JP2013139207A - Terminal cover transition structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal cover transition structure which more easily and securely transits a terminal cover for covering a terminal exposed on an upper end face of a connector.SOLUTION: In the terminal cover transition structure 250, when a vehicle side electrical connector which is a partner connector approaches a battery side electrical connector, a lever 224 of a link mechanism 220 touches a positioning pin P1 of the vehicle side electrical connector, and a terminal cover 210 which rotates around a rotary shaft 208 is displaced from a closed position (first position) to an open position (second position). Therefore, when the vehicle side electrical connector approaches the battery side electrical connector to connect the connectors to each other, the terminal cover 210 is automatically displaced to the open position without troubling an operator, and the terminal of the connector upper end face 200a is surely exposed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal cover transfer structure for transferring a terminal cover that covers a terminal exposed on an upper end surface of a connector.

  In recent years, in the field of electric vehicles, research on a detachable battery for traveling has been advanced. When such a battery is mounted on a vehicle, at the same time, the connector on the battery side and the connector on the electric device side mounted on the automobile are coupled.

  When the battery is mounted on the bottom of the vehicle, the battery-side connector and the electrical device-side connector are coupled in the vertical direction by lifting the battery from below the vehicle. Therefore, the connector on the battery side is provided with a connector terminal exposed at the upper end surface.

JP 2011-126451 A

  However, when the connector terminal is exposed at the upper end surface, for example, foreign matter such as water or dust may enter the terminal, leading to poor connection between the connectors or poor fitting, or an operator accidentally touching the terminal. There is a risk of getting lost.

  Therefore, it is preferable to cover the upper end surface of the battery-side connector. However, if the upper end surface is covered with a terminal cover member such as a rubber plug or a seal, it is necessary to remove them each time the connectors are joined together. It can be very annoying and you can forget to remove it.

  Therefore, in the battery-side connector, a technique for covering the terminal exposed on the upper end surface more easily and reliably is required.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and provides a terminal cover transfer structure for easily and reliably transferring a terminal cover that covers a terminal exposed on the upper end surface of a connector. Objective.

  A terminal cover transition structure according to the present invention is a terminal cover transition structure for transferring a terminal cover that covers a terminal exposed on an upper end surface of a connector, and a rotation shaft that extends parallel to the upper end surface, and a rotation A terminal cover having a cover portion that is rotatable about an axis and extending so as to cover the terminal along the axis of the rotation shaft, and the terminal cover is rotated about the rotation axis so that the cover portion covers the terminal. Turning means for displacing the terminal cover from the first position to the second position where the terminal is exposed from the cover portion, and when the turning means approaches the connector, the counterpart connector And a link mechanism for displacing the terminal cover.

  In such a terminal cover transition structure, when the mating connector approaches the connector, the link mechanism included in the pivoting means abuts the mating connector so that the terminal cover that pivots around the pivot shaft is provided. Displace from the first position to the second position. Therefore, when the mating connector is brought close to the connector and the connectors are coupled to each other, the terminal cover is automatically displaced to the second position without bothering the operator's hand, so that the terminal on the upper end surface of the connector is securely Can be exposed.

  Further, when the mating connector approaches the connector, the mating connector may abut against the link mechanism via a pin, and the pin is provided in the mating connector. An alignment pin for aligning the connector may be used.

  Moreover, the aspect further provided with the biasing means which returns a terminal cover from a 2nd position to a 1st position may be sufficient. In this case, the terminal cover automatically returns from the second position to the first position in a state where the connector is separated from the mating connector and the link mechanism does not contact the mating connector. Therefore, the terminal on the upper end surface of the connector can be reliably covered without bothering the operator's hand.

  Further, the cover portion may be entirely curved so that the shape of the upper surface in the cross section perpendicular to the axis of the rotation shaft is raised like a fan. In this case, even if a foreign object adheres to the upper surface of the cover part, it is possible to suppress a situation where the foreign object falls to the terminal when the cover part is opened and closed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the terminal cover transfer structure for transferring the terminal cover which covers the terminal exposed in the upper end surface of a connector more easily and reliably is provided.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which a battery unit is mounted in an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a bottom surface of the electric vehicle shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the vehicle-side electrical connector and the battery-side electrical connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state where the terminal cover of the battery-side electrical connector shown in FIG. 3 is closed. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the battery-side electrical connector in the state shown in FIG. 6 is a view showing a link mechanism of the battery side electrical connector in the state shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state where the terminal cover of the battery-side electrical connector shown in FIG. 3 is opened. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the battery-side electrical connector in the state shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a view showing a link mechanism of the battery-side electrical connector in the state shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a link mechanism of a different mode. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a link mechanism of a different mode.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements or elements having the same function, and redundant description is omitted.

  Hereinafter, a battery unit of an electric vehicle to which a terminal cover transition structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the coordinate axes in the figure are based on the vehicle, the X axis indicates the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the Y axis indicates the lateral direction of the vehicle, and the Z axis indicates the height direction of the vehicle.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bottom 11 of the electric vehicle 10 is provided with a battery fixing portion 12 from which the battery unit 20 can be attached and detached from below the vehicle.

  The battery fixing portion 12 includes a floor pan at the bottom of the vehicle, a vehicle bottom skeleton portion 14 such as a reinforcement bridged between the side member rocker portion and the left and right side member rocker portions, and a battery unit attached to the battery fixing portion 12. It is comprised by the frame 13 which protects 20. The frame 13 has a rectangular outer shape extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, is framed by an iron material, and is attached to the vehicle bottom frame 14.

  Two vehicle-side guide pieces 15 that extend in a tapered shape toward the vehicle lower side are attached to each side of the frame 13. In addition, a vehicle-side electrical connector 100 to be described later is attached to the frame 13 for electrically connecting an automobile device mounted on the vehicle and the battery unit 20.

  In addition, a semi-cylindrical battery-side guide piece is attached to a location corresponding to the vehicle-side guide piece 15 in a state where the battery unit 20 is attached to the battery fixing portion 12 of the vehicle. Further, a battery-side electrical connector 200 described later is provided at a location corresponding to the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 in the battery unit 20, and when the battery unit 20 is disposed on the battery fixing portion 12, the vehicle-side electrical connector is provided. 100 and the battery-side electrical connector 200 are coupled and electrically connected.

  Next, the battery exchange device 60 for exchanging the battery unit 20 of the electric vehicle 10 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the battery exchange device 60 has a lower part disposed in the basement and an upper part disposed on the ground. A horizontal loading platform 61 on which the electric vehicle 10 can be loaded is provided on the upper portion of the battery exchange device 60. The loading platform 61 has an opening through which the battery unit 20 and a lifting unit 62 that lifts and lowers the battery unit 20 can be moved up and down. A portion 63 is provided. Further, a pair of positioning the electric vehicle 10 in the vehicle width direction so that the battery fixing portion 12 of the electric vehicle 10 is disposed above the opening 63 across the opening 63 on the upper portion of the loading platform 61. The positioning rail 64 is installed. At the end of the positioning rail 64, there is a two-cove mountain-shaped wheel stopper 65 for positioning the electric vehicle 10 in the front-rear direction so that the battery fixing portion 12 of the electric vehicle 10 is disposed above the opening 63. is set up.

  In the electric vehicle 10, it is desirable to standardize and unify the position of the battery fixing portion 12 with respect to the axle of the front wheel 16 in all vehicle types. When the battery of the electric vehicle 10 is replaced, the electric vehicle 10 is moved so that the positioning rail 64 is disposed between the front wheels 16 of the electric vehicle 10. Then, the vehicle is stopped so that the front wheel 16 is positioned at the center of the Nicob mountain-shaped wheel stopper 65, so that the battery fixing portion 12 of the electric vehicle 10 and the lifting means 62 of the battery exchange device 60 are aligned to some extent. . Thereby, it is possible to suppress the displacement between the position of the battery fixing portion 12 in the vehicle front-rear direction and the position of the lifting / lowering means 62 due to the difference in the contact state of the tire with the wheel stopper 65 to about several tens of mm. .

  The battery exchange device 60 is provided with lifting means 62 at a position where it can be lifted up and down through the opening 63 of the loading table 61. The elevating means 62 accommodates the battery unit 20 removed from the electric vehicle 10 in the battery exchange device 60 or transfers the battery unit stored in the battery exchange device 60 to the battery fixing unit 12 of the electric vehicle 10. And is composed of a base 66, a transfer table 67, an arm 68, and a hydraulic cylinder 69 for raising and lowering the transfer table.

  Around the elevating means 62 in the battery exchange device 60, a conveying means 70 including a chain conveyor 71 is installed. The transport means 70 is an apparatus for transporting the battery unit 20 between a transfer position where the battery unit 20 is transferred with the elevating means 62 and a battery storage means (not shown). The battery storage means is a device that temporarily stores the collected used battery unit 20 and stores the charged battery unit 20 that has been charged, and is configured by, for example, an automatic warehouse.

  The battery unit 20 mounted on the electric vehicle 10 is replaced by the battery replacement device 60 configured as described above. At the time of replacement of the battery unit 20, the electric vehicle 10 is moved onto the loading platform 61 of the battery replacement device, and the front wheel 16 of the electric vehicle 10 is stopped so as to be positioned at the center of the two-coil mountain shape of the wheel stopper 65. When the battery replacement command is issued after the stop, the battery replacement device 60 drives the hydraulic cylinder 69 to raise the transfer table 67 and the bottom surface of the battery unit 20 accommodated in the battery fixing portion 12. Is brought into contact with the transfer table 67.

  After the contact, the battery fixing device that fixes the battery unit 20 to the electric vehicle 10 is unlocked by manually switching a changeover switch provided in the vehicle. Thereafter, the battery exchange device 60 drives the hydraulic cylinder 69 to lower the transfer table 67, and the battery unit 20 is accommodated in the battery exchange device 60. The accommodated battery unit 20 is transported to the battery storage means by the transport means 70 and stored.

  Then, another charged battery unit 20 stored in the battery storage means is taken out from the battery storage means, and is transported to the lifting means 62 by the transport means 70. The battery unit 20 carried to the lifting / lowering means 62 is lifted by the lifting / lowering means 62. The positional deviation between the battery fixing portion 12 and the battery unit 20 is corrected by the battery side guide piece 15 and the vehicle side guide piece 15 coming into contact with each other when the battery unit 20 is raised. When the battery unit 20 continues to rise, the positional deviation and inclination of the battery unit 20 are corrected by both guide pieces, and the battery unit 20 is inserted into the battery fixing portion 12.

  A plurality of pressing switches (not shown) are attached around the battery fixing portion 12 on the bottom portion 11 of the vehicle. When all the switches are pressed by the transfer table 67, the battery unit 20 is attached to the battery fixing portion 12. It is detected as a state accommodated in When it is detected that the battery unit 20 is stored in the battery fixing unit 12, the battery unit 20 is locked by manually operating a motor changeover switch provided in the vehicle to lock the battery fixing device. The electric vehicle battery is replaced.

  Next, the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 and the battery-side electrical connector described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  The vehicle-side electrical connector 100 includes a pin terminal (male-side terminal) (not shown), and is coupled to a battery-side electrical connector 200 including a female-side terminal in the vertical direction (Z direction).

  Note that the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 and the battery-side electrical connector 200 are connected to each other when the battery unit 20 is attached to the battery fixing portion 12 using the elevating means 62 as described above. At that time, although the relative displacement and the inclination can be corrected to some extent by the guide piece, there are cases where the correction cannot be sufficiently performed. Therefore, in order to allow the connector itself to self-correct such relative displacement and inclination, the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 is provided with a pair of positioning pins P1 and P2. Each positioning pin P <b> 1, P <b> 2 extends in the coupling direction (Z direction) with the battery-side electrical connector 200 so as to protrude from the bottom surface 100 a facing the battery-side electrical connector 200. Note that at least one positioning pin is sufficient, but in the present embodiment, positioning is performed with higher accuracy by providing one positioning pin P1 and P2 at both ends of the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 in the Y direction. Is realized.

  Next, the structure of the battery-side electrical connector 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4-6 shows a state in which a terminal cover, which will be described later, is in the closed position (first position).

  The battery-side electrical connector 200 has a connector main body 202 in the casing. The connector main body 202 is provided with a plurality of (for example, four) openings 204 on the upper end surface 200a parallel to the XY plane, and a terminal (female side terminal) 206 is formed in each opening 204. Has been.

  The battery-side electrical connector 200 is provided with a terminal cover transfer structure 250 for transferring the terminal cover 210 that covers the terminal 206 exposed from the opening 204 on the connector upper end surface 200a.

  The terminal cover transfer structure 250 includes a pair of rotating shafts 208, a terminal cover 210, and rotating means 220.

  The pair of rotating shafts 208 are provided on both end surfaces in the Y direction at the lower part of the connector body 202 and extend along the same Y axis.

  The terminal cover 210 includes a cover plate (cover portion) 212 for covering the terminals 206 and a pair of plate support portions 214 disposed so as to sandwich the connector main body 202 from the Y-axis direction.

  The cover plate 212 is a plate-like portion that extends so as to cover the terminal 206 along the Y-axis direction. In the ZX cross section, the cover plate 212 is entirely curved so that the shape of the upper surface 212a is raised like a fan.

  Each of the pair of plate support portions 214 is a fan-like plate-like portion, and the upper portion thereof is entirely curved according to the shape of the upper surface 212 a of the cover plate 212. The pair of plate support portions 214 support the cover plate 212 at both ends of the cover plate 212 in the Y direction. Each plate support portion 214 is rotatably attached to a rotation shaft 208 extending from the connector main body 202. Therefore, when the plate support 214 rotates around the rotation shaft 208, the cover plate 212 also rotates together around the rotation shaft 208.

  Further, a spring 230 is attached to the plate support 214 as a biasing means at a portion connected to the rotation shaft 208 so that the terminal cover 210 stays at a position (first position) covering the terminal 206. In addition, the plate support 214 is biased.

  The rotation means 220 is a link mechanism that drives in the XZ plane as shown in FIG. 6, and includes an arm 222 that is connected to the terminal cover 210, and a lever 224 that is connected to the casing of the battery-side electrical connector 200. Is included.

  The arm 222 is a long member extending in one direction. One end of the arm 222 is rotatably connected to the plate support portion 214 of the terminal cover 210 by the joint J1, and the other end is rotated to the tip portion of the lever 224 by the joint J2. Connected movably.

  The lever 224 is also a long member extending in one direction like the arm 222, but the lever 224 is formed with a contact portion 224a that protrudes so as to contact the positioning pin P1 of the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 described above. Has been. The base end portion of the lever 224 is pivotally connected to a joint J3 provided in the upper part of the casing of the battery-side electrical connector 200 in the vicinity of the entry position of the positioning pin P1. As described above, the contact portion 224a is disposed close to the entry position of the positioning pin P1 so as to contact the positioning pin P1.

  Next, a state where the terminal cover 210 is in the open position (second position) will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the positioning pin P1 of the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 is further advanced by pushing down the lever 224 while being in contact with the contact portion 224a of the lever 224, the lever 224 becomes vertically downward. Rotate. Thus, by making the moving direction of the lever 224 substantially coincide with the approaching direction (Z direction) of the positioning pin P1, loss of force due to frictional resistance or the like is suppressed, and improvement in force transmission efficiency is achieved. .

  As the lever 224 rotates, a force is generated that causes the arm 222 to be pulled toward the lever 224 and further the terminal cover 210 to be pulled toward the lever 224.

  As a result, the terminal cover 210 rotates about 90 degrees around the rotation axis 208 in a direction that lies sideways on the lever 224 side (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9). That is, since the entire terminal cover 210 is accommodated in the casing of the battery-side electrical connector 200, it does not get in the way when the connectors are coupled to each other, and is within the environment (for example, a waterproof environment) of the coupled portion.

  When the terminal cover 210 rotates in this way, the covered upper end surface 200a is exposed when the terminal cover 210 is in the closed position. Thereby, the terminal 206 exposed from the opening 204 of the upper end surface 200a is also exposed.

  As described above, since the spring 230 is attached to the plate support portion 214, when the positioning pin P1 is removed from the battery-side electrical connector 200, the terminal cover 210 is moved by the biasing force of the spring 230. It returns to the closed position covering the terminal 206.

  As described above, in the terminal cover transition structure 250, when the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 that is the mating connector approaches the battery-side electrical connector 200, the link mechanism 220 causes the positioning pin P1 of the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 to move. The terminal cover 210 that rotates around the rotation shaft 208 from the closed position (first position) shown in FIG. 4-6 to the open position (second position) shown in FIG. 7-9. Displace to. Therefore, when the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 is brought close to the battery-side electrical connector 200 and the connectors are coupled to each other, the terminal cover 210 is automatically displaced to the open position without bothering the operator, and the connector upper end surface The terminal 206 of 200a can be exposed reliably.

  In addition, since the terminal cover transition structure 250 includes the spring 230, the link mechanism 220 does not come into contact with the positioning pin P <b> 1 of the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 away from the battery-side electrical connector 100. In the state, the terminal cover 210 automatically returns from the open position to the closed position. Therefore, the terminal 206 of the connector upper end surface 200a can be reliably covered without bothering the operator's hand.

  In other words, the terminal cover transition structure 250 mounts the battery unit 20 on the electric vehicle 10 immediately after the battery unit 20 is detached from the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 after the battery unit 20 is removed from the vehicle-side electrical connector 100, and the vehicle Until the battery-side electrical connector 200 is coupled to the side electrical connector 100, the terminal 206 of the connector 200 is covered by the terminal cover 210.

  In addition, since the cover plate 212 of the terminal cover 210 is entirely curved so that the cross-sectional shape of the upper surface 212a is raised like a fan, the shape of the cover plate 212 even when a foreign object falls on the upper surface 212a in the closed position. Foreign matter is more guided to the surroundings and hardly remains on the cover plate 212. Even if a foreign object adheres to the cover plate 212 in the closed position, the cover plate 212 carries away the foreign object when the cover plate 212 is displaced to the open position. Has been.

  An embodiment different from the above-described embodiment is shown in FIGS.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, a pressing pin P <b> 3 separate from the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 is employed instead of the positioning pin P <b> 1 provided integrally with the vehicle-side electrical connector 100.

  In this case, the pressing pin P3 is inserted in advance in the pin entry position, and when the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 and the battery-side electrical connector 200 are coupled, the upper end of the pressing pin P3 is connected to the vehicle-side electrical connector 100. By pressing the lower surface 100a, the pressing pin P3 pushes down the lever 224 in the same manner as the positioning pin P1 described above.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, a link mechanism 220 ′ including a lever 226 having a shape different from that of the lever 224 is employed instead of the link mechanism 220 including the lever 224.

  The lever 226 of the link mechanism 220 ′ has a substantially triangular outer shape in which the joints J2 and J3 are located at the corners, and the corners without the joints J2 and J3 protrude from the upper end surface 200a. Part 226a is formed.

  When the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 is coupled to the battery-side electrical connector 200, the lever 226 is rotated by pressing the protrusion 226 a of the lever 226 with the lower surface 100 a of the vehicle-side electrical connector 100, so that the terminal cover 210 is rotated. Is displaced to the open position.

  As described above, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, as in the above-described embodiment, when the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 is brought close to the battery-side electrical connector 200 and the connectors are coupled to each other, The terminal cover 210 can be automatically displaced to the open position without bothering the terminal 206, so that the terminal 206 on the connector upper end surface 200a can be reliably exposed. In addition, since the positioning pin P1 provided on the vehicle-side electrical connector 100 is not used, the link mechanism can be stably operated regardless of the positional accuracy of the connector 100. Further, in the link mechanism 220 ′ shown in FIG. 11, since the protruding portion 226 a of the lever 226 fulfills the function of the pin, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the terminal cover transition structure described above can be applied to an electrical connection connector that is frequently inserted and removed, such as a power supply for industrial vehicles and large electrical equipment, in addition to a battery unit detachable electric vehicle.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Vehicle side electrical connector, 200 ... Battery side electrical connector, 200a ... Upper end surface, 206 ... Terminal, 208 ... Rotating shaft, 210 ... Terminal cover, 212 ... Cover plate, 220, 220 '... Link mechanism, 230 ... Spring , 250 ... terminal cover transition structure, P1-P3 ... pins.

Claims (5)

A terminal cover transfer structure for transferring a terminal cover covering a terminal exposed on the upper end surface of the connector,
A pivot shaft extending parallel to the upper end surface;
A terminal cover having a cover portion that is rotatable around the rotation axis and extends to cover the terminal along an axis of the rotation axis;
The terminal cover is rotated about the rotation axis to displace the terminal cover from a first position where the cover portion covers the terminal to a second position where the terminal is exposed from the cover portion. Moving means,
A terminal cover transition structure including a link mechanism that displaces the terminal cover by abutting against the mating connector when the pivot means approaches the connector.   The terminal cover transition structure according to claim 1, wherein when the mating connector approaches the connector, the mating connector contacts the link mechanism via a pin.   The terminal cover transition structure according to claim 2, wherein the pin is an alignment pin provided in the mating connector for aligning the connector and the mating connector.   The terminal cover transition structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising biasing means for returning the terminal cover from the second position to the first position.   The terminal cover transition structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cover portion is entirely curved so that a shape of an upper surface in a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the rotation shaft is raised like a fan. .

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