Vehicle Seat Cushion Support Member with Variable Thickness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle seat designs with elastic support nets often apply uneven load to the occupant's back, leading to discomfort and increased weight due to unnecessary support in regions not requiring backrest load.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat design featuring a cushion support member with a narrower lower region and a wider upper region, including a retracted central notch and outward extension parts with varying rigidity, to better support the occupant's shoulders and spine while minimizing weight and reducing awkwardness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If an elastic support net is provided to widely cover the seat back frame, then the support coverage is improved, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion support member is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a first region with greater thickness for enhanced support and a second region with lesser thickness for weight reduction. This local quality variation allows the support structure to provide adequate support where needed while minimizing weight in less critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushion support member is divided into distinct regions (first region with greater thickness and second region with lesser thickness) that serve different functional purposes. This segmentation allows the structure to optimize both support performance and weight characteristics in different zones.
2Ease of manufacture
If a uniform thickness cushion support member is used, then the manufacturing is simplified, but the support comfort deteriorates due to localized load on spine
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion support member incorporates a first region with greater thickness specifically positioned to provide enhanced support and comfort, while a second region has lesser thickness. This local quality differentiation addresses the discomfort caused by uniform thickness structures while remaining manufacturable through conventional molding techniques.
3Strength
If the cushion support member has greater thickness throughout, then the support rigidity is improved, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion support member is designed with a first region of greater thickness to provide necessary support rigidity where structural strength is required, while a second region with lesser thickness reduces overall weight. This localized thickness variation optimizes the strength-to-weight ratio.
Solution Approach 2:
The support member is segmented into regions with different thickness characteristics, allowing the structure to achieve adequate rigidity in critical areas without uniformly increasing weight across the entire component.
Data Source
AI summary
A cushion support member 41 includes: a lower region 42 whose left-right full width is less than an interval between a pair of side frames 14 of a seat back frame 12; an upper region 45 located above the lower region 42 and having a left-right full width greater than the lower region 42. the upper region 45 is divided into a central region 46 including a central part in the left-right direction and provided with a predetermined left-right width, and outer regions 47 provided on outer sides with respect to the central region 46 in the left-right direction, and the central region 46 is arranged as a retracted region which is cut off to leave the outer regions 47 or is recessed to a side opposite to a cushion member with respect to the outer regions 47.