The terminology is kind of confusing, but usually the thing called a "charger" is the part that converts AC to DC at whatever voltage the pack requires.
For level 1 and 2 charging, the charger is in the car. J1772 ports are basically just fancy 110v or 220v AC plugs with some extra signalling.
DC charging tends to happen at much higher power levels, and that equipment is expensive so the AC-DC converter is kept outside of the car. The car itself just has a couple contactors (i.e. high power relays) to connect the charge port directly to the battery, and a microcontroller to tell the charger how much current it can handle at what voltage.
And yet the technical people need accurate names to call things so they can communicate without ambiguity.
I think "charging station" is the least confusing term for the fixed infrastructure part. If regular people call those "chargers" in non-technical conversation, then I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
The thing that you use to provide your phone with electricity - do you call it an AC-DC converter, or do you call it a charger like nearly everyone on earth, even though the charger part is actually inside your phone?
It's funny that people don't want to call it a charger specifically because it doesn't do the AC-DC conversion, and your example of a thing people call a charger is an AC-DC converter.
And depending on the sophistication of the phone, that converter outside the phone might be doing most of the work.
>>It's funny that people don't want to call it a charger specifically because it doesn't do the AC-DC conversion
Well yeah, they are being silly - I don't know why that would be the distinction, even if it did AC-DC conversion it would have no idea what the battery is doing which is the entire point.
>>that converter outside the phone might be doing most of the work.
Maybe, but usually the circuit that controls and monitors the battery is inside the phone, not in the "charger" outside. Even battery chargers for power tools and such work this way - the circuit that controls the battery charging is actually inside the battery pack not in the base, but everyone would call the base a "charger".
For level 1 and 2 charging, the charger is in the car. J1772 ports are basically just fancy 110v or 220v AC plugs with some extra signalling.
DC charging tends to happen at much higher power levels, and that equipment is expensive so the AC-DC converter is kept outside of the car. The car itself just has a couple contactors (i.e. high power relays) to connect the charge port directly to the battery, and a microcontroller to tell the charger how much current it can handle at what voltage.