Granted Patent B2

US 12,597,749 · App. 18/337,812 · Granted Apr 7, 2026

Inventors: Caizhen Sun (Shanghai, CN); Jingjing Zhao (Shanghai, CN); Huiyang Yu (Shanghai, CN); Weisi Gu (Shanghai, CN); Cuicui Zhang (Shanghai, CN); Xinjie Liu (Shanghai, CN)

Assignee: FCA US LLC

H01R31/065B60L3/04H01R43/26H01R13/04H01R2201/26

Abstract

Claims (33)

1 . An adapter for a high voltage (HV) battery system of an electrified vehicle (EV), the adapter comprising:

an adapter housing configured to physically interface between (i) a module-side low voltage (LV) connector electrically connected to a battery module of the HV battery system and (ii) a harness-side LV connector electrically connected to a cell monitoring circuit (CMC) for the battery module; and

a plurality of connector pins disposed within the adapter housing and being configured to:

at first ends of the plurality of connector pins, electrically connect to the module-side LV connector;

at opposing second ends of the plurality of connector pins, electrically connect to the harness-side LV connector; and

act as a fuse such that at least one of the plurality of connector pins breaks an electrical connection therethrough in response to a current spike,

wherein the adapter does not include a separate fuse between the module-side LV connector and the harness-side LV connector.

2 . The adapter of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of connector pins each has an elongated narrow-neck design including, at each respective first end, a first portion having a first cross-sectional area and, at each respective second end, a second portion having a second cross-sectional area, wherein the first cross-sectional area is greater than the second cross-sectional area.

3 . The adapter of claim 2 , wherein the first portion of each connector pin of the plurality of connector pins defines a recess for receiving respective connector pin of the module-side LV connector.

4 . The adapter of claim 2 , wherein each connector pin defines a square-shaped cross-section.

5 . The adapter of claim 1 , wherein the battery module comprises a flexible printed circuit (FPC) configured as a sampling circuit for a set of parameters of a set of battery cells of the battery module.

6 . The adapter of claim 5 , wherein the battery module and the FPC do not include a fuse.

7 . The adapter of claim 5 , wherein the HV battery system includes a plurality of battery modules connected in series and each battery module includes a set of battery cells and a respective FPC, wherein the plurality of CMCs are in communication with a battery monitoring system (BMS).

8 . The adapter of claim 1 , wherein the adapter housing and the plurality of connector pins disposed therein are separately replaceable from the battery module.

9 . The adapter of claim 8 , wherein the adapter housing and the plurality of connector pins disposed therein are configured to be physically separated from the module-side LV connector and the harness-side LV connector to detect a blown fuse malfunction and, in response to detecting the blown fuse malfunction, to be replaced by a new adapter housing and a new plurality of connector pins disposed therein.

10 . The adapter of claim 1 , wherein the adapter is configured to be directly connected to both the module-side LV connector and the harness-side LV connector, and wherein the module side-LV connector and the harness-side LV connector are directly connected to the battery module and the CMC, respectively.

11 . A method of installing/connecting and replacing an adapter for a high voltage (HV) battery system of an electrified vehicle (EV), the method comprising:

providing an adapter comprising an adapter housing and a plurality of connector pins disposed within the adapter housing, the plurality of pins being configured to act as a fuse such that at least one of the plurality of connector pins breaks an electrical connection therethrough in response to a current spike; and

installing/connecting the adapter in the HV battery system such that:

the adapter housing physically interfaces between (i) a module-side low voltage (LV) connector electrically connected to a battery module of the HV battery system and (ii) a harness-side LV connector electrically connected to a cell monitoring circuit (CMC) for the battery module, and

at first ends of the plurality of connector pins electrically connect to the module-side LV connector and, at opposing second ends of the plurality of connector pins, electrically connect to the harness-side LV connector,

wherein the adapter does not include a separate fuse between the module-side LV connector and the harness-side LV connector.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of connector pins each has an elongated narrow-neck design including, at each respective first end, a first portion having a first cross-sectional area and, at each respective second end, a second portion having a second cross-sectional area, wherein the first cross-sectional area is greater than the second cross-sectional area.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first portion of each connector pin of the plurality of connector pins defines a recess for receiving respective connector pin of the module-side LV connector.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein each connector pin defines a square-shaped cross-section.

15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the battery module comprises a flexible printed circuit (FPC) configured as a sampling circuit for a set of parameters of a set of battery cells of the battery module.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the battery module and the FPC do not include a fuse.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the HV battery system includes a plurality of battery modules connected in series and each battery module includes a set of battery cells and a respective FPC, wherein the plurality of CMCs are in communication with a battery monitoring system (BMS).

18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the adapter housing and the plurality of connector pins disposed therein are separately replaceable from the battery module.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

uninstalling/disconnecting the adapter the adapter from the HV battery system; and

in response to detecting the blown fuse malfunction, replacing and installing/connecting new adapter in the HV battery system, the new adapter comprising a new adapter housing and a new plurality of connector pins disposed therein and configured to act as a fuse such that at least one of the new plurality of connector pins breaks an electrical connection therethrough in response to a current spike.

20 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the installing/connecting of the adapter is such that the adapter is directly connected to both the module-side LV connector and the harness-side LV connector, and wherein the module side-LV connector and the harness-side LV connector are directly connected to the battery module and the CMC, respectively.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (21)