Innovations in EV Battery Crash Safety Enhancement

Smart connection sheet for battery packs in electric vehicles that can provide automatic safety protection. The smart connection sheet has a conductive member to connect adjacent battery cells and a cut-off device that can be triggered to sever the conductive member. When a fault condition like a short circuit, overheating, or collision is detected, the cut-off device can be activated to disconnect the battery cells and prevent further damage.

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Chassis design for electric vehicles to provide a secure connection between the vehicle chassis and the traction battery housing that will prevent detachment in the event of a rear impact. The chassis features projections that fit into corresponding recesses on the battery housing. This three-dimensional form fit engagement locks the battery housing securely onto the chassis beams in all directions.

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Battery protection apparatus for electric vehicles that effectively protects the battery pack during collisions without adding excessive weight compared to previous battery pack protection systems. The battery protection apparatus includes a separate main body fixed under the vehicle that extends up to shield the battery pack side. This main body has a cavity and gaps to absorb and disperse collision forces from impacts rather than transmitting them directly to the battery pack. A protrusion on the vehicle sill between the main body and battery helps absorb forces.

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Battery pack for electric vehicles that prevents damage to battery modules during impacts. The pack has a tray with enclosing edge beams and a vapor chamber on top. The vapor chamber edges clamp onto the tray beams. This couples the vapor chamber to the tray to increase strength and prevent beam deformation when squashed. The chamber also protects the battery from above.

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To prevent a vehicle sub-frame from striking the battery during a collision, the sub-frame is designed to engage with the vehicle side members using brackets that have downwardly inclined portions. This causes the sub-frame to move downward and away from the battery when pushed during a collision, preventing impact. The angled engagement brackets allow the sub-frame to tilt downward if rearward force is applied, avoiding contact with the battery.

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A vehicle body design that improves crash safety for electric vehicles, particularly to prevent damage to the high-voltage battery. The design includes reinforced side sills, front side members, rear lower members, and a lower bar to protect the battery from both side and front impacts. This provides additional structural support around the battery to prevent striking in the event of a crash. The reinforced components absorb impact forces and prevent the battery from being damaged by other vehicle parts.

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Battery assembly for vehicles that improves crash safety and reduces cost compared to conventional battery packs. The design involves a battery case and cover with a front wall structure that includes a flat front wall and inclined walls on the sides. A crossmember is added between the inclined walls for stability. This design provides a simplified, reinforced front structure that enhances impact resistance and reduces damage in crashes.

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A battery enclosure design for electric vehicles that reduces the risk of electrical shorting and damage in the event of a crash. The enclosure separates the positive and negative terminals by a distance, and places fuses and contactors in between. This isolates the unswitched battery terminals to minimize the risk of shorting during a crash.

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Battery assembly for electric vehicles that improves crash safety and reduces costs. The battery assembly has a reinforced front wall structure that includes a front flat wall and a pair of front inclined walls. The front inclined walls are inclined from the front flat wall to the front end of the side walls. A reinforcing crossmember extends between the front inclined walls. This crossmember supports the front wall during impacts, improving crash safety.

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Safety plugs for battery modules in electrified vehicles that disconnect and retract upon impact to prevent electrical shorts and fires. The battery modules have electrical contacts that are biased apart and locked together in normal conditions. But if the modules move relative to each other in a collision, the contacts unlock and move out of contact. The contacts pivot, slide, and seal within the module housing to prevent contact with other conductive parts if the battery is damaged.

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Battery housing and chassis design for electric vehicles to protect the battery from side impacts. The battery housing has reinforcing profiles inside the floor and mounting frame that increase their stiffness. The chassis has a reinforcing profile inside the floor. This prevents collapse of the housing/frame on impact. The profiles run horizontally between opposing walls.

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A battery system for electric vehicles that can dynamically disconnect and isolate battery cells in the event of a crash to reduce the risk of fire or explosion. The system monitors crash sensors and cell conditions. If danger is detected, it opens contactors to disconnect the main battery poles. Then it opens electronic switches in each cell branch to isolate cells. This prevents current flow and internal shorts.

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Battery carrier for electric vehicles designed to improve crashworthiness for protection of occupants and battery by optimizing local hardness and controlled deformation. The battery carrier trough is made from formed sheet metal, such as hardenable steel, with angled walls converging towards the front. Critical load paths are hardened to increase rigidity in the event of a crash. Non-critical sections are made ductile to absorb impact energy by deforming. This protects the battery and occupants while minimizing damage.

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An in-vehicle battery pack design that protects the battery stack from damage during vehicle collision. The battery pack is installed in a casing with side walls and a bottom. An intervening member is placed between the battery stack and the bottom of the casing. This intervenes and prevents protruding parts of the battery stack from contacting the casing walls when subjected to external collision forces. This protects the battery stack from impact damage.

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Reliably preventing electrical over-stress of battery cells in a multi-cell battery pack configuration used in electric vehicles. The battery pack includes multiple strings of battery modules connected in parallel. Each battery module has multiple cells, and a fuse that electrically isolates each cell. If one cell experiences over-stress and fails, the fuse blows to isolate that cell and protect the others.

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An energy storage module for electric vehicles that protects battery cells during crashes. The module has an inflatable element between the battery cells and casing. An inflator can inflate the element if crash severity exceeds a threshold. The inflatable element fills the space between cells and casing to distribute impact forces and mitigate damage to the cells.

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Traction battery design for electric vehicles that improves safety in the event of a crash. The battery modules are arranged in a way that protects the electrical connectors from being exposed in the deformation region of the battery housing that can occur during a crash. This reduces the risk of a short circuit between the battery housing and connectors due to deformation in a crash.

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A modular battery array for an electric vehicle that improves side crash safety while enabling simple battery installation. The battery array has a crash cross member that spans the width of the battery pack and is split into three parts. The center part is integrated into the battery housing and lengthened outward by two lateral deformation elements. The deformation elements can be mounted directly or indirectly onto the vehicle body. This modular design allows the crash cross member to deform in a side impact while still transmitting forces from the battery to the vehicle structure.

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Protection system for undercarriage-mounted battery packs in electric vehicles to reduce the risk of fire and other damage. The protection system involves using deformable cooling conduits between the battery cells and the enclosure, along with thermal insulation. The conduits can bend and deform to absorb impacts and vibrations without damaging the batteries. The thermal insulation prevents heat conduction from impacting the batteries. A ballistic shield mounted below the battery pack can provide additional protection.

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Battery system for electric vehicles that allows fixing batteries inside a vehicle in a way that reduces the risk of damage from accidents. The battery system uses a unique modular casing design with different height sidewalls. The taller sidewall provides protection against upward force on the battery system in an accident. The cells are fixed to cell holders which are attached to the taller sidewall and base. This allows the battery to be secured without directly connecting it to the vehicle chassis.

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