Ford dreams of a center console with deployable table

Folding tray tables are familiar from airplanes, but Ford may be bringing a similar idea to automobiles.

The automaker's patent application, published March 14 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (originally filed September 14, 2022), deals with a table that unfolds from the center console of a vehicle.

According to the application, the cover of the center console storage bin forms the table. It slides forward in tracks and pops up using specially designed hinges to provide space between the front seats, which Ford suggests could be used as a work surface.

This is just the latest of many reconfigurable interior bits designed by Ford to facilitate working inside the vehicle; the F-150 pickup truck already offers a fold-down shifter that frees up space in the center console and a fold-down seat for napping Ford is also working on a number of in-vehicle workstations. Ford has also filed patents for a number of in-cabin workstation concepts.

Patent applications for movable in-car tables and dashboard desks surface in 2023. Table-like workstations were also among the patent applications for reconfigurable interiors published by the USPTO later that year. A patent application published earlier this year also mentions a deployable table as part of a reconfigurable seating layout for EVs.

None of these ideas are guaranteed to be produced. However, the sheer number of patent applications related to reconfiguring the interior for uses other than driving indicates that this is something Ford is serious about pursuing.

Also, the center console table described here is the simplest of the ideas we have seen so far, and does not rely on changes to the seats, steering wheel, or other fixtures. As such, it may have a better chance of reaching production.