Abstract: An apparatus for charging electric vehicles is provided. The apparatus includes a housing, a sleeve extending from the housing, a first nozzle assembly designed to move inside the sleeve and to engage a charging port of an electric vehicle, and a second nozzle assembly designed to move inside the sleeve independently of the first nozzle assembly. The second nozzle assembly has a recess for receiving a locking pawl of the charging port. The second nozzle assembly is designed to be fully inserted into the charging port before the first nozzle assembly is fully inserted into the charging port. The recess receives the locking pawl after the ground pin engages the inlet ground pin. The first nozzle assembly is designed to be fully inserted into the charging port after the locking pawl is secured inside the recess of the second nozzle assembly.

Abstract: A camera is located within an array of receptacles of a robotically controlled vehicle charging connector which receptacles are configured to mate and establish electrical connection with respective mating pins of a vehicle's charging port. Image signals generated by the camera are supplied to a computer vision processor which generates motor control signals which enable the connector receptacles and mating pins to be properly aligned so as to enable the charging connector to be robotically plugged into the vehicle's charging port. In other embodiments, the mating pins may be located in the charging connector and the receptacles in the charging port.

Abstract: An apparatus for interconnecting a vehicle charging connector with a charging port of a vehicle wherein a latch arm is slidably mounted in the charging connector to slide toward and away from the charging port and toward and into an opening in the charging port. A tip portion is positioned on the latch arm so as to be insertable downwardly into a cavity formed in an interior surface of the opening of the charging port and a linear actuator is configured to drive the latch arm towards and away from the charging connector. In an illustrative embodiment, the charging connector comprises part of a robot configured to move the tip of the latch arm downwardly into the cavity in the opening of the charging port to enable pulling the charging connector and charging port together to establish electrical contact.