This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-045523 filed on Mar. 22, 2022, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to a charging inlet apparatus mounted on a vehicle.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 09-285022 (JP 09-285022 A) describes a state of charge display device for a battery electric vehicle. The state of charge display device includes a battery charging connector (charging inlet), a lid, and a display panel. The battery charging connector is provided on a vehicle body exterior of the battery electric vehicle. The lid is provided at a location to cover the battery charging connector so as to be openable and closable. The display panel is provided in a compartment covered with the lid (in an inlet box). The display panel displays the time required to full charge a battery or the charge level of the battery or both.
As described above, JP 09-285022 A describes the display panel as an example of an electrical component accompanied with the charging inlet. An electric line is, for example, connected to such an electrical component via the connector on a vehicle cabin side with respect to the inlet box. There are concerns that, due to the reason, such as condensation formed around the electrical component on the vehicle cabin side, water falls on a non-waterproof part (in other words, waterproof object area), such as a connector fitting part of the electrical component.
More specifically, an area of the electrical component, located on the vehicle cabin side, is covered with an interior component of the vehicle and disposed in a place hidden from the vehicle cabin. However, there are concerns that water falls on the non-waterproof part (waterproof object area) of the electrical component due to the reason, such as the above-described condensation that is formed in a space surrounded by the interior component and a component, including the inlet box, and entry of water into the space through a gap between the interior component and a window glass.
The disclosure provides a charging inlet apparatus capable of reducing falls of water on one or more electrical components having a waterproof object area while suppressing an increase in cost.
A charging inlet apparatus according to an aspect of the disclosure includes an inlet box and one or more electrical components. The inlet box is provided at a charging opening of a vehicle. A charging inlet is disposed in the inlet box. One or more electrical components are mounted on a mounting surface of the inlet box from a vehicle cabin side of the vehicle and have a waterproof object area. The mounting surface is inclined toward the vehicle cabin side with respect to a vertical direction. The inlet box includes one or more canopy portions that project from the inlet box so as to be located over the one or more electrical components.
The one or more canopy portions may be inclined with respect to a straight line parallel to a horizontal direction when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface.
The one or more canopy portions each may have a distal end and a proximal end with respect to the inlet box and may be inclined such that the distal end is lower in level than the proximal end.
The one or more electrical components may include a charging indicator configured to light up when charging using the charging inlet is performed.
The one or more electrical components may include a charging inlet lamp configured to illuminate an area around the charging inlet when a charging lid configured to open and close the charging opening is opened.
The one or more electrical components may include a charging indicator configured to light up when charging using the charging inlet is performed, and a charging inlet lamp configured to illuminate an area around the charging inlet when a charging lid configured to open and close the charging opening is opened. The one or more canopy portions may be a canopy portion disposed over the charging indicator and the charging inlet lamp arranged in a vertical direction.
With the charging inlet apparatus according to the aspect of the disclosure, by using the canopy portion with a simple configuration, that is a projection formed so as to project from the inlet box, falls of water produced or entered in a space around the charging inlet apparatus on the vehicle cabin side on the one or more electrical components are reduced. The mounting surface for the one or more electrical components in the inlet box is inclined toward the vehicle cabin side with respect to the vertical direction. Thus, in comparison with the case where the mounting surface is not inclined, falls on the one or more electrical components are reduced while the amount of projection of the canopy portion is suppressed. A reduction in the amount of projection of the canopy portion means easy formation of the inlet box having the canopy portion, so it is beneficial in terms of cost. As described above, with the charging inlet apparatus according to the aspect of the disclosure, water-resistant measures for one or more electrical components are suitably taken while an increase in cost is suppressed.
Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote like elements, and wherein:
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference signs denote elements common to all the drawings, and the repeated description will be omitted or simplified. In the following embodiment, when the number, count, amount, or range of each element is referred to, the technical idea according to the disclosure is not limited thereto unless otherwise specified or apparently determined to that in principle.
As shown in
The charging lid 12 is a lid configured to open and close the charging opening 2. The inlet box 14 is provided at the charging opening 2 and is also referred to as lid box. The inlet box 14 is a box-shaped housing. The charging inlet 16 is disposed in the inlet box 14. The inlet box 14 is made of, for example, resin or sheet metal. The inlet box 14 is mounted by, for example, a method, such as welding, engagement, or the like to the outer panel in which the charging opening 2 is formed.
More specifically, the inlet box 14 has an opening 14a. The charging inlet 16 is disposed so as to extend through the opening 14a. The distal end of the charging inlet 16 is exposed to outside the vehicle 1 in the inlet box 14. As shown in
When the battery of the vehicle 1 is charged, a charging cable is connected to the charging inlet 16 via a charging facility-side charging connector. In the example of the charging inlet apparatus 10 shown in
The charging indicator 18 is configured to light up when the battery is charged using the charging inlet 16. As shown in
The charging inlet lamp 20 is a lamp (courtesy lamp) configured to light up so as to illuminate an area around the charging inlet 16 when the charging lid 12 is opened. As shown in
The lid lock actuator 22 includes a pin 22a (see
The charging inlet apparatus 10 includes the charging indicator 18 and the charging inlet lamp 20 as examples of electrical components accompanied with the charging inlet 16. A structure provided in the charging inlet apparatus 10 as water-resistant measures for the electrical components (the charging indicator 18 and the charging inlet lamp 20) will be described with reference to
The charging indicator 18 has a connector fitting part 36 between the connector part 18a and the connector 28 as an area on the vehicle cabin side. Similarly, the charging inlet lamp 20 has a connector fitting part 38 between the connector part 20a and the connector 32 as an area on the vehicle cabin side.
Here, an area where the electrical components located on the vehicle cabin side as shown in
As water-resistant measures for the waterproof object area, for example, the connector part 18a of the charging indicator 18 and the connector part 20a of the charging inlet lamp 20 are conceivably set as waterproof specifications. However, with the above measures, cost for the charging inlet apparatus can increase or it can be difficult to establish a charging inlet apparatus in a space limited due to enlargement of the size of the connector.
In light of the above-described inconvenience, the charging inlet apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the following configuration. In other words, as shown in
More specifically, the inlet box 14 has a canopy portion 14c. The canopy portion 14c projects from the inlet box 14 so as to be located over the charging indicator 18 and the charging inlet lamp 20. In other words, the canopy portion 14c (projection) is formed integrally with the inlet box 14. The amount of projection (length) L of the canopy portion 14c from the wall surface of the inlet box 14 is set to a value required for water falling from above does not fall on the connector fitting parts 36, 38 as indicated by the arrow A2 in
More specifically, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 14b as shown in
Different from the example of the canopy portion 14c shown in
As shown in
In the example of the charging inlet apparatus 10 shown in
Depending on the configuration of the charging inlet apparatus 10, the plurality of electrical components such as the charging indicator 18 and the charging inlet lamp 20 may not always be arranged in the vertical direction. In such a case, an inlet box may have a plurality of canopy portions formed to respectively cover the plurality of electrical components. In addition, in the example shown in
As described above, with the charging inlet apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, as illustrated with the arrow A2 in
With the charging inlet apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the mounting surface 14b for the charging indicator 18 and the charging inlet lamp 20 in the inlet box 14 is inclined toward the vehicle cabin side with respect to the vertical direction. Thus, in comparison with the case where the mounting surface 14b is not inclined (when the inclination angle θ of
When viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 14b as shown in
In addition, as in the case of the example of
As shown in
As shown in
In the above-described embodiment, as examples of the one or more electrical components having a waterproof object area, the charging indicator 18 and the charging inlet lamp 20 have been described. However, as long as electrical components are mounted from the vehicle cabin side to the mounting surface of an inlet box and have a waterproof object area (for example, a connector fitting part or an uncoated busbar), the electrical components may apply to the one or more electrical components according to the disclosure. Specifically, for example, as long as a lid lock actuator has a waterproof object area, the lid lock actuator may apply to the one or more electrical components.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2022-045523 | Mar 2022 | JP | national |