Battery Pack Direct Attachment to Frame Cross Rails
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current electric vehicle designs that rely on internal rigid frame structures within the battery pack for impact protection add weight and complexity to the installation process, requiring precise positioning to effectively transfer impact forces.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle frame structure with rigid cross rails and a battery pack housing that includes channels for the cross rails, allowing direct attachment of the battery pack to the frame using fasteners, eliminating the need for an internal frame structure within the battery pack and simplifying the installation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an internal rigid frame structure is added to the battery pack for impact protection, then the battery pack's protection capability is improved, but the battery pack's weight and installation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the battery pack's protective function with the vehicle's frame structure by directly attaching the battery pack to the rigid cross rails. The frame structure's cross rails serve dual purposes: providing structural support for the vehicle and providing impact protection for the battery pack, eliminating the need for a separate internal frame within the battery pack.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the frame structure from the battery pack design and relocates it to the vehicle chassis. Instead of embedding a frame within the battery pack, the battery pack is mounted to the vehicle's existing frame structure, separating the protective function from the battery pack assembly and simplifying its installation.
2Reliability
If an internal rigid frame structure is added to the battery pack for impact protection, then the battery pack's protection capability is improved, but the battery pack's weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function is merged with the vehicle's existing frame structure. The rigid cross rails of the frame serve dual purposes: providing structural support for the vehicle and providing impact protection for the battery pack, eliminating the need for additional protective structure within the battery pack itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure is extracted from the battery pack design and relocated to the vehicle chassis. This removes the redundant weight of an internal frame from the battery pack while maintaining the protective function through the vehicle's existing frame structure.
3Reliability
If precise positioning requirements are imposed on the battery pack for effective impact force transfer, then the impact protection effectiveness is improved, but the installation process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the positioning function into dedicated features: channels in the battery pack housing and corresponding rails on the frame structure. These segmented features guide and constrain the battery pack to the correct position during installation, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures while ensuring proper impact force transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning features (channels and rails) are preliminarily built into the battery pack housing and frame structure during manufacturing. This preliminary action ensures that during installation, the battery pack automatically aligns with the correct position, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures and reducing installation time.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle has a body forming a passenger compartment. The vehicle also has a chassis supporting the body. The chassis includes a frame structure having a pair of side rails connected by a plurality of rigid cross rails and defining a plurality of bays between the cross rails. The vehicle additionally has a battery pack including a plurality of electrical storage devices stored in a battery housing. The battery housing defines a plurality of channels. The vehicle further includes a fastening mechanism attaching the battery housing directly to the plurality of cross rails with at least a portion of the battery housing in the plurality of bays and the plurality of cross rails in the plurality of channels.