Ford considering removable steering wheel, pedals for autonomous cars

DETROIT -- A patent application from Ford Motor Co. reveals plans for a removable steering wheel and pedals, allowing drivers to either manually steer or clear the dash during autonomous modes.

The application describes a dashboard assembly with a "receiving niche" that can receive the removable steering wheel or a removable "filler module" for when the wheel is not in use.

Autonomous vehicles won't require the use of a steering wheel to pilot a vehicle, Ford inventors said in the filing, but losing one altogether would present major design challenges. Most vehicle design incorporates the driver-side airbag in the steering wheel, and eliminating the tool would make it difficult to regain control of the vehicle in an emergency situation.

Vehicles without manual steering can place test drivers "at higher risk, as it would be more difficult to moderate or abort such maneuvers made under autonomous control, or make such maneuvers with an unfamiliar electronic control such as a joystick."

According to the patent application, filed by the automaker on Feb. 5, 2016, and published last week, vehicle owners will prefer having a wheel because it is familiar, even if it is inactive while the vehicle is in an autonomous mode.

Ford plans to mount the removable wheel to the cockpit on a splined shaft. The automaker is also considering a steer-by-wire system for the wheel, composed of a feedback motor, sensors and a bearing-mounted stub shaft.

The design compensates the safety challenge by adding a second airbag, which will deploy in the event of a collision when the steering wheel is not inserted in the dashboard. One will remain in the wheel for when a steering wheel module is replaced with a filler, and another driver-side airbag is mounted "in a location other than on the steering wheel is applied."

The removable pedals may be fixed to the vehicle floor using threaded fasteners and spring-loaded snap engagement features. Sensors would also be employed here, to determine whether or not the pedal is fixed in place, according to the patent.

The system wouldn't likely be available until fully autonomous vehicles are widely available.

"We submit patents on innovative ideas as a normal course of business," a Ford spokesman said. "Patent applications are intended to protect new ideas but aren't necessarily an indication of new business or product plans."