CHARGING CONNECTOR

• US 20110034053A1
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation), Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation), Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Mizutani, Atsushi, Ichikawa, Shinji, Kato, Hajime, Arima, Suminori, Matsumoto, Mitsuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,016,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 439/304
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/32 of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/34 of parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6275 Latching arms not integral with the housing H01R13/6276, H01R13/6277, H01R13/6278 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/639 Additional means for holding or locking coupling parts together, after engagement, e.g. separate keylock, retainer strap
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/7038 making use of a remote controlled switch, e.g. relais, solid state switch activated by the engagement of the coupling parts
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

To provide a charging connector to prevent the charging connector from removing while a lock system is locked by helping a user recognize that the lock system is locked.

A charging connector B including: a lever 44 received in a connector case main body 23, and of which center part is pivotally supported; a locking claw 45b integrally formed with one end of the lever 44; and a release button 46a disposed at the other end of the lever 44, wherein when the charging connector B is completely fitted into a secondary battery-side connector, the locking claw 45b is locked with a locking projection 19 provided at the secondary battery-side connector, and wherein when the release button 46a is pushed down, the locking between the locking claw and the locking projection is unlocked, and the charging connector B further including: a lock system 100 having a lock device 101; and an operation regulator 102 which is moved to a preventing position to prevent the release button 46a from being pushed down when the lock device 101 is in a locking state, and moved to an allowing position to allow the release button 46a to be pressed down when the lock device 101 is in an unlocking state.

Claims

1. A charging connector comprising:

a connector case main body;

a lever received in the connector case main body, and of which center part is pivotally supported;

a locking claw integrally formed with one end of the lever; and

a release button disposed at the other end of the lever,

wherein when the charging connector is completely fitted into a secondary battery-side connector connected to a secondary battery, the locking claw is locked with a locking projection provided at the secondary battery-side connector, and

wherein when the release button is pushed down, the lever is rotated around a shaft supporting point to release the locking between the locking claw and the locking projection, and

the charging connector further comprising;

a lock system having a lock device attached to the connector case main body, and an operation regulator which is moved to a preventing position to prevent the release button from being pushed down when the lock device is in a locking state, and moved to an allowing position to allow the release button to be pressed down when the lock device is in an unlocking state.

2. The charging connector as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the lock device is a cylinder lock operable to be unlocked by an ignition key of a vehicle.

3. The charging connector as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the lock device is a biometric lock including:

a biological data input into which biological data is inputted; and

a biological data memory in which biological data for verifying to be checked against the biological data inputted in the biological data input is previously stored, and

wherein the lock device is configured to be unlocked when the biological data inputted in the biological data input is checked against the biological data for verifying stored in the biological data memory, and they are matched.

4. The charging connector as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the lock device is a dial lock including:

a dial into which a code is inputted; and

a code memory in which a checking code for checking against the code inputted in the dial is previously stored, and to be unlocked when the code inputted in the dial is checked against the checking code stored in the code memory, and they are matched.

5. The charging connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4,

wherein a locking wall of the locking claw abutting on the locking projection when the locking claw is locked with the locking projection is extended at not more than a right angle relative to a fitting direction to the secondary battery-side connector, and

wherein the locking claw and the shaft supporting point of the lever are respectively arranged along the fitting direction when the locking claw is locked with the locking projection.