Adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat

In an adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat comprising a variable profile energy absorber operatively connected to a vehicle and to the vehicle seat, a sensor mounted on said vehicle, and a controller in communication with both said sensor and said variable profile energy absorber, a method for mitigating injury to an occupant of the vehicle seat during a vehicle shock event, the method comprising:

• determining a load injury threshold for a part of the occupant's body for at least one of the occupant's pelvis, viscera, spine, neck, or head;
• receiving measurements from said sensor at said controller;
• said controller determining an occurrence of a vehicle shock event based on at least one measurement received from said sensor that exceeds a predetermined value;
• and
• upon determining an occurrence of said vehicle shock event, generating a control signal at said controller and communicating said control signal to said variable profile energy absorber to adjust the variable profile energy absorber in real-time such that an actual load transferred to the occupant's body part from said vehicle shock event is maintained at or below the determined load injury threshold during the vehicle shock event in order to mitigate injury to the occupant of the vehicle seat.

An adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat for mitigating injury to an occupant of the vehicle seat during a vehicle shock event, the system comprising:

• a variable profile energy absorber operatively connected to a vehicle and to the vehicle seat and having a known load-stroke profile and stroke distance;
• a sensor;
• and
• a controller that determines an occurrence of a vehicle shock event based in part on at least one measurement received from the sensor that exceeds a predetermined value;
• and that adjusts, via a control signal, the variable profile energy absorber based in part on the at least one measurement received from the sensor and on said known load-stroke profile and stroke distance, such that an actual load experienced by a part of the occupant's body is minimized during the vehicle shock event by utilizing substantially the entire known stroke distance of the variable profile energy absorber.

In an adaptive energy absorption system for a vehicle seat comprising a variable profile energy absorber operatively connected to a vehicle and to the vehicle seat and having a known load-stroke profile and stroke distance, a sensor mounted on said vehicle, and a controller in communication with both said sensor and said variable profile energy absorber, a method for mitigating injury to an occupant of the vehicle seat during a vehicle shock event, the method comprising:

• receiving one or more measurements from said sensor at said controller;
• said controller determining an occurrence of a vehicle shock event based on at least one measurement received from said sensor that exceeds a predetermined value;
• and
• upon said controller determining an occurrence of a vehicle shock event, generating a control signal at said controller and communicating said control signal to said variable profile energy absorber to adjust the variable profile energy absorber based in part on the at least one measurement received from the sensor, based on said known load-stroke profile and stroke distance, such that an actual load transferred to the occupant's body is minimized during the vehicle shock event by utilizing substantially the stroke distance of the variable profile energy absorber in order to mitigate injury to the occupant of the vehicle seat.