Ford Files Another Patent For Under Hood Airbag

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an underhood airbag that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on May 2^nd, 2023, published on November 7^th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0367607.

The Ford Authority Take

Ford files a large number of patents on a regular basis, but at this point, it’s fairly safe to say that most of them – at least, in the past couple of years – revolve around airbags, specifically. Those patents propose installing airbags in just about any place one can imagine inside and outside of future vehicles, including in the front bumper, across the entire front end, or under the hood, which are ideas specifically intended to prevent pedestrians from being injured if they’re struck by a vehicle. Now, that trend continues yet again with this recently published patent for a new kind of underhood airbag.

As is the case with the aforementioned patents, the intention here is to protect pedestrians that are struck by vehicles, which is an increasingly common type of accident. In this case, the airbag would be mounted at the rear portion of the hood, and would inflate toward the front in the event that a collision is imminent. Otherwise, it would function just like any other kind of airbag – an inflator would deploy it automatically, and it’s designed to provide a bit of cushion for anyone unlucky enough to be struck by a vehicle while they’re out on foot – or a bicycle, scooter, or other personal mobility device.

With various studies and safety organizations calling for better frontal pedestrian impact protection in vehicles these days, such an idea makes a lot of sense. In fact, many of those same entities point to the popularity of big trucks and SUVs that present drivers with poor visibility, and in some cases, it can be difficult to see pedestrians that are located directly in front of those taller vehicles, which is what’s fueling the rise in vehicle-on-pedestrian accidents. As such, we fully expect something like this to come to fruition in the future.