mobile-menu-icon
Ford Authority

Ford Patent Filed For Energy Absorbing Seat To Mitigate Crash Injuries

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an energy absorbing seat, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on September 22nd, 2020, published on March 24th, 2022, and assigned serial number 0089070.


The Ford Authority Take

In recent weeks, Ford has filed a number of seat-related patents, including one for a wet seat detection and mitigation system, a fully automatic seat positioning system, a seat assembly with a pivotable armrest and airbag, a seat bottom-mounted airbag system, and a side airbag with adaptive positioning. Now, this latest Ford patent aims to redesign the humble automotive seat and make it more capable of protecting occupants in the event of a crash.

On the surface, this Ford patent depicts a seat that looks a lot like a traditional unit one might find in any modern vehicle, but in this case, it’s fitted with a series of tracks. Those tracks allow the seat to move in the event of a crash, which would presumably help absorb the impact that an accident might have on the vehicle’s occupants.

As is the case with many safety features present in modern vehicles, the idea here is to divert the forces generated by a collision to places other than an occupant’s body, which would in turn reduce the chances for an injury to occur. In recent years, we’ve seen similar technology in the form of crumple zones and vehicle structures that are capable of absorbing an impact and diverting energy away from a vehicle’s cabin. Doing so by modifying a seat seems like another way to accomplish this same goal and reduce an occupant’s chance of being injured as well, though it remains to be seen how such a design might perform in the real world.

We’ll have more on this and all Ford patents soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford trademark news, Ford business news, and continuous Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

Subscribe to Ford Authority

For around-the-clock Ford news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest Ford updates. It's totally free.

Comment

  1. FoMoCo

    Very nice to know that Ford is actively seeking to enhance the passenger safety of its cars.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel