Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for front pillar deployable airbags that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on January 20th, 2023, published on August 27th, 2024, and assigned serial number 12071094.
The Ford Authority Take
Among the (seemingly) countless patents Ford has filed revolving around the concept of installing airbags in all kinds of places in its future vehicles, the automaker has recently explored ideas such as a cabin crossbar with a moveable pillar, a roof-mounted airbag, and a pillar supported airbag, to name just a few. Now, those ideas somewhat come together in this newly published patent, which outlines a new concept for front pillar deployable airbags that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
If this new patent comes to fruition, future Ford vehicles may come equipped with a track located along its pillars, as well as an airbag supported by the roof that’s attached to that track. This would enable the large, pillar-mounted airbag to deploy from the pillar and expand to cover essentially the entire front portion of the cabin in the event of an accident, providing more coverage than current steering wheel or dash-mounted units.
As has been the case with prior Ford patents exploring different types of airbags, the concept here is to use them to provide more protection for a vehicle’s occupants in the event of a crash, but this idea is a bit different than the one’s we’ve seen thus far. It would provide a pretty efficient way of packaging what figures to be a rather large airbag, making it seemingly viable for use in the real world.
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.
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