A pantograph docking device

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of new energy vehicle charging equipment, and specifically relates to a pantograph docking device, which includes at least one set of copper busbar assemblies and a supporting housing. The copper busbar assembly includes at least one flexible conductive cable and a plurality of finger contacts fixedly arranged on the conductive cable. A gap is formed between adjacent finger contacts. The supporting housing is provided with a receiving space, and the copper busbar assembly is limited and fixed in the receiving space. At least a part of the finger contact protrudes from the supporting housing to contact with the vehicle-mounted busbar on the vehicle to be charged to form an electrical connection, solving the technical problems of arcing and ablation caused by inevitable warping of the pantograph copper busbar during the contact process with the vehicle-mounted copper busbar in the prior art.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of new energy vehicle charging equipment, and specifically to a pantograph docking device. Background Art

[0002] Pantograph charging is one of the main charging methods for new energy buses. Due to the special use of buses, it is not very suitable for fixed-point charging. Therefore, the application of pantograph devices installed on bus stops has been gradually promoted, enabling new energy buses to be charged when they arrive at the station, thus improving efficiency.

[0003] However, in the actual use of the pantograph, the charging contact of the pantograph adopts a "cross" contact of two rigid copper bars to achieve current conduction. Different from the conventional method of using bolts to compress two copper bars to ensure electrical conductivity, when the vehicle stops for charging and stops charging when the vehicle moves during actual use of the pantograph, the time is short, and only external force can be used to temporarily compress the two copper bars. However, due to the "cross" contact, the pantograph copper bar and the vehicle-mounted copper bar form a cantilever beam structure, and the pantograph copper bar is inevitably warped during the actual charging process, resulting in poor contact. In the long term, it is easy to cause arcing, ablation, etc., thus posing a safety risk. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the technical problem of arcing and ablation caused by inevitable warping of the pantograph copper bar and the vehicle-mounted copper bar during the contact process in the prior art, the present invention provides a pantograph docking device to solve the above technical problems.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problems is as follows:

[0006] The present invention provides a pantograph docking device, including at least one group of copper bar assemblies and a support housing. The copper bar assembly includes at least one flexible conductive cable and a plurality of fingers fixedly arranged on the conductive cable. A gap is formed between adjacent fingers. The support housing is provided with an accommodation space, and the copper bar assembly is limited and fixed in the accommodation space. At least a part of the fingers protrudes from the support housing to contact the vehicle-mounted busbar on the vehicle to be charged to form an electrical connection.

[0007] Further, the copper bar assembly includes at least two conductive cables, and a plurality of fingers are fixedly arranged on adjacent two conductive cables in an alternating manner.

[0008] Further, the fingers are fixed on the conductive cable by ultrasonic welding.

[0009] Further, the copper bar assembly further includes a fixing member and a rigid member. The fixing member is sleeved at both ends of the conductive cable and forms a connection part, and the adjacent connection parts are filled with the rigid member.

[0010] Further, the connecting part of the copper bar assembly is fixed to the support housing by fixing bolts.

[0011] Further, the fixing bolts fasten the copper bar assembly to the support housing through a compression cap with a flange. The end face of the flange of the compression cap abuts closely against the copper bar assembly, and the compression cap abuts closely against the fixing bolts.

[0012] Further, insulators are also provided on one side of the support housing away from the vehicle-mounted busbar, and the insulators are fixed at both ends of the support housing.

[0013] Further, the end face of the end of the finger protruding from the support housing is configured to be arc-shaped.

[0014] Further, the contact surface of the vehicle-mounted busbar in contact with the finger is also configured to be arc-shaped.

[0015] Based on the above structure, the technical effects that the present invention can achieve are as follows:

[0016] The pantograph docking device of the present invention forms an electrical connection through the hard contact between the fingers provided on the flexible conductive cable and the vehicle-mounted busbar for charging. Specifically, when a finger just comes into contact with the vehicle-mounted busbar, an external force can be continuously applied to make multiple fingers contact the vehicle-mounted busbar to form a sufficient contact area. At the same time, different from the technical problem that the spring finger of the watchband will be tight at one end and loose at the other end after long-term use, resulting in unreliable current-carrying capacity, when the finger of the pantograph docking device of the present invention contacts the vehicle-mounted busbar, although the contact force between each finger and the vehicle-mounted busbar is different, because the actual working condition determines the magnitude of the overall pressure of the pantograph, and when the finger contacts the vehicle-mounted busbar, it is still a hard contact formed under the action of an external force due to its own characteristics. Under the condition of a certain overall pressure, the total effective contact area between the finger and the vehicle-mounted busbar can still ensure that the change amount of each contact resistance is within 10%. Thereby, the stability of the pantograph docking device of the present invention is greatly improved, and the occurrence of situations such as arcing and ablation caused by poor contact is avoided. Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1 is the overall structural schematic diagram of the pantograph docking device of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 is the exploded schematic diagram of the pantograph docking device of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 is the schematic diagram of the embodiment in which the copper bar assembly of the present invention includes two conductive cables;

[0020] Figure 4 is Figure 3Top view;

[0021] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment in which the copper busbar assembly of the present invention includes a conductive cable.

[0022] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the support housing of the pantograph docking device of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 7 It is an enlarged view of the end of the pantograph docking device of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the compression cap of the pantograph docking device of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram when the finger of the pantograph docking device of the present invention contacts the vehicle-mounted busbar.

[0026] Wherein: 1 - copper busbar assembly, 11 - conductive cable, 12 - finger, 13 - gap, 14 - fixing member, 15 - rigid member; 2 - support housing, 21 - insulator, 22 - compression cap, 221 - flange, 23 - rib plate; 3 - vehicle-mounted busbar. Detailed implementation manners

[0027] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is actually only illustrative and in no way restrictive of the present invention and its application or use. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] It should be noted that the terms used herein are only for describing specific implementation manners and are not intended to limit the exemplary implementation manners according to the present application. As used herein, unless otherwise clearly specified in the context, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. In addition, it should be understood that when the terms "include" and / or "comprise" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components and / or their combinations.

[0029] Unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of components and steps, numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention. At the same time, it should be understood that, for the sake of convenience of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn in actual proportional relationships. Technologies, methods, and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the said technologies, methods, and devices should be regarded as part of the authorization specification. In all the examples shown and discussed here, any specific value should be construed as merely exemplary and not as a limitation. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values. It should be noted that: like reference numerals and letters denote like items in the following drawings, and thus, once an item is defined in one drawing, further discussion thereof is not required in subsequent drawings.

[0030] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationships indicated by orientation terms such as "front, rear, upper, lower, left, right", "lateral, vertical, perpendicular, horizontal", and "top, bottom", etc. are usually based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description. Without contrary description, these orientation terms do not indicate and imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be construed as limiting the protection scope of the present invention; the orientation terms "inside, outside" refer to the inside and outside relative to the contour of each component itself.

[0031] For the convenience of description, spatial relative terms such as "above...", "over...", "on the upper surface of...", "above-mentioned", etc. can be used here to describe the spatial positional relationship between a device or feature shown in the figure and other devices or features. It should be understood that the spatial relative terms are intended to include different orientations in use or operation in addition to the orientation described in the figure of the device. For example, if the device in the drawing is inverted, the device described as "above other devices or structures" or "over other devices or structures" will then be positioned as "below other devices or structures" or "under other devices or structures". Thus, the exemplary term "above..." can include both the orientations of "above..." and "below...". The device can also be positioned in other different ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), and corresponding interpretations should be made for the spatial relative descriptions used here.

[0032] In addition, it should be noted that the use of words such as "first", "second", etc. to limit components is only for the convenience of distinguishing the corresponding components. Without otherwise stating, the above words have no special meanings, and thus cannot be construed as limiting the protection scope of the present invention.

[0033] At present, a large part of new energy buses are charged through pantographs. When the pantograph is actually used, the vehicle stops for charging and the power is cut off when the vehicle moves. The charging time is short, and the two copper bars can only be temporarily pressed tightly by external force. However, due to the "cross" contact, the copper bars of the pantograph and the vehicle-mounted copper bars form a cantilever beam structure. Inevitably, the copper bars of the pantograph will warp during the actual charging process (the ideal situation is that the copper bars of the pantograph and the vehicle-mounted copper bars are in horizontal contact, but in reality, neither of them can be in a horizontal contact state, which makes the copper bars that should be in surface contact become line contact), resulting in poor contact. In the long term, it is easy to cause situations such as arcing and ablation, thus posing a safety risk. In view of the above situation, the present invention proposes a pantograph docking device that uses a conductive cable and finger contacts provided on the conductive cable to make flexible contact with the vehicle-mounted busbar.

[0034] As Figure 1-8 shown, the present invention provides a pantograph docking device, which includes at least one set of copper bar assemblies 1 and a support housing 2. The copper bar assembly 1 includes at least one flexible conductive cable 11 and a plurality of finger contacts 12 fixedly provided on the conductive cable 11. Specifically, the conductive cable 11 is preferably a fifty-square soft cable, and the finger contact 12 can be selected as a copper block, and the thickness of the copper block can be selected from 3 to 5 mm. A gap 13 is formed between adjacent finger contacts 12. The support housing 2 is provided with an accommodation space, and the copper bar assembly 1 is limited and fixed in the accommodation space. At least a part of the finger contact 12 protrudes from the support housing 2 to contact the vehicle-mounted busbar 3 on the vehicle to be charged to form an electrical connection.

[0035] The pantograph docking device of the present invention forms an electrical connection through the finger contact 12 provided on the flexible conductive cable 11 to make hard contact with the vehicle-mounted busbar 3 for charging. Specifically, when the finger contact 12 just touches the vehicle-mounted busbar 3, an external force can be continuously applied to make a plurality of finger contacts 12 contact the vehicle-mounted busbar 3 to form a sufficient contact area. At the same time, different from the technical problem that the finger contact of the watchband spring will be tight at one end and loose at the other end after long-term use, resulting in unreliable current-carrying capacity, when the finger contact 12 of the pantograph docking device of the present invention contacts the vehicle-mounted busbar 3, although the contact force of each finger contact 12 with the vehicle-mounted busbar 3 is different, because the actual working conditions determine the magnitude of the overall pressure of the pantograph, and when the finger contact 12 contacts the vehicle-mounted busbar 3, due to its own characteristics, it is still a hard contact formed under the action of external force. Under the condition of a certain overall pressure, the total effective contact area between the finger contact 12 and the vehicle-mounted busbar 3 can still ensure that the change amount of each contact resistance is within 10%. Thereby, the stability of the pantograph docking device of the present invention is greatly improved, and the occurrence of situations such as arcing and ablation caused by poor contact is avoided.

[0036] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the copper busbar assembly 1 includes at least two conductive cables 11, and a plurality of contact fingers 12 are fixed on two adjacent conductive cables 11 in an interlaced manner. The charging bow docking device of the present invention greatly saves space by interlacing the plurality of contact fingers 12 of the two conductive cables 11 in sequence, and a conductive cable 11 is added with a small increase in width, thereby improving the current carrying capacity in a limited space.

[0037] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the contact finger 12 is fixed to the conductive cable 11 by ultrasonic welding. As is known to all, the welding thickness of ultrasonic welding is certain, so the charging bow docking device of the present invention can increase the current carrying capacity by increasing the wire diameter of the conductive cable 11 vertically under the same horizontal width.

[0038] In order to ensure the straightness of the copper busbar assembly 1, avoid unnecessary bending, and control the main length of the conductive cable 11, the copper busbar assembly 1 of this embodiment also includes a fixing member 14 and a rigid member 15. The fixing member 14 is sleeved on both ends of the conductive cable 11 to form a connecting portion, and the adjacent connecting portions are filled by the rigid member 15.

[0039] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the connection portion of the copper busbar assembly 1 is fixed to the supporting shell 2 by fixing bolts.

[0040] Furthermore, the fixing bolts fasten the copper bar assembly 1 to the supporting shell 2 through the clamping cap 22 with the flange 221, the end face of the flange 221 of the clamping cap 22 is close to the copper bar assembly 1, and the clamping cap 22 is close to the fixing bolts. Specifically, mounting holes are provided at both ends of the supporting shell 2, and mounting holes are also provided on the rigid part 15 and the connecting part. The fixing bolts fix the copper bar assembly 1 to the supporting shell 2 through the bolt holes provided on the clamping cap 22 and the mounting holes on the rigid part 15 and the connecting part. The purpose of the clamping cap 22 is to make the fixing bolt close to the clamping cap 22 when it is locked, rather than pressing on the supporting shell 2 to ensure a more reliable locking force. The diameter of the flange 221 is larger than the diameter of the mounting hole to reduce the movement after clamping.

[0041] In order to fix the charging bow docking device of the present invention to the charging bow, an insulator 21 is further provided on the side of the supporting shell 2 away from the vehicle-mounted electric bus 3, and the insulator 21 is fixed to both ends of the supporting shell 2. Specifically, bolt holes are provided inside the supporting shell 2, bolts are placed in the bolt holes, and the insulator 21 is fixed to the supporting shell 2 by bolts.

[0042] In order to reduce the obstruction during docking, the end surface of one end of the contact finger protruding from the supporting housing 2 is configured to be an arc shape.

[0043] Furthermore, the contact surface between the vehicle-mounted power bar 3 and the contact finger 12 is also configured to be arc-shaped to reduce obstruction during docking.

[0044] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the support housing 2 is provided with two rib plates 23 to divide the interior of the support housing 2 into three equally divided accommodation spaces, and a set of copper busbar assemblies 1 is arranged in each accommodation space. Each set of copper busbar assemblies 1 includes two conductive cables 11, and a plurality of finger contacts 12 are arranged between the two conductive cables 11. The plurality of finger contacts 12 are sequentially and staggeredly fixed on the opposite faces of the two conductive cables 11.

[0045] Based on the above basic structure, the pantograph docking device of the present invention is fixed to the pantograph through the insulator 21, and an electrical connection is established by the finger contacts 12 of the flexible copper busbar assembly 1 contacting the arc surface of the vehicle-mounted busbar 3. During docking, the conductive cables 11 of the copper busbar assembly 1 can utilize their own flexibility to ensure sufficient contact between the finger contacts and the vehicle-mounted busbar 3 to prevent the entire pantograph docking device from warping. On the other hand, the pantograph docking device of the present invention can configure the number of copper busbar assemblies 1 and the conductive cables 11 in each set of copper busbar assemblies 1 according to requirements to improve adaptability and reduce costs.

[0046] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described above are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. Obvious changes or variations derived from the spirit of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A pantograph docking device, characterized in that, comprising: At least one set of copper busbar assemblies (1), the copper busbar assemblies (1) include at least one flexible conductive cable (11) and a plurality of fingers (12) fixedly arranged on the conductive cable (11), and a gap (13) is formed between adjacent fingers (12); A support housing (2), the support housing (2) is provided with a receiving space, and the copper busbar assembly (1) is limited and fixed in the receiving space, and at least part of the fingers (12) protrude from the support housing (2) to contact the vehicle-mounted busbar (3) on the vehicle to be charged to form an electrical connection; Wherein, the copper busbar assembly (1) includes at least two conductive cables (11), and a plurality of fingers (12) are sequentially and staggeredly fixed on two adjacent conductive cables (11); Wherein, the fingers (12) are fixed on the conductive cable (11) by ultrasonic welding; Wherein, the copper busbar assembly (1) further includes a fixing member (14) and a rigid member (15), the fixing member (14) is sleeved at both ends of the conductive cable (11) and forms a connecting portion, and the adjacent connecting portions are filled with the rigid member (15); Wherein, the connecting portion of the copper busbar assembly (1) is fixed on the support housing (2) by fixing bolts; Wherein, the fixing bolts fasten the copper busbar assembly (1) to the support housing (2) through a compression cap (22) with a flange (221), the end face of the flange (221) of the compression cap (22) is closely attached to the copper busbar assembly (1), and the compression cap (22) is closely attached to the fixing bolts.

2. The pantograph docking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, An insulator (21) is further provided on one surface of the support housing (2) away from the vehicle-mounted busbar (3), and the insulator (21) is fixed at both ends of the support housing (2).

3. The pantograph docking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The end face of the end of the finger (12) protruding from the support housing (2) is configured to be arc-shaped.

4. The pantograph docking device according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that, The contact surface of the vehicle-mounted busbar (3) in contact with the finger (12) is also configured to be arc-shaped.

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