Dyson patent applications offer hints to its electric car designs AND its solid state batteries. A recent Wired Magazine article broke news of 3 published Dyson patent applications related to its electric car plans. These include WO2019086845A1, WO2019086847A1, and WO2019086846A1 which all published in May of 2019. Interestingly these patents are claiming attributes including the vehicle’s height, length, ground clearance, wheel base, and wheel diameter among other things.
For example, in WO2019086846A1, claim 1 is directed to “An electric vehicle having a vehicle height of between 1600 mm and 1800 mm, a ground clearance of at least 260 mm, and wheels having an outer diameter of between 45% and 55% of the vehicle height.”
All of the subsequent claims depend on claim 1 and refer to the physical measurements of various aspects of the vehicle.
It may be that the physical measurements of the vehicle described in the patent applications are optimally suited to the size of the electric motor and/or batteries that Dyson plans to use which would limit the ability of competitors to use the same motor and/or batteries.
Or, maybe Dyson is simply attempting to optimize for comfort, driving range, and aerodynamics as it states in the full patent specification “A significant advantage of the vehicle is that it is configured to achieve a long driving range and to be comfortable for its occupants whilst minimising the aerodynamic compromises that are usually made whilst meeting this design objective.”
Additionally, Dyson continues to file on its unique solid state battery configuration and methods of manufacturing. These innovations are built on its $90M acquisition of Sakti3, a solid state battery start up, in 2015.
According to Wired, this is all a part of Dyson’s nearly $3B investment to launch an electric car by 2021. Though we applaud Dyson’s long-term vision and clear commitment to a thoughtful acquisition and internal innovation capture and management process, it will certainly be an uphill battle to manufacture an electric car that can compete with the incumbent major auto manufacturers. Just ask Tesla which has struggled as an automotive manufacturer newcomer to reach profitability.
Want access and updates to Dyson’s electric vehicle technology patents? Contact IP Checkups and we’ll be glad to help!