Active Headrest Side Support for Motion Sickness Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seats fail to effectively control the head posture of occupants to prevent motion sickness, leading to bulky mechanisms and insufficient prevention of rolling movements during vehicle turns.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat with a headrest system featuring rotatable side parts and a control device that adjusts their position based on lateral acceleration, using contact surfaces and light-emitting or display elements to align with the occupant's vision, thereby stabilizing the head posture and reducing motion sickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the upper portion of the seat back is configured to have higher support resistance against lateral movement, then the rolling of the upper body is prevented, but the mechanism becomes bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest is divided into a main body and multiple independently rotatable side parts (left and right). Each side part can rotate independently about a vertical axis to provide targeted support resistance only where needed during vehicle turns, rather than requiring the entire seat back to have uniform high support resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The side parts are configured to be rotatable about vertical axes, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position in response to vehicle acceleration. This dynamic adjustment provides support resistance only when and where required, eliminating the need for a permanently bulky rigid structure.
2Reliability
If the head posture is controlled by tilting the head inward in the turning direction, then motion sickness is prevented, but the mechanism becomes bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest is segmented into a main body and separate rotatable side parts, allowing independent adjustment of side support without requiring complex mechanisms to tilt the entire headrest or control the occupant's head position directly.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable side parts act as intermediaries that provide visual reference cues to the occupant. Instead of directly controlling head posture through complex mechanical means, the side parts create visual feedback that naturally guides the occupant's head to the correct position, reducing motion sickness through visual-vestibular alignment.
3Reliability
If rotatable side parts are added to the headrest to restrict head movement, then head posture is controlled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The side parts are designed to rotate about vertical axes, enabling them to dynamically follow the direction of vehicle acceleration and provide support in the correct direction. This simple rotational degree of freedom provides effective head posture control without requiring complex multi-axis mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The side parts change their angular position parameter in response to vehicle acceleration, rotating to align with the direction of inertial force. This parameter change allows the headrest to adapt to different driving conditions and effectively control head posture through simple rotational movement.
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
The system effectively restricts head movement during turns, aligning visual and vestibular cues to reduce motion sickness by using adjustable side parts and visual feedback, providing a simpler and more effective configuration than previous solutions.
Implementation Method 1
an acceleration acquisition device configured to acquire an acceleration applied in a lateral direction
Implementation Method 2
when the vehicle is turned and centrifugal force is applied to the upper part of the upper body of the occupant
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a vehicle seat in which the posture of the head of the occupant is controlled with a simpler configuration to reduce motion sickness of the occupant, the vehicle seat includes: a seat cushion; a seat back; a headrest including a main part configured to support the back of the head of the occupant, a left side part connected to a left edge of the main part to be rotatable about a vertical axis, a right side part connected to a right edge of the main part to be rotatable about a vertical axis, a left drive device for rotating the left side part forward relative to the main part, and a right drive device for rotating the right side part forward relative to the main part; an acceleration acquisition device; and a control device which, when a rightward acceleration is acquired by the acceleration acquisition device, makes the right drive device rotate the right side part forward until the right side part is positioned on a right side of the head of the occupant, and when a leftward acceleration is acquired by the acceleration acquisition device, makes the left drive device rotate the left side part forward until the left side part is positioned on a left side of the head of the occupant.