Seat with alertness-maintaining device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seat designs with alertness-maintaining devices face challenges in securely and efficiently attaching a drive source, such as a motor, to the seat while minimizing weight and preventing deformation of resin components.
Innovation Solution
A seat design featuring a support member with a drive source attachment surface and a load-supporting portion-clamping piece made of metal, which securely attaches to a resin load-supporting portion using a shoulder bolt, allowing for stable attachment of the drive source and reducing deformation of resin parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a drive source is housed in the seat, then alertness-maintaining function is achieved, but weight increases and deformation risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seat is divided into functional modules: a drive source housing unit, a load-supporting portion, and a support member. This segmentation allows the drive source to be isolated in a dedicated housing, reducing overall seat weight while maintaining the alertness-maintaining function through modular assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
A support member acts as an intermediary between the drive source housing and the load-supporting portion. This intermediary component distributes mechanical stresses and prevents deformation of the resin load-supporting portion while enabling stable mounting of the drive source, thus maintaining reliability without increasing weight.
2Power
If a motor is attached to the load-supporting portion, then vibratory stimulus is delivered, but deformation of resin parts occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The support member serves as a mediator between the motor and the resin load-supporting portion. It transmits the vibratory power needed for alertness maintenance while distributing mechanical loads to prevent deformation of the resin components, thus preserving both power delivery and structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat structure combines different materials with complementary properties: a resin load-supporting portion for lightweight and deformation-resistant characteristics, and a metal support member for strong mechanical coupling. This composite construction enables effective power transmission while protecting the resin portions from deformation.
3Reliability
If the support member is made of metal, then attachment stability improves, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is designed with local quality optimization: only the critical attachment regions are made of metal to provide necessary stability, while other portions can be lighter. This localized metal construction maintains attachment reliability without unnecessarily increasing overall weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat employs a composite material strategy where metal is used specifically for the support member requiring high stability, while the load-supporting portion uses resin for weight reduction. This material selection optimizes the weight-stability tradeoff by applying each material where it provides the most benefit.
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 solution enables efficient and secure attachment of the drive source, reducing weight and deformation, while ensuring the drive source is stably mounted, thus effectively maintaining occupant alertness through vibratory stimuli.
Implementation Method 1
a vibration motor for imparting vibrations to the occupant
Implementation Method 2
a load-supporting portion-clamping piece extending from the drive source attachment surface portion and opposed to the drive source attachment surface portion. The support member is attached to the load-supporting portion while grasping a part of the load-supporting portion
Data Source
AI summary
A seat with an alertness-maintaining device that can efficiently secure a drive source (for example, a motor) when the drive source is internally housed and a vibratory stimulus is imparted to the occupant. The present disclosure relates to a seat with an alertness-maintaining device, the seat being provided with an alertness-maintaining device for imparting physical force to the occupant to promote alertness. A load-supporting portion for supporting the load on the back of the occupant is installed, and a device drive unit for imparting physical force to the occupant, the device drive unit that forms the alertness-maintaining device, is attached to the load-supporting portion. The device drive unit is provided with a drive source and a support member. The support member is attached to the load-supporting portion while grasping a part of the load-supporting portion by a drive source attachment surface portion and a load-supporting portion-clamping piece.