The dual-injection technology used in the Ford F-150 pickup truck and other models was invented and patented by three MIT professors
According to a report emerged on Bloomberg, three professors from the well-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have accused Ford of stealing their technologies for use in the powertrains employed in the top-selling F-Series pickup trucks.
They have gone as far as filing a lawsuit against the American auto major on January 30. It deals with the direction injection and dual port technologies used in the Ford’s successful range of EcoBoost engines. Their claims could be credible considering that Ford and MIT partnered for a project more than a decade ago.
The main core of the project was to improve on the engine, energy, fuel and other related technologies and their efficiencies. A few years ago, another program between the two parties led to Ford’s authorities working closely with the professors and researchers from the institution.
Back in 2015, Ford alleged that the professors denied a proper negotiation for exclusive patent right license and called them greedy inventors. The EcoBoost engines are widely well-received across the globe for their efficiency as well as optimal performance and they have won several accolades along the way.
The MIT professors Daniel R. Cohn, John B. Heywood and Leslie Bromberg have claimed responsible for inventing the dual injection technology. Ford used the second generation 3.5-litre EcoBoost engine with dual direct and port fuel injection in the 2017 F-150.
Two injectors per cylinder one injector is mounted in the intake port where air enters the cylinder and the other is positioned inside the cylinder, as the two injectors per cylinder system works together to improve performance, fuel efficiency, and lower emissions due to the optimum air-fuel mixing and combustion stability.
MIT granted exclusive rights to EBS (Ethanol Boosting Systems) owned by the three professors following the processors’ transfer of the technology’s ownership to the university. When EBS proceeded to give patent license to Ford in 2014, the company rejected the offer.
The lawsuit goes on to argue that Ford has already started to implement the dual-injection tech into its latest crop of engines without the permission of MIT and EBS.