JP6417862B2 - Vehicle energy supply structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an energy supply unit structure suitable for a vehicle used in a cold region, for example.

  The structure of the energy supply unit used in a vehicle such as an automobile is, for example, a recess formed in the outer surface of the vehicle body and opening in the outer surface of the vehicle, in which at least one of the fueling port or the charging port is disposed. And a lid for opening and closing the opening of the recess. In order to supply energy (electricity or fuel) to a vehicle using such an energy supply unit, the lid is opened, and a charging gun or a fueling gun is connected to a charging port or a fueling port arranged in the recess. Wait until the energy supply operation is completed.

  For example, when charging an electric vehicle such as a plug-in hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle using household AC100V or AC200V as a power source, the vehicle is placed outdoors with the lid open in order to perform charging using nighttime power. May be left overnight.

  Particularly in cold regions, if the lid is opened during energy replenishment operation and left outside for a long time, the charging gun or the refueling gun may freeze on the energy replenishment section. In order to solve such a situation, a charging device of Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

  The charging device of Patent Document 1 includes an electric heater at the tip of a charging connector (charging gun), and can be heated so as not to freeze in a state where the charging connector and the charge receiving port are engaged. However, Patent Document 1 describes the heater provided on the charging device side, but does not describe the freeze prevention structure provided on the vehicle side. For this reason, if the lid is frozen on the vehicle side, the charge receiving port cannot be used, and the user himself / herself may be exposed to hot water or the like to be thawed. Further, when snow falls during the energy supply operation, the snow accumulates in the recesses of the energy supply unit exposed to the outside. The lid could not be closed without removing the snow.

JP 2011-167003 A

  Therefore, the present invention prevents the lid from freezing and the energy replenishment part cannot be used, and prevents the energy replenishment part from freezing even if the lid is left open to replenish energy. Provide an energy supply structure that can be used.

  An embodiment of the present invention includes a recess formed on an outer surface of a vehicle body, having an opening that opens to the outer surface of the vehicle, and having at least one of a fuel filler port or a charging port disposed therein, and a lid that opens and closes the opening. And a heater that generates heat by energization from a power source mounted on the vehicle and heats at least one of the recess or the lid.

  In this embodiment, the heater may heat a contact portion where the recess and the lid come into contact.

  The heater may heat the lower inner surface of the recess. Furthermore, you may provide the communicating pipe which connects between the said lower inner surface and the outer surface of the said vehicle body. In this embodiment, the recess may be provided above a rear tire house of the vehicle, and the communication pipe may communicate between the lower inner surface and the rear tire house. Furthermore, you may provide the heater which heats the said communicating pipe.

  According to the present invention, for example, the lid of a vehicle used in a cold district can be prevented from freezing, and the energy replenishing section can be used even if the lid is left open to replenish energy. Can be prevented from freezing.

The perspective view which shows an example of the vehicle provided with the energy supply part which concerns on one embodiment. The perspective view of one energy supply part of the vehicle shown by FIG. Sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the energy supply part along the horizontal direction, and was seen from the upper direction. Sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the energy supply part along the perpendicular direction, and was seen from the front. The perspective view of the other energy supply part of the vehicle shown by FIG.

  Hereinafter, an energy supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. In the following description, the front, rear, up, down, left and right directions are based on the vehicle 1 stopped on a flat ground as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the energy supply unit includes a first energy supply unit 10 provided on the right side surface of the vehicle body 2 and a second energy supply unit 110 provided on the left side surface of the vehicle body 2. Yes. These energy replenishing portions 10 and 110 are provided above the rear tire house (rear wheel housing portions) 3 and 103 on the side surfaces of the vehicle body 2, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the first energy supply unit 10 includes a charge bracket 11 that forms a recess 8 formed in the vehicle body 2, two charging ports 12 a and 12 b, a lid 14, and heaters 15 a to 15. 15d. The second energy supply unit 110 (shown in FIG. 5) includes a charge bracket 111 that forms a recess 108 formed in the vehicle body 2, a fuel filler port 13, a lid 114, and heaters 15e to 15h.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the charge bracket 11 is formed in a substantially box shape that opens from a panel material such as a sheet metal to the right side surface of the vehicle body 2, and includes an opening 20, a first bottom wall 21, and a first upper wall. 22, a first plug support wall 23, a first rear side wall 24, and a first front side wall 25.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the opening 20 exposes the inside of the charge bracket 11 on the right side surface of the vehicle body 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the first bottom wall 21 and the first upper wall 22 extend from the lower edge and upper edge of the opening 20 toward the inside of the vehicle body 2, respectively. In the vicinity of the lowest part of the first bottom wall 21, a water drain hole 26 is formed as a water drain passage. The first plug support wall 23 is formed between the first bottom wall 21 and the first upper wall 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first rear side wall 24 includes a main standing portion 27 that rises from the first plug support wall 23, a step portion 28 that extends rearward from the main standing portion 27, and a supplementary standing portion that continues to the step portion 28. 29. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper and lower end portions of the main upright portion 27, the stepped portion 28, and the auxiliary upright portion 29 are overlapped along a part of the first bottom wall 21 and the first upper wall 22.

  The step portion 28 is provided with a lock claw 32 that can be engaged with a lock hole 31 provided in the lid 14, and a push lifter 33 as an urging means that assists the opening operation of the lid 14.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first front side wall 25 extends from the front edge of the first plug support wall 23 toward the front edge of the opening 20 so as to follow the rotation locus drawn by the hinge 34 as the lid 14 is opened and closed. ing. The lid 14 will be described in detail later.

  The first bottom wall 21, the first upper wall 22, the first plug support wall 23, the first rear side wall 24, and the first front side wall 25 respectively constitute the inside of the charge bracket 11. In particular, the first bottom wall 21 forms the lower inner surface of the charge bracket 11.

  The charge bracket 11 further includes a charge bracket cover 40. The charge bracket cover 40 is formed of a material such as resin into substantially the same shape as the charge bracket 11 and covers the inside of the charge bracket 11 described above.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the charge bracket cover 40 includes a second bottom wall 41 that covers the first bottom wall 21, a second upper wall 42 that covers the first upper wall 22, and a first plug support. A second plug support wall 43 that covers the wall 23, a second rear side wall 44 that covers the first rear side wall 24, and a second front side wall 45 that covers the first front side wall 25 are provided. The second bottom wall 41 is formed with a drain hole 46 as a drain path at a position corresponding to the drain hole 26 of the first bottom wall 21.

  The drain holes 26 and 46 communicate with the upper end portion of the communication pipe 47 that functions as a drain pipe. The communication pipe 47 is provided in the vehicle body 2 and extends in the vertical direction. A lower end portion of the communication pipe 47 is opened in the rear tire house 3. The rear tire house 3 forms a part of the vehicle body 2. The first bottom wall 21 of the charge bracket 11 communicates with the rear tire house 3 via a communication pipe 47.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first energy supply unit 10 includes one charging port 12 a that can be connected to the normal charging gun and the other charging port 12 b that can be connected to the quick charging gun. These charging ports 12a and 12b are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and are arranged on the first plug support wall 23 with a space therebetween in the front-rear direction. These charging ports 12a and 12b penetrate the second plug support wall 43 and are exposed to the outside through the opening 20 in a state where the lid 14 is opened.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lid 14 is arranged so as to cover the opening 20. The lid 14 is made of a panel material such as a sheet metal, and includes a flat plate portion 51 formed in an outer shape along the periphery of the opening 20, a bent portion 52 formed on the peripheral edge of the flat plate portion 51, a hinge 34, and the flat plate portion 51. And a lock plate 53 protruding inward from the rear end. The inner surface of the flat plate portion 51 faces the first plug support wall 23 and the stepped portion 28. The outer peripheral surface of the bent portion 52 faces the periphery of the opening 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the lid 14 has a shaft 54 provided at the end of the hinge 34 as a rotation center, a closed position (shown in FIG. 3) that closes the opening 20, and an open position that opens the opening 20 (FIG. 2). ).

  A lock hole 31 that engages with the lock claw 32 is provided at the end of the lock plate 53. The lock claw 32 and the lock hole 31 constitute a lock portion 55 that fixes the lid 14 in the closed position. Each of the lock portion 55 and the step portion 28 is an example of a contact portion. As another example of the contact portion, the outer peripheral surface of the bending portion 52 and the peripheral edge of the opening 20 which face each other may be used.

  The heater means 15 includes heaters 15 a to 15 d arranged in the first energy supply unit 10 and heaters 15 e to 15 h arranged in the second energy supply unit 110. The heaters 15a to 15h are, for example, heating wires, and are electrically connected to a power source 60 (shown in FIG. 1) such as an auxiliary battery mounted on the vehicle 1 via wiring. Heaters 15 a and 15 b are arranged on the charge bracket cover 40. A heater 15 c is disposed on the lid 14. A heater 15 d is disposed in the communication pipe 47.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the charge bracket cover 40 includes a heater 15a (shown in FIG. 3) and a heater 15b (shown in FIG. 4) on the second bottom wall 41 and the second rear wall 44, respectively. ) Is buried. In the lid 14, a heater 15 c (shown in FIG. 2) is installed on the flat plate portion 51. A heater 15 d (shown in FIG. 4) is embedded in the communication pipe 47.

  The heaters 15 a to 15 h generate heat by the power supplied from the power supply 60. For example, when the heater 15a generates heat, the first bottom wall 21 is warmed. When the heaters 15b and 15c generate heat, the lock portion 55 and the step portion 28 are heated. When the heater 15d generates heat, the communication pipe 47 is warmed.

  As another embodiment, the charge bracket cover 40 including the heater means 15 may be prepared as a detachable retrofit component and assembled as an optional equipment of the vehicle 1. The detachable charge bracket cover 40 may further include a wiring and a power connector 61 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) that are electrically connected to the heater means 15. In order to attach the charge bracket cover 40 to the vehicle 1 as a retrofitted part, the power connector 61 is electrically connected to the power plug 62 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4). The power plug 62 is electrically connected to a power source 60 (shown in FIG. 1) such as an auxiliary battery. Note that the arrangement of the power plug 62 is not limited to the first upper wall 22, but is preferably arranged above the charge bracket 11 as shown in FIG. 4 from the viewpoint of snow protection and waterproofing.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the second energy replenishing unit 110 is substantially the same shape as the first energy replenishing unit 10 symmetrically.

  As described above, the structure of the first energy supply unit 10 of this embodiment includes the charge bracket 11 disposed in the recess 8 formed on the outer surface of the vehicle body 2 and the lid that opens and closes the opening 20 of the recess 8. 14 and heater means 15 that generates heat by energization from a power source 60 mounted on the vehicle 1 and heats the charge bracket 11. The structure of the second energy supply unit 110 is a recess formed on the outer surface of the vehicle body 2. 108, a charge bracket 111 disposed inside the lid 108, a lid 114 that opens and closes the opening 120 of the recess 108, and heater means 15 that generates heat by energization from a power source 60 mounted on the vehicle 1 and heats the charge bracket 111. Yes.

  Since the charge bracket 11 and the lid 14 are warmed by the heaters 15a to 15c, and the charge bracket 111 and the lid 114 are warmed by the heaters 15e to 15g, it is possible to prevent the lids 14 and 114 from freezing. It is possible to prevent the charging ports 12a and 12b of the first energy supply unit 10 and the fuel supply port 13 of the second energy supply unit 110 from being unusable due to adhesion.

  Further, even if the snow falls during the charging operation and snow enters the charge bracket 11, the heaters 15a and 15b can melt the snow. Even if the snow falls during the refueling operation and snow enters the charge bracket 111, the heaters 15e and 15f Snow can be melted. Therefore, freezing of the energy replenishing units 10 and 110 can be prevented even if the lids 14 and 114 are left open.

  Further, the first energy supply unit 10 of this embodiment includes a communication pipe 47 between the first bottom wall 21 of the charge bracket 11 and the rear tire house 3, and the second energy supply unit 110 includes the charge bracket. A communication pipe 147 is provided between the first bottom wall 121 of 111 and the rear tire house 103. Therefore, the water that has flowed on the first bottom walls 21 and 121 due to melting of snow and ice by the heaters 15 a and 15 e can be discharged to the outside of the vehicle body 2 through the communication pipes 47 and 147.

  Further, the heaters 15b and 15c of the first energy supply unit 10 of this embodiment can heat the lock portion 55 and the stepped portion 28 where the charge bracket 11 and the lid 14 are in contact with each other. The heaters 15f and 15g of the portion 110 can heat the lock portion 155 and the stepped portion 128 where the charge bracket 111 and the lid 114 are in contact with each other, so that the freezing of the lids 14 and 114 can be more reliably suppressed. In addition, the heater 15 a of the first energy supply unit 10 in this embodiment heats the first bottom wall 21 of the charge bracket 11, and the heater 15 e of the second energy supply unit 110 serves as the first bottom wall 121 of the charge bracket 111. Therefore, it is possible to melt the snow that has entered the charge brackets 11 and 111, and to suppress problems that make it difficult to open and close the lids 14 and 114.

  Further, since the charge bracket 11 of this embodiment is provided near the rear tire house 3 and the charge bracket 111 is provided near the rear tire house 103, the first bottom wall 21 of the charge bracket 11 and the rear tire are provided. The length of the communication pipe 47 arranged between the house 3 and the communication pipe 147 arranged between the first bottom wall 121 of the charge bracket 111 and the rear tire house 103 can be shortened. The structure of 147 can be simplified.

  In this embodiment, since the communication pipe 47 is heated by the heater 15d and the communication pipe 147 is heated by the heater 15h, the inside of the communication pipes 47 and 147 can be prevented from being frozen and blocked, and more reliably. In addition, the water in the energy supply units 10 and 110 can be discharged.

  In addition, the structure of the energy supply part structure 10 and 110 is not restricted to above-described embodiment. For example, the charge bracket cover 40 may be omitted, and the heaters 15a and 15b may be directly installed on the charge bracket 11. The charge bracket cover 140 may be omitted, and the heaters 15e and 15f may be installed directly on the charge bracket 111. Further, the heater means 15 may heat only one of the first bottom wall 21 and the lock portion 55 of the charge bracket 11 or may heat the other part of the charge bracket 11. Only one of the first bottom wall 121 and the lock part 155 of the charge bracket 111 may be heated, or the other part of the charge bracket 111 may be heated. The heater means 15 may be disposed at a position slightly away from the charge brackets 11 and 111 and the lids 14 and 114, and the charge brackets 11 and 111 and the lids 14 and 114 may be indirectly heated by heat transfer. Further, the communication pipes 47 and 147 are omitted, the lower inner surfaces of the charge brackets 11 and 111 are inclined so as to become lower toward the outside of the vehicle body 2, and drainage is performed from the gap between the vehicle body 2 and the lids 14 and 114. Good.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 2 ... Vehicle body, 3,103 ... Rear tire house 10, 110 ... Energy supply part, 8, 108 ... Recessed part, 12a, 12b ... Charging port, 13 ... Refueling port, 14, 114 ... Lid, 15 ... Heater Means, 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d, 15e, 15f, 15g, 15h ... heater, 20, 120 ... opening, 21, 121 ... first bottom wall, 22 ... first upper wall, 23 ... first plug support wall, 24 ... 1st rear side wall, 25 ... 1st front side wall, 28,128 ... Level | step-difference part, 55,155 ... Lock part, 60 ... Power supply.

Claims (6)

A recess formed in the outer surface of the vehicle body, having an opening that opens to the outer surface of the vehicle body, and having at least one of a fuel filler port or a charging port disposed therein;
A lid for opening and closing the opening;
A heater that generates heat by energization from a power source mounted on the vehicle and heats at least one of the recess or the lid;
A vehicle energy replenishing portion structure characterized by comprising:   The vehicle energy replenishing portion structure according to claim 1, wherein the heater heats a contact portion where the concave portion and the lid are in contact with each other.   The vehicle energy supply unit structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heater heats a lower inner surface of the recess.   4. The vehicle energy replenishing portion structure according to claim 3, further comprising a communication pipe communicating between the lower inner surface and the outer surface of the vehicle body. The recess is provided above a rear tire house of the vehicle;
5. The vehicle energy supply part structure according to claim 4, wherein the communication pipe communicates between the lower inner surface and the rear tire house.   The vehicle energy supply unit structure according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a heater for heating the communication pipe.

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