Vehicle assembly having cross-bar mounted lift assist device and operating method
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsStuart C. Salter, William Wurz, David Brian Glickman, Annette Lynn Huebner, Kristin Ann Hellman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle assembly according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a cargo bed of a vehicle and a crossbar spanning the cargo bed. The crossbar is slidable relative to the cargo bed. A lift assist device is mounted to the crossbar. The assembly can include a passenger side rail mounted to a passenger side wall assembly of the cargo bed, and a driver side rail mounted to a driver side wall assembly of the cargo bed. The crossbar can be slidably coupled to both the driver side rail and the passenger side rail.
Claims15
A vehicle assembly, comprising:
- a cargo bed of a vehicle;
- a crossbar spanning the cargo bed, the crossbar slidable relative to the cargo bed;
- a lift assist device mounted atop the crossbar;
- a passenger side rail mounted to a passenger side wall assembly of the cargo bed;
- and
- a driver side rail mounted to a driver side wall assembly of the cargo bed, wherein the crossbar is slidably coupled to both the driver side rail and the passenger side rail.
A vehicle assembly, comprising:
- a cargo bed of a vehicle;
- a crossbar spanning the cargo bed, the crossbar slidable relative to the cargo bed;
- and
- a lift assist device mounted to the crossbar a camera operatively connected to the lift assist device, wherein the lift assist is configured to operate in response to a laser, the camera configured to detect the laser.
A lift assist device operating method, comprising:
- positioning a lift assist device by sliding a crossbar along a length of a vehicle over a cargo bed of the vehicle, the crossbar sliding along a passenger side rail and a driver side rail, the lift assist device mounted to the crossbar;
- and
- translating the lift assist device in a cross-vehicle direction relative to the crossbar, wherein the lift assist is a robotic arm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.