Floating Spindle Holder for Vehicle Seat Adjusting Device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Adjusting devices for vehicle seats with spindle drives face issues with transverse forces, leading to tensions and deformations, which existing solutions attempt to address through flexible spindles but at the cost of reduced strength and accuracy.
Innovation Solution
The proposed adjusting device features a spindle drive with a spindle end that is floatingly mounted via first and second compensating elements, allowing displacement in two perpendicular directions to compensate for transverse forces, preventing tensions and maintaining strength by preventing axial displacement and rotation, while also allowing for elastic compensation through additional elastic elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid spindle is used in the spindle drive, then the strength and load-bearing capacity are improved, but transverse forces cause tensions and deformations in the driving device
Solution Approach 1:
The spindle end is made dynamically mountable via the spindle holder, allowing it to move relative to the housing in two transverse directions (x and y) while remaining fixed in the axial direction. This dynamic mounting enables the rigid spindle to compensate for transverse forces and deformations without losing its strength and load-bearing capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting parameters of the spindle are changed by allowing transverse displacement through the compensating elements (spindle holder and housing). This enables the rigid spindle to adapt to transverse forces while maintaining its structural integrity and avoiding tensions in the driving device.
2Reliability
If a flexible spindle is used to compensate transverse forces, then tensions in the driving device are reduced, but the strength and force transmission capacity are significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the spindle itself flexible, the invention makes the mounting dynamic by allowing the spindle end to move transversely through the spindle holder. This preserves the spindle's rigidity and strength while enabling compensation for transverse forces, avoiding the need for flexible spindles with reduced load-bearing capacity.
3Manufacturing precision
If a rigidly mounted spindle is used, then manufacturing precision and thread accuracy are improved, but transverse forces cause deformations and tensions
Solution Approach 1:
The spindle end is dynamically mounted to allow transverse movement while maintaining axial position. This preserves the manufacturing precision of the spindle thread by preventing transverse deformations, while simultaneously eliminating tensions in the driving device through the compensating movement capability.
4Reliability
If the spindle end is made displaceable in transverse directions, then tensions are avoided, but axial displacement must be prevented to maintain drive function
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting constraints are segmented into different directions: the spindle end is constrained in the axial direction (z) to maintain drive function, while being free to move in transverse directions (x and y) to compensate for forces. This segmentation of constraints simplifies the overall mounting design while achieving both goals.
Solution Approach 2:
The problem is solved by adding dimensional freedom: the spindle end is allowed to move in two transverse dimensions (x and y) while remaining constrained in the axial dimension (z). This dimensional approach enables tension avoidance without compromising drive function.
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 design effectively avoids tensions and deformations in the adjusting device, allowing for robust and precise adjustment of seat elements without the need for flexible spindles, enabling efficient and accurate operation while supporting various seat adjustments.
Implementation Method 1
a spindle end of the spindle is floatingly mounted on a spindle holder via a first and a second compensating element such that at this spindle end the spindle is displaceable with respect to two first and second spatial directions extending approximately perpendicularly to each other and each perpendicularly to the spindle axis
Data Source
AI summary
It is provided an adjusting device for a seat element of a vehicle seat supporting a body part of a seat user, with at least one driving device comprising a spindle drive and at least one adjustable support element for changing the contour or position of the seat element, wherein the spindle drive comprises a spindle extending along a spindle axis, which is floatingly mounted at a spindle end via a spindle holder such that at this spindle end the spindle is displaceable along at least one spatial direction extending transversely to the spindle axis. The spindle holder comprises a first and a second compensating element for a displaceability of the spindle end with respect to two first and second spatial directions extending approximately perpendicularly to each other and each perpendicularly to the spindle axis.