Vehicle Occupant Posture Control via Predictive Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing occupant posture control systems in vehicles are unable to quickly adjust the seat to optimal positions in response to changes in vehicle behavior, leading to potential motion sickness due to delayed tilting and instability during lateral acceleration.
Innovation Solution
An occupant posture control method and device that predicts vehicle motion using sensors and actuators to apply muscle tension stimuli, allowing the occupant to assume a posture corresponding to the vehicle motion in real-time, using actuators such as seat tilting, muscle-stimulating devices, and foot sole-moving mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the seat is tilted to stabilize the occupant's posture according to lateral acceleration, then the occupant's posture stability is improved, but the response time is insufficient and motion sickness may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by predicting future vehicle motion (lateral acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, yaw rate) and pre-adjusting the seat posture before the actual motion occurs. This allows the seat to be positioned optimally in advance, eliminating the time delay between detecting vehicle motion and adjusting the seat, thereby resolving the contradiction between stability and response time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from multiple sensors (acceleration sensors, gyro sensors) to continuously monitor vehicle motion and occupant posture, then adjusts the seat position dynamically. This closed-loop control ensures the seat maintains optimal positioning in real-time, achieving both rapid response and sustained posture stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the seat tilts in response to lateral acceleration, then posture stability is achieved, but the system cannot respond quickly enough to changing vehicle behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit predicts upcoming vehicle motion and pre-adjusts the seat posture before the motion actually occurs. This predictive approach enables the system to prepare the optimal seat position in advance, achieving both high adjustment speed and posture stability without the delay of reactive adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts seat posture based on real-time vehicle motion parameters (lateral acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, yaw rate) and predicted future motion. This dynamic adaptation allows the seat to respond quickly to changing vehicle behavior while maintaining optimal posture stability throughout the motion sequence.
3Reliability
If passive posture change occurs due to delayed seat response, then the occupant cannot be stabilized at appropriate posture, but motion sickness risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
By predicting vehicle motion and pre-adjusting seat posture before motion occurs, the system prevents passive posture changes that would otherwise happen due to delayed response. This proactive control ensures the occupant is always in the optimal posture, eliminating the conditions that lead to motion sickness and improving overall posture control reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors vehicle motion and occupant posture through multiple sensors, providing real-time feedback to the control unit. This feedback mechanism ensures reliable posture control by constantly adjusting the seat to counteract vehicle motion, preventing the passive posture changes that would otherwise cause motion sickness.
Data Source
AI summary
An occupant posture control method is provided that can suppress motion sickness. The occupant posture control method predicts a vehicle motion based on information relating to the vehicle motion, and imparts a stimulus that generates a muscle tension such that the occupant assumes a posture corresponding to the vehicle motion, when a predicted vehicle motion occurs.