JP2016115637A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a connector capable of preventing a lid from being damaged when a force is applied in a direction in which the lid is further opened while the lid is stationary at an open position. A connector 1 includes a housing 20 that accommodates sockets 10 and 12 for plugs, a lid 30 that is attached to the housing 20 and that can be rotated in an opening direction A from a closed position that covers the sockets 10 and 12, and a lid. And a plunger 50 provided on the body 30. The plunger 50 has a ball 52 that can come into contact with the side surface 27 of the lid attachment portion 26 </ b> A of the housing 20 and can slide on the surface 25 of the lid attachment portion 26 </ b> A of the housing 20. In the plunger 50, when the lid 30 is rotated to the open position, the rotation of the lid 30 is restricted by the ball 52 coming into contact with the lid attachment portion 26A, and the rotation of the lid 30 is restricted at the open position. When a force is applied to the lid 30 in the opening direction A in this state, the ball 52 slides on the surface of the lid attachment portion 26A to allow the lid 30 to rotate. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a vehicle connector such as a charging connector provided in an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid car.

  As a charging connector for an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid car, a connector having a lid that can be opened and closed for waterproofing and dustproofing a socket for a charging plug is used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a lid is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis. When the plug is not connected to the connector, the lid is fixed at a closed position covering the socket, and when the plug is connected, the socket is accessed from the outside. The lid is rotated to the open position about the rotation axis so as to be able to.

  In such a conventional connector, the housing is provided with a protrusion that contacts and engages the lid when the lid is rotated to the open position so that the lid is stationary at the open position. Due to the structure of the lid, such a protrusion is provided in the vicinity of the rotation axis of the lid. Therefore, when the user connects the plug, the lid is opened until the protrusion formed on the housing engages the lid, and the plug is connected to the socket in a state where the lid is stationary at the open position.

  Thus, when the lid is stationary at the open position and the plug is connected to the socket, the user may accidentally put the hand or the tip of the plug against the lid. In such a case, sudden force is applied in the direction of further opening the lid, and such force is concentrated on the engaging portion of the lid where the above-described protrusion is engaged. Become. As described above, since the projection of the housing is provided in the vicinity of the rotation axis of the lid, even when a slight force is applied to the lid, excessive force is concentrated on the engaging portion of the lid and the lid is There is a risk of damage.

JP 2009-99511 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. The lid can be stopped at the open position, and the lid can be further opened while the lid is stationary at the open position. An object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of preventing the lid from being damaged when a force is applied in the direction in which it is applied.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, when the lid can be stopped at the open position and a force is applied in a direction to further open the lid with the lid held at the open position, the lid There is provided a connector that can prevent damage to the cable. The connector includes a housing that accommodates a socket for a plug, a lid that is attached to the housing and that can rotate in the opening direction from a closed position that covers the socket around a rotation shaft, and the lid and the housing. And a rotation control member provided on one side. The rotation control member has an abutting sliding member capable of abutting on the other of the lid and the housing and capable of sliding on the other surface of the lid and the housing. The rotation control member regulates rotation of the lid body by the contact sliding member coming into contact with the other of the lid body and the housing when the lid body is rotated to the open position. When a force exceeding a predetermined magnitude is applied to the lid in the opening direction with the rotation of the body restricted at the open position, the contact sliding member is displaced and the lid and The cover is configured to allow rotation of the lid by sliding on the other surface of the housing.

  With such a configuration, when the lid body is rotated to the open position, the lid body is restricted from rotating by the contact between the lid body or the housing and the contact sliding member of the rotation control member, and the lid body is opened at the open position. Can be stationary. In addition, even when an excessive force is applied to the lid in the open position in the opening direction due to an erroneous operation by the user, the contact sliding member of the rotation control member slides on the surface of the lid or housing. By doing so, rotation of the lid is allowed, so that excessive force is not applied to the lid and it is not damaged.

  The rotation control member is between a first position capable of contacting the other of the lid and the housing and a second position capable of sliding on the other surface of the lid and the housing. You may further have the elastic member which hold | maintains the said contact sliding member elastically. In this case, the contact sliding member is preferably a sphere.

  Further, when the housing is provided on the vehicle body, the lid body comes into contact with a rotation stop portion provided on the vehicle body at a rotation stop position rotated by a predetermined angle in the opening direction from the open position. Preferably it is comprised. In this case, it is preferable that the lid body is configured such that a portion further away from the rotation shaft than the center of the lid body abuts on the rotation stop portion of the vehicle body at the rotation stop position. In this way, by setting the contact position between the lid and the rotation stop portion to be a position farther from the rotation axis than the center of the lid body, the lid body abuts when the lid contacts the rotation stop portion. The moment applied to the portion can be reduced, and breakage of the lid can be prevented.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the connector further includes a biasing member that biases the lid toward the opening direction.

  According to the present invention, when the lid body is rotated to the open position, the lid body is regulated by the contact between the lid body or the housing and the contact sliding member of the rotation control member, and the lid body is opened at the open position. Can be stationary. In addition, even when an excessive force is applied to the lid in the open position in the opening direction due to an erroneous operation by the user, the contact sliding member of the rotation control member slides on the surface of the lid or housing. By doing so, rotation of the lid is allowed, so that excessive force is not applied to the lid and it is not damaged.

It is a perspective view which shows the charge connector in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows a state when the cover body of the charging connector of FIG. 1 exists in a closed position. It is a top view of the charging connector of FIG. FIG. 3 is a left side view of the charging connector of FIG. 2. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the plunger of the charging connector of FIG. 1, and is a figure corresponding to the VI-VI line cross section of FIG. It is a front view which shows a state when the cover body of the charging connector of FIG. 1 exists in an open position. It is a top view of the charging connector of FIG. It is a left view of the charging connector of FIG. It is a front view which shows a state when the cover body of the charging connector of FIG. 1 exists in a rotation stop position. It is a top view of the charging connector of FIG. It is a left view of the charging connector of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the connector according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the following description, as a connector according to the present invention, a charging connector provided in a vehicle body will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a charging connector provided in a vehicle body, and can be applied to all types of connectors. It is. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 12, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a charging connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the charging connector 1 in the present embodiment includes a power socket 10 that fits into a power terminal of a charging plug (not shown), a signal line socket 12 that fits into a signal terminal of the charging plug, A housing 20 that houses the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12, a lid 30 attached to the housing 20, and a lock mechanism 40 that locks the lid 30 at a predetermined position are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 20 includes a substantially rectangular plate portion 22, a cylindrical socket housing portion 24, lid body attachment portions 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B to which the lid body 30 is rotatably attached, and a lock mechanism 40. Are provided with lock mechanism attachment portions 28A and 28B. The plate portion 22 is formed with a fixing hole 14 through which a screw or the like is inserted when the charging connector 1 is attached to the body of an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid car. The power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12 are housed inside the socket housing portion 24.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lid attachment portions 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B and the lock mechanism attachment portions 28 </ b> A and 28 </ b> B of the housing 20 are located on the opposite sides with respect to the center of the socket accommodating portion 24. The lid attachment portions 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B are configured by a pair of walls extending outward from the outer periphery of the socket housing portion 24. Similarly, the lock mechanism attachment portions 28 </ b> A and 28 </ b> B are configured by a pair of walls extending outward from the outer periphery of the socket housing portion 24.

  FIG. 2 is a front view showing the charging connector 1 when the lid 30 is in a position (closed position) covering the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12. 3 is a plan view of the charging connector 1 at this time, FIG. 4 is a left side view, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, the lid body 30 has a disc portion 32 having a shape corresponding to the socket accommodating portion 24 of the housing 20, and substantially from the edge of the disc portion 32 to the disc portion 32. And a hinge portion 34 extending vertically. The hinge portion 34 is disposed between the lid attachment portion 26A and the lid attachment portion 26B of the housing 20.

  Insertion holes (not shown) are formed in the lid attachment portions 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B of the housing 20, and insertion holes (not shown) are also formed in the hinge part 34 of the lid 30. A shaft 36 as a rotation axis of the lid body 30 is inserted into these insertion holes, so that the lid body 30 can rotate in the opening direction A from the closed position shown in FIG. It has become.

  When the lid 30 is in the closed position shown in FIG. 2, the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12 accommodated in the socket accommodating portion 24 of the housing 20 are covered with the lid 30. At this time, the lid 30 is locked in the closed position by the lock mechanism 40. By covering the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12 with the lid 30 in this manner, the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12 can be waterproofed and dust-proof.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a (torsion) coil spring 38 is wound around the shaft 36 as a biasing member that biases the lid 30 toward the opening direction A (see FIG. 2). The coil spring 38 has two arms 38A and 38B that receive a moment around the axis of the coil. One arm 38 </ b> A of the coil spring 38 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 24 </ b> A of the socket housing portion 24 of the housing 20, and the other arm 38 </ b> B of the coil spring 38 is in contact with the inner surface 34 </ b> A of the hinge portion 34 of the lid 30. . The coil spring 38 is configured to be in a compressed state at the closed position of the lid 30 shown in FIG. 2, whereby the lid 30 is urged toward the opening direction A.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the lock mechanism 40 includes a lock member 41, a shaft 42 inserted through insertion holes (not shown) formed in the lock mechanism attachment portions 28 </ b> A and 28 </ b> B of the housing 20, and a shaft 42. And a coil spring 43 wound around (twisted). The lock member 41 is inserted with an operating portion 44 for a user to release the locked state of the lid 30, a locking portion 45 that locks to the edge of the disc portion 32 of the lid 30, and a shaft 42. And a base 46.

  The coil spring 43 has two arms 43A and 43B that receive a moment around the axis of the coil. One arm 43 </ b> A of the coil spring 43 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 24 </ b> B of the socket housing portion 24 of the housing 20, and the other arm 43 </ b> B of the coil spring 43 is in contact with the lock member 41. The lock member 41 is urged in the direction of arrow B in FIG. In the closed position of the lid body 30 shown in FIG. 5, the locking portion 45 of the lock member 41 is locked to the edge of the lid body 30, and the lid body 30 is biased by the coil spring 43. Is locked in the closed position.

  When the user moves the operation portion 44 of the lock member 41 in the direction of the arrow C in FIG. 5 against the urging force of the coil spring 43 (rotates about the shaft 42), the locking portion 45 of the lock member 41 and the lid The engagement with the edge of the disc portion 32 of the body 30 is released, and the lid 30 rotates around the shaft 36 in the opening direction A (see FIG. 2) by the biasing force of the coil spring 38 described above.

  By the way, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a plunger 50 is embedded in the side surface 34 </ b> B of the hinge portion 34 of the lid 30. For example, the plunger 50 is press-fitted and fixed to the side surface 34 </ b> B of the hinge portion 34. FIG. 6 shows the plunger 50 embedded in the hinge part 34 of the lid 30 and corresponds to the section taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the plunger 50 includes a ball 52 that protrudes from the side surface 34B of the hinge portion 34 of the lid 30, a spring 54 that biases the ball 52 toward the lid attachment portion 26 </ b> A of the housing 20, 52 and a case 56 for accommodating the spring 54. The ball 52 is configured not to jump out of the case 56 by, for example, caulking the tip of the case 56. In a state where no force is applied to the ball 52 or a state where a force smaller than the elastic force of the spring 54 is applied to the ball 52, the position of the ball 52 does not change, but When a force larger than the elastic force is applied, the ball 52 is pushed into the case 56.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a part of the surface of the lid attachment portion 26 </ b> A facing the hinge portion 34 is cut away, and the plunger 50 is in the closed position of the lid 30 shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. The ball 52 does not come into contact with the lid attachment portion 26A. Therefore, in the closed position of the lid 30, the ball 52 of the plunger 50 is in the state of most protruding from the case 56.

  As described above, the lid 30 is rotatable around the shaft 36, but the plunger 50 also rotates integrally with the lid 30 as the lid 30 rotates. While the lid 30 is rotated from the closed position shown in FIG. 2 to a predetermined angle (for example, an angle required for fitting the terminal of the charging plug to the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12; for example, 90 degrees). Is configured so that the ball 52 of the plunger 50 does not come into contact with the lid attachment portion 26A by passing through the notched portion of the lid attachment portion 26A. The ball 52 of the plunger 50 comes into contact with the side surface 27 of the lid attachment portion 26A at a position (open position) where the lid 30 is opened in the opening direction A by the predetermined angle. That is, when the lid 30 is located between the closed position and the open position, the ball 52 of the plunger 50 is in a position (first position) where the ball 52 can come into contact with the side surface 27 of the lid attachment portion 26A. Retained. 7 is a front view showing a state where the lid 30 is in the open position, FIG. 8 is a plan view at this time, and FIG. 9 is a left side view.

  Therefore, when the lid 30 is in the closed position shown in FIG. 2 and the lock member 41 of the lock mechanism 40 is operated to release the lock as described above, the lid 30 is opened in the opening direction A by the urging force of the coil spring 38. 7, the ball 52 of the plunger 50 provided on the hinge portion 34 of the lid 30 is placed on the side surface 27 of the lid attachment portion 26 </ b> A in the opening direction. The contact of the ball 52 of the plunger 50 with the side surface 27 of the cover attachment portion 26A restricts the rotation of the cover 30. Thereby, the lid body 30 can be stopped at the open position.

  Thus, when the lock of the lid 30 by the lock mechanism 40 is released, the lid 30 rotates to the open position and stops at the open position. Thereby, since the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12 can be exposed to the outside, the user can fit the terminal of the charging plug into the power socket 10 and the signal line socket 12 in this state.

  In this case, it is conceivable that force in the opening direction A (see FIG. 2) is applied to the lid 30 when the user accidentally touches the lid 30 with the hand or the tip of the charging plug. At this time, when a force greater than the elastic force of the spring 54 is applied to the ball 52 of the plunger 50 by the force applied to the lid body 30, the ball 52 is pushed into the case 56. When the ball 52 is displaced in this way and moves the surface 25 (see FIG. 9) of the lid attachment portion 26A to a slidable position (second position), the ball 52 is moved to the surface 25 of the lid attachment portion 26A. The lid 30 is rotated in the opening direction A by the force applied in the opening direction A. Therefore, even when an excessive force is applied to the lid 30 in the open position due to an erroneous operation or the like, the lid 30 is allowed to rotate. Therefore, an excessive force is not applied to the hinge portion 34 of the lid body 30 to cause damage.

  As described above, the ball 52 of the plunger 50 in the present embodiment can be brought into contact with the lid attachment portion 26A and functions as a contact sliding member that can slide on the surface 25 of the lid attachment portion 26A. The spring 54 elastically moves the ball 52 between a first position at which it can abut against the side surface 27 of the lid attachment portion 26A and a second position at which the surface 25 of the lid attachment portion 26A can slide. Functions as an elastic member. That is, the plunger 50 regulates the rotation of the lid 30 by the ball 52 of the plunger 50 coming into contact with the side surface 27 of the lid attachment portion 26A when the lid 30 is rotated to the open position. When a force exceeding a predetermined magnitude is applied to the lid body 30 in the opening direction A in a state where the rotation is restricted at the open position, the ball 52 is pushed into the case 56 and the surface 25 of the lid body mounting portion 26A is removed. It functions as a rotation control member that allows the lid 30 to rotate by sliding. In this embodiment, since a ball (spherical body) is used as the contact sliding member, the contact surface with the lid mounting portion 26A is spherical and has little friction, so the lid 30 starts to rotate from the open position. The operation and the subsequent rotation of the lid 30 are smooth. In the present embodiment, a spring is used as the elastic member, and the ball (sphere) 52 is held in a rotatable state by the spring 54. Therefore, there is little friction with the lid attachment portion 26A, and the lid is opened from the open position. The operation of starting to rotate 30 and the subsequent rotation of the lid body 30 become smooth.

  As described above, when a force is applied to the lid body 30 in the open position and the lid body 30 rotates in the opening direction A, finally, as shown in FIG. The body 30 is in contact with the body 30 so that the rotation in the opening direction A is restricted. Thus, at the position (rotation stop position) where the lid body 30 is rotated by a predetermined angle in the opening direction A from the open position, the lid body 30 comes into contact with the rotation stop portion 60 provided on the vehicle body. . Thereby, rotation to the opening direction A of the cover body 30 can be controlled in this rotation stop position. FIG. 11 is a plan view when the lid 30 is at the rotation stop position, and FIG. 12 is a left side view.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, at the rotation stop position of the lid body 30, a portion that is farther from the shaft 36 than the center of the lid body 30 comes into contact with the rotation stop portion 60 of the vehicle body. ing. As described above, when the contact position between the lid 30 and the rotation stopping portion 60 is set to a position farther from the shaft 36 than the center of the lid 30, the lid 30 comes into contact with the rotation stopping portion 60. The moment applied to the contact portion of the lid 30 can be reduced, and damage to the lid 30 can be prevented.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the ball 52 is used as the contact sliding member that can contact the lid mounting portion 26A and can slide on the surface of the lid mounting portion 26A has been described. The contact sliding member is not limited to a sphere like the ball 52. For example, a rod-shaped member may be used as the contact sliding member. In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the spring 54 is used as the elastic member that elastically holds the ball 52 as the contact sliding member has been described. However, such an elastic member is not limited to the spring. Any member can be used as long as it can urge the abutting sliding member with an elastic force. For example, elastic rubber or the like can be used as the elastic member. In the present embodiment, the abutting sliding member and the elastic member are separate members, but these members may be integrally formed of, for example, rubber.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the plunger 50 is used as the rotation control member has been described. However, the rotation control member is not limited to the plunger, and any member can be used as long as it can exhibit the above-described function. May be. Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which provided the plunger 50 as a rotation control member in the hinge part 34 of the cover body 30, the installation position of a rotation control member is not restricted to the hinge part 34, A cover body Any part of 30 may be sufficient. Further, a rotation control member may be provided on a part of the housing 20 such as the lid attachment portion 26A instead of the lid 30. In this case, the rotation control member provided in a part of the housing 20 abuts on the lid body 30 to regulate the rotation of the lid body 30, and in the state where the rotation of the lid body 30 is regulated, When a force exceeding a predetermined force is applied in the opening direction A, the surface of the lid 30 is slid to allow the lid 30 to rotate.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that the present invention may be implemented in various forms within the scope of the technical idea.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charging connector 10 Power socket 12 Signal wire socket 20 Housing 22 Plate part 24 Socket accommodating part 25 Surface 26A, 26B lid attachment part 27 Side of the lid attachment part 28A, 28B Lock mechanism attachment part 30 Lid 32 disc part 34 hinge part 36 shaft (rotating shaft)
38 Coil spring (biasing member)
40 Lock mechanism 41 Lock member 42 Shaft 43 Coil spring 44 Operation part 45 Locking part 46 Base part 50 Plunger (rotation control member)
52 balls (contact sliding member)
54 Spring (elastic member)
56 Case 60 Rotation stop

Claims (6)

A housing that houses a socket for the plug;
A lid attached to the housing and rotatable in an opening direction from a closed position covering the socket around a rotation axis;
A rotation control member provided on one of the lid and the housing, capable of contacting the other of the lid and the housing, and capable of sliding on the other surface of the lid and the housing. A rotation control member having a contact sliding member;
With
The rotation control member is
When the lid body is rotated to the open position, the contact sliding member regulates rotation of the lid body by contacting the other of the lid body and the housing,
When a force exceeding a predetermined magnitude is applied to the lid in the opening direction in a state where the rotation of the lid is restricted at the open position, the contact sliding member is displaced and the lid A connector configured to allow rotation of the lid by sliding on the other surface of the body and the housing.   The rotation control member is between a first position capable of contacting the other of the lid and the housing and a second position capable of sliding on the other surface of the lid and the housing. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member that elastically holds the abutting sliding member.   The connector according to claim 2, wherein the contact sliding member is a sphere. The housing is provided on the vehicle body,
The said cover body is comprised so that it may contact | abut to the rotation stop part provided in the said vehicle body in the rotation stop position rotated only the predetermined angle in the said opening direction from the said open position. The connector according to any one of the above.   The said cover body is comprised so that the part which is separated from the said rotating shaft rather than the center of the said cover body may contact | abut to the said rotation stop part of the said vehicle body in the said rotation stop position. The connector described.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a biasing member that biases the lid toward the opening direction.

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