Hollow-Tube Electric Connection Assembly With Integrated Fluid Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing solutions for electric connection between a charging gun and a battery pack require separate charging and connection terminals, leading to higher costs, reduced manufacturing efficiency, and significant resistance causing temperature rises, which affect safety and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An integral electric connection member with a hollow tube shape, featuring first and second connection ends and fluid through-holes for cooling fluid flow, allowing for detachable connections and reducing temperature rise by integrating both current and cooling fluid transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate charging terminal and connection terminal are provided, then electric connection function is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the charging terminal and connection terminal into a single integrated electric connection member. This single component performs both functions: connecting to the charging seat for power input and connecting to the battery pack for power output, thereby reducing the number of parts and simplifying the overall structure while maintaining reliable electric connection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The electric connection member is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously serves as both a charging terminal (receiving power from charging seat) and a connection terminal (transmitting power to battery pack). This universal design allows one component to fulfill multiple roles that traditionally required separate components.
2Reliability
If separate charging terminal and connection terminal are provided, then electric connection function is achieved, but manufacturing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the charging terminal and connection terminal into a single integrated component, the patent reduces the number of assembly steps and manufacturing operations required. Instead of producing and assembling two separate terminals, manufacturers can produce a single electric connection member, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency and productivity.
3Reliability
If cable is crimped or welded to terminals, then electrical connection is achieved, but manufacturing time increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The integration of cable and terminals into a single molded electric connection member eliminates the need for separate crimping or welding operations. The cable is embedded within the housing during the molding process itself, transforming complex post-molding assembly operations into a single-step manufacturing process that significantly reduces manufacturing time.
4Reliability
If cable connection to terminals is provided, then electrical connection is achieved, but connection resistance increases causing temperature rise
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the cable directly into the terminal structure through molding, the patent creates a unified electrical pathway with fewer interfaces. This eliminates the high-resistance cable-to-terminal connection interfaces (crimp or weld joints) and replaces them with a continuous conductive path, thereby reducing connection resistance and the associated temperature rise during high-current charging operations.
5Temperature
If large cross-sectional cable is used to reduce temperature rise, then temperature control is improved, but volume increases and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions (power transmission, cooling fluid transmission, and structural support) into a single integrated electric connection member. This allows the use of optimized conductor sizes without requiring oversized cables, as the integrated design improves overall thermal management efficiency and reduces resistive heating through better connection interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a cooling fluid passage system within the electric connection member housing. This hydraulic cooling system actively removes heat from the high-current connection points, enabling the use of smaller cross-sectional cables while maintaining temperature control, thereby reducing volume without sacrificing thermal management performance.
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
The solution reduces temperature rise and manufacturing costs while enhancing safety and efficiency by using a single, integral piece for both electric and cooling fluid transmission, allowing for improved charging speed without increasing volume or cost.
Implementation Method 1
An inner cavity of the electric transmission body serves as a flow channel for a cooling fluid. A first fluid through-hole and a second fluid through-hole are formed in a pair of circumferential walls at the first end and the second end of the electric transmission body. The cooling fluid flows into the electric transmission body through one of the first fluid through-hole and the second fluid through-hole and flow out of the electric transmission body through the other.
Data Source
AI summary
An electric connection member includes an electric transmission body having a shape of a hollow tube, a first connection end connected to a first end of the electric transmission body, and a second connection end connected to a second end of the electric transmission body. The electric connection member is an integral piece. An inner cavity of the electric transmission body serves as a flow channel for a cooling fluid. A first fluid through-hole and a second fluid through-hole are formed in a pair of circumferential walls at the first end and the second end of the electric transmission body. The cooling fluid flows into the electric transmission body through one of the first fluid through-hole and the second fluid through-hole and flow out of the electric transmission body through the other.