Active Headrest Back Plate Linkage for Rear-End Collision Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional active headrest apparatuses for vehicle seats suffer from reduced contact area and pressure during rear-end collisions, leading to inadequate deployment of the headrest, which compromises their ability to prevent whiplash injuries effectively.
Innovation Solution
The active headrest apparatus features a back plate with slot holes and combination pins that allow increased contact area and pressure distribution, combined with a safety device using stopper protrusions or a locking cam to maintain the headrest's position and prevent downward movement, ensuring stable and faithful operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the frame bracket protrudes toward the inside of the seat back frame, then the structure is compact, but the contact area between the upper body and back plate is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the frame bracket that protruded into the seat back frame, extracting the interfering component entirely. The back plate is repositioned to contact the upper body directly without the frame bracket in the way, thereby increasing the contact area while maintaining structural integrity through alternative support mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the frame bracket protrude outward to provide support, the patent inverts the approach by having the back plate extend inward to contact the upper body directly. This reversal of the structural arrangement eliminates the interference problem while achieving the desired contact area.
2Force
If the contact area is reduced, then the structural interference is minimized, but the pressure applied to the back plate is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The interfering frame bracket is removed entirely, allowing the back plate to achieve full contact area with the upper body. This extraction eliminates the structural interference that was previously reducing both contact area and pressure transmission.
3Length of moving object
If the back plate movement distance is reduced, then the structural stability is improved, but the headrest deployment distance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic linkage mechanisms including link brackets rotatably combined with pivot pins and hinge pins. These dynamic connections allow the back plate to move through an optimized trajectory during collision, achieving both sufficient movement distance for headrest deployment and maintaining structural stability through the constrained rotational paths of the linkage components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances the contact area and pressure distribution, allowing the headrest to move forward and upward more effectively, thereby maximizing the prevention of neck injuries during rear-end collisions.
Implementation Method 1
a spring member 9, and a pair of upper armatures 10 that are combined to the lower armature 2 as one body
Implementation Method 2
Link brackets 6 are rotatably combined to the armature bracket 3 and the frame bracket 5 via a hinge pin 7 and a pivot pin 8, respectively
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An active headrest apparatus for a vehicle seat. A contact area in which the upper body of a person who is seated in a car in the event of a rear-end collision of the car is moved backward due to an inertial force and contacts a back plate (30) can be increased, and a distance at which a headrest is moved and rises can be increased so that the function of an active headrest (75) can be more faithfully performed and neck injury of the person who is seated in the car can be prevented to the maximum.