Flexible Battery Mount Bracket for Heavy Duty Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery mount systems for heavy duty vehicles are cumbersome and require welding, making them difficult to adjust and leading to noise, vibrations, and harshness, especially when loading and unloading high voltage battery housings.
Innovation Solution
The use of flexible mounting brackets that can be elastically positioned and conformed to the shape of the vehicle's structural components, allowing for removability and limited movement, eliminating the need for welding and improving accessibility and efficiency during installation and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If mounting brackets are welded onto the battery housing or chassis/frame, then structural integrity is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in adjustment and removal
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket is divided into distinct functional segments: a rigid portion that provides structural strength and a flexible portion that enables adjustment and removal. This segmentation allows each part to fulfill its specific function optimally while working together as a unified mounting system.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting bracket transitions from a static welded connection to a dynamic system where the flexible portion can deform elastically to accommodate adjustments and then return to its original shape, enabling repeated installation and removal operations while maintaining structural integrity.
2Strength
If rigid mounting brackets are used to secure battery housing, then structural integrity is improved, but noise, vibrations, and harshness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket incorporates a flexible portion made from elastomeric material that acts as a vibration-damping element. This flexible component absorbs vibrations and reduces noise transmission while maintaining the structural connection between the battery housing and the mounting system.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting bracket combines rigid materials for structural support with elastomeric flexible materials for vibration damping. This composite construction allows the bracket to simultaneously provide structural integrity and reduce harmful vibrations and noise.
3Reliability
If fastening points are made secure and permanent, then reliability is improved, but ease of repair deteriorates due to difficulty in removal and reinstallation
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible portion of the mounting bracket is designed to be elastically deformable, allowing it to be manually compressed during installation to pass through tight spaces, then automatically return to its original shape to secure the battery housing. This self-restoring property eliminates the need for complex tools or procedures for removal and reinstallation.
4Manufacturing precision
If mounting brackets are made rigid and fixed, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability deteriorates due to inability to conform to different shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible portion of the mounting bracket is made from elastomeric material that can be molded during installation to conform to the specific shape of the battery housing or frame. This allows the bracket to adapt to different vehicle models and battery configurations while maintaining consistent manufacturing of the bracket components themselves.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces noise, vibrations, and harshness while enabling easier installation and removal of battery housings, maintaining structural integrity and allowing for limited movement of the battery housing without displacement, even under load conditions.
Implementation Method 1
Each mounting bracket may include at least one flexible portion and is configured to permit limited movement between the battery housing and the structural component of the vehicle. In various aspects, the flexible portion of each mounting bracket is configured to be elastically positioned and conformed to a shape of at least an upper portion of the structural component of the vehicle.
Data Source
AI summary
A mounting system is provided for positioning a battery in a vehicle, particularly between frame rails of a vehicle chassis. The system includes a battery housing that may include a base portion on which at least one battery is placed, a cover portion, and a side wall perimeter portion extending between the base portion and cover portion. A plurality of mounting brackets are coupled to the battery housing and configured for removably securing the battery housing to a structural component of the vehicle in a manner that allows for limited movement of the structural component, such as minor twisting of frame rails, without the displacement of the battery housing. Each mounting bracket may include at least one flexible portion that is elastically positioned to conform to a shape of at least a portion of the structural component. Methods for securing the battery housing in a vehicle chassis are also disclosed.