Movable Center Seat Assembly for Infant Car Seat Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern vehicles face challenges in providing a versatile seating system that can accommodate infant car seats close to the front occupants while maintaining spacious and comfortable seating for adults, balancing interior space with safety and convenience.
Innovation Solution
A variable automotive seating configuration featuring a movable center seat assembly that can nest between the front seats, recline, and include mounting points for infant car seats, providing a flat surface and enhanced safety features like Isofix mounting and extendable head restraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the center seat assembly is positioned close to the front seats to accommodate infant car seats, then safety and convenience for infants are improved, but interior space for adult occupants is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The center seat assembly is designed to nest between the front seats by utilizing cut-out sections in the front seat interiors. The center seat assembly includes a forward portion that fits within the cut-out sections of the front seats, allowing it to be positioned close to the front occupants without permanently reducing interior space. This nesting arrangement enables the seat to be stored in a compact configuration when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The center seat assembly is configured to be movable between a stowed position (nested between front seats) and a deployed position (where it can support adult occupants). This dynamic positioning allows the seating system to adapt to different usage scenarios, providing infant car seat accommodation when needed while maintaining full interior space for adult passengers during normal operation.
2Ease of operation
If the center seat assembly is designed to recline 180 degrees to provide flat surface for infant car seats, then convenience for infant installation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The center seat assembly is divided into multiple segments including a base portion and a backrest portion that can move independently. The backrest portion is configured to recline relative to the base portion, allowing the seat to achieve a flat surface configuration for infant car seat installation while maintaining structural integrity. This segmentation enables the complex reclining motion to be achieved through simpler, independent movements of each segment.
3Ease of operation
If the seating configuration provides spacious seating for adult passengers, then comfort for adults is improved, but adaptability for different seating needs is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The center seat assembly is designed with movable components that allow it to transition between different configurations. When deployed, it provides spacious seating for adult passengers with full recline capability. When needed for infant accommodation, it can be moved forward and nested between the front seats. This dynamic design enables the same seating structure to adapt to both adult comfort requirements and infant safety requirements without compromise.
Data Source
AI summary
A variable automotive passenger seating configuration including a first seating row having a first pair of spaced apart seats each having an interior side and an exterior side. A second seating row is provided including a second pair of spaced apart seats each having an interior side and an exterior side, and a movable center seat assembly is disposed between the interior sides of the second pair of seats. At least one of the first pair of seats includes a cut-out section adjacent the interior side and the center seat assembly is configured to correspond with the cut-out section and nest between the interior sides of the first pair of seats. The center seat assembly may be configured to enable the mounting of a rearward-facing infant car seat when in a folded position.