Future Ford Pickup Beds Could Get Special Access Openings

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for special access openings that could be used in future Ford pickup beds, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on February 17^th, 2022, published on October 3^rd, 2023, and assigned serial number 11772714.

The Ford Authority Take

As it aims to stay one step ahead of the competition, Ford has filed a flurry of patents related to pickup truck beds over the past few months, outlining ideas for features such as an extendable cargo bed side wall, an external and internal vehicle door bin, a convertible work station, a measurement system for cargo, an extendable bed floor and side walls, and a vehicle seating system that would reside in the bed. Now, this newly filed patent keeps that trend going by introducing yet another similar idea, this time for special access openings that could be used in future Ford pickup beds, too.

The idea presented in this patent goes hand in hand with the aforementioned filings for extendable bed floors and side walls, but focuses on how to utilize that space – in this case, by incorporating storage areas into those extendable side wall sections of the bed, which could be used to hold all sorts of cargo that could be accessed with the simple press of a button, but otherwise, would remain out of sight, which could be a potential way to prevent the theft of things like tools and other valuables.

By now, it’s pretty clear that Ford is keen to increase the cargo-carrying capacity of its future pickups, and the bed walls give it a good opportunity to make use of what is currently dead space, essentially. Incorporating extra, hidden storage in those walls seems like a pretty viable way to take advantage of it, too.

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