DETROIT: Ford has patented an all-new way for its customers to rest away from home with class-exclusive available Max Recline Seats in the new F-150.
The new seat makes for a comfortable nap. The mechanism lifts the back half of the seat bottom 3.5 inches to make a flat surface of nearly 180 degrees to support the lower back. The upper seatback can also be moved forward for neck support. Ford’s all-new seats have been awarded five patents tied to the novel design and assembly process.
“There are no additional motors in these seats – just a simple mechanism that relies on the customer moving the seatback using the power recline function,” said Ben Kulhawik, seat design and release engineer.
To make this new seating system come to life, Ford engineers figured out the best and simplest user experience, then created mockups to quickly develop a proof of concept. They used hot glue, foam core and pins to build up components and attach them to a standard seat frame so they could test multiple concepts.
After finding the most promising design, they developed a fully functional metal prototype to refine the motion and comfort of the seat; then production parts were created.
The Max Recline Seats will be offered on King Ranch, Platinum and Limited F-150 trucks starting in 2021 model year.
The F-150 is the best-selling pickup-truck in the United States for 43 years.
