Auto producers file patents for numerous concepts each single day, and generally, you come throughout one which’s truly fascinating. It appears Toyota is considering inside the field on this one.

Patent number US 11,858,408 B1 was initially filed again in June 2022 however printed early this yr. In essence, it is an air mattress caught to the underside of a pickup mattress cowl. Flip a change and it inflates downward into the mattress, pushing into and surrounding in any other case unfastened gadgets, holding them neatly in place till you flip one other change to deflate it. Or till a pointy nook of the metal cabinets you are hauling punctures the bladder. Presumably, Toyota assumes this would not be used with gadgets which have the potential to tear by way of plastic, vinyl, material, or no matter this huge air bladder is made from.

As you would possibly count on, it is inflated with an air compressor put in within the mattress between the internal wall and outer sheet steel. The patent description says it could possibly be hooked into the truck’s pc mind, monitoring stress on the bladder (or bladders) to maintain issues safe.

It does seem to be a novel solution to hold the groceries or that cool set of used golf golf equipment you scored at a storage sale from skidding across the mattress whereas driving house. Toyota particularly makes use of the time period “air mattress” within the patent’s description. In reality, it is referenced as getting used for tenting, be it on the bottom or within the mattress of the truck.