Given that the 2015 Ford F-150 is the first pickup with an aluminum body, it’s not exactly surprising that the truck is the most patented in the automaker’s 111-year history.
What’s impressive is the sheer number of new Ford patents and patent applications the truck is responsible for: more than 100. And because of that, Ford considers the pickup a blueprint that could usher in a paradigm shift in the truck-making world.
Every aspect of the truck includes a new technology from manufacturing processes to the chassis, electrical, engine, interior, exterior and, of course, that high-strength, military-grade aluminum body which shaves 700 pounds off the truck’s weight.
On the exterior, patented or applied-for technologies include the F-150’s new segment-first LED headlights; LED side-mirror spotlights; 360-degree camera view; the remote tailgate release; loading ramps integrated into the truck bed; the new tailgate step and the BoxLink cargo management system.
The truck features a new high-strength steel chassis while aluminum alloys form the body and cargo box. Ford announced it would shut down its truck plants for a combined 13 weeks in order to retool for the new manufacturing process these trucks require.
Part of that process is a proprietary method for heat-treating aluminum developed by Ford engineers. The process doubles the strength of the medal, Ford says.
