Headrest Frame Deflection Design to Reduce Impact Mitigation Cost
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle headrests require high-cost hard pad materials to meet impact mitigation performance standards, which increases production costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A headrest design featuring a frame formed from two metal plates with a lower abutting portion located rearward of the upper portion, allowing for energy absorption through deflection without the need for hard pad materials, utilizing a single soft pad material to reduce costs while maintaining impact mitigation performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hard pad material is used in the headrest, then impact mitigation performance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the hard pad material from the headrest structure, eliminating it completely. Instead, the invention uses a frame structure with an abutting portion that provides mechanical support and impact mitigation through structural design rather than material properties, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining safety performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the approach from material-based impact mitigation to structure-based impact mitigation. By positioning the abutting portion at a specific location on the frame and designing its geometry, the system achieves the required impact mitigation performance through structural parameters rather than relying on the mechanical properties of hard pad materials.
2Reliability
If hard pad material is used in the headrest, then impact mitigation performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the hard pad material layer from the headrest assembly, simplifying the overall structure. The remaining components (frame, soft pad, cover) are reduced in complexity by eliminating the need for multiple material layers and their associated assembly processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure with the abutting portion serves multiple functions: it provides the headrest's structural support, positions the headrest relative to the seat back, and mitigates impact forces during collisions. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate hard pad materials that would otherwise be required for impact mitigation.
3Loss of energy
If the abutting portion is located rearer than the upper portion, then energy absorption is improved, but the headrest structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The abutting portion is pre-positioned at a location rearward of the upper portion of the frame, creating a predetermined abutting point with the seat back frame. This preliminary positioning ensures that during a collision, the headrest will deflect in a controlled manner, allowing the frame to absorb impact energy through its geometric configuration rather than requiring complex energy-absorbing mechanisms.
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 headrest effectively absorbs collision energy through frame deflection, preventing peak deceleration from exceeding 80 G during 3 ms, thus enhancing impact mitigation performance without the use of expensive hard pad materials, reducing costs and simplifying components.
Implementation Method 1
the headrest effectively absorbs collision energy through frame deflection
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a headrest that is low-cost but still provides impact mitigation performance, and a vehicle seat having this headrest. A headrest of a vehicle seat includes: a headrest frame that is formed of at least one plate material and is fixed to a seatback frame of the vehicle seat; a pad that covers the headrest frame; and a skin that covers the pad. A contact section is provided at the lower part of the headrest frame, said lower part being located on the seatback-frame side, and the contact section is located closer to the rear surface of the headrest than the upper part of the headrest frame is, said upper part being located on the opposite side to the seatback-frame side.