Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for auto adjustable seats based on rear occupancy, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on April 25th, 2022, published on October 26th, 2023, and assigned serial number 0339369.
The Ford Authority Take
In recent months, Ford has filed patents for ideas such as a fully automatic seat positioning system, automatic heated and cooled seats, and a guided driver positioning system as it aims to reinvent that particular component of an automobile. Now, this new Ford patent filing for auto adjustable seats based on rear occupancy keeps that trend going, albeit in a slightly different direction than the previously-filed pieces of intellectual property.
According to the patent, Ford notes that features such as Phone As A Key and hands-free trunk/hatch opening systems have become increasingly popular in recent years, which is the same concept behind this idea. The system would be able to determine if someone is sitting in the back seat of a vehicle – as well as whether they’re a child, adult, or a baby in a car seat – and then adjust the distance between the front and rear seats automatically to accommodate.
The idea here is quite simple – to automate yet another task that we currently complete manually, as in moving the front seat to accommodate rear seat passengers. While it’s a basic task that only takes a few seconds’ time, some people might appreciate not having to mess with such a thing, as has quickly become the case with unlocking/locking a vehicle or opening the rear cargo area to store things back there, too.
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Comments
What an absurdly idiotic idea. Drivers should be the primary focus, not rear seat passengers. Period.
This is inane. I’m 6ft5in tall. *If* you even decide to sit behind me when I am driving, you will get what room I give you. This is not, and should never be, the vehicle’s decision.
Instead of designing garbage like this, they should focus on quality and reducing recalls.