- Ford Unveils Patent for Groundbreaking Roof-Mounted Backup Battery, a Potential Game-Changer for EV Owners!
- Ford’s Innovative Solution: Massive Backup Battery Enables EVs to Drive in Charger-Scarce Regions with Ease!
Ford, the developer of the all-electric F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit, has filed for a patent for a massive, roof-mounted backup battery that could top-up an EV’s main high-voltage pack when driving through a region with no chargers.
The document submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows a Bronco-like SUV with a roof rack on top of which rests something approximating a traditional roof box, as first observed by RDale on the Lightning Owners forum. However, a charging wire protrudes from the back of the box, giving it the appearance of a backup battery used to power a smartphone.
According to the patent application, the backup battery might be put before a journey where charger availability is limited and removed after returning home, where the owner presumably has an EV charger installed to top-up the primary high-voltage pack.
Furthermore, Ford claims that the roof-mounted backup has air ducts on both sides of the housing to improve cell cooling and that it can be equipped with remotely operated valves that can be closed to prevent water, extreme cold, or sand from entering the enclosure and potentially damaging the batteries.
The patent application depicts a housing with a lid and a tray lined with polyurethane foam to help manage thermal energy levels within the enclosure and keep the interior generally cool.
The backup battery can be charged in the same way as the EV, using the available cordset, but what’s interesting is that the roof-mounted energy box is designed to include a controller module that “can communicate wirelessly with the electrified vehicle’s communication module to control the recharging of the traction battery pack from the backup battery.”
In other words, it appears that power transmission from the backup pack to the primary high-voltage battery will be seamless, requiring no intervention from the driver, which is a useful feature.
It’s an interesting notion that could solve the problem of off-roading with an EV, but there’s one issue: weight. Lithium-ion batteries are known to be relatively heavy, and top-heavy vehicles have a tendency to tip over, especially at high speeds. So it’s either slow and far (with the backup battery inserted) or fast and short (without the backup pack).
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so please leave them in the comments box below.
Source : USPTO