Apparently, Mazda is very serious about you assuming the proper driving posture and adjusting the steering wheel accordingly. Overlooking these things may not seem like such a big deal, but it can obstruct vital readings on the instrument cluster, put unnecessary strain on your back or shoulders, and even cause some gnarly injuries in the event of airbag deployment.
Mazda wants to prevent all that, and CarBuzz came across a patent which gives us an idea as to how it might go about doing so. It was filed to the US Patent and Trademark Office, illustrating a simple but clever solution to help drivers find the right position for their steering wheel with ease.
A Matter Of Safety And Convenience
Mazda instrument cluster patentUS Patent and Trademark Office
We won’t bore you with all the technical details described by the documents, because it all boils down to a relatively simple fix. In plain terms, the car’s digital instrument cluster would hypothetically display a set of guiding lines left and right, seen within the inner circumference of the steering wheel from the driver’s point of view.
Their curved upper sections serve as reference points relative to your line of sight, letting you know the wheel is at the right height when aligned with them. We imagine these lines will appear on the display when you adjust the steering wheel, but Mazda could also find ways of integrating them into its instrument cluster more permanently. Because, apparently, they also serve the secondary function of guiding one’s hands toward 10 and two o’clock.
Mere Tech Gimmick Or Genuinely Useful Feature?
Mazda instrument cluster patentUS Patent and Trademark Office
At first, it’s easy to dismiss Mazda’s design as something superfluous, but it does serve a pretty important (though not-so-obvious) purpose. Improved safety is one key aspect, of course, and then you’ve also got the long-term benefits of maintaining the correct posture behind the wheel.
Although they seem insignificant, small adjustments can really make the difference between having to deal with nagging neck and shoulder pains or not. This is especially true in the long run or after an extended drive, so Mazda might actually be onto something here. But, even so, a lot of people would surely pretend it doesn’t exist and just go with whatever feels comfortable.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Whether this feature will indeed make it onto production models in the future remains to be seen, though it certainly wouldn’t be too hard for Mazda to implement it. The whole shebang could be as simple as a slight redesign of the digital instrumentation’s layout, without having to physically change anything about the vehicle’s hardware.
It would be especially beneficial for those who spend long hours out on the road, without being an inconvenience if you instead choose to ignore it. And for Mazda, this can be a nice and subtle way of bolstering its reputation as a brand that cares about its customers, all while requiring just a teeny bit of software wizardry to be put into practice.
Patent filings do not guarantee the use of such technology in future vehicles and are often used exclusively as a means of protecting intellectual property. Such a filing cannot be construed as confirmation of production intent.
Source: US Patent and Trademark Office
