Development of an Air Cushion Vest

The development of modern transportation technology has required many people in spaces (such as vehicle seats, airports, and train stations) for long periods. The public seats provided in these places are manufactured in a standard size; however, fatigue sets in if the seats are unsuitable for the person's physical size. For this reason, this study developed an air cushion vest that would enhance the comfort of vehicle seats. Passengers in vehicles, trains, airplanes, and buses were observed and surveyed to understand the demand for seat comfort. Our analysis found that the greatest source of discomfort was involuntary nodding of the head while asleep and discomfort around the waist area. For this reason, the air cushion vest was designed to support the head and the waist. The neck cushion of this vest was designed to strengthen head support to counter forward nodding because existing commercial neck cushions had no support for forward nodding. For the waist cushion, at lumbar and below-lumbar parts were chosen as the key parts to be supported, the cushion was designed to contain air at those parts. To cover the embedded waist cushion, the vest was designed to be long. The closure was constructed with zippers from the neck to waistline, and with invisible snaps from the waistline to the hemline so that the wearer could open them easily while seated. A subjective comfort evaluation was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the developed vest. In the test, the developed cushions received a better evaluation than cushions currently available on the market. The volume of the vest could be adjusted by the inflow and outflow of air. It was proven that the vest was effective in terms of comfort and portability. This shows that the developed vest could enhance passenger comfort while sitting on vehicle seats.

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