WO2023010382A1

WO2023010382A1 - Cooling contact termnal, cooling contact system and high power charging system

Info

Publication number: WO2023010382A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/110738
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zhigang Wang; Shiyong Wang
Original assignee: Itt Cannon Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd.
Priority date: 2021-08-05
Filing date: 2021-08-05
Publication date: 2023-02-09
Also published as: CN220535422U

Abstract

A cooling contact terminal (10) and a cooling contact system (100) including the cooling contact terminal (10) are provided. The cooling contact terminal (10) includes a contact body (11), a cooling path (12), disposed in the contact body (11) and configured for cooling at least a part of the contact body (11), and an insulation wall (13), at least partially disposed in the cooling path(12), wherein the insulation wall (13) is made of an insulation material. Further a high power charging system (200) including a charging station and a charging gun (210) is provided. The charging gun (210) comprises at least one cooling contact system (100). The cooling contact terminal (10) can provide a good cooling effect and improve sealing performance.

Description

COOLING CONTACT TERMNAL, COOLING CONTACT SYSTEM AND HIGH POWER CHARGING SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of charging technology, and more particularly to a cooling contact terminal, a cooling contact system and a high power charging system.

BACKGROUND

Nowadays, new energy vehicles have been favored by more and more consumers, and the importance of charging system related to new energy vehicles is gradually highlighted. When charging new energy vehicles, a charging terminal or cable of a charging gun will be heated due to their own resistance, which will cause safety problems.

In a current cooling contact system, an insulation wall is disposed outside of a contact terminal by over molding or press fitting, and other additional components are needed to form a sealing system with the insulation wall. The cooling contact system can cool the contact terminal to some extent, but there are still some sealing problems due to its structure and manufacturing process.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provides a cooling contact terminal, a cooling contact system and a high power charging system, which can provide a good cooling effect, and improve sealing performance.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a cooling contact terminal is provided. The cooling contact terminal includes a contact body, a cooling path partially disposed in the contact body and configured for cooling the contact body, and an insulation wall disposed between the cooling path and the contact body, wherein the insulation wall is configured to insulate the cooling path from the contact body.

In some embodiments, the insulation wall includes a first end and a second end, and an elongating direction of the first end is perpendicular to an elongating direction of the second end, wherein the contact body has a top, a bottom and a periphery between the top and the bottom, the first end is configured to insulate the contact body from a first portion of the cooling path extending outside the periphery of the contact body, and the second end is configured to insulate the contact body from a second portion of the cooling path extending outside the bottom of contact body.

In some embodiments, the insulation wall further includes a tube section connecting the first end and the second end, and the tube section is configured for insulating the contact body from a third portion of the cooling path inside the contact body.

In some embodiments, the cooling contact terminal further includes a touch cap disposed on the top of the contact body of the cooling contact terminal.

In some embodiments, a limit flange is formed on a periphery of the contact body to limit a contact position of the contact body.

In some embodiments, the cooling contact terminal further includes an O-ring disposed around the limit flange of the contact body for providing a sealing function.

In some embodiments, the cooling contact terminal further includes a sealing system disposed between the second end of the insulation wall and the cooling path.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a cooling contact system for a high power charging system is provided. The cooling contact system includes: at least two cooling contact terminals, wherein each cooling contact terminal includes a contact body, a cooling path partially disposed in the contact body and configured for cooling the contact body, and an insulation wall disposed between the cooling path and the contact body, wherein the insulation wall is configured to insulate the cooling path from the contact body; and a connection tube, configured to connect the cooling path in each of the cooling contact terminals to form a cooling loop.

In some embodiments, the insulation wall further includes a tube section connecting the first end and the second end, and the tube section is configured for insulating a corresponding contact body from a third portion of the cooling path inside the corresponding contact body.

In some embodiments, each cooling contact terminal further includes a touch cap disposed on the top of the contact body.

In some embodiments, each cooling contact terminal further includes a limit flange formed on the periphery of the contact body to limit a contact position of the contact body.

In some embodiments, each cooling contact terminal further includes an O-ring disposed around the limit flange of the contact body for providing a sealing function.

In some embodiments, each cooling contact terminal is connected with a cable, and a cooling liquid tube of the cable is configured to connect with a corresponding second end of the insulation wall.

In some embodiments, a sealing system is disposed between the insulation wall of a corresponding cooling contact terminal and the cooling liquid tube of the cable.

In some embodiments, the sealing system includes a sealing ring disposed between the insulation wall of the corresponding cooling contact terminal and the cooling liquid tube of the cable.

In some embodiments, the sealing system further includes a compression ring configured to press the sealing ring.

In some embodiments, the sealing system further includes a tube clamp configured to fix the cooling liquid tube of the cable.

In some embodiments, the cooling contact system further includes: a holding cover configured to hold the sealing system into the contact body.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a high power charging system is provided. The high power charging system includes a charging station and a charging gun, wherein the charging gun includes at least one cooling contact system according to any one of preceding embodiments.

Compared with the conventional technology, the embodiments of the present disclosure have following beneficial effects.

According to some embodiments, the cooling path is formed in the contact body, and an insulation wall is disposed between the contact body and the cooling path, thus the insulation can be ensured even when a conductive cooling liquid is used in the cooling path.

According to some embodiments, a sealing system is disposed at the second end of the insulation wall, so as to improve sealing performance.

According to some embodiments, the cooling contact system for a high power charging system includes at least two cooling contact terminals and a connection tube configured to connect the at least two cooling contact terminals, thus the two cooling contact terminals can be assembled separately and assembled together with the connection tube.

According to some embodiments, a sealing system is disposed between the insulation wall of corresponding cooling contact terminal and the cooling liquid tube of the cable. The sealing system includes a sealing ring disposed between the insulation wall and the cooling liquid tube of the cable, a compression ring configured to press the sealing ring, and a tube clamp configured to fix the cooling liquid tube. With the arrangement of the sealing system, the sealing performance of the cooling contact system can be ensured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the cooling contact system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a high power charging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the high power charging system of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that there is no intent to limit the present disclosure to the particular forms disclosed herein; rather, the present disclosure is intended to be construed to cover various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of embodiments of the present disclosure. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to designate similar elements.

As used herein, the expressions “have” , “may have” , “include” , and “may include” refer to the existence of a corresponding feature (e.g., a numeral, a function, an operation, or an element such as a component) , but does not exclude one or more additional features.

The expressions “a first” , “a second” , “the first” , and “the second” used in various embodiments of the present disclosure may modify various components regardless of order and/or importance but is not intended to limit the corresponding components. For example, a first device and a second device indicate different devices although both of them are devices. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being (operatively or communicatively) “connected, ” or “coupled, ” to another element (e.g., a second element) , the element may be directly connected or coupled directly to the other element or any other element (e.g., a third element) may be interposer between them. In contrast, it may be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being “directly connected, ” or “directly coupled” to another element (e.g., a second element) , there is no element (e.g., a third element) interposed between them.

As mentioned in the background, when charging new energy vehicles, a charging terminal or cable of a charging gun will be heated due to their own resistance, which will cause safety problems.

In order to resolve above problem, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a cooling contact terminal. The cooling contact terminal includes a contact body, a cooling path partially disposed in the contact body and configured for cooling the contact body, and an insulation wall disposed between the cooling path and the contact body, wherein the insulation wall is configured to insulate the cooling path from the contact body. Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a cooling contact system including at least two cooling contact terminals. The cooling contact system may be used for a high power charging system, and the cooling contact system adopts water or conductive oil as a cooling matter for cooling contact terminals or cables of the high power charging system.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a cooling contact system 100 for a high power charging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the cooling contact system 100 of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cooling contact system 100 includes two cooling contact terminals, i.e., a first cooling contact terminal 10 and a second cooling contact terminal 20.

The first cooling contact terminal 10 includes a contact body 11, a cooling path 12, and an insulation wall 13. The cooling path 12 is partially disposed in the contact body 11 and configured for cooling the contact body 11. The insulation wall 13 is disposed between the cooling path 12 and the contact body 11, and the insulation wall 13 is configured to insulate the cooling path 12 from the contact body 11. The insulation wall 13 may be made of an insulation material, such as high-thermal conductivity resin. The insulation wall 13 may be disposed in the contact body 11 by insert molding. In other embodiments, the insulation wall 13 may also be disposed in the contact body 11 by painting or other process.

The second cooling contact terminal 20 includes a contact body 21, a cooling path 22, and an insulation wall 23. The cooling path 22 is partially disposed in the contact body 21 and configured for cooling the contact body 21. The insulation wall 23 is disposed between the cooling path 22 and the contact body 21, and the insulation wall 23 is configured to insulate the cooling path 22 from the contact body 21. The insulation wall 23 may be made of an insulation material, such as high-thermal conductivity resin. The insulation wall 23 may be disposed in the contact body 21 by insert molding. In other embodiments, the insulation wall 23 may also be disposed in the contact body 21 by painting or other process.

The cooling contact system 100 further include a connection tube 30 configured to connect the cooling path 12 of the first cooling contact terminal 10 and the cooling path 22 of the second cooling contact terminal 20 to form a cooling loop in the first cooling contact terminal 10 and the second cooling contact terminal 20.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the insulation wall 13 includes a first end 131 and a second end 132, and an elongating direction of the first end 131 is perpendicular to an elongating direction of the second end 132. The contact body 11 has a top, a bottom and a periphery between the top and the bottom. The first end 131 is configured to insulate the contact body 11 from a first portion of the cooling path 12 extending outside the periphery of the contact body 11, and the second end 132 is configured to insulate the contact body 11 from a second portion of the cooling path 12 extending outside the bottom of contact body 11. The insulation wall 13 further includes a tube section 133 connecting the first end 131 and the second end 132. The tube section 133 is configured for insulating the contact body 11 from a third portion of the cooling path 12 inside the contact body 11. The third portion of the cooling path 12 is between the first portion and the second portion of the cooling path 12.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the insulation wall 23 includes a first end 231 and a second end 232, and an elongating direction of the first end 231 is perpendicular to an elongating direction of the second end 232. The contact body 12 has a top, a bottom and a periphery between the top and the bottom. The first end 231 is configured to insulate the contact body 21 from a first portion of the cooling path 22 extending outside the periphery of the contact body 21, and the second end 232 is configured to insulate the contact body 21 from a second portion of the cooling path 22 extending outside the bottom of contact body 21. The insulation wall 23 further includes a tube section 233 connecting the first end 231 and the second end 232. The tube section 233 is configured for insulating the contact body 21 from a third portion of the cooling path 22 inside the contact body 21. The third portion of the cooling path 22 is between the first portion and the second portion of the cooling path 22.

In the present disclosure, the top of the contact body refers to an end to be inserted into a socket of a vehicle, and the bottom of the contact body refers to an end to be connected with a cable.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a sealing member 41 is disposed between a first end 31 of the connection tube 30 and the first end 131 of the insulation wall 13 of the first cooling contact terminal 10, and a sealing member 42 is disposed between a second end 32 of the connection tube 30 and the first end 231 of the insulation wall 23 of the second cooling contact terminal 20.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first cooling contact terminal 10 further includes a touch cap 14 disposed on the top of the contact body 11 of the first cooling contact terminal 10, and the second cooling contact terminal 20 further includes a touch cap 24 disposed on the top of the contact body 21 of the second cooling contact terminal 20. The touch cap 14 and the touch cap 24 may be made of an insulation material so as to prevent shock hazard caused by a user touching the contact terminal carelessly.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a limit flange 111 is formed on the periphery of the contact body 11 of the first cooling contact terminal 10 to limit a contact position of the contact body 11 in a charging gun. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an O-ring 112 is disposed around the limit flange 111 for providing a sealing function to prevent water from entering into the charging gun and ensuring IP (Ingress Protection) grade of the high power charging system.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a limit flange 211 is formed on the periphery of the contact body 21 of the second cooling contact terminal 20 to limit a contact position of the contact body 21 in the charging gun. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an O-ring 212 is disposed around the limit flange 211 for providing a sealing function to prevent water from entering into the charging gun and ensuring IP grade of the high power charging system.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first cooling contact terminal 10 is connected with a cable, for example, a positive cable (not shown in the figure) , and the positive cable has a cooling liquid tube 510 connected with the second end 132 of the insulation wall 13 of the first cooling contact terminal 10. The positive cable further incudes a power line 511 electrically connected with the contact body 11 of the first cooling contact terminal 10.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second cooling contact terminal 20 is connected with a cable, for example, a negative cable (not shown in the figure) , and the negative cable has a cooling liquid tube 520 connected with the second end 232 of the insulation wall 23 of the second cooling contact terminal 20. The negative cable further incudes a power line 521 electrically connected with the contact body 21 of the second cooling contact terminal 20.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a sealing system 610 is disposed between the insulation wall 13 of the first cooling contact terminal 10 and the cooling liquid tube 510 of the positive cable, so as to ensure a sealing connecting performance. The sealing system 610 may include a sealing ring 611, a compression ring 612 and a tube clamp 613. The sealing ring 611 is disposed between the insulation wall 13 of the first cooling contact terminal 10 and the cooling liquid tube 510 of the positive cable. The compression ring 612 is configured to press the sealing ring 611. The tube clamp 613 is configured to fix the cooling liquid tube 510. Further, a holding cover 614 is configured to hold the sealing system 610 into the contact body 11 of the first cooling contact terminal 10. With the arrangement of the sealing system, the sealing performance of the high power charging system can be improved.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a sealing system 620 is disposed between the insulation wall 23 of the second cooling contact terminal 20 and the cooling liquid tube 520 of the negative cable, so as to ensure a sealing connecting performance. The sealing system 620 may include a sealing ring 621, a compression ring 622 and a tube clamp 623. The sealing ring 621 is disposed between the insulation wall 23 of the second cooling contact terminal 20 and the cooling liquid tube 520 of the negative cable. The compression ring 622 is configured to press the sealing ring 621. The tube clamp 623 is configured to fix the cooling liquid tube 520. Further, a holding cover 624 is configured to hold the sealing system 620 into the contact body 21 of the second cooling contact terminal 20. With the arrangement of the sealing system, the sealing performance of the high power charging system can be improved.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a high power charging system 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the high power charging system 200 of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the high power charging system 200 includes a charging station (not shown in the figure) and a charging gun 210. The charging gun 210 includes at least one cooling contact system 100. The charging gun 210 may also include other structures and components known in the art, which will not be described in detail here.

In practice use, under the action of a power pump, the cooling fluid flows into the insulation wall 13 of the first cooling contact terminal 10 through the cooling liquid tube 510, passes through the connection tube 30, flows into the insulation wall 23 of the second cooling contact terminal 20, and then flows out from the cooling liquid tube 520, thereby forming a circulation of the cooling liquid. The contact terminals and cables of the charging gun 210 can be cooled during the circulation process of the cooling liquid, which can effectively avoid the overheating of the charging gun in the charging process.

The terms used herein are merely for the purpose of describing certain embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. A singular expression may include a plural expression unless they are definitely different in a context. Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, have the same meanings as those commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary may be interpreted to have meanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not intended to be interpreted to have ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the present disclosure. In some cases, even a term defined in the present disclosure should not be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments disclosed herein are provided merely to easily describe technical details of the present disclosure and to help the understanding of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the present disclosure include all modifications or various other embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

A cooling contact terminal, comprising:

a contact body;

a cooling path, partially disposed in the contact body and configured for cooling the contact body; and

an insulation wall, disposed between the cooling path and the contact body, wherein the insulation wall is configured to insulate the cooling path from the contact body.
The cooling contact terminal according to claim 1, wherein the insulation wall comprises a first end and a second end, and an elongating direction of the first end is perpendicular to an elongating direction of the second end, wherein the contact body has a top, a bottom and a periphery between the top and the bottom, the first end is configured to insulate the contact body from a first portion of the cooling path extending outside the periphery of the contact body, and the second end is configured to insulate the contact body from a second portion of the cooling path extending outside the bottom of contact body.
The cooling contact terminal according to claim 2, wherein the insulation wall further comprises a tube section connecting the first end and the second end, and the tube section is configured for insulating the contact body from a third portion of the cooling path inside the contact body.
The cooling contact terminal according to claim 3, further comprising:

a touch cap disposed on the top of the contact body of the cooling contact terminal.
The cooling contact terminal according to claim 3, wherein a limit flange is formed on a periphery of the contact body to limit a contact position of the contact body.
The cooling contact terminal according to claim 5, further comprising:

an O-ring disposed around the limit flange of the contact body for providing a sealing function
The cooling contact terminal according to claim 3, further comprising:

a sealing system disposed between the second end of the insulation wall and the cooling path.
A cooling contact system for a high power charging system, comprising:

at least two cooling contact terminals, wherein each cooling contact terminal comprises a contact body, a cooling path partially disposed in the contact body and configured for cooling the contact body, and an insulation wall disposed between the cooling path and the contact body, wherein the insulation wall is configured to insulate the cooling path from the contact body; and

a connection tube, configured to connect the cooling path in each of the cooling contact terminals to form a cooling loop.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 8, wherein the insulation wall comprises a first end and a second end, and an elongating direction of the first end is perpendicular to an elongating direction of the second end, wherein the contact body has a top, a bottom and a periphery between the top and the bottom, the first end is configured to insulate the contact body from a first portion of the cooling path extending outside the periphery of the contact body, and the second end is configured to insulate the contact body from a second portion of the cooling path extending outside the bottom of contact body.
The contact terminal according to claim 9, wherein the insulation wall further comprises a tube section connecting the first end and the second end, and the tube section is configured for insulating a corresponding contact body from a third portion of the cooling path inside the corresponding contact body.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 10, wherein each cooling contact terminal further comprises:

a touch cap disposed on the top of the contact body.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 10, wherein each cooling contact terminal further comprises: a limit flange formed on the periphery of the contact body to limit a contact position of the contact body.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 12, wherein each cooling contact terminal further comprises:

an O-ring disposed around the limit flange of the contact body for providing a sealing function.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 10, wherein each cooling contact terminal is connected with a cable, and a cooling liquid tube of the cable is configured to connect with a corresponding second end of the insulation wall.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 14, wherein a sealing system is disposed between the insulation wall of a corresponding cooling contact terminal and the cooling liquid tube of the cable.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 14, wherein the sealing system comprises a sealing ring disposed between the insulation wall of the corresponding cooling contact terminal and the cooling liquid tube of the cable.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 16, wherein the sealing system further comprises a compression ring configured to press the sealing ring.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 17, wherein the sealing system further comprises a tube clamp configured to fix the cooling liquid tube of the cable.
The cooling contact system for a high power charging system according to claim 18, further comprising:

a holding cover configured to hold the sealing system into the contact body.
A high power charging system, comprising: a charging station and a charging gun, wherein the charging gun comprises at least one cooling contact system according to any one of claims 8 to 19.