Seat Back Groove Structure for Rear-Impact Neck Shock Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seats do not effectively allow the upper body of an occupant to subside into the seat back during a rear-end collision, leading to reduced shock absorption for the neck and potential damage to the seat back pad from exposed tuck-in wires.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat design featuring a seat cushion, seat back with embedded tuck-in wires, and a pressure-receiving member that moves rearward to allow the upper body to subside into the seat back, with a groove and hole configuration to improve adhesion and prevent wire exposure, along with a connecting wire system that acts as torsion springs to enhance rearward motion and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the pressure-receiving member is made to move rearward to allow upper body subsidence, then shock absorption to the neck is improved, but the tuck-in wires become exposed and the seat back pad is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The seat back pad is divided into a central portion and side portions by grooves, allowing independent movement of each segment. The tuck-in wires are embedded only in the central portion, separating the wire embedding area from the movement area, thus preventing wire exposure while enabling effective subsidence motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The tuck-in wires are extracted from the entire seat back pad and repositioned to be embedded only in the central portion. This extraction removes the harmful factor (wire exposure) from the moving side portions while preserving the shock absorption function in the central area.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the tuck-in wires are embedded throughout the seat back pad, then the skin material adhesion is improved, but the wires become exposed during rearward motion causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the seat back pad are given different functions: the central portion embeds tuck-in wires for adhesion, while the side portions remain wire-free to allow unrestricted rearward motion. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between adhesion stability and wire exposure prevention.
3Manufacturing precision
If the seat back pad is made rigid to maintain structure, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the upper body cannot subside sufficiently into the seat back
Solution Approach 1:
The seat back pad is segmented into different portions with different rigidity requirements. The grooves create distinct zones that can be manufactured with precise dimensions while allowing the side portions to deform and move rearward during collision, balancing structural precision with motion capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively suppresses head tilting-back and absorbs shock to the neck, while improving adhesion between the seat back pad and tuck-in wires to prevent damage, ensuring a stable and safe in-seat posture during collisions.
Implementation Method 1
a connecting wire system that acts as torsion springs to enhance rearward motion and stability
Implementation Method 2
in a rear-end collision of a car that occurs when a rear end of your car is struck by another car or when a rear end of your car which is being reversed strikes another car or a construct, a head of an occupant seated on a seat cushion of a car seat would largely tilt back by inertia
Data Source
AI summary
A seat back pad 70 has a groove 73 for tucking a skin material therein, formed at borders between a central portion 71 and side portions 72. A hole (slot hole 74) is formed in a bottom of the groove 73 along the groove 73. A tuck-in wire 76 for tucking the skin material in includes a plurality of tuck-in portions 76A provided along the groove 73, and a connecting portion (detour portion 76B) detouring around the hole and connecting the tuck-in portions 76A. With this configuration, when an upper body of an occupant P subsides into a seat back S2 in a rear-end collision of a vehicle, the central portion 71, defined by the groove 73 as a border, is easily and sufficiently moved rearward relative to the left and right side portions 72. Furthermore, the tuck-in wire 76 is not exposed through the hole, and thus adhesion between the seat back pad 70 and the tuck-in wire 76 can be improved.