Seatback load plate
A seat of a vehicle is designed for safety to reduce risk of injury to an occupant of the seat in the event of an abrupt movement or a collision involving the vehicle from the rear. The seat may have seatback geometry designed to promote coupling an occupant to the seat, thereby minimizing a gap between an occupant and the seatback and, therefore, the impact forces to the occupant in a rear-facing collision by reducing a relative velocity between the occupant and the seat, as well as absorbing energy of the occupant over a longer distance. The seat may include one or more load plates and materials that plastically deform under a force imparted on the seat by the occupant accelerating relative to and toward the seat during a vehicle collision. The load plates distribute the force across the energy absorbing material to reduce the maximum force experienced by the occupant.
1 . A vehicle comprising:
a rear-facing seat that includes a seatback assembly having a first side to receive an upper back of a passenger and a second side opposite the first side, the seatback assembly comprising:
a first layer comprising a cushioning material positioned at the first side of the seatback assembly;
a load plate disposed adjacent the first layer, the load plate being formed of a rigid material of thickness less than one millimeter (mm); and
an energy absorbing material that plastically deforms under a compressive force imparted by the passenger, the energy absorbing material being of thickness less than one hundred millimeters (mm) and mechanically coupled to the load plate and the second side of the rear-facing seat, wherein the load plate is configured to increase a ramp rate of energy absorbed by the energy absorbing material under the compressive force imparted by the passenger.
2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the seatback assembly defines a first passenger seat and a second passenger seat, and the load plate is a first load plate that extends along a horizontal axis of the seatback assembly across the first passenger seat, the seatback assembly further comprising:
a second load plate that extends along the horizontal axis of the seatback assembly across the second passenger seat.
3 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the load plate has a first curvature in a first direction and a second curvature in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.
4 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the load plate is mechanically coupled directly to the energy absorbing material.
5 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the energy absorbing material comprises at least one of expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam, plastic, aluminum, or corrugated cardboard.
6 . The vehicle of claim 1 , the vehicle comprising a structural component, wherein the second side of the seatback assembly is directly attached to the structural component.
7 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the load plate is configured to receive a spine of the passenger at or near to a medial aspect of the load plate.
8 . A seatback structure for a vehicle, the seatback structure comprising:
a first layer configured to receive a back of a passenger;
a load plate comprising a rigid material of thickness less than one millimeter (mm) that extends a first dimension across a width of the seatback structure and a second dimension across a height of the seatback structure, the load plate having a first surface adjacent the first layer and a second surface opposite the first surface; and
an energy absorbing material that plastically deforms under a compressive force imparted by the passenger, the energy absorbing material being of thickness less than one hundred millimeters (mm) and disposed on the second surface of the load plate, wherein the load plate is configured to increase a ramp rate of energy absorbed by the energy absorbing material under the compressive force imparted by the passenger.
9 . The seatback structure of claim 8 , wherein the load plate comprises:
carbon fiber;
aluminum;
steel; or
rigid plastic.
10 . The seatback structure of claim 8 , wherein the second dimension is between about 300 and 400 millimeters (mm), and the first dimension is between about 200 and 300 mm.
11 . The seatback structure of claim 8 , wherein the energy absorbing material conforms to a curvature based on an expected spine shape of the passenger.
12 . The seatback structure of claim 8 , wherein the load plate is configured to receive the back of the passenger at or near to a medial aspect of the load plate.
13 . A seat comprising:
a seatback having a first side to receive a passenger and a second side opposite the first side, the seatback comprising:
a seatback surface on the first side;
a load plate comprising a rigid material of thickness less than one millimeter (mm) that extends across a portion of the seatback, the load plate having a first surface disposed adjacent the seatback surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; and
an energy absorbing material that plastically deforms under a compressive force imparted by the passenger, the energy absorbing material being of thickness less than one hundred millimeters (mm) and disposed on the second surface of the load plate, wherein the load plate is configured to increase a ramp rate of energy absorbed by the energy absorbing material under the compressive force imparted by the passenger.
14 . The seat of claim 13 , wherein the load plate and the energy absorbing material are integrally formed together.
15 . The seat of claim 13 , wherein the seatback has a thickness from the first side to the second side in a range of between one hundred to one hundred and seventy-five millimeters and the seatback surface has a second thickness in a range of ten to twenty millimeters.
16 . The seat of claim 13 , wherein the seatback surface comprises a polyurethane layer, and wherein the polyurethane layer is adhered to the load plate.
17 . The seat of claim 16 , wherein the load plate is adhered to the energy absorbing material.