Seat test body

• US 6,009,750 A
• Filed: 05/18/1998
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Daimler Chrysler Company LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Daimler Chrysler Company LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Polifke, Norbert, Maurer, Ute, Pfahler, Karl, Faust, Eberhard
• Primary Examiner(s): OEN, WILLIAM L
• Application Number:
  US09/080,231
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 73/172, 73/767, 73/768, 73/862.043, 73/862.542, 73/862.621, 73/862.623, 73/865.6, 73/865.8, 73/866.4, 434/267, 434/270
• US Class Current: 73/172
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/90 Details or parts not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/001 Testing of furniture, e.g. seats or mattresses

Abstract

A seat test body is provided for vibration measurements. In order to be able to obtain, during vibration measurements in the whole spectral range, measuring results which can be compared at least qualitatively with corresponding test person measurements, the buttocks imitation and the back imitation of the seat test body are each formed by padded hard parts. The hard parts of the buttocks imitation and those of the back imitation imitate true to life the corresponding bone structure of a human skeleton at least with respect to the portion of the skeleton which is loaded during sitting. With respect to the layer thickness, the softness, the elasticity and the damping behavior as well as the local distribution of these parameters, the padding of the hard parts anthropomorphically imitates the soft parts in the buttocks area and the back area. For achieving the required sitting weight of the seat test body, a passive ballast in the form of several weights is placed on the interior side into the buttocks imitation and/or is placed on shelf-type consoles on the interior side of the back imitation. Relative to the buttocks imitation, the back imitation is disposed to be swivellable within a limited angular space about the hip joint point and is elastically prestressed in the sense of a stretched position of the back part and the buttocks part.

Claims

1. A seat test body for vibration measurements on seats, comprising:

a buttocks imitation to be placed on a seat cushion of a seat to be tested and which points downward in a testing position,

a back imitation coupled with the buttocks imitation and which is to be leaned against a backrest cushion of the seat to be tested in the testing position, and

passive ballast in the form of several weights placed on at least one of an interior side of the buttocks imitation and an interior side of the back imitation,

said seat test body having a weight and mass distribution corresponding approximately to the weight and mass distribution of a sitting person,

the buttocks imitation and the back imitation each being formed hard parts and padding,

the hard parts of the buttocks imitation simulating a pelvic bone, thighs, and hip joints of a human skeleton at least with respect to the underside of the skeleton which would be loaded while sitting, the hip joints being fixable to immobility under a test load,

the hard parts of the back imitation simulating the lordotic area of a pelvic bone, a spinal column, and a back side of a chest cage including a shoulder blade region, of the human skeleton,

the padding of the hard parts of the buttocks imitation anthropomorphically imitating the soft parts of a human buttocks area, including muscle tissue, connective tissue and fatty tissue, and the two sitting pressure points of the human buttocks, with respect to the parameters of shape, position, hardness, hardness distribution, layer thickness, softness, elasticity, damping behavior, imitating the hard parts and the soft parts of the human skeleton as close to life as possible.

2. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the weights of the passive ballast are arranged distributed within the seat test body such that the whole pressure by load in the contact surface between the buttocks imitation and the seat cushion and the local sitting pressure distribution correspond to the pressure by load and the sitting pressure distribution of an actual test person sitting in the seat.

3. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the weights of the passive ballast are arranged distributed within the seat test body such that at least one of an approximately identical point of gravity and an approximately identically large inertia moment about an axis on the seat test body is obtained which is situated at least in parallel to the hip joint.

4. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the thigh imitations are formed to a knee joint, the buttocks part being supported on a floor via lower leg and foot imitations which are movably coupled in the knee joint area and which are movable.

5. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the back imitation of the seat test body is disposed to be swivellable relative to the buttocks imitation within a limited angular space about the axis and is elastically prestressed in a stretched position of the back imitation and the buttocks imitation.

6. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the weights of the passive ballast are formed by metallic weight pieces or bags of at least one of sand, metal shot, and liquid.

7. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the weights of the passive ballast are placed loosely on nets or fabric webs stretched out approximately horizontally within the seat test body.

8. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the padding of at least one of the buttocks imitation and the back imitation is formed by several elastic foamed material layers.

9. A seat test body according to claim 8, wherein the foamed material layers which are closer to the hard parts and have a larger surface are constructed to be thicker than the foamed material layers which are situated farther to the outside and have smaller surfaces.

10. A seat test body according to claim 8, wherein the several elastic foamed material layers have varying volume weights and elasticities, the foamed material layers which are closer to the hard parts being constructed to be specifically lighter and softer than the foamed material layers situated farther to the outside.

11. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the padding of the hard parts of at least one of the buttocks imitation and the back imitation is covered with a soft leather covering which, has a flexibility similar to human skin.

12. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the padding of the hard parts of at least one of the buttocks imitation and the back imitation is covered by a trouser-type fabric.

13. A seat test body according to claim 1, wherein the hip joints allow a position change of the thigh imitations relative to the pelvic bone imitations such that all relative positions between the thigh bones and the pelvis of a sitting person can be simulated and fixed, due to an inherent elasticity and an elastic coupling therebetween, the padding being capable of following said position changes between the thigh bone imitations and the pelvis imitation.

14. A method of vibration testing a seat, using the seat test body of claim 1.

15. An anthropomorphically correct seat test body for vibration measurements on seats, comprising:

a buttocks imitation to be placed on a seat cushion of a seat to be tested, said buttocks imitation including hard parts anthropomorphically simulating a human pelvic bone with hip sockets and anthropomorphically simulating human thigh bones coupled to said hip sockets, and soft parts coupled to said hard parts, said soft parts simulating muscle tissue, connective tissue and fatty tissue of a human buttocks; and

a back imitation coupled with the buttocks imitation, said back imitation to be leaned against a backrest cushion of the seat to be tested.

16. A seat test body according to claim 15, wherein said seat test body has a weight and mass distribution corresponding approximately to the weight and mass distribution of an actual sitting person.