Ford patens heated safety belts

U.S. car giant Ford has successfully applied for a patent describing a design of a self-heating car safety belt.

In the patent application the company filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, there is a brief description of how the feature works. The safety belt is automatically plugged into a power source every time the user clicks it into locked position. This turns on the heating element spanning the entire length of the belt, warming the passenger up.

The manufacturer has actually patented several different belt/lock combinations.

Not long ago, Ford submitted a patent claim for a passenger pod mounted on a self-driving vehicle. According to the design, the pod can freely rotate in any direction relative to the vehicle chassis. It comes with a dome-shaped roof and segmented sidewalls that can be pushed aside and down. The cabin contains a number of folding seats and a retractable table with integrated airbags.

Photo: motor1.com