Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a center console airbag system, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on June 15th, 2021, published on September 6th, 2022, and assigned serial number 11433848.
The Ford Authority Take
Over the past several months, Ford has filed a number of airbag-related patents, including one for a seat bottom-mounted airbag system, a seat assembly with a pivotable armrest and airbag, a side airbag with adaptive positioning, a seat bottom mounted airbag that protects pets, an instrument panel mounted driver airbag, a full seatback airbag system, a seatback supported airbag system, an external airbag system for pedestrians, and a movable roof supported airbag system, as well as a movable center console with hidden storage space. Now, that trend continues with this new Ford patent outlining an idea for a center console airbag system.
This new Ford patent presents us with a center console that is actually loaded with two airbags that can deploy to protect rear seat occupants, each of them fanning out to the doors to provide maximum coverage. The airbags themselves are uniquely shaped, designed to wrap around each rear seat occupant, including the person in the middle, which keeps them from bumping into each other as well.
These days, automakers mount airbags in all sorts of places, whether that be the steering wheel, dashboard, seatbelts, and even the roof rails in the case of side air curtains. With injuries common among rear-seat occupants in automotive crashes, this kind of idea makes perfect sense, and could very easily provide a bit more protection for our passengers in the not too distant future, if this patent comes to fruition.
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 comprehensive Ford news coverage.
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