Ford Patents Flex Seat for Autonomous Vehicles

Ford Motor Co. received a U.S. patent earlier this month related to reconfigurable seat arrangements and interior layouts for self-driving vehicles, reports Business Insider. The patent, which was filed last November, lists three Ford engineers as the system's inventors.

The Ford patent shows a flexible interior in which one or more vehicle seats can be rotated in any direction and/or stowed while a vehicle is in motion during autonomous driving mode. The design which is applicable to various types of seats (bench, bucket, captain's chairs or split configurations) and as many as three rows would enable drivers and passengers to interact more easily with each other, relax and do other activities without having to focus on the road.

Seat movement would be controlled by an electric motor, with either one motor paired with each seat or a single motor used for multiple seats. The front seats also could be folded down and used as a footrest by backseat passengers.

The patent has provisions for a sliding center console, a retractable steering wheel, moveable foot pedals and touchscreen controls and displays. Multiple airbags could be used to protect occupants as they move to different seating positions. Or a single center airbag could be used to protect multiple passengers when they are facing each other.

Several other carmakers and suppliers have shown concept vehicles with reconfigurable seating systems. This year's Mercedes-Benz F-015 concept car, for example, featured four swiveling seats that can be rotated to face each other.