Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a seatbelt buckle vibration capability, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on July 20th, 2021, published on January 26th, 2023, and assigned serial number 0027717.
The Ford Authority Take
In recent months, Ford has filed a few patents that explore ways to better protect occupants inside a vehicle, including one for a vehicle seat retention device and another outlining an idea for a vehicular pet restraint system. Now, this new Ford patent continues that trend by introducing an idea for a seatbelt buckle vibration capability that consists of a vibration motor installed on the seatbelt buckle.
The vibration motor outlined in this new Ford patent would be activated by a computer and processor when the seat belt webbing is moved from the fully retracted position to the extended position. The assembly itself would also include a sensor that’s located near the retractor, which could detect when the webbing of the seat belt moves back and forth.
The idea here is to provide sensory feedback to the occupants of a vehicle when they need to buckle up, as the vibrations would be deactivated when the seatbelt is in the locked position. Presumably, this is simply an alternative to the somewhat annoying warning chimes that we hear now, which vary from vehicle to vehicle in terms of volume, intensity, and sound.
Over the years, seatbelts have proven to be a literal life-saver, though there are still some out there that choose not to buckle up – oftentimes with tragic results. Thus, this idea may very likely wind up making it to production vehicles in the future, as automakers and safety agencies continue to try and figure out how to increase seat belt usage.
We’ll have more on this and all Ford patents soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford patent news, Ford business news, and comprehensive Ford news coverage.
Comments
This is just more electronics and sensors that can go bad.
Since every manufacturer already has a chime , why not change the chime to a voice that says
“buckle your F-‘ing seat belt” and repeats that until you buckle it.
What haopened to the idea of attaching one end of the seatbelt to the door so it wrapped itself over the person as they sat in the car.
As for a car that swears at you until you do up the seat belt. Well, as I don’t swear, why on earth would I want a car that does?!
The vehicle should remain stationary until all passengers are buckled up, irrelevant whether a warning light or sound is emitted