
Stuck: Ford patents pickup with magnetic bed
Fox News
Ford has patented a system that can secure items in a pickup bed or SUV cargo area using magnets.
The automaker has received a patent, first reported on by Muscle Cars & Trucks, for a pickup bed embedded with magnets designed to secure cargo while the vehicle is in motion without any strings attached.
The patent explains a number of methods to achieve this using circular pairs of stacked magnets that are rotated to adjust the strength of their magnetism, either manually or by using powered servos.
Strategically placed around the cargo floor of a pickup, SUV or van, the magnets can be activated separately or in concert and turned off to release whatever's attached to them. Since the bed is aluminum, it's easy to isolate the magnetized areas.
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