Charging Plug Protective Grounding and Cooling Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Charging plugs for electric vehicles face limitations in handling high intermittent charging currents due to heat management and protective grounding, with standardized geometries restricting the integration of effective cooling and grounding systems, leading to potential safety issues and reduced usability.
Innovation Solution
A protective grounding and cooling system that integrates a cooling device with the protective ground conductor, eliminating the need for separate wiring and using the cooling device to establish a galvanic connection between the protective ground conductor contact and connection, thereby enhancing heat dissipation and safety while maintaining a compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the line cross-section of the power contact is increased to handle higher charging currents, then the current-carrying capacity is improved, but the charging plug size and complexity increase due to standardized geometries and material usage constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the protective ground conductor connection and cooling device into a single integrated structure. The protective ground conductor connection serves dual functions: providing electrical grounding and acting as the cooling pathway. This merging eliminates the need for separate cooling components, reducing structural complexity while maintaining the ability to handle high charging currents through effective heat dissipation.
2Temperature
If a separate cooling system is integrated into the charging plug to dissipate heat, then heat dissipation capability is improved, but the charging plug size and complexity increase due to limited space in standardized geometries
Solution Approach 1:
The protective ground conductor connection is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it provides protective grounding for safety and serves as the cooling pathway for heat dissipation. This multi-functionality allows the charging plug to handle high charging currents with effective cooling without adding separate cooling components, thus avoiding increased complexity and size.
3Reliability
If wiring is extended through the charging plug housing to connect the protective ground conductor, then grounding reliability is improved, but the space requirement and fault risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protective ground conductor connection with the cooling device structure. The protective ground conductor is directly connected to the cooling device without requiring separate wiring through the charging plug housing. This integration maintains grounding reliability while reducing structural complexity and eliminating potential fault sources associated with extended wiring.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution allows for increased charging currents without excessive heating, improves the safety and usability of charging plugs by integrating cooling and grounding functions into a single system, reducing the need for additional components and space, and ensuring safe operation with higher current-carrying capacity.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling device (30) for dissipating heat generated in the charging plug (100)
Implementation Method 2
the cooling device (30) can actively cool the charging plug (100), for example, and conduct the heat out of the charging plug (100)
Implementation Method 3
the protective ground conductor contact (20) is galvanically connected to the protective ground conductor connection (32) by means of the cooling device (30)
Implementation Method 4
the power contact designed as a power plug-in contact inevitably heats up due to ohmic current heat losses
Data Source
AI summary
A protective grounding and cooling system for a charging plug includes at least one protective ground conductor contact for galvanic connection to a protective ground conductor, and at least one cooling device for dissipating heat generated in the charging plug. The cooling device is galvanically connected to the protective ground conductor contact. The cooling device has a protective ground conductor connection for at least partial galvanic connection to the protective ground conductor, and in that the protective ground conductor contact, the cooling device and the protective ground conductor connection are arranged such that the protective ground conductor contact is galvanically connected to the protective ground conductor connection by means of the cooling device.