Thoracic region comfort vehicle seating system with pneumatic adjustment

A vehicle seat comprising:

• a seatback having a top, a bottom and a central axis extending between the top and the bottom of the seatback, the seatback having a foam cushion having a first hardness, the foam cushion having a cavity extending lengthwise along the central axis and located between the midpoint and upper one-third of the seatback such that a lowermost region of the cavity is spaced from a bottom edge of the seatback, the foam cushion having foam portions adjacent the cavity;
• and
• a pneumatic thoracic support structure positioned within the cavity in the seatback, the pneumatic thoracic support structure having a length extending along the central axis and a width extending transverse to the central axis, with the width being smaller than the length, the pneumatic support structure being selectively inflatable to provide an area having a second hardness, the second hardness being 25-200% higher than the first hardness;
• wherein the support structure comprises a first bladder selectively inflatable to provide the area having the second hardness;
• and
• wherein the support structure comprises a second bladder selectively inflatable to cooperate with the first bladder to provide the area having the second hardness, the second bladder being disposed adjacent to and below the first bladder.

A vehicle seat comprising:

• a seatback comprising a cushion having a first hardness, the cushion having a top, a bottom, a central axis extending between the top and the bottom, a recess extending along the central axis, an upper foam portion disposed above the recess along the central axis, and a lower foam portion disposed below the recess along the central axis;
• and
• a pneumatic thoracic support structure positioned within the recess of the cushion, a lowermost region of the pneumatic thoracic support structure being spaced from a bottom edge of the seatback, the pneumatic thoracic support structure comprising a first bladder selectively inflatable to provide a first area having a second hardness higher than the first hardness, the first area being disposed in the upper half of the seatback and having a length extending along the central axis and a width extending across the central axis, with the length being greater than the width such that the first area extends along the central axis and is aligned with a thoracic region of a user's spine when a user is seated in the seat to provide support to at least a portion of the thoracic region of the user's spine;
• wherein the pneumatic thoracic support structure comprises a second bladder positioned adjacent to the cushion and adjacent to the first bladder such that a top edge of the second bladder is disposed below a bottom edge of the first bladder.