Vehicle Seat Supporting Shell from Averaged Body Contours
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seats lack precise adjustment to accommodate various body shapes and sizes of users, leading to suboptimal seating comfort due to the mismatch between the seat contour and the user's body, which requires thick padding to compensate, resulting in a large space requirement.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a flexible measuring mat that adapts to the body shape of multiple users, with their surface contours recorded and averaged to create a supporting shell that closely matches the average body shape, allowing for a thin padding solution that provides high comfort across a range of users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If thick padding is used to compensate for contour mismatch, then seating comfort is improved, but installation space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting shell is pre-formed with an ergonomic contour that anticipates and accommodates the user's body shape before the user even sits down. This preliminary shaping eliminates the need for thick corrective padding, as the base structure already provides the necessary ergonomic support.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of thick foam padding with a structurally integrated contoured shell. Instead of relying on soft material thickness to compensate for poor ergonomics, the solution uses a rigid or semi-rigid supporting shell with built-in ergonomic contours that actively shape the seating surface.
2Ease of manufacture
If the seat contour is standardized, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to various body shapes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the geometric parameters of the supporting shell to create ergonomic contours. Rather than changing the fundamental structure or material properties, the solution adjusts the shape parameters (curvatures, angles, and surface profiles) of the shell to match ergonomic requirements for different body types.
Solution Approach 2:
The contoured supporting shell serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, creates ergonomic seating contours, and accommodates variations in user body shapes. This single multi-functional component replaces what would traditionally require multiple separate elements (base structure plus thick adaptive padding).
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 approach enables the production of seats with high comfort and minimal installation space by creating a supporting shell that fits a wide range of users, reducing the need for thick padding and optimizing space usage.
Implementation Method 1
a measuring mat is placed on a seat frame (2) which has flat and unpadded contact surfaces (4, 6) for the seat surface (28) and/or backrest (30). The measuring mat (8) is spatially flexible and has a low inherent rigidity, so that under the influence of the body weight (especially on the seat) and the contact pressure (especially on the backrest) of a test subject (P), it adapts to the body shape without any significant resistance.
Implementation Method 2
The measuring mat (8) is designed as a hollow body with pliable boundary walls and has, for example, a large number of small spherical solid bodies in its interior, which can be pushed against one another with little effort. By applying negative pressure, the solid bodies can be fixed in their position, so that a surface contour of the measuring mat created by the test person is 'frozen'.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6
AI summary
The invention proposes a process for producing a supporting shell (22) for a seat. In this process, in-seat measurements are performed in a series of measurements with a plurality of test subjects (P), wherein the test subjects (P) sit down on a measuring mat (8) placed on a neutral seat frame (2). The measuring mat (8) has a readily displaceable filling (14) and adapts to the contour of the body of the respective test subject (P). After the test subject (P) has sat down on the measuring mat (8) and before they leave it, the filling (14) inside the measuring mat (8) is fixed by applying a negative pressure. The geometric data of the surface contour (40) of the measuring mat (8) is determined and stored for each test subject (P). Finally, the measured surface contours (40) are superimposed on one another. This produces an average surface contour (42) which can subsequently be further amended slightly for adaptation to large seat users, and therefore a modified surface contour (44) is created as a basis for the production of the supporting shell (22) of the seat. Since the surface contour (42 or 44) fits all possible seat users really well, even a relatively thin cushioning support (24) on the supporting shell (22) is sufficient to obtain very good seating comfort for various seat users. In addition, the invention proposes a process for producing a cushion support (62) for a seat (60) with a non-contoured or with only a slightly contoured supporting substructure (64, 66), analogously to the process described above for producing a supporting shell (22).