Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a vehicle water heating system, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on April 28th, 2021, published on November 3rd, 2022, and assigned serial number 0349619.
The Ford Authority Take
With off-roading arguably more popular than ever, Ford has begun making and selling more vehicles designed specifically for those types of activities, as well as parts and accessories that help make its vehicles more capable off the pavement and also able to serve as mobile living spaces. Over the past several months, the automaker has filed patents for things like an integrated roof rail power outlet system, a vehicular pest repellent system, and a liftgate curtain that provides a little privacy for campers. Now, this new Ford patent continues that trend by introducing an idea for a vehicle water heating system.
This Ford patent is aimed squarely at those that use their vehicles for camping or overlanding, or more specifically, those that need hot water for things like showering or washing dishes. Currently, many such vehicles utilize a water tank and propane to heat that water. However, the system depicted in this patent uses thermal energy to heat water in the tank instead, which moves water around in the tank to heat it up.
The advantages of such a system are many – thermal water heaters offer better temperature control, greater reliability, a broader temperature range, and are easier to maintain than other types of systems. As such, especially with Ford’s continued push into the world of off-roading, camping, and overlanding, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see such a system make it to the real world.
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Comments
Where do I apply for this job?
So from the drawings it looks like the differential heats the water up. Hmm, what if your camp is set up, maybe with one of those roof top tents, and you can’t really move the house around to heat up the rear end. Jack stands?
Stop everything, get your out-of-the-ordinary thinkers together, and come up with a battery that goes 400 miles and recharges with 120 volts in 15 minutes.
Keep saying to yourselves; 1969, man on the moon, pocket calculator.
We’re all counting on you.
It wasn’t a pocket calculator (at least as we understand them today, although some called them that then), that they used for design, it was a logarithmic slide rule my friend.
The on board guidance and flight control computers had far less power and ram than an Apple Watch.
As to battery topic, you don’t think that absolutely everybody from universities to defense, to industry, iPhones to cars, battery makers to well, everybody, are pouring research dollars into working toward the chemistry and hardware to reach that long range quick charge goal?
I didn’t study the patent, but I can imagine an EV where one could lock the brakes and then energize the drive motor (stalled motor condition) so that it heats up and it’s rejected heat is moved by electric pump via a liquid-liquid heat exchanger to provide fresh hot water.
Wouldn’t have to pull the wheels off the ground. Sensors for brake application would prevent motor energizing until brakes were locked, a temp sensor would protect the drive motor from overheating.
I could see where this could provide a nice hot water shower in remote locations with nearby water.
As for heating water by battery that you would need to get in and back out, this concept may not be immediately practical but as battery chemist and density improves it may become so.
The idea of the patent is to stake one’s ground to the idea to block competitors if and when that day comes.
It’s all about competition, staying in the game, being on top, survival. Would you rather another country take the lead?
If you look at old photos you can find Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone sitting around a campfire in front of what one could consider the first ‘motor home’. I bet a nickel between those men there was a method to heat water for bathing/shower/etc using engine heat. My grandmother used to cook food on the engine block as they drove, so these guys likely were several steps ahead of her. There are multiple pictures of the ‘cook area’ built into the tailgate of their vehicles.