Fold-out tray tables are a well-recognized a part of flying, however Ford might carry an identical thought to its automobiles.
A patent software from the automaker printed by america Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on March 14, however initially filed on Sept. 14, 2022, offers with tables that deploy from a car’s middle console.
Based on the applying, the quilt of the middle console storage bin would kind the desk. It could slide ahead on tracks and pop up utilizing specifically designed hinges, offering an area between the entrance seats that Ford suggests could possibly be used as a piece floor.
That is simply the most recent of many reconfigurable inside bits engineered by Ford to make working in a automobile simpler. The F-150 pickup truck is already out there with a fold-down shifter that frees up area on the middle console, together with fold-flat seats for energy naps. Ford has additionally filed patent purposes for quite a few in-car work station ideas.
Ford middle console desk patent picture
Patent filings for a movable in-vehicle desk, in addition to a dashboard desk, surfaced in 2023. A table-like work station was additionally amongst a batch of patent purposes for reconfigurable interiors printed by the USPTO later within the 12 months. A patent software that surfaced earlier this 12 months additionally talked about a deployable desk as a part of a reconfigurable seating format for EVs.
None of those concepts are assured for manufacturing. However the sheer variety of patent filings associated to reconfiguring interiors for makes use of aside from driving signifies that that is one thing Ford is severe about pursuing.
The middle-console desk described right here can be one the only of the concepts we have seen thus far, and would not rely upon modifications to seats, steering wheels, or different fixtures. So it may need a better probability of reaching manufacturing.
