Rivian explores a possible deployable roof-top cover

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Rivian might add a deployable roof-top cover to the listing of equipment for its EVs, if a latest patent submitting is any indication.

The automaker filed a patent utility titled “Cover with Deployable Construction” with america Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) in early 2023; that utility was printed by the USPTO on Might 14.

In response to the appliance, the cover would deploy from a container mounted on a roof rack. Tubular arms would lengthen out from this container, inflating with assistance from compressed air. Cloth could be stretched over the arms, which might act as a form of skeletal construction, to type the cover, very similar to an umbrella.

The inflatable tubes that type the construction of the cover could possibly be made out of quite a lot of supplies, together with plastic, nylon, rubber or latex, in response to Rivian. They’re designed to help the cover underneath as a lot as six inches of snow or wind speeds of as much as 30 mph. They is also made self lubricating or hydrophobic, Rivian claims.

Rivian deployable roof-top canopy patent image

Rivian deployable roof-top cover patent picture

All of this may be finished routinely, saving the trouble required to manually deploy a automobile cover, Rivian notes within the utility. 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 obtainable 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 automobile’s touchscreen.

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