Ford Allowing Competitors to Use Its Electrified Vehicle Patents for a Fee

Ford’s portfolio of electrified vehicle patents open to competitive automakers in order to accelerate industry-wide R&D.

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – May 31, 2015

2015 Ford C-MAX Energi - $32,595 to start incl. D&H while offering owners a 19-mile AER and a 40/36 mpgUS city/highway rating in charge sustaining mode when off the plug.

Ford is offering competitors access to its electrified vehicle technology patents.

According to the release, in 2014, Ford filed more than 400 patents dedicated to electrified vehicle technologies. This is more than 20 percent of the patents the company filed – totaling more than 2,000 applications.

Ford is a leader in this area with more than 650 electrified vehicle patents and approximately 1,000 pending patent applications on electrified vehicle technologies.

Ford’s believes sharing its patented technologies will promote faster development of future inventions as all automakers look toward greater opportunities.

To access Ford’s patents and published patent applications, interested parties can contact the company’s technology commercialization and licensing office. The patents would be available for a fee.

A few of Ford’s electrified vehicle patents available

• Method and Apparatus for Battery Charge Balancing, patent No. US5764027: The patent covers passive cell balancing: discharging a cell through a resistor to lower the state of charge to match other cells. This innovation extends battery run time and overall life. This is the first invention to enable battery balancing at any time, instead of only while charging, and it enables the use of lithium-ion batteries in electrified vehicles. It was invented long before Li-Ion battery-powered vehicles became commonplace.
  
  
• Temperature Dependent Regenerative Brake System for Electric Vehicle, patent No. US6275763: The technology works to maximize the amount of energy recaptured in a hybrid vehicle through regenerative braking. By improving the interplay between normal friction brakes and regenerative braking during stopping at certain air temperatures, a driver is able to recapture more energy than previously possible, helping the motorist drive farther on a charge.
  
  
• Driving Behavior Feedback Interface, patent No. US8880290: The patent provides a system and method for monitoring driver inputs such as braking and accelerating, and vehicle parameters including energy consumption to assess driving behavior. The feedback can be used to coach future driving behavior that may translate into better long-term driving habits and improve fuel economy. This technology also has enabled drivers of non-electrified vehicles, such as a Ford Focus, to develop better driving habits.

Sounds like a win-win for the consumer and a very unusual move by Ford. I hope it leads to improved HEV/PHEV/BEVs in the near future and better industry collaboration on the next generation of electrified vehicles heading our way.

Ford Allowing Competitors to Use Its Electrified Vehicle Patents for a Fee