Tesla makes all patents freely available

[TexaCali]

Musk claims he doesn't want to stand in the way of EV adoption by laying a patent minefield so anyone is free to use Tesla patents. He also says they will continue to pursue patents to protect them from being sued, but those patents will also be available to anyone:
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25949696/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-all-our-patented-tech?source=topstoriesrot

 

[michael]

I'm very impressed by this. For a long time, I've viewed patents as harmful to progress. Especially since the patent office became a profit center for the government, they grant patents on things which are obvious and common practice. Engineers doing the things engineers routinely do find they violate someone's bogus patent.

Good for Musk! Now, Ford, GM, Toyota, and everyone else....go out there and build EV's that even begin to compare with the Tesla. He's given you all his secrets and invited you to use them. Time to fish or cut bait.

 

[WattsUp]

(This is cool news, but really should have gone in the Other Electric Cars & Plugin Hybrids topic.)

 

[Zurc]

I'm betting they won't be in a hurry to use them with exception of the company who wishes to lead the EV boom.
All it will take is a nicely priced car with a 200mile range and a half hour charge cycle. Dare I say 15min? I yearn for the day when I just drive up and do a 1 min battery swap and carry on after I do a 2 min wrestling match with the charge card machine.


Zurc.

 

[jmueller065]

I yearn for the day when I just drive up and do a 1 min battery swap and carry on after I do a 2 min wrestling match with the charge card machine.

I don't: I don't want a car that follows the existing model. You're describing an ICE EV.

I'd rather charge my 200+ mile EV at home and never have to plug in anywhere but home--with the exception of long road trips. Then a 20-30 minute recharge cycle would be sufficient.

I'm pretty much already there with the FFE: It only gets charged at home. I use a public charger at most once a month if that. The missing piece is the long drive: Can't drive the FFE long enough nor charge it quickly enough whilst on the road (for now the ICE and the RV will have to do for that).

 

[Zurc]

Certainly local driving gets charged at home.
I figure most of my driving will encompass exactly that.
But wouldn't it be nice to be able to drive some distant place and be able to just do a battery swap and carry on to your next destination? It would be great for long distance commuters with short stays.

It will require some re-design and much infrastructure to do that so its likely in the far off distant future.. Still, its a thought.
There's also the inductive charging/running idea as well.

Zurc

 

[TexaCali]

There's also the inductive charging/running idea as well.

Zurc

Slot cars!!!! :lol:

 

[EVA]

There's also the inductive charging/running idea as well.

Zurc

Slot cars!!!! :lol:

That is too funny. I love the idea. Except - inductive charging, no third rail on the road.

OK, I'll raise my hand - supercharging is the way to go for long trips - I'm convinced that is the solution for the future. I just did a fairly long trip in my Model S, using 110V, 30Amp Level 2, 80 Amp Tesla, and Superchargers. Superchargers are the way to go - by a long margin. No need to look further. No need to monkey with swapped batteries.

Oddly 110V at a hotel got me a really needed 50 mile range boost overnight - I pulled into the hotel with 20 miles range left.

I got a boost at a Level 2 30Amp ChargePoint station at a BMW dealership (got to test drive the BMW i3 during the plug in) - ended up with enough range for the day after about 4 hours of charging. EXCEPT - and this is critical - my brother in law followed me to the dealership in his ICE SUV. And then had to take me back there later that morning.

That same dealership then allowed me to charge overnight with their ChargePoint station - thank you so much. But another two round trips with the ICE SUV. Full 280 mile range overnight.

The other part of the trip was stopping at a Tesla showroom where they had 80Amp chargers. Sadly, I had to spend a lot of time waiting around a mall. About 4 hours each time. That is entirely too long.

Then used another 110V outlet in a parking garage at a university (there were no other chargers in this city listed in PlugShare or ChargePoint). The university was super proud of their Electric Vehicle charging space. I was really excited because I was parked there for 2 and a half days. At 110V, that was enough to fully charge the car to 280 miles. Granted it was an amazing parking spot. But again, way too long for any kind of real trip.

Then the revelation - the nirvana - the ultimate. On the way home about 120 miles from home, I was able to use a Supercharger. You have never seen anything like this for charging. Within minutes I had 30 miles of range on the car. The time it took to walk up and down a mall and grab a slice of pizza - the car had an additional 120 miles of range on it. That car charged initially at over 350 miles per hour of charging. I think there was something like 400 Amps going into the car.

I'm here to tell you from personal experience - living with an FFE charging on 110V and 220V, using that car for a daily commuter, charging overnight or an hour to get a little more range for more around town driving. And then seeing how incredible Supercharging is - there's no need to look further. Bring them on for every electric car.

If the FFE had Supercharging capability - it would have a full charge in around 15 minutes. Yeah, they would have to be spaced about every 70 miles. At the rate Tesla is going with Superchargers - there will be a lot of them all over the country, not too far apart.

Imagine a day if Supercharger stations were as common as a gas station. Nobody would ever have range anxiety.

 

[Zurc]

YEah that's the ticket.
Don't really need that kind of charging ability at home but on the road that definitely makes it more practical.
I wonder what the the actual current is in those super chargers.

Zurc

 

[EVA]

YEah that's the ticket.
Don't really need that kind of charging ability at home but on the road that definitely makes it more practical.
I wonder what the the actual current is in those super chargers.

Zurc

The most recent deliver 120kW. I'm pretty sure I saw 400V at 350Amps shortly after the charger ramped up to max.

The car and charger monitor batteries very closely and change amperage very quickly (always at 400V for superchargers). The charger starts off slow to make sure the battery isn't too cold or hot. It then ramps up to what I think is a max of 350Amps. As the battery reaches around 80% fully charged, the amperage gradually dials back. That last 20% of a full charge takes a lot of energy and generates a lot of heat, so they slow down the charging to protect the batteries.

I was surprised to hold that supercharger cord - it is really fat, very flexible, and only about 6 feet long. I had expected to pull the cord like a gas pump, nope, have to park very close to the station. After I saw 400V at 350Amps, I realized why that cable is short and fat.

 

[TexaCali]

You bet that is a short and fat cable. Just think:

V = I * R

so at 350A, even 1 Ohm of resistance would be a 350V drop! :shock:

Of course Resistance isn't really linear - as current gets real high things heat up and what was 0.0001 Ohms at a low current can become much more restive at higher currents. You also have to be careful how fast you ramp that much current - remember V = L di/dt and you could create some nasty voltage spikes by trying to abruptly turn on/off that much juice.

But I agree - a vast infrastructure of superchargers coupled with at 200 mile + EV makes for a very practical transportation system.

 

[Zurc]

Makes sense.
The cable would have to be a fairly heavy gage to handle that much current.
Do they use a different charge connector? Standard is the SAE 1772 but I can't see those pint sized connectors handling 350A worth of current.

350*400=140,000W so it could be you got more than you expected.

Zurc.

 

[EVA]

Zurc, The Tesla connector is completely different from the J1772. It is unique to Tesla. There is an adapter to convert a J1772 to Tesla, but not vice versa.

 

[Zurc]

Nice.
Leave it to Tesla to buck the standard.
I wonder if the X will use the same connector.
Must be a pain having to dig out the adaptor all the time.

My charger was just wired and enabled in my garage today. SO now I just need the car.

Zurc.

 

[TexaCali]

So is that little slot in the first photo (with the red arrow pointing at it) to keep the connector locked in place? Makes sense as yanking the connector when that much current is flowing would be very bad (as in V = L di/dt and you just made di/dt huge).

 

[EVA]

Zurc - no not a pain at all. All Tesla charging stations use that connector. Yes of course the Model X will use the same cable. As I understand it the J1772 couldn't handle the supercharger current loads. It is easier to use than a J1772 and it takes up less space. The only moderate pain is when I have to use the Tesla to J1772 adapter - but that is pretty rare. I have an outlet in my garage for the Tesla charging cable, and I have a GE WattStation monster charging station for the FFE.

TexaCali - yes that slot is used to lock the connector to the car. When the car locks, the lights (dash and circle around the connector) all turn off and the connector is locked to the car. Unless you have the key fob or the car is unlocked, you can't remove the cable.

That cable is also pretty darn smart. When the car is unlocked, you press the little button on the handle. That opens the charge port in the tail light (sort of reminiscent of gas fillers on some cars in the 50s). When you are done charging, unlock the car or stand with the key fob near the rear C post, then press and hold the button. The light turns white and you can pull out the connector. Really smooth and simple.

By the way, when you forget to close the port door, the car warns you with a big display on the left side of the instrument panel. I like that a lot.

 

[twscrap]

I like that a lot.

Betcha wish the FFE had that...

 

[EVA]

Yep I know we all wish the FFE had an open charge door reminder.

 

[Zurc]

Well, if the charge door becomes an issue for me I'll put a warning light and chime in mine.
Too bad its not like a fuel door where you just look in your mirror, do a face palm and go close it.

Zurc.