attachment portion 33.

[0043] The case body 31 has a housing portion 31a that directly houses a part of the busbar unit 10 and a part of the cooling pipe 20, and an opening portion 31d that is open in one direction. Here, the part of the busbar unit 10 housed in the housing portion 31a refers to the part of both the first busbar unit 10a and the second busbar unit 10b excluding the first terminal portion 11d and the second terminal portion 11e that are exposed to the outside of the housing case 30 via the housing lid 40.

[0044] In this embodiment, the first busbar unit 10a and the second busbar unit 10b are accommodated in the accommodation portion 31a through the opening 31d in a direction opposite to the protruding direction of the first terminal portion 11d and the second terminal portion 11e. The first busbar unit 10a and the second busbar unit 10b are arranged in a non-contact manner and parallel to each other with the main planes of the first busbars 11 aligned along the same imaginary plane. The shape and size of the accommodation portion 31a are set so that the first busbar unit 10a and the second busbar unit 10b can be accommodated in this orientation while also allowing for the placement of a portion of the cooling pipe 20. In this case, the opening 31d has a long, narrow rectangular shape that is longer in the direction in which the first busbar unit 10a and the second busbar unit 10b are aligned and shorter in the thickness direction of the first busbar unit 10a and the second busbar unit 10b.

[0045] Due to the relative positions of the first busbar unit 10a and the second busbar unit 10b, the second terminal 11e, which is the input terminal of the first busbar unit 10a, and the first terminal 11d, which is the input terminal of the second busbar unit 10b, are close to each other without contacting each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 , the input terminals are less likely to bend the first electric wire 200a and the second electric wire 200b leading out of the wire inlet 122a. This is advantageous for shortening the distance between each input terminal and the wire inlet 122a of the charging inlet 100.

[0046] The case body 31 may also have a separation wall 31b in the accommodation portion 31a to ensure electrical insulation between the first bus bar unit 10a and the second bus bar unit 10b. Furthermore, the case body 31 may also have a protection wall 31c in the accommodation portion 31a to prevent the first bus bar unit 10a and the second bus bar unit 10b from contacting the cooling pipe 20.

[0047] The storage lid 40 is attached to the flange portion 32. The flange portion 32 has a plurality of bolt insertion holes 32a that pass through the flange portion 32 along the opening direction of the opening portion 31d.

[0048] The case mounting portion 33 is a structural portion for holding the assembled heat suppression unit 1 on a part of the charging inlet 100 other than the wire inlet portion 122a, or on the structure 300 on which the charging inlet 100 is installed. In the present embodiment, the case mounting portion 33 is attached to a part of the structure 300, which is a part of the vehicle, on which the charging inlet 100 is installed. The case mounting portion 33 is, for example, a mounting plate that is in surface contact with a mounting surface on the structure 300. In this case, the case mounting portion 33 may have bolt insertion holes 33a that penetrate in the thickness direction. The case mounting portion 33 may also be connected to the outer periphery of the case main body 31 via connecting portions 33b.

[0049] The storage lid 40 is made of synthetic resin and covers the opening 31d of the storage section 31a. The storage lid 40 integrally includes a lid body 41 and a fitting section 42.

[0050] The lid main body 41 is a plate-shaped portion that can be attached to the flange portion 32 of the storage case 30 while covering the opening 31d. The lid main body 41 has a plurality of terminal through-holes 43, a refrigerant inlet hole 41a, a refrigerant outlet hole 41b, and a plurality of bolt insertion holes 41c. The plurality of terminal through-holes 43 tightly pass the first terminals 11d or the second terminals 11e while exposing them to the outside. In this embodiment, the first bus bar unit 10a and the second bus bar unit 10b each have one first terminal 11d and one second terminal 11e, so there are four terminal through-holes 43. The refrigerant inlet hole 41a tightly passes the inlet port 21 of the cooling pipe 20. The refrigerant outlet hole 41b tightly passes the outlet port 22 of the cooling pipe 20. The plurality of bolt insertion holes 41c are provided to align with the positions of the plurality of bolt insertion holes 32a formed in the flange portion 32 of the storage case 30. When the storage lid 40 is placed on the flange portion 32, bolts (not shown) are inserted successively through the bolt insertion holes 41c and the bolt insertion holes 32a and fastened, thereby completing the attachment of the storage lid 40 to the storage case 30.

[0051] The fitting portion 42 is provided on the surface of the lid body 41 facing the storage portion 31a, and is an annular frame portion that comes into close proximity to or into contact with the inner surface of the storage portion 31a when the storage lid 40 is attached to the storage case 30.

[0052] The sealing member 50 is, for example, an O-ring, and when the storage lid 40 is attached to the storage case 30, it is tightly attached between the outer surface of the fitting portion 42 and the inner surface of the storage portion 31a, thereby sealing the inside and outside of the storage portion 31a.

[0053] Next, the operation and effect of heat suppression unit 1 will be described.

[0054] First, heat generation suppression unit 1, which suppresses heat generation in charging inlet 100, includes busbar unit 10 including at least conductive first busbar 11, and storage case 30 having a storage portion 31a that stores a portion of busbar unit 10. Heat generation suppression unit 1 also includes cooling piping 20, a portion of which is disposed in storage portion 31a and through which refrigerant R flows. First busbar 11 is plate-shaped, with first terminal 11d and second terminal 11e protruding from edge 11c, each of which is partially exposed to the outside of storage case 30. First terminal 11d or second terminal 11e connects to core wire 201 of electric power supply wire 200 extending from electric wire inlet 122a of charging inlet 100. Storage case 30 is held by a portion of charging inlet 100 different from electric wire inlet 122a, or by a structure 300 on which charging inlet 100 is installed.

[0055] In the above example, there are a first electric wire 200a and a second electric wire 200b as the electric power supply wire 200. In this case, there are two busbar units 10: a first busbar unit 10a connected to the first electric wire 200a and a second busbar unit 10b connected to the second electric wire 200b.

[0056] First, when installing heat suppression unit 1, electric wire 200 routed from charging inlet 100 to the charging battery is divided into two pieces in advance. Focusing on first bus bar unit 10a as an example, core wire 201 of one of the two divided first electric wires 200a, that is, the side leading out from wire inlet 122a of charging inlet 100, is connected to second terminal 11e of first bus bar 11. Meanwhile, core wire 201 of the other of the two divided first electric wires 200a, that is, the side connected to the charging battery, can be connected to first terminal 11d of first bus bar 11.

[0057] The storage case 30 that houses a portion of the busbar unit 10 is held in a portion of the charging inlet 100 different from the wire inlet 122a, or in a structure 300 on which the charging inlet 100 is installed. In this case, the storage case 30 is disposed near the charging inlet 100, and therefore the position at which the electric wire 200 routed from the charging inlet 100 to the charging battery is divided is near the charging inlet 100. In other words, the first terminal 11d or the second terminal 11e to which the core wire 201 of the electric wire 200 leading out from the wire inlet 122a is connected is located near the wire inlet 122a. Therefore, the heat generation suppressing unit 1 allows the busbar unit 10 to efficiently absorb and store heat, via the electric wire 200, generated at the power supply terminal that is incorporated inside the charging inlet 100 and generates a particularly large amount of heat during charging. In this way, the heat generated in charging inlet 100 is transferred to heat generation suppression unit 1, and thus the temperature in charging inlet 100 is suppressed.

[0058] Furthermore, because conductive first bus bar 11 is plate-shaped with first terminal 11d and second terminal 11e protruding from edge 11c, the conductor cross-sectional area of ​​first bus bar 11 can be set to be larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​core wire 201. Therefore, heat generation suppression unit 1 can more efficiently suppress heat generation in charging inlet 100 than heat dissipation through heat transfer that simply relies on the cross-sectional area of ​​electric wire 200. In other words, heat generation suppression unit 1 does not require increasing the size of electric wire 200 as a measure to suppress heat generation in charging inlet 100, and thus can prevent charging inlet 100 from becoming larger or having a more complex structure.

[0059] Furthermore, because storage case 30 is held by a part of charging inlet 100 other than wire inlet 122a or by structure 300 on which charging inlet 100 is installed, heat generation suppression unit 1 is not held by at least wire inlet 122a. Therefore, heat generation suppression unit 1 can be easily installed on an already existing charging inlet 100 by so-called "retrofitting" without requiring modification of wire inlet 122a.

[0060] Furthermore, according to the heat generation suppression unit 1, a portion of the cooling pipe 20 through which the refrigerant R flows is arranged in the accommodation section 31a in which a portion of the busbar unit 10 is arranged, so that the heat of the busbar unit 10, which has become hot due to heat storage, can be efficiently discharged to the outside.

[0061] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide heat generation suppression unit 1 that improves the performance of suppressing heat generation in charge inlet 100 without requiring structural modifications to charge inlet 100 .

[0062] The heat generation suppressing unit 1 may also include a storage lid 40 that covers the opening 31d of the storage portion 31a. The storage lid 40 may have a plurality of terminal through-holes 43, a refrigerant inlet hole 41a, and a refrigerant outlet hole 41b. The plurality of terminal through-holes 43 expose the first terminal 11d or the second terminal 11e to the outside. The refrigerant inlet hole 41a passes through the inlet 21 of the cooling pipe 20, through which the refrigerant R is introduced. The refrigerant outlet hole 41b passes through the outlet 22 of the cooling pipe 20, through which the refrigerant R is discharged.

[0063] According to this heat generation suppression unit 1, all of the various components partially housed in the storage section 31a are supported by the storage lid 40, which can contribute to simplifying the structure of the heat generation suppression unit 1 or making it easier to assemble the heat generation suppression unit 1.

[0064] In the heat suppressing unit 1, the bus bar unit 10 may include a conductive, plate-shaped second bus bar 12. The second bus bar 12 may be held in a position where it is stacked on the first bus bar 11.

[0065] According to the heat generation suppression unit 1, the busbar unit 10 includes the second busbar 12 in addition to the first busbar 11, thereby further increasing the conductor cross-sectional area of ​​the entire busbar unit 10 and thus easily improving heat storage performance. Furthermore, since the second busbar 12 is held in a stacked position relative to the first busbar 11, two second busbars 12 may be provided to sandwich the first busbar 11 as in the above example, or, as another example, only one may be provided. In other words, according to the heat generation suppression unit 1, the number of busbars constituting the busbar unit 10 can be appropriately adjusted based on, for example, the required heat storage performance or manufacturing costs.

[0066] Furthermore, in heat suppressing unit 1 , second bus bar 12 may have heat dissipation fins 12 d on open surface 12 a opposite to contact surface 12 b that contacts first bus bar 11 .

[0067] According to the heat generation suppression unit 1, the heat stored in the second bus bar 12 can be dissipated by the heat dissipation fins 12d, and therefore, in combination with the use of the cooling pipes 20, the heat of the bus bar unit 10 can be efficiently discharged to the outside. In this case, the second bus bar 12 is used not only for heat storage but also for cooling.

[0068] The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-088148 (filing date: May 30, 2024) are incorporated herein by reference.

[0069] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims.

[0070] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 heat generation suppressing unit 10 busbar unit 11 first busbar 11c edge portion 11d first terminal portion 11e second terminal portion 12 second busbar 12a open surface 12b contact surface 12d heat dissipation fin 20 cooling pipe 21 inlet portion 22 outlet portion 30 storage case 31a storage portion 31d opening portion 40 storage lid 41a refrigerant inlet hole portion 41b refrigerant outlet hole portion 43 terminal through-hole portion 100 charging inlet 200 electric wire 200a first electric wire 200b second electric wire 201 core wire 300 structure R refrigerant

Claims

1. A heat suppression unit that suppresses heat generation in a charging inlet, comprising: a busbar unit including at least a conductive first busbar; a storage case having a housing portion that houses a portion of the busbar unit; and a cooling pipe that is partially disposed in the housing portion and through which a refrigerant circulates, wherein the first busbar is plate-shaped with a first terminal portion and a second terminal portion that protrude from an edge of the storage case, and each of which is partially exposed to the outside of the storage case, and the first terminal portion or the second terminal portion connects to a core wire of an electric power supply cable that is led out from an electric wire inlet portion of the charging inlet, and the storage case is held by a part of the charging inlet that is different from the electric wire inlet portion, or by a structure on which the charging inlet is installed.

2. A heat suppression unit as described in claim 1, comprising a storage lid that covers the opening of the storage portion, the storage lid having a plurality of terminal through-holes that expose the first terminal portion or the second terminal portion to the outside, a refrigerant inlet hole that passes through an inlet portion in the cooling piping that introduces the refrigerant, and a refrigerant discharge hole that passes through an outlet portion in the cooling piping that discharges the refrigerant.

3. The heat suppressing unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bus bar unit includes a second bus bar that is conductive and plate-shaped, and the second bus bar is held in a position where it is stacked on the first bus bar.

4. The heat suppressing unit according to claim 3, wherein the second bus bar has heat dissipation fins on an open surface opposite to a contact surface that contacts the first bus bar.

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