Let the Apple Car rumors roll on. Apple has been granted three new patents for a vehicle.
The first (number 10,661,748) is for “airbag-based occupant safety systems.” It’s for occupant safety systems suitable for use in both traditional and opposed seating systems. It involves sensors that provide an output signal indicative of an imminent collision, inflatable restraints that deploy from opposing interior surfaces of a passenger compartment of a vehicle based on the output signal, and inflators disposed within door cavities that selectively inflate an airbag or vent the inflator to an exterior of a vehicle based on the output signal.
The second (number 10,662,676) is for a “concealed latch” and involves side passenger doors, sliding doors, a hatch door, a tailgate, a hood, and a fuel door cover. To secure doors in their closed positions, vehicle doors typically include a latch that is designed to prevent unintended opening of the door.
As an example, latches for vehicle doors are typically designed to resist opening as a result of forces exerted upon the latch during an impact. Apple wants any vehicle to which it’s connected to avoid accidental openings and the inability to open — while looking good.
The third (number 10,661,764) is for “braking system control state transitions” and apparently involves a self-driving car. It involves a method for controlling a vehicle includes operating a braking system in robotic control state, determining that an emergency stop state is to be entered by the braking system, entering the emergency stop state upon determining that all conditions from a group of state entry conditions are satisfied, decelerating the vehicle using the braking system while in the emergency stop state, determining, while in the emergency stop state, that all conditions from a group of state exit conditions are satisfied, and exiting the emergency stop state in response to determining that all conditions from the group of state exit conditions are satisfied.
