Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a trailer content monitoring system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on June 21st, 2021, published on March 5th, 2024, and assigned serial number 11922641.
The Ford Authority Take
In addition to launching a dedicated dash cam for commercial customers, Ford also recently formed a joint-venture with ADT called Canopy, which provides an extra layer of security for pickup owners, in particular. However, the automaker isn’t done exploring ways to beef up the security of its vehicles in the future, filing patents for ideas such as a vehicle body mounted side view mirror assembly with off-roading and security features, a vehicular anomaly detection system, a neighboring vehicle security system, and a pet monitoring and control system, to name just a few. Now, this newly filed patent previews another feature we may one day find in future Ford vehicles – a trailer content monitoring system.
In one regard, such an idea makes a lot of sense given the fact that many people tend to haul valuable tools and other items – such as entire vehicles – in or on trailers, which means that it would certainly be useful to be able to monitor those items from within the vehicle or via an app. However, this patent also mentions the fact that trailer operators could benefit from being able to see cargo in the event that it shifts, which could cause a dangerous load imbalance.
Rather than having to constantly stop and check on this situation, Ford proposes integrating a monitoring system in future models in a simple yet effective way – by mounting a camera inside the trailer, but in this case, the system would also be able to automatically detect if things have moved around or even if they’ve been removed. It’s a potentially useful idea for certain, and as such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it used in future Ford vehicles.
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