EV front trunks, or frunks, provide handy cupboard space, but a recent Ford patent filing points to a approach to make them much more useful.
The filing in query outlines giving frunks climate control. It was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on March 19 but originally filed by Ford in 2022—roughly the identical timeframe as many other frunk-related patent filings from the automaker.
Ford climate-controlled frunk patent image
On this case, Ford specifically describes climate-controlled trunks that may keep groceries or other temperature-sensitive items from getting too hot or too cold. One option discussed by Ford is having a thermal loop branch off the major climate-control loop used for the passenger cabin. But Ford also suggests giving the frunk its own mini climate-control system, with the identical hardware used for the system accountable for the vehicle’s interior.
Because customers might need to keep drinks cool without turning your entire frunk into an icebox, Ford also discusses some ways of moderating the temperature in specific parts of the frunk. Dividers might be used to separate heated and cooled zones, or low-temperature air might be directed at a removable cooler secured within the frunk, in accordance with the appliance.
Ford climate-controlled frunk patent image
This is not the primary time frunk climate control has cropped up in a Ford patent application. It is also certainly one of the features described in a series of patent applications from the automaker that surfaced in late 2023, covering a wide selection of ideas starting from in-frunk wireless device charging to mobile workplace setups.
Not all patented ideas make it to production. But when Ford ever decides to repeat its stunt of filling a Mustang Mach-E frunk with shrimp, because it did to accompany a press release in regards to the frunk’s size in 2020, climate control could not less than lessen the likelihood of food poisoning.
This Article First Appeared At www.motorauthority.com
