Update: Still working on the video and some pictures. I'll alert those who 'reserved' about the earliest of the product to arrive, next week.
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Solving a problem: Locking public J-1772 to your Model S during charging
- Thread starter Babylonfive
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mknox
Well-Known Member
Question: I have noticed using public stations that I have to squeeze the J1772's handle to interrupt the current in order to extract the J1772/adapter combo from the car (the station I use at work has no facility to stop charging on the equipment itself). If I used this adapter which prevents the J1772 from being squeezed, how would I extract it from the car?
The way it is configured, you have to unlock the car and port, stop charging, then remove the J1772 and adapter together with the locking device as a unit. That allows you to remove the locking device, then separate the J1772 from the adapter. Very neat and smart design.
Al Sherman
It's about THIS car.
Brilliant, and simple solution B5! Congrats.
I will almost never use public chargers. After reading these forums about unplugging scenarios I realize that if it happened to me even once I would be annoyed at an unacceptable level. I'm definitely getting one. The price is WELL worth not having to worry about someone (anyone for ANY reason) not unplugging my car.
Most excellent!
I will almost never use public chargers. After reading these forums about unplugging scenarios I realize that if it happened to me even once I would be annoyed at an unacceptable level. I'm definitely getting one. The price is WELL worth not having to worry about someone (anyone for ANY reason) not unplugging my car.
Most excellent!
The first time I attempted to use a public charger I ended up really close to having to call Tesla to figure out what I did wrong.
I flashed my Chargepoint tag at the charger and took the wand out.
I connected the adapter to the wind.
I inserted the adapted wand into my MA and heard the lock click and it started charging.
Came back and approached the car with fob present.
Pushed button on wand and pulled wand. It disconnected from adapter.
Left adapter in charge port and took wand to station.
Returned wand to station (and I think I flashed my tag again).
Went back to car and tried to pull adapter out, but it was stuck!
I tried a few things at this point. I believe I also attempted to hit the charge port release button on the screen, but can't say for certain.
Tried to take wand back out of station, but it was locked in there.
Just as I was getting ready to call Tesla, I thought to do this:
Flash tag at station
Remove wand from station
Insert wand to adapter
Grasp adapter
Push button on wand
Remove both adapter and wind simultaneously from charge port.
Remove adapter
Put wand in station
Whew. I would be willing to purchase this ring just to avoid that hassle again.
Is there any chance you might also be willing to fab and offer a nice "contact me" placard that can be affixed to ring to make it easy for other EV owners to call you if they need to?
I guess with the multiple holes on the ring, one could just use a regular luggage tag, but..
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk HD
I flashed my Chargepoint tag at the charger and took the wand out.
I connected the adapter to the wind.
I inserted the adapted wand into my MA and heard the lock click and it started charging.
Came back and approached the car with fob present.
Pushed button on wand and pulled wand. It disconnected from adapter.
Left adapter in charge port and took wand to station.
Returned wand to station (and I think I flashed my tag again).
Went back to car and tried to pull adapter out, but it was stuck!
I tried a few things at this point. I believe I also attempted to hit the charge port release button on the screen, but can't say for certain.
Tried to take wand back out of station, but it was locked in there.
Just as I was getting ready to call Tesla, I thought to do this:
Flash tag at station
Remove wand from station
Insert wand to adapter
Grasp adapter
Push button on wand
Remove both adapter and wind simultaneously from charge port.
Remove adapter
Put wand in station
Whew. I would be willing to purchase this ring just to avoid that hassle again.
Is there any chance you might also be willing to fab and offer a nice "contact me" placard that can be affixed to ring to make it easy for other EV owners to call you if they need to?
I guess with the multiple holes on the ring, one could just use a regular luggage tag, but..
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk HD
mknox
Well-Known Member
Okay. I see. If you "stop charging" from the touchscreen or app, the J1772/adapter combo can be pulled out. I've just been unlocking the car, then squeezing the J1772 handle to release the locking mechanism. It must work differently than the UMC because with that, even with charging stopped and the car unlocked, I have to push the button on the handle to get the port to unlock and release.
OK, so my short experience is that even when CapturePro is correctly attached, you CAN push the button enough to actuate the 'stop charging' signal, but the slack isn't near enough to remove the latch (needs a lot of motion to unlatch). The response of the ChargePoint station varies depending upon being in a "keys within range", state or not:
I observed:
Keys in range: Pressing the button on the charger wand stops charging and unlocks the Tesla connector lock allowing the entire thing to be removed -- this signal detection is equivalent to ending the charging session with your card at the station display -- both send a disconnect to the car, causing the unlock. Finally, hitting the interior control panel 'Charging Connector' release button achieves the same thing, but for different reasons -- the car sends the stop signal to the charger, and opens the connector lock at the same time.
Keys out of range: Pressing the button on the charger wand stops charging but does not unlock the Tesla connector lock -- further, if the button on the wand is released, the car goes back to charging without logging a release/disconnect. In this case, it's critical not to allow the charging wand to be released.
So, summarizing operation with CapturePro in place: YOU hitting the release button (with fob on-site) releases the lock connector, just as you'd like, allowing the removal of the combined adapter/lock, and easy separation; anyone else hitting the button with you off-site simply interrupts the voltage until the button is released, and because the CapturePro won't release the wand, the charger just starts charging again once the button is released.
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First, I think you could have re-unlocked the charge port with the inside control panel button - not sure why your experience/observation doesn't match mine.
Second, Yes I love the idea of a card of some sort to allow someone to alert you by phone/IM/text that they need access, attached to the CapturePro. I will work on that idea, but even if I don't do it, it's easy enough for anyone to add themselves.
I observed:
Keys in range: Pressing the button on the charger wand stops charging and unlocks the Tesla connector lock allowing the entire thing to be removed -- this signal detection is equivalent to ending the charging session with your card at the station display -- both send a disconnect to the car, causing the unlock. Finally, hitting the interior control panel 'Charging Connector' release button achieves the same thing, but for different reasons -- the car sends the stop signal to the charger, and opens the connector lock at the same time.
Keys out of range: Pressing the button on the charger wand stops charging but does not unlock the Tesla connector lock -- further, if the button on the wand is released, the car goes back to charging without logging a release/disconnect. In this case, it's critical not to allow the charging wand to be released.
So, summarizing operation with CapturePro in place: YOU hitting the release button (with fob on-site) releases the lock connector, just as you'd like, allowing the removal of the combined adapter/lock, and easy separation; anyone else hitting the button with you off-site simply interrupts the voltage until the button is released, and because the CapturePro won't release the wand, the charger just starts charging again once the button is released.
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The first time I attempted to use a public charger I ended up really close to having to call Tesla to figure out what I did wrong.
I flashed my Chargepoint tag<snip>
Whew. I would be willing to purchase this ring just to avoid that hassle again.
Is there any chance you might also be willing to fab and offer a nice "contact me" placard that can be affixed to ring to make it easy for other EV owners to call you if they need to?
I guess with the multiple holes on the ring, one could just use a regular luggage tag, but..
First, I think you could have re-unlocked the charge port with the inside control panel button - not sure why your experience/observation doesn't match mine.
Second, Yes I love the idea of a card of some sort to allow someone to alert you by phone/IM/text that they need access, attached to the CapturePro. I will work on that idea, but even if I don't do it, it's easy enough for anyone to add themselves.
I'm interested and would like to 'reserve' one please. My concerns of this device would be sturdiness (how much force would fail the device) and usability/effectiveness (picking the right height could be an issue with older or newer J1772 wands).
I'm not concerned about damage to the car or other design considerations as it is an elegant solution.
Al Sherman
It's about THIS car.
Summarizing even further. It's a marvelous idea and it works! As far as price concerns; none whatsoever. I buy a 100k car with all the bells and whistles. I park it at the airport (remember THAT thread? I was angry just reading it) and when I get home I don't have enough range to make it home. I can almost certainly prevent this for under 50 bucks? Even if I use it once a year it's a NO BRAINER.
I love it!
Maybe a video on the website of a yuppie couple with sweaters around their necks jetting off to Cancun. They park next to a MS and laugh hysterically as they unplug the charger chord and plug it into their (insert another car more than likely a PHEV) then the announcer asks: Has this ever happened to you?:smile:
@AlSherman That's a good idea, and made me laugh.
@DiscoDucky Let me address your comments:
1). first, yes; in my research I was concerned over the wide variety of vendors making the J1772 wands, so I put seven different slot heights to accommodate all the known heights - another aspect of importance is that the latch height (the difference in the latch hook heights from open to latched) is quite large, so even larger mismatches between the hook and the selected slot will still not allow the hook to rise far enough to remove.
2). Second on the construction, thickness and strength: The CapturePro is plenty strong, but is slightly felxible as well. I also considered that users might NEED to remove the lock at some point -- perhaps in some charging emergency -- so I wanted it easy enough to remove with a sharp knife or a pair of clippers/diagonal cutters. The final form is an attempt at a compromise. I'd not want to create a steel or carbon-fiber version, as I'd be concerned about removing it if it came to something important like towing a car away from a charging station.
I now have a new demo video on the website, and I'm about to start ordering over the next week or so for the first small shipment.
@DiscoDucky Let me address your comments:
1). first, yes; in my research I was concerned over the wide variety of vendors making the J1772 wands, so I put seven different slot heights to accommodate all the known heights - another aspect of importance is that the latch height (the difference in the latch hook heights from open to latched) is quite large, so even larger mismatches between the hook and the selected slot will still not allow the hook to rise far enough to remove.
2). Second on the construction, thickness and strength: The CapturePro is plenty strong, but is slightly felxible as well. I also considered that users might NEED to remove the lock at some point -- perhaps in some charging emergency -- so I wanted it easy enough to remove with a sharp knife or a pair of clippers/diagonal cutters. The final form is an attempt at a compromise. I'd not want to create a steel or carbon-fiber version, as I'd be concerned about removing it if it came to something important like towing a car away from a charging station.
I now have a new demo video on the website, and I'm about to start ordering over the next week or so for the first small shipment.
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Another quick update for anyone checking this product out - I've updated the website, now found at power12.com, to include a demo video showing how the CapturePro lock works.
I'll be opening orders in the next week or so.
Update ________________________________
The website is now open.
I'll be interested to see how the first bunch of folks use it, and how it or the website can be improved.
I'll be opening orders in the next week or so.
Update ________________________________
The website is now open.
I'll be interested to see how the first bunch of folks use it, and how it or the website can be improved.
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So, I did some further research... the results of which are on my video walkthrough of the lock device, and noted in another message -- if you hit the button, it signals the charger to stop charging. There are two different results dependent upon whether the owner (the keyfob) is in range:
- if you are around, the interruption causes the car to unlock and stop requresting power. The session is essentially over.
- if you are not around, the voltage is disconnected (current flow stops), but the car does not unlock or disconnect - if you let go of the button, charging restarts.
As to your question, if you hold the key fob, you CAN disconnect simply by pushing the button, and importantly: the CapturePro does not keep the button from being pushed a bit, but it does keep the hook from coming up enough to remove it. Therefore, you *can* use the button to remove the arrangement for yourself, without resorting to disabling the charger or opening the car to use the interior button.
Works fine.
NigelM
Recovering Member
Mod note: as it looks like you're approaching finished product and in the interests of fairness and equal treatment I moved the thread to Parts for Sale .
Good luck with it. Nice product!
Good luck with it. Nice product!
Good point, @vfx. I might consider changing it, but the title does reflect how the whole thing started.
Thanks for your feedback. I've dropped the price much closer to what it costs me, including design, tooling, etc.
Let us know how your version works out!
Let us know how your version works out!
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