Ford is exploring a brand new methodology to hurry up the charging course of for its electrical automobile (EV) battery packs by using a number of cost ports on the similar time. This revolutionary idea was revealed in a latest patent submitting by the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on November 12, 2024, though it was initially submitted by Ford on December 8, 2021. The design options twin charging ports, every designed to cost a phase of the battery pack from a single energy supply.
The patent particulars a “partition” system that enables for the person charging of two or extra sections of the battery pack, or for them to be linked collectively for conventional charging strategies. This simultaneous charging could be facilitated via an adapter that divides energy from one connector to produce each charging ports on the automobile.
Not like Basic Motors’ method in fashions such because the GMC Hummer EV, GMC Sierra EV, and Chevrolet Silverado EV, which employs a double-layer battery system the place every layer features as its personal pack linked in parallel, Ford’s partitioning method is distinct. In a separate 2022 patent, GM indicated plans to combine a second port to optimize the dual-layer setup, permitting every layer to be charged individually from completely different ports.
Whereas GM’s patent additionally thought-about utilizing a number of ports for charging different EVs, Ford’s newest submitting doesn’t explicitly deal with this operate. As a substitute, it describes cost ports that may very well be positioned on both facet or the identical facet of the automobile, with the latter configuration probably limiting comfort for charging one other automobile.
Some EVs already function twin cost ports—such because the Porsche Taycan and Audi E-Tron GT, which embrace AC ports on either side together with a DC fast-charging port—however these serve primarily for comfort, as they can’t be used concurrently. The upcoming 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA is about to supply twin ports as properly, comprising one for AC charging and one other for DC, enhancing flexibility for drivers. Ford’s proposed system, if dropped at market, would signify a big development in EV charging know-how.
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