ABSTRACT
Aesthetic value of the automotive car seat has been one of the selling points of each car besidesproviding functions such as being safe, supportive as well provides comfort to the occupants. Othercriteria considered besides the aesthetic element are cushion foam and self-adjustment factor.Ergonomics is not a new issue because most of the existing seat design today have already practiced it.Existing car seat manufacturers have considered anthropometry data. The average upon 95th percentile ofhuman measurement had been deliberated. However, issues such as time spent driving and seat designissue have arisen upon the search of comfort and rising of musculoskeletal disease such as back pain. As asolution, this study would propose an automotive car seat design of ergonomic evolution, which wouldcreate comfort by manipulating the seat cushion foams. The proposed seat cushion foam would be use toreplace the existing polymers with beanbag foam. This is inspire by the nature of beanbag, fitting up andproviding comfort to the occupants of various body sizes and shapes. Malaysian anthropometrymeasurements are required for design of car seat, which later compared with the existing seats ofcommercial vehicle. The literature review showed the pressure mapping technique of respondent seatingon the existing car seat. The most sensitive compartments where discomfort are experienced studied andplaced with sachets filed with beanbag beads. This experiment conducted many times over a fewrespondents by using the pressure mat to find out, if there are any changes in terms of comfort. Thisdesign of new car seat with a manipulation cushion foam replaced with beanbag foam could be a niche toeliminate discomfort to all range body sizes and shapes.
ABSTRACT
Objective To study the relationship between comfort and sitting pressure of ejection seat cushion. Methods By measuring sitting pressure distributions on seat cushions with different thickness, indices of sitting pressure such as the contact area, maximum sitting pressure and mean sitting pressure were discussed along with the subjective comfort scores to find the relationship between seat cushion comfort and indices of sitting pressure. Results The contact area, maximum sitting pressure and mean sitting pressure were significantly correlated with the subjective comfort scores. In addition, the comfort score did not increase when thickness of the seat cushion exceeded 4 cm. Conclusions The comfort of seat cushion could be well reflected and evaluated by the contact area, maximum sitting pressure and mean sitting pressure of seat cushion, and thickness of 4 cm is recommended for designing the seat cushion with material used in this paper.