Pivoting Seat Headrest Wings for Aircraft Sleep Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing headrests for economy class aircraft seats provide insufficient head and neck support, leading to discomfort and potential health issues during sleep, often requiring passengers to rest their heads on the seat back or neighboring passengers, which can cause muscular fatigue and respiratory problems.
Innovation Solution
A headrest design featuring a central part with a movable part that includes two lateral head support fins, mounted via pivot connections with horizontal and vertical axes, allowing the fins to rotate for enhanced support and adapt to different passenger sizes, and incorporating a modular fixation interface for various seat models, along with a retaining device for stability during acceleration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple headrest structure is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the head and neck support capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest is divided into a central part and a movable part with lateral fins, allowing independent movement and positioning of each segment to provide comprehensive support for different areas of the head and neck
Solution Approach 2:
The movable part with lateral fins can rotate about a horizontal axis to transition between raised and deployed positions, dynamically adapting to the passenger's head position and movement needs during sleep
2Device complexity
If a fixed headrest structure is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability to different passenger sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest incorporates movable parts that can rotate and adjust to different positions, allowing the same headrest structure to adapt to various head sizes and shapes of different passengers
Solution Approach 2:
The headrest design with movable lateral fins serves multiple functions: providing support for different head positions, accommodating different passenger sizes, and offering both raised and deployed configurations for various sleep positions
3Reliability
If the movable part is always in the deployed position, then the head support capability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to the need for manual adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest incorporates an elastic return member that automatically returns the movable part to the raised position when not in use, eliminating the need for manual repositioning and reducing operational complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A headrest for a seat includes a central part and a movable part movable between an upright position and a deployed position. The movable part has two lateral head-supporting wings, each lateral head-supporting wing being mounted on a corresponding end of a support by way of an end pivot connection having an end axis of rotation. Each end axis of rotation has a substantially vertical orientation when the movable part is in the upright position and a substantially perpendicular orientation with respect to the central part when the movable part is in the deployed position, such that each lateral wing is able to turn about the corresponding end axis of rotation in order to adopt an upright position in which the lateral wing is brought close to a cheek of the passenger.