Ford has filed a new patent for hardware that would allow electric vehicles to charge while driving.
The new patent, published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 15 and filed by Ford earlier this year, covers a method for aligning inductive wireless charging coils mounted on an electric vehicle with coils embedded in the road surface.
Wireless induction charging relies on transmitting electricity through two sets of coils, in this case coils embedded in the road that are connected to some form of power source. However, efficiency depends on how close the car is to the row of coils on the road, so Ford is looking to achieve precise alignment beyond simply let the driver drive to maintain a consistent direction across the coils.
Ford’s on-road wireless EV charging patent image
This was discussed in a Ford’s previous wireless charging patent announced by the USPTO in 2023, but this time the automaker is focusing more specifically on the use ground penetrating radar to allow the vehicle to track the coils better.
In addition to locating them, the radar could be used to determine the condition of the coils, with the system advising the driver to change lanes and potentially alerting maintenance crews if it detects a coil that is not working. The vehicles could also communicate with each other, potentially negotiating the use of certain lanes depending on their state of charge, Ford suggests in the application.
Ford’s on-road wireless EV charging patent image
Ford said in its filing that drivers could control the vehicle manually via coils, with guidance information transmitted via a head-up display or other interface, but the automaker also suggested different levels of automation. Feedback similar to that used by active lane control systems can help steer the car in the right direction or hands-free driving system Something like Ford’s BlueCruise could do the job perfectly.
While it’s unclear whether Ford’s system will ever be deployed on a large scale, induction wireless charging industry The company is finally on its way to truly competing with charging ports, connectors, and cables—potentially doing to electric cars what wireless connectivity made the smartphone.
