Rotatable Vehicle Seat Back with Displaceable Headrest
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle seat arrangements lack flexibility in seating direction, which is essential for various usage scenarios such as autonomous driving, privacy in shared transportation, and social interaction in private settings, without requiring additional components or compromising safety.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat device with a rotatable seat back that can pivot by at least 180° about a transverse axis, allowing the seat direction to change between facing the direction of travel and opposite to it, along with adjustable headrests, pivot arms, and a three-point seat belt system for enhanced safety and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the seat back is made rotatable to change seat direction, then seating flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seat back is designed to be rotatable about a transverse axis, allowing it to dynamically change orientation between facing forward and facing rearward. This dynamic capability enables the seat to adapt to different seating directions (driver mode, passenger mode, facing mode) without requiring multiple separate seat units, thus improving versatility while managing complexity through a single movable component.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable seat back serves multiple functions: it provides support in both forward-facing and rearward-facing orientations, accommodates different seating modes (driving, riding, facing each other), and eliminates the need for separate seat configurations. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by achieving high adaptability through a single universal component rather than multiple specialized components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If additional components are added to enable seat direction change, then seating flexibility is improved, but manufacturing cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention achieves seat direction change through rotation of the existing seat back about a transverse axis rather than adding separate movable components. The headrest unit is displaceably arranged to accommodate the rotation, but the core mechanism uses the seat back's own structure and mounting, minimizing additional weight while maximizing flexibility.
3Ease of manufacture
If the headrest is fixed on the seat back, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but comfort is reduced when seat direction changes
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest unit is arranged to be displaceable on the seat back, allowing it to move as the seat back rotates between different orientations. This dynamic displacement capability ensures the headrest remains in the appropriate position relative to the occupant's head regardless of seat direction, maintaining comfort while keeping the displacement mechanism simple enough not to significantly complicate manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat device includes a seat cushion having a cushion front side and cushion rear side both running in the transverse direction of the seat device. The device also includes a seat back having two backrest edge sides opposite each other and each running in the transverse direction of the seat device. The seat back is arrangeable on the cushion front and rear sides of the seat cushion in order to change a seat direction. The seat back is mounted so as to be rotatable by at least 180° around a transverse axis in order to change the seat direction. At least one headrest unit is arranged on the seat back in a displaceable manner in such a way that it can be displaced beyond the backrest edge side facing away from the seat cushion in each case and can be displaced back under this backrest edge side.