UHS 2021: SOFT SKILLS II

TRIZ JOURNAL

ACTIVE HEADREST

SECTION 02P

GROUP 05

MADAM HASLINDA@ROBITA BINTI HASHIM

DATE: 30TH MAY 2022

ACTIVE HEADREST

KALAIARASAN SUBRAMANIAM
Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology, University Malaysia Pahang,
Malaysia
CHITHRA GOVINDASAMY
Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology, University Malaysia Pahang,
Malaysia
MUHAMMAD SYAFIQ IMAN BIN SHAHROL IZA
Faculty of Manufacturing and Mechatronic Engineering Technology, University Malaysia
Pahang, Malaysia
VIKNESH VASU

DANESH SAMARASAM

ALSYAZRIL EQKHFIZAL BIN ZULKARNAIN

MADAM HASLINDA @ ROBITA HASHIM

Center for Human Science, University Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia.
CHONG BENG WEI
Center for Human Science, University Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia.

ABSTRACT

Malaysia reported 418,237 road accidents and 4,634 accident mortality in 2020 alone. This
translates to about 13 people killed every day due to unsafe driving in 2020. Spinal injury is one of
the most devastating traumas that can be sustained in a motor vehicle crash. In passenger car
crashes, the most common injuries related to the spine is whiplash injury or Whiplash Associated
Disorder (WAD); however, the injury was relatively unknown in Malaysia.   All too often, accident-
related neck injuries are mistreated or untreated, leading to long-term pain, suffering and disability.
Keep reading to learn more about the types of neck and cervical spine injuries that occur during car
crashes and the signs to be aware of if you’re involved in an accident. Hence, this paper aims to
propose a solution to protect the drivers and passengers from neck injuries during a collision. A
properly adjusted headrest can minimize muscle sore from driving. Not only that; it also has safety
benefits. The initial purpose of headrests was comfort on many vehicles, but after a while, the
industry discovered that these could prevent whiplash and other injuries in a crash. A headrest is
considered a passive safety element in a car. It limits head movement during a rear-impact collision,
thus, reducing the probability of a neck injury.
1. INTRODUCTION
Car accidents can be traumatizing, and we can never truly prepare for the emotional
and physical after-effects of a sudden crash. After an automobile accident, address our
physical concerns first. Getting a full diagnosis of injuries and a proper treatment plan is
critical for our health and to protect our legal rights. While some injuries can have long-
lasting effects no matter what you do, getting a prompt diagnosis and treatment might
improve your prognosis or avoid complications. Even with immediate treatment, you
might need ongoing care and feel symptoms of your injuries for years to come. Some
serious injuries that can have lasting physical effects after a crash include head trauma,
spinal cord injuries, neck injuries, disk damage or other back injuries, compound
fractures, amputations burn. Even with all the appropriate treatment, the above injuries
can cause ongoing pain and suffering with little relief.
Despite it being a very vulnerable part of the body, the neck is not well-protected
during a car crash. While your body is held in place by a seatbelt, your head and neck are
unrestrained at the moment of impact. During a collision, your neck may jerk back and
forth, jerk to one side or be hit by flying debris. Sudden, rapid movement can cause
serious injury to the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and nerves in the cervical spine.
Left untreated, accident-related neck injuries can cause chronic, systemic issues
down the road. Whiplash is often misdiagnosed or ignored as a significant injury, and as
a result many people suffer from whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) for months or
years after an accident. WAD can include chronic neck and back pain, frequent
headaches, cognitive issues and mental disorders like depression and anxiety.
After considering all these causes and effects, we have come with the active headrest
which prevent both driver and passenger from affected by neck injuries during a
collision. These headrests are designed to move forward during a rear collision to reduce
the chance of whiplash injury. The passengers in the car suffered serious neck injuries
even when the vehicle confronts a rear end collision of a small magnitude. This happens
mainly because of the relative backward movement of the torso and neck of the
passenger. In such a case, the torso receives support from the vehicle seat. The neck
continues to move towards the rear. This rearward movement transfers all the stress of
 the impact on the neck, resulting in severe injuries. Active-Headrest plays a key role in
such a situation.
2. TRIZ ANALYSIS

2.1 CEC ANALYSIS

2.2 COMPONENT ANALYSIS

2.3 SUPERSYSTEM

Engineering Systems exist in an environment and interact or co-exist with other parts of that
environment. A system of which an Engineering System is a part or component is called the
Super system [11]. Super system component interacts with Engineering System but are not part
of the system. The active headrest has a few super system components as shown in figure below
such human, road conditions and impacts. The interaction of the super system and its
components will be discussed further in figure below.

HUMAN BAD ROAD CONDITIONS

ACTIVE HEADREST
 IMPACT

2.4 INTERACTION ANALYSIS

The social and economic costs of traffic accidents caused by vehicle collisions are constantly
increasing and require urgent attention. Accidents caused by car collisions can be classified into
three categories: frontal collision, side collision and rear collision, among which the incidence
rate of rear collision is highest. Because neck injuries are the most common injuries in rear-end
collisions, it is necessary to redesign the head restraint to minimize such injuries. Whiplash
occurs at relatively low gear changes (typically < 25 km/h) and in impacts from all directions,
with rear impacts appearing more frequently in accident statistics. To this end, several studies
have focused on examining the impact of design variables such as car seat back cushion stiffness,
rear seat and head contact time on injuries, and conducted static and dynamic tests to establish
the increasingly stringent headrest evaluation criteria.

As you see the elucidation of the mechanisms of neck injuries and the development of methods
to measure the parameters related to neck injuries are of importance for current accident safety
research. However, optimizing the trajectory and linkage structure of the headrest to reduce neck
injuries has rarely been discussed in the literature. Consequently, it is difficult to incorporate
these parameters into the design of the seat. Several studies have focused on the structural
analysis of seats to prevent neck injuries by suppressing relative movement between the head and
torso.
Therefore, several injury rate-based testing methods have been reported to determine the degree
of a passenger's neck injury during a rear-end collision. However, practical implementation of
neck injury rates obtained from human bodies may not be adequate due to limitations in the
measurement accuracy of existing human body models. Although similar rules apply to all tests,
when testing with a human body model typically used in a car crash test, the test data
measurement often fails because the sensor cable is disconnected during the test. If the initial
verification of the human body model is not completed, behavioral analysis provides an indicator
of injury rates in addition to sensor measurement.

Active headrests were analyzed for neck injury rates for active and proactive headrests during
rear-end crash tests. The predictability of injury indices was examined by head and seat lift
analysis. Characteristics of head-neck behavior and headrest structure were analyzed. The neck
injury rates of the two head restraints were also compared. The predictability of severe neck
injury rates was investigated, which may be a useful reference for the development of an active
deployment system to complement the headrest deployment features.

2.5 FUNCTION MODEL

The engineering system and super system are connected to form a function model. The super
system involved are impact, bad road condition and human while the impact of the accidents is
the main resource to the active headrest. Accident itself can be a big risk to the humans since its
reaction may cause impact to the humans. The relation between super system, component
analysis and engineering system are shown in Figure below.
2.6 ENGINEERING CONTRADICTION

In TRIZ, we were taught that there are 39 parameters that define the characteristics of
components in an engineering system. Improving one parameter will also lead to worsening

other parameter. This scenario is what we call as engineering contradiction.

2.6.1 SYSTEM PARAMETER

Manipulated
Design to be an active headrest
Variables
The headrest change its shape and
Positive Responding position to protect the driver's
Variable (Improving neck or employs an airbag as
Parameter) response to a certain impact. (SP
35: Adaptability or versality)
The reshaping and repositioning
Negative Responding of the headrest and the timing to
Variable (Worsening employ the airbag might not
Parameter) precise. (SP 28: Measurement of
accuracy)
Table 2: Parameter and Variable
 IF The headrest is an active headrest
Then The active headrest will protect the driver's neck
The measurement of the headrest shape and position of the
But
headrest and timing to trigger an airbag might not precise.
Table 2: The Engineering Contradiction

2.6.2 INVENTIVE PRINCIPLE 1 (SEGMENTATION)

Figure 2: Inventive Principle

Effectively solve the technical contradiction in the active headrest (airbag) through the principle
of invention. In the near future, will include an active head restraint as standard equipment for both the
driver and front passenger to assist prevent whiplash neck injuries caused in traffic accidents. In the case
of a rear-end accident, this active head restraint swings forward and upward to reduce the force on the
occupant's neck. When full model updates or other enhancements are done in the future, we plan to
expand adoption of this approach to other models:

Factor 1: Retroflexion of the head, the collision impact causes the occupant head to bend
backward greatly relative to the torso, applying a load on the neck. In comparison to a traditional head
restraint, the newly created active head restraint consists of a system that is contained in the seatback and
includes a pressure plate, linkage, return spring, and other components.  A rear-end impact leads an
individual to be pushed backwards in their seat. Because that force is greater than the return spring's
reactive force, it moves the pressure plate, which also activates the linkage, which works as a lever to
move the head restraint forward and upward. As a result, the head restraint provides support for the
occupant head. Factor 2: Sudden backward movement of the head. The force of the collision causes the
head to rapidly shift backward relative to the torso, putting a strain on the neck.

The active head restraint has been discovered to give the following unique benefits. The
backward rotational angle of the head is reduced by roughly 35 percent as a result of retroflexion (factor
1). In a rear-end accident, the active head restraint's forward and upward movement provides quick
support for an occupant's head, restraining its backward movement and retroflexion. In tests with rear-end
crash dummies, the active head restraint was proven to be noticeably effective in restricting head and
neck motions.  The new active head restraint will be especially successful in reducing the incidence of
whiplash neck injuries in rear-end incidents, based on study and test data. It reduces the ramping up of the
neck (factor 2) by approximately 35%. When an occupant is pressed against the seatback, the pressure
plate moves, reducing the impact on the back in a rear-end accident and therefore suppressing the force
that ramps the neck up.

The Active Headrest was created to lower the danger of whiplash injuries in the event of a rear-
end collision. When the occupant's lower back presses on the seatback, the lower unit detects this and
sends a signal to the upper unit, which activates the head restraint via a cable.

3. PROPOSED INVENTION

Active head restraints are a system that only kicks in in the event of a building impact. The
inertia caused by a rear impact pushes the torso backwards into the station. This development
activates the backrest and lever, which automatically advance the headrest to reduce the cold
between the head and the headrest. This reduces the risk of injury by making it harder for the
cervical vertebrae to stretch. Once activated, the system can be reversed for free.

The active head restraint is designed to overcome the risk of constant 2 injuries during an early
border disruption. The floor built into the seatback rechecks when the Terre occupant's lower
back is pressed against the seatback; then it activates the top one via a cable to activate the
headrest.

Active head restraint is a technology that activates the head restraint cushion and moves it up and
forward to reduce the distance a headland moves during an opportunity in hopes of reducing the
risk of whiplash to the neck.

In a formal active headrest scheme, to save a head, etc. At the moment of impact, a headrest is
raised and a climb race is secured. However, this feeling proved somewhat unsatisfactory in
terms of tipping, forward or harassment when following the manoeuvre of a headland, etc. at the
time of the collision. Additionally, this speed or distance increase contract is believed to create
the possibility of an assisted breakdown and raises a more recent question. Given the above
circumstance, the active headrest captures the idea of intercepting the separate media in an
adjusted backrest. Ultimate Remedies include a frown unit that works by hitting a frame, a bug
that honours/falls the seatback connected to the bottom unit, a solenoid that locks the cable,
and/or a vampire unit that has the solenoid., and a headrest device.

4. IMPACT & CONTRIBUTION

As fancy as the headrests of your car look, they have a vital role to play when it
comes to your safety while driving. The main principle of this active headrest is, it
reduces the stress on the neck during low speed. The headrest reduces the extent of neck
damage. However, whiplash in traffic accidents persists. Volunteer low-speed collision
studies have shown that whiplash may be associated with early neck movement during
the collision, and that hyperextension theory does not correctly explain whiplash. In order
to reduce the bending amplitude of the neck in the early stage of the collision process,
active headrests and smart headrests have been developed.
 Furthermore, providing a system and method for automatically adjusting the position
of a headrest of a vehicle seat assembly based on the presence and position of the
passenger in the vehicle seat. The automatic headrest adjustment control system includes
at least one occupancy sensor adapted to be disposed within the seat assembly to detect
the presence of a passenger in the seat assembly. At least one passenger position sensor is
adapted to detect the relative position of a passenger's head.
Moreover, it is sometimes said that if your car has headrest then you cannot suffer a
whiplash injury. While there is some truth in the statement that a correctly positioned
headrest can reduce the possibility or severity of a whiplash injury, you need only to ask
the hundreds of thousands of motorists who, each year, suffer neck injuries who, despite
having positioned their headrest in accordance with safety instructions, discover that is by
no means a guarantee of staying injury-free.

5. CONCLUSION
This study has shown a marked increase in the incidence of whiplash in the unrestrained
neck compared with the restrained neck. The symptoms can persist for long periods,
especially in the ageing cervical spine, ad it constitutes an easily preventable health
problem. Legislation requiring all passenger cars to have head-restraints fitted as standard
would be a major factor in reducing whiplash injuries from rear bumper injury.