EV Charging Plug-In Alignment Using Guide Surfaces and Force Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated charging systems for electric vehicles are expensive and unreliable due to high mechanical and sensor requirements, often aborting the charging process to avoid damage from minor misalignments, making them unsuitable for mass production.
Innovation Solution
A method that minimizes transverse forces during the plug-in process by using transverse-force sensors and adjustable stiffness bearings, allowing precise alignment of plug-in connectors through continuous distance reduction and guided interaction of guide surfaces, with a control unit regulating the positioning based on sensor data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If force-limited positioning units are used to avoid damage from misalignment, then component safety is improved, but charging reliability deteriorates due to process abortions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional force-limited mechanical positioning system with a guide surface-based mechanical guidance system. The guide surfaces on both plug-in connectors provide passive mechanical alignment that naturally accommodates minor misalignments without requiring active force control or complex sensors, thereby maintaining component safety while improving charging reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surfaces enable the plug-in connectors to self-align during the mating process. The geometry of the guide surfaces automatically guides the connectors into proper alignment, eliminating the need for external force control systems and complex positioning units, thus improving both reliability and reducing system complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If high-precision positioning units with multiple sensors are used, then alignment precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex active positioning systems with multiple sensors and controllers with a passive mechanical guide surface system. The guide surfaces provide the necessary alignment through their geometry alone, eliminating the need for expensive sensors, complex control algorithms, and high-precision positioning units, thereby reducing device complexity and cost while maintaining adequate alignment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surfaces are simple mechanical features that can be integrated into standard plug-in connector designs without requiring expensive additional components. This approach uses simple, inexpensive mechanical elements rather than complex, expensive sensor and actuator systems.
Data Source
AI summary
In a method for automatically establishing a plug-in connection for charging electric vehicles, first the relative position between a free plug-in connector on a positioning head that can be moved in at least two spatial directions, and a permanently installed plug-in connector is determined by a position sensor. Then the free plug-in connector approaches the permanently installed plug-in connector until there is mechanical contact between interacting guide surfaces in an insertion position, and the free plug-in connector is moved into a plug-in position. The distance along a common plug-in axis between the guide surfaces decreases continuously during the plug-in process. The transverse forces occurring at the guide surfaces relative to the plug-in direction are detected by transverse-force sensors and the positioning head is moved transversely and/or about a transverse pivot axis, reducing these transverse forces.