Snow-covered mountains and treetops? Pretty. Snow-covered headlights? Pretty dangerous. LED headlights on any car are prone to icing over when you’re driving in the snow, because they don’t emit as much heat as old halogen bulbs. But the problem has been amplified lately on electric trucks like the Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck, where upright grilles and the lack of any engine heat up front has led to excessive snow buildup. But Rivian is apparently working on a fix, according to a newly published patent application.
According to documents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office late last month and spotted by Motor Authority, Rivian has applied for a patent on a new heated headlight lens technology. As the patent notes, current solutions for heating something like a headlight lens involve adding wiring systems to introduce heat, but these wires themselves can create an obstruction for the lamps.
Rivian’s alternative is to add a transparent carbon nanotube (CNT) layer, perhaps in the form of a film, to the headlight lens construction. High strength and low weight, CNTs consist of rolled-up sheets of carbon atoms and are known for their high electrical and thermal conductivity properties. Using a controller, the CNT layer can be activated via battery pack discharge or a redirected current. Another option is to add a heating element, like a silver busbar, that is either coupled with or touches the CNT layer. Its purpose would be to manage the current that heats the CNTs.
The CNT layer can also be applied within the lens itself, and deposited as a substrate through methods like spray coating. We’re talking super fine coats here. Rivian says the thickness of the CNT layer can be in nanometers to micrometers. (I squinted as I wrote that.)
Other variations are listed within the Rivian patent filing, but the main takeaway is using CNTs somehow. The flexibility of a CNT layer is mentioned as well. Rivian points out that the teeny thermal conductor layer can be integrated within any part of the vehicle’s surface that might need heat, such as windows, mirrors, and even the vehicle shell.
Now, don’t forget that patents are ideas that have been put on paper. Some might come to fruition, but many merely exist for public record. But Rivian’s take on an integrated heated headlight might be less of USPTO pipe dream and more realistic than previous headlight ideas. It solves an obvious problem, and hey, if the NHTSA can come around on adaptive matrix headlights, maybe it won’t give Rivian a hard time about these.