US-12620821-B2 - Power supply equipment

US12620821B2US 12620821 B2US12620821 B2US 12620821B2US-12620821-B2

Abstract

A charging stand is power supply equipment being storable under a ground, and includes: an electrical component for supplying electric power to a vehicle on the ground (e.g., a control device, a power supply circuit, an actuator, a connector, a touch panel display, a communication device, a notification device, and a cable reel device); and a buoyancy generation portion causing a specific component that is at least a part of the electrical component and for which submersion is avoided (e.g., the control device, the power supply circuit, the actuator, the connector, the touch panel display, the communication device, the notification device, and the cable reel device) to float above the ground by buoyancy when water is accumulated in a recess. With the above, when water is accumulated in the recess, the specific component for which submersion is avoided among the electrical component can be floated above the ground by buoyancy.

Inventors

Shigeki Kinomura

Assignees

TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220812
Priority Date: 20210924

Claims (9)

1 . Power supply equipment that is storable in a storage portion under a ground, the power supply equipment comprising: an electrical component including a power supply port for supplying electric power to a vehicle on the ground; a buoyancy generation portion that floats a specific component that is at least a part of the electrical component and for which submersion is avoided above the ground when water is accumulated in the storage portion; a housing that includes the power supply port built in the housing, the housing including: a fixed housing disposed above the buoyancy generation portion and fixed to a top surface of the buoyancy generation portion, and a movable housing that includes the specific component built in the movable housing and that is displaceable between a position at which the power supply port is housed under the ground and a position at which the power supply port is exposed on the ground; and an electric actuator that raises and lowers the movable housing, wherein the fixed housing and the buoyancy generation portion have a cylindrical shape, wherein the movable housing has a larger diameter than that of the fixed housing, and the movable housing is disposed outside the fixed housing such that central axes of the movable housing and the fixed housing coincide with each other, and wherein the movable housing is displaceable in a vertical direction along an outer peripheral surface of the fixed housing.
2 . The power supply equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy generation portion floats the movable housing above the ground.
3 . The power supply equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy generation portion floats the movable housing and the fixed housing above the ground.
4 . The power supply equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy generation portion includes a hollow and sealed box.
5 . The power supply equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy generation portion includes a block made of a substance having a lower specific gravity than a specific gravity of water.
6 . The power supply equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy generation portion is a block made of foamed styrene.
7 . The power supply equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical component further includes a power cable, and wherein the fixed housing includes a cable reel device configured to unreel the power cable.
8 . The power supply equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy generation portion includes a housing that is hollow and sealed.
9 . The power supply equipment according to claim 8 , wherein the movable housing has the cylindrical shape corresponding to the shape of the fixed housing such that the movable housing and the fixed housing form a column shape, and wherein the electric actuator raises and lowers the movable housing with respect to the fixed housing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-155176 filed on Sep. 24, 2021, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to power supply equipment, and more particularly to power supply equipment that can be stored in a storage portion under the ground. 2. Description of Related Art Charging equipment for charging a power storage device mounted on a vehicle or the like is installed in, for example, a parking lot or a sidewalk. However, the charging equipment occupies the installation space, and therefore may interfere with walking or traveling of the vehicle. Therefore, for example, a technique for storing the charging equipment under the ground has been devised, such as a charging pole disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5475407 (JP 5475407 B). SUMMARY The charging equipment as described above can be stored under the ground. Therefore, there is a risk of being submerged in the event of heavy rain such as sudden downpour. The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned issue, and an object thereof is to provide power supply equipment that can suppress electrical components from being submerged. Power supply equipment according to the present disclosure is power supply equipment that is storable under a ground, and includes: an electrical component for supplying electric power to a vehicle above the ground; and a buoyancy generation portion that floats a specific component that is at least a part of the electrical component and for which submersion is avoided above the ground when water is accumulated in the storage portion. With the configuration above, when water is accumulated in the underground storage portion in which the power supply equipment is stored, the specific component for which submersion is avoided of the electrical component can be floated above the ground by buoyancy. As a result, it is possible to provide the power supply equipment capable of suppressing submersion of the electrical component. The power supply equipment may further include a housing that includes the electrical component built in the housing. The electrical component may include a power supply port that supplies electric power to the vehicle on the ground. The housing may include a fixed portion fixed to a bottom surface of the storage portion, and a movable portion that includes the specific component built in the movable portion and that is displaceable between a position at which the power supply port is housed under the ground and a position at which the power supply port is exposed on the ground. The power supply equipment may further include an electric actuator that raises and lowers the movable portion. With the configuration above, when the specific component is not submerged, the power supply port for supplying electric power to the vehicle on the ground can be exposed on the ground by raising the movable portion. The buoyancy generation portion may float the movable portion above the ground. With the configuration above, it is possible to suppress the specific component built in the movable portion among the electrical components from being submerged. The buoyancy generation portion may float the movable portion above the ground. With the configuration above, it is possible to suppress the electrical component that is built in the fixed portion and other than the specific component, in addition to the specific component built in the movable portion among the electrical components. The buoyancy generation portion may include a hollow and sealed box. With the configuration above, the specific component can float above the ground by the buoyancy of the hollow and sealed box. The buoyancy generation portion may include a block made of a substance having a lower specific gravity than a specific gravity of water. With the configuration above, the specific component can float above the ground by the buoyancy of the block made of a substance having a smaller specific gravity than that of water. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide the power supply equipment capable of suppressing submersion of the electrical components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 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: FIG. 1 is a diagram showing configurations of a vehicle and power supply equipment according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a movable portion is raised; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first layout example of charging stands; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second layout example of the charging stands; and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state of the charging stand 300 when the recess is submerged. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing configuration