Vehicle Seat Motion Sickness Mitigation via Dynamic Slide Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seat designs fail to effectively mitigate motion sickness in occupants by not adequately reducing acceleration forces experienced during vehicle movements, leading to discomfort and potential health issues.
Innovation Solution
The occupant support system includes a seat mount coupled to a vehicle floor and a motion-sickness mitigation system with guide rails and a slide unit that allows the seat to move relative to the mount, minimizing acceleration forces by allowing lateral and fore-and-aft movement, thereby reducing inertial forces experienced by the occupant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the seat is rigidly coupled to the vehicle floor, then structural stability is improved, but acceleration forces are transmitted directly to the occupant causing motion sickness
Solution Approach 1:
The seat is transformed from a rigid fixed structure to a dynamic system with controlled movement capabilities. The slide unit with guide rails enables the seat to move laterally and fore-and-aft relative to the vehicle floor, allowing the seat to dynamically respond to vehicle acceleration and reduce inertial forces on the occupant.
Solution Approach 2:
The motion-sickness mitigation system acts as an intermediary between the vehicle floor and the seat. This intermediate system includes the slide unit, guide rails, and springs that decouple the direct rigid connection, filtering acceleration forces while maintaining structural support.
2Ease of manufacture
If the seat is rigidly coupled to the vehicle floor, then ease of manufacture is improved, but motion sickness mitigation is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly incorporates a motion-sickness mitigation system with slide units and guide rails that enable controlled movement. This dynamic design allows the seat to move relative to the vehicle floor, reducing acceleration forces transmitted to the occupant and thereby mitigating motion sickness.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the seat allows movement relative to the seat mount, then acceleration forces are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The motion-sickness mitigation system is segmented into distinct functional components: guide rails that define movement paths, slide units with rollers that enable movement, and springs that provide damping. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while maintaining overall system manageability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses passive mechanical components that automatically respond to acceleration forces without requiring external control systems. The springs self-adjust to dampen movements, and the guide rails self-guide the slide units along predetermined paths, eliminating the need for complex active control mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution significantly reduces motion sickness by dampening acceleration forces, allowing the occupant to match vehicle motion more closely, thereby minimizing discomfort and symptoms associated with motion sickness.
Implementation Method 1
The motion-sickness mitigation system is configured to reduce acceleration of the occupant during acceleration of the vehicle so that motion sickness experienced by the occupant is mitigated, remedied, or prevented
Data Source
AI summary
An occupant support adapted for use in a vehicle includes a seat mount, a seat, and a motion-sickness mitigation system. The seat mount is adapted to couple to the vehicle for movement with the vehicle. The seat is adapted to provide a comfortable support surface for an occupant of the occupant support.