Ford patents its steer-by-wire system

Ford is following other automakers in developing a steer-by-wire system, a recently discovered patent filing shows.

The filing in question was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Nov. 19, 2024, but was submitted by Ford just over two years earlier, on Nov. 14, 2022. But it deals not with steer-by-wire as a concept, but with a specific function for one of these systems.

Steer-by-wire eliminates the physical connection between the steering wheel and the road, meaning there’s no inherent resistance at the wheel when the vehicle is parked, Ford notes in the application. That could be a problem for drivers who use the steering wheel as a grab handle when getting in and out of the car, as it would just turn freely.

As described in the patent filing, Ford’s solution is to use sensors to determine when a driver is about to enter or exit the vehicle, which would signal an actuator to apply torque to the steering wheel to hold it in position in case the driver wants to use it as a handle.

After being introduced by Infiniti in 2013 on the Q50 sedan, steer-by-wire technology has gradually received more interest from automakers. Toyota has developed its own system, which is currently used in the Lexus RZ electric crossover in markets outside the U.S., in combination with a steering yoke. A 2023 patent filing hinted that Toyota was considering bringing this system to the U.S. as well.

The Tesla Cybertruck also uses steer-by-wire, and Apple filed a patent application for a system of its own in 2019, as part of the tech giant’s now-defunct EV project.