Patent ID: 8778519

Claim:
A battery pack thermal management system, comprising: a sealed battery pack enclosure configured to hold a plurality of batteries; and an exhaust nozzle assembly, wherein said exhaust nozzle assembly is comprised of: an exhaust nozzle made of a high temperature resistant material and mounted in a hole in an outer wall of said sealed battery pack enclosure with an end of the exhaust nozzle that passes through the hole being captured by a nut inside the sealed battery pack enclosure, wherein said exhaust nozzle is configured to pass and direct gas from within said sealed battery pack enclosure to an ambient environment external to said sealed battery pack enclosure; a nozzle sealing member mounted within an exhaust nozzle aperture formed by the exhaust nozzle, wherein said nozzle sealing member seals said exhaust nozzle during normal operation of said plurality of batteries within said sealed battery pack enclosure; and a nozzle sealing member mounting nut capturing an end of the nozzle sealing member inside the sealed battery pack enclosure, wherein the end of the nozzle sealing member extends further into the sealed battery pack enclosure than the end of the exhaust nozzle, wherein the nozzle seal mounting nut is inward of the nut, wherein said nozzle sealing member mounting nut holds said nozzle sealing member within said exhaust nozzle aperture during normal operation of said plurality of batteries, wherein said nozzle sealing member mounting nut melts when at least one of said plurality of batteries enters into thermal runaway and an internal temperature of said sealed battery pack exceeds a predetermined temperature, and wherein when said nozzle sealing member mounting nut melts said nozzle sealing member is ejected through said exhaust nozzle due to an increasing internal battery pack pressure resulting from said at least one of said plurality of batteries entering into thermal runaway.