Charging Connector Alignment for Inclined Vehicle Inlets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle charging devices face challenges in accurately positioning connectors with respect to vehicle inlets, especially when the inlet is inclined due to the weight of occupants or loads, leading to inefficient charging.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle charging device equipped with a connector, a support member, a coupling mechanism, an arm, and a driving mechanism, along with a control unit that adjusts the connector's attitude to match the inlet's inclination, ensuring proper alignment and engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the connector is positioned using a fixed support structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the positioning precision deteriorates when the inlet is inclined
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is made rotatable about an axis to dynamically adjust the connector's attitude. The rotation mechanism allows the connector to change its inclination angle to match the inlet's inclination, transforming a static positioning system into a dynamic adaptive one that maintains positioning precision across varying conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the inclination angle parameter of the connector by rotating the support member. The control unit adjusts the rotational position of the support member to modify the connector's attitude, enabling it to adapt to different inlet inclination angles and achieve precise positioning under varying conditions.
2Manufacturing precision
If the connector attitude is adjusted to match inlet inclination, then the alignment precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit receives information about the inlet's inclination angle and uses this feedback to determine the appropriate rotational position of the support member. This feedback mechanism enables the system to automatically adjust the connector's attitude to match the inlet's inclination, achieving precise alignment without requiring complex manual adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-adjustment by automatically rotating the support member to the correct position based on the inlet's inclination. The control unit autonomously determines the rotational position needed for the connector to match the inlet angle, eliminating the need for external intervention or complex manual positioning systems.
3Reliability
If the support member is raised to a target position, then the connector engagement reliability is improved, but the time required for positioning increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is rotated to a predetermined rotational position before being raised to the target position. This preliminary action ensures that the connector's attitude is pre-adjusted to match the inlet's inclination, so that when the connector engages with the inlet, the alignment is already optimized, improving engagement reliability without requiring additional time for adjustment during the engagement process.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle charging device includes a connector engaged with an inlet, a support member, a coupling mechanism that couples the connector with the support member, an arm that raises and lowers the support member by rotating, and a control unit. The control unit sets a rotational position of the support member to be a predetermined rotational position when causing a distal end of the connector to be opposed to an opening part of the inlet, and the predetermined rotational position is a rotational position where the distal end of the connector first abuts on the inlet when raising the support member, and an inclination angle of the connector coincides with an inclination angle of the inlet when the support member is raised to a target position.