Apple granted U.S. patent for ‘Apple Car’ steering wheel system

Apple has been granted a U.S. patent (number 11,370,475) for steering wheel, described as a “steer-by-wire system with multiple steering actuators.”

Dennis Sellers for Apple World Today:

“Vehicle actuators” are controllable systems that cause or affect motion of a vehicle. In the patent filing, Apple says that steer-by-wire systems can eliminate or disconnect a physical connection between a steering wheel (also referred to as a hand wheel) and the road wheels (also referred to as steered wheels).

Per Apple’s patent, in vehicles that incorporate automated control modes, the steer-by-wire system can be operated in multiple control modes. One control mode is a manual steer-by-wire mode in which the human operator steers the vehicle using the steering wheel without a physical connection from the steering wheel to the road wheels.

Another control mode is an automated steer-by-wire mode in which the steering actuators are controlled by commands from an automated control system or a remote control system without a physical connection from the steering wheel to the road wheels.

Another control mode is a fully manual mode in which the human operator steers the vehicle using a physical connection that is established between the steering wheel and the roads wheels. During operation of such a vehicle, transitions between the one or more automated control modes and the manual control mode may occur.

MacDailyNews Take: You know, because Apple’s not working on actual vehicles, just CarPlay.

Which is also why Apple’s patented an airbag system, hired people with experience designing vehicle interiors, recruited key people from Ford, Rivian, Tesla, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Waymo, and other automakers, and hired an expert in making vehicles compliant with various government regulations around the world.

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