Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Cell or battery charger structure – Charger inductively coupled to cell or battery
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-04
2001-09-18
Tso, Edward H. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Cell or battery charger structure
Charger inductively coupled to cell or battery
Reexamination Certificate
active
06291969
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a charging paddle for use in an induction type charging apparatus for charging a battery of an electric vehicle or the like.
Conventionally, conduction type charging apparatuses and an induction type charging apparatuses have been used for charging batteries of electric vehicles. The conduction type charging apparatus has a contact type connection terminal for directly connecting an external power supply to a battery-equipped vehicle. The induction type charging apparatus has a non-contact type connection terminal for connecting a power supply with a battery through electromagnetic induction. The induction type charging apparatus is less susceptible to contact failure. In addition, induction type charging apparatuses are smaller than conduction type charging apparatuses, so the induction type charging apparatuses have drawn particular attention in recent years.
FIG. 6
illustrates a connection terminal of a conventional induction type charging apparatus. The connection terminal has a charging paddle
61
and a charging receptacle
71
, which receives the charging paddle
61
. The charging paddle
61
is connected to a cable
67
that extends from an external power supply station (not shown). The charging receptacle
71
is installed in an electric vehicle and is connected to a battery in the vehicle.
The charging receptacle
71
has a port
72
for receiving the charging paddle
61
, a secondary core
76
contained within the charging receptacle
71
, and a secondary coil
74
wound around the secondary core
76
. The secondary core
76
functions as a power receiving core, while the secondary coil
74
functions as a power receiving coil. The charging paddle
61
has a paddle case
62
formed of a synthetic resin and an insertable end
63
.
The insertable end
63
contains a primary core
64
and a primary coil
65
wound around the primary core
64
. The primary core
64
functions as a power transmitting core, while the primary coil
65
functions as a power transmitting coil
65
. For supplying power, the charging paddle
61
is plugged into the port
72
of the charging receptacle
71
to place the primary coil
65
on the secondary coil
74
. Then, the power supply station passes a current (alternating current) through the primary coil
65
to induce power in the secondary coil
74
.
FIG. 7
is a perspective view illustrating the primary core
64
and the secondary core
76
when the charging paddle
61
is plugged into the port
72
of the charging receptacle
71
for charging. The primary core
64
is substantially cylindrical. The secondary core
76
includes first and second core elements
73
,
75
. The first core element
73
has an E-shaped cross-section, and is provided with a central magnetic cylindrical protrusion
73
a
about which the secondary coil
74
is wound. The secondary coil
74
is accommodated in a groove formed around the protrusion
73
a
. The second core element
75
is plate-like and covers the groove. The core elements
73
,
75
are combined such that the secondary core
76
forms a rectangular loop that surrounds a passage occupied by the insertable end
63
of the charging paddle
61
. When the charging paddle
61
is fully plugged into the port
72
of the charging receptacle
71
, the primary core
64
is sandwiched between the protrusion
73
a
of the second core
76
and the plate-like core
75
(FIG.
8
). In this way, a closed magnetic circuit is formed, where the primary coil
65
is coupled with the secondary coil
74
.
In the closed magnetic circuit, the power transmission efficiency between the primary coil
65
and the secondary coil
74
must be maximized. For this reason, a gap between the primary core
64
and the protrusion
73
a
of the secondary core
76
, and a gap between the primary core
64
and the plate-like core
75
are minimized in order to minimize flux leaking from the closed magnetic circuit.
Since the gaps are minimized, it is difficult for the operator to plug the charging paddle
61
into the port
72
of the charging receptacle
71
without causing the insertable end
63
of the charging paddle
61
to interfere with the secondary core
76
. Actually, the insertable end
63
interferes with a region of the secondary core
76
along which the insertable end
63
passes. In the following, this action will be described in detail.
In
FIG. 7
, the top surface of the distal end
66
of the paddle case
62
enters far into the charging receptacle
71
as it contacts a lower surface
77
of the core
75
. Simultaneously, the bottom surface of the distal end
66
contacts an upper surface
78
of the protrusion
73
a
of the core
73
. As the charging paddle
61
is further pressed into the charging receptacle
71
, the charging paddle
61
abuts against a stopper (not shown) within the charging receptacle
71
at a position at which the primary core
64
overlaps with the protrusion
73
a
of the core
73
. At this time, the insertion of the charging paddle
61
is complete. The insertable end
63
of the charging paddle
61
has a front, surface and a back surface that are the same, so that the insertable end
63
may be plugged into the charging receptacle
71
in either of two orientations.
FIG. 8
is a cross-sectional view illustrating the charging paddle
61
when it has been fully plugged into the charging receptacle
71
. The top surface and the bottom surface of the primary core
64
are positioned within the paddle case
62
at a fixed distance from the top surface and the bottom surface of the paddle case
62
, respectively. Therefore, while the charging paddle
61
is being plugged in, the top surface and the bottom surface of the primary core
64
do not interfere with the secondary core
76
. When the charging paddle
61
is fully plugged in, the protrusion
73
a
of the core
73
of the charging receptacle
71
fits into a recess
69
in the primary core
64
of the paddle case
62
.
The primary core
65
generates heat due to the charging current, and accordingly, the primary core
64
is heated. The primary coil
65
is coated with a resin coating
68
, which mitigates the heat.
Since the paddle case
62
of the charging paddle
61
is thin and formed of a synthetic resin, its surface is susceptible to distortion or unevenness. This makes it difficult to maintain the thickness of the paddle case
62
at a defined dimension. Therefore, as illustrated in
FIG. 9
, the top surface and the bottom surface of the primary core
64
often protrude outward beyond the surface of the paddle case
62
.
When the deformed charging paddle
61
is plugged into the charging receptacle
71
, the primary core
64
interferes directly with the lower end
77
of the core
75
and the upper end
78
of the protrusion
73
a
. This peels off the coating
68
applied to the surface of the primary core
64
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a charging paddle that is capable of preventing the surface of the primary core from being damaged.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a charging paddle for an electromagnetic induction type connection terminal for connecting a power supply station to a battery for charging the battery. The connection terminal includes a charging paddle and a charging receptacle. The charging paddle includes a primary coil that is connected to the power supply station. The charging receptacle includes a secondary coil that is connected to the battery. The charging receptacle receives the charging paddle. A current supplied from the power supply station to the primary coil causes a current to flow between the secondary coil and the battery. The charging paddle includes a paddle case, a core, and a protrusion. The paddle case has a surface which includes an opening. The primary coil is wound about the core. The core is held within the paddle case such that a surface of the core faces outside through the opening. The protrusion extends outwardly from the surface of the core.
Th
Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho
Morgan & Finnegan , LLP
Tso Edward H.
LandOfFree
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