Adjustable seat assembly

Abstract

A seat assembly is provided having a seat bottom and a seat back mounted adjacent the seat bottom. A cushion is disposed on at least one of the seat bottom and seat back and defines a seating surface. The seating surface has a plurality of regions. A controller is in communication with the cushion and is programmed to independently vary a stiffness of each of the regions along the seating surface.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A seat assembly comprising:
 a seat bottom;   a seat back mounted adjacent the seat bottom; and   a cushion disposed on at least one of the seat bottom and seat back and defining a seating surface, the seating surface having a plurality of regions; and   a controller in communication with the cushion and programmed to independently vary a stiffness of each of the regions along the seating surface.   
     
     
         2 . The seat assembly of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a plurality of sensors operably connected to the cushion and in electrical communication with the controller to detect a seating position of an occupant, 
 wherein the controller is programmed to dynamically vary the stiffness of the cushion in response to a sensed change in the seating position of the occupant. 
 
     
     
         3 . The seat assembly of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of regions comprises a plurality of foam cells formed in the cushion, wherein the stiffness in each of the foam cells is variable independently based on an air pressure in each foam cell. 
     
     
         4 . The seat assembly of  claim 1  further comprising a rigid pan having a plurality of pan cells, wherein the stiffness in each of the regions is variable independently when each of the pan cells is actuated. 
     
     
         5 . The seat assembly of  claim 1  wherein stiffness of the cushion in each of the regions is dynamically varied based on an external condition. 
     
     
         6 . The seat assembly of  claim 5  wherein the external condition is based on destination information. 
     
     
         7 . The seat assembly of  claim 6  wherein the destination information includes at least one of a travel distance, a travel time, a road condition and an external temperature. 
     
     
         8 . The seat assembly of  claim 5  wherein the external condition is based on occupant data. 
     
     
         9 . The seat assembly of  claim 8  wherein the occupant data includes at least one of an occupant age, gender, health condition, weight and psychological condition. 
     
     
         10 . The seat assembly of  claim 1  wherein the cushion includes at least one adjustable bolster portion, wherein the controller is programmed to dynamically adjust a position of the bolster portion. 
     
     
         11 . A method for adjusting a seat assembly comprising:
 receiving data indicative of an external condition of the seat assembly; and   independently varying a stiffness of a plurality of regions along a seating surface of a seat cushion based on the external condition.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising:
 measuring pressure values from a plurality of sensors in a plurality of foam cells of a seat cushion to detect a seating position of an occupant; and 
 dynamically varying the stiffness of the seat cushion in response to a sensed change in the seating position of the occupant. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the external condition is based on destination information. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the destination information includes at least one of the travel distance, travel time, road conditions and external temperature. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the external condition is based on occupant data. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the occupant data includes at least one of an occupant age, gender, health condition, weight and psychological condition. 
     
     
         17 . A seat assembly comprising:
 a seat bottom;   a seat back mounted adjacent the seat bottom; and   a cushion disposed on at least one of the seat bottom and seat back to define a seating surface, the seating surface having a plurality of regions; and   a controller in communication with the cushion and programmed to independently vary a comfort condition in each of the regions along the seating surface.   
     
     
         18 . The seat assembly of  claim 17  wherein the comfort condition comprises a cushion stiffness, wherein the controller is programmed to independently vary the cushion stiffness of each of the regions along the seating surface. 
     
     
         19 . The seat assembly of  claim 17  wherein the comfort condition comprises a surface temperature, wherein the controller is programmed to independently vary the surface temperature of the regions along the seating surface. 
     
     
         20 . The seat assembly of  claim 17  wherein the comfort condition in each of the regions is dynamically varied based on an external condition.