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DESIGNING A SHAPED SEAT-PAN CUSHION TO IMPROVE POSTURAL (DIS)COMFORT REDUCING PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION AND INCREASING CONTACT AREA AT THE INTERFACE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2021

Iolanda Fiorillo ,
Yu Song ,
Peter Vink  and
Alessandro Naddeo
Iolanda Fiorillo*
Affiliation:
University of Salerno
Yu Song
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology
Peter Vink
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology
Alessandro Naddeo
Affiliation:
University of Salerno
*
Fiorillo, Iolanda, University of Salerno, Industrial Engineering, Italy, ifiorillo@unisa.it

Abstract

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Remaining seated for extended periods increases the risk health issues and discomfort perception. Consequently, the seat-pan design is crucial and could be mainly influenced by two factors: pressure distribution and seat contour. For seat pan discomfort, the lower average pressure is accompanied by less discomfort. Moreover, a seat contour with a large contact area is correlated with more comfort. Thus, a shaped cushion had been accurately designed (Virtual Prototype) and realized (Physical Prototype) aiming to translate the pressure distribution due to interaction between seat and buttock in a geometric shape, suitable for the international population (including P5 females and P95 males). With this shape, the pressure should be more uniform and lower, the contact area at interface bigger, and the perceived comfort higher. Both Virtual and Physical Prototype design had been described in this paper through a repeatable and straightforward approach. Also, experiments had been performed to validate the hypothesis through a comparison with a standard flat cushion. Results showed the goal of the design had been reached: the shaped cushion scored less pressure distribution and higher contact area than the flat cushion.

Keywords

Product modelling / modelsUser centred designDesign methodologySurface modellingPrototype manufacturing method
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 1: ICED21 , August 2021 , pp. 1113 - 1122
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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