JP2012179993A - Illuminating unit, and illuminating structure of charging connector - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a lighting unit and a charging connector lighting structure capable of sufficiently ensuring visibility and effectively illuminating.
An illumination unit 8 includes a light transmissive housing 20 and a non-light transmissive cover 21 in a configuration, and the illumination unit 8 further includes a first illuminating unit / lock convex portion 30 on a housing main body 28. In addition, the second illumination part 42 is provided in the housing fixing part 33, and the light transmitting window / lock hole part 48 is provided in the non-light transmissive cover 21. The illumination structure of the charging connector 1 includes an illumination unit 8 provided around the power receiving side connector 3. The illumination unit 8 illuminates the power receiving side connector 3 in a spot manner and indirectly illuminates the periphery of the power receiving side connector 3.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting unit and a lighting structure of a charging connector including the lighting unit.

  In an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, a charging connector including a power feeding side connector and a power receiving side connector (vehicle side inlet) is used for charging the battery.

  Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a technique related to a charging connector. According to this disclosed technique, the power receiving side connector is provided in the power receiving side accommodation chamber of the vehicle. A lamp is also provided in the power receiving side storage chamber. The lamp is a component that constitutes the lighting unit, and is turned on or off when opening and closing the open / close lid of the power receiving side storage chamber. The lamp is provided to facilitate the connecting / disconnecting operation of the power supply side connector and the power reception side connector at night. The lamp is provided in the power receiving-side accommodation chamber in an exposed state and a protruding state.

JP-A-6-325834

  By the way, in the above prior art, since the entire receiving-side accommodation chamber is illuminated with one lamp, specifically, with light diffusing in all directions, coupling / detaching of the feeding-side connector and the receiving-side connector When working, there is a problem that sufficient visibility may not be ensured. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to effectively illuminate only with light diffusing in all directions.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides an illumination unit and a charging connector illumination structure that can sufficiently ensure visibility and can be effectively illuminated. This is the issue.

  The illumination unit of the present invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above problems, includes a light source, a light-transmitting housing, and a non-light-transmitting protector, and the housing includes: A first illumination unit that covers the light source and is covered with the protector, and a housing fixing part that is continuous with the housing main body, and the housing main body transmits and emits light from the light source. The protector has a light passage window arranged in accordance with the position of the first illumination part, and the housing fixing part reflects the light guided by the housing body part. It has a reflection part and the 2nd illumination part which radiate | emits the said light reflected by this 1st reflection part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, the housing main body is covered with the protector, and the portion provided with the first illumination portion and the light passage window is made a spot-like illumination portion. Moreover, the light provided from the light source is guided to the second illumination portion of the housing fixing portion that is not covered by the protector, so that the portion provided with the second illumination portion becomes an indirect illumination portion around the housing fixing portion.

  The lighting unit according to a second aspect of the present invention is the lighting unit according to the first aspect, wherein the housing fixing portion has a metal collar provided for fixing, and the outer surface of the cylindrical body portion of the collar is And a second reflecting portion for further reflecting the light reflected by the first reflecting portion.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, when the light from the light source is guided to the second illuminating part of the housing fixing part, the light is diffused by the second reflecting part provided on the outer surface of the cylindrical body of the collar. reflect.

  The illumination unit according to a third aspect of the present invention is the illumination unit according to the first or second aspect, wherein the first reflecting portion is provided with a taper at an opening serving as a member insertion port to the housing main body. It is characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, the inside of the taper is used as a light reflecting portion, and the taper itself is used as a member guiding portion. That is, it is set as the “open portion” for the member inserted into the housing main body. The “open portion” prevents damage when inserting a member.

  Regarding the lighting unit of the present invention, the following characterization is also effective. That is, in the illumination unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, the first illumination unit and the light passage window are a fitting part that fits each other. . According to such a feature, it is possible to provide an illumination unit that does not require a large space by using the light guiding portion as a fitting portion.

  The illumination structure of the charging connector of the present invention according to claim 4, which has been made to solve the above problems, comprises the illumination unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a power supply side connector and a power reception side connector. Provided around the power receiving side connector of the charging connector, illuminate the power receiving side spot with light from the first illumination unit of the illumination unit, and light with the light from the second illumination unit of the illumination unit The power receiving side connector periphery is indirectly illuminated.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, an illumination unit is provided around the power receiving side connector to illuminate the power receiving side connector in a spot manner. In addition, the periphery of the power receiving connector is indirectly illuminated.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting unit including a light transmissive housing having a housing main body portion and a housing fixing portion, and a non-light transmissive protector covering the housing main body portion. Furthermore, since the housing main body portion is provided with the first illumination portion, the housing fixing portion is provided with the first reflection portion and the second illumination portion, and the protector is provided with the light passage window, so that it is a spot-like unit. The effect that it is possible to perform simple illumination and indirect illumination. Therefore, the visibility can be sufficiently ensured and the illumination can be effectively performed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the outer surface of the cylindrical body portion of the collar is the second reflecting portion, there is an effect that light can be diffusely reflected. Therefore, there is an effect that the attenuation of light by the fixing member can be suppressed.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it can be used not only as a reflection part of light but also as an insertion guide part of a member. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly insert the members, thereby improving workability.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to sufficiently ensure the visibility when performing the connecting / disconnecting operation of the power supply side connector and the power reception side connector. Moreover, there exists an effect that it can illuminate effectively.

It is an arrangement plan of a receiving side accommodation room which shows the lighting structure of the lighting unit and charging connector of the present invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of an illumination unit. It is a perspective view of an illumination unit (the circle is an enlarged perspective view of a 1st illumination part).

  The lighting unit includes a portion that performs spot-like illumination and a portion that performs indirect illumination. The lighting structure of the charging connector includes the lighting unit provided around the power receiving side connector, and the lighting unit illuminates the power receiving side connector in a spot manner and indirectly illuminates the power receiving side connector.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a layout view of a power receiving side storage chamber showing a lighting structure of a lighting unit and a charging connector according to the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the illumination unit, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the illumination unit.

  In the following description, specific shapes, materials, numerical values, directions, and the like are examples for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and can be appropriately changed according to use, purpose, specifications, and the like. To do.

  Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles are equipped with high-voltage batteries to drive the motor. A charging connector is used for charging the battery. (In the following description, the charging connector may be either a DC connector or an AC connector).

  In FIG. 1, the charging connector 1 includes a power feeding side connector 2 and a power receiving side connector 3 (vehicle side inlet). The power supply side connector 2 and the power reception side connector 3 have a structure in which they can be connected and disconnected. The power receiving side connector 3 has a charging port 4 and a cap 5. Such a power receiving side connector 3 is provided in a power receiving side accommodation chamber 6 disposed at a predetermined position of the vehicle. In addition to the power receiving connector 3, an illumination unit 8 according to the present invention is further provided on the bottom wall 7 of the power receiving housing 6.

  The illumination unit 8 is provided to illuminate the power receiving side connector 3 in a spot manner, to indirectly illuminate the periphery of the power receiving side connector 3, and to perform light emission display in a charged state. The power receiving connector 3 and the lighting unit 8 are fastened and fixed to the bottom wall 7 of the power receiving housing 6 by bolts 9.

  As the power supply side connector 2 and the power reception side connector 3, known ones are used, and description thereof is omitted here.

  The illumination unit 8 can irradiate light 10 toward the charging port 4 of the power receiving connector 3 to illuminate the power receiving connector 3 with a desired brightness. Moreover, the illumination unit 8 can irradiate the light 11 on the bottom wall 7 side of the power receiving side accommodating chamber 6 and illuminate the periphery of the power receiving side connector 3 with a desired brightness. The lighting unit 8 is provided to facilitate the connecting / disconnecting operation of the power supply side connector 2 and the power reception side connector 3 at night or in a dark place. The lighting unit 8 in the present embodiment is not particularly limited, but has a timer function and a waterproof function.

  1 to 3, the lighting unit 8 includes a lighting function unit 12 that is a main part of the present invention, a connector 13 (see FIG. 3) for connecting to a charging circuit (not shown) of the vehicle, and these lighting function units 12. And the harness part 14 which connects the connector 13 electrically, and the fixing means (for example, well-known clip etc.) which is not shown in figure for fixing this harness part 14 suitably is comprised. Known connectors 13, harness portions 14, and fixing means (not shown) are used. The harness portion 14 includes a plurality of electric wires 15 and a corrugated tube 16 that protects the plurality of electric wires 15.

  The illumination function unit 12 includes a light source such as an LED 17 and a light emitting display unit 18, a timer board assembly 19 on which the light source is mounted, a light transmissive housing 20 (housing), and a non-light transmissive cover 21 (protector). The collar 22, the holder 23, the packing 24, the rubber stopper 25, and the holder cover 26 are provided.

  The timer substrate assembly 19 has a rectangular substrate. A predetermined circuit for causing the LED 17 and the light emitting display unit 18 to emit light, a timer circuit, and the like are provided on the substrate. The conductor of the electric wire 15 is electrically connected to the connection portion of the circuit by soldering or the like. LED17 is arrange | positioned so that the light 10 can be irradiated toward the power receiving side connector 3. FIG. Specifically, it arrange | positions according to the position of the 1st illumination part and lock convex part 30 mentioned later. In addition, the light emitting display unit 18 is also arranged so that the state of charge can be displayed in a light emitting manner. In addition, not only LED17 but a well-known lamp may be used.

  The light transmissive housing 20 is molded using a light transmissive synthetic resin material. The light transmissive housing 20 is resin-molded so as to be transparent as a whole in this embodiment. Since the light-transmitting housing 20 is transparent as described above, the entire light-transmitting housing 20 is a light transmitting portion 27 that transmits light. The transparent light-transmitting housing 20 functions as a light guide member in which each of the walls constituting the transparent light-transmitting housing 20 guides light.

  The light transmissive housing 20 has a housing main body 28 as a portion for receiving and fixing the timer substrate assembly 19. Further, the light transmissive housing 20 has a first illumination part / lock convex part 30 as a fitting part and a first illumination part with the non-light transmissive cover 21. Further, the light transmissive housing 20 has bulging portions 31 and 32 as portions that bulge outward from the side wall 29 of the housing main body 28. Furthermore, the light-transmitting housing 20 has a housing fixing portion 33 as a flange-like portion continuous with the housing main body 28 and the bulging portions 31 and 32.

  The housing body 28 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a rectangular cross section. The housing main body 28 having such a shape has an upper wall 34 at the upper end position in FIG. 2 and an opening 35 at the lower end position in FIG. The opening 35 is arranged and formed so that the opening surface is located on the same plane as the lower surface of the housing fixing portion 33. The housing main body 28 has a stepped portion 36 at the back position of the opening 35. In addition, the housing body 28 has a taper 37 at the position of the opening 35.

  The step portion 36 is formed such that the inner surface portion functions as a stopper that determines the amount of insertion of the holder 23. A portion slightly above the step portion 36 is formed so as to function as a sealing surface for the packing 24.

  The taper 37 is formed as a member guide portion when the member is inserted into the housing main body 28. The taper 37 is formed in a shape that chamfers the entire circumference of the edge of the opening 35 (assumed as an example). The taper 37 is formed to function as a “open portion” for insertion members such as the timer board assembly 19, the holder 23, the packing 24, and the holder cover 26.

  When such a taper 37 is viewed from the inside, this portion is formed as a first reflecting portion 38. The first reflecting portion 38 is formed so as to reflect the light guided inside the side wall 29 toward the housing fixing portion 33. The first reflecting portion 38 is disposed and formed at a position that is included in a part of the housing fixing portion 33.

  The 1st illumination part and lock convex part 30 is provided as a fitting part with the non-light-transmissive cover 21 as mentioned above. Moreover, the 1st illumination part and lock convex part 30 is provided as a part which permeate | transmits the light 10 from LED17. Furthermore, the first illumination unit / lock convex part 30 is provided as a part for irradiating the light 10 toward the power receiving side connector 3. Since the first light-transmitting / locking convex portion 30 is transparent as a whole, the light transmissive housing 20 is also transparent as a matter of course. The first illuminating / locking projection 30 does not emit all of the light 11 at this portion, but can reflect a part thereof into the side wall 29.

  The first illuminating part / locking convex part 30 is formed so as to be gradually separated from the side wall 29 of the housing main body 28 and to have a curved surface, and from the top of the light emitting surface 39 to the side wall 29. It has a locking surface 40 formed as a perpendicular surface and two side surfaces 41. The first illuminating / locking projection 30 is formed in the same shape as a known locking projection and also in a shape having a lens function. The inclination and size of the light emitting surface 39 are set in consideration of the irradiation range of the light 10. The light emitting surface 39 of the present embodiment is set to have an inclination and a size so that the position of the charging port 4 of the power receiving side connector 3 can be illuminated brightly in a spot manner.

  Regarding the light emitting surface 39, the light emitting surface 39 is not limited to a curved surface and may be a flat slope. In this case, since the light 10 from the LED 17 is refracted according to the angle of the inclined surface, the irradiation range can be adjusted.

  The housing fixing portion 33 is a portion that is fixed to the bottom wall 7 of the power receiving side accommodation chamber 6 by bolting, and is provided with a metal collar 21. Such a housing fixing part 33 is provided with a second illumination part 42 as a part for illuminating the periphery of the power receiving side connector 3 with a desired brightness. The second illumination unit 42 is formed as a portion that emits the light 11 on the bottom wall 7 side. The 2nd illumination part 42 is arrange | positioned and formed in the position where the light 11 reflected by the 1st reflection part 38 gathers.

  The collar 22 is made of metal and is fixed, and is formed so that the outer surface of the cylindrical body portion becomes the second reflecting portion 43. The second reflecting portion 43 is a portion that can further reflect the light 11 reflected by the first reflecting portion 38 and thereby suppress the attenuation of the light 11. The second reflecting portion 43 can diffusely reflect light.

  The non-light-transmitting cover 21 is molded using a synthetic resin material that does not transmit light. In this embodiment, the non-light transmissive cover 21 is formed in a shape that can detachably cover the housing main body 28 of the light transmissive housing 20. The non-light transmissive cover 21 includes a first cover portion 44 that covers the side wall 29 and the upper wall 34 of the housing main body 28, a second cover portion 45 that covers the bulging portions 31 and 32 of the light transmissive housing 20, and these And a cover step portion 46 for connecting the two.

  The side wall 47 of the first cover part 44 is provided with a light passage window / lock hole part 48 penetrating in a rectangular shape. The light passage window / lock hole 48 is provided as a fitting portion with the light transmissive housing 20. The light passage window / lock hole 48 is provided as a portion through which the light 10 from the LED 17 passes. The light passage window / lock hole 48 is arranged and formed in accordance with the positions of the first illumination part / lock protrusion 30 and the LED 17.

  The light passage window / lock hole 48 is formed in such a shape that the first illumination part / lock projection 30 is fitted in the inserted state. Reference numeral 49 in the light passage window / lock hole 48 indicates a locking surface. The locking surface 49 is hooked by surface contact with the locking surface 40 of the first illumination unit / lock projection 30.

  On the upper wall 50 of the first cover portion 44, a light passage window 52 through which the light 51 from the light emitting display portion 18 passes is provided. The light passage window 52 is formed so as to penetrate in a circular shape in this embodiment.

  The holder 23 is molded using an insulating synthetic resin material. The holder 23 is inserted into the housing main body 28 of the light transmissive housing 20 with the packing 24 provided on the outer peripheral surface and with the plurality of electric wires 15 inserted.

  The holder 23 has electric wire insertion chambers 53 for the number of electric wires 15. The electric wire insertion chamber 53 is formed so that the electric wire 15 with the rubber plug 25 attached can be stored in a watertight manner.

  The holder cover 26 is molded using an insulating synthetic resin material. The holder cover 26 is formed so as to fit into the opening 35 of the housing main body 28. The holder cover 26 is formed so as to prevent the holder 23 from falling off.

  The electric wire 15 is held by a holder 23 and a holder cover 26 in a state of being bent into a substantially crank shape as shown in the drawing. The reason why the bending is held as in the present embodiment is that even if an external force in the pulling direction is applied to the electric wire 15, the external force can be prevented from acting on the connection portion of the electric wire 15 to the timer board assembly 19. It is.

  In the above configuration and structure, as shown in FIG. 1, when light 10 is irradiated from the LED 17 toward the power receiving side connector 3, the power receiving side connector 3 is illuminated brightly. It becomes easy. Moreover, when the light 11 is irradiated from the second illumination part 42 of the housing fixing part 33, the periphery of the power receiving side connector 3 is also illuminated, and the visibility during the above work is improved. Further, when the light 47 is irradiated from the light emitting display unit 18, it is possible to confirm whether or not the charging is completed.

  In summary, the lighting unit 8 includes a light transmissive housing 20 (housing) having a housing main body 28 and a housing fixing portion 33 and a non-light transmissive cover 21 (protector) covering the housing main body 28. Furthermore, the illumination unit 8 is provided with the first illumination part / lock projection 30 (first illumination part) on the housing main body 28, and the first reflecting part 38 and the first reflection part 30 on the housing fixing part 33. The two illumination parts 42 are provided, and the light-transmitting cover 21 (protector) is provided with a light passage window / lock hole 48 (light passage window).

  On the other hand, the lighting structure of the charging connector 1 includes the lighting unit 8 provided around the power-receiving-side connector 3, and the light 10 from the first lighting unit / lock projection 30 (first lighting unit) of the lighting unit 8. Thus, the power receiving side connector 3 is illuminated in a spot manner and the periphery of the power receiving side connector 3 is indirectly illuminated by the light 11 from the second illumination unit 42.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, according to the illumination unit 8 according to the present invention, it is possible to perform spot-like illumination and indirect illumination. Therefore, the visibility can be sufficiently ensured and the illumination can be effectively performed.

  It goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  In the above description, the first illumination part (the first illumination part / lock protrusion 30) is integrally formed with the fitting part with the light transmissive housing 20, but it is not limited to this. That is, the first illumination part and the fitting part may be separated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Charging connector 2 ... Power feeding side connector 3 ... Power receiving side connector 4 ... Charging port 5 ... Cap 6 ... Power receiving side accommodation chamber 7 ... Bottom wall 8 ... Illumination unit 9 ... Bolt 10, 11 ... Light 12 ... Illumination function part 13 ... Connector 14 ... Harness 15 ... Electric wire 16 ... Corrugated tube 17 ... LED (light source)
18 ... Light-emitting display portion 19 ... Timer substrate assembly 20 ... Light transmissive housing (housing)
21 ... Non-light-transmitting cover (protector)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 ... Color | collar 23 ... Holder 24 ... Packing 25 ... Rubber plug 26 ... Holder cover 27 ... Light transmission part 28 ... Housing main-body part 29 ... Side wall 30 ... 1st illumination part and lock convex part (1st illumination part)
31, 32 ... bulging part 33 ... housing fixing part 34 ... upper wall 35 ... opening part 36 ... step part 37 ... taper 38 ... first reflecting part 39 ... light emitting surface 40 ... locking surface 41 ... side surface 42 ... second illumination Part 43 ... Second reflection part 44 ... First cover part 45 ... Second cover part 46 ... Cover step part 47 ... Side wall 48 ... Light passage window and lock hole (light passage window)
49 ... Locking surface 50 ... Upper wall 51 ... Light 52 ... Light passage window 53 ... Electric wire insertion chamber

Claims (4)

A light source, a light-transmitting housing, and a non-light-transmitting protector;
The housing has a housing main body portion that covers the light source and is covered by the protector, and a housing fixing portion that is continuous with the housing main body portion,
The housing body has a first illumination part that transmits and emits light from the light source,
The protector has a light passage window arranged in accordance with the position of the first illumination unit,
The housing fixing part includes a first reflecting part that reflects the light guided by the housing main body part, and a second illumination part that emits the light reflected by the first reflecting part. Lighting unit. The lighting unit according to claim 1,
The housing fixing portion has a metal collar provided for fixing, and an outer surface of the cylindrical body portion of the collar has a second reflecting portion that further reflects the light reflected by the first reflecting portion. A lighting unit characterized by that. The lighting unit according to claim 1 or 2,
Said 1st reflection part becomes by providing a taper in the opening part used as the member insertion port to the said housing main-body part. The lighting unit characterized by the above-mentioned. The lighting unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided around the power receiving side connector of a charging connector including a power feeding side connector and a power receiving side connector, and the power reception is performed by light from the first lighting unit of the lighting unit. An illumination structure for a charging connector, wherein the side connector is illuminated in a spot manner and the periphery of the power receiving side connector is indirectly illuminated with light from the second illumination part of the illumination unit.

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