Vehicle Seat Common Hinge Rib Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seat designs with pivotally hinged backrests suffer from dimensional changes due to stress, leading to noise and potential disengagement during vehicle movement, due to the high precision requirements of cylindrical or conical pivot pins and housings.
Innovation Solution
A common hinge design featuring a pivot pin with a central portion and lateral portions, where the central portion has an outer peripheral wall with a rib for elastic deformation, ensuring constant contact with the housing, and a housing with a groove to support the rib, maintaining the pivot pin's immobility through friction and additional stopping mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a common pivot pin is used to hinge both backrests to the seating portion frame, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is simplified, but dimensional stability deteriorates due to stress-induced shape and dimension changes
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot pin features a rib protruding from its outer peripheral wall at the contact zone with the housing. This localized structural enhancement provides dimensional stability and maintains friction-based immobilization at the critical interface, while the rest of the pivot pin maintains its simple cylindrical shape for ease of manufacture.
2Reliability
If high precision cylindrical or conical shapes are used for the pivot pin and housing, then the immobilization by friction is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring high precision throughout the entire pivot pin and housing, the rib is positioned at the specific contact zone where friction-based immobilization occurs. This localized feature ensures reliable immobilization while allowing the rest of the components to be manufactured with lower precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The rib modifies the contact parameters between the pivot pin and housing by increasing the friction surface area and providing a positive mechanical interface. This changes the immobilization mechanism from relying solely on precise dimensional fit to a combination of friction and mechanical interlocking.
3Ease of manufacture
If the pivot pin is mounted by force in the housing during manufacturing, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but clearance develops during use due to stress-induced dimensional changes
Solution Approach 1:
The rib is pre-formed on the pivot pin during manufacturing, creating a built-in compensation mechanism that anticipates future stress-induced dimensional changes. This preliminary structural feature ensures that even if clearance develops elsewhere, the rib maintains constant contact with the housing groove.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic deformability of the rib allows it to dynamically adjust its contact pressure with the housing groove in response to stress changes during vehicle use, maintaining optimal immobilization parameters throughout the product lifecycle.
4Ease of manufacture
If the pivot pin outer peripheral wall and housing inner peripheral wall are designed with simple cylindrical shapes, then manufacturing is simplified, but noise is generated during vehicle movement due to clearance and repeated contacts
Solution Approach 1:
The rib provides a localized enhanced contact interface at the noise-generating zone between the pivot pin and housing. This localized structural modification eliminates clearance and repeated impacts that cause noise, while the rest of the cylindrical surfaces remain simple for ease of manufacture.
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 prevents clearance and noise, enhances the resistance of the backrest to seating frame connection, simplifies manufacturing, and reduces the risk of deterioration, ensuring a stable and quiet vehicle seat experience.
Implementation Method 1
the outer peripheral wall of the central portion of the pivot pin includes at least one rib configured to be elastically deformed according to a substantially radial direction of the pivot pin, so as to be constantly maintained bearing against the inner peripheral wall of the third housing
Implementation Method 2
the pivot pin and said corresponding housing being configured to provide the immobilization of the pivot pin by friction between the outer peripheral wall of the pivot pin and the inner peripheral wall of said housing
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat for accommodating at least two users includes: a seating portion frame, a first backrest and a second backrest which are pivotally hinged to the seating portion frame according to a transverse axis via a common hinge. The common hinges includes: a pivot pin comprising at least one central portion having an outer wall, and a housing, having an inner wall, arranged on the seating portion frame, and receiving interiorly the central portion of the pivot pin, by immobilizing the pivot pin. The inner peripheral wall of the housing bears against the outer wall of the central portion. The outer wall of the central portion includes at least one elastically deformable rib so as to be maintained constantly bearing against the inner wall of the housing.