Asymmetric Off-Road Vehicle Seating Arrangement
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Solution Overview
Problem
In off-road vehicles, the conventional seating arrangement often results in mutual contact between the driver and passenger, particularly with the driver's shoulder or arm hitting the passenger, which can disrupt smooth driving operations.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle design includes a seating arrangement where the second seat backrest surface is positioned more rearward than the first seat backrest surface, with adjustable tilt angles and positions to minimize contact, and the addition of a grab bar for the passenger to avoid the driver.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the driver's seat and center passenger's seat are arranged side by side with backrest surfaces at the same position in the fore-aft direction, then the vehicle can accommodate multiple passengers efficiently, but the driver's shoulder or arm may hit the passenger, disrupting smooth driving operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by positioning the backrest surfaces of the driver's seat and center passenger's seat at different fore-aft positions. Specifically, the center passenger's seat backrest surface is positioned more rearward than the driver's seat backrest surface, creating an asymmetric arrangement that prevents the driver's shoulder or arm from contacting the passenger while maintaining efficient space utilization.
2Ease of operation
If the second seat backrest surface is positioned more rearward than the first seat backrest surface, then contact between driver and passenger is reduced or prevented, but the seating arrangement becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making only the necessary local adjustment to the seat backrest surfaces. Specifically, only the center passenger's seat backrest surface is positioned more rearward than the driver's seat backrest surface, while other aspects of the seating arrangement remain standard. This localized modification achieves the goal of preventing contact without requiring a complete redesign of the entire seating system.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a pair of front wheels, at least a pair of rear wheels, a frame portion supported by the pair of front wheels and the pair of rear wheels, a first seat portion and a second seat portion supported by the frame portion and arranged side by side in a width direction of the vehicle, a steering wheel in front of the first seat portion, and a roll-over protection cage supported by the frame portion and covering the first seat portion, the second seat portion and the steering wheel. The first seat portion includes a first seat back portion which has a first backrest surface. The second seat portion includes a second seat back portion which has a second backrest surface. The first seat portion and the second seat portion are adjacent to each other in a width direction of the vehicle. At a height of a lower end of the steering wheel, a center of the second backrest surface is at a more rearward position than a center of the first backrest surface.