Active vehicle seat with spring-supported morphing portions

A system for active vehicle seat adjustment, comprising:

• a vehicle seat, the vehicle seat including a seat surface;
• one or more actuators located within a portion of the vehicle seat, the one or more actuators being operatively positioned relative to the seat surface such that, when activated, the one or more actuators cause the seat surface to morph into an activated configuration, each of the actuators having:
• a first hinge assembly and a second hinge assembly separate from the first hinge assembly;
• an outer skin defining a first actuator side and a second actuator side residing opposite the first actuator side, the outer skin defining a cavity, the outer skin being operatively connected to the first and second hinge assemblies so that movement of each one of the hinge assemblies in a direction toward the other one of the hinge assemblies produces forces on the first and second actuator sides tending to urge the first and second actuator sides away from each other;
• one or more shape-memory material (SMM) members operatively connected to, and extending between, the first and second hinge assemblies and configured to urge the hinge assemblies toward each other responsive to an activation input provided to the one or more SMM members;
• and
• at least one spring member positioned within the cavity and structured to exert forces on the first and second actuator sides tending to urge the first and second actuator sides away from each other.

A method of morphing a portion of a vehicle seat, one or more actuators being located within the vehicle seat, the one or more actuators being operatively positioned such that, when activated, the one or more actuators cause a portion of the vehicle seat to morph into an activated configuration, the method comprising:

• receiving sensor data from one or more sensors on a vehicle;
• determining, based on the sensor data, whether a seat actuator activation condition is met;
• and
• responsive to determining that the seat actuator activation condition is met, causing one or more actuators to be activated to cause a portion of the vehicle seat to morph into an activated configuration, the one or more actuators including:
• a first hinge assembly and a second hinge assembly separate from the first hinge assembly;
• an outer skin defining a first actuator side and a second actuator side residing opposite the first actuator side, the outer skin defining a cavity, the outer skin being operatively connected to the first and second hinge assemblies so that movement of each one of the hinge assemblies in a direction toward the other one of the hinge assemblies produces forces on the first and second actuator sides tending to urge the first and second actuator sides away from each other;
• one or more shape-memory material (SMM) members operatively connected to, and extending between, the first and second hinge assemblies and configured to urge the hinge assemblies toward each other responsive to an activation input provided to the one or more SMM members;
• and
• at least one spring member positioned within the cavity and structured to exert forces on the first and second actuator sides tending to urge the first and second actuator sides away from each other.