Flexible headrest assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passenger seat headrest designs fail to accommodate varying passenger preferences regarding height, posture, and desired cushion thickness and softness, often requiring large, heavy, or cumbersome adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A semi-rigid, flexible headrest assembly with an adjustable connecting mechanism that allows the distance between attachment points to be increased or decreased, enabling the headrest to compress or extend, and featuring a locking system for secure positioning, along with optional touch-fastening surfaces and lever-actuated adjustments for customizable thickness and height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If highly adjustable headrests are designed to accommodate various passenger preferences, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest is divided into multiple independent adjustment components: height adjustment mechanism, thickness adjustment mechanism, and angle adjustment mechanism. Each mechanism handles a specific adjustment function, allowing the system to achieve high adaptability while keeping individual components simple and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The headrest employs dynamic adjustment mechanisms that allow passengers to modify headrest properties in real-time according to their needs. The adjustable thickness via compression, height via telescopic columns, and angle via hinge joints enable the headrest to adapt dynamically to different passenger preferences and body types.
2Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable mechanisms are added to accommodate passenger preferences, then adaptability is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical adjustment systems with simpler mechanisms. For example, spring-loaded compression mechanisms are used instead of motorized thickness adjustment, and gravity-assisted hinge joints are used instead of powered angle adjustment. This substitution significantly reduces weight while maintaining adjustability functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The headrest utilizes flexible materials and thin structural elements that can change shape and thickness through simple compression rather than requiring heavy mechanical actuators. The flexible shell structure allows for thickness adjustment through compression while maintaining overall structural integrity with minimal added weight.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple attachment points are used to enable thickness adjustment, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting assembly uses a nested structure where the attachment element with locking protrusion fits within a receiving element containing locking slots. This nested design allows multiple attachment points and thickness adjustments to be integrated within a compact, unified structure rather than requiring separate complex mechanisms for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is designed so that the locking protrusion can engage with multiple locking slots at different positions along the receiving element, creating equipotential attachment points. This allows the headrest to be secured at various thickness positions using the same simple locking mechanism, avoiding the need for different mechanisms at each attachment point.
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 lightweight, space-efficient, and adjustable headrest that can be tailored to individual preferences, enhancing comfort and safety by allowing for customizable thickness and height adjustments without compromising on weight or size constraints.
Implementation Method 1
a semi-rigid flap configurable to connect with an upper portion of a seat back at a first location... decreasing the distance between the first and second locations causes the flap to compress and/or fold
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Described are passenger seat headrest assemblies and seats including headrest assemblies having a semi-rigid flap fixedly connected with an upper portion of the seat back or headrest assembly at a first location and movably connected with the seat back or headrest assembly at a receiving element separated from the first location. The distance of the movable connection from the first location can be adjusted to cause the flexible headrest assembly to flex outward from the seat to provide a greater or lesser degree of support for a passenger.