Stellantis is seeking to patent heated wheel wells to maintain snow and ice from increase throughout winter driving.
This characteristic is described in a patent software printed by the USA Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) Oct. 31, 2024, however filed by Stellantis Apr. 25, 2023. As described within the submitting, it might depend on an electrical heating aspect embedded within the wheel properly, with a wire or different connection to provide energy from the automobile.
Stellantis heated wheel properly patent picture
The heating aspect could be sandwiched between the automobile’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 be capable of soak by means of the wheel-well liner to soften ice and snow, based on Stellantis.
The automaker additionally addressed a conductive movie for the heating aspect, which may very well 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 software, snow and ice can construct up and kind massive chunks. These can break off unexpectedly and create an disagreeable shock for following drivers, or cowl cameras and sensors used for driver-assist programs, in addition to impair deployable aspect steps—like those out there on Stellantis’ Ram pickup vans.
Not all patented concepts attain manufacturing, however this may very well be a reasonably simple but sensible characteristic, not in contrast to the deployable front-seat tables Stellantis additionally tried to patent lately.