Rotatable bed for a pickup truck

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11155198-B2
Application number	US-201916459882-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 2, 2019
Priority date	Jul 2, 2019
Publication date	Oct 26, 2021
Grant date	Oct 26, 2021

Abstract

A pickup truck can include a bed that is configured to be rotatable. The bed can be defined in part by a first side wall, a second side wall, a front wall, a back wall, and a floor. The bed can include a standard position in which the first and second side walls of the bed can be substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pickup truck. The bed can be selectively rotatable about an axis of rotation into one or more rotated positions. In a rotated position, the first and second side walls can be angled relative to the longitudinal direction. The bed can also be raised in an elevational direction such that a lowermost point of the bed is located above a chassis frame of the pickup truck. A rotatable bed can expand its uses and allow for convenient access to the bed from a desired position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A bed manipulation system for a pickup truck, the system comprising:
a bed, the bed being defined in part by a first side wall, a second side wall, a front wall, a back wall, and a floor,
the bed including a standard position, the bed being selectively rotatable about an axis of rotation into one or more rotated positions,
when the bed is in the standard position, the first side wall and the second side wall being substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pickup truck, and a lowermost point of the bed being located below a chassis frame of the pickup truck when in the standard position,
when the bed is in one of the one or more rotated positions, the first side wall and the second side wall being angled relative to the longitudinal direction and the bed is raised in an elevational direction such that the lowermost point of the bed is located above the chassis frame of the pickup truck, the floor of the bed being substantially horizontal in the one or more rotated positions and when being rotated about the axis of rotation,
when moving from the standard position to one of the one or more rotated positions, the bed moves rearward in the longitudinal direction, and
the pickup truck including a cabin, the cabin being fixed, whereby the cabin does not change position between the standard position and the one or more rotated positions of the bed.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the lowermost point of the bed is defined by a vehicle body panel.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the bed has a range of rotation of at least substantially 90 degrees about the axis of rotation.

4. The system of claim 1 , further including:
one or more processors operatively connected to control movement of the bed; and
an input interface operatively connected to the one or more processors, wherein the input interface is configured to receive inputs from a user to cause the bed to be selectively rotated about the axis of rotation.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the input interface is located on one of a mobile device and the pickup truck.

6. The system of claim 1 , further including:
one or more actuators configured to cause the bed to simultaneously move in the elevational direction and in the longitudinal direction.

7. The system of claim 1 , further including:
one or more actuators operatively connected to the bed, wherein the one or more actuators are configured to cause the bed to rotate about the axis of rotation.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein in moving from the standard position to the one of the one or more rotated positions, the bed moves in the longitudinal direction, moves in the elevational direction, and rotates about the axis of rotation.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein when the bed is in the one or more rotated positions, the lowermost point of the bed is located above tires of the pickup truck in the elevational direction.

10. A bed manipulation method for a pickup truck, the pickup truck including a bed, the bed being defined in part by a first side wall, a second side wall, a front wall, a back wall, and a floor, the bed including a standard position in which the first side wall and the second side wall are substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pickup truck, a lowermost point of the bed being located below a chassis frame of the pickup truck when in the standard position, and the bed being selectively rotatable about an axis of rotation into one or more rotated positions, the method including:
responsive to a user input to rotate the bed, causing the bed to move from the standard position to one of the one or more rotated positions,
when the bed is in the one or more rotated positions, the first side wall and the second side wall are angled relative to the longitudinal direction and the bed is raised in an elevational direction such that the lowermost point of the bed is located above the chassis frame of the pickup truck, the floor of the bed being substantially horizontal in the one or more rotated positions and when being rotated about the axis of rotation,
when moving from the standard position to one of the one or more rotated positions, the bed moves rearward in the longitudinal direction, and
the pickup truck including a cabin, the cabin being fixed, whereby the cabin does not change position between the standard position and the one or more rotated positions of the bed.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the lowermost point of the bed is defined by a vehicle body panel.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bed has a range of rotation of at least substantially 90 degrees about the axis of rotation.

13. The method of claim 10 , further including:
receiving the user input to rotate the bed via at an input interface located on one of a mobile device and the pickup truck.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein causing the bed to move from the standard position to one of the one or more rotated positions includes causing the bed to move in the elevational direction.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein causing the bed to move from the standard position to one of the one or more rotated positions includes causing the bed to move in the longitudinal direction.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein causing the bed to move from the standard position to one of the one or more rotated positions includes causing the bed to rotate about the axis of rotation.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein causing the bed to move from the standard position to one of the one or more rotated positions includes:
causing the bed to move in the elevational direction;
causing the bed to move in the longitudinal direction; and
causing the bed to rotate about the axis of rotation.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein, in the one or more rotated positions, the lowermost point of the bed is located above tires of the pickup truck in the elevational direction.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Soonthornwinate Tarakorn

Classifications

• B60P1/34

  the other movement being raising or lowering · CPC title

• G05D1/0257

  using a radar (radar systems designed for anti-collision purposes between land vehicles or between land vehicle and fixed obstacles G01S13/931) · CPC title

• B60P1/32 Primary

  the other movement being lateral displacement · CPC title

• B60Y2200/16

  Vehicles with lowerable bed or chassis, e.g. to facilitate loading · CPC title

• B60P1/022 Primary

  with a loading platform outside the wheels · CPC title