Patent ID: 11901574
Assignee: CATERPILLAR INC.
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  Y | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A battery module comprising:
a housing;
a plurality of battery cells disposed within the housing; and
a wedge apparatus disposed within the housing, the wedge apparatus including:
a first wedge having a first thick end tapering to a first thin end and a first opening formed through at least a portion of the first wedge,
a second wedge having a second thick end tapering to a second thin end and a second opening formed through at least a portion of the second wedge, the first wedge and the second wedge configured to at least partially overlap,
a bolt configured to be inserted at least partially into the first opening, the bolt including threading formed in at least a portion of a shaft of the bolt,
a rail separate from the second wedge that abuts the second thick end of the second wedge, and
a threaded sleeve extending from the rail, wherein:
the threaded sleeve has a first thickness at a first location along the length of the threaded sleeve and has a second thickness at a second location along the length of the threaded sleeve, the second thickness less than the first thickness with the second location positioned proximate the rail, and
the threaded sleeve is inserted at least partially within the second opening and configured to receive the bolt at the first location therein such that rotating the bolt in a first rotational direction causes the first wedge to move in a first direction relative to the second wedge, thereby causing a width of the wedge apparatus to expand increasing a first force applied to the plurality of battery cells, and
wherein the plurality of battery cells exerts a second force on the wedge apparatus as the plurality of battery cells expand, and the threaded sleeve includes at least a portion at the second location that is configured to deform once the second force is substantially equal to or exceeds a threshold force.