Vehicle having a rigid frame structure for receiving a replaceable battery pack
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle, comprising:
- a body forming a passenger compartment;
a chassis supporting the body, the chassis including a frame structure comprising;
a pair of side rails running longitudinally along the body;
a pair of end rails extending perpendicular to the side rails and disposed at longitudinal ends of the side rails;
a plurality of rigid cross rails extending perpendicular to the side rails and attached at opposing ends to the side rails, wherein each cross rail of the plurality of rigid cross rails are disposed between the pair of end rails and spaced apart from one another; and
a bay defined between each adjacent pair of cross rails of the plurality of rigid cross rails; and
a battery system including a battery pack having a plurality of electrical storage devices, the battery pack being secured to the side rails and removably positioned in the bay, the battery pack having a container including a plurality of channels extending perpendicular to the side rails, and wherein each channel of the plurality of channels receives a respective cross rail of the plurality of rigid cross rails,wherein each cross rail includes a first portion and a second portion that extends perpendicular to the first portion,wherein each first portion contacts a top surface of the container adjacent to a respective channel and each second portion extends into the respective channel, andwherein each first portion is hollow and includes a flange which extends outwardly and contacts the top surface of the container.
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Abstract
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 running longitudinally along the body, a plurality of rigid cross rails extending perpendicular to the side rails and attached at opposing ends to the side rails, and at least one bay defined between the plurality of cross rails. The vehicle also has a battery system including a battery pack. The battery pack has a plurality of electrical storage devices. The battery pack is secured to the side rails and removably positioned in the at least one bay.
37 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A vehicle, comprising:
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a body forming a passenger compartment; a chassis supporting the body, the chassis including a frame structure comprising; a pair of side rails running longitudinally along the body; a pair of end rails extending perpendicular to the side rails and disposed at longitudinal ends of the side rails; a plurality of rigid cross rails extending perpendicular to the side rails and attached at opposing ends to the side rails, wherein each cross rail of the plurality of rigid cross rails are disposed between the pair of end rails and spaced apart from one another; and a bay defined between each adjacent pair of cross rails of the plurality of rigid cross rails; and a battery system including a battery pack having a plurality of electrical storage devices, the battery pack being secured to the side rails and removably positioned in the bay, the battery pack having a container including a plurality of channels extending perpendicular to the side rails, and wherein each channel of the plurality of channels receives a respective cross rail of the plurality of rigid cross rails, wherein each cross rail includes a first portion and a second portion that extends perpendicular to the first portion, wherein each first portion contacts a top surface of the container adjacent to a respective channel and each second portion extends into the respective channel, and wherein each first portion is hollow and includes a flange which extends outwardly and contacts the top surface of the container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A battery protection system, comprising:
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a vehicle frame structure, comprising a pair of longitudinally-extending side rails interconnected by a pair of end rails extending perpendicular to the side rails and disposed at longitudinal ends of the side rails and by a plurality of rigid, transversely-extending cross rails, the vehicle frame structure defining a plurality of bays between the side rails and separated by the end rails and cross rails; and a battery pack comprising a plurality of electrical storage devices enclosed in a container, the container including a plurality of channels defined in an upper portion thereof, wherein the battery pack is removably positioned in at least two of the plurality of bays with the container secured to the side rails and each cross rail of the plurality of cross rails positioned in respective channels of the plurality of channels, wherein each cross rail includes a first portion and a second portion that extends perpendicular to the first portion, wherein each first portion contacts a top surface of the container adjacent to a respective channel and each second portion extends into the respective channel, and wherein each first portion is hollow and includes a flange which extends outwardly and contacts the top surface of the container. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A battery pack, comprising:
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a container; a plurality of electrical storage devices at least partially enclosed in the container; a fastening mechanism for securing the container to a frame structure; and a plurality of channels defined in an upper portion of the container; and at least one partition defined in a lower portion of the container to separate groups of the plurality of electrical storage devices form one another, wherein the at least one partition is aligned with at least one of the plurality of channels such that the at least one channel sits above the at least one partition, and wherein each channel of the plurality of channels includes a pair of converging side walls configured to receive a tapered cross rail of a plurality of rigid cross rails of the frame structure.
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Specification