Articulated legs alter a vehicle’s stance, while detachable steering controls and rotating seats change how its cabin is used. Wheels, glass, body panels and seats become adjustable structures, displays and furniture in these automotive proposals.
Give a car legs so it can 'walk' on four wheels
What is it?
The patent places wheels at the ends of articulated legs. The vehicle can roll on level ground and move its legs to change body position on difficult terrain.
- ASSIGNEE
- Hyundai Motor Company / Kia Corporation
- PRIORITY
- 2021-12-31
- PUBLISHED
- 2023-07-06
- PUBLICATION
- US20230211841A1
- INVENTORS
- Ernestine Fu / Grey Parker / John Suh / Daniel Chan / David Byron / Prasanna Natarajan
Clean a windshield with lasers instead of wipers
What is it?
The system detects dirt on vehicle glass and directs pulsed laser light at the affected area to remove it.
- ASSIGNEE
- Tesla, Inc.
- PRIORITY
- 2018-05-16
- PUBLISHED
- 2022-03-24
- PUBLICATION
- US20220089128A1
- INVENTORS
- Phiroze Dalal
Use light and heat to change the car body’s paint color
What is it?
The patent applies energy such as heat or light to the exterior paint to change its visible color.
- ASSIGNEE
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
- PRIORITY
- 2022-10-12
- PUBLISHED
- 2024-03-19
- PUBLICATION
- US11931773B1
- INVENTORS
- Lauren M. Abro / Yuko N. Gidcumb / Michelle R. Vargo / Lindsay A. Babian
Remove the steering wheel and pedals when the car drives itself
What is it?
The design makes the steering-wheel module and floor-mounted pedal module removable, with a filler module occupying the opening left in the dashboard.
- ASSIGNEE
- Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- PRIORITY
- 2016-02-05
- PUBLISHED
- 2018-05-08
- PUBLICATION
- US9963035B2
- INVENTORS
- Steven R. El Aile / John P. Joyce / Andrew Brown / Scott J. Lauffer / Samer Abbas
Make hidden people and objects appear on the windshield through fog
What is it?
Sensors detect objects that fog or darkness makes difficult for the driver to see. An AR head-up display places warning symbols where those objects would appear.
- ASSIGNEE
- GM Global Technology Operations LLC
- PRIORITY
- 2022-03-23
- PUBLISHED
- 2023-09-26
- PUBLICATION
- US11766938B1
- INVENTORS
- John P. Weiss / Joseph F. Szczerba / Omer Tsimhoni / Thomas A. Seder / Kai-Han Chang
Fold the seatbacks down and turn the cabin into a meeting room
What is it?
The seating system includes a meeting configuration in which a folded seatback forms a table between facing seats.
- ASSIGNEE
- Aurora Operations, Inc.
- PRIORITY
- 2020-06-04
- PUBLISHED
- 2024-08-01
- PUBLICATION
- US20240253529A1
- INVENTORS
- Daniel Adam Kanitz
Turn the floor and seatbacks into a game surface
What is it?
Honda's US9101824B2 describes a virtual-gaming system that uses the vehicle interior itself as the game environment. FIG. 2 places occupants in the rear seat with imaging devices on both sides and projects game images onto environmental surfaces such as the floor or seatbacks.
The system tracks both the projected image positions and the players' gestures, then calculates where the next images should appear. Instead of confining the game to a built-in display, the cabin becomes the play surface.
- ASSIGNEE
- Honda Motor Co Ltd
- PRIORITY
- 2013-03-15
- PUBLISHED
- 2015-08-11
- PUBLICATION
- US9101824B2
- INVENTORS
- Duane Matthew Cash
Launch a drone from the car to warn people nearby
What is it?
A warning signal triggers deployment of an onboard drone. The system instructs the drone to follow the vehicle and present a perceptible warning.
- ASSIGNEE
- Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- PRIORITY
- 2016-07-07
- PUBLISHED
- 2019-10-10
- PUBLICATION
- US20190313228A1
- INVENTORS
- Francisco Javier Ferreira / Gerardo Velazquez Monroy / Joan Manuel Hernandez / Erick Garcia Dominguez
Turn transparent body panels into outward-facing electronic paper
What is it?
Electronic paper on transparent exterior panels displays images outward while leaving light-transmitting regions for the occupants.
- ASSIGNEE
- Toyota Motor Corp
- PRIORITY
- 2019-03-29
- PUBLISHED
- 2020-10-01
- PUBLICATION
- US20200310215A1
- INVENTORS
- Ai Nishida
Rotate the front seats backward so passengers face each other during autonomous driving
What is it?
The patent reconfigures seating for autonomous driving, moving at least one seat from a forward-facing to a rear-facing position.
- ASSIGNEE
- Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- PRIORITY
- 2013-11-20
- PUBLISHED
- 2015-12-01
- PUBLICATION
- US9199553B2
- INVENTORS
- Mark A. Cuddihy / Manoharprasad K. Rao
AFTER THE FIGURES
What these ten figures reveal
Across these ten patents, familiar components take on new roles. Wheels sit at the ends of articulated legs, windshields become warning displays, and exterior panels can carry outward-facing images.
Autonomous driving also changes the cabin layout. Removable controls, seats that become tables and front seats that turn backward make room for activities beyond driving.
SOURCES
Primary sources
- US20230211841A1 — Walking vehicle
- US20220089128A1 — Pulsed laser cleaning of debris accumulated on glass articles in vehicles and photovoltaic assemblies
- US11931773B1 — Tunable exterior paint color
- US9963035B2 — Removable steering wheel and pedals for autonomous vehicle
- US11766938B1 — Augmented reality head-up display for overlaying a notification symbol over a visually imperceptible object
- US20240253529A1 — Passenger Seats and Doors for an Autonomous Vehicle
- US9101824B2 — Method and system of virtual gaming in a vehicle
- US20190313228A1 — Vehicle-integrated drone
- US20200310215A1 — Vehicular display and vehicle including the same
- US9199553B2 — Autonomous vehicle with reconfigurable seats