Electrified vehicle battery pack attachment and sealing strategies

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11038236-B2
Application number	US-201916587245-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2019
Priority date	Sep 30, 2019
Publication date	Jun 15, 2021
Grant date	Jun 15, 2021

Abstract

This disclosure details electrified vehicles that are equipped with one or more attachment and sealing assemblies for securing a battery pack to vehicle body components. An exemplary attachment and sealing assembly may establish a mid-span attachment point of the battery pack. The attachment and sealing assembly may include an attachment column and a sealing ring that cooperate to secure the battery pack to the vehicle and to seal openings formed through the battery pack and the vehicle body component.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery pack, comprising:
an enclosure assembly;
a battery array housed inside the enclosure assembly;
a battery internal structure adjacent to the battery array,
wherein the battery internal structure is a cross member that extends upwardly from a tray of the enclosure assembly; and
an attachment and sealing assembly including:
an attachment column connected to the battery internal structure and extending through a portion of the enclosure assembly; and
a sealing ring received around a portion of the attachment column.

2. The battery pack as recited in claim 1 , wherein the attachment and sealing assembly establishes a mid-span attachment point of the battery pack.

3. The battery pack as recited in claim 2 , comprising an attachment assembly that establishes a peripheral attachment point of the battery pack.

4. The battery pack as recited in claim 1 , wherein the portion of the attachment column is a tube.

5. The battery pack as recited in claim 4 , wherein the tube extends through a cover of the enclosure assembly, and an upper edge of the tube abuts against an undersurface of a vehicle body component to which the battery pack is mounted.

6. A battery pack, comprising:
an enclosure assembly;
a battery array housed inside the enclosure assembly;
a battery internal structure adjacent to the battery array; and
an attachment and sealing assembly including:
an attachment column connected to the battery internal structure and extending through a portion of the enclosure assembly;
a sealing ring received around a portion of the attachment column; and
a fastener secured to a threaded portion of a hollow passage of a tube of the attachment column.

7. The battery pack as recited in claim 1 , wherein the attachment column includes a tube that extends through a cover of the enclosure assembly and a stanchion that extends into the battery internal structure.

8. The battery pack as recited in claim 7 , wherein a threaded portion of the stanchion engages a threaded opening formed in the battery internal structure.

9. The battery pack as recited in claim 1 , wherein the attachment column includes a flange, a tube that extends in a first direction from the flange, and a stanchion that extends in a second direction from the flange.

10. The battery pack as recited in claim 9 , comprising a circular ledge disposed at an interface between the tube and the flange.

11. The battery pack as recited in claim 10 , wherein the flange is received against an underside of a cover of the enclosure assembly, and the circular ledge is received against an inner surface of the sealing ring.

12. The battery pack as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sealing ring includes a body, a first seal received in a first groove of the body, and a second seal received in a second groove of the body.

13. The battery pack as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sealing ring includes a rubber gasket and a threaded internal sleeve.

14. An electrified vehicle, comprising:
a vehicle body component;
a battery pack mounted to the vehicle body component; and
an attachment and sealing assembly that establishes a mid-span connection point for securing the battery pack to the vehicle body component,
wherein the attachment and sealing assembly includes an attachment column and a sealing ring disposed about a tube of the attachment column.

15. The electrified vehicle as recited in claim 14 , wherein the vehicle body component is a floor pan or a rail of a vehicle frame.

16. The electrified vehicle as recited in claim 14 , wherein the attachment column is connected to a battery internal structure of the battery pack.

17. The electrified vehicle as recited in claim 16 , wherein a stanchion of the attachment column is received by a threaded opening formed in the battery internal structure.

18. The electrified vehicle as recited in claim 14 , wherein the sealing ring includes a body, a first seal received in a first groove of the body, and a second seal received in a second groove of the body, and the first seal seals a first opening formed in the vehicle body component and the second seal seals a second opening formed in an enclosure assembly of the battery pack.

19. The electrified vehicle as recited in claim 14 , comprising a fastener connected to the tube of the attachment column, wherein the fastener extends through an opening formed in the vehicle body component, and a threaded stud of the fastener engages a threaded portion formed in a hollow passage of the tube.

20. The electrified vehicle as recited in claim 14 , wherein the sealing ring is positioned within a space that extends between the vehicle body component and a cover of the battery pack.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Montgomery Kevin A
• Addanki Hari Krishna
• Reibling Michael E
• Dunlap Brock

Classifications

• H01M50/20 Primary

  Mountings; Secondary casings or frames; Racks, modules or packs; Suspension devices; Shock absorbers; Transport or carrying devices; Holders (structural combination of accumulators with charging apparatus H01M10/46) · CPC title

• H01M2220/20

  Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane · CPC title

• H01M50/291

  characterised by their shape · CPC title

• H01M50/262

  with fastening means, e.g. locks · 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