Patent ID: 11884192
Assignee: ZOOX, INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC A  B

Claim 7:
8. A system comprising:
a vehicle seat comprising a controllable deformable material, the controllable deformable material being controllable to change state from a first state to at least a second state and being controllable to change state from at least the second state to the first state by changing a characteristic of the controllable deformable material, the controllable deformable material being more deformable per unit force in the second state than in the first state; and
a control apparatus configured to control the state of the controllable deformable material of the vehicle seat, the control apparatus comprising one or more processors and a control element in proximity to the controllable deformable material, the one or more processors being configured to generate a signal to cause the control element in proximity to the controllable deformable material to change the characteristic of the controllable deformable material and thereby change the state of the controllable deformable material,
wherein the control element in proximity to the controllable deformable material comprises one or more of: (i) a light source configured to apply a light intensity to the controllable deformable material, (ii) a temperature source configured to control a temperature of the controllable deformable material, or (iii) a source of electrical current to cause a current to flow through the controllable deformable material, and
wherein the control apparatus is configured to: (i) cause the control element in proximity to the controllable deformable material to cause at least one of the light intensity, the temperature or the current to increase and thereby to cause the controllable deformable material to change to the second state; and (ii) cause the control element in proximity to the controllable deformable material to cause at least one of the light intensity, the temperature or the current to decrease and thereby to cause the controllable deformable material to change to the first state.