US 8,268,469 B2Granted

Battery pack gas exhaust system

AssigneeTesla Motors, Inc.

InventorsWeston Arthur Hermann, Alan Paul Clarke

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A thermal management system is provided that minimizes the effects of thermal runaway within a battery pack. The system is comprised of a multi-sided, substantially airtight battery pack enclosure configured to hold a plurality of batteries, where at least one side of the battery pack enclosure includes at least one cavity. An inner wall of the enclosure includes a plurality of perforations configured to pass gas from within the enclosure to the cavity within the at least one side member. The system is further comprised of at least one gas exhaust port integrated into an outer wall of the enclosure and configured to pass gas from within the cavity of the enclosure side member to the ambient environment when one or more batteries contained within the battery pack undergo thermal runaway.

Claims32

Dependent claims

A battery pack thermal management system, comprising:

a multi-sided, substantially airtight battery pack enclosure configured to hold a plurality of batteries, wherein an inner enclosure wall corresponding to at least one side member of said battery pack enclosure includes a plurality of perforations, said perforations configured to pass gas from within said battery pack enclosure to a first extended hollow region within said at least one side member;
and
at least one gas exhaust port integrated into an outer wall of said battery pack enclosure, wherein said at least one gas exhaust port is in gaseous communication with said first extended hollow region of said at least one side member, and wherein said at least one gas exhaust port is configured to pass gas from within said first extended hollow region to an ambient environment external to said battery pack enclosure when at least one battery of said plurality of batteries enters into thermal runaway.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/076,003Filed 30 Mar 2011 · continuation in part
Priority: 22 Apr 2009
Published: US 2011/0174556 A121 Jul 2011
Granted: 18 Sep 2012
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification26 codes

H01M 10/625
Specially adapted for specific applications: vehicles
B60K 1/04
Arrangement or mounting of electrical propulsion units: of the electric storage means for propulsion
B60L 50/64
Using power supplied by batteries: constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
B60L 50/66
Using power supplied by batteries: arrangements of batteries

Family

Application12/386,684Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 22 Apr 2009
Application12/798,198Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 30 Mar 2010
Application61/426,254Us provisional application · filed 22 Dec 2010
US 2011/0174556 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Jul 2011
US 2010/0136402 A1Published application
US 2010/0273034 A1Published application
US 8,277,965 B2Related patent
US 8,268,469 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.