Seat Weight Sensor Attachment Structure for Concave Groove Loads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing weight sensor attachment structures for vehicle seats are prone to deformation and breaking due to the load on the seat, leading to increased costs and difficulty in attachment, as they require excessively long signal lines to bypass concave grooves and maintain flexibility.
Innovation Solution
An attachment structure for a weight sensor that inserts between a pad and skin member of a vehicle seat, utilizing an insert member with a first end connected to the skin, a second end connected to a connection member inside the concave groove, and an opening part allowing the weight sensor to extend through, reducing the longitudinal dimension of the conduction portion and eliminating the need for excessively long sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the conduction portion is fixed and attached to the vehicle seat across the concave groove, then the weight sensor can detect seating state, but the conduction portion may deform and break due to load on the seat
Solution Approach 1:
The conduction portion is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adapt to the deformation of the concave groove under load. The conduction portion can move within the concave groove to accommodate compression, preventing stress concentration and breaking while maintaining electrical connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The conduction portion is designed with changing geometric parameters - specifically, it has a longer length than the straight-line distance across the concave groove, allowing it to accommodate the changing depth of the groove under load. This parameter change enables the conduction portion to maintain connection without breaking during seat compression.
2Reliability
If the conduction portion is loosely provided in the concave groove to prevent breaking, then durability improves, but the concave groove compresses under load causing extreme bending or strong contact that may break the conduction portion
Solution Approach 1:
The conduction portion is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adapt to the deformation of the concave groove under load. The conduction portion can move within the concave groove to accommodate compression, preventing stress concentration and breaking while maintaining electrical connection.
3Reliability
If the signal line is elongated to the deep groove part to maintain flexibility, then the sensor can accommodate groove deformation, but the sensor becomes excessively long increasing cost and attachment difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
Only the portion of the signal line that needs to accommodate groove deformation (the conduction portion within the concave groove) is designed to be loose and movable. The rest of the signal line can be shorter and more rigid, reducing overall sensor length and cost while maintaining necessary flexibility only where required.
Solution Approach 2:
The conduction portion is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adapt to the deformation of the concave groove under load. The conduction portion can move within the concave groove to accommodate compression, preventing stress concentration and breaking while maintaining electrical connection.
Data Source
AI summary
An attachment structure of a weight sensor for seat occupant detection includes an insert member extending from a skin member of a seat portion into a concave groove provided on a pad member of the seat portion, and at least one connection member connected to an end part of the insert member inside the concave groove. An opening part is provided in the insert member, and the weight sensor inserted in the insert member through an opening of the opening part across the concave groove.