Seat assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12065066-B2
Application number	US-202318137718-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2023
Priority date	Dec 2, 2020
Publication date	Aug 20, 2024
Grant date	Aug 20, 2024

Abstract

A seat assembly may include a seat, a seat actuator, a sensor assembly, and an electrical control unit (ECU). The seat actuator may be configured to adjust the seat. The sensor assembly may be connected to the seat and may be configured to detect a pressure applied to the seat. The ECU may be operatively connected to the seat actuator and the sensor assembly. The ECU may be configured to reduce soft tissue stress in soft tissue of a user via adjusting the seat with the seat actuator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A seat assembly, comprising:
a seat including a plurality of bolsters, the plurality of bolsters including a first bolster and a second bolster;
a bladder assembly including a plurality of bladders, the plurality of bladders including a first bolster bladder associated with the first bolster and a second bolster bladder associated with the second bolster;
a sensor assembly connected to the seat, the sensor assembly detecting pressure applied to the seat;
a seat actuator; and
an electrical control unit (ECU) operatively connected to the seat actuator and the sensor assembly;
wherein the ECU reduces soft tissue stress in soft tissue of a user of the seat via adjusting the seat with the seat actuator;
wherein adjusting the seat with the seat actuator includes operating the seat actuator to adjust an inflation level of at least one of the first bolster bladder and the second bolster bladder to adjust an amount of lateral force applied to said user to reduce lateral bulging of said soft tissue;
wherein the sensor assembly detects a plurality of characteristics of said user;
wherein the ECU generates a model for at least one portion of a body of said user based on the plurality of characteristics of said user;
wherein the ECU identifies one or more capillaries of said user that are at least partially closed via utilizing the model; and
wherein adjusting the seat with the seat actuator includes adjusting the seat to facilitate opening of the one or more capillaries.

2. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the ECU reduces said soft tissue stress via actuating the seat actuator to adjust an inclination angle defined between a seat base and a seat back of the seat.

3. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the seat has a plurality of regions; and
the ECU determines an expected composition of said soft tissue of said user associated with the plurality of regions of the seat based on the model.

4. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the ECU generates the model for the at least one portion of the body of said user utilizing an Ogden model for said soft tissue.

5. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the ECU determines at least one of a second-Piola-Kirchoff stress and a Green Lagrange strain when generating the model for the at least one portion of the body of said user.

6. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the model includes information or data pertaining to bone, muscle, fat, and skin tissue of said user.

7. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the seat has a plurality of regions;
the sensor assembly includes a pressure sensor array that detects a respective localized pressure of the plurality of regions;
the ECU compares the respective localized pressure of a region of the plurality of regions to a pressure threshold; and
if the respective localized pressure exceeds the pressure threshold, the ECU reduces said soft tissue stress of said soft tissue in the region.

8. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the seat has a plurality of regions; and
the ECU determines an expected composition of said soft tissue of said user associated with the plurality of regions of the seat based on the plurality of characteristics of said user.

9. The seat assembly of claim 8 , wherein:
the sensor assembly includes a pressure sensor array that detects a respective localized pressure of the plurality of regions;
the ECU compares the respective localized pressure of the plurality of regions to a respective pressure threshold; and
the respective pressure threshold of each respective region corresponds to the expected composition of said soft tissue associated with the respective region.

10. The seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the seat includes a seat base and a seat back connected to the seat base;
the pressure includes a plurality of first localized pressures of the seat base and a plurality of second localized pressures of the seat back;
the plurality of bolsters includes a first back bolster and a second back bolster;
the first bolster and the second bolster are connected to opposite sides of the seat base;
the first back bolster and the second back bolster are connected to opposite sides of the seat back;
the sensor assembly includes (i) a first pressure sensor array that is connected to the seat base and detects the plurality of first localized pressures, and (ii) a second pressure sensor array that is connected to the seat back and detects the plurality of second localized pressures;
the bladder assembly includes a first back-bolster bladder associated with the first back bolster and a second back-bolster bladder associated with the second back bolster;
the ECU compares one or more of the first and second localized pressures to a pressure threshold; and
the ECU adjusts the seat and reduces said soft tissue stress via actuating the seat actuator to adjust a position of at least one bolster of the plurality of bolsters to adjust said amount of lateral force applied to said user by the plurality of bolsters to reduce said lateral bulging of said soft tissue.

11. A seat assembly, comprising:
a seat;
a seat actuator;
a sensor assembly connected to the seat, the sensor assembly detecting pressure applied to the seat; and
an electrical control unit (ECU) operatively connected to the seat actuator and the sensor assembly;
wherein the ECU:
generates a plurality of pressure distribution maps of respective localized pressure of a plurality of regions of the seat at different points in time during a period of time;
detects a peak pressure area in at least some of the plurality of pressure distribution maps;
assembles the plurality of pressure distribution maps into a pressure distribution stack;
tracks the detected peak pressure area over the pressure distribution stack and analyzes changes in the detected peak pressure area; and
reduces soft tissue stress in soft tissue of a user of the seat via adjusting the seat with the seat actuator to reduce the respective localized pressure in the detected peak pressure area.

12. The seat assembly of claim 11 , wherein:
the ECU compares the respective localized pressure of a region of the plurality of regions to a pressure threshold; and
if the respective localized pressure exceeds the pressure threshold, the ECU reduces said soft tissue stress of said soft tissue in the region.

13. The seat assembly of claim 11 , wherein the ECU reduces said soft tissue stress via actuating the seat actuator to adjust at least one of:
an inclination angle defined between a seat base and a seat back of the seat;
a position of at least one bolster of the seat; and
an inflation level of at least one bladder of the seat.

14. The seat assembly of claim 11 , wherein:
the sensor assembly detects a plurality of characteristics of said user; and
the ECU determines an expected composition of said soft tissue of said user associated with the plurality of regions of the seat based on the plurality of characteristics of said user.

15. The seat assembly of claim 14 , wherein:
the ECU compares the respective localized pressure of the plurality of regions to a respective pressure threshold; and
the respective pressure threshold of each respective region corresponds to the expected composition of said soft tissue associated with the respective region.

16. The seat assembly of claim 11 , wherein:
the sensor assembly detects a plurality of characteristics of said user;
the ECU generates a model for at least one portion of a body of said user based on the plurality of characteristics of said user; and

Assignees

• Lear Corp

Inventors

• Migneco Francesco
• Arabnejad Sajad

Classifications

• B60N2210/44

  using fluids · CPC title

• B60N2220/20

  using a deterministic algorithm · CPC title

• B60N2/0273

  taking into account user data, e.g. knee height or physical state · CPC title

• B60N2/99

  adjustable · CPC title

• B60N2/026

  varying hardness or support of upholstery, e.g. for tuning seat comfort when driving curved roads · CPC title