Patent Publication Number: US-9425535-B2

Title: Connector cover for part in eco-friendly vehicle and method of fastening the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0162021, filed on Dec. 24, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a connector cover in an eco-friendly vehicle, which is coupled to an outside of a connector for an electronic part in the eco-friendly vehicle, and a method of fastening the same. The disclosure relates, more particularly, to a connector cover in an eco-friendly vehicle, which covers a connector for an electronic part mounted in the eco-friendly vehicle, the connector being exposed to the outside regardless of the size of the part, preventing accidents caused by touching the connector, and a method of fastening the same. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In an eco-friendly vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, a variety of power converters, such as, an inverter, an inductance-to-digital converter (LDC), and an on-board charger (OBC), are mounted in an engine room and connected to each other through a connector. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an engine room  1  in an eco-friendly vehicle is provided with an engine room cover  2  for protecting a power converter (not shown), a variety of electronic parts constituting the power converter, or an engine of a hybrid vehicle. The engine room cover  2  is disposed near the electronic parts or over the engine, instead of covering a particular part. Accordingly, since the cover  2  occupies broad areas and has increased weight, it is problematic in that fuel efficiency is reduced and manufacture is costly. 
     One side of an electronic part in the eco-friendly vehicle is provided with a connector  10 , in order to connect with another electronic part. The connector  10  is provided with a plurality of locking devices  11  and  12  for safety. Since the connector  10  is exposed to the outside without a dedicated cover for the connector  10 , there is a safety risk when inexperienced maintenance workers including a driver come into contact with the locking devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     An embodiment of the inventive concept is directed to a connector cover in an eco-friendly vehicle, capable of covering a connector for an electronic part in the eco-friendly vehicle so as not to be exposed to the outside and capable of fastening the connector regardless of the size thereof, and a method of fastening the same. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be understood by the following description, and become apparent with reference to embodiments of the inventive concept. Also, it is obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be realized by the means as claimed and combinations thereof. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the inventive concept, a connector cover for an eco-friendly vehicle covers the outside of a connector for an electronic part mounted to the eco-friendly vehicle. The cover may cover the outside of the connector, and a width thereof may be adjusted. The cover may grasp both sides of the connector, be coupled to the outside of the connector as the width of the cover becomes narrower, and maintain a state in which the width is narrowed. 
     The cover may include a main body fastened to one side of the connector. A pair of coupling portions may be slidably installed to the main body, pressed against the sides of the connector while being inserted into the main body, and slide in directions opposite to each other. A tightening means may maintain a state in which the coupling portions grasp the sides of the connector. 
     The coupling portions may be disposed on the same line as each other and slide in the directions opposite to each other. 
     The tightening means may include a fixing gear installed on a lower surface of the cover. A tightening wheel is rotatably installed to the cover and is formed with an internal gear engaging with the fixing gear. A wire connects the tightening wheel to the coupling portions. 
     Teeth of the fixing gear and the internal gear may be formed such that the tightening wheel is rotatable only in a direction in which the wire is wound around the tightening wheel. 
     The teeth of the fixing gear and the internal gear may form an inclined surface at a portion which abuts each other in a direction in which the wire is wound around the tightening wheel, and the teeth of the fixing gear and the internal gear may form a vertical surface at a portion which abuts each other in the other direction in which the wire is wound around the tightening wheel. 
     The coupling portions may be bent at portions of being coupled to the connector. 
     The main body may be formed with a fastening hole through which a fastening bolt for fastening the main body to the connector passes. 
     The back of the main body may be formed with a guide which supports both sides of each of the coupling portions to guide sliding of the coupling portion. 
     The back of the main body may be formed with a guide which surrounds the outside of each of the coupling portions to guide sliding of the coupling portion. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the inventive concept, a method of fastening a connector cover in an eco-friendly vehicle to a connector, includes a pair of coupling portions installed to a main body so as to be slidable in different directions from each other and grasps both sides of the connector in the eco-friendly vehicle. The method includes adjusting a width between the coupling portions by sliding the coupling portions such that the width is larger than a width of the connector. The cover is mounted to the outside of the connector. The sides of the connector are grasped by ends of the coupling portions, such that the coupling portions support the sides of the connector and maintain the grasped state using a tightening means installed to the cover. The main body is fastened to the connector by a fastening bolt which passes through the main body and is fastened to the connector. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top view illustrating an installation state of a cover to an engine room in an eco-friendly vehicle. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view illustrating a connector for an electronic part in an eco-friendly vehicle. 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom view illustrating a connector for an electronic part in an eco-friendly vehicle. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating a connector cover for a part in an eco-friendly vehicle according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a back perspective view illustrating the connector cover for a part in an eco-friendly vehicle according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a partially enlarged view taken along portion “A” in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIGS. 7 and 8  are back perspective views illustrating an example in which a guide is formed in the connector cover for a part in an eco-friendly vehicle according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating a method of fastening the connector cover for a part in an eco-friendly vehicle according to the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     A connector cover for a part in an eco-friendly vehicle according to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments of the inventive concept are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Throughout the disclosure, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures and embodiments of the inventive concept. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , A connector cover  20  in an eco-friendly vehicle according to the present disclosure covers the outside of a connector  10  for an electronic part mounted to in the eco-friendly vehicle and is coupled to the connector  10  while being adjusted in width and grasping both sides of the connector  10 . For example, the connector cover  20  covers a portion indicated by “A” in the connector  10  shown in  FIG. 3 . The connector cover  20  for the eco-friendly vehicle according to the present disclosure is installed to be adjusted in width and is in the form of grasping both sides of the connector  10 . The connector cover  20  is coupled to the outside of the connector  10  as the width of the connector cover  20  becomes narrow. 
     A main body  21  has a plate shape, surrounds the outside of the connector  10  in the eco-friendly vehicle, and is installed with other components. The main body  21  has an area corresponding to the connector  10  in the eco-friendly vehicle. One side of the main body  21  has a fastening hole  21   a  through which a fastening bolt passes so that the main body  21  is fastened to the connector  10  using the fastening bolt. 
     A pair of coupling portions  22  are provided and slidably installed to the main body  21 , so that the coupling portions  22  are adjusted to be suitable for the size of the connector  10 . Therefore, the connector cover  20  may be installed to the connectors  10  having various sizes while being adjusted in width. In particular, the pair of coupling portions  22  are disposed on the same line as each other, thereby allowing each side of the connector  10  to be coupled on the same line. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , each of the coupling portions  22  is bent at one end thereof for supporting one side of the connector  10  so as to grasp a side of the connector  10  while being connected, at another end thereof, with a wire  25 . 
     The coupling portions  22  are paired and symmetrically arranged. The coupling portions  22  are tightened toward each other by a tightening means so as to be inserted into the main body  21  and are coupled to the connector  10 , thereby allowing the main body  21  to be coupled to the connector  10 . 
     The tightening means tightens the pair of coupling portions  22 , which are installed to be slidable in opposite directions, toward each other. The connector cover  20  is pressed against the outside of the connector  10 , and thus, a distance between the coupling portions  22  becomes narrower as the coupling portions  22  are moved toward each other. 
     As examples of the tightening means, there may be a fixing gear  23 , a tightening wheel  24 , and the wire  25  as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     The fixing gear  23  is formed integrally with the main body  21  on the back of the main body  21 . The fixing gear  23  has teeth along a circumference thereof. 
     The tightening wheel  24  is rotatably installed to the main body  24 . The tightening wheel  24  is installed to pass through the main body  21 . Accordingly, the tightening wheel  24  may be rotated and exposed to an upper surface of the main body  21 . In addition, the tightening wheel  24 , which is located on a lower surface of the main body  21 , is formed with an internal gear  24   a  engaging with the fixing gear  23 . The internal gear  24   a  is formed with teeth along an inner peripheral surface of the tightening wheel  24  and engages with the fixing gear  23 . 
     The wire  25  connects ends of the coupling portions  22  to the tightening wheel  24 . Ends of the wire  25  are fixed to the other ends of the coupling portions  22  in a state in which the wire  25  is wound around the tightening wheel  24 . Accordingly, when the wire  25  is further wound around the tightening wheel  24  by rotating the tightening wheel  24 , the coupling portions  22  slide to be inserted into the main body  21 . 
     Here, the teeth of the fixing gear  23  and the internal gear  24   a  are formed such that the tightening wheel  24  may be rotated only in one direction in which the wire  25  is further wound. That is, the teeth of the fixing gear  23  and the internal gear  24   a  are formed such that reversal rotation is impossible. Therefore, the fixing gear  23  restrains rotation of the internal gear  24   a  such that the tightening wheel  24  is rotatable in a direction (counterclockwise direction in  FIG. 6 ) in which the wire  25  is wound, whereas the tightening wheel  24  is not rotatable in the other direction, thereby restricting the rotation of the tightening wheel  24 . For example, the teeth of the fixing gear  23  and the internal gear  24   a  define an inclined surface at a portion which abuts each other in a direction in which the wire  25  is wound around the tightening wheel  24 , and define a vertical surface at a portion which abuts each other in the other direction. 
     The main body  21  may be formed with a guide  26  or  26 ′ to guide each of the sliding coupling portions  22 . 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the guide  26  is formed to support both sides of the coupling portions  22 , or as shown in  FIG. 8 , the guide  26 ′ surrounds the outside of the coupling portions  22 . Consequently, the sides of the coupling portion  22  are supported when the coupling portion  22  slides relative to the main body  21 , thereby enabling the coupling portion  22  to be slidably guided. 
     Hereinafter, an operation of the connector cover in an eco-friendly vehicle will be described according to the present disclosure having the above-mentioned configuration. 
     The connector  10  for an electronic part in the eco-friendly vehicle is covered by the connector cover  20  in the eco-friendly vehicle. 
     First, the main body  21  is mounted to the connector  10 . When the main body  21  is mounted to the connector  10 , the main body  21  having a plate form covers the outside of the connector  10 . 
     When main body  21  is mounted to the connector  10 , the tightening wheel  24  rotates. When the tightening wheel  24  rotates using a tool, the wire  25  is further wound around the tightening wheel  24 , and the pair of coupling portions  22  pulled by the wire  25  slide in a direction of being inserted into the main body  21 . The pair of coupling portions  22  are installed to each side of the main body  21 . Therefore, when the pair of coupling portions  22  slide to be inserted into the main body  21 , the outsides of the connector  10  are pressed against the coupling portions  22  while the coupling portions  22  are moved toward each other. 
     In this case, when the tightening wheel  24  rotates, the internal gear  24   a  of the tightening wheel  24  engages with the fixing gear  23 , such that the tightening wheel  24  cannot reversely rotate. Accordingly, the tightening wheel  24  is rotatable only in a direction in which the wire  25  is wound. Thus, although the coupling portions  22  may be tightened to be further pressed against the outsides of the connector  10 , the tightening wheel  24  is not rotatable in the other direction. Consequently, the coupling portions  22  cannot be released. 
     The main body  21  has the fastening hole  21   a  through which a fastening bolt passes. The main body  21  may be fastened to the connector  10  by the fastening bolt. Before or after the main body  21  is fastened to the connector  10  by tightening the coupling portions  22 , the main body  21  is fastened to the connector  10  by the fastening bolt. The main body  21  is fastened to the connector  10  in such a manner, so that the main body  21  and the connector  10  may be coupled to each other without being separated from each other. 
     Hereinafter, a method of fastening the connector cover in an eco-friendly vehicle will be described according to the present disclosure. 
     The method of fastening the connector cover  20  in the eco-friendly vehicle described above to the outside of the connector  10  includes a width adjustment step S 110  which adjusts a width between the coupling portions  22  by sliding the coupling portions  22  such that the width is larger than a width of the connector  10 . A cover mounting step S 120  mounts the cover  20  to the outside of the connector  10 . A coupling portion tightening step S 130  grasps sides of the connector  10  by ends of the coupling portions  22  such that the coupling portions  22  support the sides of the connector  10  and maintain the grasped state using the tightening means installed to the cover  20 . A fastening bolt fastening step S 140  fastens the main body  21  to the connector  10  by the fastening bolt which passes through the main body  21  and is fastened to the connector  10 . 
     In the width adjustment step S 110 , the coupling portions  22  of the cover  20  are inserted into the main body  21  to a proper level by sliding, thereby moving both ends of the coupling portions  22  to a proper position. 
     In the cover mounting step S 120 , the cover  20  is temporarily mounted to a surface of the connector  10  to which the cover  20  is fastened. 
     In the coupling portion tightening step S 130 , the coupling portions  22  are coupled by grasping the sides of the connector  10  by the tightening means provided in the cover  20 . That is, when the wire  25  is wound around the tightening wheel  24  by rotating the tightening wheel  24 , the coupling portions  22  grasp the sides of the connector  10  while being inserted into the main body  21 . In this case, since the internal gear  24   a  of the tightening wheel  24  engages with the fixing gear  23  such that reversal rotation is impossible, the coupling portions  22  maintain a state of grasping the connector  10 . 
     In the fastening bolt fastening step S 140 , the main body  21  is fastened to the connector  10  by a fastening bolt which passes through the main body  21  and is fastened to the connector  10 , and thus fastening the connector cover  20  in the eco-friendly vehicle to the connector  10  is completed. 
     As described above, since the connectors for various electronic parts in an eco-friendly vehicle are fastened and covered using the connector cover in the eco-friendly vehicle, it may be possible to prevent a variety of accidents arising from contact with the connector by unskilled workers. 
     In addition, by providing the cover above the engine room for protecting various power conversion devices in the conventional eco-friendly vehicle of the connector, it may be possible to improve fuel efficiency by decreasing the size of the cover and reduce the cost required to manufacture the cover. 
     In accordance with a connector cover in an eco-friendly vehicle and a method of fastening the same having the above-mentioned configuration according to the present disclosure, since a connector mounted in the eco-friendly vehicle is fastened to the connector cover so as to be covered from the outside thereof, it may be possible to previously prevent accidents arising from contact with the connector by unskilled workers. 
     In addition, the present disclosure may be applied regardless of the size of the connector for an electronic part. 
     Moreover, since the size of the cover used to cover a power conversion device or an engine in the eco-friendly vehicle may be reduced compared to the related art, it may be possible to improve fuel efficiency by decreasing weight of the cover and reduce the cost to manufacture the cover. 
     While the present disclosure has been described with respect to the specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.