Seat Comfort Research Articles

Evaluation of Car Seat Comfort Based on Relation between Seat Pressure Characteristics and Physiological Indices

Evaluation of Car Seat Comfort Based on Relation between Seat Pressure Characteristics and Physiological Indices

What’s in a therapy room?—A mixed‐methods study exploring clients’ and therapists’ views and experiences of the physical environment of the therapy room

AbstractAim and objectivesTo explore the importance of the physical space of therapy rooms (used for counselling/psychotherapy) to clients and therapists. To identify which aspects of therapy rooms are most important to clients and therapists and how these aspects contribute to an environment that is conducive or hindering to the therapy process.MethodThis was a mixed‐methods study, using a concurrent triangulation design. Data were gathered using an online survey and semi‐structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using statistical analysis and thematic analysis, respectively. Participants were twenty‐four clients who had experienced counselling or psychotherapy and twenty‐one qualified therapists (psychologists, counsellors and psychotherapists).FindingsFrom the survey data, comfortable seating and room temperature, soundproofing, no interruptions and accessibility of the room were identified as most important to clients and therapists. Participants reported that feeling physically comfortable and safe in a room enabled a greater engagement with the therapeutic process. Rooms with a ‘clinical’ appearance were described as unhelpful. From the interview data, themes identified were as follows: ‘comfort’, ‘the appearance and meaning of the room’ and ‘the room as a workspace’.ConclusionsThe physical environment of the therapy room can play an important role in clients feeling comfortable and able to engage. It is important to consider the appropriateness of rooms for particular client groups/issues and consult with clients and therapists about therapy rooms. Further research is needed into the interaction between clients’ presenting issues and the room and the effect of cultural differences upon the experience of therapy rooms.

Testing the car seat's comfort

In this paper, four commonly used car seat covers, made from leather as well as from woven, knitted and 3D spacer fabrics are tested as sandwiched and separate layers to determine the effect of the lamination and layers on air and water vapor permeability. Different combinations of interlining materials are also tested to obtain the optimum comfortable car seat cover. This analysis gives us a real idea of which layer negatively affects the breathability of the car seat. The focus of this part of research was to identify the issues within the car seat material instead of factors like external cooling or the clothing of the driver. It was observed that the polyurethane (PU) foam and lamination significantly reduce the permeability of the car seats. The 3D spacer fabric shows the best top layer properties as compared to classical woven, leather or knitted car seat covers. The research shows how layers and lamination cause thermo-physiological discomfort of car seats.

Objective and subjective evaluation of a new airplane seat with an optimally pre-shaped foam support.

Aircraft seat manufacturers are making efforts to reduce seat weight while continuously increasing seating comfort. To verify if seats with an optimally pre-shaped foam support could improve seating comfort while reducing seat weight. The optimally pre-shaped surface was obtained from a synthesis of 95% of individually optimized compressed seat pan surfaces of a target population. Two new seats were proposed with two different cushions, one slightly softer and the other harder. Nineteen differently sized volunteers tested the two new seats and an existing seat randomly. After an assessment of initial discomfort, participants were instructed to watch a TV series for 50 minutes. A same questionnaire was used to assess both initial and longer-term discomfort. Contact forces and pressure distribution were analysed as well in-chair movements (ICM) during sitting. The two new seats exhibited lower shear, lower peak pressure and larger contact area on the seat pan as well lower number of ICM during the 50 minutes sitting. They also had lower initial overall discomfort, though significant differences between the seats were not found after the long sitting. Properly pre-shaped surface could be used as foam support to reduce the amount of foam while reducing seating discomfort.

Improvement of Comfort in Suspension Seats with a Pneumatic Negative Stiffness System

This paper presents a Negative Stiffness System (NSS) for vibration isolation and comfort improvement of vehicle seats, which enhances the performance of optimized traditional passive seat suspensions. The NSS is based on a set of two Pneumatic Linear Actuators (PLAs) added to a seat supported by a pneumatic spring. One end of each PLA is joined to the seat while the other end is joined to the vehicle frame. In static conditions, the PLAs remain horizontal, whereas in dynamic conditions, their vertical forces work against the pneumatic spring, reducing the overall dynamic stiffness and improving passenger comfort. The paper presents a stability analysis of the highly nonlinear dynamic system, as well as the numerical determination of the optimum PLA pressure for a given passenger mass that maximises comfort without instabilities. Finally, the performance of the proposed NSS is compared to that of a traditionally optimized passive seat suspension via simulations of an eight-degree-of-freedom vehicle model traversing several road profiles and speed bumps. Comfort improvements between 10% and 35% are found in all tests considered.

Ergonomic Evaluation of Passenger Car Vehicle Seat Design

Automotive seats are one of the most significant parts of vehicles and customers desires for comfort in vehicle seats in recent years. In the automotive field, the solace of the traveler, just as the driver, is to be guaranteed. Inappropriate and different contemplations may prompt forces a tremendous measure of stress in the driver over a while. If the seat of the driver isn’t satisfactory, then the performance of the driver may lessen and it might prompt exhaustion and another musculoskeletal issue, ultimately causes an accident to the driver just as the traveler. Aside from this, the inconvenience may happen on account of inadequate space in the lodge, drivers see, reachability etc. Hence, by considering different parameters an examination is performed and given the accompanying. The comfort analysis of passenger car seat was done by utilizing the DELMIA software and the appraisal is broken down. The manikin is made in such a manner according to the Indian standard life structures and the investigation is completed with 95 percentile man and 5 percentile female estimations of Indian manikin.

The Future Facility: How COVID Will Influence Design, Features, Amenities

The Future Facility: How COVID Will Influence Design, Features, Amenities

Market Generic Strategy pada Usaha Warkop Angkringan Berbasis Internet (WiFi) di Kab Mojokerto

The purpose of this research is to measure the Market Generic Strategy that is used by the owner of the internet (wifi) coffee shop / UMKM in Mojokerto Regency to be able to compete, be sustainable and achieve goals and get maximum profit. This research is an exploratory research that uses a qualitative approach in the form of a Focus Group Discussion. The sample consisted of 25 people, who were taken based on certain criteria. The technique of collecting data is by conducting open-ended interviews with the hope of obtaining complete information from these respondents. Data analysis using descriptive analysis method. The results showed that the Internet-based Market Generic Strategy of Warkop Angkringan (wifi) is a product differentiation strategy, service differentiation, personnel differentiation and focus strategy. Meanwhile, the way to retain customers is the availability of fast and friendly service, a variety of drinks and food, comfortable seating and room facilities as well as good cleanliness and layout.

Analytical simulation of dynamic characteristics of seat system with nonlinear suspension considering friction effects

The friction inevitably exists in the nonlinear suspension system for seats. It affects dynamic characteristics of the seat with the nonlinear suspension system. Analysis of the influences of the friction on the seat vibration responses is helpful to improve comfort. Moreover, it is also an important part of promoting the industrialization application of the nonlinear suspension system for seats. In order to verify the influences, a model of the seat with the nonlinear suspension system considering friction effects was established by combining experiments. Based on the model, by using the harmonic balance method, the analytical formulas of the seat frequency-domain vibration response considering friction effects were deduced, and the influences of the friction on the frequency response characteristics of the system were simulated and analyzed. Moreover, the influences of the friction on the time-domain response characteristics were investigated. The results show that the existence of the friction can help to reduce the vibration in the peak region and to increase the system stability, however, it is not conducive to the improvement of the seat comfort under random road conditions.

Study on Seating Comfort of Polyurethane Multilayer Seat Cushions

Instead of a monolayer, multi-layered cushion can be promising to develop more comfortable automotive seat if the layer materials are properly selected. In this study, we have examined the seating comfort of different types of multilayer seat cushions. Polyurethane foams (PUFs) of three different hardness, memory foam, and technogel were used in different combination to prepare four types of multilayer seat cushions. The short-term seating comfort of the seat cushions has been investigated in terms of hardness, initial hardness factor (IHF), modulus irregularity factor (MIF), sag factor (SF), and hysteresis loss as derived from the indentation force deflection (IFD) curves. Long-term comfort has been compared to the respective stress relaxation behavior of the seat cushions. It has been observed that both the short and long-term conditions of comfort are not only influenced by the characteristics of the upper layer, but also by the bottom layer (i.e., supporting material). The present work will help the seat designer to consider the material characteristics for fabricating a good automotive seat on the basis of the desired features needed to provide traveling passengers with proper short- and long-term comfort.

Hosting Art Exhibits to Enhance Student Engagement: A Case Study at a Commuter College

A commuter campus library hosted an art exhibit in November 2019 to increase engagement levels of local high school and university students and to involve them in scholarly activities. The exhibit displayed student, faculty, and staff submissions on campus. The library space on campus features comfortable seating and desktop computers, with a collection robust with virtual holdings, but scant print volumes. Without physical print books, the library lacks the overt visual cues that can prompt students to seek out traditional library services. To increase student interactions, the librarians use outreach efforts to promote library services. Data collected via surveys from the event participants attempted to measure the impact that the event had on awareness of library services by participants.

The Reconnaissance of Iranian Adolescent’s Perceptions of Radiology Imaging Process

Background Since adolescents do not frequently refer to pediatricians or even general practitioners, hospitals and clinical standard systems are not designed to meet their needs. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify adolescent’s views and feelings of the X-ray imaging process, suggest some age-appropriate facilities to respond to their needs to have a good experience of attending to radiology centers and appropriate interactions between middle adolescents and radiographers. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 adolescents (30 girls and 30 boys) from four secondary schools participated in the study. Their opinions and feelings regarding the waiting room, the imaging room, and their interactions with the radiographers were collected using the completed questionnaire. The questionnaire has been created by the Irish researcher (Davis), and its validity and reliability have been examined. Results: The major complaints of adolescents (36.7%) was the lack of comfortable seats in the waiting room. They preferred watching TV in the waiting room to play music. None of the adolescent girls were nervous in the X-ray room, and 13.3% of boys stated that they were nervous. Twenty-two of the adolescents said the radiographer was quiet. 10% of girls stated that the radiographer was quite rough in dealing with them; however, none of the boys made such a statement. Conclusion Theresults showed that adolescents do not receive optimal care during X-ray imaging. It was suggested that age-appropriate educational posters to be installed on the wall, and television programs to be displayed in the radiology departments, as well as training courses on how to interact with adolescents for radiographers.

Seating comfort analysis: a virtual ergonomics study of bus drivers in private transportation

Background: Seating comfort is one of the most important indicators of the performance of automotive seats. Seat is one of the places in the vehicle where most of the drivers spent driving. A good seat can prevent a lot of painful disorders including low back pain, which is typical of bad posture. Driver posture is one of the most important issues that need to be considered in the vehicle seat design process. Research Gap: Around the world, there have been many studies on seating comfort including car seats, truck seats, bus seats, train seats, etc. However, in India there are not many studies focusing on bus drivers seating comfort. Objective: This study aimed at investigating bus drivers seating comfort in private transportation using virtual ergonomics. Methods: We have considered a group of male bus drivers with different percentiles. And, we have selected a bus seat typically used in private transportation. The anthropometry of drivers and dimensions of the seat has been measured and modelled in the virtual environment (CATIA V6). For the seating comfort analysis, RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) analysis was performed. Results and Discussion: The RULA score revealed that the drivers with 77th to 94th percentile felt comfortable with the seat. The rest had higher RULA scores and felt discomfort. Conclusion: The bus seat design needs to be changed by considering Indian anthropometry. Also, this study only examined a few subjects; hence, further investigation would give better recommendations. Application: The benefit of virtual ergonomics is used in this project. The methodology used in this study could be used for other seat studies.

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE ERGONOMIC DESIGN OF MOTORCYCLE SEAT FOR COMFORT USAGE

Motorcycle seats undeniably provides good comfort to motorcyclists but there are some that offers less affirmation on ushering comfort, whilst some even results in harm to users, resulting in back pains, neck, shoulders, and other parts of the body over prolonged riding periods. This research aims to investigate the discomforts faced by motorcyclist and the best seat concept based on an ergonomic design, fit for the masses through a subjective evaluation. A study that includes a survey was conducted to study the subjective assessment against the motorcycle seat comfort. The study is divided into two parts, where in part 1, the anthropometric data were collected from a total of 100 respondents, representing 88 males and 12 females. Mean from the anthropometric data was used for two new seat redesigns, designated Seat A and Seat B. For part 2, sets of questionnaire were distributed to 130 respondents to measure their perception of seat design A and design B. Based on the results produced, 86.2% respondents suffered discomforts while riding a motorcycle. Most suffered discomforts at particular body areas: lower back, buttock and shoulder, while no discomfort reported around leg, feet and thigh. Results also proved that current seat designs needed an improvement with a majority of respondents opting an added backrest and to increase surface around buttock area. Based on the evaluation of designs, Seat B was selected as a better option as compared to seat A in terms of comfort usage.

Effect of flight range on the dimension of the main aircraft

The purpose of the article is to analyze the characteristics of aircraft, including aircraft of the Boeing and Airbus families, as well as to highlight the factors affecting the flight range depending on the dimension of the main aircraft. The possibilities of competition with Boeing and Airbus were considered and options for solving this problem were proposed. Formulas were used to identify the economic excellence of the aircraft and an analysis was made of the distribution of flights and major airports around the globe. A graphical model for the search for the rational appearance of the aerodynamic balancing scheme of long-range aircraft was presented. Among them were Boeing 747-400, Airbus A380-800 and VHI-5, the characteristics of which correspond to three specific zones of flight range. Conclusions were drawn about the dependence of the mass of the aircraft on the flight range, a scheme was determined according to which the dimension is the smallest, and a relationship was established between the duration of the flight and the fatigue of passengers and their impact on the requirements for comfort and ergonomics of a passenger seat depending on the duration of the flight.

Designing Passengers Cabin Of Carrier Vehicles Of 6x6 Armour Personnel With Principles Of Ergonomic

Anoa is one of the primary weaponry defense system of Republic of Indonesia, however the original design Anoa adapted from a similar vehicle from France, whose inhabitants have a different body postures from Indonesian people. This research is aimed to find out whether the Anoa design is ergonomic for Indonesian Army. The research was formed with review the shoter cockpit and passenger cabin at Anoa Panser 2 and then redesign according to percentil 5% & 95% of Indonesian Army personnel anthropometric. In addition to accordingly fitting to personnel anthropometric, improvement also formed based on personnel complaint through Nordic questionnaire. The questionnaire result was processed using QFD method to find out improvement needs that should be prioritized. Based on QFD analisys, improvement that should be prioritized are comfortable seating, appropriate and comfortable doors, safe shooting position, seating for shooter. The next is the design result was simulated using Software Jack to get the value LBA, OWAS, and RULA which used to search the value of PEI of existing and improved design then compare them. According to compared result of PEI value is known that after adjusting the anthropometric size of Indonesia Army the value of PEI becomes smaller.

OFIS ÇALIŞANLARININ OTURMA KONFORUNDAN MEMNUNIYET DERECELERI VE BIR OFIS SANDALYESINDEN BEKLENTILERI

Seating comfort is related with the individual’s office chair features, user features and the time that is spent sitting on an office chair. The increase of the working hours at the offices leads to a variety of musculoskeletal disorders caused by the lack of improper workplace design and business equipment. The aim of this study is to investigate the discomfort complaints about the office chairs and the expectations of participants from an office chair and to determine the significate user and task features which affect the overall satisfaction from the office chair. This study is part of a continuing project, which seeks to design an office chair considering the discomforts and expectations in terms of structural design and textile design. Based on the results of the survey, an office chair which would is prospected to satisfy the expectations of the respondents will be designed. A survey was applied to randomly selected 382 respondents to determine the overall satisfaction level of respondents from their own current office chairs, the features of current their office chairs, the textile materials used on their office chair and their expectations from an office chair. It was found out that 74.89% of women and 58.05% of men were not satisfied with their office chairs. 68.75 % of the staff, who were not satisfied with their chairs, thought that their discomforts were caused by their office chairs. Besides, the results stated that textile materials used on office chair affect the comfortability of the chair and it is also determined that there are some expectations from the textile materials which have to be covered.

O2O(Online to Offline) 개념을 도입한 오프라인 매장의 공간 마케팅 특성 연구

Wide adoption of Internet and smartphones, the integration of online and offline commerce with many delivery and in-store platforms has appeared. Consumers searched and scanned goods and services through online and finally purchased them in physical stores or vice versa. Due to the mobile payment and ordering, convenient delivery methods to the customer, e-commerce employed the O2O e-commerce as an attractive pattern for appealing to their customers. Offline stores in O2O markets seek various marketing strategies including pop-up store, cultural events and various marketing activities. The purpose of this study is to investigate physical characteristics of offline stores including the similarities and differences compared to the traditional stores, and to analyze type of space provided for customers and experiences modes for goods and services provided in O2O shopping areas. For this study, O2O offline space, Musinsa Terrace, 29cm store, Amore Seongsu, three case sites were analyzed. As a result, three sites all frequently provide space for marketing events, cultural activities for their customer community combining online and offline and held pop-up stores. O2O stores opened a cafe in store space for refreshment and comfortable seating and provide flexible spaces for multiple use of marketing events. For experience marketing, transitional areas and marketing area employ think mode and allow customers to experience their commerce. For the cultural and amenity areas, emotion and think mode are used to evoke the image of the each store and brand.

Evaluasi kualitas pelayanan dengan metode airqual, importance-performance analysis dan competitive zone of tolerance-based importance-performance analysis

This study aims to identify and provide priority proposals for improving the quality of airline services in Indonesia, case studies of X Airline and Y Airline using the AIRQUAL method and the Competitive Zone of Tolerance Based Importance-Performance Analysis (CZIPA).This research is classified as descriptive research. The population in this study are all X Air and Y passengers residing in West Sumatra. The sampling technique in this study is using purposive sampling technique with the criteria of respondents who have been on X or Y Airline at least 3 times and boarded the aircraft in the last 3 years. The total sample is 530 samples. The data used are primary data obtained from online questionnaires. Data analysis method used is the Competitive Zone of Tolerance Based Importance-Performance Analysis.The results of this study concluded that the AIRQUAL indicator that became the priority order of improvement for the X airline is the cleanliness of the well-maintained aircraft toilets (Airline Tangible dimension), airline officials were willing to provide their assistance to everyone on the plane (personal service dimension), airline officers dressed well (empathy dimension) and ticket prices that are the same value as the service received (image dimension). Whereas Y Airline gets a positive CZSQ and d value. This indicates that Y Airline still outperforms X Airline in the attributes included in quadrant A in the CZIPA matrix. The AIRQUAL indicators that enter into the A quadrant are the availability of seats and the provision of promotions that are very attractive to passengers (image dimension) and clean and comfortable seats (Airline Tangible dimension). Keywords: Service Quality, airqual, importance-performance analysys (ipa) and competitive zone of tolerance based importance-performance analysys (czipa)

What Attributes Do Passengers Value in Electrified Buses?

The Korean government has announced plans to supply electrified buses to achieve decarbonization in the transportation sector and to create next-generation growth engines. Although a multitude of technical and political studies have been conducted to support the successful introduction of electrified buses, studies on the attitudes and perceptions of passengers toward electrified buses remain insufficient. To evaluate the perceptions and preferences of potential passengers toward the specific attributes of electrified buses, this study performed an online survey (N = 586) that includes people who had experienced travel on public buses. Values of the relative importance of eight different attributes—safety, ride comfort, environmental friendliness, exterior design, cleanliness, crowding, seat comfort, and convenience getting on/off—were evaluated using the best-worst scaling method. The results showed that safety (share of preference: 41.3%) was the most important attribute when using electrified buses. This was followed by eco-friendliness (14.3%) and ride comfort (13.6%). On the other hand, the least important attribute was exterior design (1.8%). Gender differences were also observed in the valuation of certain attributes among the passenger preferences toward electrified buses. The results of this study contribute to the development of strategies for the wide-spread adoption of electrified buses and provide a stepping-stone to a more sustainable public transportation system.