Comfort system and posture detection and adjustment method

Abstract

A comfort system, a vehicle seat comprising the same, and a method of operating the same. The comfort system comprises a plurality of comfort cells disposed within the vehicle seat, a control module in signal communication with the plurality of comfort cells to control operation of the same; and a plurality of sensors including at least one or more sensors adapted to sense a displacement of the plurality of comfort cells (e.g., strain gauges), an air pressure within the comfort cells (e.g., pressure sensors), or both.

Description

COMFORT SYSTEM AND POSTURE DETECTION AND ADJUSTMENT METHODCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims priority to U. S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 594,601 , filed October 31, 2023 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.FIELD

[0002] The present teachings relate to a comfort system for a vehicle seat and a posture detection method. The comfort system operates based on sensor inputs including comfort cell displacement and optionally contextual information to provide posture adjustment, adjustment of massage therapy, adjustment of thermal therapy, or any combination thereof.BACKGROUND

[0003] Some vehicles are equipped with seats having occupant comfort systems, such as pneumatically and / or mechanically actuated systems to provide massage, lumbar support, and / or thermal conditioning functionality. While such systems are generally enjoyed by consumers, traditional designs of these systems, particularly massage and lumbar support systems, operate on pre-determined programs and do not consider external data for dynamic or customized operation. There is a need for more robust massage, lumbar support, and / or thermal conditioning systems that adjust based on external data.

[0004] With respect to comfort system efficacy, height, weight, torso length, limb length, and seating posture will alter seating position such that, generally, no two occupants will sit in the seat the same way. Thus, pre-programmed solutions do not optimally address the needs of each individual occupant. There is a need for solutions that can customize operation based on at least the individualized posture of occupants.

[0005] The foregoing also has implications with collision safety. Individualized posture may affect how the body acts during a collision. Balancing occupant posture would generally mitigate acute stress in one region or another, particularly with respect to collisions that occur at an angle that is skewed to the driving direction of the vehicle. In a similar aspect, there is a need for responding to such skew angle collisions.

[0006] Posture detection systems are known, which use visual methods such as infrared cameras, red green blue (RGB) cameras, or color cameras. However, these methods are limited by line of sight and lack the ability to estimate contact pressure between the occupant and seat.

[0007] There remains a need for more robust methods and systems of posture detection.

[0008] There remains a need for customizing massage and / or thermal therapies to the posture of occupants.

[0009] There remains a need for adjusting posture to improve collision safety.

[0010] Moreover, there remains a general need in the medical industry for increased fidelity and volume of patient data to inform healthcare providers. In so doing, diagnosis, treatment, etc. may be improved and streamlined, understanding that clinician time with patients and information gleaned by clinicians is often limited.SUMMARY

[0011] The present teachings describe a comfort system for a seat of a vehicle, which may address at least some of the needs identified above. The comfort system may comprise: a plurality of comfort cells disposed within the vehicle seat; a control module in signal communication with the plurality of comfort cells to control operation of the same; a plurality of sensors including at least one or more sensors adapted to sense a displacement of the plurality of comfort cells (e.g., strain gauges), an air pressure within the comfort cells (e.g., pressure sensors), or both.

[0012] The control module may receive one or more inputs from the plurality of sensors to estimate a contact pressure between the seat and an occupant of the seat. The contact pressure may be employed to control the plurality of comfort cells.

[0013] The contact pressure may be determined based on an area of contact by each of the plurality of comfort cells, and also for each of the plurality of comfort cells, either or both of: a displacement or an air pressure differential.

[0014] The plurality of comfort cells may be pneumatically controlled via operation of one or more air compressors, one or more valves, or both.

[0015] The pneumatically controlled plurality of comfort cells may be located on an A-side of a cushioning layer (e.g., a foam layer) of the seat.

[0016] The plurality of comfort cells may be mechanically controlled via operation of one or more axial and / or pivotal actuators.

[0017] The mechanically controlled plurality of comfort cells may be located on a B-side of a cushioning layer (e g., a foam layer) of the seat.

[0018] The plurality of sensors may further include one or more contextual data sensors including one or more heart rate monitors, blood oxygen monitors, sleep sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, barometric pressure sensors, sun load sensors, the like, or any combination thereof.

[0019] Contextual data from the one or more contextual data sensors may influence the control module to adjust the plurality of comfort cells.

[0020] The comfort system may further comprise one or more heating devices, ventilation devices, or both, which are controlled by the control module in accordance with inputs from the plurality of sensors.

[0021] The present teachings describe a vehicle seat, which may address at least some of the needs identified above. The vehicle seat may comprise the comfort system according to any one of the preceding claims.

[0022] The plurality of air cells may be located in a lumbar region and / or a bolster region of the seat.

[0023] The plurality of comfort cells may be located in a seating portion and / or a backrest portion of the seat.

[0024] The present teachings describe a method of operating the comfort system, for posture detection and adjustment, which may address at least some of the needs identified above. The method may comprise: measuring a displacement and / or an air pressure of a plurality of comfort cells; determining a contact pressure for each of the plurality of comfort cells based on said displacement and / or air pressure; generating a contact pressure map indicative of the contact pressures of the plurality of comfort cells within one or more regions of a seat of a vehicle; and where any uneven distribution of contact pressure exists, operating at least one of the plurality of comfort cells to arrive at a generally even distribution of contact pressure.

[0025] The method may further comprise adjusting the operation of at least one of the plurality of comfort cells based on contextual data.

[0026] The contextual data may be obtained from one or more heart rate monitors, blood oxygen monitors, sleep sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, barometric pressuresensors, sun load sensors, cameras, proximity sensors, accelerometers, manual inputs, the like, or any combination thereof.

[0027] The contextual data may be obtained from one or more sensors that are not local to the vehicle.

[0028] Said adjustment may be performed immediately prior to and / or during a collision.

[0029] The plurality of comfort cells may include at least a first region of comfort cells and a second region of comfort cells. The even distribution of contact pressure may be realized by maintaining a contact pressure of the first region while adjusting the contact pressure of the second region.

[0030] The plurality of comfort cells may include at least a first region of comfort cells and a second region of comfort cells. The even distribution of contact pressure may be realized by increasing a contact pressure of the first region while decreasing the contact pressure of the second region.BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1 is a side view of an illustrative example of a vehicle according to the present teachings.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a schematic of an illustrative example of a comfort system according to the present teachings.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The present disclosure describes an improved comfort system for a vehicle seat. It is contemplated that the comfort system may include one or more comfort cells that function to provide posture support and / or massage therapy to an occupant.

[0034] The comfort cells may be pneumatically controlled and / or mechanically controlled. “Controlled,” in this context may refer to the manner in which the comfort cells are moved to effectuate a massage and / or support function upon an occupant.

[0035] Pneumatically controlled comfort cells may be inflated and deflated by air. Pneumatically controlled comfort cells may also be referred to as air cells or air bladders. The air may be controlled by one or more air compressors, air pumps, valves, manifolds, or any combination thereof.

[0036] Mechanically controlled comfort cells may be moved axially and / or pivotally by an axial and / or pivotal actuator. Exemplary actuators may include screws, gears, chains, belts, one or more other types of linkages, or any combination thereof. Said actuators may be ultimately caused to translate in axial and / or radial fashion by one or more motors, or any other suitable mechanical mechanism physically communicating with said actuators.

[0037] The comfort system may further comprise one or more heating devices (e.g., heating mats). The heating device may comprise a resistive heating element. An exemplary resistive heating element may be fabricated from a positive temperature coefficient material in the form of a wire, a ribbon, or the like. The heating device may be in the form of a mat, whereby the resistive heating element is disposed on or in a carrier material, such as a fabric (e.g., fleece).

[0038] The comfort system may further comprise one or more ventilation devices. The ventilation device may push air to or pull air from the surface of the seat. The air may or may not be conditioned (e.g., heated or cooled). Unconditioned air may be pulled from the ambient atmosphere within the cabin of the vehicle. Air may be heated by one or more resistive heating elements, Peltier devices, or both. Air may be cooled by one or more Peltier devices. Peltier devices may be referred to herein as heating devices and / or cooling devices, depending on their operation. That is, it is understood that the polarity of Peltier devices may be switched to effectuate cooling or heating on a surface thereof that thermally communicates with the occupant. Air may be moved by one or more blowers. Air may travel through the seat via one or more conduits, perforations in material layers, air distribution structures (e.g., bags), or any combination thereof.

[0039] The present teachings contemplate that the heating and / or ventilation devices may cooperate in operation with the comfort cells. In this regard, the data described herein may have an effect upon the operation of the heating and / or ventilation devices. The heating and / or ventilation devices may be generally co-located with the comfort cells, located in regions of a seat where the comfort cells are absent, or both.

[0040] The comfort cells may be controlled by one or more control modules. The control module may function to operate one or more valves, manifolds, air compressors, air pumps, blowers, heating devices, cooling devices, ventilation devices, or any combination thereof. Multiple control modules may be employed, such as one for each type of functionality (e.g., lumbar support functionality, massage functionality, heating and / or cooling functionality, etc.). Although, one control module may be employed to control for multiple types of functionality.

[0041] Support functionality may be understood as a prolonged physical conformation of the seat (e.g., during an entire driving event), whereas massage functionality may effectuate movement and / or vibrations through the seat with changes thereto occurring at a relatively rapid frequency (e.g., 30 seconds or less, more typically 20 seconds or less, more typically 10 seconds or less, or even more typically 5 seconds or less). Support functionality may adjust from time to time, as an occupant’s natural posture changes. Support functionality and massage functionality may be colocated in the same region of the seat. Support functionality and massage functionality may be delivered via the same comfort cells, different comfort cells, or both. For example, a first set of comfort cells may deliver support functionality and a second set of comfort cells may deliver massage functionality.

[0042] The control module may leverage data from one or more sensors, described herein, to control the comfort cells. That is, instead of operating based upon a pre-programmed scheme, the control module may adapt to data regarding conditions of the comfort cells, conditions outside of the vehicle, conditions inside the vehicle, conditions of the occupant, or any combination thereof. Stated differently, lumbar support and massage therapy may be personalized to the occupant within the context of various relevant conditions described herein. The foregoing may be possible, by the present teachings, without the need for occupant inputs, such as manual computer-readable data inputs (e.g., via a human-machine interface). Although, the present teachings do not foreclose the possibility of manual inputs of data being provided to the system described herein.

[0043] The control module may be located within the cabin of the vehicle, preferably within a seat of the vehicle. The control module may be located proximate to any air cells, valves, manifolds, or otherwise. In this regard, the length of any pneumatic tubes, wiring, etc. may be minimized. Minimizing the length of the foregoing, particularly pneumatic tubes, may increase the responsiveness of the comfort cells. The control module may be dedicated to the operation of the lumbar support and / or massage therapy functions, although the present teachings contemplate that the control module may be any control module native to the vehicle and also performing other tasks (e.g., a body control module).

[0044] The control module may signally communicate via a wired and / or a wireless (e.g., cellular, Bluetooth, radio, etc.) connection. The control module may signally communicate with one or more sensors, other control modules (e.g., a body control module), remote computingdevices (i.e., remote from the vehicle), valves, manifolds, air compressors, air pumps, blowers, heating devices, cooling devices, ventilation devices, or any combination thereof.

[0045] The comfort system may function to provide improved comfort to the occupant through the selective activation of the one or more air cells, heating devices, cooling devices, ventilation devices, or any combination thereof. Such selective activation may be modulated by data described herein. Thus, the system may also function as a repository of data and at least some data may be stored long-term for comparison against future data, trend characterization, medical history, the like, or any combination thereof. The comfort system may also perform one or more calculations, transformations, estimations, extrapolations, or otherwise upon the data.

[0046] The control modules may have a storage medium. The storage medium may be a non- transitory storage medium. The storage medium of the control modules may store elements such as look-up tables, algorithms, calibrations, historical data, the like, or any combination thereof.

[0047] The comfort system may comprise a plurality of sensors. The sensors may function to collect data that may be used to influence the control of the comfort system.

[0048] The sensors may be located within a vehicle, more specifically within a cabin of the vehicle, preferably at least within one or more seats of the vehicle. Although, the present teachings contemplate that some sensors may be located remote from the vehicle. For example, weather data from meteorological sources may be obtained. Any remote sensors may be in signal communication with the vehicle via a network (e.g., a cellular network or other wireless network). The present teachings also contemplate that the sensors may be on the person of an occupant. That is, worn or carried by an occupant. This may include, but is not limited to, smart watches and mobile phones that monitor and aggregate health data.

[0049] The plurality of sensors may include any sensors that can measure the positions or states of the comfort cells, environmental conditions, occupant conditions, and system conditions related to the operation of the comfort system, including any heating devices, cooling devices, ventilation devices, or any combination thereof.

[0050] The comfort system may comprise at least a sensor adapted to measure a displacement of a comfort cell and / or a sensor adapted to measure a pressure of a comfort cell. In this regard, the comfort system may generate a contact pressure map of the occupant against the seat. By such mapping of contact pressure, any uneven distribution of pressure may be corrected by operating the comfort cells until an even pressure distribution is obtained. As referred to herein, evenpressure distribution may mean deviating from an average (e.g., a mean) of the pressures of two or more comfort cells by no more than about 10% or less, more preferably no more than about 5% or less, or even more preferably no more than about 1% or less. The present teachings contemplate that pressure distribution may be determined by various other methods, such as accounting for deviations from a maximum pressure or a minimum pressure, rather than an average among two or more comfort cells. Where an average is accounted for, only a portion of the comfort cells may be represented in the average.

[0051] In another aspect, the comfort cells may operate prior to or during a collision event to mitigate harm to the occupant. In this regard, the posture of the occupant may be adjusted prior to or during a collision event. For example, if an occupant’s torso is turned to the left at the time of a collision, greater pressure may be detected on the left side of the seat relative to the right side of the seat and comfort cells on the left side of the seat may push the occupant’s torso back toward center. In another aspect, the comfort cells may accelerate the occupant in the same direction as the collision causes the car to travel, therefore at least partially reducing the impulse delivered to the occupant.

[0052] Collisions may be detected by any suitable sensor of the vehicle. Typically, this may include the sensors relied upon for air bag deployment (e.g., accelerometers). Although, other sensors may be used such as exterior cameras and proximity sensors. The vector of the collision may be determined by the same. The vector of the collision relative to the travelling vector of the vehicle may be used to determine the adjustments to be made by the comfort cells.

[0053] The pressure map may be generated by determining the pressure between the occupant and the seat at each individual comfort cell, which may be otherwise referred to herein as contact pressure. In this regard, each comfort cell may comprise at least one sensor for determining pressure.

[0054] In one aspect, the pressure may be a function of the area of contact of a comfort cell and a displacement of the comfort cell. This may be particularly advantageous for mechanical comfort cells.

[0055] In another aspect, the pressure may be a function of an initial pressure and a deflated pressure. That is, the comfort cells may be inflated to a pre-determined initial pressure and valves thereof may be opened to allow at least some of the comfort cells to deflate as a result of theoccupant’s weight upon the seat. Thus, the contact pressure can be determined. This may be particularly advantageous for pneumatic comfort cells.

[0056] Displacement may be directly measured. Displacement may be directly measured by a strain gauge. Other sensors for measuring displacement are also contemplated, such as contact pressure sensors (e.g., capacitive sensors). Pressure within the comfort cells, otherwise referred to herein as air pressure, may be measured by an air pressure sensor. Thus, the plurality of sensors may include at least a strain gauge and / or a pressure sensor.

[0057] Height and weight may be employed alongside the contact pressure map to adjust the operation of the comfort cells. That is, different occupants may sit in a seat, and so the system described herein may adjust accordingly. While the pressure map may be used to rectify any uneven regions of pressure, height and weight may guide the region of comfort cells that are activated and the intensity of their operation. Regarding the region of activation, a lumbar region is typically a different size based on the height of the occupant.

[0058] In one exemplary support operation, if an occupant is favoring a first side (e.g., a right side) of their body (i.e., exerting more pressure upon the seat by that side): the comfort cells on the first side may be adjusted to decrease their respective contact pressures and the comfort cells on the a second side (e g., a left side) may be adjusted to increase their respective contact pressures; or the comfort cells on the first side may not be adjusted while the comfort cells on the second side may be adjusted to increase their respective contact pressures. It is understood that said adjustments may be made to achieve an even pressure distribution as described herein.

[0059] In one exemplary massage operation, if an occupant is favoring a first side (e.g., a right side) of their body (i.e., exerting more pressure upon the seat by that side) the comfort cells on the first side may be adjusted to decrease their respective contact pressures and the comfort cells on the a second side (e.g., a left side) may be adjusted to increase their respective contact pressures. In this regard, the massage operation may have a greater impact on the second side to relieve muscle stiffness in that region.

[0060] Although the foregoing examples refer to left and right sides, the present teachings contemplate that contact pressure can be adjusted along the length of the spine in two or more regions. Moreover, each of the left and right sides of the back may include one or more sections, such as two or more sections distributed laterally across the back, these individual sections being independently adjustable.

[0061] The plurality of sensors may further include heart rate monitors, blood oxygen monitors, sleep sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, barometric pressure sensors, sun load sensors, global positioning system modules, the like, or any combination thereof. Any environmental conditions (i.e., temperature, humidity, etc.) may be measured within the cabin of the vehicle and outside of the vehicle. Any temperature sensors may measure the temperature of an occupant, a seat surface, a heating device, a ventilation device, the ambient atmosphere in the cabin, the ambient atmosphere outside of the vehicle, or any combination thereof.

[0062] These other sensors that are not associated with determining contact pressure may collect data that is referred to herein as contextual data. That is, data providing context to the posture of the occupant, needs for lumbar support, needs for massage therapy, needs for thermal conditioning, or any combination thereof. By the introduction of contextual data, adjustments to support, massage therapy, thermal therapy, or any combination thereof may be performed.

[0063] The present teachings contemplate that machine learning may be used to generate control responses for the comfort cells based on the contextual data.

[0064] In one example, ambient temperature and humidity inside and outside of the cabin may influence the posture of the occupant. In hot and humid environments, an occupant may sit forward in the seat to avoid excessive perspiration of their back.

[0065] In another example, the sun may cause an occupant to adjust their posture within the seat to avoid glares or shining directly in their eyes.

[0066] In another example, heart rate monitors, blood oxygen monitors, and other sensors related to the vital signs of an occupant may indicate if the occupant has just engaged in physical activity, is stressed, or the like.

[0067] One or more of the sensors described herein may be used for control feedback. For example, a pressure sensor sensing the pressure within an air cell may provide the feedback to the control modules to determine if a setpoint pressure has been obtained.

[0068] It is understood that contextual data may be manually input into the system, such as by an occupant, a health practitioner, or otherwise. Such contextual data may include the occupant’s height, weight, age, gender, torso length, limb length, medical conditions having implications with posture (e.g., scoliosis), surgical history, or any combination thereof. Additionally, therapy or posture recommendations by health practitioners may be provided as inputs. For example, therapyintensity, body regions to focus therapy on, assessments of body regions favored by occupants with their natural posture, or any combination thereof.

[0069] Manual inputs may be also understood to include data retrieved from applications such as digital calendar applications, understanding that these inputs may have been manually entered into devices, such as mobile phones, computing devices, or the like.

[0070] It is contemplated that health practitioners such as primary care physicians, physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and the like often recommend specific therapeutic interventions for their patient’s unique needs. However, these health practitioners have limited data about a patient’s health throughout the day. Appointments with health practitioners are spread over weeks if not months. The health practitioners must rely on patients’ self-reported health information to propose therapeutic regimens. However, this self-reported information may not be accurate due to biases from the patient’s personal perspective. This leads to less-than- optimal health outcomes for the patient as the health practitioners is making therapeutic decisions with poor or incomplete data.

[0071] In some cases, the health practitioners or the patient themselves uses wearables such as smartwatches or chest straps or other similar medical grade sensors to monitor their health. This data is typically limited to cardiac information. There is no assessment of “muscle health” or joint stiffness. This limited information is not enough for a health practitioners to recommend massage therapy for their patient. Therefore, the system of the present teachings can provide health practitioners with real-time data regarding their patient’s muscle health.

[0072] In these regards, pressure maps may be stored by the system described herein and accessed by occupants and health practitioners. Thus, a time-dependent historical profile of pressure maps measured by the system according to the present teachings may provide data for health practitioners.

[0073] In another aspect, the occupant can sit in the vehicle and self-report that they are feeling stiffness in their upper back, or this stiffness can be automatically detected by comparing a previous pressure scan of when the patient was not experiencing any stiffness. The system in the vehicle could use this self-reported information and then determine the muscle stiffness of the upper back. It is contemplated that this real time information could be presented to a health practitioner who could then recommend thermal and / or massage therapy for the occupant. Alternatively, if muscle stiffness is detected by comparing previous scans, a prompt can appearinforming the occupant that muscle stiffness has been detected, and a therapy that has been suggested by their health practitioner can be recommended.

[0074] The comfort system described herein may be employed alone or in cooperation with existing vision systems, as described herein.

[0075] The comfort system described herein may be leveraged for seat occupancy sensing. Conventional occupancy sensors are typically only located in seating portions of the seat. As a result, any luggage or other weight applied to the seat may register as an occupancy. The comfort system according to the present teachings, when disposed in a backrest portion of a seat, may serve solely as an occupancy sensor or in cooperation with other occupancy sensors as a redundancy.

[0076] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary vehicle 10 according to the present teachings. The vehicle 10 comprises a vehicle seat 12 with seating and backrest portions 14, 16. Occupants contact the A-side of the leather, cloth, etc. and comfort systems 300 are located below the same. Comfort systems 300 are located in both of the seating and backrest portions 14, 16, although the present teachings contemplate that they may be located only in either one or the other.

[0077] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary comfort system 300 according to the present teachings. The system 300 comprises a plurality of comfort cells including lumbar comfort cells 20, 22, 24 and bolster comfort cells 30, 32, 34, 36. There are bolster comfort cells 30, 32 in the backrest portion 16 of the seat 12 and bolster comfort cells 34, 36 in the seating portion 14 of the seat 12.

[0078] The illustrated arrangement is merely exemplary and not intended to be limiting. Any number of comfort cells may be added to or removed from the seating and backrest portions 14, 16, and any area of the seat 12 may comprise comfort cells, such as regions above the lumbar region. Any references herein to lumbar region support may similarly apply to support of other regions of the back or spine.

[0079] The plurality of comfort cells signally (mechanical comfort cells) or fluidly (pneumatic comfort cells) communicate with a control module 100 respectively via wiring or pneumatic tubing (shown in solid, double-arrow lines).

[0080] The control module 100 signally communicates with sensors 40 local to each of the comfort cells. As described herein, these may be displacement or pressure sensors. The control module 100 may also signally communicate with sensors 42 local to the vehicle, sensors 44 remote from the vehicle, and sensors 46 on the person of the occupant. These sensors may provide contextual data, as described herein.

[0081] The explanations and illustrations presented herein are intended to acquaint others skilled in the art with the invention, its principles, and its practical application. The above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art may adapt and apply the invention in its numerous forms, as may be best suited to the requirements of a particular use.

[0082] Accordingly, the specific embodiments of the present invention as set forth are not intended as being exhaustive or limiting of the teachings. The scope of the teachings should, therefore, be determined not with reference to this description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. The omission in the following claims of any aspect of subject matter that is disclosed herein is not a disclaimer of such subject matter, nor should it be regarded that the inventors did not consider such subject matter to be part of the disclosed inventive subject matter.

[0083] Plural elements or steps can be provided by a single integrated element or step. Alternatively, a single element or step might be divided into separate plural elements or steps.

[0084] The disclosure of "a" or "one" to describe an element or step is not intended to foreclose additional elements or steps. For example, disclosure of “a motor” does not limit the teachings to a single motor. Instead, for example, disclosure of “a motor” may include “one or more motors.”

[0085] While the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer, or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings.

[0086] Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then beoriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0087] The subject matter illustratively disclosed herein may suitably be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.

[0088] Any of the elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to a single embodiment. Instead, any of the elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections disclosed herein may be substituted, combined, and / or modified with any of the elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections disclosed herein to form one or more embodiments that may be or may not be specifically illustrated or described herein.

[0089] The disclosures of all articles and references, including patent applications and publications, testing specifications, are incorporated by reference for all purposes. Other combinations are also possible as will be gleaned from the following claims, which are also hereby incorporated by reference into this written description.REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0090] 10 Vehicle

[0091] 12 Vehicle seat

[0092] 14 Seating portion

[0093] 16 Backrest portion

[0094] 18 A- si de

[0095] 20 Lumbar comfort cell

[0096] 22 Lumbar comfort cell

[0097] 24 Lumbar comfort cell

[0098] 30 Bolster comfort cell

[0099] 32 Bolster comfort cell

[0100] 34 Bolster comfort cell

[0101] 36 Bolster comfort cell

[0102] 40 Sensor

[0103] 42 Sensor

[0104] 44 Sensor

[0105] 46 Sensor

[0106] 100 Control module

[0107] 300 Comfort system

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:Claim 1 : A comfort system for a seat of a vehicle, the comfort system comprising: a plurality of comfort cells disposed within the vehicle seat; a control module in signal communication with the plurality of comfort cells to control operation of the same; a plurality of sensors including at least one or more sensors adapted to sense a displacement of the plurality of comfort cells (e.g., strain gauges), an air pressure within the comfort cells (e.g., pressure sensors), or both.Claim 2: The comfort system according to Claim 1, wherein the control module receives one or more inputs from the plurality of sensors to estimate a contact pressure between the seat and an occupant of the seat; and wherein the contact pressure is employed to control the plurality of comfort cells.Claim 3: The comfort system according to Claim 2, wherein the contact pressure is determined based on an area of contact by each of the plurality of comfort cells, and also for each of the plurality of comfort cells, either or both of: a displacement or an air pressure differential.Claim 4: The comfort system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of comfort cells are pneumatically controlled via operation of one or more air compressors, one or more valves, or both.Claim 5: The comfort system according to Claim 4, wherein the pneumatically controlled plurality of comfort cells are located on an A-side of a cushioning layer (e.g., a foam layer) of the seat.Claim 6: The comfort system according to any one of Claims 1 through 3, wherein the plurality of comfort cells are mechanically controlled via operation of one or more axial and / or pivotal actuators.Claim 7: The comfort system according to any one of Claim 6, wherein the mechanically controlled plurality of comfort cells are located on a B-side of a cushioning layer (e.g., a foam layer) of the seat.Claim 8: The comfort system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of sensors further include one or more contextual data sensors including one or more heart rate monitors, blood oxygen monitors, sleep sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, barometric pressure sensors, sun load sensors, the like, or any combination thereof.Claim 9: The comfort system according to Claim 8, wherein contextual data from the one or more contextual data sensors influences the control module to adjust the plurality of comfort cells.Claim 10: The comfort system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the comfort system further comprises one or more heating devices, ventilation devices, or both, which are controlled by the control module in accordance with inputs from the plurality of sensors.Claim 11 : A vehicle seat comprising the comfort system according to any one of the preceding claims.Claim 12: The vehicle seat according to Claim 11, wherein the plurality of air cells are located in a lumbar region and / or a bolster region of the seat.Claim 13: The vehicle seat according to Claim 12, wherein the plurality of comfort cells are located in a seating portion and / or a backrest portion of the seat.Claim 14: A method of operating the comfort system according to any one of Claims 1 through 10 for posture detection and adjustment comprising:measuring a displacement and / or an air pressure of a plurality of comfort cells; determining a contact pressure for each of the plurality of comfort cells based on said displacement and / or air pressure; generating a contact pressure map indicative of the contact pressures of the plurality of comfort cells within one or more regions of a seat of a vehicle; and where any uneven distribution of contact pressure exists, operating at least one of the plurality of comfort cells to arrive at a generally even distribution of contact pressure.Claim 15: The method according to Claim 14, further comprising adjusting the operation of at least one of the plurality of comfort cells based on contextual data.Claim 16: The method according to Claim 15, wherein the contextual data is obtained from one or more heart rate monitors, blood oxygen monitors, sleep sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, barometric pressure sensors, sun load sensors, cameras, proximity sensors, accelerometers, manual inputs, the like, or any combination thereof.Claim 17: The method according to Claim 14 or Claim 15, wherein the contextual data is obtained from one or more sensors that are not local to the vehicle.Claim 18: The method according to any one of Claims 14 through 17, wherein said adjustment is performed immediately prior to and / or during a collision.Claim 19: The method according to any one of Claims 14 through 18, wherein the plurality of comfort cells include at least a first region of comfort cells and a second region of comfort cells, and wherein the even distribution of contact pressure is realized by maintaining a contact pressure of the first region while adjusting the contact pressure of the second region.Claim 20: The method according to any one of Claims 14 through 18, wherein the plurality of comfort cells include at least a first region of comfort cells and a second region of comfort cells, and wherein the even distribution of contact pressure is realized by increasing a contact pressure of the first region while decreasing the contact pressure of the second region.

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