Analysis of Design of Head Restraints of Car Seat Considering Indian Anthropometry

Abstract

Car seat design has gained extensive importance considering comfort and safety where it interacts with the human anthropometry. In the majority of car accidents, it is the car seat design and the design of the associated safety accessories that prevent damage to the driver’s body. Head restraint saves the passenger from Whiplash injuries due to sudden impact that may be fatal. Head restraint’s primary function is to support the head and keep the head in position with the torso in case of sudden impacts. In this paper, the importance of head restraint is justified by applying dynamic analysis to the head and torso model developed by solid modeling software considering the anthropometry of the Indian population. Anthropometry is crucial for design consideration so that the design conforms near to the ideal design which would accommodate the majority of the populace. The head restraint that is not designed considering anthropometry would leave many individuals at a disadvantage of safety issues that a car design promises. Ergonomics of the head restraint is important to arrest the undesired head movement. This paper presents the analysis of the current commonly used car seat’s head restraint design in various ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, and poor according to Indian anthropometry.