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Briefing — Monday, March 16

143Patents this week

9Of interest

4From competitors

Several companies are racing to make EV charging faster — some focus on cell chemistry, others on cooling the cable so it can carry more current, others on tapping multiple chargers in parallel. Below, the most relevant patents this week:

US12522100B1

1. Multi-port charging assembly for electric vehicles

Elektros, Inc.Granted 2026 · Filed 2022

Problem

EVs can’t charge from multiple chargers simultaneously without manual switching or complex wiring.
Single charger limits charging speed when multiple power sources are available.

Solution

Two power inputs feed a consolidation assembly that merges them into one vehicle charging port.
Processor reads both charger outputs, calculates vehicle needs, and balances current from each input dynamically.

Claims

Multi-port assembly with first and second power inputs, consolidation hardware, and processor that queries charger capabilities and vehicle requirements.
Processor implements balancing scheme adjusting each input’s charge and delivers combined output until vehicle reaches target charge level.

All industries:AISemiconductorsPharmaAerospaceMaterialsAutomotive+ More

Our AI summarizes patents for you

US4136202A Capsule for beverage preparation (Nestlé)

A capsule containing a substance for making up a drink using an apparatus of the type which includes a water-injection piercing member which injects water into the capsule under pressure, said capsule being composed essentially of a sealed impervious body containing said substance and having the general shape of an upright acute truncated cone, the top of the body terminating into a generally domed end, said domed end having a recess for receiving said water-injection piercing member, the height of said body being approximately the same as the base dimension thereof, said body being provided at said base with an outer rim, a membrane defining a base closure member, and a filter interposed between said membrane, and said substance said membrane being resilient and bulging outwarding under the pressure of water injected into said capsule through said piercing member, said membrane being provided with an integral portion at least partially surrounded by a grooved line of weakness which brakes away from said membrane under the influence of the water pressure when said membrane is in bulged condition thereby forming an aperture in the membrane through which the drink will flow from the capsule.

A capsule according to claim 1, in which said membrane is provided with radial grooves for facilitating outward bulging of said membrane.

Problem

—Coffee capsules need to stay sealed for months on the shelf, then open the instant hot water hits them.

—Open too easily and it leaks. Open too hard and the machine pumps water without making coffee.

Solution

—Water pressure tears the foil along a line that's been weakened on purpose, and the coffee flows out.

Claims

—A sealed truncated-cone capsule with a domed water-injection inlet and a base membrane bearing a grooved line of weakness that ruptures outward under pressure.

Sealed capsule cross-section, Fig. 1 of US4136202A.

Water injector entering the capsule top, from Fig. 2.

Membrane bulged, drink flowing through the base, from Fig. 2.

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