Compact Lumbar Adjustment Assembly With Perpendicular Pad Motion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lumbar adjustment mechanisms in furniture are often bulky, limiting design flexibility and requiring more space within the seatback frame, which restricts aesthetic options while maintaining functionality.
Innovation Solution
A compact lumbar adjustment assembly featuring a rail, threaded rod with opposite handedness sections, slider blocks, and links that allow for independent movement of the lumbar pad, enabling a wide range of motion and integration with a motor assembly for actuation, allowing the lumbar pad to move perpendicular to the slider blocks' direction, thus optimizing space and functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a traditional lumbar adjustment mechanism is used, then the lumbar support function is provided, but the mechanism is bulky and requires more space within the seatback frame
Solution Approach 1:
The lumbar pad is nested within the seatback frame structure, with the adjustment mechanism integrated into the existing frame components. The rail system is mounted within the frame channels, and the lumbar pad moves along this integrated path, allowing the mechanism to occupy minimal additional space while providing full adjustment functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The lumbar pad movement is directed perpendicular to the direction of the slider blocks' movement along the rail. This dimensional change allows the mechanism to achieve a broader range of motion in a compact configuration, fitting within a slimmer seatback frame while maintaining full adjustability.
2Volume of moving object
If the lumbar adjustment mechanism is made compact, then space within the seatback frame is reduced, but the range of motion may be limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism uses perpendicular movement directions for the lumbar pad versus the slider blocks. The slider blocks move along the rail in one direction while the lumbar pad moves perpendicular to this, creating a compact footprint that still achieves a broad range of motion through the perpendicular displacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism employs a dynamic link system that connects the slider blocks to the lumbar pad, allowing the links to rotate and adjust as the slider blocks move along the rail. This dynamic configuration enables the compact mechanism to achieve extended range of motion through the rotational degrees of freedom of the links.
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 solution provides a compact and versatile lumbar adjustment mechanism that fits within a slimmer seatback frame, offering a broader range of motion and design flexibility without sacrificing functionality, enhancing user comfort and aesthetic options.
Implementation Method 1
The threaded rod may include a first threaded section having threads with a first handedness and a second threaded section having threads with a second handedness that is opposite the first handedness. The first slider block may threadably engage the first threaded section. The second slider block may threadably engage the second threaded section.
Data Source
AI summary
A seating or furniture assembly may include a seat bottom, a seatback, and a lumbar adjustment assembly. The seatback is disposed adjacent the seat bottom and includes a seatback frame. The lumbar adjustment assembly may be mounted to the seatback frame and may include a rail, a threaded rod disposed within the rail, a first slider block slidably engaging the rail, a second slider block slidably engaging the rail, a lumbar pad, and a plurality of links connecting the lumbar pad to the first and second slider blocks. The threaded rod may include a first threaded section having threads with a first handedness and a second threaded section having threads with a second handedness that is opposite the first handedness. The first slider block may threadably engage the first threaded section. The second slider block may threadably engage the second threaded section.