Charging plug for an electric or hybrid vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a charging plug (1) for an electric or hybrid vehicle, comprising a housing (2), a charging contact (3) arranged in the housing (2) for conducting an electric current, and a communication module (4) for transmitting and / or receiving a serial signal. In this way, communication between the charging plug (1) for an electric or hybrid vehicle and an external device can be simply and efficiently designed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a charging plug for an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, the charging plug having a housing and charging contacts arranged in the housing for conducting current. Background Art

[0002] Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles have a rechargeable energy storage device, usually a high-voltage battery, which supplies energy to the electric power device during driving operation. The energy storage capacity of the high-voltage battery is limited, so that the high-voltage battery must be recharged at a charging station at regular intervals. The battery is charged via a charging cable arranged between the charging station and the vehicle, wherein, for example, according to the European standard IEC 62196, the charging cable is provided on one side with a charging plug that can be inserted into a charging socket arranged on the charging station, and on the other side with a charging connector that can be connected to an internal charging plug installed in the electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle. Currently, the charging socket, charging plug, charging connector and internal charging plug are all covered by the term "charging plug". The charging socket and the charging connector have contact sleeves as charging contacts, and the charging plug and the internal charging plug that can be installed in the electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle have contact pins that can be inserted into the contact sleeves as charging contacts.

[0003] Due to frequent use and repeated plugging and unplugging, the plug contacts between the built-in charging plug and the charging connector are subject to higher wear than on the surface. Due to this wear, the contact resistance increases, which can cause a lot of heat to be generated during the charging process.

[0004] Charging connectors for electric and hybrid vehicles must meet regulatory requirements and user-specific requirements, which involve temperature monitoring of the AC charging contacts and the DC charging contacts. For DC charging, temperature measurement is usually required on the two DC charging contacts. To this end, in order to enable real-time temperature monitoring for charging optimization and safety monitoring, structural elements suitable for temperature measurement (usually NTC resistors) are arranged as close to the heat source, i.e. the charging contacts, as possible. NTC resistors are resistors used in electronic components. They are also called thermistors or thermal conductors. The abbreviation "NTC" stands for "negative temperature coefficient" and describes the property of a thermal conductor that conducts current better as the temperature increases because the thermal conductor has a negative temperature coefficient.

[0005] PTC resistors are also known. PTC resistors (also called cold conductors or PTC thermistors (“positive temperature coefficient”)) are likewise temperature-dependent resistors, but they conduct current better at low temperatures than at high temperatures. There are PTC resistors with an approximately linear characteristic curve (resistance versus temperature). However, PTC resistors are also known that exhibit nonlinearity and that increase their resistance sharply within the range of a nominal response temperature. As a result, such PTC elements can be used to implement a type of “safety” in that if a critical temperature is exceeded, the PTC element returns a sudden change in value to the reading system.

[0006] Temperature monitoring may also be required in the AC charging contacts. Whether a real temperature measurement is required or only a detection of whether a temperature threshold is exceeded depends on the standards and manufacturer specifications. For all AC charging contacts (e.g. L1, L2, L3 and N in a plug connector according to European standard IEC 62196 type 2), this may need to be performed individually for each AC charging contact or may need to be performed in a bundle, i.e. jointly for all AC charging contacts.

[0007] DE 10 2015 106 251 A1 describes a temperature monitoring device having a carrier element extending flatly along a plane and having at least one opening. For this purpose, the carrier element can be designed as a circuit board. The contact element is a component of a contact assembly, which can be connected to a plug insert as a modular unit. The contact assembly has a temperature monitoring device with a carrier element. The temperature monitoring device is used to detect any impermissible heating on the contact element for transmitting large currents at least when the plug connector is in operation. In order to achieve the necessary contact, the carrier element has a metal coating on the openings for providing a contact surface in the form of a through contact portion.

[0008] An electrical component with a temperature monitoring device is known from WO 2021 / 004765 A1. For this purpose, a plug connector is provided which has both an alternating current (AC) charging pin and a direct current (DC) charging pin. In order to monitor possible heating, especially on the direct current (DC) charging pin, the plug connector has an electrical component. The component consists of contact elements arranged on a carrier element and electrically connected to the associated load conductor. For this purpose, each contact element is received in an associated carrier element receiving opening. Summary of the invention

[0009] Based on this, the object of the present invention is to design the communication between a charging connector for an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle and an external device in a simple and efficient manner.

[0010] This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claim. Preferred developments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

[0011] Therefore, according to the present invention, a charging plug for an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle is provided, which has a housing, charging contacts arranged in the housing for conducting current, and a communication module for sending and / or receiving serial signals.

[0012] Therefore, the basic idea of ​​the present invention is that if a communication module for sending and / or receiving serial signals is provided, different sensor data can be transmitted via only one or a few signal lines. In this way, the information flow can be significantly increased, which is beneficial for additional diagnostic requirements and performance requirements.

[0013] In principle, it should be noted that the charging plug according to the invention is configured to be plugged into a corresponding charging plug. According to a preferred development of the invention, the communication module is designed such that, in the plugged-in state of the charging plug, the communication module allows communication to and / or from the corresponding charging plug. In this way, communication between a charging station and an electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle connected to the charging station via the charging cable can be achieved via the charging cable.

[0014] On the one hand, if a corresponding charging plug is mentioned in this context, this refers to a charging plug having the same plug-in surface as the charging plug according to the invention, but wherein, if one plug-in surface has contact pins, the other plug-in surface has contact sleeves, and vice versa. Thus, a set consisting of a charging plug according to the invention and a corresponding charging plug can be plugged together. On the other hand, in this context, a corresponding charging plug can also be mentioned if the plug-in surfaces in the above sense only partially correspond, i.e., the corresponding charging plug, for example, does not have all the contacts present in the charging plug according to the invention, but the existing contacts of the corresponding charging plug correspond to the charging plug according to the invention in terms of the plug-in surface, so that in this case, the charging plug according to the invention and the corresponding charging plug can also be plugged together. This is the case, for example, in charging connectors according to European standard IEC 62196 type 2, which are connected to a charging cable for DC charging. Such a charging connector can be inserted into a built-in charging plug installed in the body of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle and is suitable for AC charging and DC charging. In this DC charging connector, only communication contacts and protective contacts are present in the AC plug surface, but there are no contacts for the outer conductor and the center conductor for AC charging.

[0015] In principle, the communication module can be arranged inside the housing. However, this is not necessarily required. In this respect, the communication module can be arranged inside the housing or outside the housing. In particular, when the charging connector is an internal charging plug mounted on the body of the electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle, it can be advantageous to arrange the communication module outside the housing. This is because there is usually enough space in the body for installing the communication module without affecting or hindering other devices.

[0016] There are currently multiple options for the design of the communication module. According to a preferred improvement of the present invention, the communication module includes a multiplexer for multiplexing signals detected in or on the charging plug. Specifically, it is preferred in this regard that temperature sensors for detecting the temperature of the corresponding charging contacts are respectively arranged on the multiple charging contacts, and the temperature sensors are connected to the multiplexer so that the temperature signal from the temperature sensor can be transmitted to the multiplexer and can be converted into a serial data stream by the multiplexer. According to the standard (European standard IEC62196), it is required to monitor the temperature of the DC charging contacts of the charging plug for electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles. However, preferably, the temperature of the DC charging contacts should also be monitored, and preferably, the temperature of all AC charging contacts should be monitored.

[0017] Currently, contacts that are only configured for charging with direct current are referred to as direct current charging contacts. In such direct current charging contacts, heat is particularly generated when charging with high current. In contrast to direct current charging contacts, there are alternating current charging contacts. This refers to an outer conductor and a neutral conductor (center conductor) that are also configured for charging with alternating current. Here, what is referred to as an outer conductor (also commonly referred to as a phase) is a conductor that is energized during normal operation and can facilitate the transmission or distribution of electrical energy but is not a neutral conductor. A neutral conductor is a conductor that is electrically connected to a neutral point and can facilitate the distribution of electrical energy. In the European standard IEC 62196, the contacts currently referred to as alternating current charging contacts are marked with L1, L2 and L3 (outer conductors) and N (neutral conductor), and the direct current charging contacts are marked with DC+ and DC-. This understanding should not contradict the fact that the European standard IEC 62196 also recognizes a working mode for direct current charging through contacts L1, L2, L3 and N.

[0018] When using temperature-dependent resistors, in order to monitor the temperature of the AC charging contacts, each AC contact must have its own signal line routed to the evaluation unit. Alternatively, a series circuit consisting of, for example, PTC elements can be used. However, such a series circuit may not be able to provide conclusions about the individual temperatures of the individual AC charging contacts. Now, the use of a multiplexer makes it possible to bundle the signals and send them serially via a single signal line. Here, either the multiplexer can be controlled via a control line so that the corresponding channel can be selected, or the periodic change of the channel can be triggered by a clock generator and synchronized with the evaluation unit. In this regard, according to a preferred improvement of the present invention, it is provided that at least one control line is connected to the multiplexer to control the time sequence of the temperature signals from the temperature sensor in the serial data stream. Alternatively, it is feasible that the temperature signals from the temperature sensor periodically follow each other in the serial data stream.

[0019] Thus, by using a multiplexer, several signal lines can be bundled into a single signal line. The corresponding multiplexer must be selected according to the number of inputs (four inputs for one output - 4:1, eight inputs for one output - 8:1, ...). As the number of inputs increases, the number of control lines also increases. That is, a 4:1 multiplexer requires two control lines, an 8:1 multiplexer already requires 3 control lines. The advantage of externally controlling the multiplexer is that only the lines that are currently of interest to the evaluation unit can be queried. That is, if only an AC charging process is carried out, the DC temperature sensor can be ignored and more time can therefore be invested in the AC temperature sensor. As mentioned above, alternatively, all input signals can be queried periodically, so that the clock of the multiplexer is synchronized with the evaluation unit. This reduces the number of control lines to one control line for the clock generator, but this also leads to reduced flexibility, because now each input line is mapped to the output with the same frequency and the same duration.

[0020] According to a preferred refinement of the invention, the communication module can additionally or alternatively be designed to receive digital signals. In this case, it is very particularly preferred that the communication module is designed for bidirectional communication of serial signals. In this way, the charging plug can not only send signals but also receive signals, for example, for controlling a device of the charging plug. In this respect, according to a preferred refinement of the invention, it is provided that the charging plug is additionally provided with an actuator and a control device for controlling the actuator, wherein the communication module is connected to the control device for transmitting the control signal received by the communication module.

[0021] Very particularly preferably, the charging connector is a built-in charging plug for installation on the body of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0022] In addition, the present invention also relates to the application of the aforementioned charging connector on the body of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0023] Finally, the present invention also relates to a method for communication between a charging plug of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle and a device different from the charging plug, wherein the communication is performed by means of serial signals. Here, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the charging plug outputs a signal converted by means of a multiplexer. Alternatively or additionally, it is preferably provided that the charging plug sends and / or receives digital signals. By analogy with the above-mentioned charging plug, other embodiments, functions and advantages of the method are obtained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The present invention will be described in more detail below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0025] The figure shows:

[0026] Figure 1 A charging connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view.

[0027] Figure 2 Shown in perspective Figure 1 The charging connector in the charging connector corresponds to the charging connector.

[0028] Figure 3 A charging connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention having a multiplexer is schematically shown, and

[0029] Figure 4 A charging plug connector according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown schematically with digital components for receiving digital control data. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] from Figure 1 In the perspective view, a charging plug 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention can be seen. The charging plug 1 has a housing 2 and charging contacts 3 arranged in the housing 2. Here, the charging contacts are, on the one hand, AC charging contacts 8 for AC charging and, on the other hand, DC charging contacts 9 for DC charging. Figure 1 The charging connector 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a built-in charging plug for installation in a body of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0031] The charging connector 1 can be used with Figure 2. Here, the corresponding charging plug 12 is a charging connector that can be fastened to the charging cable and can be plugged together with the built-in charging plug. The charging connector shown here by way of example is a charging connector for DC charging and therefore has corresponding DC charging contacts 13, protective contacts 14 and signaling contacts 15. Both the built-in charging plug shown here and the connector shown here conform to the European standard IEC 62196 in terms of their plug-in surfaces.

[0032] Now, it is important to design the built-in charging plug 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, for example, as schematically shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown in:

[0033] That is, the built-in charging plug is equipped with a communication module 4 for sending serial signals. For this purpose, the communication module 4 has a multiplexer 5 for multiplexing the signals detected in the charging plug 1. Specifically, both the DC charging contact 9 and the AC charging contact 8 are provided with a temperature sensor 6. Currently, the temperature sensor 6 is an NTC element.

[0034] The temperature sensors 6 can be used to determine the corresponding temperature individually on each DC charging contact 9 or on each AC charging contact 8. The temperature sensors 6 are now connected to the multiplexer 5 so that the temperature signals from the temperature sensors 6 are transmitted to the multiplexer 5 so that they can then be converted by the multiplexer into a serial data stream. The serial data stream is then led via a signal line 7 to an evaluation unit (not shown in detail) that is designed to be independent of the charging plug 1.

[0035] In principle, a control line can be connected to the multiplexer 5 for controlling the time sequence of the temperature signals from the temperature sensor 6 in the serial data stream. Therefore, with the help of such a control line, it can be determined which data of the temperature sensor 6 is currently worthy of attention and should therefore be supplied to the evaluation unit. In this example, however, the temperature signals from the temperature sensor 6 follow each other periodically in the serial data stream. For example, a temperature signal sequence can be specified in which the temperature signals of the two DC charging contacts 9 are followed by the temperature signals of the four AC charging contacts 8, and so on, i.e., using the nomenclature of the European standard IEC 62196, the sequence is "DC+, DC-, L1, L2, L3, N, DC+, ..."

[0036] Now, Figure 4A charging plug 1 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown, which has a digital component 16 arranged in a communication module 4 for receiving digital control data. That is, at this time, control data is received from outside the charging plug 1 via the signal line 7 to start the control of the components of the charging plug 1. That is, in this example, the charging plug 1 has a locking cover 17, with which the opening in which the AC charging contact 8 and the DC charging contact 9 are arranged can be closed and locked relative to the outside. In order to open and close the locking cover 17, an actuator 10 in the form of a motor is provided. The actuator 10 is connected to a control device 11, by means of which the actuator 10 can be controlled so that the locking cover 17 is opened or closed. The corresponding signal that specifies the opening or closing of the locking cover 17 is transmitted to the control device 11 from outside the charging plug, that is, via the signal line 7 and the communication module 4 having the digital component 16. It should also be noted here that the communication module 4 is currently designed for bidirectional communication of serial signals, so that not only a signal that specifies whether the locking cover 17 should be opened or closed can be received. Here, it is further possible that the control device transmits data indicating the current position of the locking cover 17 (ie, open or closed) to the digital component 16 of the communication module 4 , so that the information can be output in the form of digital data via the signal line 7 .

[0037] List of reference numerals:

[0038] 1 Charging connector

[0039] 2 Housing

[0040] 3 Charging contacts

[0041] 4 Communication Module

[0042] 5 Multiplexer

[0043] 6 Temperature Sensor

[0044] 7 Signal Line

[0045] 8 AC charging contacts

[0046] 9 DC charging contacts

[0047] 10 Actuator

[0048] 11 Control Device

[0049] 12 Corresponding charging connector

[0050] 13 Corresponding DC charging contacts

[0051] 14 Protective contacts

[0052] 15 Signal contact

[0053] 16 Digital components

[0054] 17 Locking cover

Claims

1. A charging connector (1) for an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, the charging connector comprising: Housing (2), a charging contact (3) arranged in the housing (2) for conducting electric current, and A communication module (4) for sending and / or receiving serial signals.

2. The charging connector (1) according to claim 1, wherein: The communication module (4) comprises a multiplexer (5) for multiplexing signals detected in or on the charging plug (1).

3. The charging connector (1) according to claim 2, wherein: Temperature sensors (6) for detecting the temperature of the corresponding charging contacts (3) are respectively arranged on the plurality of charging contacts (3), and the temperature sensors (6) are connected to the multiplexer (5) so that the temperature signal from the temperature sensor (6) can be transmitted to the multiplexer (5) and can be converted into a serial data stream by the multiplexer.

4. The charging connector (1) according to claim 3, wherein: The charging contacts (3), each equipped with a temperature sensor (6), include AC charging contacts (8).

5. The charging connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The communication module (4) has a digital component (16) for receiving digital signals.

6. The charging connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The communication module (4) is designed for bidirectional communication of serial signals.

7. The charging plug (1) according to claim 1, comprising an actuator (10) and a control device (11) for controlling the actuator (10), wherein: The communication module (4) is connected to the control device (11) for transmitting the control signal received by the communication module (4).

8. The charging connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The charging connector is a built-in charging plug installed on the body of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

9. Use of a charging connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims on a body of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

10. A method for communicating between a charging plug (1) of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle and a device different from the charging plug (1), wherein: Communication is done with the help of serial signals.

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