Vehicle Seat Sensor Feedback for Automatic Posture Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Adjusting vehicle seats to accommodate the changing posture of occupants is time-consuming and requires multiple individual adjustments, which often interact negatively, making it cumbersome and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating sensors in the seat base and backrest to detect forces, pressures, and movements, with a control device that actuates actuators to adjust the seat intuitively and dynamically, matching the current sitting posture or predicted movements based on stored profiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple individual adjustment variables are used to adjust the vehicle seat, then the seat can be adjusted to different positions, but the adjustment process becomes time-consuming and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The seat adjustment system automatically adjusts itself based on sensor feedback from the occupant's body impressions, eliminating the need for manual operation. The control unit receives signals from sensors detecting pressure distributions and automatically actuates adjustment units to optimize seat position, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring continuous user intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor the occupant's body impressions and pressure distributions on the seat. This feedback is processed by a control unit that compares current seat configuration with optimal positions and automatically initiates adjustments. The closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the seat to adapt dynamically to occupant needs without manual input.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple individual adjustment variables are used to adjust the vehicle seat, then the seat can be adjusted to different positions, but the individual adjustments affect one another requiring corrections
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit automatically coordinates all adjustment variables based on sensor feedback, eliminating the need for the occupant to manually adjust each component separately. The system self-regulates the interactions between different adjustment mechanisms (seat pan angle, backrest angle, lumbar support, etc.) to achieve optimal positioning without requiring user corrections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges multiple individual adjustment functions into a unified automated control process. Instead of requiring separate manual adjustments for seat pan tilt, backrest angle, headrest position, and lumbar support, the control unit coordinates all these adjustments simultaneously based on integrated sensor data, simplifying the operation into a single automated process.
3Ease of operation
If sensors and control devices are added to enable automatic seat adjustment, then the adjustment process is simplified, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system and control unit serve multiple functions: they detect body impressions, determine optimal seat positions, coordinate multiple adjustment mechanisms, and adapt to different occupant preferences. By making these components multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate dedicated systems for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
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
Enables seamless, intuitive, and predictive seat adjustments that align with the occupant's posture, improving comfort and convenience by synchronizing with physiological movement patterns, thus facilitating easier interaction with the vehicle environment.
Implementation Method 1
sensors are provided in the seat base and/or in the backrest that detect forces, pressures and/or movements exerted by a person seated on the vehicle seat
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable vehicle seat includes a seat base having a seat surface and a backrest having a backrest surface. In the seat base and/or in the backrest, sensors are provided that detect forces, pressures and/or movements effected by a person sitting on the vehicle seat and consequently issue a signal. A control device is provided that detects the signals issued by the sensors and actuates actuators provided in the vehicle seat to adjust the seat base and/or backrest, or components thereof, in order to adjust the vehicle seat.