Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120151843 | Vehicle Door Secondary Sealing System - A seal for use with a vehicle door is provided, the seal preferably used as a secondary or tertiary seal to provide additional passenger cabin sound isolation and weather proofing. The seal is attached to a seam within the door jamb, the seal formed by coupling a central body panel flange to a rear quarter panel flange. | 06-21-2012 |
20120153675 | Reinforced B-Pillar Assembly with Reinforced Rocker Joint - A reinforced B-pillar assembly that achieves improved side impact resistance is provided in which the B-pillar assembly is mechanically coupled to an outer mounting surface of the rocker panel as well as to an extended brace that is attached to the upper and rear mounting surfaces of the rocker. | 06-21-2012 |
20120153682 | Single Piece Vehicle Rocker Panel - A vehicle rocker panel is provided that is extruded as a single piece. As extruded, the rocker panel may include one or more interior reinforcing walls as well as interior and exterior design features. | 06-21-2012 |
20120153718 | Thermal Management System for Use with an Integrated Motor Assembly - An integrated drive system assembly is provided that combines an electric motor, a power inverter assembly and a gearbox into a single, multi-piece enclosure. Combining these components into a single enclosure reduces weight, reduces drive system complexity, reduces system volume, simplifies assembly integration into an electric vehicle, reduces manufacturing cost, allows the flexible and lengthy electrical cables between the power inverter and the electric motor to be replaced with short, low loss, rigid bus bars, and simplifies component cooling by allowing the use of a common thermal management system. The common thermal management system includes a liquid coolant loop that is thermally coupled to the electric motor, the power inverter assembly and the gearbox. | 06-21-2012 |
20120160088 | Vehicle Battery Pack Ballistic Shield - An improved protection system for a battery pack mounted between the passenger cabin floor panel of an electric vehicle and the driving surface is provided, the system utilizing a ballistic shield mounted under the electric vehicle and interposed between the battery pack enclosure and the driving surface, where the ballistic shield is spaced apart from the enclosure bottom panel. A layer of a compressible material may be interposed between the ballistic shield and the battery pack enclosure. | 06-28-2012 |
20120160583 | Integration System for a Vehicle Battery Pack - An improved integration system for a battery pack mounted between the passenger cabin floor panel of an electric vehicle and the driving surface is provided, the system utilizing at least one insulating layer interposed between the battery pack enclosure and the passenger cabin floor panel, where the insulating layer provides noise isolation, thermal isolation and vibration damping, and where the insulating layer is compressed when the battery pack enclosure is mounted to the vehicle. | 06-28-2012 |
20120161429 | Augmented Vehicle Seat Mount - A vehicle seat mounting assembly is provided in which the seat mounts are attached to body cross-members that are, in turn, mechanically coupled to battery pack cross-members contained within a battery pack enclosure mounted under the vehicle. | 06-28-2012 |
20120161472 | System for Absorbing and Distributing Side Impact Energy Utilizing an Integrated Battery Pack - An energy absorbing and distributing side impact system for use with a vehicle is provided, the system utilizing a battery pack enclosure that includes a plurality of cross-members that transverse the battery pack enclosure and absorb and distribute at least a portion of the load received when either the first or second side of the vehicle receives a side impact. The battery pack enclosure is positioned between the front and rear vehicle suspension assemblies and mounted between, and mechanically coupled to, vehicle structural members (e.g., rocker panels) located on either side of the vehicle. In addition to providing rigidity, strength and impact resistance, the battery pack cross-members segregate the batteries contained within the battery pack enclosure into battery groups. | 06-28-2012 |
20120169089 | Rear Vehicle Torque Box - A rear structure for a vehicle is provided, the structure including (i) a pair of single piece rear torque boxes; (ii) a pair of rocker panels mechanically coupled to the rear torque boxes; (iii) a pair of rear rails mechanically coupled to the rear torque boxes; and (iv) at least one cross-member interposed between and mechanically coupled to the rear torque boxes. | 07-05-2012 |
20120175897 | Front Rail Configuration for the Front Structure of a Vehicle - A front structure for a vehicle is provided that includes a pair of front rails (i.e., front left hand rail and front right hand rail) spaced apart in a widthwise direction with each rail extending lengthwise and mechanically coupled to the vehicle's bumper and a torque box. Each front rail is comprised of a polygonal-shaped upper hollow channel and a polygonal-shaped lower hollow channel, where the upper and lower channels share a common wall. | 07-12-2012 |
20120175900 | Dual Load Path Design for a Vehicle - A system for absorbing and distributing front impact forces in a vehicle is provided, the system including a primary impact system and a secondary impact system, each of which includes a bumper and a structure for transferring impact loads. The primary impact system includes a primary bumper and a pair of front rails spaced apart in a widthwise direction with each rail extending lengthwise, where one end portion of each rail is mechanically coupled to the vehicle's bumper and the other end portion of each rail is mechanically coupled to a torque box. The secondary impact system includes a secondary bumper and an assembly of sub-frame components separate from the front rails that allow impact loads to be transferred in parallel through the front rails and the sub-frame. | 07-12-2012 |
20120175916 | Swept Front Torque Box - A front structure for a vehicle is provided, the structure including (i) a pair of front rails spaced apart in a widthwise direction with each rail extending lengthwise, and where each rail is comprised of a polygonal-shaped upper hollow channel and a polygonal-shaped lower hollow channel with the upper and lower channels sharing a common wall; and (ii) a pair of curvilinear torque boxes, where one curvilinear torque box is mechanically attached to the upper and lower polygonal-shaped channels of each front rail, where each curvilinear torque box is mechanically coupled to a rocker panel, where the upper polygonal-shaped channel of each front rail is in a horizontal plane located above the top surface of the corresponding rocker panel, and where the lower polygonal-shaped channel of each front rail is in a horizontal plane that is aligned with the corresponding rocker panel. | 07-12-2012 |
20120312615 | Vehicle Battery Pack Ballistic Shield - An improved protection system for a battery pack mounted between the passenger cabin floor panel of an electric vehicle and the driving surface is provided, the system utilizing a ballistic shield mounted under the electric vehicle and interposed between the battery pack enclosure and the driving surface, where the ballistic shield is spaced apart from the enclosure bottom panel. A layer of a compressible material is interposed between the ballistic shield and the battery pack enclosure. | 12-13-2012 |