If there's something that takes us “to the pinnacle” inside a car, it's when we drop a coin, card, keys or even a cell phone, and they always — but it always is — fall into the space between the seat and the center console. Precisely the space where the hand does not fit and forces painful grips and contortions or even getting out of the car and staying in undignified positions, to reach the ill-fated object or objects sucked into this “black hole”… or crack, in the words of Ricardo Araújo Pereira.
How come no one has thought of a solution to this problem? Such a big car industry and zero solutions. But there seems to be light at the bottom of the… black hole.
Enter a patent registered by Toyota. A patent that seems to solve this problem simply and effectively.
Why didn't anyone think of this before?
The system itself is quite simple to understand. Between the seats and the center console, there is now a gutter through which objects fall and are routed to a tray placed under the seats.
The tray is connected to an actuator that allows the driver to move it, either forwards or backwards from the seat, facilitating the removal of any object. The system is versatile to the point that it can be used with the car in motion. Undoubtedly, a valuable argument, solving delicate situations such as when we drop “the” coin that gives the exact amount to pay the toll.
The patent presents several variations of the system. There are manually operated solutions and others with automatic triggering, which “know” when an object falls on the board and automatically ejects it. A similar solution would also be applied between the seat and the threshold.
Since it is a patent, and the car industry is constantly registering numerous, it does not mean that we will see something like this soon. But considering the health benefits of millions of drivers and passengers, Toyota, what are you waiting for?
