Vehicle Seat Rod Buckling Control Away From Battery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicle seats, the rod installed between side frames can buckle towards the lower side during a side collision, potentially contacting a battery unit located below the seat cushion, which is undesirable.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat design with a rod featuring weakened parts, including a first and second weakened portion, to promote buckling distortion in a direction away from the battery unit, allowing the rod to flexibly deform and avoid the battery unit during a side collision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a straight hollow round bar rod is used for synchronously performing unlocking operation of slide devices, then the rod can maintain structural simplicity and ease of manufacture, but the rod may be subjected to buckling distortion toward the lower side of the seat cushion during side collision, potentially contacting the battery unit
Solution Approach 1:
The rod is provided with weakened parts at specific locations (first and second weakened portions) that create predetermined buckling paths. These local modifications change the structural properties only where needed, allowing the rod to buckle in a controlled manner away from the battery unit while maintaining the overall simplicity of the rod structure and its ease of manufacture.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the rod is designed to buckle in a predetermined direction away from the battery unit, then the rod can avoid contacting the battery unit during side collision, but the rod structure becomes more complex with weakened parts
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire rod structure complex, only localized weakened portions are introduced at specific positions on the rod surface. These localized modifications are minimal in scope but effective in controlling the buckling behavior, thus achieving protection of the battery unit while minimizing the increase in overall structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The weakened parts are positioned asymmetrically on the rod, with the first weakened portion located at a different position than the second weakened portion. This asymmetric arrangement creates a predetermined buckling path that directs the rod deformation away from the battery unit, achieving protective function through asymmetric structural design.
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
The rod effectively undergoes flexion deformity in a direction away from the battery unit, preventing contact and ensuring proper deformation during side collisions, thus protecting the battery unit.
Implementation Method 1
the weakened part is configured to promote the buckling distortion of the rod in a predetermined direction so that the rod is subjected to flexion deformity in a first direction
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat including a rod installed between left and right side frames of a seat cushion, wherein the rod is provided with a weakened part which is configured to promote the buckling distortion of the rod in a predetermined direction, wherein the weakened part includes first and second weakened portions which respectively weakens a portion of a surface of the rod facing a first direction and a portion of a surface of the rod facing a second direction opposite to the first direction at an end portion of a side of the rod to which an impact load is inputted, so that the rod is configured to be bent in the first direction and the second direction, and wherein the first weakened portion is formed closer to the side to which the impact load is inputted than the second weakened portion.