Electric vehicle charging device

• US 9,227,520 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2011
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kimura, Norihiko, Sugihara, Kenji, Terada, Tomohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): DIAO, M BAYE
• Application Number:
  US13/880,523
• Publication Number:
  US 20130193923A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: 320/109, 320/108, 439/138, 439/141, 439/304, 701/22, 701/36, 180/65.29
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/32 of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/34 of parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/42 Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells H01M10/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/53 Bases or cases for heavy duty; Bases or cases for high voltage with means for preventing corona or arcing
• 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 13/635 by mechanical pressure, e.g. spring force
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/26 for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

The purpose is to provide an electric vehicle charging device capable of preventing arc discharge when disconnecting a power supply connector and a vehicle-side connector. An electric vehicle charging device provided with: a power supply connector (3) for supplying electrical energy from outside the vehicle; a vehicle-side connector (2) for connecting to the power supply connector (3) and positioned in the vehicle; a spring (34) for generating repulsive force in the direction in which the power supply connector (3) and the vehicle-side connector (2) separate; and an engaging part (32) for detecting the disconnection of the power supply connector (3) and the vehicle-side connector (2); wherein the spring (34) generates repulsive force in the direction in which the power supply connector (3) and the vehicle-side connector (2) separate when the engaging part (32) detects that the power supply connector (3) and the vehicle-side connector (2) have disconnected.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle charging apparatus comprising:

a feeder connector that connects with a vehicle-side connector of an electric vehicle from outside of the electric vehicle and supplies electric energy;

a repulsion force generation section that generates a repulsion force with such a directionality as to cause the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector to break off from each other;

an engaging mechanism that stores the repulsion force generated by the repulsion force generation section without releasing the generated repulsion force;

a latch release section that disconnects the feeder connector from the vehicle-side connector by being pressed; and

a disconnection detection mechanism that detects that the feeder connector is disconnected from the vehicle-side connector while the latch release section has not been pressed, wherein

when the disconnection detection mechanism has detected that the feeder connector is disconnected from the vehicle-side connector, the engaging mechanism is disabled to release the repulsion force, thereby causing the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector to break off from each other by the repulsion force, and

when the latch release section has been pressed, the engaging mechanism prevents the repulsion force from being released.

2. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a shielding section that prevents a feeder-side electrode of the feeder connector from being exposed after the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector have broken off from each other due to the repulsion force of the repulsion force generation section.

3. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeder connector includes the repulsion force generation section and the disconnection detection mechanism.

4. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the repulsion force generation section generates the repulsion force by means of a spring force or hydraulics.

5. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the feeder connector includes the disconnection detection mechanism;

the disconnection detection mechanism includes a latch section having a latch stop that mutually engages the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector; and

when the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector have broken off from each other while the latch release section has not been pressed, the engagement by the latch section becomes released, as a result of which the disconnection of the feeder connector from the vehicle-side connector is detected.

6. An electric vehicle charging apparatus comprising:

a feeder connector that connects with a vehicle-side connector of an electric vehicle from outside of the electric vehicle and supplies electric energy;

a repulsion force generation section that generates a magnetic repulsion force with such a directionality as to cause the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector to break off from each other;

a magnetic force generation section that generates a magnetic force with such a directionality as to cause the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector to attract each other; and

a control section that controls the magnetic force generation section and that detects an anomaly during the supply of the electric energy, wherein

the control section causes the magnetic force generation section to generate the magnetic force in the attracting direction to cancel out the repulsion force when the anomaly during the supply of the electric energy is not detected, and causes the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector to break off from each other by the repulsion force, without causing the magnetic force generation section to generate the magnetic force in the attracting direction, when the anomaly during the supply of the electric energy has been detected.

7. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a shielding section that prevents a feeder-side electrode of the feeder connector from being exposed after the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector have broken off from each other due to the repulsion force of the repulsion force generation section.

8. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:

the repulsion force generation section comprises permanent magnets provided with the feeder connector and the vehicle-side connector; and

the magnetic force generation section comprises an electromagnet provided with the vehicle-side connector.

9. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control section controls the magnetic force generation section based on vehicle information of the electric vehicle.

10. The electric vehicle charging apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control section acquires a travel speed of the electric vehicle as the vehicle information, and detects the anomaly during the supply of the electric energy when the travel speed has changed from zero to a positive speed.