The present invention discloses a charging socket lead frame assembly and a charging socket. The charging socket lead frame assembly has a lead frame which has a frame body and an electrical connection structure arranged in the frame body. The lead frame is adapted to be installed in a cavity of a charging socket, and a plurality of terminals of the charging socket are adapted to pass through the frame body. One end of the electrical connection structure is exposed from the frame body to electrically connect with a lead of a temperature sensor. The lead frame is arranged in non-electrical contact with at least one signal terminal of the charging socket. Therefore, the structure of the lead frame can be simplified and the manufacturing difficulty and cost can be reduced.

An automated charging system for an electric vehicle is disclosed that includes a plug with a built-in camera assembly. The camera assembly captures images of a charging port of the electric vehicle, which are processed by one or more processors to estimate the location of the charging port relative to the plug. A control system generates signals for one or more actuators to move the plug relative to the charging port, thereby inserting the plug into the charging port to connect a power supply to the electric vehicle. The images may be processed via an image recognition algorithm and/or one or more machine learning algorithms. In an embodiment, the images are processed by a neural network to estimate the location of the charging port relative to the plug. The plug can also include a tapered structure to make fine adjustments to the position or orientation of the plug during connection.

Active cables and communication methods can provide data path redundancy with power sharing. In one illustrative cable implementation, the cable includes a first connector with contacts to supply power to circuitry in the first connector; a second connector with contacts to supply power to a component of the circuitry in the first connector via a first connection that prevents reverse current flow; and a third connector with contacts to supply power to the same component via a second connection that prevents reverse current flow. An illustrative method implementation includes: using contacts of a first connector to supply power to circuitry in the first connector; and using contacts in each of multiple redundant connectors to supply power to a component of said circuitry in the first connector via a corresponding diodic or switched connection that prevents reverse current flow.

An electronic power connector including at least one contact configured to electrically connect a power supply to a load. The electronic power connector further including an insulating sleeve configured to receive the at least one contact. The insulating sleeve includes a sensor slot located at a first end of the insulating sleeve.

An alignment mechanism for automatic charging, comprising: a first substrate, disposed in a vertical direction; a second substrate, disposed opposite to the first substrate; a first spring, both ends connected to surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate which face each other, respectively; and a limiting assembly, disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate; wherein the limiting assembly comprises at least two limiting plates which are disposed parallel to each other and are in a same horizontal plane, and each of the two limiting plates has both ends connected to the first substrate and the second substrate respectively in such a manner that the limiting plate is rotatable in the horizontal plane; and a surface of the second substrate facing away from the first substrate is configured to connect a first connector, which is a connector of a charging device to be charged.

An alignment mechanism for automatic charging, comprising: a first substrate, disposed in a vertical direction; a second substrate, disposed opposite to the first substrate; a first spring, both ends connected to surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate which face each other, respectively; and a limiting assembly, disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate; wherein the limiting assembly comprises at least two limiting plates which are disposed parallel to each other and are in a same horizontal plane, and each of the two limiting plates has both ends connected to the first substrate and the second substrate respectively in such a manner that the limiting plate is rotatable in the horizontal plane; and a surface of the second substrate facing away from the first substrate is configured to connect a first connector, which is a connector of a charging device to be charged.

Thermal mitigation features may be included in a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable assembly or in the USB receptacle portion of a device. In one aspect, one or both ends of a USB cable jacket may have greater thermal conductivity than the portion between them. The portion having the greater thermal conductivity may dissipate excess heat from the cable into the environment. In another aspect, a USB cable connector or the USB receptacle portion of a device may include a thermoelectric heat pump. The thermoelectric heat pump may move excess heat from the cable assembly or receptacle into a portion of the cable assembly or device that dissipates the heat into the environment.

A circuit connection module include a board, an electronic component mounted on the board, and an electrically conductive member connected to the electronic component so as to be thermally conductive. The electronic component includes a heat dissipation portion exposed on an outer surface of the electronic component. The electrically conductive member includes a plate-shaped portion connected to the heat dissipation portion so as to be thermally conductive, and a terminal portion in which one end is connected to the plate-shaped portion so as to be thermally conductive and electrically conductive and the other end is in contact with a mating terminal.

A connector part for connecting to a mating connector part includes at least one load contact and at least one temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the at least one load contact. The connector part further includes an evaluation unit. The evaluation unit is configured to detect at least one sensor value of the at least one temperature sensor and at least one value of a parameter with respect to an electric current flow via the at least one load contact.

A plug connector includes a plug head, a plug terminal module, a locking member and a retaining body installed on one side of the plug connector. The plug terminal module includes a number of first plug terminals and a number of second plug terminals. The first plug terminals and the second plug terminals have a same structure and number. The first plug terminals and the second plug terminals are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the plug connector head.