Vehicle Seat Cover Segmentation Prevents Hammock Rocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle seats fail to effectively hold occupants in the seat width direction during lateral acceleration, as the cover can become like a hammock with support points at both ends, causing the body to rock.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat design featuring a frame member, a cushion with side support portions that project upwards or forwards, and a cover with side support portion cover portions and a main portion cover portion, where the seat width dimension of the main portion cover is longer than the occupant-facing surface, preventing the cover from adopting a hammock shape and ensuring load is distributed through the cushion rather than the cover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cover is designed to cover the cushion with side support portions, then the cover can accommodate the cushion structure, but the cover may become like a hammock with support points at both ends, causing the occupant body to rock in the seat width direction during lateral acceleration
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is segmented into a main portion cover and side support portion covers that are joined together. This segmentation allows the main portion cover to extend beyond the side support portions, creating an overlapping configuration that prevents hammock formation while maintaining coverage of the cushion structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution addresses the two-dimensional coverage problem by adding a dimensional overlap in the seat width direction. The main portion cover extends laterally beyond the side support portions, creating a three-dimensional configuration where the cover material overlaps rather than forming simple arches between support points.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the main portion cover portion seat width dimension is made longer than the cushion surface seat width dimension, then the cover prevents hammock formation, but the cover structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The main portion cover and side support portion covers are merged into a single integrated cover structure through joining at their boundaries. This merging approach simplifies the overall structure compared to using separate components, while the extended main portion cover dimension provides the necessary overlap to prevent hammock formation.
3Device complexity
If the cover is joined at the boundary between main portion and side support portions, then the cover structure is simplified, but the cushion deformation may be restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is designed with different dimensional characteristics in different regions: the main portion cover has an extended seat width dimension to prevent hammock formation, while the side support portion covers are sized to match the side support portions. This local quality differentiation allows the cover to provide structural stability where needed while permitting cushion deformation in other areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat includes: a cushion that has a main portion that configures part of the seat cushion or the seat back and is placed in the seat width direction middle portion of the cushion and a pair of right and left side support portions that project toward the seat upper side or the seat front side relative to the main portion; and a cover that has side support portion cover portions and a main portion cover portion, with both seat width direction end portions of the main portion cover portion being joined to the side support portion cover portions, and with the seat width direction dimension of the main portion cover portion being longer than the seat width direction dimension of a surface on the seated occupant side of the main portion in a deformed state resulting from an occupant being seated.