Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric vehicle
charging stand installed in a service area of a motorway, a
parking lot of a commercial facility, a parking lot of an
apartment building or other like places.
Background of the Invention
In recent years, attention is paid to a hybrid car
powered by both an internal combustion engine (e.g., a
gasoline engine or a diesel engine) and an electric motor,
and an electric vehicle powered by an electric motor alone.
There cars are capable of reducing emission of carbon
dioxide and consumption of petroleum (e.g., gasoline or
diesel oil) and are better for the environment.
Up to now, the majority of hybrid cars are of the type
in which a secondary battery is charged during travel.
However, it is expected that there will be soon commercially
available a hybrid, car of the type in which a secondary
battery is charged with a commercial AC power source (AC 100
V or 200 V) during parking. In this hybrid car, an electric
motor initially works and an internal combustion engine
works as a backup when the electric charge of the secondary
battery is depleted. This type of hybrid car is called a

plug-in hybrid car.
In order for electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars
(hereinafter collectively referred to as "electric
vehicles") to become widespread, there is a need to prepare
infrastructures for charging secondary batteries. More
specifically, multiple power sources (sockets) usable by the
general public need to be installed in public spaces such as
a service area of a motorway, a parking lot of a commercial
facility and a parking lot of an apartment building.
In this regard, as one example of sockets installed in
an outdoor area, there is conventionally provided a socket
device (also called a power feed pole) which includes a pole
with a lower portion embedded in the ground, and sockets
arranged in the pole and connected to power feed lines
branched from household power distribution boards of
individual houses (inside houses) (see, e.g., Patent document
1} .
In the power feed pole described in Patent document 1,
a casing with a door is attached to the upper portion of a
cylindrical pole. Two sockets are accommodated within the
casing. Power plugs are inserted into the sockets in the
casing in a state that the door of the casing is opened.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application
Publication No. H10-223339
In case where the power feed pole described above is
used as an electric vehicle charging stand, at most two

electric vehicles can be simultaneously charged with one
electric vehicle charging stand (power feed pole). However,
in order to charge three or more electric vehicles at the
same time, it is necessary either to install a plurality of
electric vehicle charging stands (power feed poles) or to
install another type of electric vehicle charging stand
(power feed pole) in which three or more sockets are
arranged in a casing. Accordingly, when one wishes to
increase the number of sockets in keeping with the increase
in the penetration rate of electric vehicles, there is a
need to newly install an electric vehicle charging stand
(power feed pole).
There is also proposed an electric vehicle charging
stand which includes a stand body provided with a plurality
of storage spaces and installed on a ground surface on which
electric vehicles are parked and a socket unit provided with
a box-shaped housing with a front side opened and sockets
held in the housing. The socket unit is removably stored in
one of the storage space of the stand body. This charging
stand can adapt itself to the increase in the number of
sockets and can carry out maintenance works such as
repairing or replacing more efficiently.
However, the charging stand referred to above suffers
from a problem in that the terminal portions of the sockets
are hidden inside the housing, which makes it difficult to
perform a task of connecting a power feed cable to the

terminal portions of each of the sockets.
Summary of the Invention
In view of the above, the present invention provides
an electric vehicle charging stand capable of making it easy
to perform a task of electrically connecting a power feed
cable to the terminal portions of a socket.
[0009] In accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention, there is provided an electric vehicle charging
stand including: a stand body; and a socket unit stored
within the stand body. Herein, the socket unit includes a
socket, a housing for holding the socket in place and
connection terminals connected to power cables and power
feed terminals of the socket, and the connection terminals
are exposed outside the housing.
Further, the stand body may be provided with at least
one storage space defined therein and is installed upright
on a ground surface on which electric vehicles are parked,
and the socket unit may be removably stored within the
storage space. The socket may have the power feed terminals
and an insertion hole to which a plug of a power feed cable
for use in charging the electric vehicles is removably
inserted. The housing may be formed into a forwardly-opened
box shape to have an internal space and may be configured to
hold the socket such that the insertion hole is exposed to

the internal space with the power feed terminals of the
socket kept hidden. The socket unit may further include a
terminal block having the connection terminals such that the
power cables are connected to the power feed terminals of
the socket through the terminal block and the terminal block
may be attached to the housing such that the connection
terminals are exposed outside the housing.
With such configuration, the power feed terminals of
the socket and the terminal block are electrically connected
to each other at the manufacturing step of the charging
stand, and, at the installation step, the power cables are
connected to the connection terminals of the terminal block
exposed outside of the housing. This provides an advantage
in that the task of electrically interconnecting the power
feed terminals of the socket and the power cables can be
performed with ease.
Further, the stand body may have an internal space
divided into a wiring space for arrangement of the power
cables and the storage space by a partition wall installed
upright along a vertical direction. The partition wall has
a hole through which the terminal block stored in the
storage space is exposed to the wiring space.
With such configuration, the inside of the stand body
is divided into the wiring space for arrangement of the
power cables and the storage space by the partition wall
installed upright along the vertical direction. The

terminal block of the socket unit is arranged to be exposed
to the wiring space through the hole. This provides an
advantage in that the task of connecting the. power cables to
the connection terminals of the terminal block can be
performed with ease.
Further, the wiring space may be provided with a space
for installation of an earth leakage breaker interposed
between the power cables and the connection terminals of the
terminal block.
With such configuration, the space for installation of
the earth leakage breaker interposed between the power
cables and the connection terminals of the terminal block is
provided in the wiring space within the stand body.
Accordingly, the accident due to the electricity leakage can
be easily prevented by interposing the earth leakage breaker
between the power cables and the socket.
In accordance with the present invention, it is
possible to easily perform a task of electrically connecting
a power feed cable to the terminal portions of a socket.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The objects and features of the present invention will
become apparent from the following description of
embodiments, given in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view showing an
electric vehicle charging stand in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention, which is seen at the
right rear side thereof;
Fig. 2 is a front view of the charging stand;
Fig. 3 is a section view of the charging stand taken
along line III-III' shown in Fig. 2 ;
Fig. 4 is a section view of the charging stand taken
along line IV-IV shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a front perspective view showing the outward
appearance of the charging stand;
Fig. 6 is a right side view of the charging stand;
Fig. 7 is a rear view of the charging stand;
Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the charging stand;
Fig. 9 is a front perspective view showing a socket
unit employed in the charging stand;
Fig. 10 is a rear perspective view showing the socket
unit employed in the charging stand;
Fig. 11 is a partial perspective view of the charging
stand, which is seen at the front side thereof;
Fig. 12 is a partial rear view of the charging stand
with a back plate omitted; and
Fig. 13 is a schematic configuration view
schematically illustrating the connection relationship
between a socket, a terminal block and an earth leakage
breaker in the charging stand.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will
be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,
which form a part hereof. Throughout the drawings, like
reference numerals will be given to like parts, and
redundant description thereof will be omitted.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, an electric vehicle
charging stand in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention includes a stand body 1 installed upright
on a ground surface on which electric vehicles are parked
and a socket 20 having an insertion hole 20a (see Fig. 3)
into which a power plug 110 of a power feed cable 100 for
use in charging an electric vehicle (hereinafter referred to
as a charging cable) is removably inserted.
The stand body 1 is formed into a polygonal tube shape
with open front, top and bottom sides by assembling three
elongated rectangular metal plates (a left plate 2, a right
plate 3 and a back plate 4) together. The upper opening of
the stand body 1 is closed by a flat box-shaped cover 5. An
attachment plate 6 is attached to the inner surfaces of the
left plate 2 and the right plate 3 in a parallel
relationship with the back plate 4 (see Figs. 3 and 4). The
attachment plate G is formed of a rectangular metal plate.
The substantially transverse (horizontal) center portion of

the attachment plate 6 is bent into a step-like shape along
the front-rear direction. In other words, the interior of
the stand body 1 is divided into front and rear spaces by
the attachment plate 6. Each of the socket units 10 to be
described later is stored in the front space defined at the
front side of the attachment plate 6. An earth leakage
breaker 200 and power cables 50 (see Fig. 13) to be
described later are stored (arranged) in the rear space
defined at the rear side of the attachment plate 6. A
plurality of screw holes 6a for use in attaching the socket
units 10 and the earth leakage breaker 200 is pierced in the
attachment plate 6 at a regular interval along the up-down
direction and the left-right direction.
An upper panel 7A and a lower panel 7B, both of which
have a rectangular plate shape, are attached to the
uppermost and lowermost portions of the front side of the
stand body 1. In the front space extending from the lower
end of the upper panel 7A to the upper end of the lower
panel 7B, four storage spaces 8 for storing socket units 10
are arranged one below another along the up-down direction.
However, the number of the storage spaces 8 is not limited
to four but may be, e.g., two, three, five or more.
Referring to Fig. 9, each of the socket units 10
includes a box-shaped housing 11 having a front opening 11a,
a socket block 12 held within the housing 11, a door 13
horizontally swingable between a closing position (see Fig.

5) where the opening 11a is closed and an opening position
where the opening 11a is opened, and a synthetic-resin-made
unit cover 16 covering the upper portion of the housing 11.
As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the housing 11 has a back plate
11b, the substantially transverse center portion of which is
bent into a step-like shape along the front-rear direction.
The socket block 12 is arranged at one corner (the left
corner) where the depth from the opening 11a to the back
plate 11b is larger than at the other corner.
The socket block 12 includes a socket 20 having a
rectangular box-shaped main body 20b with an insertion hole
20a formed on the front surface thereof and a flat socket
panel 21 having a fit hole 21a to which the front end
portion of the socket 20 is fitted. The socket 20 is
attached to the socket panel 21 at the rear side of the
socket panel 21. The socket panel 21 is formed into a
substantially hexagonal shape and is attached to the left
corner of the housing 11 so that the lower end of the socket
panel 21 can be positioned more rearward than the upper end
thereof and the right end of the socket panel 21 can be
positioned more rearward than the left end thereof. The
socket 20 is stored within the spaced surrounded by the
inner wall surfaces of the housing 11 and the socket panel
21. The insertion hole 20a of the socket 20 is exposed to
the internal space of the housing 11 through the fit hole
21a of the socket panel 21.

The socket 20 is well-known in the art and includes
plug-pin receivers (not shown) for receiving contactors
(plug pins) of a plug 110 inserted into the insertion hole
20a and terminals 20c and 20d (see Fig. 13) for connecting
the plug-pin receivers to external electric wires 60 (see
Fig. 13). The plug-pin receivers and the terminals 20c and
2 0d are arranged within a main body 2 0b made of an
insulating material.
Since the socket panel 21 is attached within the
housing 11 so that the lower end of the socket panel 21 can
be positioned more rearward than the upper end thereof and
the right end of the socket panel 21 can be positioned more
rearward than the left end thereof, the insertion and
removal direction of the plug 110 with respect to the
insertion hole 20a of the socket 20 attached to the socket
panel 21 is obliquely intersected with the opening 11a in
the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. In
other words, the direction of the insertion hole 20a (the
direction normal to the front surface of the socket 20) is
inclined rightward and downward with respect to the
direction of the opening 11a (the direction normal to the
opening surface of the opening 11a) (see Figs. 2 and 3).
As shown in Figs. 10 and 13, a terminal block 22 is
attached to the rear surface of the housing 11. The
terminal block 22 includes first connection terminals 22c
and 22d connected to the terminals 20c and 20d of the socket

2 0 through the through-holes (not shown) formed in the back
plate 11b (in reality, through an interlock device 23 to be
described later) and second connection terminals 22a and 22b
to which the electric wires 60 connected to the secondary
terminals of the earth leakage breaker 200 as set forth
below are connected. In other words, since the socket 20 is
stored within the space surrounded by the inner wall
surfaces of the housing 11 and the socket panel 21, the
connection task can be easily performed by attaching the
terminal block 22 to the outside of the housing 11 and
interconnecting the terminals 20c and 20d and the external
electric wires 60 through the terminal block 22.
The door 13 is formed into a flat rectangular box
shape. As shown in Fig. 9, the left end portion of the door
13 is pivotally attached to the front left end portion of
the housing 11 by a pair of upper and lower hinges 14. A
lock device 15 is attached to the rear surface of the door
13. The lock device 15 has a key hole 15a exposed to the
front surface of the door 13 (see Fig. 2). When the door 13
is in the closing position, a gap (lead-out hole), through
which a charging cable 100 is led out, is formed between the
lower end of the door 13 and the front lower end of the
housing 11 (see Fig. 2).
As shown in Fig. 9, each of the socket units 10
includes an interlock device 23 for switching off the
electric connection to the socket 20 when the door 13 is not

in the closing position and switching on the electric
connection to the socket 20 only when the door 13 is in the
closing position. The interlock device 23 is well-known in
the art and includes an actuator 23a pressed by a U-like
drive piece 13a arranged on the rear surface of the door 13.
When the door 13 is in the closing position, the actuator
23a is pressed by the drive piece 13a to allow an electric
power to flow to the socket 20 through a power feed path.
When the door 13 is not in the closing position, the
actuator 23a is not pressed by the drive piece 13a to
interrupt the flow of the electric power to the socket 20
through the power feed path.
Each of the socket units 10 configured as above is
stored into the storage space 8 of the stand body 1 from the
front side of the stand body 1 and is fixed to the stand
body 1 by screw-fixing the housing 11 to the attachment
plate 6. As stated above, four storage spaces 8 having the
same size are arranged one below another along the up-down
direction within the stand body 1. Each of the socket units
10 can be stored into any one of the four storage spaces 8.
In this regard, the attachment plate 6 has a plurality of
rectangular holes 6b formed in a corresponding relationship
with the storage spaces 8. If the socket units 10 are
stored within the storage spaces 8, the terminal block 22
attached to the rear surface of the housing 11 is inserted
into each of the holes 6b and is exposed to the space (the

wiring space 9 shown in Figs. 3 and 4) defined at the rear
side of the attachment plate 6 (see Figs. 10 and 12). While
the socket units 10 are stored within all the four storage
spaces 8 in the present embodiment, it is not always
necessary to store the socket units 10 into all the four
storage spaces 8. It is only necessary that at least one of
the socket units 10 be stored within one of the storage
spaces 8.
As shown in Figs. 3, 4, 12 and 13, the earth leakage
breaker 200 is attached to the rear surface of the
forwardly-protruding portion (the left portion in Fig. 12)
of the attachment plate 6 and is arranged within the wiring
space 9. Power cables 50, through which an AC power is
supplied from a commercial AC power source, are led into the
wiring space 9 through the cable insertion holes la formed
in the bottom surface of the stand body 1 and are arranged
within the wiring space 9 (see Fig. 8). The power cables 50
arranged within the wiring space 9 are connected to the
primary side of the earth leakage breaker 200. The
secondary side of the earth leakage breaker 200 is connected
to the first connection terminals 22a and 22b (the
connection terminals existing within the wiring space 9) of
the terminal block 22 by the electric wires 60. The second
connection terminals 22c and 22d (the connection terminals
existing within the housing 11) of the terminal block 22 are
connected to the terminals 20c and 20d of the socket 20

through the interlock device 23. The wiring task set forth
above can be easily performed by merely removing the back
plate 4 of the stand body 1.
Next, description will be made on the use order of the
electric vehicle charging stand in accordance with the
present embodiment. First, the door 13 is opened and the
contactors of the plug 110 of the charging cable 100 are
inserted into the insertion hole 20a of the socket 20,
thereby connecting the plug 110 to the socket 20. Since the
insertion hole 20a of the socket 20 is positioned at the
left side within the housing 11 and the direction of the
insertion hole 20a is inclined rightward and downward with
respect to the direction of the opening 11a, a large enough
space required in inserting and removing the plug 110 can be
secured within the housing 11. This makes it possible to
easily perform the inserting task of the plug 110. Further,
even in the rainy weather, the rainwater entering the
housing 11 through the opening 11a is hard to reach the
insertion hole 20a.
After connecting the plug 110 to the socket 20, the
door 13 is closed and the lock device 15 is locked with a
key (not shown).
If the insertion hole of the socket faces
substantially frontward in the horizontal direction with
respect to the opening of the socket-storing casing as in
the power feed pole disclosed in Patent document 1, the

lead-out position of the power feed cable (the charging
cable) having the plug connected to the socket substantially
coincides with the position of the insertion hole of the
socket in the horizontal direction. Therefore, if a
plurality of sockets is arranged one below another along the
vertical direction, the hanging power feed cable overlaps
with the insertion holes of the below-positioned sockets
when seen at the front side. This poses a problem in that
it becomes difficult to connect the plugs of other power
feed cables to the sockets positioned below.
In the present embodiment, however, the respective
sockets 20 are arranged within the stand body 1 (within the
socket units 10) so that the direction of the insertion hole
2 0a can be inclined rightward and downward with respect to
the direction of the opening 11a. Accordingly, even when
the plug 110 of the charging cable 100 is connected to the
upper-positioned socket 20, the charging cable 100 hanging
from the opening 11a does not overlap with the insertion
holes 20a of the below-positioned sockets when seen at the
front side. This makes it easy to connect the plugs 110 of
other charging cables 100 to the sockets 20 positioned
below.
As shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of (e.g., three) cable
Holders (retainers) 40 is attached to the outer
circumferential surface (the right surface in the present
embodiment) of the stand body 1. Referring to Figs. 4 to 7,

each of the cable holders 40 is formed by bending a band-
like metal plate into a substantially U-like cross-sectional
shape. The cable holders 40 are screw-fixed to the right
plate 3 of the stand body 1 in the vicinity of the second
through fourth storage spaces 8 from above so that the
longitudinal direction thereof can extend in the up-down
direction with the groove thereof facing backward.
Accordingly, if the charging cable 100 leading to the
outside (front side) of the stand body 1 through the opening
11a (the lead-out hole) is fitted to the groove of each of
the cable holders 40 and is held in place by each of the
cable holders 40, the doors 13 of the socket units 10
positioned below can be opened without being significantly
hindered by the charging cable 100 having the plug 110
connected to the socket 20 positioned thereabove. Even when
the charging cable 100 is pulled inadvertently, it is
possible to relieve the tension applied to the plug 110 and
to prevent the plug 110 from being removed from the
insertion hole 20a of the socket 20. This is because the
charging cable 100 is held in place by each of the cable
holders 40.
In the present embodiment, three cable holders 40 are
arranged along the up-down direction in different positions
shifted in the front-rear direction of the stand body 1.
Thus, the plurality of charging cables 100 held by the cable
holders 4 0 do not become an obstacle with respect to one

another. In the present embodiment, the cable holder 40
positioned relatively downward is arranged more frontward of
the stand body 1 than the cable holder 40 positioned
relatively upward. For that reason, the cable holder 40
positioned relatively downward lies more frontward of the
stand body 1 than the charging cable 100 held by the cable
holder 40 positioned relatively upward (see Figs. 5 and 6).
This provides an advantage in that the charging cable 100
held by the cable holder 40 positioned relatively upward
does not become an obstacle when the charging cable 100 is
held in the cable holder 40 positioned relatively downward.
If an electric vehicle is fully charged, the lock
device 15 is unlocked to open the door 13 and the plug 110
is removed from the insertion hole 20a of the socket 20.
When the door 13 is kept opened, the electric connection to
the socket 20 is switched off by the interlock device 23.
The makes it possible to prevent occurrence of an electric
shock accident when inserting and removing the plug 110 to
and from the insertion hole 20a of the socket 20.
As described above, the charging stand in accordance
with the present embodiment includes the stand body 1 having
one or more storage spaces 8 and the socket units 10
removably stored within the storage spaces 8 of the stand
body 1. Each of the socket units 10 includes the socket 20
having the power feed terminals 20c and 20d and the
insertion hole 20a to which the plug 110 of the charging

cable 100 for charging the electric vehicle is removably
inserted, the housing 11 formed into a forwardly-opened box
shape and configured to hold the socket 20 so that the
insertion hole 20a can be exposed to the internal space of
the housing 11 with the power feed terminals 20c and 20d
kept hidden, and the terminal block 22 having the connection
terminals 22a and 22b to which the power cables 50 are
connected, the terminal block 22 being configured to connect
the power cables 50 to the terminals 20c and 20d of the
socket 20. The terminal block 22 is attached to the housing
11 so that the connection terminals 22a and 22b can be
exposed to the outside of the housing 11. Therefore, the
terminals 20c and 20d of the socket 20 and the terminal
block 22 are electrically connected to each other at the
manufacturing step of the charging stand, and, at the
installation step, the power cables 50 are connected to the
connection terminals 22a and 22b of the terminal block 22
exposed to the outside of the housing 11. This provides an
advantage in that the task of electrically interconnecting
the terminals 20c and 20d of the socket 20 and the power
cables 50 can be performed with ease.
The inside of the stand body 1 is divided into the
wiring spaces 9 for arrangement of the power cables 50 and
the storage spaces 8 by the partition wall (the attachment
plate 6) installed upright along the vertical direction.
The attachment plate 6 has the holes 6b through which the

terminal blocks 22 of the socket units 10 stored in the
storage spaces 8 is exposed to the wiring spaces 9. If the
inside of the stand body 1 is divided into the storage
spaces 8 and the wiring spaces 9 for arrangement of the
power cables 50 by the attachment plate 6 and if the
terminal blocks 22 of the socket units 10 are arranged to be
exposed to the wiring spaces 9 through the holes 6b, there
is provided an advantage in that the task of connecting the
power cables 50 to the connection terminals 22a and 22b of
the terminal blocks 22 can be performed with ease.
The space for installation of the earth leakage
breaker 200 interposed between the power cables 50 and the
connection terminals 22a and 22b of the terminal blocks 22
is provided in the wiring space 9 within the stand body 1.
This provides an advantage in that the accident due to the
electricity leakage can be easily prevented by interposing
the earth leakage breaker 200 between the power cables 50
and the socket 20. In case where the earth leakage breaker
200 is installed between the power cables 50 and the
commercial AC power source, it is not always necessary to
install the earth leakage breaker 200 in the wiring space 9
of the stand body 1.
While the invention has been shown and described with
respect to the embodiments, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that various changes and modification may
be made without departing from the scope of the invention as

defined in the following claims.

We claim:
1. An electric vehicle charging stand comprising:
a stand body; and
a socket unit stored within the stand body,
wherein the socket unit includes a socket, a housing
for holding the socket in place and connection terminals
connected to power cables and power feed terminals of the
socket, and the connection terminals are exposed outside the
housing.
2. The electric vehicle charging stand of claim 1, wherein
the stand body is provided with at least one storage space
defined therein and is installed upright on a ground surface
on which electric vehicles are parked, and the socket unit
is removably stored within the storage space,
wherein the socket has the power feed terminals and an
insertion hole to which a plug of a power feed cable for use
in charging the electric vehicles is removably inserted,
wherein the housing is formed into a forwardly-opened
box shape to have an internal space and is configured to
hold the socket such that the insertion hole is exposed to
the internal space with the power feed terminals of the
socket kept hidden, and
wherein the socket unit further includes a terminal
block having the connection terminals such that the power

cables are connected to the power feed terminals of the
socket through the terminal block and the terminal block is
attached to the housing such that the connection terminals
are exposed outside the housing.
3. The electric vehicle charging stand of claim 2, wherein
the stand body has an internal space divided into a wiring
space for . arrangement of the power cables and the storage
space by a partition wall installed upright along a vertical
direction, the partition wall having a hole through which
the terminal block stored in the storage space is exposed to
the wiring space.
4. The stand of claim 3, wherein the wiring space is
provided with a space for installation of an earth leakage
breaker interposed between the power cables and the
connection terminals of the terminal block.

ABSTRACT

An electric vehicle charging stand includes a stand
body and a socket unit stored within the stand body. The
socket unit has a socket, a housing for holding the socket
in place and connection terminals connected to power cables
and power feed terminals of the socket. The connection
terminals are exposed outside the housing.