This week there was a series of Apple Patents relating to their future electric vehicle(s) known as Project Titan. In this second US Patent, Apple focuses on positioning systems specifically configured to control motion of an occupant in a vehicle with respect to a seat pan within a seating system.

While not an exciting invention, it just goes to show Apple fans, investors and car enthusiasts the scope of Project Titan wherein Apple is reinventing almost every aspect of a future vehicle.

Our report also provides you with links to other Project Titan Patents published this week covering window systems and a thermal control system for a future electric vehicle battery charging system.

In Apple's patent background they note that 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.

Seat Positioning System

Apple's patent covers seat positioning systems that provides vehicle occupants with flexibility in seating position, such as seating positions with deeper recline of a seat back in respect to a seat pan, without sacrificing comfort during normal driving conditions.

The positioning systems include deflection surfaces, such as straps, panels, or cables, disposed within a seat pan, such as between or below foam layers or a seat cover, and controllable using tensioners and locks that prioritize comfort during normal driving conditions and safety during predetermined vehicle events such as rapid deceleration, activation of anti-lock braking, or before or during a vehicle collision. The positioning systems described here can work with other safety systems, such as with lap belts, shoulder belts, and airbags to unobtrusively reposition or hold a position of a seated occupant based on, for example, a recline angle of a seat back in respect to a seat pan, a detected vehicle event, or both.

Apple's patent FIGS. 1A and 1B below illustrate a seat and a restraint for use with a vehicle.

Apple's patent FIGS. 1A and 1B below illustrate a seat #100 and a restraint #102 for use with a vehicle (not shown). The seat includes a seat pan #104 and a seat back #106. The restraint includes a restraint anchor #108, a lap portion #110, and a shoulder portion #112. In some embodiments, the seat pan may include an anti-submarining restraint #114.

Further, the seat back is rotated away from or reclined with respect to the seat pan and with respect to a vertical, up-down, or z-direction at a recline angle A as shown. The recline angle A is consistent with an upright position for an occupant secured to the seat 100 and can range, for example, from 0 degrees to 30 degrees, from 10 degrees to 40 degrees, etc. In FIG. 1B, the seat back is reclined with respect to the seat pan and the vertical, up-down, or z-direction at a recline angle B as shown. The recline angle B is consistent with a deeper recline of an occupant secured to the seat and can have values, for example, from 30 to 90 degrees, from 40 to 70 degrees, from 45 to 60 degrees, greater than or equal to 45 degrees, greater than or equal to 60 degrees, or greater than or equal to 75 degrees.

The restraint is designed to secure an occupant to the seat. The restraint anchor can secure the restraint to the seat or to another structure (not shown) within the vehicle. The restraint anchor can also provide directional guidance to position the restraint against the occupant's body. The restraint can include additional anchors (not shown), buckles (not shown), or other mechanism to secure and release the restraint. The restraint may also include retractors or pretensioners (not shown) that control payout of the portions #110 & #112 of the restraint with respect to the restraint anchor during various vehicle events such as rapid deceleration, activation of anti-lock braking, or a vehicle collision.

The anti-submarining restraint is designed to retain an occupant within the seat pan during various vehicle events. The anti-submarining restraint can be a crossbar, a support, a brace, a link, a channel, a ramp, or a combination thereof. The anti-submarining restraint is designed to guide a pelvis of an occupant upward in the vertical, up-down, or z-direction during a vehicle event such as a rapid deceleration, anti-lock braking, or before or during a vehicle collision, working in conjunction with the restraint to secure an occupant (not shown) to the seat. In other words, retractors or pretensioners (not shown) may secure the lap portion of the restraint and control or limit up-down or z-direction motion while the anti-submarining restraint controls or limits fore-aft or x-direction motion of a restrained occupant during certain vehicle events when the seat is positioned or reclined as shown in FIG. 1A.

Apple's patent FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C below illustrates examples of a positioning system #216 for use with a vehicle seat.

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For more details, review Apple's patent application number 20230079282 here.

Patently Apple covered a similar invention back in 2022. We covered another Project Titan patent for a Car Seat system designed to provide occupants with a superior ride experience back in 2020, and lastly, one of the earlier patents on a vehicle car seat system was covered in 2019. Overall, see our Project Titan Archive that currently has 149 patent reports on file including today's patent reports.

Other Project Titan Patents published this week

• 20230081222: System for Detecting Cracks in Windows
• WO2023038797: Windows with Laminated Glass Layers
• 11603003: Thermal Control Systems for Electric Vehicle Battery Charging