Future Ford Vehicles Could Get Airbags On Movable Bars

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for airbags on movable bars that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on March 9^th, 2023, published on September 3^rd, 2024, and assigned serial number 12077122.

The Ford Authority Take

Over the past few years, Ford has filed essentially more airbag-related patents that we can possibly count, presenting us with ideas for installing those types of safety features all over the inside – and in some cases outside – of its future vehicles. Among that group, Ford has proposed adding airbags to a vehicle’s doors in various fashions – including door-based airbags that would be mounted on crossbars and could even move to ensure proper positioning. Now, this newly published patent keeps that trend going with a new idea for airbags on movable bars that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.

As Ford points out in this patent, there are some challenges associated with mounting airbags in a vehicle’s doors, as the way those pieces function can vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle – not to mention the fact that people enter and exit the vehicle using the doors. Thus, it proposes adding a track supported by the front and rear pillars with bars in between that can move not only back and forth, but also, up and down.

Airbags would then be mounted to those bars so that when they’re in a raised position, the airbags could deploy in the event of an accident. This would ensure that the bars and the airbags would be out of the way and not impair ingress and egress while also providing more protection in the event of a crash. It’s an interesting idea for certain, and one that could very well wind up coming to fruition in future Ford models, especially given the automaker’s enthusiasm around airbag patents these days.