Transformable Seat Assembly Hinge Mechanism Space Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
In organized seating arrangements, such as in transportation vehicles and auditoriums, unoccupied adjacent seats can lead to suboptimal use of space, reducing occupant comfort due to the fixed configuration of seats.
Innovation Solution
A transformable seat assembly with a seat support structure, back support structure, and a wall member connected via hinges, allowing the seat and wall member to rotate and extend, optimizing space usage by allowing the occupant to recline or extend their legs into adjacent unoccupied spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If seats are arranged in fixed organized seating configurations, then structural simplicity and ease of manufacture are improved, but space utilization and occupant comfort deteriorate when adjacent seats are unoccupied
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly incorporates movable components including a seat pan that can rotate about a first hinge and a backrest that can rotate about a second hinge, transforming from a static fixed configuration to a dynamic adjustable configuration. This allows the seat to adapt between occupied and unoccupied states, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat assembly is divided into separable functional segments: a seat support structure, a seat pan connected via first hinge, a back support structure, and a wall member connected via second hinge. This segmentation enables independent movement of each component, allowing the seat to reconfigure its shape and occupy different spatial arrangements, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
2Device complexity
If seats maintain fixed configuration, then device complexity is reduced, but legroom and knee space are insufficient when adjacent seats are unoccupied
Solution Approach 1:
The seat pan and backrest are designed as dynamic components that can rotate about hinges, enabling the seat to extend forward into the space previously occupied by adjacent seats. This dynamic transformation increases legroom and knee space without requiring additional structural complexity, as the same components serve multiple positional functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat assembly utilizes rotational movement about horizontal hinge axes to transform the spatial arrangement of seat components. By rotating the seat pan and backrest about these axes, the seat extends in the longitudinal dimension, effectively increasing legroom and knee space by utilizing space in another dimensional direction rather than adding vertical or lateral complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If seats are designed with fixed configuration, then manufacturing precision requirements are simplified, but space optimization and comfort opportunities are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly employs hinge mechanisms with defined rotation axes that allow controlled transformation between configurations. The first hinge enables seat pan rotation, and the second hinge enables backrest rotation, creating a dynamic system that optimizes usable space while maintaining reasonable manufacturing precision requirements through standardized hinge components.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the seat into movable components (seat pan, backrest, wall member) connected through hinges, the design allows each component to be manufactured with standard precision tolerances while achieving overall space optimization through their coordinated rotational movement. This segmentation approach avoids the need for complex integrated structures requiring ultra-precise manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
Transformable seat assembly includes a seat support structure and a seat connected to the seat support structure with a first hinge having a first axis of rotation. A back support structure is connected to the seat support structure with the back support structure positioned on a back side portion of the seat support structure and the first hinge is positioned on an opposing front side portion of the seat support structure. A wall member having a first end portion connected to the back support structure with a second hinge having a second axis of rotation, wherein the seat is rotatable about the first axis of rotation from an occupant support position to a deployed position and the wall member is rotatable about the second axis of rotation from an overlying position with respect to the back support structure to the wall member extending away from the back support structure.