Electric vehicle battery coolant drain device
AssigneeNew Flyer Industries Canada ULC
InventorsThomas Evan SMALL, Paul Joseph George CANTIN, Martin SCHULZE, Fraser ISAAC, Brent MATTHEWS
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present specification provides an electric bus battery cooling system, method and apparatus. Notably, the specification contemplates a coolant drain valve for an electric vehicle energy storage system. The coolant drain valve comprising a crown and ejector, the ejector cooperating with a liquid sensitive medium to eject the crown from a flow outlet in order to drain leaking coolant from the battery.
Claims20
An assembly for a drain valve for an energy storage subsystem (ESS) comprising:
- a crown for releasable sealing engagement within a flow outlet;
- an ejector coupled to the crown;
- a liquid-sensitive medium to cooperate with the ejector;
- and, a biasing means to cooperate with the liquid-sensitive medium and the ejector in order to:
- maintain the crown in the sealing engagement when the liquid-sensitive medium is dry;
- and
- release the crown from the sealing engagement when the liquid-sensitive medium is wet.
A method for draining coolant from an energy storage sub-system (ESS) comprising:
- sealing a flow outlet in the ESS with a crown;
- maintaining the crown within the flow outlet via an ejector cooperating with a liquid-sensitive medium;
- releasing the crown from the flow outlet via the ejector upon detecting a coolant within the liquid-sensitive medium;
- ejecting the crown from the flow outlet;
- and,
- expelling coolant from the flow outlet without obstruction from the crown.
The method 16 wherein the ejector includes a pin depending from the crown having a dome on the end of the pin opposite from the crown.
A drain valve system for an energy storage sub-system (ESS) comprising:
- a bushing having a mounting end for attachment to an ESS casing;
- the bushing having a flow outlet opposite the mounting end;
- a piston assembly having a crown for releasable sealing engagement with the flow outlet;
- a pin depending from the crown;
- a dome at the end of the pin opposite the crown;
- the piston assembly further having a helical spring surrounding the pin and disposed between the crown and the dome;
- the piston assembly further having a collar slidable along the pin and retained between the spring and the dome;
- a toroidal bobbin disposed within the mounting end and having a liquid-sensitive medium in the core of the bobbin;
- the toroidal bobbin surrounding and securing the pin and dome and compressing the spring when the liquid-sensitive medium is dry;
- the toroidal bobbin releasing the dome and pin when the liquid-sensitive medium loses structural integrity when it becomes wet, allowing the spring to relax and unfastening the crown to unseal the flow outlet;
- and,
- a tether for securing the piston assembly to the bushing when the piston assembly is ejected from the flow outlet and fluid flows via the flow outlet without obstruction by the piston assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.