Tesla is looking into new ways to swap out the battery packs in its electric cars – a move that would slash the amount of time it takes for drivers to get a full charge.
The firm recently filed a patent for a battery-swapping system that can lift up a vehicle and change out its battery pack for a new one in just 15 minutes.
According to the patent, the rig could even be installed on a trailer with ramps built on either side, allowing cars to drive right in and out.
The patent , filed in May, relies on a mechanical lift that can raise the vehicle to a predetermined height. Once the car has been hoisted into the air, the system removes the battery pack from underneath, and replaces it with a new one, as illustrated above
Currently, it takes a little over an hour to fully charge a Tesla at one of the firm’s Supercharging stations.
By switching out the battery pack, however, drivers could find themselves back on the road much sooner.
‘Because the process of charging such cells usually takes some amount of time, some vehicles are designed so that the battery can be replaced with another battery, to replenish power in the vehicle or to address malfunction in the current battery,’ the patent explains.
The patent, filed in May, relies on a mechanical lift that can raise the vehicle to a predetermined height.
Once the car has been hoisted into the air, the system removes the battery pack from underneath, and replaces it with a new one.
The system could work autonomously or with the help of human operators.
After the lift is in the right position to support the battery pack, a technician could use a device to remove the bolts that keep it in place.
Or, this same task could be done by automated machinery mounted onto the rig, the patent notes.
The firm filed a patent for a battery-swapping system that can lift up a vehicle and change out its battery pack for a new one in just 15 minutes. According to the patent, the rig could even be installed on a trailer with ramps built on either side, allowing cars to drive right in and out
The system described in the patent could be used for Tesla’s Model S and Model X vehicles, allowing for a ‘more rapid way of replenishing the electric energy for the electric vehicle.’
This could also enable the electric cars to ‘travel essentially nonstop on long road trips,’ according to the patent.
Tesla has been hard at work in recent years to make the charging process faster, and more accessible.
Just last week, the firm revealed its Supercharger network would be expanding to city centers and downtown areas, starting with Chicago and Boston.
TESLA TO UNVEIL ALL-ELECTRIC SEMI-TRUCK
Elon Musk has teased the trucking industry with the prospect of a battery-powered heavy-duty vehicle.
Tesla’s plans for new electric vehicles, including a commercial truck called the Tesla Semi, were announced last year.
In September, Musk tweeted: ‘Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride tentatively scheduled for Oct 26th in Hawthorne.
‘Worth seeing this beast in person. It’s unreal.’
The firm hopes that such a vehicle could compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel.
Tesla’s electric big-rig truck could have a working range of 200 to 300 miles to compete with more conventional diesels.
Tesla hopes that such its vehicle could compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel
This would rely on new mini Superchargers designed specifically for cities, to support high usage and accommodate for space limitations.
In the past, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed his vision of automated chargers that operate like a ‘solid metal snake,’ to move out from the wall on its own and connect to the vehicle.
The technology would eliminate the need for people to manually connect their car to a charger.
And, in a 2013 demonstration, Musk showed off technology that could swap out Model S battery packs in just 90 seconds.