Flexible Ribbon Cable Routing Through Vehicle Body Gaps
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing solutions for charging electric vehicles require additional body flaps and complex installation processes, leading to increased costs and design issues, as they need separate openings for charging cables, which are not always feasible or aesthetically desirable.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle design that utilizes existing body openings, such as the luggage compartment or door openings, with a flexible ribbon cable that can be fed through a gap between the body opening and the flap, eliminating the need for additional flaps and allowing the body to be closed while the cable is in place, using a retraction mechanism with deflection rollers for efficient cable management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a separate charging flap is provided in the car body for the charging connector, then the charging socket is accessible and charging can be performed, but the device complexity increases and additional body variants must be created for each base body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by enabling existing body flaps (fuel door, trunk lid, hood) to serve dual purposes: their original function plus charging cable access. The fuel door can open laterally to provide access to the charging socket, the trunk lid can be opened to access the charging connector, and the hood can be opened for cable routing. This eliminates the need for dedicated charging flaps and reduces body variant complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by not providing a separate charging flap, but rather making existing flaps multi-functional. Instead of adding a new component (charging flap), the solution repurposes existing components (fuel door, trunk lid, hood) to provide charging access, thereby simplifying the overall body structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a charging flap is provided in addition to a fuel door, then charging functionality is added, but the manufacturing costs increase due to additional flap mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces manufacturing costs by making existing flaps multi-functional. The fuel door, trunk lid, and hood are designed to provide both their original functions and charging cable access. This eliminates the need to manufacture additional charging flaps and their associated mechanisms, thereby reducing production costs while maintaining charging versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the charging access function with existing body flaps. Instead of creating a separate charging flap mechanism, the solution combines charging access with the fuel door, trunk lid, and hood, which already exist in the vehicle structure. This merging approach reduces the total number of components and manufacturing steps.
3Ease of operation
If a charging flap is provided, then charging socket access is enabled, but installation space for the charging cable and roll-up mechanism becomes limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the approach by not creating a dedicated charging flap with limited space, but rather using existing flaps that have sufficient space for cable routing and storage. The fuel door, trunk lid, and hood provide ample installation space for the charging cable and roll-up mechanism, eliminating the space constraint issue.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the charging cable access across multiple body flaps (fuel door, trunk lid, hood) rather than concentrating it in a single dedicated charging flap. This segmentation distributes the installation space requirements across different locations in the vehicle, providing sufficient space for cable routing and storage.
4Ease of operation
If additional body flaps are provided for charging, then charging access is improved, but the vehicle design aesthetics are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains vehicle design aesthetics by using existing body flaps for charging access instead of adding new flaps. The fuel door, trunk lid, and hood are already integral parts of the vehicle design, and their multi-functional use does not compromise the aesthetic appearance. This approach preserves the clean lines and design integrity of the vehicle.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle is provided with a storage device for electrical energy that can be recharged from an external power supply and with a body which has at least one body opening that can be closed by a body flap, wherein a charging cable is provided, connected or connectable in an electrically conducting manner to the storage device and running at least partly inside the body. The body opening is a luggage-compartment opening or a door opening of the vehicle and the body flap is respectively a luggage-compartment lid or a door of the vehicle. The charging cable is formed as a flexible ribbon cable or has at least one flexible ribbon cable portion. The flexible ribbon cable or the at least one flexible ribbon cable portion can be led through a body gap present between a periphery of the body opening and the body flap. The ribbon cable or the at least one flexible ribbon cable portion has current-carrying conductors that are arranged next to one another, are designed as flat conductors of a ribbon form and are surrounded by a common, electrically insulating sleeve.