The German Design Council, which is made up of a top-class international jury, has awarded the MOBILITY DOCK the German Design Award in the “Excellent Product Design /Automotive Parts and Accessories” category. This award honours products that provide answers to the challenges of our time, advance design thinking, and represent the highest design standards. The German Design Award is internationally recognised and makes design trends visible to a wide audience in a glamorous setting. This year, the winners of the prize will be showcased under the motto “How designers think”.

The second important prize is the EMOVE 360 AWARD, which is presented by the international trade fair for electric mobility and autonomous driving, eMove360°. This prize was awarded for Electric & Autonomous Mobility 2021 in the field of Connectivity & Engineering.

The MOBILITY DOCK is a space-saving charger that allows an electric vehicle to be charged from a standard household socket in combination with any type 2 charging cable. This means that e-car drivers need fewer different types of charging cables, which saves space and weight in the boot and makes charging easier and more manageable. The innovation was first unveiled at the Lapp Mobility GmbH stand at IAA MOBILITY 2021, which was held in Munich from 7 to 12 September 2021.

“The MOBILITY DOCK completely fulfils the function of a mobile charging station, but requires much less space in the boot,” says Frank Hubbert, Managing Director of Lapp Mobility GmbH, describing the new product. Communication between MOBILITY DOCK and the vehicle takes place via a control device integrated into the charger, which sets the charging current up to a maximum of 10A and also monitors the charging process. A charging power of up to a maximum of 2.3 kW is thereby achieved, and the setting is automatic. The device monitors the device temperature and the temperature at the Schuko plug socket. If an increased temperature is detected on the power connector, the charger automatically regulates the charging power to prevent overheating. Another protective function for the user is earth conductor monitoring as well as the detection of direct current and alternating current faults in the charger. AC and DC faults of this type are detected and protected up to 6mA DC and 30mA AC. The MOBILITY DOCK is CE compliant and developed and tested in compliance with the device standard in accordance with IEC62752.

To start the charging process, the mode 3 charging cable is inserted into the type 2 socket of the MOBILITY DOCK. The MOBILITY DOCK with inserted charging cable is then plugged into the Schuko plug socket it’s time to get started. An LED shows the device status. All components are completely stable and fixed securely. To provide support on the building wall, there is a support integrated on the device. This is unlocked by pressing a push button. This allows the support to be finely adjusted on the building wall. The inserted mode 3 charging cable is locked by a mechanism on the housing and can be unlocked using the release lever on the rear. This means that the mode 3 charging cable can be removed from the charger again with little effort.

Thanks to the type 2 socket integrated in the housing, the MOBILITY DOCK is compatible with the European charging cable standard and can therefore be used on all electric and hybrid cars in Europe. The housing of the MOBILITY DOCK is protected against jet water (IP55) and is designed for falling from any position from a height of 1 m. With its weight of approx. 730g and a size of 255x135x105 mm, the installation space and weight of the MOBILITY DOCK are optimised. The device can be stored in the boot, loading floor or in the side pockets of the vehicle to save space. The cap for the type 2 socket also protects the charger against contamination.

Officially, the MOBILITY DOCK will be available as of March 2022 and can be ordered from the LAPP MOBILITY online shop (www.lappmobility.lappgroup.com/shop) among other places. More information is available at www.lappmobility.com