Adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat
First Claim
1. A method for mitigating injury to an occupant of a vehicle seat during a vehicle shock event, using a system comprising a variable profile energy absorber operatively connected to the vehicle and to the vehicle seat, a plurality of sensors, and a controller that determines an occurrence of a vehicle shock event and controls said variable profile energy absorber to reduce shock loads transferred to the occupant of the vehicle seat, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. determining a weight of said occupant of said vehicle;
b. determining an injury threshold level for a specific body part of the occupant of the vehicle based on an acceptable load limit for said body part and said determined weight;
c. receiving one or more measurements indicating occurrence of a first severe shock event from one or more of said plurality of sensors at said controller;
d. maintaining injurious loads transferred to said occupant of said vehicle below said injury threshold level by said controller adjusting a load-stroke profile of said adaptive energy absorber in real-time via a control signal.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat that functions in dual-modes, including a primary mode during severe (shock event) operation and a secondary mode during normal (non-shock event) operation. When operating in primary mode, the present system automatically adjusts a VPEA in real-time to keep loads transmitted to the occupant'"'"'s body below acceptable injury threshold levels, and can recover to perform said function for multiple shock events. When operating in secondary mode the system reduces vehicle vibration transmitted to the occupant, thereby reducing fatigue and increasing situational awareness.
8 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A method for mitigating injury to an occupant of a vehicle seat during a vehicle shock event, using a system comprising a variable profile energy absorber operatively connected to the vehicle and to the vehicle seat, a plurality of sensors, and a controller that determines an occurrence of a vehicle shock event and controls said variable profile energy absorber to reduce shock loads transferred to the occupant of the vehicle seat, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. determining a weight of said occupant of said vehicle; b. determining an injury threshold level for a specific body part of the occupant of the vehicle based on an acceptable load limit for said body part and said determined weight; c. receiving one or more measurements indicating occurrence of a first severe shock event from one or more of said plurality of sensors at said controller; d. maintaining injurious loads transferred to said occupant of said vehicle below said injury threshold level by said controller adjusting a load-stroke profile of said adaptive energy absorber in real-time via a control signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 44, 46, 47)
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4. A method for reducing vibration and for mitigating injury to an occupant of a vehicle seat during vehicle shock events, using a system comprising a variable profile energy absorber operatively connected to the vehicle and to the vehicle seat, a spring element having a natural resonant frequency operatively connected to a vehicle and to the vehicle seat to maintain vibration of said vehicle seat at said resonant frequency, a plurality of sensors, and a controller that controls said variable profile energy absorber, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving measurements from said plurality of sensors at said controller; said controller monitoring said measurements for occurrence of a severe shock event; operating said controller in a first mode in absence of any severe shock event to adjust a load-stroke profile of said adaptive energy absorber in real time to damp the resonant vibration of said vehicle seat established by said spring element; and operating said controller in a second mode upon detection of a severe shock event to adjust a load-stroke profile of said adaptive energy absorber in real time to reduce injurious loads transferred to said occupant of said vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat for mitigating vibration and low-level shock pulses experienced by an occupant of the vehicle seat during normal vehicle operation, and for mitigating injury to the occupant during one or more high-level shock events, the system comprising:
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a. an energy absorber operatively connected to the vehicle and to the vehicle seat; b. a spring element having a natural resonance operatively connected to the vehicle and to the vehicle seat; c. a plurality of sensors; and d. a controller executing software including a first software module for operating in a vibration control mode until at least one measurement received from one of said plurality of sensors exceeds a predetermined threshold value indicating an occurrence of a severe vehicle shock event, and a second software module for operating in a shock event mode, e. wherein, in the first mode, the controller adjusts the energy absorber in real-time via a control signal to offset vibration-induced resonance of said spring element to provide vibration isolation and reduce vibration of the vehicle seat; and f. wherein, in the second mode, the controller adjusts in real-time, via a control signal, the variable profile energy absorber, to minimize the shock event force transmitted to the vehicle occupant. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 48, 49)
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15. An adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat for mitigating vibration experienced by an occupant of the vehicle seat during normal vehicle operation, and for mitigating injury to the occupant during a vehicle shock event, the system comprising:
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an energy absorber operatively connected to the vehicle and to the vehicle seat; a spring element operatively connected to the vehicle and to the vehicle seat; a plurality of sensors; and a controller in communication with said plurality of sensors, said controller determining a load injury threshold for a part of the occupant'"'"'s body, and operating in a first mode to adjust the energy absorber in real-time via a control signal to reduce resonance of the vehicle seat, until at least one measurement received from at least one sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value indicating an occurrence of a vehicle shock event, at which time the controller switches to a second mode for maintaining an actual load experienced by the occupant'"'"'s body part at or below the determined load injury threshold during the vehicle shock event. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for reducing vibration and mitigating injury to an occupant of a vehicle seat during vehicle shock events, using a system comprising a variable profile energy absorber operatively connected to a vehicle and to the vehicle seat, a plurality of sensors, and a controller in communication with said plurality of sensors and said variable profile energy absorber and running software for controlling the variable profile energy absorber, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving at said controller a measurement from at least one of said plurality of sensors; comparing said measurement to a predetermined threshold at said controller to determine whether said measurement indicates a severe shock event; when said comparing step indicates no severe shock event, operating said controller in a first mode of operation adapted to adjust said adaptive energy absorber in real time to minimize vibration of said vehicle seat by damping harmonic vibration thereof; and when said comparing step indicates a severe shock event, operating said controller in a second mode of operation by which said controller adjusts a load/stroke profile of said variable profile energy absorber during said shock event to minimize severity of force transmitted to said vehicle occupant. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification