Fabric composite support or enclosure for an automotive battery pack

A reinforced polymer enclosure for a high voltage battery pack for an electric or hybrid vehicle, the enclosure comprising:

• a one-piece molded support and a one-piece molded cover, the support having a base with a base perimeter and the cover having a face with a face perimeter;
• the support having an upstanding support wall extending from the base perimeter and the cover having a downstanding cover wall extending from the face perimeter;
• the support wall terminating in an outwardly-extending support flange elevationally spaced apart from the base, and the cover wall terminating in an outwardly-extending cover flange elevationally spaced apart from the face, the entirety of the support flange being adapted to mate with the entirety of the cover flange;
• the cover being stacked atop the support with the face overlying the base and the cover and support being secured together by mechanical fasteners along a joint line corresponding to the line of contact of the mating support and cover flanges, one or both of the mating flanges incorporating an elastomeric seal;
• both of the support and cover comprising one or more woven fiber layer reinforcements extending throughout the support and/or cover and impregnated by vinyl ester resin-based polymer, at least one of which woven fiber layers is a coarse strand, woven glass cloth, and, supplementary like-impregnated, woven or non-woven fiber reinforcement layers comprising like-impregnated, added reinforcing fibers, formed in preselected regions of the support and cover;
• and,
• the enclosure comprising a cavity shaped and proportioned to receive and retain the high voltage battery pack, the support and cover cooperating to retain and restrain the battery pack during vehicle operation.

A reinforced polymer enclosure for a high voltage battery pack for an electric or hybrid vehicle, the enclosure comprising:

• a one-piece molded support and a one-piece molded cover, the support having a base with a base perimeter and the cover having a face with a face perimeter, each of the base and face perimeters having a leg portion and an arm portion, transverse to the leg portion, the arm and leg portions being arranged so that the face and base perimeters form the shape of a letter ‘T’;
• the support having an upstanding support wall extending from the base perimeter and the cover having a downstanding cover wall extending from the face perimeter;
• the support wall terminating in an outwardly-extending support flange elevationally spaced apart from the base and the cover wall terminating in an outwardly-extending cover flange elevationally spaced apart from the face, each of the support flange and cover flange having a ramped portion, the entirety of the support flange being adapted to mate with the entirety of the cover flange;
• the cover being stacked atop the support with the face overlying the base and the cover and support being secured together by mechanical fasteners along a joint line corresponding to the line of contact of the mating support and cover flanges, one or both of the mating flanges incorporating an elastomeric seal;
• each of the support and cover being unitary structures formed of one or more woven fiber layer reinforcements extending throughout the support and cover and impregnated by a thermoset or a thermoplastic polymer, the cover having two planar portions connected by a ramped portion, a first planar portion comprising the arm of the ‘T’, and a second planar portion comprising the leg of the ‘T’, the ramped cover portion having longitudinal stiffening ribs oriented parallel to the leg portion and the first planar cover portion having molded-in, radially-extending stiffening ribs and molded-in transverse stiffening ribs oriented parallel to the arm portion, the stiffening ribs incorporating like-impregnated, woven or non-woven fiber reinforcement, the rib reinforcements being additional to the through-extending woven fiber layer reinforcements to provide additional reinforcement;
• and,
• the enclosure comprising a cavity shaped and proportioned to receive and retain the high voltage battery pack, the support and cover cooperating to retain and restrain the battery pack during vehicle operation.