Stepped Reinforcement for Vehicle Seat Back Frame Noise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle seat back frames with reinforcement portions experience noise due to contact between headrest pillars and the reinforcement portions during vehicle movement, compromising passenger comfort and requiring additional reinforcement to maintain stiffness, which increases size and weight.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat back frame with a stepped reinforcement portion that protrudes along the surface requiring reinforcement, creating a gap between the pillars and the reinforcement portion to reduce noise and maintain necessary stiffness without increasing size or weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If reinforcement portions are formed on the seat back frame to provide necessary stiffness, then the stiffness of the panel material is improved, but noise is generated due to contact between pillars and the reinforcement portions during vehicle movement
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement portion is designed with varying protruding heights (stepped configuration) at different locations. The first region has a greater protruding height than the second region, creating local variations in the reinforcement structure. This allows the reinforcement to provide necessary stiffness while the stepped configuration prevents direct contact between the pillars and the reinforcement portion, thereby eliminating noise generation.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the reinforcement portion is not formed on the extended lines of the pillars to avoid contact, then noise is reduced, but the stiffness of the panel material becomes lower than required
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement portion features a stepped configuration with different protruding heights in different regions. The first region has a greater protruding height that prevents pillar contact (avoiding noise), while the second region has a smaller protruding height that still provides reinforcement. This local variation in reinforcement height maintains the necessary stiffness without causing noise.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If pillars are arranged such that the reinforcement portion is not located on the extended lines of the pillars, then noise contact is avoided, but the freedom degree of seat design is lowered and the size of the seat back needs to be increased
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of solving the noise problem by adjusting the two-dimensional arrangement of pillars on the seat back surface, the invention moves to the third dimension by varying the protruding height of the reinforcement portion. The stepped configuration with different heights in different regions allows pillars to be positioned freely while the vertical dimension of the reinforcement prevents contact, maintaining design freedom without increasing seat back size.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat including a seat back in which a seat back frame that is a flat plate is provided, wherein a reinforcement portion is provided to a surface of the seat back frame, the surface requiring reinforcement, and the reinforcement portion protruding in a shape of a line along the surface requiring the reinforcement from the surface requiring the reinforcement, and at least a part of the reinforcement portion is a stepped portion that is provided to continue from the other portion of the reinforcement portion and has a protruding height lower than a protruding height of the other portion, the protruding height being a height from the surface requiring the reinforcement.