Ford is charging EV battery packs from a number of cost ports concurrently as a way to shorten charging occasions.
The idea is printed in a current patent submitting printed by america Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) Nov. 12, 2024, however initially filed by Ford again on Dec. 8, 2021. It exhibits a setup with twin charging ports that may every be chargeable for charging a portion of the battery pack from a single energy supply.
Ford twin cost port patent picture
The submitting discusses a “partition” system that may permit two or extra sections of the battery pack to be decoupled and charged individually, or coupled collectively for typical charging. The tandem charging could be achieved with an adapter that may cut up energy from one connector to achieve the 2 cost ports on the automobile.
Partitioning of the battery pack do not essentially entail the double-layer method utilized by Common Motors within the GMC Hummer EV, GMC Sierra EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV. In these vehicles, every layer is basically a person pack related to the opposite in parallel.
In a 2022 patent submitting, GM mentioned including a second port to assist get probably the most out of this setup, together with a configuration that allowed each layers to be charged individually from completely different ports.
Ford twin cost port patent picture
The GM patent submitting additionally coated the thought of utilizing a number of ports to assist cost different EVs, one thing Ford additionally mentioned in a 2023 patent submitting. However that is not essentially in play right here. This most up-to-date patent submitting mentions cost ports positioned on reverse sides or the identical aspect of a automobile. The latter would not be very handy for charging one other automobile.
Some EVs have already got twin cost ports. The Porsche Taycan and Audi E-Tron GT have AC ports on either side, with a DC fast-charging port on the best aspect as effectively. However that is just for comfort; you’ll be able to’t use each ports on the identical time. The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA may also have twin ports—one J1772, for AC, and one NACS, for DC—to present drivers extra flexibility. Ford’s idea could be one thing completely different, if it reaches manufacturing.