WO2012052184A1

WO2012052184A1 - Plug part of a plug-type apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2012052184A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/005327
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jörg SÖFKER; Jens Andresen; Frank Best
Original assignee: Phoenix Contact Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 2010-10-21
Filing date: 2011-10-21
Publication date: 2012-04-26
Also published as: DE102010049032B4; DE102010049032A1

Abstract

The invention presents and describes a plug part (1) of a plug-type apparatus (2), in particular a charging plug-type apparatus for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle to a power source, having a plug side (3), having a line connection side (4) and having a plurality of contact elements (5) which extend in the plugging direction (S), wherein the contact elements (5) have a first, pin- or socket-like end (6) for establishing an electrically conductive connection to the corresponding ends (7) of the mating contact elements (8) of a second plug part (9), and a second end (10) to which an electrical line (11) is connected in each case. The plug part (1) according to the invention can have relatively small dimensions since the second end (10) of at least one contact element (5) is formed such that the electrical line (11) is connected transverse to the longitudinal direction of the contact element (5) and therefore also traverse to the plugging direction (S) of the plug-type apparatus (2).

Description

Plug part of a plug-in device

The invention relates to a plug part of a plug-in device, in particular a charging plug device for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle with a power source, with a plug side, with a line connection side and with a plurality of contact elements extending in the plug-in direction, wherein the contact elements a first, pin or socket-shaped Have end for electrically conductive connection with the corresponding ends of the mating contact elements of a second connector part and a second end to which an electrical line is connected in each case. In addition, the invention also relates to a charging cable for connecting an electric drive of an electric vehicle to a power source, with two plug parts.

In the context of the present invention, the plug part can be both an actual plug and a socket or socket. A connector part designed as a plug part generally has pin-shaped contact elements, while a plug socket or socket designed as a plug part usually has socket-shaped contact elements. Regardless of this preferred assignment of the contact elements to the plug or the socket or socket, it is ultimately only crucial that the two plug-in device forming plug parts are formed so corresponding to each other and having such mutually corresponding contact elements that during mating of the two connector parts, the respective contact elements and Gegenkontaktelemen- te are electrically connected to each other. The side of the male part which is connected to the other male part is called the male side and the side of the male part to which the electric wires are connected is called the lead terminal side.

While conventional motor vehicles generally have an internal combustion engine in the form of a gasoline or diesel engine as an energy converter and a fuel tank as energy storage, electric vehicles have an electric motor as an energy converter and a battery as energy storage. As the battery of an electric vehicle while driving as well as the

CONFIRMATION COPY Fuel tank "drained", the battery must be recharged from time to time. For this purpose, the arranged in the electric vehicle battery must be electrically connected to a corresponding charging station. For this purpose, a plug part in the form of a charging socket or a charging plug is provided on the electric vehicle, which is connected via appropriate running in the interior of the electric vehicle electrical lines with the battery and possibly with other fittings in the vehicle. About a charging cable, which has a corresponding connector part, the battery in the vehicle can then be connected to the charging station, the second end of the charging cable is either fixed to the charging station or can be detachably connected via a corresponding plug-in device with the charging station.

The requirements that have to meet such charging plugs are relatively complex. Since the plug parts of such charging plugs bear relatively high voltages and high currents can flow through the charging plug device, it must be ensured, for example, that the charging plug device can only be released without load and the contact elements of the plug parts are arranged berührschutzsicher. An electrical connector for electric vehicles, which is to ensure a safe disconnection of the connector is described for example in DE 10 2007 010 515 B3. DE 20 2009 017 314 U1 discloses an electric plug provided as a charging plug for electric vehicles, in which contact with the contact elements is to be avoided in that the electrical plug has contact protection caps which are fastened to the contact elements by means of latching.

Another problem that may occur in particular - but not exclusively - in plug parts of a charging connector for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle with a power source, in the relatively large dimensions have such connector parts. The reason for this is on the one hand that the individual contact elements of the plug part to ensure the required creepage distances must not fall below a certain minimum distance from each other. On the other hand, the electrical leads connected to the individual contact elements must not fall below a permissible bending radius, so that certain minimal dimensions result when forming an angled plug-in part. There the permissible minimum bending radius is directly proportional to the diameter of the connected electrical line and this in turn depends on the height of the current to be transmitted, the space requirement of such an angled connector part is relatively large, especially when relatively high currents, for example currents of up to 63 amps, to be transmitted.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of specifying an initially described plug part of a plug-in device, in particular a charging plug device for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle to a power source, which has the smallest possible dimensions or in its use or installation as little space is needed.

This object is achieved according to the invention in the connector part described above in that the second end of at least one contact element is formed so that the electrical line is connected transversely to the longitudinal direction of the contact element and thus also transversely to the plug-in direction of the plug device. Due to the fact that according to the invention the electrical line or the electrical lines are not in the insertion direction of the plug-in device, d. H. are connected in the longitudinal direction of the contact elements to this, the dimensions of the plug part are no longer determined by the allowable minimum bending radius of the connected electrical conductors. As a result, a plug part with significantly smaller dimensions can be realized or the space required by the plug part and the connected lines is no longer determined by the permissible bending radius of the lines.

It has previously been stated that the second end of at least one contact element is formed so that the electrical line is connected transversely to the longitudinal direction of the contact element. Preferably, in the plug part according to the invention a plurality of contact elements are formed according to that the respective electrical lines are connected transversely to the longitudinal direction of the contact elements, namely in particular the contact elements to which the lines are connected with the largest cross sections. On the other hand, cables with a relatively small cross section in longitudinal direction of the contact elements and thus connected in the insertion direction of the plug-in device to the respective second ends of the contact elements. Since lines with a smaller cross-section have a much smaller permissible bending radius, the space required by the plug part and the lines connected thereto is not significantly increased when lines are connected with a small cross-section in the longitudinal direction of the contact elements to this and only then bent. According to one embodiment of the plug part according to the invention, the electrical line is detachably connected to the second end of the at least one contact element. The second end of the contact element can then have, for example, an external thread section or an internally threaded section, and the end of the electrical line can be connected to a fastening element having a recess, in particular to a cable lug. The detachable connection between the electrical line and the second end of the contact element can then be done simply by plugging the fastening element with its recess on the male threaded portion and then secured with a nut. If the second end of the contact element has an internally threaded section, then the fastening element which is electrically conductively attached to the electrical line can be arranged with its recess on the internally threaded section such that it is fastened to the contact element with a screw screwed into the internal thread through the recess.

According to an alternative embodiment of the plug part according to the invention, the second end of the contact element on an angled mounting portion, which extends transversely to the direction of insertion of the plug-in device. At this attachment portion, which may be formed similarly to a cable lug, the electrical line can then be connected directly, for example by crimping or soldering.

To ensure sufficient insulation of the individual contact elements to one another, these are preferably surrounded by corresponding housing sections of non-conductive material. The housing sections are preferably formed and dimensioned so that the contact elements surrounded by them are arranged Berührschutzsicher, so that contact of one of the contact elements is reliably prevented by a person.

If the plug part according to the invention is arranged inside a vehicle, then the lines provided for transmitting the charging current are connected at one end to the second end of the corresponding contact elements and at the other end to the battery arranged in the vehicle. Other lines that are connected to other contact elements of the connector part may be connected to other fixtures in the vehicle, for example with an evaluation unit, through which the respective state of charge of the battery can be transmitted to the charging station, so that the amount of current can be determined accordingly , If the plug part is arranged as a charging plug or charging socket on the vehicle, then it is not necessary for the lines running inside the vehicle to be connected to a common cable and to be surrounded by a common cable jacket. Accordingly, it is not necessary for the plug part then to have a housing surrounding all contact elements.

If the male connector according to the invention, however, connected to a charging cable, so both the individual lines are generally combined with a cable sheath to a common cable, as well as the individual contact elements surrounded by a common housing, said on the housing usually both a strain relief as also a seal to the cable takes place.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the plug part has a locking element, by means of which the plug part can be locked after being connected to the second plug part. By arranging and forming such a locking element can thus be prevented that the plug connection between the two plug parts is separated by mistake during the charging process.

The invention further relates to a charging cable for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle to a power source, wherein the charging cable has at two connector parts, of which at least one is formed according to the above-described connector part according to the invention. Preferably, both connector parts are formed accordingly, wherein according to an embodiment of the charging cable both connector parts are identical, so that it does not matter which connector part is connected to the vehicle and which connector part with the charging station.

In particular, there are now a variety of ways to design and further develop the plug part according to the invention or the charging cable according to the invention. Reference is made to both the claims subordinate to claim 1 and to the following description of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawings. In the drawing show

Fig. 1 is a simplified representation of a trained as a socket

Connector parts according to the prior art, in section,

2 is a simplified representation of an outlet formed as a plug connector according to the invention, in section,

2 with two different mounting options for electrical lines, in section,

4 shows a simplified illustration of the line connection side of a plug part according to the invention,

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a plug-in device with two plug parts according to the invention, and

Fig. 6, the plug-in device according to FIG. 5, partially cut.

1 to 4 each show in a highly simplified, schematic representation of a plug part 1 of a plug-in device 2 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, by means of which in particular a battery of an electric vehicle with a charging station designed as a power source for charging the battery can be connected , The plug part 1 has a plug side 3, a lead 4 and a plurality of contact elements 5, which extend in the insertion direction S of the plug-in device 2.

The individual contact elements 5 each have a first end 6 for the electrically conductive connection with the corresponding end 7 of a counter-contact element 8 of a second connector part 9 and a second end 10, to each of which an electrical line 1 1 is connected or connected can be. As the connector side 3 while the side of the connector part 1 is designated, which faces the second connector part 9, while the side to which the lines 1 1 are connected, is referred to as the line connection side 4.

In the plug-in part 1 according to the prior art shown in Fig. 1, the electrical wires 1 1 in the longitudinal direction of the contact elements 5 and thus also in the insertion direction S of the plug device 2 are connected, since the plug direction S is the direction is referred to, in which the two connector parts 1 and 9 are interconnected. If the lines 1 1 on the line connection side 4 of the connector part 1 not continue to extend in the insertion direction S, the lines 1 1 must be bent, as shown in Fig. 1. The required space of the plug part 1 and the lines 11 connected thereto is determined in particular by the minimum allowable bending radius R of the lines 1 1, which is directly proportional to the cross section of the lines. When using lines 11 with a relatively large cross-section, as they are required for the transmission of high currents, therefore, the space requirement of the connector part 1 and the connected lines 11 is relatively large. This is particularly disadvantageous if the plug part 1 is arranged as part of a charging plug device within an electric vehicle, of which only one body section 12 is shown in the figures.

2, this problem is solved in that the second ends 10 of the contact elements 5 are formed such that the electrical leads 11 are transverse to the longitudinal direction of the contact elements 5 and thus also transversely to the plug-in direction S of the plug-in device 2 are connected to the contact elements 5. As can be seen immediately from FIG. 2, the ends of the lines 11 are lowered. right to the longitudinal direction of the contact elements 5 brought to this, so that the lines 11 can also be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the contact elements 5 and the insertion direction S away from the contact elements 5 without the lines 11 must be bent. The case of relatively thick lines 1 1 the space required permissible minimum bending radius R thus plays in the connector part 1 according to the invention and the connected lines 1 1 no longer matter. As can be seen directly from a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 2, the space requirement of the plug part 1 and the lines 1 1 connected thereto in the plug part 1 according to the invention is considerably lower, since the lines 11 can run much closer to the vehicle inner wall 12.

In Fig. 3, two possible structural configurations of the second ends 10 of the contact elements 5 are shown. The upper contact element 5 shown in FIG. 3 has an externally threaded section 13, while the lower contact element 5 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with an internally threaded section 14. At both contact elements 5, an electrical line 1 1 can be connected simply by the fact that the stripped end of the electrical line 1 1 is connected to a cable lug 15. The line 1 1 can then be simply plugged with the cable lug 15 on the male threaded portion 13 of the contact element 5 and then secured with a nut 16. Alternatively, an electrical lead 11 with the cable lug 15 fastened thereto can be fastened to the lower contact element 5 shown in FIG. 3 by means of a screw 17, by screwing the screw 17 into the internally threaded section 14 of the contact element 5. The attachment of the stripped end of the line 11 with a cable lug 15 can be done for example by crimping or soldering.

As an alternative to the embodiment shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the second ends 10 of the contact elements 5 may also be formed so that they have an angled mounting portion which extends transversely to the insertion direction S of the plug-in device 2, in which case to the end of this angled Fixing portion, the electric wire 11 is attached directly. Such an angled mounting portion, for example, similar to a cable lug by soldering or crimping with the stripped end of the line 1 1 are connected. From the simplified illustration of a plug part 1 according to the invention from the line connection side 4 according to FIG. 4 it can be seen that the electrical lines 11 not only - as shown in Fig. 2 - from below but from the side or from above to the second ends 10 of the contact elements 5 can be connected. Since in the illustration of FIG. 4, the plug-in direction S is perpendicular to the plane, each line 1 1 is connected transversely to the direction of insertion S, regardless of the angle at which it runs in the plane.

5 and 6 show a possible embodiment of a plug-in device 2 according to the invention with two plug parts 1 and 9 corresponding to one another. If the plug-in device 2 is a charging plug device for connecting the battery of an electric vehicle to a charging station, then this may occur the connector part 9 shown in Fig. 5 and 6 left of the body section 12 to the vehicle mounted on the electric vehicle vehicle connector and at the right of the body portion 12 shown plug part 1 act around the charging socket connected to a charging cable. The plug part 9 thus belongs to the vehicle side, while the plug part 1 of the infrastructure side, d. H. the side with the charging station, can be attributed. Which of the two plug parts 1, 9 is referred to as a plug or socket, is of no significance in the context of the present invention. In general, the plug part, the contact elements 5 are formed as pins, as a plug and the plug part, the corresponding mating contact elements 8 are formed as sockets, referred to as a socket. This also results in the previously selected designation of the right plug part 1 as a charging socket and the left plug part 9 as a charging or vehicle plug.

It is also apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6 that individual contact elements 5 of the plug part 1 or individual mating contact elements 8 of the second plug part 9 are surrounded by housing sections 18, whereby the individual contact elements 5 or the mating contact elements 8 are insulated from one another and protected against contact shock in the plug part 1 or in the second plug part 9 are arranged. The arranged on the infrastructure side plug part 1 - the charging socket - is also surrounded by a common housing 19 ben, which usually also - surrounds a cable sheath, not shown here, which surrounds the individual lines 1 1.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 5 and 6, the electrical lines 1 1 are connected transversely to the longitudinal direction of the contact elements 5 only at two contact elements 5 and two counter contact elements 8, while at the other contact elements 5 and the other Gegenkontaktele- elements 8, the lines 1 Γ are connected in the longitudinal direction of the contact elements 5 and the mating contact elements 8 and thus in the insertion direction S. Since the lines 1 Γ have a small cross section than the lines 11 provided for transmitting the charging current, the permissible bending radius R of the "thin" electrical lines 1 Γ is significantly smaller than the permissible bending radius of the "thick" electrical lines 1 1, so that the connection of the lines 1 in the longitudinal direction of the contact elements 5, 8 and the subsequent bending of the lines 1 Γ less critical to the dimensions of the connector parts 1, 9 or the space required by the connector parts 1, 9 and the connected lines 11 space. The lines 11 provided for transmitting the charging current preferably have a cross section of more than 16 mm, for example 35 mm or more, while the lines 11 ', which are also used for data transmission, for example, preferably have a cross section of not more than 16 mm exhibit.

Run the lines 1 1, 1 1 ¹ with a relatively small distance perpendicular to the vehicle, so also reduces the by the weight of the lines 11, 1 1 'at the contact area between the connector parts 1, 9 attacking moment, which also mechanical Connection and attachment of a charging cable on the vehicle plug simplified.

Claims

claims:

1. plug part of a plug-in device (2), in particular a charging connector for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle with a power source, with a connector side (3), with a line connection side (4) and with a plurality of in the insertion direction (S) extending contact elements

(5),

wherein the contact elements (5) a first, pin or socket-shaped end

(6) for electrically conductive connection with the corresponding ends (7) of the mating contact elements (8) of a second plug part (9) and a second end (10), to each of which an electrical line (1 1) is connected,

characterized,

the second end (10) of at least one contact element (5) is formed such that the electrical line (11) is connected transversely to the longitudinal direction of the contact element (5) and thus also transversely to the plug-in direction (S) of the plug-in device (2).

2. Plug part according to claim 1, characterized in that the second end (10) of the at least one contact element (5) is releasably connected to the electrical line (1 1).

3. Plug part according to claim 2, characterized in that the second end (10) of the at least one contact element (5) has an externally threaded portion (13) or an internally threaded portion (14) and the end of the electrical line (11) having a recess Fastening element, in particular a cable lug (15) is connected, so that the fastening element by means of a nut (16) on the male threaded portion (13) or by means of a screw (17) on the female threaded portion (14) of the second end (10) of the at least a contact element (5) is attached.

4. plug part according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second end (10) of the at least one contact element (5) has a abgewin- celt fixing portion which extends transversely to the direction of insertion (S) of the plug-in device (2) and to which the end of the electrical line (11) is attached.

5. Plug part according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the individual contact elements (5) isolated from each other and touch-safe in the plug part (1) are arranged.

6. Plug part according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the individual contact elements (5) surrounding the housing (19) is provided, wherein on the housing (19) preferably a locking element is arranged, through which the plug part (1) to the connection with the second plug part (9) can be locked.

7. plug part of a charging connector for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle with a power source according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least five contact elements (5) are provided, wherein at least two contact elements (2) are provided for transmitting the charging current and wherein the lines (1 1) connected to these contact elements (5) have a cross-section of at least 16 mm ² , preferably of at least 35 mm.

8. Plug part according to claim 7, characterized in that at least one contact element (5) is not provided for transmitting the charging current but for data transmission, wherein the said contact element (5) connected to line (1) preferably has a cross-section of not more than 16 mm ² and wherein the second end (10) of this contact element (5) is formed so that the electrical line (1 1 ') in the longitudinal direction of the contact element (5) and thus also in the insertion direction (S) of the plug-in device (2) is connected.

9. charging cable for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle with a power source, with two plug parts (1, 9), wherein at least one of the two plug parts (1, 9) is designed according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. charging cable according to claim 9, characterized in that the two plug parts (1, 9) are identical.

11. Use of a plug part (1, 9) according to one of claims 1 to 8 as a vehicle socket or vehicle plug of an electric vehicle or as a charging socket or charging plug of a charging station.