Future Ford Vehicles Could Get Overhead And Knee Airbags

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for overhead and knee airbags that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on November 30^th, 2022, published on April 16^th, 2024, and assigned serial number 11958431.

The Ford Authority Take

Ford has essentially filed more patents pertaining to ideas for airbags than one can possibly keep track of over the past few years, a trend that clearly indicates that the automaker is keen on this type of safety feature. It makes sense given how quickly airbags have spread to various parts of vehicles in recent years, and in the future, we may seen those same units present in places like autonomous vehicles, seatbacks, and even airbags that deploy overhead via the back portion of seats. Now, this newly filed patent keeps that trend going by introducing an idea for overhead and knee airbags that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.

This particular patent would be useful in autonomous vehicles as well, in addition to passenger vans or any type of transportation where more than one person is sitting in the rear cargo area and not driving. We say this because Ford proposes using airbags that cover essentially one’s entire upper body, as we can see in these patent drawings, as well as a bottom portion that would protect one’s knees as well.

If this idea does indeed come to fruition, it seems like a pretty comprehensive way to prevent injuries to one’s upper torso or knee area, and it certainly provides more coverage than any existing airbag does today. Coupled with Ford’s desire to install more and more airbags in its vehicles, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see this type of system wind up making it to production one day, too.

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 non-stop Ford news coverage.