Expandable Fabric Seat Back for Troop Seats With Equipment Packs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional troop seating in rotorcrafts does not provide adequate body support for occupants wearing equipment packs, leading to reduced comfort and safety due to the design of the seat back, which can push the occupant forward, reducing contact with the seat back.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular seat assembly with a fold-out seat pan and an expandable fabric seat back section, secured by detachable attachment means, allowing the seat back to extend and provide full support to occupants with or without equipment packs, ensuring comfort and effective load transfer during flight and crash situations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional one-piece fabric seat back with straight back is used, then the seat structure is simple, but the occupant wearing equipment pack is pushed forward away from full contact with the seat back, reducing body support
Solution Approach 1:
The seat back is divided into a fixed upper portion and an expandable lower portion that can be detached or extended. This segmentation allows the seat back to adapt to occupants wearing equipment packs by providing additional support in the lower region without requiring complete redesign of the entire seat structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat back incorporates an expandable section that can dynamically adjust its configuration between a compact state (when not needed) and an extended state (when occupants wear equipment packs). This dynamic adjustment enables the seat back to maintain full contact with occupants in various conditions.
2Reliability
If the seat back is designed to provide full body support for occupants with equipment packs, then comfort and safety improve, but the seat back structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the seat back into fixed and expandable portions, the design achieves enhanced safety functionality through the expandable section while keeping the majority of the seat structure simple and conventional.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable support section is specifically positioned in the lower seat back region where additional support is needed for occupants wearing equipment packs. This localized enhancement provides the necessary safety improvement without unnecessarily complicating the entire seat back structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional straight back seat is used, then manufacturing is simple, but the seat cannot accommodate occupants wearing equipment packs effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The seat back is manufactured as separate components (fixed portion and expandable section) that can be produced using conventional methods and then assembled together. This approach maintains manufacturing simplicity while achieving the adaptability needed for various occupant configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable seat back design creates a universal seat that can effectively accommodate both occupants wearing equipment packs and those who are not, allowing a single seat design to serve multiple mission requirements without needing different seat types.
Data Source
AI summary
A system may include a vehicular seat assembly including first and second seat support beams, a seat pan, a bar, a fabric seat back, and at least one detachable attachment means. The fabric seat back may have a first end and a second end. The fabric seat back may be secured at the first end to the bar. The fabric seat back may have an expandable seat back section secured at the second end to the seat pan. Each detachable attachment means may be secured at a first detachable attachment means end to the seat pan and may be secured at a second detachable attachment means end to a portion of the fabric seat back located between the first end and the second detachable attachment means end. When all detachable attachment means are in the detached state, an effective length of the fabric seat back may extend.