Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a deployable heated shelf that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on May 2nd, 2022, published on November 2nd, 2023, and assigned serial number 0347803.
The Ford Authority Take
In recent months, Ford has filed patents for a movable center console with hidden storage space, heated windshield wiper blades, a heated SecuriCode keypad, and a vehicle water heating system. Now, this newly filed patent somewhat combines those ideas into something new – a deployable heated shelf that may be eventually be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
While FoMoCo previously offered an optional refrigerator in the Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex, this new patent aims to potentially install something else in future models – a heated shelf, which would be located in the center console beneath the cupholder area. When not in use, that feature would remain in a stowed away position, unbeknownst to occupants, though when one wants to gain access to the shelf, it would slide outward. The shelf would contain a thermally conductive surface and a heater designed to keep items warm – whether they be stored in the tray, or presumably even hot drinks placed in the cupholders.
While some vehicles offer heated and cooled cupholders these days already, this system is a bit different given the addition of the tray, and as such, could very well wind up being used in future Ford vehicles – particularly the more luxurious models in that particular lineup, proving potentially appealing to those that tend to hit the coffee drive-thru on a regular basis during their morning commutes.
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