Adaptive Seatback Stiffness for Occupant-Specific Crash Force Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional seatbelts and airbags often fail to provide sufficient protection to vehicle occupants during collisions, particularly due to their one-size-fits-all design, which does not account for individual differences in occupant characteristics such as mass, height, and sitting position, leading to inadequate force dissipation and increased injury risk.
Innovation Solution
A configurable seatback system with a variable resistance control system that adjusts stiffness based on occupant characteristics using resistive elements and inflatable bladders, which can be actuated to provide tailored reactionary forces and absorb forces during collisions, thereby reducing the likelihood and severity of injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional seatbelts and airbags are used, then basic collision protection is provided, but they fail to account for individual occupant characteristics leading to insufficient protection
Solution Approach 1:
The seatback stiffness is dynamically adjusted based on detected collision characteristics and occupant data. The system transitions from a static, one-size-fits-all design to a dynamic system that modifies its mechanical properties in real-time to match the specific collision scenario and occupant characteristics, thereby resolving the contradiction between adaptability and protection effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of seatback stiffness to optimize protection. By varying the stiffness parameter according to occupant mass, height, and collision severity, the system achieves both adaptability to different occupants and reliable protection effectiveness, directly addressing the technical contradiction.
2Reliability
If a one-size-fits-all design is used, then device complexity is reduced, but protection effectiveness decreases due to inadequate force dissipation
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects collision characteristics and retrieves appropriate occupant characteristics from stored data without requiring manual input or complex user interaction. This self-service approach enables personalized protection effectiveness while minimizing the complexity burden on the user, as the system handles the adaptation autonomously.
Solution Approach 2:
Occupant characteristics such as mass and height are pre-measured and stored in the system memory before any collision occurs. This preliminary action allows the system to quickly retrieve and apply the appropriate stiffness parameters during a collision, achieving high protection effectiveness without adding significant complexity to the real-time response system.
3Force
If seatback stiffness is increased, then force dissipation improves, but comfort decreases for normal sitting conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The seatback stiffness is dynamically adjusted based on detected collision characteristics and occupant data. The system transitions from a static, one-size-fits-all design to a dynamic system that modifies its mechanical properties in real-time to match the specific collision scenario and occupant characteristics, thereby resolving the contradiction between adaptability and protection effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of seatback stiffness to optimize protection. By varying the stiffness parameter according to occupant mass, height, and collision severity, the system achieves both adaptability to different occupants and reliable protection effectiveness, directly addressing the technical contradiction.
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 reduces peak reaction forces and deceleration forces experienced by occupants, minimizing the risk of injury by customizing the seatback's resistance to match individual occupant needs, as demonstrated by reduced force magnitudes in crash test simulations.
Implementation Method 1
the array including a plurality of inflatable bladders configured to inflate using pressurized gas
Implementation Method 2
a variable resistance support configured to adjust a stiffness... an array including a plurality of resistive elements configurable between a first state and a second state
Data Source
AI summary
A seat for a vehicle may include a seatback including a variable resistance support disposed within a volume of the seatback. The variable resistance support may further include one or more configurable arrays of resistive elements including collapsible structures and/or inflatable bladders that may be configured to provide energy dissipation and/or absorption during a collision event. One or more array subsets may be configured to be independently controllable and configured to provide adjustable support at a region of the seatback, the adjustable support corresponding to a mass of the occupant. Moreover, when at least a portion of the back of an occupant pushes against a front surface of the seatback due to the collision event, the arrays of resistive elements may be configured to compress and/or collapse, at least partially, to absorb an energy applied from an occupant's back associated with the collision event.