Rivian has filed for a patent for a pass-through charging system that would allow the automaker’s electric trucks to transfer electricity from one vehicle to another.
As described in the application published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on June 22 and originally filed in December 2021, forward charging can solve many problems. vehicles need to be charged in a single location. there may not be room for enough chargers.
This system will essentially turn the tram into an extension cord. One car can plug into both a regular charger and a second car, which will plug into another car. A switching device will allow power to be transferred to the battery pack, as in conventional charging, or to an output that will transmit power to another vehicle.
Rivian transmittance charging patent image
This is not recommended for most electric vehicles or current charging systems and it may void the warranty. But such a system is likely to ignore such concerns.
The patent drawings include Combined Charging Standard (CCS) connectors, which indicate either AC or DC can be used.
Such a system could be used where space is a problem, such as when two vehicles are parked close together in a private garage or rows of cars are parked in a commercial garage. show. The use of media as a junction or relay may be permitted under applicable standards, which do not allow an extension cord to actually connect the charger and the vehicle.
The towing feature isn’t mentioned in the app, but the pass-through charging feature could add some flexibility there as well, as disconnecting from the trailer to reach the charger would be inconvenient. Rivian, which focuses more on the outdoor lifestyle and the situations it can bring, has shown that it is thinking about these situations, even though they may never make it to production.
Rivian transmittance charging patent image
Rivian has also filed a patent application for air cooling fan to help improve fast charging performance and it announced the addition Supercharger compatible with Magic Dock back in March.
To improve accessibility for its customers, Rivian recently committed to the Tesla Supercharger network and its North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector, and bought Better Routing Engine to help the driver find the charger. And Rivian is still building its own charging networkwith an emphasis on locations in the woods.
Rivian is clearly open to trying different ideas, but the company is also learning that not everything that’s technically feasible is a good idea. RJ Scaringe CEO recently explained that Tank turn mode first shown back in December 2019 will not be added to production vehicles as it spoils the trail.
