Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a thermal enclosure assembly that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on December 2nd, 2022, published on June 6th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0181948.
The Ford Authority Take
Ford has filed quite a few patents outlining different ideas for storing and transporting fluids as of late, a list that incudes a modular storage system with pull-out drawers, as well as a fluid storage container and a smart container system. Now, this newly filed patent somewhat combines elements of those filings in a new way, resulting in an idea for a thermal enclosure assembly that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
In the case of this patent filing, the proposed thermal enclosure – or, more specifically, an expandable cooler that would be located inside of a vehicle – would be climate controlled, meaning that users could heat or cool items inside of it. That cooler would also be hidden when not in use, but users could pull a drawer out to store items in it or retrieve ones that are already inside, making it a bit more convenient in that sense.
The uses for such an enclosure are many, and include transporting cold or hot items with a desire to maintain that state of temperature, such as food or beverages. In recent years, many high-end luxury vehicles come equipped with things like cooled beverage containers or center console areas, making this idea seem to be pretty viable – as well as potentially useful for those that find themselves regularly transporting hot or cold items.
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Comment
The Ford Flex had a refrigerator option a decade ago.