Seat-Bottom Air Bladder Assembly for Pelvis and Femur Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional seat assemblies fail to provide adequate support for occupants, leading to uneven seating which can result in poor posture and health issues like scoliosis due to inadequate adjustment for pelvis and femur alignment.
Innovation Solution
An air bladder system with laterally spaced apart assemblies, each with a primary region expandable in height to support the pelvis and a secondary region for angular adjustment to support the femur, along with sensors and a controller for automatic or manual balancing of seating position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional seat assemblies are used, then the structure is simple, but they fail to provide adequate support for pelvis and femur alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The air bladder assembly is divided into distinct functional regions: a primary region for pelvis support and a secondary region for femur support. This segmentation allows each region to be independently adjusted to provide targeted support for different anatomical areas, resolving the contradiction by enabling adequate support through regional specialization without requiring a completely complex multi-component structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The air bladder assembly incorporates adjustable regions that can dynamically change their support characteristics. The primary region is adjustable in the height direction and the secondary region provides angular adjustment, allowing the seat assembly to adapt to different occupant anatomies and positioning requirements, thereby improving support adequacy while maintaining relative structural simplicity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If fixed support structure is used, then manufacturing is simple, but it cannot accommodate different occupant positions and anatomies
Solution Approach 1:
The air bladder assembly replaces fixed support structures with dynamically adjustable regions. The primary region can be adjusted in height and the secondary region provides angular adjustment capability, enabling the seat to accommodate different occupant positions and anatomies. This dynamic approach achieves high adaptability while maintaining ease of manufacture through a unified inflatable structure rather than multiple adjustable mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The air bladder assembly utilizes changes in inflation parameters (volume, pressure distribution) to achieve adjustment functionality. By controlling the inflation of different regions, the seat can adapt to various occupant requirements without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving high adaptability.
3Extent of automation
If manual adjustment only is provided, then device complexity is low, but productivity and user convenience are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly incorporates sensors that detect seating position and provide feedback to a controller. This feedback mechanism enables automatic detection of uneven seating and triggers appropriate adjustments to the air bladder assemblies, achieving a high extent of automation for seating position balancing. The automation is implemented through a relatively simple feedback loop that monitors pressure or position sensors and adjusts inflation accordingly, maintaining acceptable device complexity while significantly improving productivity and user convenience.
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 system effectively supports the pelvis and femur to correct uneven seating, improving posture and reducing the risk of scoliosis by allowing for customizable and dynamic adjustment of air bladder assemblies.
Implementation Method 1
an air bladder assembly is provided with a primary region sized to be received in a seat bottom of a seat assembly. The primary region is expandable in a height direction to support a pelvis of an occupant
Data Source
AI summary
An air bladder system is provided with a pair of lateral spaced apart air bladder assemblies, each provided with a primary region received in a seat bottom of a seat assembly. The primary region is expandable in a height direction to support a pelvis of an occupant. A secondary region extends from the primary region and is expandable for angular adjustment relative to the primary region to support a femur of the occupant. A plurality of sensors detects a seating position of an occupant. A controller is in electrical communication with the sensors and the air bladder assemblies. The controller is configured to receive data from the plurality of sensors. The data is compared to determine if the occupant is seated evenly. At least one of the air bladder assemblies is adjusted to balance an uneven left-to-right occupant seating position.