Automotive Headrest Flotation Tether for Submerged Vehicle Escape
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automotive headrests do not provide easy and quick access to flotation aids in submerged vehicles, failing to meet practicality requirements such as low cost, simple structure, and ease of use in emergencies, thus increasing the risk of drowning during vehicle submersion accidents.
Innovation Solution
A modified automotive headrest with an accessibility opening and a tether integrated within the casing, allowing manual withdrawal and securement to a person for flotation, maintaining the appearance of a standard headrest while providing lifesaving buoyancy without requiring major structural modifications to existing structures and is cost-effective, and does not impose any upkeep requirements during the typical long lifespans of automotive vehicles from assembly to final use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tether is integrated within the headrest casing for flotation assistance, then the headrest provides lifesaving buoyancy functionality, but the headrest structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tether is nested within the headrest casing, with the tether stored inside the hollow interior space of the casing. The casing serves as both the structural housing for the headrest cushion and the storage container for the emergency tether, eliminating the need for separate storage compartments and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The headrest casing serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the headrest cushion, houses the tether during normal operation, and allows access to the tether during emergency situations through the defined opening. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components.
2Ease of operation
If an accessibility opening is defined in the headrest casing to access the tether, then the tether can be quickly retrieved for emergency use, but the headrest appearance is altered
Solution Approach 1:
The accessibility opening is located at a specific local position on the casing (at least one side wall or the bottom surface) rather than compromising the overall headrest structure. This localized opening provides necessary access to the tether while preserving the general appearance and structural integrity of the headrest from most viewing angles.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the tether is stored within the headrest casing, then the headrest provides integrated flotation aid, but the available space within the casing is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tether is nested within the hollow interior space of the headrest casing, utilizing the existing void space that would otherwise be empty. This nesting approach allows the tether to be stored within the casing without requiring additional external space, maintaining a compact integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The headrest casing serves as both the structural housing for the headrest cushion and the storage container for the emergency tether. This multi-functional use of the casing space eliminates the need for separate storage compartments, maximizing space utilization.
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 efficacy of the described solution is that it provides a practical and easily usable headrest with emergency adaptations, ensuring quick and easy deployment of a tether for flotation aid, maintaining the headrest's normal appearance and requiring minimal structural modifications, thus addressing the risk of drowning in submerged vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
headrests which are virtually universal in their use in all motor-driven vehicles... cushioning structure as part of the seatback... cushion body of polymeric foam within a casing
Data Source
AI summary
A seatback-engageable automotive headrest including a buoyant cushion body within a casing, a rigid structure with an internal portion within the casing and an external portion outside the casing for detachable connection with the top of an automobile seatback, all as typical for automotive headrests, but also having the improvement of the casing being configured to define an accessibility opening, and a tether inside the casing adjacent to the accessibility opening and permanently attached to the rigid structure, such that, with the headrest detached from the seatback, a portion of the tether can be grasped through the accessibility opening and withdrawn for securement to a person to facilitate flotation.