Electrical power terminal for a charging system

• US 10,449,871 B1
• Filed: 06/13/2018
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TE Connectivity Solutions GmbH (TE Connectivity Ltd. (United Kingdom))
• Original Assignee: TE Connectivity Corporation (TE Connectivity Ltd. (United Kingdom))
• Inventors: Lyon, Zachary Wood
• Primary Examiner(s): Chambers, Travis S
• Application Number:
  US16/007,356
• Time in Patent Office: 496 Days
• Field of Search: 439487, 439190, 439485, 439345, 439709, 361641, 361676, 361699, 310 52, 310 54, 310 64, 310 71, 180 651, 174102 R, 165 804
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/18 Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 11/11 End pieces or tapping pieces for wires, supported by the wire and for facilitating electrical connection to some other wire, terminal or conductive member H01R11/01 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/005 Electrical coupling combined with fluidic coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/023 between cables or wires and terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/56 one conductor screwing into another
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/62 Connections between conductors of different materials; Connections between or with aluminium or steel-core aluminium conductors H01R4/68 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A charging system includes an electrical power terminal, a power cable, and a cooling tube. The electrical power terminal includes a pin and a block. The block has a front side and a rear side. The pin extends from the front side of the block to a distal end of the pin. The block includes a termination pad surface. The block defines a port therethrough that is spaced apart from the termination pad surface. The power cable is mechanically coupled and electrically connected to the termination pad surface of the block. The cooling tube extends into the port of the block, and is configured to absorb and dissipate heat from the block.

Claims

1. A charging system comprising:

an electrical power terminal including a pin and a block, the block having a front side and a rear side, the pin extending from the front side of the block to a distal end of the pin, the block including a termination pad surface, the block defining a port therethrough that is spaced apart from the termination pad surface;

a power cable mechanically coupled and electrically connected to the termination pad surface of the block; and

a cooling tube extending into the port of the block and configured to absorb and dissipate heat from the block.

2. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the termination pad surface is on the rear side of the block.

3. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the termination pad surface is planar and the port extends linearly along a port axis that is parallel to a plane of the termination pad surface.

4. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the port extends linearly through the block from a first outer side to a second outer side that is opposite the first outer side.

5. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the pin is integrally formed with the block such that the electrical power terminal has a one-piece, monolithic structure lacking an interface joint between the pin and the block.

6. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the pin is discrete from the block, the block defining an aperture along the front side, the pin having a proximal end opposite the distal end, the proximal end received into the aperture to couple the pin to the block.

7. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the termination pad surface of the power terminal comprises copper and the power cable comprises one or more copper conductors that are ultrasonically welded to the termination pad surface.

8. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the cooling tube extends continuously through the port and protrudes from both a first opening of the port and a second opening of the port.

9. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the pin is elongated along a pin axis and the port is linearly elongated along a port axis from a first opening to a second opening, wherein the port axis is perpendicular to the pin axis.

10. An electrical power terminal comprising:

a pin having a distal end and a proximal end opposite the distal end; and

a block having a front side and a rear side opposite the front side, the front side of the block attached to the proximal end of the pin, the block defining a port therethrough that is configured to receive a cooling tube, wherein the block is composed of one or more metals, the block including a termination pad surface that is planar and is configured to mechanically couple and electrically connect to a power cable.

11. The electrical power terminal of claim 10, wherein the port extends linearly through the block from a first outer side to a second outer side that is opposite the first outer side, wherein the port is spaced apart from each of the front side and the rear side.

12. The electrical power terminal of claim 10, wherein the pin is integrally formed with the block such that the electrical power terminal has a one-piece, monolithic structure lacking an interface joint between the pin and the block.

13. The electrical power terminal of claim 10, wherein the pin is elongated along a pin axis and the port is elongated along a port axis that is perpendicular to the pin axis.

14. The electrical power terminal of claim 10, wherein the termination pad surface is on the rear side of the block.

15. The electrical power terminal of claim 14, wherein the port is located between the termination pad surface of the block and the pin and is spaced apart from the termination pad surface, wherein the port is elongated parallel to a plane of the termination pad surface.

16. The electrical power terminal of claim 10, wherein the pin is discrete from the block, the block defining an aperture along the front side, the proximal end of the pin received into the aperture to couple the pin to the block.

17. The electrical power terminal of claim 16, wherein the pin includes a first metallic composition, and the block includes a second metallic composition that is different from the first metallic composition of the pin.

18. A charging system comprising:

a charging inlet including a housing and multiple electrical power terminals held by the housing, the charging inlet configured to releasably couple to a mating connector of an external power source, wherein each of the power terminals includes a pin and a block, the block having a front side and a rear side, the pin extending from the front side of the block to a distal end of the pin, the block including a termination pad surface, the block defining a port therethrough that is spaced apart from the termination pad surface;

multiple power cables extending from the charging inlet to a battery pack, each of the power cables mechanically coupled to and electrically connected to the termination pad surface of a different one of the power terminals; and

multiple cooling tubes extending from the charging inlet to a heat sink for dissipating heat from the charging inlet, each of the cooling tubes extending into the port of the block of a different one of the power terminals.

19. The charging system of claim 18, wherein each of the cooling tubes has a metallic segment and a polymeric segment adjacent to the metallic segment along a length of the cooling tube, the metallic segment extending into the port of the block, the polymeric segment spaced apart from the charging inlet.

20. The charging system of claim 18, wherein the cooling tubes convey a working fluid through the ports of the power terminals to the heat sink to dissipate heat absorbed from the power terminals.