Photo: u/JGard18 via Reddit, Rivian / USPTO
Rivian honors its adventurous spirit by giving new meaning to the Accessory Dock in its R1 vehicles. Instead of the camp speaker, the dock might receive a 100-Ah portable battery able to power external devices and the vehicle itself. At least, that's what a patent application that Rivian filed reveals.
Rivian is still far from becoming Tesla, but it's on the right track to profitability. This is helped by a well-received EV lineup comprising the R1T pickup truck and the R1S three-row SUV. The R1T was the first electric pickup to launch in the US and has been unanimously praised as one of the best EVs in North America. The R1T and, later, its brother R1S targeted the adventurous among us, people who are always searching for their adrenaline fix.
This isn't just marketing, though. Rivian genuinely aims to offer practical features to those who love life on the road and also off the road. This is why the R1T comes with a Gear Tunnel, a storage compartment with no equivalent in the industry. The Gear Tunnel can accommodate different accessories, including a retractable camp kitchen. Unfortunately, Rivian is not always good at executing its ideas. The Camp Kitchen, however useful it was, has disappeared from the Gear Shop.
The same happened with other cool things Rivian designed for its adventure vehicles. Although the EV startup promised to bring them back, it took two years until the powered tonneau cover was again available to order. The Camp Kitchen is still missing in action, and others can have the same fate. Judging by a revised owner's manual published in September, Rivian may be paving the way to also remove the Camp Speaker. Instead, a storage drawer could be offered to make use of the so-called Accessory Dock.
A new patent application Rivian filed in 2020 but only published on December 14 shows that the EV startup has more ambitious plans with the Accessory Dock. The patent is named "Vehicle Cabin Portable Battery," and its name is pretty accurate in describing what Rivian has in mind. If you're wondering why a portable battery needs a patent when Amazon is filled with such devices, some characteristics make it unique.
The most obvious is the shape, which allows it to slide into the Accessory Dock and click into place. Despite its compact size, Rivian claims it could have 100 Ah, although this doesn't tell much without knowing the voltage. The battery has six 120-volt outlets, six USB-C plugs, and electrical contacts to charge from the vehicle's battery and also charge it when it's needed. I'm sure such a small battery will have little effect on the range, but Rivian felt the need to patent it anyway.
A more interesting feature is the integrated light source that can be synchronized with the lights in the cabin. It thus needs to communicate with a spare controller in the vehicle to adjust the brightness, color, or power of the light source to match other lights in the cabin. It can also be synchronized with other portable batteries for the same reason.
This isn't just marketing, though. Rivian genuinely aims to offer practical features to those who love life on the road and also off the road. This is why the R1T comes with a Gear Tunnel, a storage compartment with no equivalent in the industry. The Gear Tunnel can accommodate different accessories, including a retractable camp kitchen. Unfortunately, Rivian is not always good at executing its ideas. The Camp Kitchen, however useful it was, has disappeared from the Gear Shop.
The same happened with other cool things Rivian designed for its adventure vehicles. Although the EV startup promised to bring them back, it took two years until the powered tonneau cover was again available to order. The Camp Kitchen is still missing in action, and others can have the same fate. Judging by a revised owner's manual published in September, Rivian may be paving the way to also remove the Camp Speaker. Instead, a storage drawer could be offered to make use of the so-called Accessory Dock.
A new patent application Rivian filed in 2020 but only published on December 14 shows that the EV startup has more ambitious plans with the Accessory Dock. The patent is named "Vehicle Cabin Portable Battery," and its name is pretty accurate in describing what Rivian has in mind. If you're wondering why a portable battery needs a patent when Amazon is filled with such devices, some characteristics make it unique.
The most obvious is the shape, which allows it to slide into the Accessory Dock and click into place. Despite its compact size, Rivian claims it could have 100 Ah, although this doesn't tell much without knowing the voltage. The battery has six 120-volt outlets, six USB-C plugs, and electrical contacts to charge from the vehicle's battery and also charge it when it's needed. I'm sure such a small battery will have little effect on the range, but Rivian felt the need to patent it anyway.
A more interesting feature is the integrated light source that can be synchronized with the lights in the cabin. It thus needs to communicate with a spare controller in the vehicle to adjust the brightness, color, or power of the light source to match other lights in the cabin. It can also be synchronized with other portable batteries for the same reason.
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