Vehicle Seat Back Rigidity Control for Steering Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seat technologies fail to enhance steering operability without compromising comfort and whiplash protection during normal use and steering operations.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat with a rigidity changer and control system that predicts steering operations by adjusting the rigidity of the seat back near the shoulder blades using actuators and sensors, enhancing support during turns and reducing rigidity for comfort and safety during normal driving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the rigidity of the seat back is enhanced to improve steering operability, then steering support is improved, but comfort and whiplash protection during normal use are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The seat back rigidity is made dynamically adjustable through actuators that change the rigidity of the shoulder blade support portion based on detected steering operations. The rigidity changes from a first level (lower) during normal use to a second level (higher) during steering operations, allowing the system to optimize for either comfort or steering support as needed
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameter of rigidity is changed based on operational conditions. The rigidity of the seat back portion abutting on the shoulder blades is varied between two distinct levels corresponding to different usage scenarios: normal driving (lower rigidity for comfort) and steering operations (higher rigidity for support)
Data Source
AI summary
A seat includes a seat surface member, a seat back, a rigidity changer, a steering operation prediction unit, and a rigidity change controller. On the seat surface member, a waist and thighs of an occupant who is to perform steering operation on a vehicle are to be placed. The seat back is configured to abut on a back of the occupant. A rigidity changer is configured to change rigidity of a part of the seat back abutting on the vicinity of shoulder blades of the occupant. A steering operation prediction unit is configured to predict whether the steering operation is performed. A rigidity change controller is configured to control the rigidity changer to enhance the rigidity before the steering operation is started when it is predicted that the steering operation is performed.