- Innovative appliance-maker Dyson has pulled the wraps off a patent for an electric car
- The patent points towards an all-electric vehicle put together by Dyson’s Vehicle Divison
- The vehicle divisioon is based at the UK’s Hullavington Airfield (Hanger 86)
- Dyson is better-known for making high-tech vacuum cleaners and hair dryers
Dyson has pulled the wraps off its all-new electric car patent.
To be clear this doesn’t necessarily mean the brand is actively developing an electric car. Many times companies will patent technology to future-proof themselves against rival companies poaching ideas.
You can see the entire brief – direct from James Dyson himself – below:
Developing new technology is an energising and exciting experience: our vehicle project is just that. It will be entirely designed by Dyson, manufactured by Dyson, and sold by Dyson. It is also a highly complex engineering project, which has amassed great design, scientific, engineering, manufacturing and operations knowledge across the UK, Singapore and further afield. I am immensely proud of the strong team we now have in place: over 500 people, blending Dyson experience with automotive know-how.
Hullavington Airfield is alive with progress. Hangar 86 is home to many in the Automotive team, Hangar 181 is now complete with testing facilities including climatic chambers and a rolling road, and Hangar 85 is where we will construct vehicles for the latest phase of testing, starting next month. Some test tracks are in, others are on their way. And we are about to break ground on our advanced manufacturing facility in Singapore. We are developing the best technology, as quickly as we can and the team is doing a fantastic job bringing it to life.
We always keep our products secret until they are ready to be launched and our car is no different, let’s keep it that way. However, the vehicle will include fundamentally new technologies and make some inventive leaps; it is therefore important that we protect it with patents. Eighteen months ago, we submitted our first patents covering some of the developments we are considering in relation to the vehicle architecture, aerodynamics and efficiency – these will become public tomorrow. It is important to keep this in perspective and remember that we do not always use patents or make products based on patents that we have filed.
The patents certainly don’t reveal what our vehicle will really look like or give any specifics around what it will do – rather they show an androgynous vehicle and provide a glimpse of some of the inventive steps that we are considering. They suggest some of the ways in which this vehicle could differ from the status quo and depict a vehicle which has been developed from the bottom up – built with range and efficiency in mind from the outset.
The patents are deliberately light on specifics but they do reveal some of the ways we might improve Battery Electric Vehicles.
Large wheels: I’ve long been fascinated by wheels and how they were used in engineering icons like the Issigonis Mini and the Moulton bike – I suppose we’ve essentially considered the opposite! The patents show a car with very large wheels, giving a low rolling resistance and high ground clearance. This makes a vehicle suited to city life and rough terrain but could also contribute to increased range and efficiency – vital in a vehicle where every joule of power must be used wisely. The patents also show the wheels to be as close to the front and the back of the vehicle as possible, making a car which is highly manoeuvrable, enabling larger approach and departure angles and improving handling on rough terrain.
New vehicle architecture and aerodynamic improvements: The frontal area of a vehicle has a large impact on its aerodynamics and efficiency. The patents therefore show a vehicle where the driver adopts a reclined seating position which would enable a low cabin height and a shallow windscreen angle, reducing drag and increasing driving range. Meanwhile a long wheel base could enable a larger battery pack to be employed, increasing the driving range and enabling a large cabin capacity. The low centre of gravity which results could contribute to the handling and driving experience.
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