Vehicle Seat Depth Adjustment with Segmented Cushion Extension
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle seats with adjustable seat depth face challenges in maintaining padding quality and minimizing pleats and gaps during depth adjustments, as the padding must conform to changes in seat length, and there is a need for a design that reduces padding costs and enhances user comfort.
Innovation Solution
The motor vehicle seat design features synchronized forward movements of the cushion shell and transverse beam relative to the seat carrier, allowing for proportional adjustment of seat depth, which includes two discrete adjustment distances, enabling the seat to extend or retract while maintaining its overall form, and reducing lateral gaps between components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the seat depth is adjusted by moving only the cushion shell relative to the seat carrier, then the adjustment mechanism is simple, but the padding must stretch or bunch causing quality degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The seat depth adjustment is divided into two independent movements: (1) cushion shell moving relative to seat carrier, and (2) transverse beam moving relative to cushion shell. This segmentation allows the padding to be distributed across two adjustment zones, preventing stretching and bunching in a single location, thereby maintaining padding quality while keeping each adjustment mechanism relatively simple
2Adaptability or versatility
If the seat depth adjustment distance is increased, then the seat adaptability improves, but the padding length and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The total adjustment distance is segmented into two discrete adjustment distances: the first movement provides a portion of the adjustment range, and the second movement provides the remaining portion. This allows the seat to achieve a large overall adjustment range without requiring excessively long padding, as the padding is effectively utilized across two staged movements rather than one continuous movement
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cushion shell and transverse beam move in different directions, then the adjustment flexibility increases, but the synchronization control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment is segmented into two independent longitudinal movements that both occur substantially in the x direction (from rear to front). This segmentation maintains directional simplicity while achieving flexibility through the two-stage process: first the cushion shell moves, then the transverse beam moves. The synchronized control is facilitated by the fact that both movements follow the same directional axis, making coordination easier despite the two-stage nature
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable motor vehicle seat with an underframe (20), a seat carrier (28) carried by the underframe (20), a cushion shell (34), a first longitudinal guide (44) being disposed between the seat carrier (28) and the cushion shell (34), and a first drive being provided for adjusting the cushion shell (34) relative to said seat carrier (28). The seat includes a front transverse beam (65) associated with a front edge (72) of the seat. A second longitudinal guide (64) is interposed between the cushion shell (34) and the transverse beam (65). A second drive is responsible for adjusting the seat carrier (28) relative to the cushion shell (34).