Vehicle frame assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10988186-B2
Application number	US-201916667476-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2019
Priority date	Sep 25, 2017
Publication date	Apr 27, 2021
Grant date	Apr 27, 2021

Abstract

An assembly includes a subframe, a rocker, a battery cage supported by the rocker, and a battery supported by the battery cage. The assembly includes a reinforcement bolted to the rocker and positioned to be along a load path through the subframe resulting from a vehicle frontal impact.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An assembly comprising:
a rocker elongated along a longitudinal axis;
a reinforcement bolted to the rocker and elongated along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis; and
bolts connecting the reinforcement to the rocker;
the bolts being spaced along the axis parallel to the longitudinal axis;
the bolts connecting the reinforcement to the rocker at connection points, at least one of the bolts, the reinforcement at the connection points, and the rocker at the connection points being designed to allow the reinforcement to separate from the rocker during a vehicle frontal impact.

2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is positioned to be along a load path resulting from the vehicle frontal impact.

3. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bolts are designed to be breakable relative to at least one of the reinforcement and the rocker.

4. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement has a cross-section that is rectangular and hollow.

5. The assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a battery cage supported by the rocker, the battery cage being spaced from the reinforcement.

6. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the rocker includes a topside and an underside opposite the topside, and the reinforcement is bolted to the underside of the rocker.

7. The assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a battery cage supported by the rocker.

8. The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the reinforcement is spaced from the battery cage.

9. The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the rocker is between the reinforcement and the battery cage.

10. The assembly of claim 7 , further comprising a second rocker spaced from the rocker, and the battery cage being between the rocker and the second rocker.

11. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is positioned on the rocker to be along a load path through a subframe resulting from a vehicle frontal impact.

12. The assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a bridging bracket fixed to the rocker, the bridging bracket being positioned to be along a load path between a subframe and the reinforcement resulting from a vehicle frontal impact.

13. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the bridging bracket is designed to be substantially rigid relative to the reinforcement.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Makowski Matthew B
• Sassi Abdelmonaam
• Subbian Thiag
• BASAVALINGIAH Jayanth Kumar
• Alwan Jamil M
• Madasamy Chelliah

Classifications

• H01M50/242

  adapted for protecting batteries against vibrations, collision impact or swelling · CPC title

• B60L50/64

  Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles · CPC title

• H01M50/249

  specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains (constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64) · CPC title

• Y02T10/70

  Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries · CPC title

• B62D27/065

  using screwthread (connection of crossbeam to A- pillars B62D25/147; mounting load bearing surfaces B62D21/09; securing mudguards B62D25/163; connections for synthetic parts B62D29/048) · CPC title