Ford Receives Patent for Roof-Mounted Airbags

Ford has filed a patent application for a roof-mounted airbag that deploys from the headliner of a vehicle and surrounds the occupant for added crash protection.

The application was filed with the USPTO on April 7, 2021 and published on October 13, 2022. A ring-shaped housing is mounted above each seat, from which the airbags deploy.

"Airbags" is insufficient to describe what Ford is proposing. Instead of conventional airbags, the patent application drawings show egg-shaped elements surrounding the occupants of the vehicle, each covered by a cylinder that inflates to provide the same shock-absorbing effect as a conventional airbag.

According to Ford, the technology is designed to work in passenger and commercial vehicles of various body styles, including sedans, coupes, pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans. However, it would be easier to install a roof-mounted airbag in an Expedition than in a Mustang.

Blue Oval also stated that these airbags are designed with autonomous vehicles in mind. Some of the drawings even show two rows of seats facing each other, a layout that seems to suggest a self-driving car. It is worth noting that shortly after this patent application was published, Ford and the Volkswagen Group pulled their funding from autonomous driving technology startup Argo AI and forced it to shut down.

Ford's interest in self-driving cars may be wavering, but the automaker continues to experiment with new safety technologies for conventional vehicles. Ford also recently filed a patent application for an external airbag system that would deploy from behind the vehicle's grille in the event of a crash. However, since patent applications are not automatically tied to production plans, it is unclear whether any of these novel airbag systems will be installed in vehicles sold to customers.