Investigation of a Seat With an Active Control System for Reducing Vibrations From the Seat, Steering Wheel, and Pedals to the Human Body in a Vehicle

Abstract

This paper describes an active control system aimed at minimizing vertical vibrations from the seat to the human body in a vehicle. This system controls mechanical properties such as spring constants and damping coefficients on the basis of vibration analysis. In our previous study, this active control system could not be validated for a model that considers the steering wheel. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the mechanical properties of the seat and the vibrations of the human body in a seat–steering wheel–occupant system. Then, a vibration model for such a system was designed and the influence of seat cushions on the vibrations of the human body was examined using this system. The mechanical properties of the bearing surface and the back of the seal were controlled with reference to 1/5–5 times the standard condition, and the influence of seat cushions on the vibrations of the human body was examined by using this system. From these results, the effectiveness of the vibration model and the analytical system was examined by comparing the frequency response results of the analysis and an experiment. It was clarified that the frequency of the first resonance point changed significantly when the mechanical properties of the seat-bearing surface were modified, and the frequency of the second resonance point changed significantly when the mechanical properties of the seat back were modified.