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Two new Project Titan Patents were published in the last week covering Vehicle 'Crash Zones' designed to keep Passengers Safe

1 COVER Apple Project Titan - LARGE

In the last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published both a new granted patent and patent application related to Apple's Project Titan, their long-term vehicle project. Both cover crash-resistant features to keep passengers safe.

Panel Intrusion Control

In Apple's first of two Project Titan patents, they note in their patent background that during a vehicular crash, portions of a vehicle will deform upon impact with other vehicles and/or objects. A vehicle can be configured to reduce or eliminate entry of structures, such as exterior body components, into a passenger cabin of the vehicle.

As an example, crush zones may be designed to allow longitudinal crushing along the hood or fenders of the vehicle in a manner that reduces the likelihood that components will intrude into the passenger cabin.

In many jurisdictions, vehicle safety regulations require that no exterior parts of a vehicle intrude into the passenger cabin during a crash. Crash testing, such as a frontal impact with a fixed structure, may be performed to confirm compliance with these regulations.

One aspect of Apple's granted patent they cover embodiments regarding an apparatus for resisting entry of objects through a windshield of a vehicle that has a passenger cabin. The apparatus includes an instrument panel that is located between the windshield and the passenger cabin, and an airbag that is deployable into an area above the instrument panel to resist entry of objects into the passenger cabin.

(4) Another aspect of the patent covers an apparatus for resisting entry of objects through a windshield of a vehicle that has a passenger cabin. The apparatus includes a panel housing located at a periphery of the windshield, and a deployable panel that deploys from the panel housing in response to a detected impact or an imminent impact to cover a portion of the windshield.

Another aspect of the patent covers an apparatus for resisting entry of objects through a windshield of a vehicle that includes a fracturable feature that extends laterally across a width dimension of the windshield, and a stop structure that extends laterally across the windshield to limit deformation of a front portion of the vehicle.

Another aspect disclosed includes an apparatus for resisting entry of objects through a windshield of a vehicle that includes a film layer located on an interior surface of the windshield.

Apple's patent FIG. 2A below is a side view illustration that shows a vehicle in which an upper airbag is deployable such that it is positioned between a windshield and a passenger cabin; FIG. 2B is a rear view illustration that shows the vehicle of FIG. 2A.

2. Apple Project Titan Patent FIGS. 2AB 4AB  7A-C PATENTLY APPLE . COM IP REPORT

Apple's patent FIG. 4A above is a side view illustration that shows a vehicle in which an upper airbag and a lower airbag are deployable such that they are positioned between a windshield and a passenger cabin; FIG. 7A shows an example of a moveable instrument panel in a lowered position; FIG. 7B shows the moveable instrument panel of FIG. 7A in an intermediate position; FIG. 7C shows the moveable instrument panel of FIG. 7A in a raised position.

Apple's patent FIG. 9A below is a side view illustration that shows a vehicle that includes a deployable panel; FIG. 9B is a rear view illustration that shows the vehicle of FIG. 9A; FIG. 10A shows a vehicle in an initial condition; FIG. 10B shows the vehicle of FIG. 10A in a deformed condition.

3 Apple Project Titan patent figs 9AB  10AB  10AB  PATENTLY APPLE . COM IP REPORT

Apple's patent FIG. 16A above shows a windshield assembly that has a film layer and a transparent inflatable structure in an uninflated condition;  FIG. 16B shows the windshield assembly of FIG. 16A with the transparent inflatable structure in the inflated condition.

For more details, review Apple's granted patent 11820310.

Controlled Panel Deformation

The U.S. Patent also published a patent application from Apple titled "Controlled Panel Deformation." This particular patent relates to Project Titan, and more specifically, to structures configured to cause controlled deformation of an exterior portion of a vehicle.

Apple explains that an exterior portion of a vehicle (e.g., a portion of a front bumper, a portion of a rear bumper, etc.) may be positioned such that, if the exterior portion of the vehicle contacts an object external to the vehicle, a portion of the object may extend under or be caught under a bottom portion of the exterior portion. Some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a deformation portion that changes its shape when the exterior portion contacts the object or before the exterior portion contacts the object, and the change in shape causes the bottom portion of the exterior portion to move downward.

Other embodiments that are disclosed are directed to a hydraulic control component that is configured to move a fluid from a first reservoir to a second reservoir when the exterior portion contacts the object or before the exterior portion contacts the object, and the fluid movement causes the bottom portion of the exterior portion to move downward.

For more details, review Apple's patent application 20230373421.

10.52FX - Granted Patent Bar

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