Stellantis growing heated wheel-well liners
Stellantis is trying to patent heated wheel wells to maintain snow and ice from increase throughout winter driving.
This characteristic is described in a patent utility revealed by the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) Oct. 31, 2024, however filed by Stellantis Apr. 25, 2023. As described within the submitting, it could depend on an electrical heating aspect embedded within the wheel properly, with a wire or different connection to provide energy from the car.
Stellantis heated wheel properly patent picture
The heating aspect could be sandwiched between the car’s physique and a wheel-well liner, the latter being uncovered to the weather to guard the heating aspect and its wiring. Warmth would nonetheless have the ability to soak via the wheel-well liner to soften ice and snow, based on Stellantis.
The automaker additionally addressed a conductive movie for the heating aspect, which could possibly be utilized on to a given floor, noting that it could be higher suited to make use of in electrical autos and plug-in hybrids, which draw energy for wheel-well heating from their excessive voltage battery packs.
Stellantis heated wheel properly patent picture
As Stellantis notes within the utility, snow and ice can construct up and type giant chunks. These can break off unexpectedly and create an disagreeable shock for following drivers, or cowl cameras and sensors used for driver-assist techniques, in addition to impair deployable aspect steps—like those obtainable on Stellantis’ Ram pickup vans.
Not all patented concepts attain manufacturing, however this could possibly be a reasonably easy but sensible characteristic, not not like the deployable front-seat tables Stellantis additionally tried to patent lately.
