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fliptop [soylentnews.org] writes:

Head-up displays or HUDs were meant to simplify driving, but Ford may have found a very unconventional way to rethink them [autoblog.com]:

Head-Up Displays (HUDs) were invented as a means to help drivers keep their vision straight on the road without any impediments to their vision. First used in Fighter jets, HUDs display all the relevant information through a projection in the windscreen that the driver can see. It shows speed, vehicle condition, and, in some cases, even map settings.

But it appears that Ford [autoblog.com] wants to take HUD tech to another level. Alongside an adjustable HUD from last year [autoblog.com], the Blue Oval has invented another one – and it’s as ridiculous as it looks.

Ford has just filed a patent for its own definition of the HUD, specifically patent no.20260001397 filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [uspto.gov] on January 1, 2026.

Looking through the patent, Ford’s new version of the HUD will be implemented through the sun visor of the vehicle, meaning drivers will be able to deploy the HUD by lowering or attaching it directly…in their line of sight.

The patent filing itself says that the whole idea of this visor HUD is “to eliminate the need to project images onto the windshield and/or to have a projector located on the vehicle dashboard. In certain embodiments, the head-up display visor is portable and is affixed to the driver’s conventional sun visor by a clip, thereby allowing a driver to move the device from one vehicle to another.”

[,,,] Another benefit of their project is the visor HUD’s portability for owners with multiple vehicles. It must be noted, though, that while a patent has been filed [autoblog.com], this is merely Ford’s way of protecting its own intellectual property. There is no guarantee that this (novel idea) will ever make it into production.

TFA includes a few illustrations.

Original Submission