Method and apparatus for battery potting
AssigneeTesla Motors, Inc.
InventorsErnest Matthew Villanueva, Brian Charles Hewett, William Vucich Beecher, Dorian Watkins West, Scott Ira Kohn, Eugene Michael Berdichevsky
Life of this patent
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Abstract
One embodiment includes a bottom clamshell and a top clamshell sandwiching a first battery and a second battery, with a fill port extending from a top surface of the top clamshell through to the bottom surface of the top clamshell and to a space between the first and second batteries. The embodiment includes a protrusion coupled to the top clamshell proximate to the fill port and extending into the space, wherein the protrusion at least partially occludes a direct path through the fill port to the space.
Claims20
Apparatus, comprising:
- a bottom clamshell that defines at least a first and a second bottom recess;
- a first battery including a first bottom portion disposed in the first bottom recess;
- a second battery including a second bottom portion disposed in the second bottom recess;
- a top clamshell sandwiching the first battery and the second battery between a top surface of the bottom clamshell and a bottom surface of the top clamshell, the top clamshell defining a first and a second top recess, with a first top portion of the first battery disposed in the first top recess and a second top portion of the second battery disposed in the second top recess;
- a fill port extending from a top surface of the top clamshell through to the bottom surface of the top clamshell and to a space between the first and second batteries;
- and
- a protrusion coupled to the top clamshell proximate to the fill port and extending into the space, wherein the protrusion at least partially occludes a direct path through the fill port to the space.
Method, comprising:
- disposing a bottom portion of a first battery into a first bottom recess of a bottom clamshell;
- disposing a bottom portion of a second battery into a second bottom recess of the bottom clamshell;
- sandwiching the first and second batteries between the bottom clamshell and a top clamshell by aligning the top clamshell and the bottom clamshell such that a top portion of the first battery is disposed in a first top recess of the top clamshell, and a top portion of the second battery is disposed in a second top recess of the top clamshell;
- and
- dispensing, along a vector, adhesive through a fill port in the top clamshell and into interstices defined by the top clamshell, the bottom clamshell, and the first and second batteries, the vector interrupted by a protrusion coupled to the top clamshell and extending into the interstices.
An apparatus, comprising
- disposing a bottom portion of a first battery into a first bottom recess of a bottom clamshell;
- disposing a bottom portion of a second battery into a second bottom recess of the bottom clamshell;
- sandwiching the first and second batteries between the bottom clamshell and a top clamshell by aligning the top clamshell and the bottom clamshell such that a top portion of the first battery is disposed in a first top recess of the top clamshell, and a top portion of the second battery is disposed in a second top recess of the top clamshell;
- means for allowing adhesive to be dispensed into interstices defined by the top clamshell, the bottom clamshell, and the first and second batteries;
- and
- means for interrupting a stream of adhesive as it is directed, along a vector, into the interstices.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.