Deformable Vehicle Seat Backrest Panel for Spinal Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle seats lack the ability to dynamically adjust to the changing posture and spinal orientation of passengers, providing inadequate lumbar support and comfort during long journeys.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat with a deformable back-support panel and a panel-motion controller that includes motor-driven and yieldable spring mechanisms, allowing the panel to actively and passively change shape in response to passenger movements, providing customized spinal column support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rigid backrest is used, then structural stability is maintained, but adaptability to different passenger postures and spinal orientations is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The backrest is designed as a deformable panel that can dynamically change its shape and curvature to adapt to different passenger postures and spinal orientations. The panel transitions from a rigid static structure to a dynamic flexible structure that responds to passenger movements and preferences, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The backrest panel's physical parameters such as curvature, angle, and shape are made variable through motor-driven mechanisms and spring systems. These parameters can be adjusted actively by the passenger or automatically in response to detected posture changes, enabling the backrest to maintain both structural integrity and adaptability to different seating configurations.
2Ease of operation
If manual adjustment mechanisms are used, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation and responsiveness to posture changes is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The backrest system incorporates sensors that automatically detect passenger posture and spinal orientation, then autonomously adjust the panel configuration without requiring manual input from the passenger. This self-service capability enhances ease of operation while the automated control algorithms manage the complexity of multiple adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor passenger posture and provides real-time feedback to the control mechanisms. This feedback loop enables automatic adjustments that respond dynamically to posture changes, improving ease of operation while the control system manages the complexity of coordinating multiple actuators and springs.
3Speed
If active motor-driven control is implemented, then responsiveness to passenger commands is improved, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The motor-driven system operates periodically rather than continuously, activating only when posture adjustments are needed based on sensor detection or passenger input. The system alternates between active motor-driven adjustment phases and passive maintenance phases, reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining fast response capability when adjustment is required.
Solution Approach 2:
Yieldable springs are introduced as intermediary elements between the motor-driven control system and the backrest panel. These springs store and release mechanical energy, allowing the system to maintain position and respond to minor posture changes passively without continuous motor activation, thereby reducing energy consumption while preserving rapid response capability through the stored elastic energy.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a deformable panel is used, then adaptability to spinal orientation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The backrest panel is divided into multiple independently controllable segments or zones that can be adjusted to different positions and angles. This segmentation allows each zone to be manufactured with standard precision while the collective arrangement of segments provides the complex deformation patterns needed for spinal orientation adaptability, reducing overall manufacturing precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The deformable panel is designed with universal joints and standardized connection points that allow a single panel design to achieve multiple deformation configurations. This multi-functionality enables the panel to adapt to various spinal orientations through different combinations of the same structural elements, reducing the need for highly precise custom manufacturing for each possible posture.
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 enables the seat to adaptively adjust lumbar support and posture, enhancing passenger comfort by dynamically changing shape to suit the passenger's spinal orientation and movements, ensuring proper pressure distribution and support throughout various postures.
Implementation Method 1
The shape-control link includes a yieldable spring made of an elastic material and is configured to yield elastically when the deformable back-support panel has assumed the selected shape during exposure of the deformable back-support panel to rearwardly directed forces applied by the seated passenger during a change in posture of the seated passenger
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle scat includes a seat back having a backrest, a backrest support, and a linkage arranged to interconnect the backrest and the backrest support. The linkage is configured to support the backrest for movement relative to the backrest support.