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Future Ford EVs Could Feature Smart Charge Ports

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a smart charge port that may be used in future Ford EVs, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on January 19th, 2023, published on July 25th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0246430.

Ford Patent Smart Charge Ports

The Ford Authority Take

Charging remains one of the hot topics in the world of electric vehicles – as well as a big barrier to more widespread EV adoption. Thus, Ford continues to file patents aimed at improving existing EV charging technology, presenting us with ideas such as systems that would provide real-time third party charger info, coach users on the best way to drive based on the current state of charge, plus things like swappable battery systems and wireless charging roadways. Now, this newly filed patent keeps that theme going with another new idea – this time, for a smart charge port that may be used in future Ford EVs, too.

Ford Patent Smart Charge Ports

The concept here is basically to add a controller to a vehicle’s charging system, which would then be able to control a series of switches. The controller would serve as a physical communication link between a vehicle and an EV charger. This means that the charge port of the vehicle would be able to detect when it’s been plugged in, and then – based on preset thresholds – close those switches and end communication efforts, then send a notification to the user that this has occurred.

Ford Patent Smart Charge Ports

The reasoning behind such an idea is relatively simple – Ford notes that currently, if an EV charger experiences a fault and isn’t able to continue a charging session, the user must physically disconnect the charger from the vehicle and start over. This system would eliminate that need, which means that users could plug their vehicle in and walk away without having to worry about such things happening, as the smart charge port would be able to disconnect and reconnect itself automatically – plus, when a charging session ends, it could also terminate the physical connection on its own as well – making it viable for use in future Ford EVs.

We’ll have more on this and all Ford patents soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford patent news, Ford business news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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Comments

  1. Why does Ford EV choose a slow charging curve? Seems like they could do so much better

    Reply
  2. Another dumb idea to patent…

    Ice drivers – why doesn’t FORD come out with a device to recycle the gas pump nozzle should it shut off before the gas tank is pretty full?

    Reply

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