EV Charger Cable Rail With Flexible Restraints for Flush Pavement Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric vehicle chargers are cumbersome to install and occupy too much space in public areas, requiring digging and custom-made curb stones, which complicates installation and limits their placement in urban environments.
Innovation Solution
The electric vehicle charger features a cable rail with flexible restrictions at the upper edges of its inner walls, allowing for easy insertion and removal of charging cables without obstructing pedestrians, and can be mounted in a building's outer wall without digging, using a cable rail flush with the pavement and a tubular part for charger control electronics and power supply.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a cable rail with flexible restrictions is used, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable rail incorporates flexible restrictions made of elastomeric material that can deform to allow cable insertion and then return to their original position to retain the cable. This flexibility enables easy cable insertion and removal without complex mechanical mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If the charger is installed in the building wall, then ease of manufacture is improved, but installation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable rail is pre-installed in the pavement groove before the final charger assembly is mounted in the building wall. This preliminary action simplifies the overall installation process by preparing the cable routing path in advance, allowing the charger to be easily connected without complex on-site cable management.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cable rail is made flexible, then adaptability is improved, but strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable rail is constructed from composite materials combining rigid structural components for strength with elastomeric flexible restrictions for adaptability. This composite structure maintains the necessary mechanical strength while allowing the flexible restrictions to adapt to variations in the pavement groove dimensions and alignment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The electric vehicle charger (1) has a housing (2) and is adapted to be arranged at a roadside and/or at a parking space (3). The electric vehicle charger is adapted to provide electrical connection to an electric vehicle (4) for charging the vehicle and includes a cable rail (16) arranged in a groove (17) of a pavement (18) and forming an inner cable receiving channel (20). Inner walls (21) of the channel are provided with respective restrictions (22) at upper edges thereof. A restricted insertion space (23) formed between the restrictions has a minimum width (w) being smaller than a maximum width (W) between the inner walls of the inner cable receiving channel.