Adapter for connecting a charging port of an electric vehicle to a charging port of a charging station

Abstract

An adapter (1) for connecting a charging port of an electric motor vehicle (6) to a charging port of a charging station (7) forms a first connector (3) with a first connector geometry and a second connector (4) with a second connector geometry in a housing (2). The connectors (3, 4) are movable relative to one another.

Description

The invention relates to a combination of an electric motor vehicle and an adapter for connecting a charging connection of the electric motor vehicle to a charging connection of a charging station, wherein the adapter forms a first plug connector having a first connector geometry and a second plug connector having a second connector geometry in a housing.Such adapters exist (cf. CN 217 468 904 U), for example, in order to make it possible to charge a battery of a motor vehicle with a charging socket according to the NACS (North American Charging Standard) with a combo-1 charging plug according to the CCS (Combined Charging System) standard of a charging station.Such an adapter has the problem that although the connector geometries of the various plug connectors (NCAS and CCS-1) are standardized, this is not the case for the shapes and dimensions of the housings of the adapters. This results in the problem that certain adapters are not compatible with certain motor vehicles because the housings of the adapters abut a component, in particular the body of the motor vehicle, when the corresponding plug connector is inserted into the bearing bush of the motor vehicle before a complete insertion of the adapters has taken place.Adapters for connecting a charging connection of an electric motor vehicle to a charging connection of a charging station are also known from DE 10 2022 113 353 A1, DE 10 2012 020 641 A1 and DE 10 2021 104 259 B3. In the adapter according to DE 10 2022 113 353 A1, the plug-in directions of the two plug connectors are oriented at an angle of less than 180° and greater than 90° with respect to one another. The adapter according to DE 10 2021 104 259 B3 is configured to expand the functions of a charging station, for which purpose it comprises a current or voltage measurement unit and a telecommunication unit configured for wireless data exchange with a server.DE 10 2011 017 259 A1 discloses an adapter which comprises a first plug connector for connection to a charging connection of a charging station and a plurality of different, second plug connectors for connection to different charging cables of electric motor vehicles, wherein the first plug connector is mounted rotatably with respect to the second plug connectors.DE 10 20017 122 241 A1 describes an adapter for connecting two devices of the musical sector, which adapter has two identical connectors which are mounted so as to be displaceable relative to one another transversely to their respective plug-in directions.DE 11 2012 006 765 B4 discloses an adapter for connecting external electrical devices to a charging connection of an electric motor vehicle.The object of the invention is to provide an adapter of the type mentioned at the beginning which is compatible with the largest possible number of motor vehicles.This object is achieved in a combination of an electric motor vehicle and an adapter according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments of this combination are the subject matter of the further claims and emerge from the following description of the invention.According to the invention, a combination of an electric motor vehicle and an adapter for connecting a charging connection of the electric motor vehicle to a charging connection of a charging station is provided, wherein the adapter forms in a housing a first (electrical) plug connector having a first connector geometry and a second (electrical) plug connector having a second connector geometry, and the motor vehicle forms a mating plug connector with respect to the first plug connector or the second plug connector of the adapter. The plug connectors are configured to be movable relative to each other. This enables a displacement of the plug connectors or the sections of the housing enclosing them relative to one another, whereby a compatibility of the adapter with a larger number of motor vehicles can be realized.Preferably, an embodiment of the motor vehicle and of the adapter is provided in such a way that the plug connectors are movable relative to one another at least in a vertical direction of the motor vehicle, so that at least one directional component of this mobility, in particular the greatest directional component, runs parallel to a vertical axis of the motor vehicle. This allows the adapter to be advantageously adapted to different motor vehicles. The "vertical axis" of the motor vehicle is the axis passing through the center of gravity of the motor vehicle, which is oriented vertically when the motor vehicle is standing on a horizontally oriented underlying surface.According to the invention, an "electric motor vehicle" is understood to mean a motor vehicle that comprises at least one electric traction motor, by means of which the motor vehicle can be driven alone. The motor vehicle may comprise exclusively the at least one electric traction motor ("electric vehicle") or the at least one electric traction motor may be provided in addition to another drive device, in particular an internal combustion engine ("hybrid vehicle").The motor vehicle of a combination according to the invention can be, in particular, a wheel-based and non-rail-bound motor vehicle (preferably a passenger car, bus or a truck).Connecting the charging connection of the motor vehicle to the charging connection of the charging station via the adapter serves to charge a traction battery of the motor vehicle, by means of which electric energy for driving the motor vehicle can be made available to the at least one electric traction motor.According to the invention, a "charging station" is understood to mean any desired source of electrical energy which is configured to charge a traction battery of a motor vehicle when a charging connection is formed.The housing of the adapter is preferably designed to be rigid overall or at least otherwise, i.e. with the exception of the mobility of the plug connectors with respect to one another, so that it is configured such that no relevant deformation of the housing takes place when the adapter is used as intended.According to a preferred embodiment of an adapter of a combination according to the invention, it can be provided that the plug connectors are movable relative to one another along at least one movement axis (running straight or curved), which is aligned transversely (i.e. non-parallel), preferably perpendicularly with respect to a plug-in direction of at least one, preferably both, of the plug connectors. The term "plug-in direction" of a plug connector is understood to mean the direction of the plug connector along which it moves when it is inserted into a mating plug connector.The plug connectors can preferably be movable relative to one another exclusively along such a movement axis or along two such movement axes. In the case of mobility along two such movement axes, these can preferably be oriented perpendicular to one another. This achieves an advantageous adaptability of the adapter to charging connections of motor vehicles of geometrically different design.For a structurally simple implementation of the movability of the plug connectors relative to each other, it can be provided that a movability of the first plug connector and / or of the second plug connector (in each case) is guided by means of at least one linear guide, so that a section of the adapter comprising the first plug connector and / or a section of the adapter comprising the second plug connector is guided on another section of the adapter such that it slides exclusively along a (straight) movement axis.An adapter of a combination according to the invention can preferably comprise a blocking device which, in a blocking position, blocks the movability of the plug connectors with respect to one another and, in a release position, releases the movability of the plug connectors with respect to one another. This ensures that the plug connectors are moved relative to one another only when this is intended and the locking device is adjusted to the release position for this purpose. This can make it possible in particular to adapt an adapter to a specific motor vehicle and to maintain this adaptation, so that unintentional adjustment of the adapter is avoided.According to a preferred development of such an adapter, it can be provided that the blocking position is present in the unloaded state of the blocking device and the release position is present in a loaded state. Accordingly, the adapter can only be adjusted if this is made possible by a corresponding load on the locking device. Such loading can be effected in particular manually, wherein this can be effected directly, i.e. by a direct manual actuation of the locking device, or indirectly, i.e. by any manual handling of the adapter, whereby the locking device is actuated. Such an indirect actuation can be effected, for example, when the adapter is inserted into the charging connection of the motor vehicle and / or the charging station.A constructionally relatively simple configuration of the adapter of a combination according to the invention can be realized in that the housing forms only two sections which are movable relative to one another and of which one comprises the first plug connector and the other comprises the second plug connector.One of the plug connectors of the adapter of a combination according to the invention can preferably have a NACS connector geometry and / or the other of the plug connectors can have a CCS connector geometry, in particular a combo-1 connector geometry. In this case, it can furthermore preferably be provided that the plug connector with the NACS connector geometry is designed as a (built-in) plug and the plug connector with the CCS connector geometry is designed as a socket.The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawings, the following shows: FIG. 1 : a first view of an adapter of a combination according to the invention, FIG. 2 : a second view of an adapter of a combination according to the invention, and FIG. 3 : a use of an adapter of a combination according to the invention for connecting a charging connection of an electric motor vehicle to a charging termination of a charging station.FIGS. 1 and 2 show an adapter 1 of a combination according to the invention in two different views. The adapter 1 comprises a housing 2 which forms a first plug connector 3 with a NACS connector geometry on a first housing side and a second plug connector 4 with a CCS connector geometry, specifically a so-called combo-1 connector geometry, on a second housing side which is opposite the first housing side. The first (NACS) plug connector 3 is designed as a plug and thus as a male part of a plug connection, which is formed by means of this first plug connector 3 in combination with a complementary mating plug connector 5, which is part of an electric motor vehicle 6 (cf. FIG. 3 ). The second (CCS) plug connector 4, on the other hand, is designed as a socket and thus as a female part of a plug connection, which is formed by means of this second plug connector 4 in combination with a complementary mating plug connector (not visible), which is part of a charging station 7. The plug-in directions of the two plug connectors 3, 4 are aligned parallel to one another.The basic configuration of plug connectors according to the NACS and CCS standards and thus also their connector geometries are known and standardized, so that they will not be discussed in detail. In contrast, the (housing) form of an adapter is not standardized, which serves for connecting a CCS charging connection of a charging station to a NACS charging connection of a motor vehicle. This can result in the problem that such an adapter is not compatible with some motor vehicles because, when the adapter or the NACS plug connector thereof is inserted into the corresponding mating plug connector of such a motor vehicle, the housing of the adapter collides with a component of the motor vehicle before an intended insertion depth for the plug connection is reached.In order to avoid this problem as much as possible, it is provided in the adapter 1 according to FIGS. 1 and 2 that the first plug connector 3 or a first section 2 aof the housing 2 which comprises the first plug connector 3 is movable with respect to the second plug connector 4 or a second section 2 bof the housing 2 which comprises the second plug connector 4. This mobility is provided along a movement axis 9 which is oriented perpendicular to the plug-in directions (aligned parallel to one another) of the plug connectors 3, 4. The mobility between the two plug connectors 3, 4 or sections 2 a, 2 bof the housing 2 is achieved in that they are connected to one another via a linear guide 8. In addition, an electrical connection (not visible) is provided between the electrical contact elements of the two plug connectors 3, 4 within the housing 2, which permits this relative movement of the two plug connectors 3, 4 with respect to one another. For this purpose, the electrical connection within the housing 2 can be realized at least in sections via flexible cables.FIG. 3 shows a simplified representation of a use of an adapter 1 of a combination according to the invention. This serves for the electrical connection of an NACS charging connection of a motor vehicle 6 to a CCS charging connection of a charging station 7. geometrical bottleneckes between components of the body of the motor vehicle 6, in which the charging connection is integrated, on the one hand, and the adapter 1, specifically the second section 2 bof the housing 2 of the adapter 1, on the other hand, can be seen. It can be seen that a complete insertion of the first (NACS) plug connector 3 into the associated mating plug connector 5 of the charging connection of the motor vehicle 6 with the provided insertion depth is possible only when the second plug connector 4 or the second section 2 bof the housing 2 is aligned in a fitting manner relative to the first plug connector 3 or to the first section 2 aof the housing 2. Due to the mobility of the plug connectors 3, 4 with respect to one another, the adapter 1 makes it possible to set this alignment and thus to connect the charging connections of the motor vehicle 6 and the charging station 7 to one another in a functionally reliable manner.In contrast, in the case of another motor vehicle (not shown), the integration of the charging connection into the motor vehicle could be provided slightly differently, such that a conventional adapter which does not have the mobility of the plug connectors with respect to one another and which is designed specifically for the motor vehicle 6 shown in FIG. 3 could not be compatible with the other motor vehicle. The adapter 1 of a combination according to the invention, on the other hand, makes it possible, by means of the corresponding movability of the two plug connectors 3, 4 with respect to one another, to use both with the motor vehicle 6 shown in FIG. 3 and with the other motor vehicle or with a plurality of motor vehicles in which the geometric configurations are different in the region of the charging connections.List of reference characters1 Adapter 2 Housing of the adapter 2 aFirst section of the housing 2 bSecond section of the housing 3 First plug connector 4 Second plug connector 5 Mating plug connector with the first plug connector 6 Motor vehicle 7 Charging station 8 Linear guide 9 Movement axis

Claims

Combination of an electric motor vehicle (6) and an adapter (1) for connecting a charging connection of the electric motor vehicle (6) to a charging connection of a charging station (7), wherein the adapter (1) forms in a housing (2) a first plug connector (3) having a first connector geometry and a second plug connector (4) having a second connector geometry and wherein the plug connectors (3, 4) are formed such that they are movable relative to one another, characterized in that the motor vehicle (6) forms a mating plug connector (5) to the first plug connector (3) or the second plug connector (4) of the adapter (1).Combination according to claim 1, characterised in that the plug connectors (3, 4) are movable relative to each other along at least one or exactly one movement axis (9) which is aligned transversely with respect to a plug-in direction of at least one of the plug connectors (3, 4).Combination according to claim 2, characterised in that the movement axis (9) is aligned perpendicularly with respect to the plug-in direction of at least one of the plug connectors (3, 4).Combination according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that mobility of the first plug connector (3) and / or of the second plug connector (4) is guided by means of a linear guide (8) of the adapter (1).Combination according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a blocking device of the adapter (1) blocks the movability of the plug connectors (3, 4) with respect to one another in a blocking position and releases the movability of the plug connectors (3, 4) with respect to one another in a release position.Combination according to claim 5, characterised in that the blocking position is in the unloaded state of the blocking device and the release position is in a loaded state.Combination according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one of the plug connectors (3, 4) has a NACS connector geometry and / or the other of the plug connectors (3, 4) has a CCS connector geometry.Combination according to claim 7, characterised in that the plug connector (3) with the NACS connector geometry is designed as a plug and the plug connector (4) with the CCS connector geometry is designed as a socket.Combination according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bya configuration of the motor vehicle (6) and of the adapter (1) such that the plug connectors (3, 4) are movable relative to one another at least in a vertical direction of the motor vehicle (6).

Images