Ergonomic Car Seat Designs - Assignment Example

Ergonomic Car Seat Designs Name Institution Course Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 4 A seat is a critical component of an automobile as it acts as the interface between the passenger or driver and the car. Car seat also forms the most important engineering work in vehicle design and manufacturing. Therefore, as highlighted in this report, it is very important that a car be fitted with seats that provide comfort, safety, quality and durability as these forms the core elements of car ergonomics. A poorly designed car cause discomfort and stress to the driver or the passenger and can result in safety issues. This report investigated explored the researches on ergonomic car seat designs that have been conducted in the past. The report began by highlighting the functions of a car seat and proceeded to describe the critical parts of a car seat, as well as the parameters affecting the design of a car seat with a focus on the ergonomic parameters. 4 Introduction 5 A seat is a critical component of an automobile as it acts as the interface between the passenger or driver and the car. As such, it is very important that a car is fitted with seats that provide comfort, safety, quality and durability, which are some of the elements of car ergonomics. A poorly designed car cause discomfort and stress to the driver or the passenger and can result in safety issues (Jin 2011, p. 4). It is for this reasons that seat development usually accounts for one of the most cost-intensive engineering operations in the entire car manufacturing and is an area of intense focus by car manufacturers. Since the first car seat was designed in the 19th century, a lot of improvements have been made in car seat designs following the technological advancements and the changing needs of consumers. Chen et al. (2014, p. 92) note that seat design has become a critical factor that consumers take into consideration when choosing the car to buy. In this respect, consumers tend to go for cars that have the seats which the design features that meet their needs in terms of comfort, safety, durability, quality, esthetics and performance (Srivastava & Anand 2015, p. 4). Therefore, when designing a car seat, it has become increasingly necessary for the engineers to ensure that the car seats are the best in terms of performance. This report begins by describing the function of a car seat and proceeds to highlight the parameters affecting car seat design with a focus on ergonometric parameters. The report will then explore three previous ergonomic car seat designs types of research and highlighting their advantages. 5 This car seat design has a number of advantages that make it suit today's cars. First, the seat cushions are connected properly, and this ensures that stability is maintained such that the occupant does not move about in the vehicle. Accordingly, this ensures comfort and safety of the driver and the vehicle occupants. The padding system is also made of materials that not only provide comfort but also minimizes shock and body vibration (Jin 2011, p. 24). This effectively minimizes interference to the head, limb and trunk movement. Additionally, the fact that the seat is adjustable to desired height ensures that the driver can adjust the seat to a position that allows for proper visibility. 11 Conclusion 11 The car seat is certainly one of the most important parts of an automotive. As indicated in the discussion, the seat forms an integral part of the vehicle and must be properly designed. A good car seat should be designed in a manner that fulfills the ergonomic parameters that include comfort, security, durability, user-friendly and durability among others. Since the first automobile was invented in the 19th century, the seat part of the vehicles has undergone many changes in a bid to make them meet the needs of the present times and in line with the technological developments. The report has highlighted three ergonomic car seat design types of research that have been conducted in the past that seeks to find the best car seat design for drivers and occupants. It emerged from the three researches that a properly designed car seat should ensure comfort, provide stability, ensure occupant safety, as well as protect the driver from vibration. 11 References 12 Executive Summary A seat is a critical component of an automobile as it acts as the interface between the passenger or driver and the car. Car seat also forms the most important engineering work in vehicle design and manufacturing. Therefore, as highlighted in this report, it is very important that a car be fitted with seats that provide comfort, safety, quality and durability as these forms the core elements of car ergonomics. A poorly designed car cause discomfort and stress to the driver or the passenger and can result in safety issues. This report investigated explored the researches on ergonomic car seat designs that have been conducted in the past. The report began by highlighting the functions of a car seat and proceeded to describe the critical parts of a car seat, as well as the parameters affecting the design of a car seat with a focus on the ergonomic parameters. Introduction A seat is a critical component of an automobile as it acts as the interface between the passenger or driver and the car. As such, it is very important that a car is fitted with seats that provide comfort, safety, quality and durability, which are some of the elements of car ergonomics. A poorly designed car cause discomfort and stress to the driver or the passenger and can result in safety issues (Jin 2011, p. 4). It is for this reasons that seat development usually accounts for one of the most cost-intensive engineering operations in the entire car manufacturing and is an area of intense focus by car manufacturers. Since the first car seat was designed in the 19th century, a lot of improvements have been made in car seat designs following the technological advancements and the changing needs of consumers. Chen et al. (2014, p. 92) note that seat design has become a critical factor that consumers take into consideration when choosing the car to buy. In this respect, consumers tend to go for cars that have the seats which the design features that meet their needs in terms of comfort, safety, durability, quality, esthetics and performance (Srivastava & Anand 2015, p. 4). Therefore, when designing a car seat, it has become increasingly necessary for the engineers to ensure that the car seats are the best in terms of performance. This report begins by describing the function of a car seat and proceeds to highlight the parameters affecting car seat design with a focus on ergonometric parameters. The report will then explore three previous ergonomic car seat designs types of research and highlighting their advantages. Functions of a Car Seat A car seat is regarded as one of the most important components of the vehicle. A good vehicle must have seats that provide the driver and the passengers with comfort, safety and must be durable enough to ensure that they last. This, therefore, means that engineers must ensure that the vehicle seats and properly are designed; otherwise, they might cause stress and strain to the occupants as well as pose safety risks (Srivastava & Anand 2015, p. 6). A car seat performs four main functions that must be taken into consideration when designing an automotive seat. The first main function provided by car seat is support of the occupant. A good automotive sea is that which is able to keep the occupant into stable position for a long time. This implies that the seat need not be that, which creates instability by moving the occupant now and then as this not only creates discomfort, but also pose safety risks to the driver and the passengers. Second, a car seat is meant to position the occupant in the car (Jin 2011, p. 14). The position occupied by a driver or passenger in a car is an important factor that must be considered by engineers when designing the car seats. This is attributed to the fact that the position of the occupant ensures the comfort and the safety of the person. Additionally, automotive seat performance the function of ensuring the comfort of the occupants. A vehicle is a structure that is designed to ensure that both the driver and the occupants ride safely and this is ensured when the seats are well designed and properly fitted. Lastly, automotive seats are meant to protect the occupant (Chen et al. 2014, p. 93). A well-designed car seat should be able to protect the occupants in the event of accidents. This implies that a car seat should be designed with safety features being taken into consideration so as to ensure that the occupants are well protected in the event of accidents. Part of a Car Seat A typical car seat, be it driver or passenger seat consist of a number of parts namely the anchorage, seat cushion, seat back, seat adjustment, head restraint, suspension, and trim. The anchorage is the space at which the driver's seat is mounted. The seat cushion otherwise called the padding is the part of the seat, where the diver sits. The padding is soft and is made of materials, such as PU foam of different stiffness. The cushion is made of soft materials to ensure the comfort of the occupants of the vehicle (Hanumant & Dhamejani 2015, p. 447). The seat back is the vertical part of the seat that supports the lumber, head, and shoulder. The angle of the seat back of most vehicles is adjustable with the help of back reclining mechanism. Seat adjustments are the part of the car seat that includes aft, fore, height and back reclining adjustment system that is used for adjusting the aft, fore, and height. The head restraint is the part of the seat that is mounted on the seat back mainly to support the head and to prevent backward displacement. Suspension, however, refers to the part of the car seat that is used to soothe the vibrations from the road. Lastly, trim is the outermost part of the seat, made mainly from clothes or leather. These parts of the car seats for critical elements of car seat ergonomics and are found in most of the modern day automotive seats. Parameters Affecting the Design of a Car Seat When designing an automotive car seat, there are a variety of parameters that engineers must take into account. The parameters include ergonomic related factors, the weight of the seat and esthetics (Hanumant & Dhamejani 2015, p. 448). Ergonometric Related Parameters Ergonometric refer to an engineering design branch that requires that, when developing a car seat for drivers and passengers, engineers must ensure that the design that they come up with is that which suits to people that are going to use it (Hanumant & Dhamejani 2015, p. 448). This implies that the seat design should provide comfort to the driver and occupants ensure not stress as well as maintain good health of the driver and the passengers. Therefore, ergonomics forms an integral part of engineering design, manufacturing, and use of the developed products. Comfort is one of the major elements of ergonomic. In this regard, the car seat needs to provide the driver and the occupants with the comfort throughout the journey. Comfort, in this case, means relief, enjoyment, stability and encouragement. Chen et al. (2014, p. 94) noted that comfort depends on a number of things that include pressure distribution over the car seat, the vibration of the body, thermal comfort and geometry. At the same time, to enhance the comfort of the car occupants and their health, there is a need to ensure that there is a uniform distribution of pressure along the body of the driver and the occupants when designing a seat. The distribution of pressure in the body is determined by the kind of material used in cushions, such as deflection, stiffness and cushion design (Hanumant & Dhamejani 2015, p. 449). At the same time, pressure distribution is affected by the nature of loading, backrest design and seat pan design. As such, these areas must be factored in when designing a car seat to ensure uniform pressure distribution for the comfort and the good health of the driver and passengers. Additionally, thermal comfort is another element of ergonomic that must be factored in when designing a good car seat. When a vehicle is in motion, a lot of heat is produced that might affect the health and wellbeing of the vehicle occupants. For this reason, it is important that engineers design seats with cushion materials that are capable of absorbing excess heat from the driver and the occupant's bodies as this ensure the maintenance of health of the vehicle occupants. Hanumant and Dhamejani (2015, p. 450) suggested that the excess heat can be absorbed and maintained within control using different kinds of seat covers and this depends on the seasons, such as whether it is summer or winter. Lastly, vibration is another ergonomic parameter that forms a critical factor that engineers consider when developing a car seat. The surface of the road is never uniform as some surfaces are ragged and have potholes while some are not constructed properly (Chen et al. 2014, p. 95). Therefore, when driving on such rough surfaces, a lot of vibration occurs at the seat of the driver and occupants. When vibration is too much, this might distract the driver and cause accidents. For this reason, engineers are expected to design the seats in such as manner that minimizes the vibrations to the lowest level possible so as to ensure that very little vibration is transferred to the driver. Car Seat Designs Researches Car Seat Design Research I The importance of having comfortable, safe and durable car seats have resulted in a number of ergonomic research seeking to understand how best to develop a high performing automotive car seat. One such ergonomic car seat research was conducted in China by Lai (2001, p. 2) that investigated the ergonomic child safety seating design to minimize neck injuries in the event of a car collision. This car seat research was prompted by data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report that found that more than 600 children perish on the roads every year due to car accidents while at least 250 kids lack the safety protection devices to protect them from injuries during accidents (Lai 2001, p. 2). The study used two standard child safety seats designed by popular local manufacturers for comparison with the newly designed safety seats. The new child safety seat had certain design characteristics. First, the child safety seat was fitted with belt fitted on the side of the seat to ensure the stability of the seat upon the collision of the car. The designers of the seat added two spring cushions beneath the frontal side of the new child safety seat. The spring cushions were meant to store the impact energy when the car crashes (Lai 2001, p. 4). The seat was also fitted with a buffering device placed at the back-rest purposely to absorb the spring back energy during car collision as well as to minimize the movement of the neck upon collision. The researchers performed three collision tests with the experiment divided into two main parts namely the experiment part and the contrast part. In the experiment part, the researchers used safety seat fitted with new cushion designs (Marek et al. 2012, p. 255). However, the first contrast part though used a similar safety seat; there were no cushion designs used. The second contrast part used the original safety seat design developed by the manufacturer. The experiment was recorded using high-speed motion cameras. The researchers found that the use of cushions on child safety seats is helped minimize head and chest injuries during the collision. Accordingly, the advantage of using this kind of a seat deigns is that it helps prevent car occupants from suffering head and chest injuries in the event of a car crash (Srivastava & Anand 2015, p. 4). Currently, hundreds of people die on the roads due to car crashes. However, the number of people that die or becoming maimed by accidents can be minimized by fitting the seats with cushions and fastening them with belts to ensure that the desired stability and movement is kept on a check during collisions. Car Seat Design Research II In another research, Nilsson and Wolstedt (2012, p. 2) conducted research that sought to develop a safe and comfortable forward facing booster seat for a child. For purposes of this research, the researchers came up with an adjustable car seat design measuring 100mm in length and 100mm in height. The seat is adjustable so as to ensure that it accommodates the body size of a child at different ages from 3-9 years. Unlike in the today's seats where the child's bottom stays intact throughout the age range in order to allow the child's head to change position, this new concept deviated from this practice as it implemented an opposite seat system in which the head of the child was maintained in the same position in the entire age range while the bottom was adjusted. ‘Step Safety' seat was also introduced in which the seat was fitted with belts to hold the child in position when the car is in motion or case of an accident (Nilsson & Wolstedt 2012, p. 3). Because the stability of a child is important, the seat was equipped with a footrest which can be adjusted easily to the desirable length. As a child grows, there is a need to adjust the seat. In this regard, the researchers came up with a concept in which the cushion of the seats is moved diagonally to accommodate the length of the back while the thigh length is also adjusted. To adjust the cushion to the right position, a handle was introduced at the front of the seat cushion, which can be pulled and slide up and down, effectively adjusting the cushion (More & Bindu 2015, p. 96). Additionally, to enhance the security of the seat, the seat is fitted with Isofix claws. However, in the event that the seat is not in use, its backrest is folded and stored. This kind of ‘Step safety' car seat has many advantages that make the child seat of this design ideal for today's cars. First, the fact that the seat is adjustable is advantageous in the sense that it ensures that it can accommodate any child as the child grows. This implies that there is no need to keep buying new child seats every year as the child grows as the seat is designed with features that allow for adjustment without interfering with the safety and the comfort of the child at different age range. Secondly, the fact that the head of the child is kept in the same position by this seat design for the entire age range as the bottom is adjusted is beneficial in the sense that it provides children with a better view (Srivastava & Anand 2015, p. 7). Besides, this new seat design is good as it has been demonstrated that it optimizes the safety system of the car for the entire age range. Moreover, because this seat keeps the occupant's head further up, this allows to the occupant to benefit from the vehicle's inflatable curtain in the event of crashes (More & Bindu 2015, p. 98). Additionally, this seat design is beneficial in the sense that the adjustable footrest helps minimize pressure on the back of the occupant's thighs, which can interfere with the circulation of blood in the body and cause discomfort. This, therefore, means that the seat provides comfort, which is a critical element of seat ergonomics. Further, the seat design is good and advantageous at it ensures the safety of the occupant even in the event of a car crash. This is particularly so because the seat is equipped with Isofix claws that ensure that the seat does not move or change position during car accidents (Marek et al. 2012, p. 259). The Isofix claws also ensure the stability of the seat, which makes this kind of a seat not only comfortable but also secure in its position. Car Seat Design Research III Singh, et al. (2013, p. 142) research recommended a new car seat design for a driver that is designed in such a manner that suits all postural angles. Under this new car seat model, the seat lever system is replaced by simply pressing a button. The seat also has an automatic seat adjusting lock system that ensures that the movement of the seat is restricted to the desired position. This car seat has been developed using three components namely the seat cushion, head restraint and seat back. The body of the seat is joined to each other using three joints. One of the joints is used to connect the cushion and its surroundings while the other is used to connect the cushion and the seat back (Singh, et al. 2013, p. 146). The third joint connects the seat back and the head restraint. The reasons the joints are used is to enable the adjustment of the seat back angle and the head restraint angles. Additionally, the joints ensure that the seat cushion if fastened enough to prevent movement. The researchers reveal that the choice of the seat joint is dependent on the seat model. In this ergonomic research, the seat cushion and the seat back are connected by revolute joint to allow the seat to be able to rotate easily. Similarly, another connection is made between the seat back and the head restraint. This car seat design has a number of advantages that make it suit today's cars. First, the seat cushions are connected properly, and this ensures that stability is maintained such that the occupant does not move about in the vehicle. Accordingly, this ensures comfort and safety of the driver and the vehicle occupants. The padding system is also made of materials that not only provide comfort but also minimizes shock and body vibration (Jin 2011, p. 24). This effectively minimizes interference to the head, limb and trunk movement. Additionally, the fact that the seat is adjustable to desired height ensures that the driver can adjust the seat to a position that allows for proper visibility. Conclusion The car seat is certainly one of the most important parts of an automotive. As indicated in the discussion, the seat forms an integral part of the vehicle and must be properly designed. A good car seat should be designed in a manner that fulfills the ergonomic parameters that include comfort, security, durability, user-friendly and durability among others. Since the first automobile was invented in the 19th century, the seat part of the vehicles has undergone many changes in a bid to make them meet the needs of the present times and in line with the technological developments. The report has highlighted three ergonomic car seat design types of research that have been conducted in the past that seeks to find the best car seat design for drivers and occupants. It emerged from the three researches that a properly designed car seat should ensure comfort, provide stability, ensure occupant safety, as well as protect the driver from vibration. References Chen, H. , Chen, H., & Wang, L 2014, “Analysis of vehicle seat and research on structure optimization in front and rear impact,” World Journal of Engineering and Technology, vol. 2, pp. 92-99. Doi: 10.4236/wjet.2014.22010. Hanumant, N. K., & Dhamejani, C. L 2015, “Design parameters of driver seat in an automobile,” International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, vol.4, no. 6, pp. 448-452. Jin, J. X 2011, Research on headrest and wield stripes performance and improvement of a car seat. Jilin University, Changchun. Lai, H 2001, “The ergonomic research and design evaluation of child car safety seating device,” The Graduate Institute of Industrial Design, National Cheng Kung University. No. 1, pp. 1-4. Marek, A., Zek, K., & Ziemiansk, D 2012, “Optimal driver seat suspension for a hybrid model of sitting human body‖,” Journal of Terramechanics, Vol. 49, pp. 255–261. More, U. R., & Bindu, R. S 2015, “Comfort analysis of passenger car vehicle seat,” International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT), vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 95-100. Nilsson, E., & Wolstedt, V 2012, Concept and development of an ergonomic booster seat, Chalmers University of Technology, pp. 1-5. Singh, R., Ahirwar, S. L., & Tiwari, S. K 2013, “Designing of high comfort, reliable and economical driver car seat,” International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 142-148. Srivastava, N., & Anand, A 2015, “A literature review on ergonomics of Indian small auto-vehicles seat design for passenger comfort and safety,” HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR), vol. 15, pp. 1-8. Read More

The seat back is the vertical part of the seat that supports the lumber, head, and shoulder. The angle of the seat back of most vehicles is adjustable with the help of back reclining mechanism. Seat adjustments are the part of the car seat that includes aft, fore, height and back reclining adjustment system that is used for adjusting the aft, fore, and height. The head restraint is the part of the seat that is mounted on the seat back mainly to support the head and to prevent backward displacement.

Suspension, however, refers to the part of the car seat that is used to soothe the vibrations from the road. Lastly, trim is the outermost part of the seat, made mainly from clothes or leather. These parts of the car seats for critical elements of car seat ergonomics and are found in most of the modern day automotive seats. Parameters Affecting the Design of a Car Seat When designing an automotive car seat, there are a variety of parameters that engineers must take into account. The parameters include ergonomic related factors, the weight of the seat and esthetics (Hanumant & Dhamejani 2015, p. 448). Ergonometric Related Parameters Ergonometric refer to an engineering design branch that requires that, when developing a car seat for drivers and passengers, engineers must ensure that the design that they come up with is that which suits to people that are going to use it (Hanumant & Dhamejani 2015, p. 448). This implies that the seat design should provide comfort to the driver and occupants ensure not stress as well as maintain good health of the driver and the passengers.

Therefore, ergonomics forms an integral part of engineering design, manufacturing, and use of the developed products. Comfort is one of the major elements of ergonomic. In this regard, the car seat needs to provide the driver and the occupants with the comfort throughout the journey. Comfort, in this case, means relief, enjoyment, stability and encouragement. Chen et al. (2014, p. 94) noted that comfort depends on a number of things that include pressure distribution over the car seat, the vibration of the body, thermal comfort and geometry.

At the same time, to enhance the comfort of the car occupants and their health, there is a need to ensure that there is a uniform distribution of pressure along the body of the driver and the occupants when designing a seat. The distribution of pressure in the body is determined by the kind of material used in cushions, such as deflection, stiffness and cushion design (Hanumant & Dhamejani 2015, p. 449). At the same time, pressure distribution is affected by the nature of loading, backrest design and seat pan design.

As such, these areas must be factored in when designing a car seat to ensure uniform pressure distribution for the comfort and the good health of the driver and passengers. Additionally, thermal comfort is another element of ergonomic that must be factored in when designing a good car seat. When a vehicle is in motion, a lot of heat is produced that might affect the health and wellbeing of the vehicle occupants. For this reason, it is important that engineers design seats with cushion materials that are capable of absorbing excess heat from the driver and the occupant's bodies as this ensure the maintenance of health of the vehicle occupants.

Hanumant and Dhamejani (2015, p. 450) suggested that the excess heat can be absorbed and maintained within control using different kinds of seat covers and this depends on the seasons, such as whether it is summer or winter. Lastly, vibration is another ergonomic parameter that forms a critical factor that engineers consider when developing a car seat. The surface of the road is never uniform as some surfaces are ragged and have potholes while some are not constructed properly (Chen et al. 2014, p. 95). Therefore, when driving on such rough surfaces, a lot of vibration occurs at the seat of the driver and occupants.

When vibration is too much, this might distract the driver and cause accidents.

Read More