A motion sickness mitigation method for the purposes of mitigating motion sickness of a vehicle occupant travelling in a motor vehicle includes moving at least a portion of a backrest, a portion of a seat squab, a portion of a head restraint, a portion of an armrest and/or a portion of a footrest as a function of a detected and/or an anticipated driving situation of the motor vehicle, in each case proceeding from a starting position in at least one spatial direction. The movement is situational on the basis of an actual or anticipated trajectory of the motor vehicle.

A vehicle seat includes a lock-to-neutral-position mechanism that locks a seat cushion at a neutral position, and an immediate lock mechanism that locks the seat cushion immediately at a current position when locking is required. A steering sensor senses a steering angle and a steering angular velocity. The immediate lock mechanism performs the locking when the steering angle is large, whereas the lock-to-neutral-position mechanism performs the locking when the steering velocity is high. When the steering wheel is at the neutral position, the locking by the immediate lock mechanism is released and the locking is switched over to the lock-to-neutral-position mechanism that is in a lock ready state.

The object of the invention is to provide a vehicle seat which can improve degree of freedom in the design of the vehicle seat. A vehicle seat with a seat cushion and a seat back includes: right and left side frames 20 constituting right and left frames of the seat back; a pressure-receiving member 40 disposed between the right and left side frames 20 and configured to receive a load from an occupant; and a driving mechanism 50 disposed at each of right and left sides of the pressure-receiving member 40 and configured to cause a right end portion or a left end portion of the pressure-receiving member 40 to move from an initial position to an advanced position that is located frontward of the initial position or to move from the advanced position to the initial position, wherein the driving mechanism 50 includes a linkage (drive link member 100 and contact link member 200) configured to be connected to the pressure-receiving member 40 and a driving source 52 configured to actuate the linkage, and wherein the linkage is configured to operate when a load equal to or greater than a predetermined amount is input from the occupant to the pressure-receiving member 40 to cause the pressure-receiving member 40 to move to a backward position that is located rearward of the initial position.

An occupant classification system for a seat assembly. The seat assembly includes a seat cushion and a seat back. The system comprises a plurality of sensors, an algorithm, a posture classifier and a weight classification system. Each of the plurality of sensors measures a force applied to the seat cushion and/or seat back by an occupant of the seat assembly. The algorithm monitors a compensation factor and adjusts the forces measured by the plurality of sensors to compensate for the compensation factor. The posture classifier identifies a posture of the occupant based on distribution of the adjusted forces for each of the plurality of sensors. The weight classification system identifies a weight class of the occupant based on the posture and magnitude of the adjusted forces for each of the plurality of sensors.

A lane departure prevention assist system for a vehicle includes: a tilt angle control unit configured to control a tilt angle of a seat surface with respect to a lateral direction by driving a tilt angle changing device; a lane detection unit configured to detect a lane on a road; and a vehicle position estimation unit configured to estimate a lateral position of the vehicle in the lane. The tilt angle control unit is configured to increase the tilt angle of the seat surface with respect to the lateral direction such that, as the vehicle approaches one lateral end of an own lane, a height of the seat surface on a side near the one lateral end of the own lane becomes greater than the height of the seat surface on a side remote from the one lateral end of the own lane.

Systems and methods described herein relate to improving an actuator for a support system of a seat. In one embodiment, an actuator includes a body that is bi-stable with a coiled state and an uncoiled state. The actuator also includes a strip, coupled to the body, that coils the body according to heat caused by a power source. The actuator also includes a wire coupled to a side of the body opposite from the strip and the wire uncoils the body in response to heating caused by the power source.

An extensively reconfigurable seat design can include a vehicle seat system including: a vehicle seat defining a vehicle occupant accommodating space, the vehicle seat including a seat cushion portion including multiple individually adjustable bladders, where each of the multiple individually adjustable bladders has a connected valve that controls fluid communication with an internal space of the individually adjustable bladder to adjust a pressure level within the internal space of the individually adjustable bladder, and an associated sensor configured to detect the pressure level within the internal space of the individually adjustable bladder. A computer can actively sense and control the pressure levels within the bladders, using the sensors and valves, to provide customization, adaptive, ride-active and intelligent control over a reconfigurable cushion for a vehicle.

System and methods for nullifying one or more of lateral and longitudinal acceleration forces experienced by an occupant of a vehicle in a seated or standing position while the vehicle is traveling along a travel plane, including: a chassis structure; an occupant cell one of coupled to and defined by the chassis structure; and one or more of a seat assembly configured to receive the occupant in a seated position and a standing platform assembly configured to receive the occupant in a standing position disposed within the occupant cell; wherein the one or more of the seat assembly and the standing platform assembly is/are configured to pivot one or more of: laterally at a longitudinal pivot point with respect to the chassis and travel plane; and longitudinally at a transverse pivot point with respect to the chassis and travel plane.

A vehicle seat can be configured to selectively provide support to a vehicle occupant in conditions when lateral acceleration is experienced. An actuator can be located within the vehicle seat. When activated, the actuator cause a portion of the seat to morph into an activated configuration. The actuator can be activated based on vehicle speed, steering angle, and/or lateral acceleration. The actuator can include a main body member, a first end member pivotably connected to a first end region of the main body member, and a second end member pivotably connected to a second end region of the main body member. The actuator can include shape memory material connecting members. The actuator can be configured such that, in response to an activation input, the shape memory material connecting members contract, causing the first and second end members pivot, which causes the actuator to morph into an activated configuration.

A kinetic seat assembly that rotates based on a force applied on an occupant seated therein is provided. The kinetic seat assembly includes a primary seat cushion frame, a primary seat back frame, a secondary seat cushion frame pivotally connected to the primary seat cushion frame, and a secondary seat back frame pivotally connected to the primary seat back frame. The kinetic seat assembly further includes a front pivot mechanism for damping movement between the primary seat cushion frame and the secondary seat cushion frame in a kinetic seat vertical direction, and an upper pivot mechanism for damping movement between the primary seat back frame and the secondary seat back frame in a kinetic seat longitudinal direction.