US-12620748-B2 - Charging socket for a vehicle

US12620748B2US 12620748 B2US12620748 B2US 12620748B2US-12620748-B2

Abstract

A charging socket for a vehicle, includes at least two contact elements, each contact element having a latent heat storage unit. The latent heat storage unit includes a phase change material arranged in a container. The container is thermally coupled to the respective contact element and is arranged in a current path between the contact element and a terminal of the contact element for a line of a wiring harness of the vehicle.

Inventors

Stephan HECKELSMUELLER
Johannes Tausch

Assignees

Lisa Dräxlmaier GmbH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231213
Priority Date: 20221213

Claims (10)

1 . A charging socket for a vehicle, the charging socket comprising at least two contact elements, each contact element having a latent heat storage unit, wherein the latent heat storage unit comprises a phase change material arranged in a container, and wherein the container is thermally coupled to a respective contact element of the at least two contact elements and is arranged in a current path between the respective contact element and a terminal of the respective contact element for a line of a wiring harness of the vehicle.
2 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least two contact elements protrudes from a wall of a respective latent heat storage unit.
3 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least two contact elements comprise a normalized plug region and a transition region to the latent heat storage unit, wherein the transition region has a larger conductor cross section than the plug region.
4 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least two contact elements are materially bonded to a respective latent heat storage unit.
5 . The charging socket according to claim 4 , wherein each of the at least two contact elements are welded to the respective latent heat storage unit by friction welding.
6 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two contact elements and the terminal of each of the at least two contact elements are arranged on opposite sides of a respective latent heat storage unit.
7 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein the container comprises a welded lid.
8 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein the container is pressure-resistant.
9 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein the container comprises fins on an inner side in order to increase a heat transfer area to the phase change material.
10 . The charging socket according to claim 1 , wherein the latent heat storage units are electrically insulated from one another.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and the benefit of German Application No. 10 2022 133 099.0 filed on Dec. 13, 2022. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to a charging socket for a vehicle. BACKGROUND The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. An electrically powered vehicle may comprise a charging socket for charging a traction battery of the vehicle. A charging plug of a charging cable can be inserted into the charging socket. Via the charging socket, the traction battery can be charged by a charging device, i.e., a charging station, a wall box or a so-called charging brick. Electrical contact elements for establishing an electrically conductive connection to the charging plug are arranged in the charging socket. The contact elements may be designed as contact pins and establish the electrically conductive connection to corresponding mating parts in the charging plug. The connection has a contact resistance. Due to the contact resistance, a power loss in the form of heat occurs at the connection. The power loss is dependent on the flow of current through the connection. In the case of large charging powers, the contact elements may become warm, or hot, during the charging. The power loss thus limits a possible charging power. The power loss may be reduced by higher charging voltages. SUMMARY This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. The present disclosure provides an improved charging socket with a simple design. An improvement may in this case relate, for example, to improved cooling of the contact elements. The present disclosure provides heavily loaded contact elements of a charging socket that are thermally coupled directly to a latent heat storage unit. The latent heat storage unit has a high heat capacity since a phase change of a phase change material (PCM) takes place in the latent heat storage unit at a predefined temperature and the phase change uses a large amount of energy. A temperature rise beyond the predefined temperature is substantially inhibited by the energy absorption during the phase change until all the phase change material has changed phase. Only after the phase change is completed does the temperature rise further. The phase change material is, in this case, held in two containers, which are respectively arranged directly behind the contact elements and therefore in a current path from the forward line to the return line. The containers, therefore have a twofold or dual function, in that they enclose the phase change material and conduct current. By the approach proposed here, heat generated in the contact elements can be absorbed very close to the point of origin. By arranging the latent heat storage unit in the current path, the amount of material used may be reduced since the container of the latent heat storage unit is used to conduct current and heat. In addition, thermal energy is absorbed by the phase change material at an approximately constant temperature until all the phase change material has changed its phase. If there is enough phase change material, a temperature rise beyond this temperature can be inhibited. A charging socket for a vehicle is proposed, wherein the charging socket comprises at least two contact elements each having a latent heat storage unit. The latent heat storage unit comprises a phase change material arranged in a container. The container is thermally coupled to the respective contact element and is arranged in a current path between the contact element and a terminal of the contact element for a line of a wiring harness of the vehicle. A charging socket may comprise at least two contact elements for transmitting electrical energy from a charging cable to an electrically powered vehicle. The charging socket may comprise different contact elements for different types of current. DC contact elements, in particular, may be designed according to the approach proposed here. The charging socket may correspond to a normalized standard for charging sockets. In the installed state, electrical component parts of the vehicle may be connected to the charging socket via a wiring harness of the vehicle. The wiring harness may comprise at least two electrical lines. The lines may, for example, be cables or busbars. Each line of the wiring harness may be electrically conductively attached to its own terminal of the charging socket. The terminals may be arranged on an inner side of the charging socket. Each terminal may be electrically conductively connected to one of the contact elements via its own current path. The contact elements may be configured to form a plug connection with corresponding mating parts. The contact elements of the charging socket may