DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to electric chargers and more particularly, relates to an Electric Vehicle (EV) charger with a provision for preventing an ingress of foreign particles.

BACKGROUND

Electrical Vehicles (EVs) have gained widespread popularity in the last few years and significant growth and development are still being witnessed in their realm. The EVs are required to be charged, frequently, for continuous operation. For charging EVs, electrical chargers are installed at different locations including, but not limited to, roads and existing refuelling stations. The existing electrical chargers include a housing and a front cover attached to the housing. The multiple components. The housing is adapted to accommodate multiple components including, but not limited to, a charging unit adapted to be accessed by a user to charge the EVs.

The existing electrical chargers are installed on a platform such as a wall in an outside environment. In existing electrical chargers, there is a gap between the housing and the front cover. Thus, foreign particles such as water, dust, and moisture may enter inside the existing electrical chargers through the gap between the housing and the front cover. This ingress of foreign particles inside the existing electrical charger, may affect the functionality of the components installed in the housing. Further, the entry of the foreign particles also leads to the malfunctioning and/or failure of the components of the existing electrical charger. This increases an overall cost associated with the maintenance of the existing electrical chargers.

Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, there is a need to provide an electrical charger that can eliminate one or more above-mentioned problems associated with existing electrical chargers.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electric vehicle (EV) charger is disclosed. The EV charger may include a front cover, and a back cover coupled to the front cover. The front cover may include a first outer wall defining a first peripheral region. The back cover may include a second outer wall defining a second peripheral region. The second outer wall may include a rim protruding from the second outer wall and adapted to be engaged with the first peripheral region of the front cover. Further, at least a portion of the first outer wall is inclined at a first predefined angle with respect to the rim, and at least a portion of the second outer wall is inclined at a second predefined angle with respect to the rim.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1(a) illustrates a front view of an electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 1(b) illustrates a side view of an electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates a partial side view of an electric vehicle (EV) charger having a front cover and a back cover coupled to the front cover, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3(a) illustrates a side sectional view of the electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3(b) illustrates an enlarged view of a portion ‘A’ of the electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Figure 4 illustrates a partial front view of the front cover depicting a compression rib of the electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

The term “some” as used herein is defined as “none, or one, or more than one, or all.” Accordingly, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would all fall under the definition of “some.” The term “some embodiments” may refer to no embodiments or to one embodiment or to several embodiments or to all embodiments. Accordingly, the term “some embodiments” is defined as meaning “no embodiment, or one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments.”

The terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and does not limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the claims or their equivalents.

More specifically, any terms used herein such as but not limited to “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and grammatical variants thereof do NOT specify an exact limitation or restriction and certainly do NOT exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated, and furthermore must NOT be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated with the limiting language “MUST comprise” or “NEEDS TO include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, either way, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do NOT preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language such as “there NEEDS to be one or more . . . ” or “one or more element is REQUIRED.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skills in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements presented in the attached claims. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of illuminating one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the attached claims fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms such as but not limited to “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or variants thereof do NOT necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or alternatively in the context of more than one embodiment, or further alternatively in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should NOT be necessarily taken as limiting factors to the attached claims. The attached claims and their legal equivalents can be realized in the context of embodiments other than the ones used as illustrative examples in the description below.

The present disclosure provides an electric vehicle (EV) charger. The EV charger is adapted to be installed on a platform such as a wall. The EV charger is adapted to charge an electric vehicle including, but not limited to, a two-wheeler vehicle, a three-wheeler vehicle, and a four-wheeler vehicle. The EV charger may be deployed for enabling a user to charge the electric vehicle. The EV charger may be installed as a standalone unit on the wall, such that the user may easily access the EV charger. The EV charger may be connected to a power source adapted to supply electrical power to the electric vehicle. A battery of the electric vehicle may be charged by connecting the electric vehicle to the EV charger. Further, the electric vehicle may include, but is not limited to, an electric machine powered by the battery through various converters such as a DC-DC converter and an inverter.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1(a) illustrates a front view of an electric vehicle (EV) charger 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1(b) illustrates a side view of an electric vehicle (EV) charger 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Further, Figure 2 illustrates a partial side view of an electric vehicle (EV) charger 100 having a front cover 102 and a back cover 104 coupled to the front cover 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3(a) illustrates a side sectional view of the electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3(b) illustrates an enlarged view of a portion ‘A’ of the electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 illustrates a front view of a compression rib 120 of the electric vehicle (EV) charger, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to Figures 1 (a), 1(b), and 2, the EV charger 100 may include, but is not limited to, the front cover 102, the back cover 104 coupled to the front cover 102, and a sealing member 116. The front cover 102 may have a first outer wall 106 defining a first peripheral region 132. The back cover 104 may be embodied as a housing adapted to accommodate a charging unit 122 of the EV charger 100. The charging unit 122 may include a plurality of components including, but not limited to, a Residual Current Device (RCD) and a charging terminal. Herein, a plug may be connected to the charging terminal for charging the EV vehicle.

Figures 1(a), 1(b), 3(a), and 3(b), the back cover 104 may include a base (not shown), and a second outer wall 108 defining a second peripheral region. The base and second outer wall 108 may be attached to form an enclosed portion. The enclosed portion may be adapted to accommodate the charging unit 122 of the EV charger. In an embodiment, the base may include a first face and a second face opposite to the first face. The EV charger 100 may be mounted on the wall via the first face of the base. The back cover 104 may have, but is not limited to, a cuboidal shape, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the back cover 104 may be formed of a polymeric material. In another embodiment, the back cover 104 may be formed of a plastic material.

The second outer wall 108 may include a rim 110 protruding from the second outer wall 108. The rim 110 is adapted to be engaged with the first peripheral region 132 of the front cover 102. The second peripheral region may include a groove adapted to accommodate the sealing member 116. Further, at least a portion of the second outer wall 108 is inclined at a second predefined angle ?2 with respect to the rim 110. In the illustrated embodiment, a top portion 114 of the second outer wall 108 is inclined at a second predefined angle ?2 with respect to the rim 110. Herein, the second predefined angle ?2 may be, but is not limited to, 2°.

The inclination of the second outer wall 108 is adapted to minimize the ingress of the foreign particles 118 inside the back cover 104. The foreign particles 118 may include, but are not limited to, water, dust, and moisture. When the foreign particles 118 comes in contact with the second outer wall 108, the foreign particles 118 may be diverted and flushed down, due to the inclination of the second outer wall 108, as shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b). This minimizes the entry of the foreign particles 118 inside the back cover 104.

The sealing member 116 is positioned on the second peripheral region and adapted to restrict the ingress of the foreign particles 118 inside the EV charger 100. The sealing member 116 may be positioned in the groove of the second peripheral region. The sealing member 116 may be positioned in the grove of the second peripheral region via a plurality of fasteners. In one embodiment, the plurality of fasteners may be embodied as a plurality of chemical fasteners including, but not limited to, adhesives and glue. In one embodiment, the plurality of fasteners may be embodied as a plurality of mechanical fasteners including, but not limited to, screws. The sealing member 116 may be embodied as a gasket, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the sealing member 116 may be embodied as an H-shaped gasket. In one embodiment, the gasket may be formed of a polymeric material.

The front cover 102 is adapted to provide an access to the charging unit 122 120. The front cover 102 may be coupled to the back cover 104 to secure the charging unit 122 120 installed in the back cover 104. The front cover 102 may include the first outer wall 106 defining the first peripheral region 132. The first peripheral region 132 may be adapted to be engaged with the rim 110 of the back cover 104. Further, at least a portion of the first outer wall 106 is inclined at a first predefined angle ?1 with respect to the rim 110. In the illustrated embodiment, a top portion 112 of the first outer wall 106 is inclined at a first predefined angle ?1 with respect to the rim 110. Herein, the first predefined angle ?1 may be, but is not limited to, 15°.

The inclination of the first outer wall 106 is adapted to minimize the ingress of the foreign particles 118 inside the front cover 102. When the foreign particles 118 come in contact with the first outer wall 106, the foreign particles 118 may be diverted and flushed down, due to the inclination of the first outer wall 106, as shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b). This minimizes the entry of the foreign particles 118 inside the front cover 102.

Figures 3(a), 3(b), and 4, the front cover 102 may include a first portion 126 and a second portion 128 adjacent to the first portion 126. The first portion 126 may be a tapered portion 126 and the second portion may be a flat portion 128. The front cover 102 may include a compression rib 120 protruding from the first peripheral region 132 and defining a channel 124 between the first portion 126 and the second portion 128 of the front cover 102. The channel 124 may be defined along an inner surface of the second portion 128. The channel 124 of the compression rib 120 is adapted to retain foreign particles 118 entered in the channel 124 and prevent the ingress of the foreign particles 118 into the back cover 104 and front cover 102. The compression rib 120 may be adapted to be engaged to the second peripheral region to compress the sealing member 116 positioned in the groove of the second peripheral region to form a sealed surface for preventing the ingress of the foreign particles 118.

Further, the front cover 102 may include a drain port fluidically connected to the channel 124 to drain out the foreign particles 118 entered in the channel 124. If the foreign particles 118 may be entered in the channel 124 through a gap between the front cover 102 and the back cover 104, then the foreign particles 118 may be entered only in the channel 124 and drained out without entering inside the front cover 102 and the back cover 104.

The front cover 102 is secured to the back cover 104, by mating the first outer wall 106 with the second outer wall 108, via a plurality of fasteners. The plurality of fasteners may include, but is not limited to, adhesives and screws, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the front cover 102 may be snap-fitted to the back cover 104. The front cover 102 may have a shape identical to a shape of the back cover 104, such that the front cover 102 may be properly coupled to the back cover 104.

The front cover 102 may include an opening 130 adapted to expose the charging unit 122, so that the plug may be connected to the charging unit 122 through the opening 130. The front cover 102 may have, but is not limited to, a cuboidal shape, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the front cover 102 may be formed of a polymeric material. In another embodiment, front cover 102 may be formed of a plastic material.

In the present disclosure, the first outer wall 106 of the front cover 102 is inclined with respect to the rim 110, and the second outer wall 108 of the back cover 104 is also inclined with respect to the rim 110. This inclination of the first outer wall 106 and the second outer wall 108 provides the first protection against the ingress of the foreign particles 118. The first protection minimizes the ingression of the foreign particles 118 and allows a lesser amount of the foreign particles 118 to be entered through the gap between the front cover 102 and the back cover 104.

Further, the implementation of the sealing member 116 and the compression rib 120 provides a second protection against the ingress of the foreign particles 118 inside the front cover 102 and the back cover 104. If an amount of the foreign particles 118 may be entered through the gap between the front cover 102 and the back cover 104, then the second protection prevents the entry of the foreign particles 118. Herein, the entered foreign particles 118 may remain in the channel 124 of the compression rib 120, and the drain out through the drain port of the compression rib 120 without entering inside the front cover 102 and the back cover 104.

As would be gathered, the present disclosure offers the EV charger 100 for charging electric vehicles. The EV charger 100 has a provision to prevent the entry of the foreign particles 118, as the EV charger 100 includes the first protection and the second protection against the entry of the foreign particles 118. Thus, the implementation of the sealing member 116 and the compression rib 120, and the inclination of the first outer wall 106 and the second outer wall 108, may prevent the entry of the foreign particles 118 inside the EV charger 100. This protects the charging unit 122 from the foreign particles 118 and eliminates the failure and/or malfunctioning of the charging unit 122 due to the entry of the foreign particles 118. Thus, the overall cost associated with the maintenance of the EV charger 100 is also reduced. Therefore, the electric vehicle (EV) charger 100 of the present disclosure is operationally effective and cost-effective.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.
,CLAIMS:1. An electric vehicle (EV) charger (100) comprising:
a front cover (102) having a first outer wall (106) defining a first peripheral region (132);
a back cover (104) coupled to the front cover (102) and having a second outer wall (108) defining a second peripheral region, wherein the second outer wall (108) comprises:
a rim (110) protruding from the second outer wall (108) and adapted to be engaged with the first peripheral region (132) of the front cover (102),
wherein at least a portion of the first outer wall (106) is inclined at a first predefined angle (?1) with respect to the rim (110), and at least a portion of the second outer wall (108) is inclined at a second predefined angle (?2) with respect to the rim (110).

2. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 1,
wherein a top portion (112) of the first outer wall (106) is inclined at a first predefined angle (?1) with respect to the rim (110); and
wherein a top portion (114) of the second outer wall (108) is inclined at a second predefined angle (?2) with respect to the rim (110).

3. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a sealing member (116) positioned on the second peripheral region and adapted to restrict an ingress of foreign particles (118) inside the EV charger (100).

4. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second peripheral region comprises a groove adapted to accommodate the sealing member (116).

5. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sealing member (116) is embodied as an H-shaped gasket.

6. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claims 1 and 3, wherein the front cover (102) comprises a compression rib (120) protruding from the first peripheral region (132) and defining a channel (124) between a first portion (126) and a second (128) portion of the front cover (102), wherein the channel (124) is defined along an inner surface of the second portion (128).

7. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the front cover (102) comprises a drain port fluidically connected to the channel (124) to drain out the foreign particles (118) entered in the channel (124).

8. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claims 6 and 7, wherein the compression rib (120) is formed along the first peripheral region (132) to retain the foreign particles (118) entered in the channel (124), and the entered foreign particles (118) are drained through the drain port without entering inside the front cover (102) and the back cover (104).

9. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the compression rib (120) is adapted to be engaged to the second peripheral region to compress the sealing member (116) positioned in the groove of the second peripheral region.

10. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front cover (102) is secured to the back cover (104), by mating the first outer wall (106) with the second outer wall (108), via a plurality of fasteners.

11. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front cover (102) and the back cover (104) are formed of one of a polymeric material, and a plastic material.

12. The EV charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second outer wall (108) is defining an enclosed portion adapted to accommodate a charging unit (122) of the EV charger (100).