JP6579872B2 - Car charger - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automobile charging device installed in a charging stand for charging an electric vehicle or the like.

  In recent years, electric-powered vehicles such as electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHV) are rapidly spreading due to the movement of preventing air pollution and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Along with this, the installation of charging devices (charging stations) for automobiles that can quickly charge electric vehicles in public facilities facing public roads and private land is also being promoted.

  Such an automobile charging device includes a power supply unit and a charging plug that is connected to the electric vehicle via a cable from the power supply unit to charge the battery, and a plug holding unit that holds the charging plug when not in use is a housing. It is provided on the front side.

  In this type of automobile charging device, a lock mechanism has been proposed in which a charging plug can be removed after a specific user is authenticated or charged (for example, see Patent Document 1). The lock mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 locks the charging plug by moving the regulating piece to a position that covers the locking claw at the tip of the charging plug by the extension operation of the linear motion cylinder.

  By the way, the lock mechanism of Patent Document 1 is composed of a linear cylinder and a link mechanism so that it can be operated for each user authentication and billing process. Therefore, the structure is complicated and the cost is high. On the other hand, for the need to lock the charging plug only during non-business hours such as late at night, a plug lock mechanism with a simpler structure and lower cost is required.

JP 2012-19608 A

  However, in order to simplify the plug lock mechanism, if a control piece that can be manually operated is simply provided, for example, the control piece rotates due to vibration or impact, and the locked state is inadvertently opened. There was a risk that the unlocked state would be locked.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automotive charging device that can effectively prevent malfunction of a plug lock mechanism due to vibration, impact, or the like, while having a simple structure.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a power feeding unit, a charging plug that is connected to an electric vehicle through a cable from the power feeding unit and charged, and a plug holding unit that holds the charging plug when not in use. An automotive charging device, wherein the plug holding portion is locked to a movable locking claw provided at a tip of the charging plug and holds the charging plug in the plug holding portion; A locking piece for restricting the movement of the locking claw of the charging plug held by the plug holding portion and a regulating piece rotatable between the unlocking position for releasing the movement of the locking claw, The center of gravity is eccentric with respect to the rotation shaft so that a gravitational moment toward the locking position is generated at the locking position, and the locking portion for restricting the movement of the locking claw is arranged with respect to the rotation shaft. Japanese that is positioned on the opposite side of the center of gravity Te To.

  According to the vehicle charging device with this configuration, the center of gravity of the regulating piece that regulates the movement of the locking claw of the charging plug is about the rotation axis so that a gravitational moment toward the locking position is generated at the locking position. Eccentric. Using such dead weight, it is possible to effectively prevent the regulating piece from being inadvertently rotated due to, for example, vibration or impact. Moreover, the plug lock mechanism that can effectively prevent such a malfunction can be provided with a simplified structure.

  Moreover, the said structure WHEREIN: The said control piece produces the moment of gravity which goes to this unlocking position side in the said unlocking position.

  According to this configuration, since the center of gravity is eccentric with respect to the rotation axis so that a gravitational moment toward the unlocking position is generated at the unlocked position, the restricting piece is restricted by, for example, vibration or impact. Can be effectively prevented from malfunctioning inadvertently turning from the unlocked position to the locked position.

  Further, in the above configuration, the restricting piece integrally includes a first portion positioned on the rotation center side with respect to the center of gravity and a second portion positioned on the opposite side of the rotation center with respect to the center of gravity. It is preferable that it is a member.

  According to this configuration, when the first portion positioned on the rotation center side with respect to the center of gravity is, for example, in the upright locking position, the second portion positioned on the side opposite to the rotation center with respect to the center of gravity is the locking position side. The center of gravity can be decentered so that a gravitational moment toward is generated. Moreover, such a restriction piece can be realized only with a simple shape.

  Moreover, the said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that a said 1st part functions as a locking part which controls the movement of the latching claw of the said charging plug in the said structure.

  According to this configuration, in the locking position where the first portion of the regulating piece regulates the movement of the locking claw of the charging plug, the second portion on the opposite side generates a gravitational moment toward the locking position, and the regulating piece is In the unlocking position where the movement of the locking claw is not restricted, a gravitational moment toward the unlocking position can be generated by the second part. Therefore, the plug lock mechanism that effectively prevents malfunction due to vibration, impact, or the like can be realized with a simple structure.

  Moreover, the charging device for motor vehicles may provide the operation means which carries out the rotation operation of the said restriction piece from the outside on the same axis | shaft as the rotation axis of this restriction piece.

  According to this configuration, the structure of the plug holding portion including the plug lock mechanism can be simplified.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the charging device for motor vehicles provided with the plug lock mechanism which prevents the malfunctioning by vibration, an impact, etc. effectively with a simple structure can be provided.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the charging device for motor vehicles by one Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which looked at the plug holding | maintenance part holding a charge plug from back. It is the perspective view which looked at the plug holding | maintenance part holding a charge plug from the front. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which illustrates the state which hold | maintained the charge plug in the plug holding | maintenance part. It is a rear view which illustrates the control piece in a locking position. It is a rear view which illustrates the control piece in an unlocking position. It is a rear view which illustrates the control piece by other embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external structure of an automobile charging device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the automobile charging device 10 includes a power supply unit (not shown) inside a vertical casing 11, and a cable 12 that sends power from the power supply unit to the electric vehicle extends from a side surface of the casing 11. Is provided. A charging plug 20 that can be electrically connected to an electric vehicle (not shown) is provided at the tip of the cable 12.

  A display unit 13 that displays an operation menu or the like is provided at the upper front of the housing 11, and a plug holding unit 30 that holds the charging plug 20 when not in use is provided below the display unit 13. .

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the charging plug 20 is held in the plug holding unit 30. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the plug holding portion 30 of FIG. 2 as viewed from the front. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the plug holding unit 30 holding the charging plug 20.

  As shown in these drawings, a movable locking claw 21 is provided at the tip of the charging plug 20. On the other hand, a cylindrical socket portion 31 is formed in the plug holding portion 30, and the leading end portion of the charging plug 20 is inserted into the socket portion 31, and the locking claw 21 is a locking receiving portion on the upper portion of the socket portion 31. By being locked to 32, the charging plug 20 is prevented from being detached from and held by the plug holding portion 30.

In addition, an operation unit 22 for moving the locking claw 21 is provided on the top of the charging plug 20. The latching claw 21 is constantly applied with an urging force by a spring or the like (not shown) toward the distal end portion of the charging plug 20, and the state of being locked to the locking receiving portion 32 is maintained by the urging force.
Only when the plug lock mechanism 40 to be described later is in the unlocked state, the user presses the operation unit 22 and rotates the locking claw 21 upward against the urging force, so that the locking receiving portion 32. The locked state can be released. Thereby, the charging plug 20 can be pulled out from the socket part 31 of the plug holding part 30 and used for charging the electric vehicle.

  Furthermore, the plug holding unit 30 of the automobile charging device 10 of the present embodiment includes a plug lock mechanism 40 having a simplified structure so as not to be used during non-business hours such as midnight.

  More specifically, the plug lock mechanism 40 can be vertically rotated so that the movement of the locking claw 21 of the charging plug 20 can be restricted to a base angle 41 that stands vertically above the socket portion 31. The control piece 42 is supported on the shaft. Note that the restriction piece 42 is “rotatable vertically”, specifically, the restriction piece 42 is pivotally supported by the horizontal turning shaft 43 of the base angle 41, and is parallel to the back surface of the base angle 41. It means that it can rotate in the vertical plane.

  The restricting piece 42 is a member integrally including a first part formed on the unlocking position side and a second part formed on the locking position side. According to one embodiment, the long portion 42a as the first portion and the short portion 42b as the second portion are formed from an L-shaped plate member that is bent at a right angle. As shown in FIG. 5, when the longitudinal portion 42 a of the regulating piece 42 is in the vertical locking position, the lower end of the longitudinal portion 42 a approaches the locking claw 21 of the charging plug 20 held by the plug holding portion 30. In position. Thus, even when the user rotates the locking claw 21 of the charging plug 20, the locking claw 21 contacts the lower end of the regulating piece 42, and thus the movement of the locking claw 21 is restricted. That is, the lower end of the longitudinal portion 42a of the restricting piece 42 functions as a locking portion of the plug lock mechanism 40, and this state is referred to as a locked state.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the longitudinal portion 42a of the restricting piece 42 is in the horizontal unlocking position, the movement of the locking claw 21 is not restricted. Therefore, the user can take out the charging plug 20 from the plug holding part 30 by pressing the operation part 22 and releasing the locking state of the locking claw 21. This state is called an unlocked state.

  Further, at the locking position shown in FIG. 5, the edge of the regulating piece 42 comes into contact with the side surface of the stopper 44. Further, at the unlocking position shown in FIG. 6, the edge of the restricting piece 42 comes into contact with the upper surface of the stopper 44. Thereby, the rotation range of the restriction piece 42 is limited from the locking position to the unlocking position.

  In the automobile charging device 10 of the present embodiment, an operating means for operating the plug lock mechanism 40 may be provided outside the housing 11. By providing such an external operation means on the same axis as the rotation shaft 43 of the restriction piece 42, for example, the structure of the plug holding portion 30 including the plug lock mechanism 40 can be simplified. Further, an automatic operation means for rotating the regulating piece 42 to the unlocked position after the specific user authentication process may be provided coaxially with the turning shaft 43 of the regulating piece 42.

In addition, the restriction piece 42 provided in the plug lock mechanism 40 of the present embodiment is a first portion located on the rotation center side with respect to the center of gravity, for example, the longitudinal portion 42a and the side opposite to the center of rotation with respect to the center of gravity. This is a member that integrally has, for example, a short part 42b, which is a second part located at the position. With such a configuration, the center of gravity of the regulating piece 42 can be decentered with respect to the rotation shaft 43.
As an example of the regulation piece 42 having such a configuration, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plate member formed in an L shape as a whole can be used. When applied to this embodiment, the “first portion” corresponds to the long portion 42a which is a relatively long portion of the L shape, and the “second portion” is a relatively short portion of the L shape. One short part 42b corresponds. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the locking portion that restricts the movement of the locking claw 21 of the charging plug 20 corresponds to the longitudinal portion 42 a that is the first portion of the regulating piece 42.
That is, the end of the long portion 42a, which is the first portion opposite to the short portion 42b, which is the second portion that eccentrically regulates the restricting piece 42, comes into contact with the locking claw 21 of the charging plug 20 and restricts its movement. It is a locking part.

  As described above, the long portion 42a that is the first portion of the restricting piece 42 is formed on the unlocking position side, and the short portion 42b that is the second portion of the restricting piece 42 is formed on the locking position side. That is, when the regulating piece 42 is in the locking position (FIG. 5), a gravity moment M1 is generated toward the locking position. For this reason, the restricting piece 42 does not rotate to the unlocked position side unless the reverse moment force exceeding the gravitational moment M1 is forcibly applied at the locked position.

  On the other hand, when the restricting piece 42 is in the unlocked position (FIG. 6), a gravitational moment M2 is generated toward the unlocked position, and therefore, if a reverse moment force exceeding the gravitational moment M2 is not forced to act, The piece 42 is configured not to rotate to the locking position side.

  Due to the characteristics of the simplified restriction piece 42 and the characteristics based on the installation structure, the restriction piece 42 is inadvertently rotated from the locked position to the unlocked position due to, for example, vibration or impact, or the unlocked position is reversed. Thus, it is possible to effectively avoid malfunctions such as turning to the locked position.

  Note that the greater the gravitational moments M1 and M2 generated in the restricting piece 42, the more difficult it is for the restricting piece 42 to rotate from its position. Therefore, for example, the center of gravity may be further decentered from the rotation shaft 43 by providing a hole 45 in the longitudinal portion 42a and lightening one of the holes 45a.

  Further, the restriction piece 42 of the plug holding part 30 does not necessarily have to be formed in an L shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the long part 42a of the first part and the short part 42b of the second part may be formed from a plate member that bends at an obtuse angle. In short, even if the regulating piece 42 of the plug holding part 30 does not have a long part and a short part in particular, when it is in the locking position where the charging plug 20 is locked, a gravitational moment toward the locking position is generated. The shape is not particularly limited as long as it has a characteristic of generating a moment of gravity toward the unlocked position when the unlocked position is unlocked.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Car charging apparatus 11 Case 12 Cable 13 Display part 20 Charging plug 21 Locking claw 22 Operation part 30 Plug holding part 31 Socket part 32 Locking receiving part 40 Plug lock mechanism 41 Base angle 42 Control piece 43 Rotating shaft 44 Stopper

Claims (5)

An automotive charging device comprising: a power feeding unit; a charging plug connected to an electric vehicle via a cable from the power feeding unit; and a plug holding unit that holds the charging plug when not in use.
The plug holding portion is locked to a movable locking claw provided at the tip of the charging plug to hold the charging plug in the plug holding portion, and the plug holding portion is held in the plug holding portion. A locking position for restricting the movement of the locking claw of the charging plug and a regulating piece rotatable between the unlocking position for releasing the movement of the locking claw,
The restricting piece has a center of gravity that is eccentric with respect to a rotation axis so that a gravitational moment toward the locking position is generated at the locking position, and the locking portion that restricts the movement of the locking claw is rotated. A charging device for an automobile, wherein the charging device is located on a side opposite to a center of gravity with respect to an axis .   The charging device for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the regulating piece generates a moment of gravity toward the unlocking position in the unlocking position.   The restricting piece is a member integrally including a first portion located on the rotation center side with respect to the center of gravity and a second portion located on the opposite side of the rotation center with respect to the center of gravity. The vehicle charging device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:   4. The vehicle charging device according to claim 3, wherein the restricting piece functions as a locking portion in which the first portion restricts movement of a locking claw of the charging plug. 5.   The charging device for an automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein operating means for rotating the regulating piece from the outside is provided coaxially with a turning shaft of the regulating piece. .