featured publication

Parkinson, M.B. and Reed, M.P. (2006). Improved head restraint design for safety and compliance.

Abstract

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently revised Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 202, which governs head restraints. The new standard, known as FMVSS 202a, establishes for the first time in the U.S. a requirement for the fore-aft position of the head restraint. The fore-aft distance between the head restraint and headform representing a midsize male occupant must not exceed 55 mm when measured with the seat back angle set to 25 degrees. The goal of the rule change is to reduce the incidence of whiplash-associated disorders caused by rear impacts. Moving the head restraint closer to the head prior to impact decreases the amount of relative motion between the occupants' heads and torsos and is believed to decrease the risk of soft-tissue neck injury. As manufacturers phase in seats that meet the new criterion, some vehicle models are producing complaints from drivers that the head restraint causes discomfort by interfering with their preferred head position, forcing them to select a more reclined seat back angle than they would prefer. To address this issue, an analysis of driver head locations relative to the seat was conducted using a new optimization-based framework for vehicle interior optimization. The approach uses simulations with thousands of virtual occupants to quantity distributions of postural variables of interest. In this case, the analysis showed that smaller-stature occupants are disproportionately likely to experience head-position interference from a head restraint that is rigidly affixed to the seat back. Using an analysis approach that considers both postural and anthropometric variability, design guidelines for the kinematics of an articulated head restraint are proposed. Such a restraint would provide optimal head restraint positioning across occupant sizes while minimizing interference.

Go to this paper

all publications

| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1997 |

2008

• Parkinson, M.B. and Reed, M.P. (2008). Modeling variability in torso shape for chair and seat design.
• Fromuth, R.C. and Parkinson, M.B. (2008). Predicting 5th and 95th percentile anthropometric segment lengths from population stature.
• Garneau, C.J. and Parkinson, M.B. (2008). Optimal product sizing through digital human models.
• Nadadur, G. and Parkinson, M.B. (2008). Extrapolation of anthopometric measures to new populations.

2007

• Garneau, C.J. and Parkinson, M.B. (2007). Including preference in anthropometry-driven models for design.
• Parkinson, M.B., Reed, M.P., Kokkolaras, M., and Papalambros, P.Y. (2007). Optimizing truck cab layout for driver accommodation. ASME Journal of Mechanical Design.
• Parkinson, M.B. and Reed, M.P. (2007). Standing reach envelopes incorporating anthropometric variance and postural cost. SAE Transactions: Journal of Passenger Cars-Mechanical Systems.
• Parkinson, M.B. (2007). Considering installer and occupant variability in FMVSS202a compliance.
• Garneau, C.J. (2007). A comparison of methodologies for designing for human variability. Undergraduate Honors Thesis.

2006

• Parkinson, M.B. and Reed, M.P. (2006). Improved head restraint design for safety and compliance.
• Parkinson, M.B. and Reed, M.P. (2006). Considering driver balance capability in truck shifter design. SAE Transactions: Journal of Commercial Vehicles.
• Parkinson, M.B., Chaffin, D.B., and Reed, M.P. (2006). Center of pressure excursion capability in performance of seated lateral-reaching tasks. Clinical Biomechanics.
• Parkinson, M.B. and Reed, M.P. (2006). Optimizing vehicle occupant packaging. SAE Transactions: Journal of Passenger Cars-Mechanical Systems.

2005

• Sasena, M., Parkinson, M.B., Reed, M.P., Papalambros, P.Y., and Goovaerts, P. (2005). Improving an ergonomics testing procedure via approximation-based adaptive experimental design. ASME Journal of Mechanical Design.
• Parkinson, M.B., Reed, M.P., Kokkolaras, M., and Papalambros, P.Y. (2005). Robust truck cabin layout optimization using advanced driver variance models.

2004

• Parkinson, M.B., Reed, M.P. and Chaffin, D.B. (2004). Balance maintenance during seated reaches of people with spinal cord injury. SAE Transactions: Journal of Aerospace.
• Reed, M.P., Parkinson, M.B., and Wagner, D. (2004). Torso kinematics in seated reaches. SAE Transactions: Journal of Aerospace.
• Chaffin, D.B., Woolley, C., Dickerson, C., and Parkinson, M.B. (2004). Modeling of object movement capability in the spinal cord injured population. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics.

2003

• Reed, M.P., Parkinson, M.B., and Klinkenberger, A.L. (2003). Assessing the validity of kinematically generated reach envelopes for simulations of vehicle operators. SAE Transactions: Journal of Passenger Cars-Electronic and Electrical Systems.
• Reed, M.P., Parkinson, M.B., and Chaffin, D.B. (2003). A new approach to modeling driver reach. SAE Transactions: Journal of Passenger Cars-Mechanical Systems.

2002

• Parkinson, M. B., Chaffin, D. B., and Reed, M. P. (2002). Maintaining balance in seated reaches.
• Sasena, M., Parkinson, M.B., Goovaerts, P., Papalambros, P.Y., and Reed, M.P. (2002). Adaptive experimental design applied to an ergonomics testing procedure.

2001

• Jensen, B.D., Parkinson, M.B., Kurabayashi, K., Howell, L.L., and Baker, M.S. (2001). Design optimization of a fully-compliant bistable micro-mechanism.
• Nelson, S. A., Parkinson, M. B., and Papalambros, P. Y. (2001). Multicriteria optimization in product platform design. ASME Journal of Mechanical Design.
• Parkinson, M.B., and Huggins, J.E. (2001). A method for the rapid prototyping of custom contoured cushions. ASME Advances in Bioengineering.
• Parkinson, M.B., Jensen, B.D., and Kurabayashi, K. (2001). Design of compliant force and displacement amplification micromechanisms.

2000

• Parkinson, M.B., Jensen, B.D., and Roach, G.M. (2000). Optimization-based design of a fully-compliant bistable micromechanism.
• Parkinson, M. B., Roach, G. M., and Howell, L. L. (2000). Predicting the large-deflection path of tapered cantilever beams.

1999

• Nelson, S.A., Parkinson, M.B., and Papalambros, P.Y. (1999). Multicriteria optimization in product platform design.

1997

• Parkinson, M.B., Howell, L.L., and Cox, J.J. (1997). A parametric approach to the optimization-based design of compliant mechanisms.