Patent Publication Number: US-2007118259-A1

Title: Vehicle seat

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/724,189 filed on Oct. 6, 2005, and which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
      This invention relates to seats for vehicles, and more specifically to improvements in vehicle seats for enhancing occupant comfort.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Vehicle seats for supporting occupants within an occupant compartment of a vehicle are well known in the art. The typical vehicle seat has a steel frame covered with various padding materials. Inflatable air cells may be used in conjunction with the vehicle seat to provide adjustments to the contour of the seat and thus enhance the comfort of the occupant sitting in the vehicle seat. These inflatable air cells may be pneumatically controlled by the occupant.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In an embodiment, a seat adjustment system for use with a vehicle includes a seat for supporting an occupant, a controller, and an occupant sensing system configured to determine a pressure distribution for an occupant present within the seat. The occupant sensing system is operable to transmit signals to the controller, with the controller operable to adjust the pressure distribution based on occupant preference. The seat may include at least one air-filled bladder, with the controller sending a controller signal to the air-filled bladder to adjust the pressure distribution within the air-filled bladder based upon the amount of air present within the air-filled bladder.  
      The controller signal may be transmitted to the air-filled bladder to adjust the pressure distribution when the vehicle door is opened or closed to facilitate entry and/or egress from the vehicle seat. In another embodiment, the controller signal may be transmitted independent of the vehicle door being opened or closed by using a remote entry device, such as a keyless entry device. In yet another embodiment, the controller signal may be transmitted manually by the occupant through an input device, such as a knob. In such a case, the occupant may change the pressure distribution while sitting in the vehicle seat. In any of the embodiments, the amount of air within the air-filled bladders may be pre-set based upon the occupant&#39;s preferences and stored within the controller so that the occupant does not have to adjust the pressure distribution to the air-filled bladders each time the occupant occupies the vehicle seat.  
      In another embodiment, an improved vehicle seat includes at least one outer bolster and a seat cushion, with the outer bolster configured to decrease in height and the seat cushion configured to increase in height in response to transmission of a controller signal to facilitate entry and/or egress from the vehicle seat. The vehicle seat may further include a controller, a first air-filled bladder disposed within the bolster, and a second air-filled bladder disposed within the seat cushion. To decrease the height of the bladder and increase the height of the seat cushion, the controller adjusts the amount of air within the first and second air-filled bladders. The controller signal may be transmitted independent of whether the vehicle door is opened or closed.  
      The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best modes for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic plan view of a vehicle according to the present invention; and  
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic view of a vehicle seat from the vehicle of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer to like components,  FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of a vehicle shown generally at  10 . The vehicle includes an occupant compartment having a forward portion  12  and a rearward portion  14 . An instrument panel  16  is located in the forward portion  12  of the occupant compartment. A plurality of seats  18   a ,  18   b ,  18   c  and  18   d  are disposed within the occupant compartment for supporting occupants within the occupant compartment. While  FIG. 1  illustrates four seats, it should be noted that any number of seats may be disposed within the occupant compartment. Further, the seats may be arranged as individual seats, as shown, as rows of seats (not shown), or as a combination of individual seats and rows of seats (not shown).  
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic view of a passenger seat  18   b  from the forward portion  12  of the occupant compartment of the vehicle  10  of  FIG. 1 . The seat  18   b  generally includes a head rest  26   b , a seat back  28   b , a seat cushion  30   b , back inner bolster  32   b , back outer bolster  34   b , back inner bolster  35   b  and cushion outer bolster  36   b . The seat back  28   b  and the seat cushion  30   b  each further include an air-filled bladder  40   b  operative as an expandable volume. It should be noted that the occupant sensing system may include air-filled bladders anywhere within or around the seats  18   a - d  as necessary to practice the invention.  
      The back outer bolster  34   b  and the cushion outer bolster  36   b  are disposed on an exit side of the seat  18   b , that is, the side an occupant would use to enter and exit the vehicle. Thus, a driver seat  18   a  (i.e., from  FIG. 1 ) would appear substantially similar to the seat  18   b  shown in  FIG. 2 , but with the inner bolsters on the opposite or inner side of seat  18   a  shown in  FIG. 1  and the back and cushion outer bolsters on the opposite or exit side of the seat  18   a  shown in  FIG. 1 . The seat  18   b  may further include additional bolsters, foot rests, and/or arm rests as known in the art.  
      An occupant sensing system includes sensors  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c  and  20   d  disposed within or around the respective seats  18   a - d  for detecting the presence or absence of an occupant within the respective seats  18   a - d , and preferably for detecting a pressure profile of the occupant. The pressure profile may include the weight and position of an occupant present within the respective seats  18   a - d . It can be appreciated that sensors  20   a - d  may be disposed anywhere within or around the respective seats  18   a - d  as necessary for occupant sensing.  
      The sensors  20   a - d  transmit detected parameters to a controller  22  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The controller  22  analyzes the detected parameters received and sends a controller signal to modify various vehicle conditions in response to the detected parameters as described herein. It should be noted that the occupant sensing system may include sensors anywhere within or around the respective seats  18   a - d  as necessary to practice the invention.  
      The controller  22  adjusts seat comfort based on parameters sensed by the respective sensors  20   a - d  within the respective seats  18   a - d . For example, the sensors  20   b  within seat  18   b  preferably determine the size and weight of an occupant, thereby allowing the controller  22  to determine the pressure distribution of the occupant within the seat  18   b . The sensors  20   b  further detect the pressure in each of the seat portions, i.e. the head rest  26   b , the seat back  28   b , the seat cushion  30   b , the inner bolsters  32   b , the back outer bolster  34   b , the back inner bolster  35   b  and the cushion outer bolster  36   b . Furthermore, the sensors  20   b  may detect localized pressure points within each seat portion. For example, if the occupant has a wallet in a back pocket, the occupant sensing system may detect the increased or different pressure within the seat cushion  30   b  at that location.  
      Sensors  20   b  may allow the occupant to adjust the amount of air in the air-filled bladders  40   b  for seat comfort and to facilitate entry and egress from the vehicle. For instance, the occupant may prefer to adjust the amount of air within air-filled bladder  40   b  of seat cushion  30   b  when entering or exiting the vehicle. Once the occupant has entered the vehicle, he or she may choose to adjust the amount of air in the air-filled bladders  40   b  depending upon the comfort level of the seat  18   b . The sensors  20   b  may also allow the occupant to choose pre-set seat firmness; for example, the occupant could choose between settings such as soft, medium, firm and stiff. Additionally, sensors  20   b  may allow the occupant to choose between different driving styles, i.e., city, sport, and freeway. The controller  22  then adjusts the pressure within the air-filled bladders  40   b  of the various seat portions based on the combination of the occupant&#39;s preferred firmness and/or driving style and the sensed pressure within each seat portion as determined by the occupant sensing system.  
      The various settings may further be storable within the controller and activated by the occupant when desired. Storing the various settings within the controller may allow more than one occupant of the vehicle to store his/her respective desired seat settings. An embodiment for activating the various settings, based upon a condition indicative of ingress or egress from the vehicle, may include an automatic adjustment of the air-filled bladders  40   b  when the vehicle door is opened or closed, or when a key (not shown) is engaged within the vehicle door&#39;s lock (not shown). Opening or closing the vehicle door, or engaging the key, may send a signal to sensors  20   b  via controller  22  to adjust the amount of air in the air-filled bladders  40   b  to facilitate entry or egress from the vehicle. The occupant may program the controller  22  to include pre-determined levels of air in the air-filled bladders  40   b  so that once the vehicle door is opened or closed, or the key is engaged within the lock, the air-filled bladders  40   b  are adjusted according to the occupant&#39;s desired settings. Another embodiment for activating the various settings may include putting a running vehicle into Park, which is typically indicative of the occupant exiting the vehicle.  
      Another embodiment for activating the various settings may include engaging a remote device  42 , such as a keyless-entry device, also commonly known as a key fob. Activating the remote device  42  allows the occupant to adjust the settings for seat  18   b  well in advance of entering the vehicle. In addition, more than one remote device  42  may be associated with the vehicle  10 , thereby allowing for more than one occupant to program controller  22  with pre-determined settings. The controller  22  may be able to determine the appropriate setting based upon the transmission of the particular remote device  42  that is activated or engaged.  
      With reference to  FIG. 2 , a further embodiment for activating the various settings may include engaging an input device  38 , such as a knob, a lever, or the like. Input device  38  allows the occupant to adjust the air in the air-filled bladders  40   b  while occupying the seat  18   b . In such a situation, the occupant may be able to manually adjust the amount of air in the air-filled bladders  40   b  independent of the pre-determined settings for seat  18   b . For instance, seat  18   b  may have already been automatically adjusted when the vehicle door was opened, but the occupant may want to further adjust the seat cushion  30   b  after occupying the vehicle seat. Engaging input device  38  may allow the occupant to fine tune the seat  18   b  to maximize seat comfort.  
      In another embodiment, the back outer bolster  34   b  and/or the cushion outer bolster  36   b  are configured to automatically adjust to an optimal position for ingress and egress. Additionally, the seat cushion  30   b  may also adjust in conjunction with the bolsters  34   b ,  36   b . Preferably, the height of the outer bolsters  34   b ,  36   b  decreases, while the height of the seat cushion  30   b  increases prior to the occupant entering or exiting the vehicle. For example, the bolsters  34   b ,  36   b  and the seat cushion  30   b  may include air-filled bladders, with the controller  22  adjusting the amount of air within the air-filled bladders to flatten the bolsters  34   b ,  36   b  and raise the seat cushion  30   b . In addition to flattening, the outer bolsters  34   b ,  36   b  may roll downward to further facilitate entry and egress.  FIG. 2  illustrates two positions for outer bolster  36   b , with the solid line indicating outer bolster  36   b  in an inflated position to optimize seat comfort, and the phantom line indicating outer bolster  36   b  in a deflated position to assist in ingress and egress from within the vehicle seat.  
      Adjustment may be tied to occupant preference, i.e., the amount of flattening and/or raising may be selected by a seat occupant, as by turning knob  38  or pre-entering the desired levels of air adjustment. Adjustment may be initiated when a vehicle door is opened, thereby signifying entry or egress is likely to occur, and/or may utilized in a seat which also moves fully rearward to facilitate entry and egress to and from the vehicle.  
      While the features of the present invention have been shown with respect to seat  18   b , it should be appreciated that the respective outer bolsters and the seat cushion of any of the seats  18   a - d  could be configured to automatically adjust under certain conditions to facilitate entry and/or egress. Further, it should be noted that while the invention has been described with respect to seat  18   b , any of the seats  18   a - d  can utilize these features within the scope of the present invention.  
      While the best mode for carrying out the invention has been described in detail, it is to be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words and description rather than of limitation. Those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize that many modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced in a substantially equivalent way other than as specifically described herein.