Rivian IP Holdings, LLC

Anish Shah

Akshat Chauhan

Mohammed Nomaan Khan

Nathaniel C Wynn

Tyler David Collins

Vignesh Sekar

Jagannathan Shankar Mahadevan

Alastair Donald

Kyle William Butterfield

Ehsan Baseri

Kyle O'Neil

Randall Frank

Allen Orchard

Jorge Barrios

Zubin Hareshkumar Padia

A system for managing wheel kinematics during a small overlap collision event includes a deflector apparatus. The deflector is configured to direct a wheel away from an occupant compartment of a vehicle. The deflector includes a first section arranged at an inside wall of a wheel well facing a wheel, near the base of a hinge-pillar. The first section includes a hollow structure configured to absorb energy from the collision event by plastically deforming. The deflector also includes a second section arranged at an angle to the wheel and configured to deflect the wheel laterally outwards from the vehicle away from an occupant compartment during the small overlap collision event. The deflector may be formed of extruded aluminum. The system may include an absorber arranged behind the first section and configured to further absorb energy from the collision event by plastically deforming.

Structure for managing loads during an impact event

An electric vehicle battery pack with a strike shield affixed to its bottom. The strike shield provides structural support to withstand ground strikes without damaging the batteries within the battery pack. The strike shield is a mixed material sandwich bottom plate structure having a composite top layer, a middle core with one or more hollow members adhesively connected or welded together, or a single integrated structure with elongated stiffeners and/or a base member with elongated channels for stiffness, and a composite bottom layer.

Electric vehicle battery pack having bottom strike shield

A system for managing wheel kinematics during a collision event includes a break-away region for releasing a joint of a lower control arm. The system includes a recess arranged in a frame member, and a pin arranged vertically in the recess and configured to couple the lower control arm to the frame member. The break away region includes a reduced stiffness and is configured to fail under the collision event to allow the pin to move laterally out of the recess. The recess may be formed by a top plate and a bottom plate or a C-shaped bracket, which include through features to accommodate the pin. The break-away region includes a first notch and a second notch that reduce a stiffness of the structures that form the recess, thus allowing the pin to be released under a predetermined loading. The break-away region may fracture to release the pin.

Lower control arm mechanism for a small overlap crash

Wheel deflector for a small overlap crash

Electric vehicle battery pack frames constructed with extruded aluminum side and cross members. Such frames are significantly stronger than conventional cast aluminum frames, while also being much lighter than steel frames. Cross members may be affixed to side members with extruded aluminum brackets. Side members of differing lengths may be employed, to make battery pack frames of differing sizes in modular manner. Battery pack lids and bottom panels may be removably affixed to the frame such as with bolts, for improved serviceability.

Modular electric vehicle battery pack frame having extruded aluminum structural members

A system for managing lateral loads in a vehicle includes a crossmember and one or more structures that may be deformable. The crossmember is arranged laterally spanning a first longitudinal frame member, arranged on a first side of the vehicle, and a second longitudinal frame member of the vehicle, arranged on a second side of the vehicle. The structure is affixed to one lateral side of the vehicle, arranged longitudinally forward of the crossmember, arranged laterally outside of the first frame member, and is configured to deform during a small overlap collision. The structure, when under load, is configured to apply a lateral force on an end of the crossmember to cause lateral displacement of the vehicle. A vehicle may include a structure on each side of the vehicle to generate lateral displacement of the vehicle away from a colliding rigid barrier.

Vehicle structure for managing lateral loads in front crash events

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Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Anish Shah