KEY POINTS

  • Electric car startup Riviant filed a patent for swing and drop tailgate
  • If it will be applied on Rivian R1T, it will offer effortless loading and unloading
  • it would allow easy access to Rivian R1T's bed

A patent filed by electric car startup Rivian was recently spotted, revealing that it plans to provide easy access to the bed, presumably of the Rivian R1T pickup truck. The patent application is for a Swing and Drop Tailgate door. It aims to offer users effortless loading and unloading of items placed on the truck’s bed.

Rivian Investment
A new patent presumably for Rivian R1T could let owners of the upcoming electric pickup truck have easy access to the truck's bed. Getty Images/Phillip Faraone

The patent filed by Rivian is inspired by the tailgate door of traditional pickup trucks, which has the tendency to restrict access to the truck’s bed. The design for the tailgate door shown in the patent uses several hinges, enabling various trajectories of movement and several resting points. The concept behind this patent is to enhance the design of the traditional truck bed’s door, an idea, which Rivian finds some drawbacks.

One drawback to this motion is that the tailgate now protrudes rearward of the vehicle, blocking the user from standing closer to the vehicle.

Some truck makers have also considered the drawbacks of the traditional door and have used a door that opens from the side with the help of a hinge. This setup resembles a lot like the standard doors used in homes and buildings. But, Rivian believes that this idea has some issues, too, which includes the need for excessive spaces to open the door.

Other motions of a tailgate, such as a side-hinged tailgate that opens to the side, may allow a user to stand closer to the vehicle, but this motion requires significant clearance and does not allow the increased horizontal space that the dropped down tailgate provides. It would be desirable for a tailgate to be capable of more than one motion, along more than one trajectory, to more conveniently adapt to a user’s needs.

Illustrations of the new tailgate patent presumably for the Rivian R1T reveal the door being able to open just like a traditional tailgate but can also swing down at the back of the vehicle. Through this, the person trying to access the bed of the truck can get closer. As a result, it becomes easier to load and unload items on the primary cargo of the Rivian R1T pickup truck.

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