US Patent 12024000 Vehicle having reconfigurable heated shelf

A vehicle includes a body defining an interior cabin having at least one seat and a tailgate rearward of the at least one seat at a rear end of the cabin interior, a shelf configured to extend between lateral sides of the cabin interior in a region between the at least one seat and the liftgate. The shelf is configured to be arranged in one of a first shelf position, a second shelf position and a seat backrest position, and a heating device operable to heat the shelf. The vehicle also includes an orientation sensor to sense orientation of the shelf in one of the first position, second position and backrest position, and a controller controlling temperature of the heating element based on the sensed orientation of the shelf.