Charger connector

• US 8,197,277 B1
• Filed: 12/23/2010
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Inventors: Teichmann, Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thanh Tam
• Application Number:
  US12/978,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20120164871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• Field of Search: 439/34, 439/310, 439352-358, 439/372, 439/456
• US Class Current: 439/304
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/34 of parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/18 Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6275 Latching arms not integral with the housing H01R13/6276, H01R13/6277, H01R13/6278 take precedence
• 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 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

An electrical connector (10) which facilitates its proper holding for insertion and latching to a charging station receiver (14). The connector has a body (40) with a front portion (42) that extends along a horizontal axis (60), a rear portion (44) that extends at a rearward-downward inclined axis (62) of approximately 45°, and a middle portion (46) with a bottom (22) that is concavely curved to receive the small fingers of a hand. The front portion of the body has grooves (76) on opposite sides of a top ridge (72), so the person'"'"'s thumb fits around the ridge and into a groove. A palm pad (30) lies immediately rearward of the top ridge and is automatically depressed by the person'"'"'s palm to operate a latch (32).

Claims

1. An electrical connector for grasping by the hand and insertion into an electrical receiver, comprising:

a body (40) having front and rear portions (42, 44) and having a top (72) and bottom (22), said front portion having a primarily horizontal axis (60) and said rear portion having a rear axis (62) extending at a downward-rearward angle to said horizontal axis, and including an electrical cable (12) with a front end extending from said body rear portion;

said connector including a smoothly-curved depressable palm pad (30) mounted on said body and lying above the level of adjacent portions of a top surface (33) of said body middle and rear portions, said connector having a latch (32) which latches to said electrical receiver and which is connected to said palm pad to be operated by depression of said palm pad;

said body middle portion (46) lying horizontally between said front and rear portions, the bottom of said body middle portion having a finger-engaging concave lower surface (64) and said body middle having a convex upper surface (54) that forms said top surface, and that enables a person to wrap his index and middle fingers (I, M) under said lower surface (22) while his thumb is wrapped in an opposite direction over said upper surface (54), and the area of his palm lies against said palm pad at a location that lies between said rear and front portions to hold the body with said primarily horizontal axis extending horizontally, so the person can depress the palm pad by pushing up against the body with his index and middle fingers (I, M) to depress the palm of his hand, to operate said latch.

2. The electrical connector described in claim 1, wherein:

said body lower surface (22) is smoothly concavely curved along said body middle portion, as seen when viewing a side and an end of said connector, with said concave lower surface having a radius of curvature (68) of about an inch and lying opposite said palm pad.

3. The connector described in claim 1 wherein:

said body front portion has a top forming an upstanding ridge (72) and forming a pair of grooves (74, 76) located on opposite sides of the ridge, with said ridge and grooves each extending parallel to said horizontal axis, the ridge and grooves positioned to enable a person'"'"'s thumb (T) to extend around a ridge and into a groove while his index, middle, and ring fingers (I, M, R) grip the body lower surface.

4. The connector describe in claim 1 wherein:

said body middle portion which forms said body lower surface (22) is a fixed surface that is curved in a continuous curve about a lateral axis (66) which is horizontal and perpendicular to said horizontal axis, said lateral axis lying about one inch below said bottom surface.

5. The combination of an electrical connector and a person wherein said connector is grasped by a hand of the person for forward horizontal insertion into an electrical receiver, comprising:

a connector body having front and rear portions (42, 44) said front portion having a primarily horizontal axis (60) that extends horizontally and said rear portion having a rear axis (62) extending at a downward-rearward angle to said horizontal axis;

said body having a body middle portion (46) lying between said front and rear portions, said middle portion having a smoothly curved upper surface (33), and the person has wrapped his thumb and index finger (T, I) in opposite directions to wrap them more than a total of 180°

around the body middle portion to grasp the connector;

a palm pad (30) pivotally mounted on said body to pivot about a primarily horizontal axis (52), said palm pad having an upper surface which lies at a top of said middle portion, said palm pad upper portion is convexly and smoothly rounded and primarily a continuation of the surrounding upper surface of the body middle portion except that the palm pad upper surface is raised above the surrounding surface when the palm pad is not depressed, so the person can squeeze the body middle portion while his palm lies on the palm pad, to depress the rear of the palm pad with the person'"'"'s palm to operate a latch that latches said electrical connector to said electrical receiver.

6. The connector that is grasped by the hand of person, as described in claim 5, wherein:

said body front portion has a top forming an upstanding ridge (72) and forming a pair of grooves (74, 76) located on opposite sides of the ridge, with said ridge and grooves each extending parallel to said horizontal axis, one of the person'"'"'s thumbs lying on the ridge with an end of the thumb lying in one of the grooves.