Ford Motor Company, which loves to tout its knack for innovation and rampant patent-filings, has reportedly applied for the intellectual-property rights to a headrest with a storage compartment for housing a foldable neck pillow.
The invention could represent “a significant advance in passenger comfort,” according to Ford, which filed its patent application on February 23rd. The application details a headrest with a hidden door that can be opened for retrieval of the neck pillow. We’re sort of wondering how it is that no one thought of this sooner.
“Motor vehicle seats are currently equipped with head rests to… [limit] whiplash and head and neck injuries in the event of an accident,” reads part of the patent application. “Head rests, however, do not provide the geometry necessary to provide comfortable support to the head and neck of the passenger during napping or dozing.”
A neck pillow solves this problem, and Ford’s invention would mean that one is always readily available to passengers.
Of course, napping is an activity that is to be discouraged for the driver, but it’s easy to see how this patent could take on even more significance in a fully-autonomous vehicle, when driver wakefulness isn’t necessary. It’s unsure if or when we should look to see this feature make it to production in a Ford vehicle, but its implementation would likely be a simple matter.
(Source: Daily Mail)
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