Future Ford Seats Could Get Rotatable Arm On Bolster

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a rotatable arm bolster that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on May 23^rd, 2023, published on February 18^th, 2025, and assigned serial number 12227138.

The Ford Authority Take

In its quest to innovate and stay ahead of the competition, Ford has published a variety of patents aimed at different ideas pertaining to seats that could wind up in future models. That list includes ideas for seats with sliding drawers and steps, a vehicle seat with adaptive ventilation, swiveling seats, and auto adjustable seats based on rear occupancy. Now, this newly published patent continues to add to that pile of potential innovations with a new idea for rotatable arm bolster that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.

This particular idea pertains more to safety than anything else, given the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) routinely crash tests vehicles to test the movement of its occupants when such a thing occurs. As such, Ford proposes a different sort of layout where a seatback would have both an inboard and outboard arm bolster that could rotate automatically based on the presence and/or position of occupants. The system would also be able to move the bolsters in a manner to prevent injuries when an accident is about to occur, depending on which direction an imminent impact is coming from, too, making it potential viable for production.

“Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” Ford said in a statement. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans. No matter what the patent application outlines, we will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”