Massage seats aren’t enough. Deepal designed a retractable foot bath for the car.
The foot bath hidden under the seat is designed to provide warm water, massage, and disinfection. Deepal has filed a patent application but has not announced mass production yet.
Foot Bath Hidden Under the Passenger Seat
Changan’s Deepal automaker has filed a patent application for this unusual feature. It aims to offer passengers a foot bath in a retractable basin that, when folded, is stored in a compartment under the front passenger seat.
When in use, the basin extends using a telescopic mechanism. A quick-connect fitting links it to the vehicle’s plumbing, allowing it to be disconnected for cleaning. The design includes water heating and massage rollers powered by an electric motor.
Passengers can adjust the water temperature, massage mode, and duration of the treatment through the vehicle’s infotainment system. After use, the water is drained and the basin folds back under the seat. The design also includes a disinfection unit for the basin and its storage area.
Dividers are meant to reduce splashing
With an open water container inside the vehicle, it is necessary to limit splashing. Deepal designed an internal divider that partially separates the space. Holes in it allow water to flow between the different sections and balance level differences.
The structure is intended to dampen water overflow during vibrations and movements of the vehicle body. In one of the variants described in the patent application, the control system prevents the basin from extending, heating, draining, or disinfecting while the vehicle is in motion.
The design also includes level and temperature sensors. They are supposed to prevent heating from activating when water is low and to turn it off when the water gets too hot. Disinfection is meant to activate only after the basin is fully retracted and secured, when the vehicle is stationary and unoccupied.
No specific model has been announced yet
Deepal has not announced whether it will offer this bath in any of its production vehicles. The patent application describes the technical solution, not the equipment planned for a specific model. For example, the visualization in the CarNewsChina article was created using AI and does not show the finished device.
Space-wise, a similar accessory would make sense in a large SUV, for instance. Deepal offers a six-seater S09 model over 5.2 meters long, which combines electric power with a gasoline engine to extend range. However, the automaker has not confirmed a connection of this bath to that vehicle.
Chery has already explored a similar idea, having obtained a patent in 2022 for a car bath with heating, massage, and water drainage, according to CarExpert. This year, Seres presented another retractable accessory under the passenger seat in its patent application: a toilet with ventilation and a removable waste tank.
Sources:
Original text / Elektrickevozy.cz
Patent application CN122873858A – Patsnap
CarNewsChina
CarExpert
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