A couple of recent Ford patent filings showcase some interesting ideas for off-road vehicles.
An application published with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on April 21 describes built-in sand ladder Can be mounted on different parts of the vehicle.
Sand ladders can be deployed to provide additional traction to prevent vehicles from getting stuck in sandy conditions. They’re usually just stowed on the vehicle, but Ford has suggested having them double as running boards or just attaching them to different parts of an SUV or pickup truck.
Ford integrated sand ladder patent image
The drawings included with the app show sand rails attached to the grille and rear doors of a pickup truck, on top of the duct doors one might expect to be fitted in. Broncoand in the segment of an electric pickup truck like 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning.
Another app published simultaneously describing “methods and apparatus for carrying out a tank turn.” That allows a truck to turn around its own length like a crawler military vehicle. Rivian demonstrated a similar feature for its R1T electric pickup truck.
Ford’s version is also designed with EVs in mind. The central control unit instructs the individual motors to steer the front and rear wheels in opposite directions. Ideally, this would apply to a four-engine powertrain with one engine powering each wheel, but it would also work with dual engines, one per axle, Ford said. idea.
Ford tank patent image
The system will also apply braking force to the wheels at opposite angles, such as the rear right and rear left, and adjust the suspension load on these wheels, to make the vehicle increase could turn around, the document said.
This isn’t the first time Ford has tried to patent an answer to Rivian’s tank rotation. One recent application is depicted using four-wheel steering to rotate the front and rear wheels in opposite directions for the off-road feature. This in turn seems to be built on a rear wheel steering Patent application published in 2019.
Ford has been quite busy with patent applications lately. The automaker has also applied for a patent on retractable exhaust nozzle to improve the departure angle when off-road.
