Audi will both cure range anxiety with a trailer and make electric cars go straight into the water. It reveals a new patent application.
If you look a little in the pile of patent applications at the German patent office, you will find that Audi wants to drive electric cars into the water. Literally like that.
In front of the German authorities, Audi describes a technical solution that will be able to transform an electric car into an amphibious corvette.
That's what Carmoses writes.
According to Audi, there are special characteristics of electric cars that make them suitable for this transition – i.e. from asphalt to water.
First, electric cars must protect their batteries from water ingress, which requires extensive underbody sealing.
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Secondly, many electric cars do not need large openings for cooling, which makes it possible to seal the front further. In addition, electric cars often have wheels that can work independently of each other, which can also be an advantage in water.
Audi combines several ideas that refer to already known solutions in the patent. An example is wheels with movable spokes.
The moving 'rims' can create turbulence to cool, but they can, says Audi, also act as propellers.
The patent describes how the wheels can be turned 90 degrees when the car is in the water, so that they can create propulsion.
Another element is the use of flotation devices that can be attached to the car and give it buoyancy. The device must be able to be filled with air from a built-in pump, which can also be practical in off-road terrain on land.
When the car is in the water, the undercarriage suspension can be lowered so that the wheels are placed lower than the bodywork itself. This is how the Germans think of the wheels as propellers.
In the patent application, Audi also describes sensors that can sense water and close openings in the undercarriage, because the car goes out in the wet.
This makes the process simple and automatic. At the same time, the car's weight distribution – often centered at the bottom – can provide stability when it moves from land into the water.
Audi also notes that it will not require special skills to control the car on water. The driver can use the same steering wheel and pedals as on land. Although there are still technical challenges such as rust protection, Audi's development department believes that the idea is worth patenting.
And then there's the range anxiety thing. Audi believes it can cure with a trailer. Yes, a trailer. Read more about it here .
