J1772 Connectors

 J1772 Connectors  is a North American standard for electrical connectors for electric vehicles maintained by the Electriccarpartscompany and has the formal title " J1772 Connectors. Electric Vehicle Conductive Charge Coupler. It covers the general physical, electrical, communication protocol, and performance requirements for the electric vehicle conductive charge system and coupler. The intent is to define a common electric vehicle conductive charging system architecture including operational requirements and the functional and dimensional requirements for the vehicle inlet and mating connector.

The main stimulus for the development of J1772 Connectors came from the California Air Resources Board. Formerly electric vehicles like the General Motors EV1 had used inductive charger couplers. These were ruled out in favor of conductive coupling to supply electricity for recharging with the California Air Resources Board settling upon the electriccarpartscompany standard as the charging interface for electric vehicles in California in June 2001.Av con manufactured a rectangular connector compliant with that J1772 Connectors specification that was capable of delivering up to 6.6 kW of electrical power. Photos and description of this old-revision rectangular "AV Con connector" and "AV Con inlet".

The J1772 standard includes several levels of shock protection, ensuring the safety of charging even in wet conditions. Physically, the connection pins are isolated on the interior of the connector when mated, ensuring no physical access to those pins. When not mated, J1772 connectors have no voltage at the pins, and charging power does not flow until commanded by the vehicle.

The power pins are of the first-make, last-break variety. If the plug is in the charging port of the vehicle and charging, and it is removed, the control pilot and proximity detection pin will break first causing the power relay in the charging station to open, cutting all current flow to the J1772 plug. This prevents any arcing on the power pins, prolonging their lifespan. The proximity detection pin is also connected to a switch that is triggered upon pressing the physical disconnect button when removing the connector from the vehicle. This causes the resistance to change on the proximity pin which commands the vehicle's onboard charger to stop drawing current immediately before the connector is pulled out.