Ford’s Smart Sliding Tray Might Simplify Unloading Your Truck’s Bed

Ford Authority discovered the application, initially submitted with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in August of 2022 but only recently published. In the illustrations, you can observe the previously mentioned plate in the bed, with grooves holding a sliding tray. The tray itself might contain slots or recesses to store tools and other small cargo, making them easily accessible for owners.

One intriguing aspect is the tray’s capability to incline downward once it has extended to the furthest point. In Figure 3C, you can see the tray angled downward slightly, potentially allowing items to slide down the tray and out of the bed on their own, akin to a miniature dump bed. This would be beneficial for transporting materials like mulch, soil, or rocks for landscaping tasks, for instance. Instead of manually transferring them out, simply push the tray out, tilt it downward, and let gravity handle the rest.

The height of the tray can also be modified since there are multiple track positions for it. When the tray is at its maximum height, there would still be room for flat, low items to be positioned beneath directly on the bed surface, while the entire top of the tray would be accessible for carrying additional cargo above. Items placed below the tray may also be less likely to shift during transport. Visualize shovels or tools placed in the compartment below, and loose soil piled on top.

Ford could introduce this technology on any of its pickups—commercial or passenger—and it seems likely to be popular. Contractors and consumers alike would undoubtedly discover numerous applications for such a tray system. Unlike the extremely creative patents sometimes encountered in the automotive sector, this one appears realistic enough to imagine on a production pickup in the near future.

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