Ford to license patent its revolutionary Inflatable seat belts (video)

Ford Motors is all set to license patent its inflatable seat belts technology for wider adoption of this miraculous technology by other auto manufacturers. We all know how do airbags and seat belts work, but how would you feel, if you get to know that Ford combined these two safety features altogether into a unit – Inflatable seat belts! According to the company this revolutionary safety feature will keep the rear passengers intact in an event of crash specially the children and the elders. The company currently incorporated inflatable seat belts in Ford Explorer, Flex, Fusion and upcoming 2015 Ford F 150.

Bill Coughlin, President and CEO, Ford Global Technologies, commented,“Ford’s longstanding commitment to democratizing technology goes beyond our customers.” He further added “In this case, the wider adoption of inflatable safety belts has the potential to make travel safer and help mitigate passenger injuries – especially among children and the elderly.”

How it works?

1. In everyday use, it works normally like the conventional rear seat belts. Ford says, according to a survey people find inflatable seat belts more comfortable as they have extra padding because of the tubular airbags.

2. In an event of accident, the tubular airbags start inflating with cold compressed air rushing into it through a specially designed buckle.

3. The airbag tears through the body of the belt, covering the entire torso and the neck region. Absorbing the sudden jerks and thus minimizing the injuries.

The inflatable safety belts are very effective compared to conventional seat belts. Ford says that their extensive testing reveals that the inflated belts absorbs five times more crash pressure and energy compared to traditional ones. Tubular airbags, which offers larger surface area dissipate the energy easily. This technology can also be incorporated in other seated-passenger transportations, like, in aviation – helicopters and airplanes, trains, for military purpose, etc.

The company also acquired United Technologies Corp. - inflatable safety belt patents, so that this technology can be easily accessible to other competitors for the betterment of the society. AutoHarvest Foundation helped the entire effort of license patenting the technology. Auto harvest is a nonprofit establishment which helps innovators and investors in adopting new technologies and inventions.

David E. Cole, co-founder and board chairman, AutoHarvest, commented “We founded AutoHarvest with the hopes this type of technology sharing could be realized for the betterment of society.” “We are glad to be able to play a role in spreading this safety technology more broadly.” he added further.