Ford wants to make car or truck interiors far more like residing rooms.
A recent patent software from the automaker released by the United States Patent and Trademark Business (USPTO) April 20, 2023, but initially submitted Oct. 14, 2021, displays a movable in-motor vehicle table positioned amongst the seats in a motor vehicle cabin.
Ford movable in-motor vehicle table patent graphic
In accordance to the patent software, the table would be mounted to a foundation affixed to the flooring, and have a pivoting arm that would allow for it to be positioned either parallel or perpendicular to a vehicle’s middle line. The movable area could also flip up, revealing a display mounted on the underside. Ford included footrests as very well.
The drawings demonstrate tables in the again of what would possible be an SUV and in put of the front passenger seat. They also show back again seats mounted longitudinally in the motor vehicle instead of latitudinally like standard to face the table.
This is not the first time an automaker has made an in-motor vehicle table. The Chrysler City & Region and Dodge Grand Caravan after supplied a fold-out desk as part of an optional swiveling-seat configuration. This permitted seats in the rear two rows to face each individual other with the desk in amongst. That attribute went absent with the introduction of the Chrysler Pacifica for the 2017 design yr.
Ford movable in-automobile desk patent graphic
Ford has not sold minivans in the U.S. in decades, but it does seem intrigued in adding home furniture to the cabins of other motor vehicles. It previously delivers fold-flat seats in the F-150 pickup truck, as nicely as a folding shifter that turns the heart console into a flat workspace.
Ford has also tried out to patent a dashboard desk and lay-down front seats. The previous describes a modest desk that pops out from a recess beneath the dashboard, though more patent apps explore reclining seats packaged with a retractable steering wheel and pedals to make in-car naps more cozy. Whether or not any of these attributes make it into manufacturing autos continues to be to be viewed, even so. Automakers usually patent ideas to secure mental home before locking in generation strategies.