Ford has filed a brand new patent utility for {hardware} that may enable EVs to cost whereas driving.
The brand new patent submitting was printed by the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) Aug. 15 and was submitted by Ford to the company earlier this yr. It offers with a technique for aligning the wi-fi inductive charging coils mounted on an EV with ones embedded within the highway floor.
Wi-fi inductive charging depends on transmitting electrical energy by the 2 units of coils, on this case with the road-embedded coils related to some type of energy supply. Nevertheless, effectivity is predicated on how intently the car is aligned with the row of coils within the highway floor, so Ford is methods to to attain exact alignment past merely having the driving force steer to take care of a constant course over the coils.
Ford in-road wi-fi EV charging patent picture
This was mentioned in a earlier Ford wireless-charging patent printed by the USPTO in 2023, however this time the automaker is focusing extra particularly on using ground-penetrating radar to permit the car to higher observe the coils.
Along with finding them, radar could possibly be used to find out the situation of the coils, with the system advising the driving force to modify lanes and probably informing upkeep crews if coils are discovered to be inoperable. Automobiles might additionally talk with one another, probably negotiating using sure lanes relying on their state of cost, Ford suggests within the utility.
Ford in-road wi-fi EV charging patent picture
Drivers might manually steer autos over coils, with steering data conveyed by way of a head-up show or different interface, Ford says within the utility, however the automaker additionally suggests varied ranges of automation. Suggestions just like that utilized by energetic lane management techniques might assist nudge the automotive within the appropriate route, or hands-free driving techniques like Ford’s BlueCruise might take over the duty utterly.
Whereas it is unclear if Ford’s system will ever be deployed at scale, the inductive wi-fi charging business as a complete is lastly on its method towards genuinely competing with cost ports, connectors and cables—probably doing for electrical vehicles what wi-fi connectivity has achieved for smartphones.