阅读说明：本技术 插头接纳装置和带有这样的插头接纳装置的充电站 (Plug receiving device and charging station with such a plug receiving device ) 是由 M.施特鲁贝 J.屈恩 K.吕贝克-扎拉斯克 R.普芬尼希维特 于 2020-04-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及插头接纳装置和带有这样的插头接纳装置的充电站,具体而言给出插头接纳装置(4),该插头接纳装置具有保持件(12)、插口(6)和锁定件(14),其中插口(6)具有开口(22),用于对于电动车辆的充电插头(8)的插入和取出,插口(6)如此可运动地与保持件(12)连接,使得插口(6)能够围绕横向轴线(Q)从插接位置向下方翻转到静止位置中且反之亦然,其中锁定件(14)如此构造,使得插口(6)在翻转到静止位置中时被锁定,从而充电插头(8)固定在插口(6)中,以便防止掉落,且插口(6)在翻转到插接位置中时被解锁,从而充电插头(8)是能取出的。此外给出带有这样的插头接纳装置(4)的充电站(2)。(The invention relates to a plug-receiving device and a charging station having such a plug-receiving device, in particular a plug-receiving device (4), the plug-receiving device has a holder (12), a socket (6) and a locking element (14), wherein the socket (6) has an opening (22) for inserting and removing a charging plug (8) of the electric vehicle, the socket (6) being movably connected to the holder (12), such that the socket (6) can be tilted about a transverse axis (Q) from a plugged position downwards into a rest position and vice versa, wherein the locking element (14) is designed in such a way that the socket (6) is locked when it is tilted into the rest position, whereby the charging plug (8) is fixed in the socket (6) so as to be prevented from falling, and the plug socket (6) is unlocked when it is tilted into the plug-in position, so that the charging plug (8) can be removed. Furthermore, a charging station (2) is provided with such a plug receiving device (4).)

1. A plug-receiving device (4),

the plug-receiving device has a holder (12), a socket (6) and a lock (14),

-wherein the socket (6) has an opening (22) for insertion and removal of a charging plug (8) for an electric vehicle,

-wherein the socket (6) is movably connected with the holder (12) in such a way that the socket (6) can be tilted about a transverse axis (Q) from a plugged position downwards into a rest position and vice versa,

-wherein the locking element (14) is configured such that the socket (6) is locked when flipped into the rest position, so that the charging plug (8) is fixed in the socket (6) in order to prevent falling, and the socket (6) is unlocked when flipped into the plugged-in position, so that the charging plug (8) is removable.

2. The plug-receiving device (4) according to claim 1, wherein the locking element (14) has a stop pin (24),

-the stop pin is movably mounted in the socket (6),

-the stop pin, when pivoted into the rest position, moves into the opening (22), engaging into the charging plug (8) and thereby locking the socket (6),

-the locking pin is conversely moved out of the opening (22) when the plug-in position is reversed, wherein the charging plug (8) is released and the socket (6) is thereby unlocked.

3. The plug-receiving device (4) according to claim 2, wherein the stop pin (24) is supported in a through-guide (28) which extends from an inner side (26) of the socket (6) to an outer side (32) of the socket, and the stop pin (24) is supported in the through-guide by means of a stop spring (34) which presses the stop pin (24) in the direction of the outer side (32),

wherein the holder (12)

-in the rest position covering the through-guide (28) and thereby preventing the stop pin (24) from moving out;

-releasing the through-guide (28) in the plugged position and thereby enabling the removal of the stop pin (24) by means of the stop spring (34);

-having a ramp (40) which is arranged and configured such that, when being tilted into the rest position, it runs over the through-guide (28) and thereby moves the stop pin (24) against the stop spring (34) towards the inner side (26).

4. Plug-receiving device (4) according to one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the locking element (14) is designed such that the stop pin (24) is moved in an electromotive manner.

5. Plug receiving device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the locking element (14) is configured lockable.

6. The plug-receiving device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the locking element (14) is further designed in such a way that the socket (6) is locked in the plugged-in position when the charging plug (8) is removed, in order to prevent a tilting into the rest position.

7. The plug-receiving device (4) according to claim 6, wherein the locking element (14) has a locking pin (42) which is movably mounted in the socket (6) by means of a locking spring (44),

wherein the holder (12) has a locking recess (46) which is arranged and designed in such a way that, in the plugged-in position, the locking pin (42) is pressed into the locking recess (46) by means of the locking spring (44) when the charging plug (8) is removed, thereby locking the socket (6).

8. The plug-receiving device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a guide pin (58) is arranged at the socket (6),

wherein the holder (12) has a guide groove (60) for guiding the guide pin (58) when the socket (6) is turned upside down,

wherein the guide slot (60) has two stops (62) for the guide pin (58) which define the rest position and the plugged position and limit the tilting of the socket (6) about the transverse axis (Q).

9. The plug-receiving device (4) according to claims 7 and 8, wherein the guide pin (58) is at the same time the locking pin (42), and wherein the locking recess (46) is part of the guide groove (60).

10. The plug-receiving device (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the socket (6) is additionally pivotable about a vertical axis (V) and can be snapped into a plurality of positions.

11. The plug-receiving device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the plug-receiving device has a light-emitting element (70) which indicates whether the socket (6) is locked or unlocked.

12. Charging station (2) having a plug receiving device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 11.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a plug receiving device and a charging station having such a plug receiving device.

Background

Charging stations are used periodically to charge electric vehicles. Such electric vehicles have an electric drive for forward movement, which is supplied with electrical energy by a battery that is also part of the electric vehicle. To charge the battery, the battery is connected to a charging station. For this purpose, the charging station typically has a charging cable, on the end side of which a charging plug is arranged. The charging plug can be plugged into a complementary charging socket at the electric vehicle.

In the unused state, that is to say in the case of an uncoupled electric vehicle, the following problems arise: the charging plug must in principle be stowed away (verseun) and also exposed to various environmental influences, such as rain and dust.

CN 108501763 a describes a charging post with a tray (plate, also known as a plate) having a gap. A charging cable with a charging plug can be hung into the tray so that the charging plug is placed on the tray and does not fall off. Additionally, there is a cover as a rain-proof device, which covers the charging plug in the inserted state. The cover is rotatable about a transverse axis to enable removal of the charging plug from the void.

CN 207449638U describes a charging pile having a cavity in which a charging cable with a charging plug is placed, so that the charging plug and the charging cable are protected from rain. In order to hold the charging plug, a socket is arranged in the cavity. The socket is oriented such that the charging plug can be removed obliquely downward.

A charging post is described in CN 107054152 a, where a charging cable with a charging plug is positioned laterally and externally.

Disclosure of Invention

Against this background, the task is to protect the charging plug from environmental influences. In addition, the charging plug should be as well operable as possible.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a plug-receiving device having the features of claim 1 and by a charging station having the features of claim 12. Advantageous embodiments, improvements and variants are the subject of the dependent claims. In this case, the embodiments of the plug-receiving device also apply to the charging station in the sense, and vice versa.

The plug-receiving device serves to receive the charging plug, i.e. for storing the charging plug, even when the charging plug is not being used. The plug receptacle and the charging plug are preferably part of a charging station for charging a battery of an electric vehicle. For this purpose, the charging station has a charging cable, on the end side of which a charging plug is arranged. The charging plug can be removed from the plug receptacle for charging and can be inserted into a complementary charging socket at the electric vehicle. After charging, the charging plug can be inserted into the plug receptacle again.

The charging station is preferably mounted in a stationary manner, i.e. in a specific position. In one suitable embodiment, the charging station is designed as a charging post or as a so-called wall box for installation on a building wall or the like, for example in a garage. The charging station is connected to an electrical network, via which energy for charging the electric vehicle is provided, when used as intended. Electric vehicles are generally understood at present as vehicles with electric drive, in particular as motor vehicles with electric drive, preferably PKW (passenger car) or LKW (truck). The term "electric vehicle" also includes hybrid vehicles.

The plug-receiving device has a holder, a socket and a lock. The holder serves on the one hand for the particularly positionally fixed mounting of the plug receptacle, for example at the housing or at the wall and generally at the mounting surface of the charging station. In another aspect, the retainer is for retaining the socket. For this purpose, the holding element in one expedient embodiment has a U-shaped socket receptacle, for example a fork or a housing, with two side portions, for example two limbs or two limbs, which enclose the socket on opposite sides. The socket is for example sheet-shaped, spherical, square or the like. The socket has an opening for insertion and removal of the charging plug. The opening is delimited by the inner side of the socket and is accessible in the plugging direction. The charging plug is therefore introduced into or removed from the opening in the plugging direction. The opening is preferably configured complementarily to the charging plug, so that the charging plug is mounted in the socket in a form-fitting manner in the inserted state. For this purpose, the inner side has a corresponding contour, also referred to as a plug-in contour, which is configured, in particular, on the electric vehicle, similarly or identically to the charging socket.

The socket is now movably connected to the holder in such a way that it can be tilted about a transverse axis from the plugged position downward into the rest position and vice versa, i.e., can also be tilted upward from the rest position into the plugged position. The transverse axis extends in particular horizontally. The plugging direction is in particular perpendicular to the transverse axis and accordingly turns over together with the socket. The locking element is designed in such a way that the socket is locked when it is tilted into the rest position, so that the charging plug is fixed in the socket in order to prevent it from falling out. Furthermore, the locking element is designed in such a way that the socket is unlocked when it is tilted into the plugged-in position, so that the charging plug can then be removed. The plugged position is used for inserting and removing the charging plug, and the rest position is used for storing the charging plug.

The core concept of the invention is in particular that: the socket for storing the charging plug can be turned over downwards. "below" is understood in general as "in the direction of gravity" and "above" correspondingly "against gravity", wherein the direction of inclination is also included in each case. In a preferred embodiment, the plug socket is oriented horizontally in the plugged position, i.e. perpendicular to gravity, and the plugging direction is therefore likewise horizontal. In the rest position, the socket is tilted, in particular downward, relative to the plugged position, i.e. by a tilting angle of more than 0 °. The angle of rotation is at most, in particular 90 °, and the plug-in direction is perpendicular to the force of gravity in the case of 90 °. Particularly preferably, however, the tilting angle lies in the range from 30 ° to 60 °, in particular 45 °. A particularly comfortable handling of the charging plug is ensured by such a tilting angle, since the charging plug is typically of bent design and therefore has a curved handle.

By tilting over, the opening is directed downwards and the charging plug mounted in the opening is thus directed generally downwards in the rest position, so that the ingress of dirt, for example rain, dust, dirt, small animals or similar environmental substances, is effectively prevented, since such dirt falls predominantly from above, i.e. in the direction of gravity. Furthermore, when the plug is turned into the rest position, any dirt that may accumulate in the opening in the plugged position and in the event of removal of the charging plug is advantageously automatically ejected from the socket by gravity, i.e. falls out or flows out. The intrusion of dirt is further advantageously avoided, in particular, by: the charging plug is preferably mounted in the socket in a form-fitting manner. If the charging plug bears in a form-fitting manner against the inside of the socket, it is expedient if an outlet gap or an outlet groove is formed in the opening in order to eject the dirt when the charging plug is turned over. Overall, the charging plug is then particularly well protected from environmental influences.

In the rest position, the charging plug is suspended downward from the socket. The locking element now fixes the charging plug in this rest position. The locking element advantageously prevents the charging plug from falling out of the socket in the rest position. In this respect, the locking element achieves a favorable tilting of the socket downwards in a meaningful manner. The locking element is automatically activated when the locking element is tilted downward into the rest position and is automatically deactivated when the locking element is tilted upward into the plugged position. The locking element is therefore associated with the tilting, so that the socket is thus automatically locked or unlocked by tilting and the charging plug is fixed or released. This ensures an optimal and defined fixing of the charging plug in the socket.

In an advantageous embodiment, the locking element has a locking pin which is mounted movably in the receptacle. When the locking pin is pivoted into the rest position, it is moved into the opening, i.e. out of the socket, and engages into the charging plug and thereby locks the socket. Preferably, the stop pin engages into a recess, through-guide or notch of the charging plug. Charging plugs according to the standard, in particular for electric vehicles, usually already have one or more recesses, leadthroughs or indentations suitable for this purpose. Conversely, when the locking pin is pivoted into the plugged-in position, it is moved out of the opening, i.e. into the socket, whereupon the charging plug is released and the socket is thereby unlocked. In one suitable embodiment, the locking pin is moved in and out laterally, i.e. parallel to the transverse axis, and is supported and guided in the side wall of the socket for this purpose.

In an advantageous embodiment, the locking pin is supported in a through-guide which extends from the inside, i.e. from an opening in the socket, to the outside of the socket. In the through-guide, the locking pin is supported by a locking spring, which presses the locking pin in the outward direction. In one suitable embodiment, the locking pin extends through the locking spring and the locking spring is mounted in the through-guide on the one hand to the inside at the socket and on the other hand to the outside at the flange of the locking pin, as is the case in spring mechanisms of ballpoint pens. In order to achieve automatic locking and unlocking in the event of a tilting, the holder is specially designed such that, in the rest position, it covers the through-guide and thus prevents the removal of the locking pin, while, in the plug-in position, it releases the through-guide, for example in such a way that a clearance is introduced into the holder and thus the removal of the locking pin by means of the locking spring is achieved, and furthermore, the holder has a ramp which is arranged and designed such that, when tilting into the rest position, it runs over the through-guide and thus moves the locking pin to the inside against the locking spring, more precisely against the spring force of the locking spring. The ramp, i.e. firstly on the outside, provides the stop pin with an offset space which decreases continuously during the tilting, so that the stop pin is pushed inward. In the rest position, the locking spring then presses the locking pin, so to speak, from the inside toward the holder. In this way, a purely mechanical and particularly simple but at the same time particularly reliable latching mechanism is achieved.

Alternatively or in addition to the purely mechanical locking element described above, in one suitable embodiment the locking element is designed such that the locking pin is moved in an electrically powered manner. For this purpose, the locking element has, in addition to or instead of the locking spring, an actuator (Stellglied, sometimes referred to as an actuator) such as an electric motor, a servomotor or a relay, which moves the locking pin depending on the position. The plug-receiving device expediently also has a sensor, which detects the tilting movement, and a control unit, for example a microcontroller, which actuates the actuator accordingly in response to the tilting movement.

In one expedient configuration, the locking element is configured to be lockable, i.e. in particular can only be deactivated by means of a specific authorization, so that only specific persons can remove the charging plug and use the charging station. The locking element is thus locked in the rest position by the lock, either manually or automatically. In one variant, the locking pin itself is a lock. The authorization is, for example, a key for the lock, a password input or an input of a payment means.

In an advantageous embodiment, the locking element is further designed in such a way that the plug socket is locked in the plugged-in position when the charging plug is removed, in order to prevent the plug socket from being tilted into the rest position. The position of the socket relative to the holder is fixed by this locking. This prevents the socket from being turned back downward autonomously after the charging plug has been removed, which would make it difficult to reinsert the charging plug into the socket. In this connection, the actuation is particularly preferably improved in the horizontal direction by the additional locking. The locking and unlocking is in principle independent of the locking, but expediently the locking is only unlocked when the charging plug is inserted into the socket, in order to be turned downwards thereafter, i.e. directly before the turning and before the socket is locked.

In an advantageous embodiment, the locking element has a locking pin which is mounted movably in the socket by means of a locking spring. Furthermore, the holder has a locking recess which is arranged and designed in such a way that, in the plugged-in position, the locking pin is pressed into the locking recess by means of the locking spring when the charging plug is removed, thereby locking the socket.

In one suitable embodiment, the locking pin extends parallel to the transverse axis and along a through-guide in the side wall of the socket, like a locking pin. However, the locking pin is not movable in the direction of a transverse axis, as is the case with the locking pin, but rather can be moved perpendicular to this transverse axis, in particular in the plugging direction, in such a way that the locking pin is moved by the charging plug when it is plugged in and is pressed out of the locking recess against the locking spring. The locking spring is supported on the back wall of the plug-in opening, in particular, against said back wall, and thus presses the locking pin forward in the plug-in direction, i.e., in the direction of the opening, and in this case presses the plug-in opening laterally into a locking recess, which here forms a stop for the locking pin. Suitably, the locking pin is fixedly connected orthogonally to the longitudinal pin. The longitudinal pin serves to couple the locking pin to the locking spring in the plug and to improve the guidance of the locking pin. For this purpose, the longitudinal pin is guided in the plug-in direction in a through-guide in a rear wall of the socket and is supported against this rear wall by means of a locking spring. The through-guide opens forward into the opening, so that the longitudinal pin projects into the opening when the charging plug is removed. The locking pin extends laterally from the longitudinal pin to the outside of the socket. When the charging plug is inserted, it is pushed against the locking spring onto the longitudinal pin, which then drives the locking pin and is pushed out of the locking recess, so that a tilting about a transverse axis can then be achieved. As a result, a particularly simple, reliable and purely mechanical locking mechanism is achieved overall.

Similar to the electric locking, electric locking is also conceivable and suitable, alternatively or in addition to purely mechanical locking.

In an advantageous embodiment, a guide pin is arranged at the socket, which is moved by the socket when the socket is tilted, in particular, is rotated on a circular path about a transverse axis. In one suitable embodiment, the guide pin extends parallel to the transverse axis and extends through a side wall of the socket. The retainer has a guide groove for guiding the guide pin when the socket is flipped. Expediently, the guide groove extends in the shape of a circular arc around the transverse axis. The guide groove has two stops for the guide pin, which define a rest position and a plug-in position and limit the tilting of the plug socket about the transverse axis. If the guide pin is stopped at one of the stops, the plugging position or the rest position is reached and further tilting is not possible. The guide groove thus limits the tilting angle, which has been described above again, to a specific angular range.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the guide pin is at the same time the locking pin, i.e. the guide pin and the locking pin are identical and represent the same component, and the locking recess is part of the guide groove. By means of this double utilization, a particularly simple mechanical design with a small number of components is achieved, which advantageously combines a plurality of functions and further advantageously places these functions also in an operational relationship with one another. These functions are, on the one hand, the locking of the socket in the plugged position and, on the other hand, the guidance of the socket during the tilting and the limitation of the tilting angle. Preferably, the locking recess is formed at the end face at the guide groove, i.e. starting from this stop which defines the plug-in position. The guide groove is thus generally of L-shaped design with a rectilinear base which extends in the plug-in direction and forms the locking recess, and with guide arms which are coupled to the base and are particularly longer than the base and extend in an arc-shaped manner along a circular path about the transverse axis. Starting from the plug-in position, the guide pin is pushed out of the latching recess into the guide arm when the charging plug is inserted. On the other hand, when the charging plug is tilted into the plugged-in position, the guide pin is pushed into the locking recess by the locking spring at the stop when the charging plug is removed.

In an advantageous embodiment, the socket can additionally be pivoted about a vertical axis and can be snapped into a plurality of latching positions. The vertical axis runs in particular perpendicular to the transverse axis and from top to bottom, i.e. parallel to the force of gravity. This allows additional flexibility in handling of the plug-receiving device to be provided. The latching position is here a predefined angular position with respect to a pivoting movement about a vertical axis. For adjustment, the holder has a hinge (Scharnier), which requires a certain expenditure of force for actuating the hinge in order to pivot the socket from one latching position into the next latching position. The latching positions are each defined, for example, by a recess or the like in a sheet metal (Scheibe, sometimes referred to as sheet metal) as the first arm of the hinge and about a vertical axis, for example, in an angular range of 180 ° and for example in 30 ° steps (schrit). A spring-loaded pin or ball is then arranged on the second arm of the hinge, said pin or ball being pressed into the corresponding recess and the hinge thereby snapping into the associated latching position.

In an advantageous embodiment, the plug-receiving device has a light element which indicates whether the socket is locked or unlocked. The light-emitting element is, for example, an LED, which accordingly assumes the state of the locking element, for example in a color-coded manner.

In an advantageous embodiment, the plug-receiving device also has an approach light which is automatically activated by means of a proximity sensor when the electric vehicle approaches for charging. This is advantageous especially at night.

The charging station according to the invention has a plug receiving device as described above. The charging station is configured for charging an electric vehicle. In one possible embodiment, the single or several elements of the plug-receiving device are located elsewhere in the charging station and are not necessarily part of the plug-receiving device. The charging station also has a charging cable, on the end side of which a charging plug is arranged. The charging plug is preferably standardized in general, i.e. is a standard charging plug, in particular for electric vehicles.

Alternatively to using the plug receptacle as part of the charging station, in principle an inverted embodiment is also conceivable and advantageous, in which the plug receptacle is mounted on the electric vehicle if that vehicle has a charging plug which is plugged into a charging socket of the charging station for charging. Likewise, it is also advantageous to use the plug receptacle in an electric vehicle in which the socket of the plug receptacle is a charging socket into which a charging plug of a charging station is inserted. The rest position is then expediently at the same time a charging position in which electrical contact-making with the battery is then carried out in order to charge the battery. Since the socket is securely locked in the rest position, the charging plug cannot be accidentally removed during charging, thereby correspondingly improving the safety during charging.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail later on with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:

figure 1 shows schematically and partially a charging station with a socket,

fig. 2 schematically shows the charging station of fig. 1, wherein the outlet is in another position,

fig. 3 schematically shows the charging station of fig. 1, wherein the outlets are in yet another position,

figure 4 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the plug-receiving device in the plugged-in position,

fig. 5 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of fig. 4, wherein a charging plug is inserted,

figure 6 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the plug-receiving device of figure 4 in a rest position,

figure 7 schematically shows a side view of the plug-receiving device of figure 4 in the plugged-in position,

fig. 8 schematically shows a side view of fig. 4, wherein the plug-receiving device is in a rest position,

figure 9 schematically shows another side view of the plug-receiving device of figure 4 in the plugged-in position,

fig. 10 schematically shows a side view of fig. 9, wherein a charging plug is inserted,

fig. 11 schematically shows a side view of fig. 9, wherein the plug-receiving device is in a rest position,

fig. 12 schematically shows a variant of the plug-receiving device.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 to 3 show a charging station 2 in sections, which has a plug-receiving device 4 with an insertion opening 6 for a charging plug 8. The charging station 2 is designed in a stationary manner and is designed, for example, as a charging post or as a so-called wall box for wall assembly. The plug-receiving device 4 is generally used to receive a charging plug 8, which is in turn used to charge a battery of an electric vehicle, which is not shown in detail. For this purpose, the charging station 2 has a charging cable 10, on the end side of which a charging plug 8 is arranged. For charging, the charging plug 8 can be removed from the plug receptacle 4 and can be inserted into a complementary charging socket at the electric vehicle. After charging, the charging plug 8 can be inserted into the plug-receiving device 4 again for a reliable and protected storage.

The plug-receiving device 4 has, in addition to the socket 6, a holder 12 and a locking element 14. The holder 12 serves on the one hand for the positionally fixed mounting of the plug receptacle 4 on the housing 16 of the charging station 2 and on the other hand for holding the socket 6. The illustrated holder 12 has a generally U-shaped socket receptacle 18 with two side portions 20 which enclose the socket 6 on opposite sides. The outlet 6 has an opening 22 for insertion and removal of the charging plug 8. The charging plug 8 is introduced into the opening 22 or removed therefrom in the plugging direction S. In the present exemplary embodiment, the opening 22 is configured complementarily to the charging plug 8, so that it is mounted in the socket 6 in a form-fitting manner.

The socket 6 is connected to the holder 12 so as to be pivotable about a transverse axis Q, so that the socket 6 can be pivoted downward from the plugged position shown in fig. 1 into the rest position shown in fig. 2 and 3. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the socket 6 can additionally be pivoted about a vertical axis V, as is evident from fig. 1 to 3. However, flipping and swinging are independent of each other. The transverse axis Q extends horizontally, the plugging direction S is perpendicular to the transverse axis Q and is turned about the latter together with the plug socket 6, and the plugging direction S is furthermore perpendicular to the vertical axis V in the rest position and is generally pivoted about the latter together with the plug socket 6.

The locking element 14 is designed such that the socket 6 is locked when it is tilted into the rest position, so that the charging plug 8 is secured in the socket 6 and is prevented from falling out. Furthermore, the locking element 14 is designed in such a way that the socket 6 is unlocked when it is tilted into the plugged-in position, so that the charging plug 8 can then be removed. The plugged-in position is used for inserting and removing the charging plug 8, while the rest position is used for storing the charging plug. In the rest position, the insertion opening 6 is tilted downward by a tilting angle W of more than 0 ° relative to the insertion position. In the illustrated embodiment, the flip angle W is about 45 °, as can be seen from fig. 2 and 3. Due to the angled design of the charging plug 8, comfortable handling of the charging plug in both positions is ensured.

As is further evident from fig. 2 and 3, the opening 22 and the charging plug 8 mounted therein are oriented generally downward in the rest position, so that dirt is prevented from penetrating. Charging plug 8 is hung downward from outlet 6. At the same time, any dirt that may accumulate in the opening 22 when the plug-in position is turned into the rest position and when the charging plug 8 is removed is automatically thrown out of the socket 6. The intrusion of dirt is further avoided by: the charging plug 8 is mounted in the socket 6 in a form-fitting manner. The charging plug 8 is prevented by the locking member 14 from falling out of the socket 6 in the rest position. The locking element 14 is automatically activated when tilted downward into the rest position and, conversely, is automatically deactivated when tilted upward into the plugged position.

An exemplary embodiment of the locking element 14 is explained subsequently with reference to fig. 4 to 11, which show different views of the plug-receiving device 4 with the plug socket 6 in different positions. Fig. 4 to 6 show cross-sectional views along the transverse axis Q and the plugging direction S. Fig. 4 and 5 show the plugged-in position, so that the vertical axis V is perpendicular to the drawing plane, while fig. 6 shows the rest position, in which the vertical axis V is correspondingly inverted. While fig. 7 to 11 each show a side view of the plug-receiving device 4 with the plug socket 6 in a different position. The vertical axis V and the plugging direction S are in the drawing plane, and the transverse axis Q is perpendicular to the drawing plane. Fig. 7 and 8 show the locking and unlocking of the socket 6 on one side of the plug-receiving device 4. Fig. 9 to 11 show the activation and deactivation of the locking of the socket 6 in the holder 12 on opposite sides. Fig. 7, 9 and 10 show the plugged-in position, and fig. 8 and 11 show the rest position.

As is evident from fig. 4 to 8, the locking element 14 in the exemplary embodiment shown has a locking pin 24, which is mounted movably in the receptacle 6. When the locking pin 24 is pivoted into the rest position, it moves out of the socket 6 on the inner side 26 thereof, i.e. into the opening 22, engages in the charging plug 8 (as shown in fig. 6) and thereby locks the socket 6. Conversely, when the locking pin 24 is pivoted into the plugged-in position, it moves out of the opening 22, i.e. into the socket 6, thereby releasing the charging plug 8 and thus unlocking the socket 6. In the illustrated embodiment, the locking pin 24 is displaced laterally, i.e. parallel to the transverse axis Q, into and out of the housing and is supported and guided in a through-opening 28 in a side wall 30 of the socket 6. The lead-through 28 extends from the inner side 26 to the outer side 32 of the socket 6.

The stop pin 24 is supported by a stop spring 34, which presses the stop pin 24 in the direction of the outer side 32. For this purpose, the stop pin 24 extends through a stop spring 34 and is supported toward the inside 26 at the socket 6 and toward the outside 32 at a flange 36 of the stop pin 24. In order to achieve automatic locking and unlocking during tilting, the holder 12 covers the passage guide 28 in the rest position, as can be seen in fig. 6 and 8, and thus prevents the removal of the locking pin 24. In the plugged-in position, the holder 12, on the other hand, releases the through-guide 28 in that the recess 38 is brought into the holder 12 and, as a result, the displacement of the locking pin 24 by means of the locking spring 34 is achieved, as shown in fig. 4, 5 and 7. Furthermore, the holder 12 has a ramp 40, which cannot be seen in fig. 4 to 6, but can be seen well in fig. 1, 2, 7 and 8. The ramp 40 is arranged and designed in such a way that, when tilted into the rest position, it runs over the through-guide 28 and thus moves the stop pin 24 against the stop spring 34 toward the inner side 26. The ramp 40 initially provides the stop pin 24 on the outside with an offset space, here the recess 38, which decreases continuously during the tilting process, so that the stop pin 24 is pushed inward. In the rest position, the locking spring 34 then presses the locking pin 24, so to speak, from the inside toward the holder 12.

In a configuration that is not shown, the locking element 14 is alternatively or additionally designed in such a way that the locking pin 24 is moved in an electrically powered manner. For this purpose, the locking element 14 has an actuator which moves the stop pin 24 as a function of position. Furthermore, a sensor is arranged, which detects the tilting movement, and a control unit, which actuates the actuator in response to the tilting movement.

In an embodiment, which is likewise not shown, the locking element 14 is configured so as to be lockable and can only be deactivated by means of a specific authorization, so that only specific personnel can remove the charging plug 8. The locking element 14 is thus locked in the rest position by a lock, either manually or automatically.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the locking element 14 is additionally designed in such a way that the plug socket 6 is locked in the plugged-in position when the charging plug 8 is removed, in order to prevent it from being tilted into the rest position. By means of this locking, the position of the socket 6 relative to the holder 12 is fixed and the socket 6 is prevented from being turned back downward autonomously. Currently, this locking is released only when the charging plug 8 is inserted into the socket 6, in order to then be tilted downward, i.e. directly before the tilting and before the socket 6 is locked.

For locking, the locking element 14 has a locking pin 42, which is mounted movably in the socket 6 by means of a locking spring 44. Furthermore, the holder 12 has a locking recess 46, which is arranged and designed in such a way that, in the plugged-in position, the locking pin 42 is pressed into the locking recess 46 by means of the locking spring 44 when the charging plug 8 is removed, thereby locking the socket 6.

In the embodiment shown, the locking pin 42 extends parallel to the transverse axis Q and along a through-guide 48 in a side wall 50 of the socket 6, like the stop pin 24, but on the opposite side. Furthermore, the locking pin 42 is not movable in the direction of the transverse axis Q, as is the case with the locking pin 24, but rather is movable perpendicular thereto, i.e. in the plugging direction S. As is apparent from fig. 4 and 5 and 9 and 10, when the charging plug 8 is inserted, the locking pin 42 is pressed out of the locking recess 46 by the locking pin against the locking spring 44. For this purpose, the locking spring 44 is supported against a rear wall 52 of the socket 6 and thereby presses the locking pin 42 forward and in this case laterally into a locking recess 46 in the socket 6, which here forms a corresponding stop.

The locking pin 42 is now connected orthogonally to the longitudinal pin 54. The longitudinal pin 54 is guided in the plug-in direction S in a through-opening 56 of the rear wall 52 and is supported against said rear wall by means of the locking spring 44. The passage guide 56 opens forward into the opening 22. The locking pin 42 extends laterally from the longitudinal pin 54 towards the outer side 32 of the socket 6.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the locking pin 42 is at the same time a guide pin 58, however, in a variant not shown, these two parts are realized separately. The guide pin 58 is arranged at the socket 6 and is entrained from the socket on a circular track about the transverse axis Q when turned over. Currently, the guide pin 58 extends parallel to the transverse axis Q and extends through the side wall 50. The holder 12 has a guide groove 60, here in the shape of a circular arc, for guiding the guide pin 58 when the socket 6 is turned upside down. The guide groove 60 has two stops 62 for guiding the pin 58, which define the rest position and the plugging position and limit the tilting of the socket 6 about the transverse axis Q to the tilting angle W.

As is evident from fig. 9 to 11, the locking recess 46 is formed at the end face on the guide groove 60, i.e. starting from this stop 62 which defines the plug-in position. The guide groove 60 is thus generally of L-shaped design with a rectilinear base which extends in the plug-in direction S and forms the locking recess 46, and with guide arms which are coupled to the base and are longer than the base and extend arcuately along a circular path about the transverse axis Q. Starting from the plugged-in position, when the charging plug 8 is plugged in, the guide pin 58 is pushed out of the latching recess 46 into the guide arm as shown in fig. 10. Conversely, when the charging plug 8 is tilted into the plugged-in position, the guide pin 58 is pushed out of the stop 62 into the locking recess 46 by the locking spring 44.

As already described, the socket 6 can additionally be swiveled about the vertical axis V. The insertion opening 6 can be snapped into a plurality of detent positions, which are predefined angular positions with respect to the pivoting about the vertical axis V. For adjustment, the holder 12 has a hinge 64, for which a specific effort is required to pivot the insertion opening 6 from one latching position into the next latching position. In fig. 1 to 3, the respective latching positions are each defined as a recess 66 in a sheet 68 at a first arm of the hinge 64 and a spring-loaded pin or ball (not explicitly shown) is seated at a second arm of the hinge 64 (here the socket receptacle 18), which pin or ball is pressed into the respective recess 66 and thereby latches the hinge 64 in the associated latching position.

Currently, the plug-receiving device 4 additionally has a light element 70, which indicates whether the socket 6 is locked or unlocked. The light-emitting element 70 is here an LED which assumes the state of the locking member in a color-coded manner. In a not shown embodiment, the plug-receiving device 4 alternatively or additionally has an approach light, which is automatically activated by means of a proximity sensor if the electric vehicle approaches for charging.

Fig. 12 shows a variant of the plug-receiving device 4 in which the locking element 14 is concealed, i.e. is not visible from the outside. The socket 6 is designed here as a sheet, which is cut out on the front side and thus designed with a front face into which the opening 22 for the charging plug 8 is brought. The sheet is surrounded at its flat side walls 30, 50 by the fork-shaped socket receptacle 18 in a form-fitting manner. The socket receptacle 18 is connected as one arm of the hinge 64 to the other, here fork-shaped, arm of the hinge 64 in a rotatable manner, so that the socket 6 can also be pivoted about the vertical axis V. The fork-shaped arm has a plurality of mounting openings, not shown in detail, for mounting on the housing or the wall.

List of reference numerals

2 charging station

4 plug receiving device

6 socket

8 charging plug

10 charging cable

12 holder

14 locking element

16 casing

18 socket receptacle

20 side part

22 opening

24-stop pin shaft

26 inner side

28 (for retaining the pin) through guide

30 side wall

32 outside

34 stop spring

36 flange

38 (in the holder) clearance

40 slope

42 locking pin shaft

44 locking spring

46 locking clearance

48 (for locking the pin) through guides

50 side wall

52 back wall

54 longitudinal pin

56 (for longitudinal pin) through guides

58 guide pin shaft

60 guide groove

62 stop part

64 hinge

66 cavity

68 sheet material

70 light emitting element

Transverse axis of Q

S direction of insertion

Vertical axis of V

W turnover angle