Future Ford Vehicles Could Have Vibrating Seat Cushions

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for vibrating seat cushions that could be utilized on future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on September 1^st, 2022, published on March 9^th, 2023, and assigned serial number 0076252.

The Ford Authority Take

Ford has filed a large number of seat-related patents in recent months, including one for a wet seat detection and mitigation system, interchangeable seat cushions, a fully automatic seat positioning system, a transformable rear seat for vehicles, a vehicle seat with adaptive ventilation, a vehicle seat with liquid cooling, and seatbelt buckle vibration capability, to name just a few. Now, this newly filed patent keeps that trend going by introducing an idea for vibrating seat cushions, which may eventually make their way into some future Ford vehicles.

The premise of this patent is quite simple, as one might imagine – it outlines how a seat cushion may gain the ability to vibrate, though perhaps not for the reasons one might think. Rather than giving vehicle occupants a sort of massage, the purpose of these vibrating cushions is to notify them of certain things via haptic feedback, and that feeling could also be combined with various sounds to instruct the driver to take action, or alert them if necessary.

The patent mentions quite a few potential uses for such a feature, including simulating the feeling of an internal combustion engine in all-electric vehicles, but it could also be used to notify the driver when a turn is coming up while navigating somewhere, or perhaps even if there’s a hazard ahead. The possibilities here are quite literally endless, meaning that this type of technology could very well show up in some future models, if Ford deems it worthy of such.

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 continuous Ford news coverage.