Circuit board for installation in a charging connector for an electric or hybrid vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a circuit board (4) for installation in a charging connector (1) for an electric or hybrid vehicle, having: a plurality of thermal connection regions (5) with each of which a charging contact (6) of the charging connector (1) can be thermally contacted; electrical connection points (7) for a plurality of temperature sensors (8) for detecting the temperature prevailing at a thermal connection region (5) or at a plurality of thermal connection regions (5); and an interface (9), which is electrically connected to the electrical connection points (7), for outputting a temperature signal or a plurality of temperature signals; wherein the electrical connection points (7) are arranged on the circuit board (4) and connected to the interface (9) such that alternatively only a single temperature sensor (8) can be operated for all the thermal connection regions (5) together or a plurality of temperature sensors (8) can be operated at the same time for one thermal connection region (5) or a plurality of thermal connection regions (5) on the circuit board (4). Such a circuit board (4) for installation in a charging connector (1) for an electric or hybrid vehicle is thus provided, which circuit board can be used universally for various temperature sensor arrangements.

Description

[0001] Printed circuit board for installation in a charging connector for an electric or hybrid vehicle

[0002] The invention relates to a printed circuit board for installation in a charging connector for an electric or hybrid vehicle, comprising a plurality of thermal connection areas, with each of which a charging contact of the charging connector can be thermally contacted, electrical connection points for a plurality of temperature sensors for detecting the temperature prevailing at one thermal connection area or at several thermal connection areas, and an interface for outputting one temperature signal or a plurality of temperature signals.

[0003] Charging connectors for electric and hybrid vehicles are subject to legal and user-specific requirements regarding the temperature monitoring of AC and DC charging contacts. For DC charging, temperature measurement is generally required at both DC charging contacts. For this purpose, a component suitable for temperature measurement, usually an NTC resistor, is placed as close as possible to the heat source, i.e., the charging contact, to enable real-time temperature monitoring for charging optimization and safety monitoring. An NTC resistor is a resistor used in electronic components. It is also known as a thermistor or hot conductor. The abbreviation "NTC" stands for "negative temperature coefficient" and describes the property of hot conductors to conduct electricity better with increasing temperature, as they have a negative temperature coefficient.

[0004] For AC charging, either an NTC temperature measurement or a simpler PTC temperature monitor is usually required. A PTC resistor, also called a PTC thermistor (positive temperature coefficient), is also a temperature-dependent resistor, but it conducts electrical current better at low temperatures than at high temperatures.

[0005] The difference between using a PTC element and an NTC element is that an NTC element enables true temperature measurement, whereas a PTC element usually exhibits non-linear resistance behavior above a threshold temperature and can thus be used to signal when a critical temperature has been exceeded. PTC elements can thus serve as a type of "safety device" by returning a rapidly changing value to a reading system when the critical temperature has been exceeded.

[0006] Depending on the standard and manufacturer's specifications, either a true temperature measurement or merely the detection of exceeding a temperature threshold is required. This may be required either separately for each AC charging contact (e.g., L1, L2, L3, and N for connectors compliant with the European standard IEC 62196 Type 2), or in a bundled manner, i.e., for all AC charging contacts together. This requires different circuit boards for supporting and electrically connecting one or more temperature sensors at different locations.

[0007] DE 10 2015 106 251 A1 describes a temperature monitoring device with a carrier element extending flatly along a plane and having at least one opening. The carrier element can be designed as a printed circuit board. The contact elements are components of a contact assembly that can be attached to the plug insert as a modular unit. The contact assembly has a temperature monitoring device with a carrier element. The temperature monitoring device serves to detect any excessive heating on at least those contact elements that are used to transmit large currents during operation of the connector part. For the necessary contacting, the carrier element has a metallic coating on each of the openings to provide a contact surface in the form of a through-hole plating.

[0008] WO 2021 / 004765 A1 describes an electrical assembly with a temperature monitoring device. For this purpose, a connector part with both AC charging pins and DC charging pins is provided. To monitor potential heating, particularly at the DC charging pins, the connector part has an electrical assembly. This assembly consists of contact elements arranged on a carrier element and electrically connected to associated load lines. Each contact element is accommodated in an associated receiving opening in the carrier element.

[0009] EP 3 667 831 B1 describes a connector part with a printed circuit board. In a receiving space, a housing part has a printed circuit board with electrical functional components arranged thereon. Furthermore, electrical contact elements are arranged in the plug domes of the plug face via the receiving space. The printed circuit board has two openings through which contact elements in the form of load contacts extend. Contact springs for thermal contact with the contact elements are also arranged on the printed circuit board. These contact springs are grouped around the openings and serve to thermally contact the printed circuit board with the contact elements, the load contacts. As a result, the contact elements are thermally connected to the printed circuit board via the contact springs, whereby heat can be conducted via the contact springs to the printed circuit board and thus to a temperature sensor arranged on the printed circuit board.

[0010] Based on this, the object of the invention is to provide such a circuit board for installation in a charging connector for an electric or hybrid vehicle, which can be used universally for various temperature sensor arrangements. This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Preferred developments of the invention are described in the subclaims.

[0011] According to the invention, a printed circuit board is thus provided for installation in a charging connector for an electric or hybrid vehicle, comprising a plurality of thermal connection areas, with each of which a charging contact of the charging connector can be thermally contacted, electrical connection points for a plurality of temperature sensors for detecting the temperature prevailing at a thermal connection area or at several thermal connection areas, and an interface electrically connected to the electrical connection points for outputting a temperature signal or a plurality of temperature signals, wherein the electrical connection points are arranged on the printed circuit board and connected to the interface in such a way thatthat either only a single temperature sensor can be operated for all thermal connection areas together or a plurality of temperature sensors can be operated simultaneously for one thermal connection area or several thermal connection areas on the circuit board.

[0012] The charging connector can be a charging socket, a charging plug, a charging coupling, or a built-in charging plug. The charging contacts are contact sleeves in a charging socket and a charging coupling, and contact pins in a charging plug and a built-in charging plug that can be inserted into the contact sleeves.

[0013] In principle, the respective charging contacts can be directly contacted using the thermal connection areas. However, according to a preferred development of the invention, the thermal connection areas are provided with thermal contact elements with which a respective charging contact can be thermally contacted. The thermal contacting of a charging contact by a thermal contact element preferably occurs in that the contact element rests against the respective charging contact, preferably over a large area. The thermal contact elements are characterized in that their thermal conductivity is greater than the material from which the circuit board is made. Furthermore, according to a preferred development of the invention, the thermal contact elements are not galvanically conductive.In this way, it is not a problem if the thermal contact elements contact the charging contacts directly, as no current can be conducted via the thermal contact elements.

[0014] The thermal contact elements can, in principle, be designed differently. However, according to a preferred development of the invention, the thermal contact elements are each provided for exactly one charging contact and i) have no thermal connection to one another and are each thermally connected to a separate temperature sensor, or ii) each have a thermal connection to at least one other thermal contact element, and thermally connected thermal contact elements are each thermally connected to a common temperature sensor.

[0015] The thermal contact elements therefore offer the possibility of thermally combining several contact elements so that the common temperature of these contact elements can be measured via a single common temperature sensor.

[0016] According to a preferred development of the invention, in case ii), j) two thermal contact elements each have a thermal connection with one another and the common temperature sensor is arranged in the central region between the two thermal contact elements, or jj) all thermal contact elements have a thermal connection with one another and the common temperature sensor is arranged in the region of one of the thermal contact elements.

[0017] In case jj), it is also possible for the common temperature sensor to be located at a different location on the single thermal contact element. After all, in the equilibrium state, the temperature is the same throughout the entire area of ​​the thermal contact element.

[0018] There are various options for the geometry of the thermal contact elements. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermal contact elements are designed in a partially circular shape such that they partially enclose the circumference of a respective charging contact. In this way, the thermal contact elements virtually nestle against the respective charging contacts, enabling very good temperature transfer between the respective charging contact and the respective thermal contact element.

[0019] As stated above, the electrical connection points are arranged on the circuit board and connected to the interface in such a way that either only a single temperature sensor can be operated for all thermal connection areas jointly, or a plurality of temperature sensors can be operated simultaneously for one thermal connection area or several thermal connection areas on the circuit board. In this respect, according to a preferred development of the invention, the interface on the circuit board has two electrical connections, between which at least two temperature sensor connection lines are connected in parallel, wherein the temperature sensor connection lines have a different number of electrical connection points, namely one electrical connection point, two electrical connection points, or four electrical connection points.In this context, it is particularly preferred that exactly three temperature sensor connection lines are connected in parallel between the two electrical connections of the interface, namely one with one electrical connection point, one with two electrical connection points, and one with four electrical connection points. The electrical connections provided on the circuit board can be implemented as lines on the circuit board that lead to the actual interface, which in turn can be contacted with a corresponding interface part of an external system.

[0020] It is possible to design the circuit board with different geometric shapes. However, according to a preferred development of the invention, the circuit board has a rectangular basic shape. The fact that the circuit board has a rectangular basic shape means that the sides of the circuit board follow a rectangular shape in their predominant areas. Nevertheless, it is possible for the circuit board to have cutouts, for example, so that it deviates from the rectangular basic shape in the area of ​​these cutouts. In this context, according to a preferred development of the invention, the circuit board has part-circular cutouts for the thermal connection areas. These part-circular cutouts can be designed such that the thermal connection areas correspond to the shape of the charging contacts they are intended to contact.As already mentioned, such a corresponding shape can significantly improve the thermal conduction between the charging contact and the thermal connection area or the thermal contact element provided there.

[0021] It is particularly preferred that the previously described circuit board be intended for the AC charging contacts of the charging connector in which it is to be installed. In this case, the circuit board is preferably suitable for a charging connector according to the European standard IEC 62196 Type 2. In this case, the circuit board carries the temperature sensors used to measure the temperatures at the charging contacts designated L1, L2, L3, and N.

[0022] In principle, the circuit board described above can be used in a charging connector without the need for an additional circuit board. However, according to a preferred development of the invention, a first circuit board, as described above, and a second circuit board are provided, wherein the second circuit board has two thermal connection areas, with each of which a charging contact of the charging connector for which the first circuit board is provided can be thermally contacted, two electrical connection points for each temperature sensor for detecting the temperature prevailing at the two thermal connection areas, and an electrical connection from the two electrical connection points to the interface. In this way, it is possible, for example, to use the first circuit board for the AC charging contacts of the charging connector and the second circuit board for the DC contacts.The temperature signals detected by the temperature sensors for the AC charging contacts and the DC charging contacts are output via the interface provided on the first circuit board. For this purpose, the second circuit board is equipped with the electrical connection from the two electrical connection points to the interface.

[0023] In principle, it is of course possible for the first circuit board and the second circuit board to have different geometries and sizes. However, according to a preferred development of the invention, the first circuit board has the same width as the second circuit board. This facilitates the production of the two circuit boards with the least possible waste. Finally, according to a preferred development of the invention, the electrical connection from the two electrical connection points to the interface has either two lines for each connection point or one line for each connection point and a common ground line for both connection points. Thus, on the one hand, an alternative is conceivable in which each connection point is provided with its own ground line, or an alternative in which a common ground line is used for both connection points.

[0024] Furthermore, the preferred embodiments of the first circuit board described above are in principle also applicable to the second circuit board.

[0025] The invention will be described in more detail below using preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings.

[0026] The drawings show

[0027] Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a circuit board according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is installed in a charging connector for an electric or hybrid vehicle,

[0028] Fig. 2a shows a circuit board according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is equipped with a temperature sensor,

[0029] Fig. 2b shows a circuit board according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is equipped with two temperature sensors, Fig. 2c shows a circuit board according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is equipped with four temperature sensors,

[0030] Fig. 3a schematically shows the thermal connections between the charging contacts in the circuit board according to Fig. 2a,

[0031] Fig. 3b schematically shows the thermal connections between the charging contacts on the circuit board according to Fig. 2b,

[0032] Fig. 3c schematically shows the thermal connections between the charging contacts on the circuit board according to Fig. 2c,

[0033] Fig. 4a schematically shows the connection of a second printed circuit board according to a preferred embodiment of the invention with an electrical connection comprising two signal lines and two ground lines and

[0034] Fig. 4b schematically shows the connection of a second circuit board according to a preferred embodiment of the invention by means of an electrical connection having two signal lines and a ground line.

[0035] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a charging connector 1 which is equipped with a printed circuit board 4 according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention. The charging connector 1 is a built-in charging connector which can be installed in the body of an electric or hybrid vehicle. Specifically, it is a built-in charging connector according to the European standard IEC 62196 Type 2, which has an AC part at the top and a DC part at the bottom. An AC charging coupling can be plugged onto the AC part, and the DC part, together with the AC part, is provided for plugging in a DC charging coupling. The AC charging part 2 is provided with four charging contacts 6, namely the AC contacts, which are also designated L1, L2, L3 and N. In addition, a protective conductor 22, which is also designated PE, is provided in the AC part 2.In addition, the AC section contains two communication contacts 19, also designated PP and CP. The DC section contains only the two charging contacts 6', which serve as DC charging contacts. When a DC charging coupling is plugged into the AC section and the DC section for DC charging, only the protective contact 22 and the communication contacts 19 are normally contacted in the AC section.

[0036] What is important now is that the charging connector 1 is provided with a first circuit board 4 and a second circuit board 13 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The first circuit board 4 has a plurality of thermal connection areas 5, each of which is in turn provided with thermal contact elements 10. These thermal contact elements 10 have particularly good thermal conductivity, but are galvanically insulating. Furthermore, the first circuit board 4 is provided with electrical connection points 7, by means of which temperature sensors 8 can be connected. These temperature sensors are provided for detecting the temperature prevailing at one or more thermal connection areas 5.

[0037] In addition, the first circuit board 4 has an interface 9 connected to the electrical connection points 7 for outputting a temperature signal or, in the case of multiple temperature sensors, for outputting a plurality of temperature signals. These electrical connection points 7 are arranged on the first circuit board 4 and connected to the interface 9 in such a way that either only a single temperature sensor 8 can be operated for all thermal connection areas jointly, or a plurality of temperature sensors 8 can be operated simultaneously for one thermal connection area 5 or several thermal connection areas 5 on the circuit board 4. For this purpose, the interface 9 on the first circuit board 4 has electrical connections 11, namely in the form of electrical lines printed on the first circuit board 4, between which a total of three temperature sensor connection lines 20 are provided.These temperature sensor connection cables 20 each have a different number of electrical connection points 7, namely only one electrical connection point 7, two electrical connection points 7 or four electrical connection points 7.

[0038] As can be seen from Figures 2a to 2c, it is now possible to provide only the electrical connection point 7 of the temperature connection line 20 with a temperature sensor 8 or to provide the electrical connection points 7 of one of the two other temperature sensor connection lines 20 with two or four temperature sensors 8. In this way, as shown in Figure 2a, a single temperature sensor 8 is provided for all charging contacts 6. Figure 2b shows a situation in which a common temperature sensor 8 is provided for two charging contacts 6, namely for the charging contacts L1 and L2 on the one hand and for the charging contacts L3 and N on the other. Finally, Figure 2c shows a situation in which each charging contact 6 has been provided with its own temperature sensor 8.

[0039] It should be noted that, for the sake of clarity, not all components of the charging connector 1 and the first circuit board 4 or the second circuit board 13 have always been provided with reference numerals in the figures. Furthermore, it should be noted that Figure 1 and Figures 2a to 2c do not show how the charging contacts 6 or the thermal contact elements 10 are thermally connected to one another in the thermal connection areas 5. Rather, this is shown separately in Figures 3a to 3c. The embodiment shown in Figure 3a corresponds to the embodiment shown in Figure 2a with a single temperature sensor 8 for all charging contacts 6. For this purpose, all charging contacts 6 and additionally the protective contact 22 are thermally connected to one another via a common thermal connection 21. In principle, the temperature sensor 8 can be arranged at any desired location on the thermal connection 21 in this situation.In the present case, the temperature sensor 8 has been positioned in the area of ​​the protective contact 22.

[0040] The situation shown in Figure 3b corresponds to the situation in Figure 2b. Here, a total of two temperature sensors 8 are provided, each of which jointly detects the temperature of two charging contacts 6, namely, on the one hand, jointly for the charging contacts L1 and L2, and on the other hand, jointly for the charging contacts L3 and N. For this purpose, the charging contacts L1 and L2, on the one hand, and the charging contacts L3 and N, on the other hand, are each thermally connected to one another by a thermal connection 21. The temperature sensor 8 is installed in the center region of the respective thermal connection 21, so that the respective temperature sensor 8 can essentially detect an average temperature of the two respective charging contacts 6.

[0041] Finally, Figure 3c shows the situation also depicted in Figure 2c. Here, a separate temperature sensor 8 is provided for each charging contact 6. Therefore, thermal connections between the charging contacts 6 and the thermal contact elements 10, which are provided in the area of ​​the thermal connection areas 5, are eliminated.

[0042] Returning to Figure 1, the second circuit board 13 will be discussed below. This is provided with thermal connection areas 14, which enable a thermal connection to the two charging contacts 6', i.e., the two direct current charging contacts. In the area of ​​the thermal connection areas 14, electrical connection points 15 are also provided on the second circuit board 13, allowing temperature sensors 8 to be connected there as well. In the case of the charging contacts 6', i.e., the direct current charging contacts, a separate temperature sensor 8 is always provided for each charging contact 6'.

[0043] The second circuit board 13 is now characterized by having the same width as the first circuit board 4. This facilitates the production of the circuit boards 4, 13 and reduces waste. The electrical circuit board 13 is connected to the first circuit board 4 via an electrical connection 16 and there to the interface 9.

[0044] As can be seen from Figures 4a and 4b, which show the second circuit board 13 in an enlarged view, the electrical connection 16 between the second circuit board 13 and the interface 9 of the first circuit board 4 can be designed differently. As shown in Figure 4a, each electrical connection point 15 for a temperature sensor 8 can be provided with a signal line 17 and a ground line 18. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 4b, it is possible to use a common ground line 18 for both temperature sensors 8, so that each electrical connection point 15 of the second circuit board 13 has its own signal line 17, but shares the ground line 18 with the other electrical connection point 15.

[0045] List of reference symbols

[0046] 1 charging connector

[0047] 2 AC part

[0048] 3 DC part

[0049] 4 first circuit board

[0050] 5 thermal connection areas of the first circuit board

[0051] 6 charging contacts

[0052] 6' charging contacts

[0053] 7 electrical connection points of the first circuit board

[0054] 8 temperature sensors

[0055] 9 Interface

[0056] 10 thermal contact elements

[0057] 11 electrical connections

[0058] 12 partially circular cutouts

[0059] 13 second circuit board

[0060] 14 thermal connection areas of the second circuit board

[0061] 15 electrical connection points of the second circuit board

[0062] 16 electrical connection

[0063] 17 Signal line

[0064] 18 Earth wire

[0065] 19 communication contacts

[0066] 20 temperature sensor connection cables

[0067] 21 thermal connections

[0068] 22 protective contact

Claims

Patent claims 1. A printed circuit board (4) for installation in a charging connector (1) for an electric or hybrid vehicle, comprising a plurality of thermal connection areas (5), each of which can be thermally contacted with a charging contact (6) of the charging connector (1), electrical connection points (7) for a plurality of temperature sensors (8) for detecting the temperature prevailing at one or more thermal connection areas (5), and an interface (9) electrically connected to the electrical connection points (7) for outputting one or more temperature signals, wherein the electrical connection points (7) are arranged on the printed circuit board (4) and connected to the interface (9),that optionally only a single temperature sensor (8) for all thermal connection areas (5) together or simultaneously a plurality of temperature sensors (8) for each thermal connection area (5) or several thermal connection areas (5) on the circuit board (4) can be operated., 2. Printed circuit board (4) according to claim 1, wherein the thermal connection areas (5) are provided with thermal contact elements (10) with which a respective charging contact (6) can be thermally contacted.

3. Printed circuit board (4) according to claim 2, wherein the thermal contact elements (10) are not galvanically conductive.

4. Printed circuit board (4) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the thermal contact elements (10) are each provided for exactly one charging contact (6) and i) have no thermal connection (21) with each other and are each thermally connected to a separate temperature sensor (8) or ii) each have a thermal connection (21) with at least one other thermal contact element (6) and thermally connected thermal contact elements (6) are each thermally connected to a common temperature sensor (8).

5. Printed circuit board (4) according to claim 4, wherein in case ii) either j) two thermal contact elements (10) each have a thermal connection (21) with one another and the common temperature sensor (8) is arranged in the central region between the two thermal contact elements (10) or jj) all thermal contact elements (10) have a thermal connection (21) with one another and the common temperature sensor (8) is arranged in the region of one of the thermal contact elements (10).

6. Printed circuit board (4) according to one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the thermal contact elements (10) are designed in a partially circular shape such that they partially enclose a respective charging contact (6) circumferentially.

7. Printed circuit board (4) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the interface (9) on the printed circuit board has two electrical connections (11), between which at least two temperature sensor connection lines (20) are connected in parallel, wherein the temperature sensor connection lines (20) have a different number of electrical connection points (7), namely one electrical connection point (7), two electrical connection points (7) or four electrical connection points (7).

8. Printed circuit board (4) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the printed circuit board (4) has a rectangular basic shape.

9. Printed circuit board (4) according to claim 8, wherein the printed circuit board (4) has part-circular cutouts for the thermal connection areas (10).

10. Printed circuit board (4) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the printed circuit board (4) is provided for the AC charging contacts of the charging connector (1).

11. Printed circuit board according to claim 10, wherein the charging connector (1) is designed according to the European standard IEC 62196 Type 2.

12. Arrangement comprising a first circuit board (4) according to one of the preceding claims and a second circuit board (13), wherein the second circuit board (13) has: two thermal connection areas (14), with each of which a charging contact (6, 6') of the charging connector for which the first circuit board (4) is provided can be thermally contacted, two electrical connection points (15) each for a temperature sensor (8) for detecting the temperature prevailing at the two thermal connection areas (14) and an electrical connection (16) from the two electrical connection points (15) to the interface (9).

13. Arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the first circuit board (4) and the second circuit board (13) have the same width.

14. Arrangement according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the electrical connection (16) from the two electrical connection points (15) to the interface (9) has either a signal line (17) and an earth line (18) for each electrical connection point (15) or a signal line (17) for each electrical connection point (15) and an earth line (18) for both connection points (15) together.

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