Ford is on the lookout to patent new components for pickup truck beds.
In accordance to a patent application revealed on April 20, 2023 (and initially submitted Oct. 19, 2021), the Blue Oval is developing a pop-up bed rail program. Rails would be housed in the mattress sides and raised up working with actuators, in accordance to the software.
Ford pop-up bed rail process patent picture
This variety of rail method delivers a number of choices, Ford says in the software. Rails could help protected taller cargo by stringing nets between them, and they appear to be like a superior possible mounting issue for rooftop tents or other add-ons, as other automakers and aftermarket companies presently do with set mattress-rail systems.
Ford also proposes applying movable rails in some more unconventional techniques. The patent software describes applying the rails to carry cargo from the floor to mattress height with a pivoting attachment, a little bit like an in-mattress crane. A pair of pivoting crossbars could also aid a cargo go over, which could be manufactured flush with the prime of the cab to strengthen airflow in excess of the truck though nonetheless giving home for taller cargo.
Ford pop-up mattress rail program patent impression
This is just one of a number of truck-similar Ford patent filings. So significantly this yr patent apps have been observed for a pickup with a midgate and fold-flat seats, a mattress cross-member technique that could allow for customers to winch cargo into the mattress, and a solid axle with hub motors that would be acceptable for electric vans.
Ford’s rivals have been obtaining creative, far too. Rivian has experimented with to patent a new bed storage technique, and Common Motors just lately trademarked the Multistow tailgate name, indicating a new tailgate style. Patent and trademark filings are not proof of output plans, nevertheless, so it is tough to say which of these ideas—if any—will shift over and above the patent stage.