Dynamic Performance Evaluation of a Seat using Dynamic Properties of the Seat and the Designed Dummy

Vehicle seats are one of the important components affecting dynamic comfort cognized by a passenger. To investigate dynamic performance evaluation of a seat, we analyzed dynamic characteristic by modeling seat cushion as distributed springs and behavior of the dummy designed for classifying distribution pattern of the seat. The dynamic characteristics were analyzed by measuring the distributed stiffness from vibrations transferred through seats. The dummy have mechanical characteristics affected by the distributed stiffness of the seat and represent motion of a seated human body. Subjective evaluations for stiff, heavy, elasticity, balance observed by a person on a vibrating seats were used to estimate overall and specific dynamic performance of the seats. The effects of support properties on the subjective evaluation was analyzed using statistical analysis.