Vent with relief valve
A vent assembly has a housing defining a cavity, a first end, a second end, and a coupling structure towards the second end. A mounting surface is positioned between the first end and the second end within the cavity and defines a valve opening and a vent opening. A vent is coupled to the mounting surface across the vent opening, and an umbrella valve is sealably disposed on the mounting surface across a valve opening.
1. A vent assembly comprising: a housing defining a cavity, a first end, a second end, a vent opening, a valve opening, and a coupling structure towards the second end;
a passive airflow vent disposed in the housing across the vent opening, wherein the housing defines a housing opening between an ambient environment and the cavity to define a first fluid flow pathway between the ambient environment and the passive airflow vent; and a one-way relief valve disposed in the housing and forming a seal over the valve opening, wherein the one-way relief valve is arranged in parallel with the passive airflow vent with respect to airflow through the housing, and the one-way relief valve is arranged upstream of the housing opening with respect to airflow through the one-way relief valve, wherein the passive airflow vent and the one-way relief valve share a central axis, and wherein the valve opening comprises a plurality of openings defining a segmented annulus about the central axis, wherein the coupling structure defines a second fluid flow pathway between the outside of the housing and the passive airflow vent, and the one-way relief valve is configured to unseal when the pressure in the second fluid flow pathway is greater than the pressure in the first fluid flow pathway by a threshold.
2. The vent assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an end cap coupled to the housing towards the first end.
3. The vent assembly of claim 2 , wherein the end cap defines the first end of the housing and the end cap extends across the one-way relief valve and the passive airflow vent.
4. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the passive airflow vent comprises a breathable membrane.
5. The vent assembly of claim 1 , the housing comprising a first obstruction, wherein the first obstruction is positioned between the housing opening and the passive airflow vent.
6. The vent assembly of claim 1 , the housing comprising a second obstruction extending into the first fluid flow pathway, wherein the second obstruction is positioned between the housing opening and the one-way relief valve.
7. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first fluid flow pathway defines a tortuous path between the housing opening and the one-way relief valve.
8. The vent assembly of claim 1 , the coupling structure defining a fluid flow pathway between the outside of the housing and the passive airflow vent.
9. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the threshold is from 0.5 to 1 psi.
10. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing further defines a mounting surface that defines the vent opening.
11. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the vent opening is a plurality of openings defining a segmented annulus about the central axis.
12. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the one-way relief valve is an umbrella valve.
13. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing opening comprises radial openings about the central axis.
14. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the passive airflow vent and the one-way relief valve are concentric.
15. The vent assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a seal abutting the coupling structure.
16. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the one-way relief valve is constructed of an elastomeric material.
17. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the passive airflow vent comprises polytetrafluoroethylene.
18. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the coupling structure defines one in the group consisting of a snap-fit and a screw fit that is configured to engage a battery housing.