Ford Patents Flooring Airbag To Stop Unfastened Cargo Hitting Occupants

Ford filed a patent for a floor-mounted airbag between the rear seats and the cargo area to maintain occupants secure in a collision. The applying says this tech may apply to passenger automobiles or industrial automobiles.

The airbag could be hidden beneath the ground within the cargo space close to the backs of the rear seats. A minimum of one tether and retractor would disguise behind a trim piece alongside the facet pillar. 

In a collision, the airbag would inflate, and the retractor would pull the tether to haul the bag as much as enhance the deployment time. It might be C-shaped in order that there could be safety alongside the seatback and the partitions. The curtain would a minimum of be taller than the rear seats, doubtlessly as excessive because the roof. The barrier would maintain something within the cargo bay from placing people within the again seat.

Ford additionally describes a variant of this method with a portion of the airbag extending over the seatback when deployed. This is able to shield the heads of occupants in a collision.

The automaker additionally outlines an utility the place the passenger space could be open to the cargo area. This model would add the flexibility to maintain cargo from sliding ahead throughout a crash.

Activating this airbag would observe the identical strategies as those that shield the driving force. Sensors would connect with a pc. If a crash happens, a sign goes to an inflator that prompts and fills the bag with gasoline.

The patent description would not element how this tech would work for industrial automobiles just like the Transit van. One potential utility could be to guard the products inside a supply automobile. The C-shaped bag would cowl the partitions and forestall packages from falling.

As with different patent filings, there is not any assure that Ford truly places this airbag utility into manufacturing. Firms can patent concepts to verify a competitor would not take the idea first.