Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to Project Titan and more specifically, to windshield area intrusion control. Apple describes 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.

Apple's patent background explains that during a vehicular crash, portions of a vehicle will deform upon impact with other 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 is 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.

Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments is 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 disclosed embodiments is an apparatus for resisting entry of objects through a windshield of a vehicle that has a passenger cabin. The apparatus 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 of the disclosed embodiments is 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 formed in part from a compressible structure that, during an impact, is engaged and compressed by the windshield.

In patent FIGS. 8A and 8B below we see that the vehicle (#800) includes, in various implementations, a deployable panel, which can be a sheet of material, such as netting, plastic, or fabric, that is stored around the windshield 810 and deploys in response to a detected impact or an imminent impact. Deployment of the deployable panel can be driven by an inflatable pyrotechnic device, a linear pyrotechnic device, or a mechanical spring actuator.

The vehicle includes a first panel housing (#824) is located at a periphery of the windshield (#810), below the windshield and at the lateral sides of the windshield. A first panel (#825) is deployable from the first panel housing to cover a portion of the windshield on the interior of the vehicle to restrain intrusion of objects into the passenger cabin.

Apple's patent FIG. 16A above illustrates 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; FIG. 17 is a block diagram that shows an intrusion control system.

For more details, review Apple's granted patent 11,021,126.