Elastic Partition Wall for Hearse Seat Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In hearses, the partition wall between the driver's cabin and the coffin space limits the adjustment range of the seats, preventing optimal use of space due to its rigid nature, which does not allow for sufficient rearward movement of the seat without compromising odor-tight separation.
Innovation Solution
The partition wall is made partially or fully from an elastic surface element, such as chloroprene rubber foam with a textile cover, allowing the seat to deform and extend further rearward while maintaining odor-tight separation by using a frame with an elastic surface element that can be glued to body surfaces or covered with a peripheral frame.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid partition wall is used to separate the driver's cab from the coffin compartment, then odor-tight separation is ensured, but the seat adjustment range is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The partition wall incorporates an elastic surface element made of flexible material that can deform when the seat is adjusted rearward. This flexible membrane maintains the odor-tight seal while accommodating the seat's movement, resolving the contradiction between rigid sealing and adjustable seating.
Solution Approach 2:
The partition wall transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic system where the elastic surface element can change shape. The partition adapts its configuration based on seat position, remaining sealed in normal conditions but deforming to allow extended seat adjustment when needed.
2Volume of moving object
If the seat is moved further rearward to increase usable space, then more space is available behind the driver's cab, but the rigid partition wall prevents further movement
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic surface element acts as a flexible barrier that can be pushed inward by the moving seat, allowing the seat to occupy space that would otherwise be restricted by a rigid partition. This enables increased usable space while maintaining the separation function.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the partition wall changes from rigid to elastic in the region of the elastic surface element. This parameter change allows the partition to accommodate larger displacements of the seat, thereby increasing the volume available for seat adjustment.
3Ease of operation
If an elastic surface element is used for the partition wall, then seat adjustability is improved, but the structural strength of the partition may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Only the specific region requiring flexibility (the partition wall facing the seat) is made of elastic material, while other portions of the partition structure can remain rigid to maintain overall structural strength. This localized application of elasticity resolves the contradiction between flexibility and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The partition wall becomes a composite structure combining rigid framing elements with an elastic surface element. This composite design provides both the structural strength needed for the partition and the flexibility required for seat adjustability.
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
This configuration enhances the usable space behind the driver's cabin by allowing greater rearward seat adjustment without compromising odor-tightness, ensuring robustness and practicality through the use of commercially available elastic materials.
Implementation Method 1
the partition should be formed, at least in part, from an elastic surface element. This design allows a seat to be moved so far back that it not only abuts the partition—as was previously possible—but, by deforming the elastic surface element, the seat can be moved even further back
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
In a hearse with a driver's cab and a coffin compartment arranged behind the driver's cab, and with a partition wall which forms the rear boundary of the driver's cab, the invention proposes that the partition wall is formed at least partially from an elastic surface element, such that when a seat in the driver's cab is adjusted backwards, the seat at least partially immerses itself in the partition wall.