Vehicle Seat Back Cover Fixation via Board Protrusions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle seat designs face challenges in achieving a balance between appearance and manufacturing workability, particularly in the fixation of the back cover to the back pad, where the engagement strength is insufficient due to the limitations of the fitting groove depth and the necessity for additional fixation methods like tongue pieces, leading to a complex structure and poor manufacturing workability.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat design featuring a back pad with a recess portion that includes a plurality of through holes in its outer peripheral edge, where a flat-plate-shaped board with protrusion portions is mounted on the rear wall, allowing the protrusions to engage with the back surface of the back pad, eliminating the need for overhangs and tongue pieces, thus ensuring a strong and aesthetically pleasing fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the end portion of the resin board is inserted into the fitting groove provided in the side wall portion of the recess portion, then the resin board can be fixed on the rear wall of the recess portion, but the engagement strength is not enough
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation structure is segmented into multiple engagement points: the fitting groove in the side wall portion and the tongue piece extending through the hole in the back pad. This segmentation allows the board to be secured at multiple locations, significantly improving engagement strength while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The end portion of the resin board is nested into the fitting groove provided in the side wall portion of the recess portion. This nesting arrangement allows the board to be securely held within the groove, providing structural support and improving engagement strength without adding excessive complexity.
2Strength
If a tongue piece is added to fix the resin board, then sufficient engagement strength is achieved, but the structure becomes complicated and manufacturing workability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tongue piece is merged with the back pad as an integrated structure, where the tongue piece extends directly from the back pad through a hole. This merging eliminates the need for separate fixation components, simplifying the overall structure while ensuring sufficient engagement strength. The integrated design improves manufacturing workability by reducing the number of parts and assembly steps.
3Strength
If the fitting groove is made as an undercut part in the back pad, then the resin board can be fixed, but the depth cannot be molded to be a predetermined depth or more due to demolding requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation approach transitions from relying solely on the depth of the fitting groove (one-dimensional constraint) to utilizing the tongue piece that extends through the hole in the back pad (adding a second dimension of constraint). This dimensional change allows sufficient fixation strength to be achieved without requiring the groove to be molded to a predetermined depth, thereby resolving the molding and demolding constraints.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat including a seat back including a back pad and a back cover, wherein the back pad has a recess portion opened forward, through holes penetrating in a front-and-rear direction are provided in an outer peripheral edge portion of a rear wall portion of the recess portion, and a board is mounted on a rear wall portion side of the back cover which covers the rear wall portion, wherein at least one protrusion portion extending toward an outer side in an in-plane direction of the rear wall portion is provided on a part of the board, and wherein the back cover covers an inner surface of the recess portion, and the at least one protrusion portion inserted into at least one of the through holes is engaged and mounted on a back surface portion of the back pad on an opposite side of the rear wall portion.