Apple looks to reinvent seatbelt buckles

Although Apple is still reluctant to confirm that it's building a car, the company has been working on numerous car-related technologies. The latest one to be patented is about the good old seat belt buckles. The patent itself is called "Restraint with an indicator area".

Essentially, Apple wants to put a light indicator inside the buckle to provide you with some status information. The patent describes a translucent surface of the button or tiny holes letting the light through. The clip will light up when it's needed so you can easily find the buckle. Once the seat belt tongue is inserted, the light goes off, serving as an indication that the seat belt is successfully locked.

And once the car is stopped and turned off, the LED indicator will light up again. The light indicator is described as red so it fits the current standard for red buttons on the clip in today's cars.

Via