Vehicle Seat Headrest Stowage With Fold-Over Cavity Panel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seats with headrests lack a convenient and aesthetically pleasing method for stowing the headrest, often resulting in discomfort or the need to remove part of the seat surface for deployment.
Innovation Solution
A pivotally mounted headrest that remains connected to the seat, using a flexible panel to cover a cavity in the deployed position and fold into it in the stowed position, maintaining a continuous seating surface and avoiding the need for separate storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the headrest is removed from the seat, then it can be stored separately, but there is no convenient place to store it and it requires separate storage
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest is nested within a cavity in the seat back, allowing it to be stored in-place without requiring separate storage locations. The panel covers the cavity when the headrest is deployed, creating a neat integrated appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage function is merged with the seat structure itself by creating a cavity within the seat back. The headrest storage is combined with the seat back design, eliminating the need for separate storage mechanisms.
2Ease of operation
If the headrest is pivoted from a cavity in the seat, then it can be stowed in-place, but this leaves an undesirable and unattractive cavity in the seating surface
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible panel is used to cover the cavity when the headrest is deployed. The panel can flex and fold to accommodate the cavity when the headrest is stowed, while providing a smooth, attractive surface when the headrest is in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel is designed to be dynamic, changing its state from covering the cavity when the headrest is deployed to folding into the cavity when the headrest is stowed. This dynamic behavior allows the system to maintain an attractive appearance in both states.
3Ease of operation
If part of the seat surface is withdrawn or removed to deploy the headrest, then the headrest can be deployed, but deployment cannot be easily achieved while seated
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of removing the seat surface to deploy the headrest, the headrest is pivoted within a cavity in the seat back. This inverted approach allows deployment without compromising the seating surface integrity or requiring complex removal mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The headrest assembly is segmented from the main seat structure, allowing it to pivot independently within the cavity. This segmentation enables easy deployment and stowage without affecting the overall seat structure or requiring surface removal.
4Strength
If a rigid panel is used to cover the cavity, then it provides structural support, but it cannot fold into the cavity when the headrest is stowed
Solution Approach 1:
The panel is made of flexible material that can fold and conform to the cavity shape when the headrest is stowed, while still providing adequate coverage and maintaining an attractive appearance. The flexibility allows it to adapt to different headrest positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel's physical state changes between deployed and stowed positions. When deployed, it is taut and provides a smooth surface; when stowed, it folds into the cavity. This parameter change allows the panel to serve multiple functions in different states.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is for providing seating in a vehicle passenger compartment. A vehicle seat includes a headrest for forming at least a portion of a seating surface of the vehicle seat in a stowed position and a panel for forming the portion of the seating surface in a deployed position of the headrest. The stowed headrest may be positioned in a cavity formed in the seat. The panel may be connected to the headrest, and at least partially sandwiched between an inner surface of the cavity and the headrest in the stowed position.