A contemporary Ford patent submitting examines the usage of bidirectional charging and an adapter to rate a couple of cars from the similar energy supply—with possible fleet packages.

A Ford patent utility revealed via the USA Patent and Trademark Place of business (USPTO) July 27, 2023, and initially filed January 26, 2022, main points the charging of a couple of cars via plugging a primary automobile right into a charging station conventionally, and the usage of adapters that would attach a automobile’s rate port to a charging cable to loop in different cars.

Ford bidirectional charging adapter patent symbol

A coupling and microcontroller within the adapter would permit a automobile supplied for bidirectional charging to discharge energy from its rate port, in the course of the adapter and hooked up charging cable, to some other automobile.

Ford is already imposing bidirectional charging, together with {hardware} that permits the F-150 Lightning to behave as a house backup energy dealer. However this adapter might be specifically helpful to company patrons of the F-150 Lightning Professional and different fleet EVs, permitting a couple of cars parked on the identical storage to be charged in combination off one charging station.

Ford bidirectional charging adapter patent symbol

Ford does not in particular point out this use in its patent submitting, however Rivian did in a patent utility for the same pass-through charging gadget revealed via the USPTO June 22. The guidelines offered in each packages seem permissible below present requirements, which do not permit extension cords to glue chargers and cars however would most likely permit cars for use to relay energy from a unmarried charger.

Whilst artful, there is not any ensure Ford’s bidirectional charging adapter will succeed in manufacturing. The automaker is a prolific writer of patent packages—together with one for a magnetic charging connector that sounds a bit of like an Apple MagSafe connector for EVs—however they do not all advance past the patent degree.