Battery support and protection structure for a vehicle
AssigneeShape Corp.
InventorsJoseph R. Matecki, Dennis V. Rupar, James H. Dodd
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A battery support structure for a vehicle includes a first peripheral member configured to be supported by a longitudinal section of a vehicle frame. A second peripheral member has an end surface that selectively attaches at an inside surface of the first peripheral member to enclose a corner section of a battery containment area. Prior to fixed attachment of the first and second peripheral members, a slip plane is defined between the end surface and the inside surface to adjust the second peripheral member along the first peripheral member to a predefined dimension of the battery containment area.
Claims20
A battery support structure for a vehicle, said battery support structure comprising:
- a first peripheral member configured to be supported by a longitudinal section of a vehicle frame;
- a second peripheral member having an end surface that selectively attaches at an inside surface of the first peripheral member to enclose a corner section of a containment area;
- and
- wherein, prior to fixed attachment of the first and second peripheral members, a slip plane is defined between the end surface and the inside surface to adjust the second peripheral member along the first peripheral member to a predefined dimension of the containment area.
A battery support structure for a vehicle, said battery support structure comprising:
- a pair of side peripheral members configured to attach at longitudinal sections at opposing sides of a vehicle frame;
- an end peripheral member extending laterally between the side members to generally enclose one of a front or a rear of a battery containment area;
- wherein opposing ends of the end peripheral member selectively attach at inside surfaces of the side peripheral members;
- and
- wherein, prior to fixed attachment of the end peripheral member at the side members, slip planes are defined between the ends of the end peripheral member and the inside surfaces, and wherein the slip planes are configured to longitudinally adjust the end peripheral member relative to the side peripheral members to form the battery containment area with a predefined longitudinal dimension.
A method of forming a battery support structure for a vehicle, said method comprising:
- providing a pair of side reinforcement members configured to attach at opposing rocker rails of a vehicle frame;
- longitudinally adjusting front and rear members along slip planes defined between ends of the front and rear member and inside vertical surfaces of the pair of side reinforcement members to a predefined longitudinal distance between the front and rear members;
- and
- welding the front and rear member to the pair of side reinforcement member to fix the predefined longitudinal distance between the front and rear members and to form a battery containment area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.