Energy absorbing structure for a battery
AssigneeZoox, Inc.
InventorsAnthony Earl, Michael Franz Schink, Marcos Puerta Terron
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An energy absorbing structure positioned proximate a vehicle body and a battery housing reduces impact forces imparted to a battery during a side collision. The energy absorbing structure may include energy absorbers positioned on longitudinal sides of the vehicle between the vehicle body and the battery housing. The energy absorbers can represent one or more hollow tubes having a passage aligned with a vent of the battery housing to receive gas from the battery housing and redirect the gas to an area away from a passenger compartment or an exit of the vehicle.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a battery comprising a battery housing having a vent opening for expulsion of gas from the battery housing, the battery housing having a length and a width;
- and
- an energy absorber configured to absorb energy of an impact and configured to protect the battery during a collision, the energy absorber comprising:
- a first portion proximate the battery housing and a second portion distal from the battery housing, wherein a rigidity of the first portion is higher than a rigidity of the second portion;
- a hollow tube disposed adjacent to the battery housing and extending in a direction parallel to the length of the battery housing;
- and
- a passage extending through a sidewall of the hollow tube, the passage being aligned with the vent opening of the battery housing to receive the gas from the battery housing and redirect the gas along at least a portion of a length of the hollow tube.
A method comprising:
- detecting, by a computing device associated with a vehicle, an occurrence of a collision or a potential collision,
- determining a location of the collision or the potential collision relative to the vehicle, and
- at least one of:
- opening a first vent on a first side of a battery opposite the location of the collision or the potential collision, or
- preventing a second vent from opening on a second side associated with the location of the collision or the potential collision.
A vehicle comprising:
- a battery comprising a battery housing having a first vent opening disposed in a first side of the battery housing and a second vent opening disposed in a second side of the battery housing opposite the first side for expulsion of gas from the battery housing, the battery housing having a length and a width;
- an energy absorber configured to absorb energy of an impact and configured to protect the battery during a collision, the energy absorber comprising:
- a hollow tube disposed adjacent to the battery housing and extending in a direction parallel to the length of the battery housing;
- and
- a passage extending through a sidewall of the hollow tube, the passage being aligned with the vent opening of the battery housing to receive the gas from the battery housing and redirect the gas along at least a portion of a length of the hollow tube;
- and
- a first valve or burst disk disposed in the first vent opening;
- and
- a second valve or burst disk disposed in the second vent opening,
- wherein the first valve is configured to open in response to an impact on an opposing side of the battery housing while the second valve is configured to remain closed in response to the impact.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.