Motor Vehicle Seat Width Adjustment Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Adjustable motor vehicle seats with existing spindle drive systems often exhibit inhomogeneous load behavior due to differing resilience between seat halves, leading to impaired seating comfort.
Innovation Solution
A device with first and second adjusting elements, each with a guide element, where a flat piece of material is slidably tensioned to adjust seat width, using a textile spring-loading fabric and spacer fabric for defined load behavior, and pivotable actuating legs with rotary joints and tension springs for adjustable resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate seat halves with different resilience are used, then seat width adjustment is achieved, but inhomogeneous load behavior occurs leading to impaired seating comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the two separate seat halves into a single continuous seat surface made from one piece of material. This eliminates the interface between separate components with different resilience characteristics, ensuring homogeneous load distribution across the entire seat surface while still allowing width adjustment through the positioning mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by using a single material with consistent properties throughout the seat surface, rather than combining materials with different resilience. This ensures uniform load behavior across the entire seating area, resolving the comfort issue while maintaining adjustability through the mechanical positioning system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple materials with different properties are used for seat halves, then adjustable width is achieved, but inhomogeneous load distribution occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs homogeneity by constructing the seat surface from a single continuous piece of material with uniform properties throughout. This eliminates variations in load distribution that would arise from joining different materials, while the width adjustment is achieved through the mechanical positioning of the seat surface relative to the frame.
3Adaptability or versatility
If tension springs are added to adjust resilience, then adaptability to different drivers is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by incorporating tension springs that allow the seat structure to adapt its resilience characteristics. The springs enable the seat to dynamically adjust to different driver weights and preferences, transforming a static structure into one that can respond to varying loads while maintaining relative simplicity through the use of standard spring components.
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 ensures homogeneous load distribution and improved seating comfort by using a consistent material for the seat, allowing for tailored load behavior and adjustable resilience to accommodate different driver weights and habits.
Implementation Method 1
The planar piece of material is preferably a textile spring-loading fabric... The flat piece of material is designed to be inelastic and tensioned by means of several tension springs
Implementation Method 2
The spacer fabric is a three-dimensional textile fabric in which two opposite textile outer surfaces are kept at a distance by connecting threads that keep the distance. The characteristic structure of the spacer fabric not only leads to improved moisture removal and air permeability of a seat and/or back cushion equipped with it, but also to a defined elastic behavior in the longitudinal and transverse direction.
Implementation Method 3
The flat piece of material is designed to be inelastic and tensioned by means of several tension springs
Data Source
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Figure 2
AI summary
Device (10) for adjusting the width of a motor vehicle seat, comprising a first adjustment element (12a) and a second adjustment element (12b), wherein a distance between the two adjustment elements (12a, 12b) can be changed by means of an actuating device (14). Each of the adjustment elements (12a, 12b) is associated with a guide element (16a, 16b), along which a planar material piece (18) extending between the two adjustment elements (12a, 12b) is slidably stretched such that a portion of the planar material piece (18) forming a seat surface (20) can be adjusted by changing the distance between the two adjustment elements (12a, 12b).