Modular squab cushion, and seat assembly comprising such a cushion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seat designs require complex assembly processes, often involving multiple components and labor-intensive adjustments at the final assembly site, which can be economically inefficient and limit the ability to add comfort features post-manufacture without disassembling the seat.
Innovation Solution
A modular squab cushion system with a mechanical interface system comprising a rear and front mechanical interface, allowing attachment to a squab structure through a pivoting mechanism, using a single-piece plastic element with U-shaped housings and a resilient locking system, optionally enhanced by a backrest for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a modular squab cushion with mechanical interface system is used, then assembly efficiency is improved and labor costs are reduced, but the device complexity increases due to the mechanical interface components
Solution Approach 1:
The squab cushion is divided into modular components (cushion body, mechanical interface system with front and rear housings, locking system) that can be independently manufactured and assembled. This segmentation enables pre-assembly at manufacturing sites and facilitates efficient installation at final assembly locations, directly improving productivity while managing complexity through standardized modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical interface system is pre-assembled with the cushion body during cushion manufacturing, including the front housing, rear housing, and locking system. This preliminary action allows the cushion to be ready for installation without requiring complex on-site assembly operations, thereby improving assembly efficiency while containing device complexity within the manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If a resilient locking system is used, then crash resistance is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the locking mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The locking system utilizes resilient deformation as a key parameter change mechanism. The rear housing or locking system components are designed to elastically deform during normal operation and then lock into position, providing enhanced crash resistance through controlled deformation. This approach improves reliability by utilizing material properties rather than adding complex mechanical locking components.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient locking system is designed to automatically engage and lock without requiring additional actuators or complex control mechanisms. The elastic deformation of the rear housing or locking components creates the locking action itself, allowing the system to serve its own locking function and improving crash resistance while minimizing added complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If the first housing and second housing are U-shaped with inclined insertion directions, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the specific geometric constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The first housing and second housing are designed as U-shaped structures with asymmetric geometries and inclined insertion directions (25°-155° relative to each other). This asymmetric design provides built-in alignment features that guide the tubes into the correct positions during assembly, improving manufacturing precision while the U-shape itself simplifies the overall structure by providing natural alignment paths.
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
Facilitates efficient assembly and enhances crash resistance while allowing for easy integration of additional comfort features like heating, ventilation, or massage systems without disassembling the seat from the vehicle, reducing labor costs and improving crash safety.
Implementation Method 1
the locking system of the rear mechanical interface is resiliently deformable, configured to allow resilient locking so that the locking of the rear tube in the first housing is obtained, at the end of stroke during pivoting carried out in step /B/ of the modular cushion about the front tube, by resilient deformation of the locking system
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a modular squab cushion, configured to be attached to a seat structure having a squab structure comprising two lateral flanges spaced apart by a front transverse tube and a rear transverse tube,the modular squab cushion comprising, in the assembled state:a support,a padding resting on an upper surface of the support,a covering which covers the padding,and wherein the mechanical interface system comprises:a rear mechanical interface on a rear portion of the base, comprising a first open housing, configured to house the rear tube, in a manner mechanically lockable by a locking system,a front mechanical interface on a front part of the support, comprising a second open housing, configured to house the front tube pivotably around the front tube.