Apple may have canned its Apple Car project, but the company continues to file for and/or be granted patents involving vehicle. Apple has filed for a patent (number US 20230079282 A1) for “seat positioning systems” for an automobile.
About the patent filing
This patent filing relates generally to positioning systems and specifically to devices configured to control motion of an occupant with respect to a seat pan within a seating system. Apple says a vehicle cabin may include modular interior elements such as seat systems that can be arranged into a configuration consistent with the vehicle cabin serving as a mobile office, a living room, or a relaxation space.
In such seating arrangements, occupants may spend time with seat backs partially or full reclined, that is, with recline angles larger than those typical to more conventional upright seating configurations. Occupants that are secured to seats with higher angles of rotation between the seat pan and the seat back, that is, in deeper recline, can have an increased risk of submarining compared to more upright occupants.
Submarining, that is, a tendency of the occupant to slide between a safety restraint and a seat pan may occur in some types of vehicle events, such as under high rates of deceleration or during a collision. Apple ‘s patent filing involves ways to avoid such issues.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “A positioning system includes a deflection surface disposed within a seat, configured to support an occupant in the seat, and movable in response to motion of the occupant.
“The positioning system also includes a lock movable between an unlocked position in which the lock permits motion of the deflection surface relative to motion of the occupant and a locked position in which the lock restrains motion of the deflection surface relative to motion of the occupant. The lock is configured to move from the unlocked position to the locked position in response to receiving a signal from a controller, the signal including information indicative of a vehicle event.”
