Rivian might add a deployable roof-top cover to the record of equipment for its EVs, if a latest patent submitting is any indication.
The automaker filed a patent software titled “Cover with Deployable Construction” with the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) in early 2023; that software was printed by the USPTO on Could 14.
In accordance with the applying, the cover would deploy from a container mounted on a roof rack. Tubular arms would prolong out from this container, inflating with the help of compressed air. Cloth can be stretched over the arms, which might act as a kind of skeletal construction, to type the cover, very similar to an umbrella.
The inflatable tubes that type the construction of the cover might be constructed from a wide range of supplies, together with plastic, nylon, rubber or latex, in accordance with Rivian. They’re designed to assist the cover below as a lot as six inches of snow or wind speeds of as much as 30 mph. They may be made self lubricating or hydrophobic, Rivian claims.
Rivian deployable roof-top cover patent picture
All of this might be completed mechanically, saving the hassle required to manually deploy a car cover, Rivian notes within the software. The automaker additionally claims this design will save on the wear and tear and tear that comes with unpacking and stowing standard canopies.
A cover like this might complement equipment like a rooftop tent and camp kitchen already out there for Rivian EVs. And different latest patent filings level to extra add-ons, together with a tailgate workbench and mattress rack system for pickup vehicles, in addition to built-in winches that may be managed from a car’s touchscreen.
