Vehicle Seat Back Frame Structure for Rigidity and Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle seat frame member is highly rigid and heavy, making it unsuitable for reducing weight while maintaining rigidity, which is necessary for fuel efficiency and manufacturing cost reduction.
Innovation Solution
The frame member is designed with a first member that is more rigid and a second member that is lighter, where the first member is connected to the second member in a way that maintains rigidity by being more rigid at the portion subjected to bending stress and lighter at the portion not subjected to stress, allowing for a reduction in overall frame weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the entire frame member is made of highly rigid metal, then the rigidity of the frame member is maintained, but the weight of the frame member increases
Solution Approach 1:
The frame member is divided into different portions with different material properties. The first portion (subjected to bending stress) is made of highly rigid metal to maintain strength, while the second portion (not subjected to bending stress) is made of lightweight metal to reduce weight. This local differentiation of material quality resolves the contradiction between rigidity and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame member is segmented into multiple portions (first portion and second portion) with different material characteristics. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently - the first portion for rigidity and the second portion for lightness - thereby achieving both strength and weight reduction goals simultaneously.
2Weight of moving object
If lightweight metal is used for the frame member, then the weight of the frame member is reduced, but the desired rigidity cannot be obtained
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the frame member are assigned different material qualities based on their functional requirements. The first portion requires high rigidity to resist bending stress, while the second portion can use lightweight material since it is not subjected to bending stress. This localized material assignment achieves weight reduction without compromising overall rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame member employs a composite structure combining different types of metal materials - highly rigid metal in the first portion and lightweight metal in the second portion. This composite material approach allows the frame to achieve both light weight and sufficient rigidity by strategically combining materials with complementary properties.
Data Source
AI summary
In a vehicle seat structured such that stress is applied to a frame member of an upright seat back on a virtual diagonal line that connects one side of an upper portion of the seat back with another side of a lower portion of the seat back in response to tension received from a band member, the frame member is formed by a first member being connected to a second member, and one member from among the first member and the second member crosses the virtual diagonal line. The one member is more rigid than the other member that is different from the one member, and the other member is lighter than the one member.