Charging Socket Displaceable Contact Tolerance Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing charging sockets for motor vehicles lack a reliable mechanism for establishing a conductive plug connection, which can be affected by tolerances and external influences, leading to inconsistent and unreliable energy transmission.
Innovation Solution
A charging socket design featuring a displaceable electrical mating contact and an adjusting ring with an adjustment ramp, allowing the contact to move between two positions for tolerance compensation and protection, along with a guard ring for cleaning and protection, and a locking element for secure plug fixation, ensuring reliable and permanent conductive connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed electrical mating contact is used in the charging socket, then the structure is simple, but the conductive plug connection is unreliable due to tolerances and external influences
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical mating contact is made displaceable rather than fixed, allowing it to move radially between a first position (for tolerance compensation) and a second position (for protection). This dynamic adjustment mechanism compensates for manufacturing tolerances and external influences on the charging plug, significantly improving connection reliability while adding only moderate structural complexity through the adjusting ring and spring mechanism.
2Reliability
If the electrical mating contact is made displaceable to compensate for tolerances, then connection reliability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adjusting mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: the adjusting ring with adjustment ramp, the spring element, and the displaceable electrical mating contact. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while working together as a coordinated system, making the overall mechanism more manageable and easier to manufacture despite the improved reliability it provides.
3Ease of operation
If the electrical mating contact is exposed for connection, then ease of connection is improved, but vulnerability to external influences increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical mating contact dynamically transitions between an exposed state (first position) that facilitates easy plug connection and a protected state (second position) that shields it from external influences. The displaceable design allows the contact to be exposed when needed for mating while being protectable when not in use, resolving the contradiction between accessibility and protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjusting ring acts as an intermediary mechanism that controls the position of the electrical mating contact. By rotating the adjusting ring, the contact can be moved between exposed and protected positions, providing controlled access while maintaining protection capability. This intermediary structure enables selective exposure without permanent vulnerability.
Data Source
AI summary
A charging socket for a power supply arrangement for supplying a motor vehicle with electrical energy via a conductive plug connection has at least one electrical mating contact for conductively contacting a contact of a charging station. The electrical mating contact is displaceably mounted with respect to a central longitudinal axis of the charging socket in the radial direction between a first mating contact position and a second mating contact position different from the first mating contact position, wherein the charging socket has an adjusting ring which is mounted rotatably about the central longitudinal axis and has at least one adjustment ramp which, in a first angular position of the adjusting ring, permits a displacement of the electrical mating contact into the first mating contact position and, in a second angular position of the adjusting ring, pushes the electrical mating contact into the second mating contact position. A power supply arrangement and a method for operating a charging socket are also provided.