WO2019130362A1

WO2019130362A1 - Vehicular seating with vibrations measurement capability

Info

Publication number: WO2019130362A1
Application number: PCT/IT2017/000302
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gino Mainardi; Marco Codeluppi; Luca TAMAGNINI; Giuseppe TALARICO
Original assignee: C.O.B.O. S.P.A.
Priority date: 2017-12-29
Filing date: 2017-12-29
Publication date: 2019-07-04
Also published as: EP3732076A1

Abstract

A vehicular seating comprises a seat and a backrest as well as means for detecting vibrations transmissible through the seat and/or the backrest to a user/driver; the seating further comprising means for association of a quantity of vibrations to a single and univocal user/driver housed on the seat for a predetermined period, said means for association being connected to the seat and/or the backrest.

Description

DESCRIPTION

VEHICULAR SEATING WITH VIBRATIONS MEASUREMENT

CAPABILITY

The present invention relates to a seat for land vehicles with the capability of detecting the vibrations transmitted to the seat itself, and consequently to the user of the seat, according to the conditions of use on which it is mounted.

As is known, in different types of heavy land vehicles such as agricultural tractors or "earthmoving machines" (or furthermore, in construction vehicles or ones with mining functions, etc.), the ergonomics and comfort of the driver are highly critical not so much in terms of mere piloting of the vehicle, but also - and above all - in terms of psychophysical stress factors: these factors are all the more important as the vehicle driver's work cycle is more burdensome and/or prolonged, who often finds himself to operate in environments rich of "aggressive" factors such as uneven ground, large stresses due to the handling of heavy users (large agricultural towing tools, mechanical shovels, building or mining actuators of various kinds and so on) and considerable background noise coming from both the vehicle's engines and the work environment surrounding the vehicle itself.

In these operating areas, therefore, appropriate regulations are enforced to protect the psychophysical health of the driver/user of these types of vehicles, which establish maximum "threshold" values for all the possible stress factors that can be received, and which also establish maximum time windows exposure to such stress factors (which translate into maximum periods of work for the driver/user, within which it is assumed that said subject does not absorb or receive more than a predetermined "quantitative" of these stress factors).

With particular reference to the vibrations absorbed by the driver/user of a vehicle among those previously mentioned, it is also known the presence of driving stations, suitably equipped with seats, which are able to record and quantify the vibrations transmitted through the seats in a predetermined period of time, which usually coincides with the duration of one or more time intervals wherein the vehicle is in "operating conditions" or wherein regardless of the operating state of its on-board systems such vibrations may be detected in the presence of a driver/user sitting on the seat.

These seats of prior art, despite having the ability to measure the vibrations received by a driver/user, are affected by a series of functional disadvantages, mainly in terms of scarce additional functionality other than the mere measurement function.

In more detail, seating with the capability of detecting known vibrations are equipped and/or instrumented in such a way as to perform a mere detection of vibrations, and are not able to make any objective correlation with a single user/driver: this limitation operation leads to a substantial ability to verify compliance with labour regulations, as it may be possible that the vibrations detected in a given period of time (in which the vehicle is active and/or is working both in terms of displacement and use of its possible utilities or mechanical equipment) different subjects are approached to the guide of the same vehicle.

In other words, the seats with known vibration detection capabilities are not able to discriminate or distinguish between different users, who individually receive "partial" amounts of the total amount of vibrations recorded and therefore may remain well below the maximum safety thresholds foreseen by the regulations (note, however, that the problem highlighted above assumes practical relevance for vehicles such as agricultural tractors or construction machinery, which frequently find themselves working for a working day with an operator/user and that following day are taken by another operator/user instead: in this case the vibration detection only returns a total value over two days, but it is not known how many vibrations actually received each of the two operators during its respective period of work). Another possible ambiguity of measurement of the known type of seating can be given by the fact that there may be cases in which the vehicle is left in a "stand-by" condition, where the onboard power plants are left active - therefore, generating stresses and vibrations - but where the driver/user has temporarily moved away from the driving position (think for example the need to disconnect a mechanical user at the end of a given processing and to connect a different one to start with another process): in these possible situations the vibration count is clearly distorted due to the impossibility for the seat to detect the fact that when the operator is not seated above, the vibrations he receives are equal to zero.

Alongside the functional limits just mentioned, it should also be noted that the seats of the known type may also present structural and functional disadvantages from an ergonomic point of view: for example, if the seats are equipped with side armrests, often the entrance and the exit from the seating itself involves having to rotate or translate them to define an adequate space of passage: in the known type of seating these translations or rotations may not be possible or may even be anti-intuitive or uncomfortable from an ergonomic/articular point of view .

Furthermore, it can be noted that the adjustment and adaptation capacities of many known types of seating are based on adjustment mechanisms which modify the positions of the various seat components in a "discrete" manner, i.e. without the possibility of selecting a predetermined degree of displacement arbitrarily chosen by the user of the seating: this translates into a lower capacity for anatomical adaptation and therefore a worsening of the working conditions of the driver/user irrespective of the level of vibration he can receive.

Again from a constructive point of view, the seating of known type often have a poor predisposition (or do not possess it at all!) to be integrated with control units that can act on different functions of the vehicle (for example, on-board computer with the chance to select different menus from a user interface and with the possibility of performing such selection operations with the least possible muscular and positional effort): this too is a factor in reducing the quality of the working environment regardless of the level of vibrations receivable from a user/driver.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a seating with a capacity to detect vibrations which offers a wider and more articulated range of functions than similar devices known in the reference technical field and which in particular offers an optimized capacity to determine the actual levels of vibrations absorbed or received by a specific user/driver, which can therefore be uniquely identified (and to which it is therefore possible to trace its "personnel" in an absolutely precise and accurate manner and direct vibration absorption level).

According to the present invention, a seating is also proposed which at the same time offers a considerable improvement in the ergonomic correlation with one of its users, both in terms of adaptation to one's own appearance and in terms of ease of access and exit from the seating itself.

The object of the present invention is also to provide a seating suitable to a functional and ergonomic integration with various on-board controls of modern vehicles, for example where it is necessary to provide an appropriate selection mode, scrolling through menus and command of these menus.

The technical characteristics of the invention, according to the aforementioned objects, are clearly evident from the content of the claims set forth below, and the advantages thereof will become more evident in the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent an embodiment thereof purely by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

□ Figure 1 is a generic perspective/axonometric view of a seating according to the present invention;

□ Figure 2, 3, 4 are generic perspective/axonometric view of the seating of figure 1 from different angles; □ Figure 5, 6a, 6b, and 7 are perspective views of constitutive particulars and/or functional sub-groups of the seating of figure 1 ; and

□ Figure 8 and 9 are schematic views of a further functional sub- group of the seating of figure 1 and of the relative signal flows and/or information exchanged between the elements of the same functional subgroup in respect to a different possible architecture of integrated system that comprises a vehicle and/or“external” processing means to the seating object of the invention.

With reference to the accompanying figures, the whole seating has been indicated with the reference numeral 1 in accordance with the invention: this seat basically comprises a seat 2 (possibly divided into different portions, according to the corresponding anatomic portions with which it can interface) and a backrest 3 (also divisible in different portions for the same anatomical reasons of the seat 2), which are mutually interconnected and are cooperatively able to accommodate a user/driver of a vehicle on which the seating 1 can be installed; conveniently, suitable means for detecting vibrations 4 (represented only schematically in the accompanying figures) which can be transmitted through the seat 2 and/or through the backrest 3 to the user/driver are available.

Advantageously, the seating 1 further comprises means for association of a predetermined quantity of vibrations to a single and univocal user/driver housed on the seating 1 for a predetermined period of time: these means for association (which basically constitute the functional subgroup of FIG. 8 and that, as will be shown below, may be both software and hardware depending on the technical needs of the moment) are operatively connected to the seat 2 and/or backrest 3 at least as regards the part of their operation designed to detect the physical quantities translatable into "vibrations" and transmissible to the user/driver.

Going into detail, it can be seen that the detection means 4 comprise a predetermined number of sensors for measuring forces and/or accelerations: these sensors therefore produce suitable parameters (therefore numerical values, expressed in analogue or digital terms depending on the adoptable type of sensors) and these parameters can be taken as quantification indexes of the vibrations: on their part instead the means for association first of all comprising an identification element 5a (which is able to convey and/or transmit at least one identifiable data univocally associated with a user/driver) and an identification element 5b connected to the seat 2 and/or to the backrest 3 and/or to the detection means 4.

The recognition element 5b is suitable to receive the identification data transmitted by the identification element 5a, that for example can be a specific transponder or even a smartphone with suitable connectivity means (also of the wireless type or with signal contact/cable or in any case by any equivalent technological means available nowadays): this identifying data is therefore sent to a processing element 5c, which in turn is connected to the identification element 5a and to the recognition element 5b.

The processing element 5c, which may for example be a dedicated electronic circuit installed on the seat or which can also be integrated into the vehicle electronics on which the seat 1 is mounted, can define an individual overall absorption rate simultaneously related to both types of data illustrated above, namely:

- to the identifying data uniquely associable to a user/driver; and

- the vibrations quantification parameters.

In this way the invention advantageously allows to discriminate and to attribute in a non-ambiguous and absolutely accurate manner the actual levels of exposure to vibrations of all users/drivers that can alternate, with any time intervals and with arbitrary seating periods, on the seat itself (thus obtaining an obvious operational advantage given that it is possible to verify the actual level of "vibration stress" actually reached for each user/driver and to plan in due time a possible rest or a "driver-switch").

With reference to the potential functions achievable by the present invention, it should now be noted that the identification element 5a and/or the recognition element 5b and/or the processing element 5c may also be adapted, preferably in a mutually cooperative way (for example, by exchanging and keeping in memory certain signals or parameters of start and end of activity), to determine a "period of work time" in which the user/driver is housed on the seating 1 : such period of time is typically defined by at least a start time, in which the user/driver takes place on the seating 1 , and for at least one end time (following the start time) in which the user/driver moves away from the seating 1 and the means of association are advantageously able to define the aforementioned individual overall absorption data in the above introduced "period of work time" during which the user/driver is housed on the seating (1).

At a structural and functional level, it can also be noted that the means for association further comprise a positioning element 5d able to detect a condition of vicinity and/or proximity and/or functional association between the user/driver and the seating 1 (for example, a load cell appropriately placed under the seat 2 and able to detect the weight of a person sitting on the seat): in this configuration, the quantification parameters and/or the period of time in which the user/driver is housed on the seating 1 are determined in the occurrence of said condition of vicinity and/or proximity and/or functional association.

With reference to the figures, and especially where the sensors 4 for the detection of the vibrations have been represented, it can also be observed that, according to the invention, the positioning element 5d may possibly comprise or overlap (even partially, at least at hardware level) to the sensors 4 themselves, depending on the type of transduction and detection devices available nowadays, or more traditionally may be structurally separated from the sensors 4.

The functional cooperation between the detection means 4, the identification element 5a and the recognition element 5b can be conveniently implemented in such a way that the recognition of the presence of the user/driver (and therefore the consequent count of the vibrations absorbed by the latter) only occurs if a "double presence signal" is detected (basically, the system works cooperatively only if a "user/driver sitting on seat 1" signal is obtained together with the univocal identification signal, e.g. coming from an RFID badge in possession of the user/driver himself): in the event wherein one of the two signals/parameters just described is missing, the counting and individual attribution of the vibrations mode is not activated.

In order to allow a systemic integration between the seating 1 and the related electronic components described up to now (and/or claimed below) and a vehicle constructed according to modern standards, it is possible to achieve structural and/or circuit compatibility with the seating 1 and a typical vehicular electronic network, for example of the CAN BUS type, of the vehicle; in addition, if there are GPS devices on the vehicle and/or, more in general, connectivity devices to data networks (such as internet) and/or geolocation (through the well-known telecommunication technologies based on SIM cards and operating according to various possible transmission protocols such as Bluetooth or the so-called Wi-Fi) ail data detected by the seating 1 can be geo-referenced to provide an even greater information and calculation capacity (among the geo- referenced data we can mention, e.g., the working area in which the vehicle is moving, any tools connected to the vehicle, the speed of travel and/or manoeuvring of the vehicle, the morphology of the terrain and so on).

The possibility of circuit and/or structural integration of the seating 1 with a vehicle equipped with modern construction standards - and typically, of a CAN BUS - is illustrated by way of example in Figure 9: in said Figure 9 the possible data flow coming from the on-board electronics of the seating 1 and of the identification element 5a (which is always communicating with the corresponding recognition element 5b)

According to the possible embodiment of Figure 9, the data collected by the electronics of the seat 1 are sent to the CAN BUS - indicated by the double numbering 5c; 5e in figure 9 - of the vehicle on which the seating 1 is mounted/installed: using the transmission systems which may be on board of the vehicle (and which will in turn be connected to such CAN BUS) the same data may be processed locally or "remotely" by means of the most suitable processing elements 5c (generally, computers on board of the vehicle or also positioned externally to the vehicle) according to the transmission and/or communication possibilities always given by the electronics of the vehicle itself.

However, it should be noted that the presence of the user/driver can also be detected or induced/deduced automatically if the recognition element 5b and the identification element 5a are within a certain relative distance, so that it can be presumed that at this relative distance (and at shorter distances to the latter) the seating 1 is effectively occupied.

From the realization point of view, the identification element 5a can conveniently comprise a transmitter (e.g., based on an electronic card with RFID and/or NFC and/or Bluetooth and/or wireless connectivity) while the recognition element 5b can complementarily comprise a receiver (which will typically be based on a reception circuit compatible with transmissions generated by said electronic card with RFID and/or NFC and/or Bluetooth and/or wireless connectivity).

The means for association may also comprise a storage element 5e in order to preserve a predetermined sequence of identifying data univocally associated with a user/driver (and also associable with the vibrations quantification parameters): typically at least one and preferably each of such identifiable data uniquely associable in this sequence - which could also be defined as "storage sequence" - will be related to following working time periods in which the same user/driver is housed on seating 1 (and could be, e.g., summed or combined thereof in accordance with any arithmetic logic in order to determine an overall stress level of that given user/driver ... also possibly mediated in a way to take into account any long periods of time wherein that same user/driver has not worked on the seating 1).

Thanks to the availability of the most appropriate modern electronic devices, the invention can also comprise means for displaying and/or signalling (e.g., dedicated diagrams on the seat or on the vehicle, or even appropriate display modes of a smartphone in possession of the user/driver) of uniquely associable identifiable data, which in turn can be further processed: for example, the means of visualization and/or signalling can make visible or more generally suitable to communication (again to the user/driver) a warning signal related to a threshold value resulting from the uniquely associable identifying data (for this purpose and as already seen above, the display and/or signalling means will preferably be based on acoustic and/or visual and/or multi-sensorial signals).

In a possible embodiment of the invention, the display means can comprise at least one visualization tool (which can be integrated into the on-board instrument panel or in a multifunction display of the vehicle on which the seating 1 is mounted) which will be suitable for optically showing and simultaneously, by means of straight or curvilinear bar graphic representations, an exposure time to vibrations by user/driver and at least a quantitative parameter of the vibrations themselves.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, which can also be implemented separately from what has been described and/or claimed below, the seat can also comprise ergonomic operating means 6 connected to the seat 2 (but also, depending on the requirements of the moment, to the backrest 3) and connectable to at least one command and control system of the vehicle: these ergonomic control means 6, which in the accompanying figures are shown by way of example but not limited by a small wheel control also able of being "clicked" by crushing or even equipped with a touch-sensitive surface, they are advantageously positioned in an access area reachable by means of movements exclusively of a forearm of the user/driver housed in the seating 1 in a condition whereby his back and the parts of arms included between shoulders and elbows are substantially in contact with the backrest 3.

In greater detail from an ergonomic point of view, it can be noted, for example, that in the accompanying figures the ergonomic operating means comprise a small wheel and/or prewired control acting as a switch positioned in a lateral and front area of the seat 2, which can therefore be easily reached by the user/driver with a simple and intuitive forward/downward rotation of one of his two arms.

Still from the ergonomic point of view, the recognition element 5b must also recognize a possible and convenient analogous position (i.e., in a lateral and front area of the seat 2), so that the juxtaposition of the identification 5a occurs with the same ease of access and physiological articulation of the user/driver.

According to another implementation feature of the invention which can be implemented independently from what has been described up to now (or claimed below), there can also be selective ergonomic facilitation means for reversibly configuring the seat in a plurality of configurations adapting to anatomical-physiological characteristics of the user/driver (in other words, such means of selective ergonomic facilitation are active on the seat 2 and/or on the backrest 3 to vary positions and/or trim and/or size according to the needs of use and comfort of the user/driver).

With reference to the figures, it can be seen that the means of selective ergonomic facilitation comprise above all:

- a prismatic body 7a slidably engaged with the seat 2 along a translation axis and supporting at least a scapular portion 3a of the backrest 3;

- a prismatic base 7b having at least one cross-section coinciding with a respective cross-section of the prismatic body 7a at least at a mutual contact condition (i.e. when the prismatic base 7b is integral with a lumbar portion 3b of the backrest 3); and

- handling means 7c (typically of the "motorized" type and for example constituted by racks and electric servomotors active on said racks) operatively active between the prismatic body 7a and the prismatic base 7b

Advantageously, in order to ensure the maximum structural and design cleaning, the handling means 7c are contained in a concealment cavity cooperatively defined by the prismatic body 7a and the prismatic base 7b (which can for example be constituted by a boxed metal element).

Additionally, ventilation means 7d may also be present that are active at least on the backrest 3 (but also on the seat 2): these ventilation means 7d can be reversibly configured between a closing condition when the prismatic body 7a and the prismatic base 7b are in mutual contact (thus not allowing ventilation flow towards the back of the user/driver) and an opening condition when the prismatic body 7a and the prismatic base 7b are mutually separated (letting the aforementioned flows of ventilation pass, instead).

From a structural point of view, the ventilation means can be made in any way, for example they can include air passages and/or grids and/or ducts obtained in the prismatic body 7a and/or in the prismatic base 7b (and which are obviously subjected to the operation above disclosed).

Still from the point of view of the possible ergonomic functions, it should be noted that the prismatic body 7a can comprise a lower/lumbar segment, connected to the lumbar portion 3a of the backrest 3 (which in turn, as already seen and in the accompanying figures is positioned so as to be adjacent to the seat 2) and an upper/scapular segment connected to the scapular portion 3b of the seat 3.

Conveniently, the upper/scapular segment is upper connected to the lower/lumbar segment and at the same time is able to rotate around the translation axis of the prismatic body 7a: as a consequence of this type of kinematic constraint, the upper/scapular segment allows one (or more) relative rotation of the scapular portion 3b of the backrest 3 with respect to the lumbar portion 3a of the backrest 3 itself. Furthermore, according to a further characteristic of the invention which can also be implemented separately from what has been described or claimed below, it is possible that the selective ergonomic facilitation means comprise at least one, and typically two armrests 8a which emerge laterally from the backrest 3 and that are rotatable engaged with respect to the backrest 3 itself: said armrests 8a being reversibly configurable between a supporting condition (wherein they can support an arm and/or a forearm of the user/driver and wherein they are arranged at a first stationary angle where they define a non-minimum distance from the seat 2) and an access condition in which they allow movement away and/or in a lateral approach of the user/driver to the seat 1 instead (i.e., in other words allowing the user/driver to "get off' and "get on" the seat).

Conveniently, the armrests 8a at the access condition are arranged at a second stationary angle smaller than the first one and typically defined by a downward rotation arc of the armrests 8a themselves: in this way the armrests 8a define their minimum distance from the seat 2 and allow the user/driver to reach the recognition element 5b and/or the ergonomic control means 6 with extremely easy and intuitive movements and above all without having to bring hands and/or forearms into positions of excessive contraction or proximity to the back.

In order to ensure maximum ergonomic adaptability, discrete rotational constraint bodies 8b can be present, interposed between the armrests 8a and the backrest 3 (such discrete rotational constraint bodies 8b can define multiple intermediate conditions of the armrests 8a with respect to the backrest 3 , and these intermediate conditions in turn correspond to a plurality of stationary angles and/or rotation arcs towards the bottom or the top of the armrests 8a themselves) and even continuous rotational constraint bodies 8c may be present.

Unlike the discrete rotational constraint bodies, which in practical terms allow the "coarse" adjustments of the armrests 81 , the continuous rotational constraint bodies 8c are active between the armrests 8a and the backrest 3 and/or between the armrests 8a and are needed to define stationing angles and/or rotation arcs additional to the stationary angles and/or rotation angles selectable by the user/driver through discrete rotational constraint bodies 8b (i.e., achieve an almost infinite degree of "refined adjustments" starting from a "coarse" regulation achieved by a previous actuation of the discrete rotational constraint bodies 8b).

In response to the most common needs of ergonomic and/or physiological adaptation, the present seat can also comprise a pneumatic adjustment unit 9 which is adapted to determine multiple inclinations of the backrest 3 with respect to the seat 2: conveniently, the choice of this type of adjustment allows to obtain/select the aforementioned multiple inclinations in a continuous and non-discrete way.

The possible presence of an electro pneumatic adjustment unit 10a can also be mentioned, which on its part makes it possible to determine multiple arrangements in the space of the seat 2: the electro pneumatic adjustment unit 10a preferably comprising a command interface 10b placed in front of the seat 2 (as visible in the appended figures).

A further possible implementation feature of the present invention provides the presence of selective inflation means of portions of the seat 2 (e.g., of a front cushion for supporting the advanced part of the leg and/or the calf) and/or of the backrest 3 (for example, an additional lumbar support and/or lateral wraparound sidewalls): said selective inflation means are adapted to decrease or increase a volume of portions of the seat 2 and/or of the backrest 3 to achieve anatomical adaptations to the user/driver.

An object of the present invention is also a vehicle 100 (which can typically be a so-called "tractor" or a "construction machine" or an "agricultural machine" or similar): this vehicle typically comprises at least one driving position 200 housed in the vehicle 100 itself, and conveniently this guide position 200 may comprise at least one seat 1 of the type in accordance with the one disclosed and/or with what has been claimed below) and in accordance with any one of the previous claims. At this point it is possible to observe that the invention achieves the intended technical purposes and is therefore advantageous with respect to the mentioned state of the art.

In particular, it can be noted how the peculiar constructive architecture of the present seat allows an univocal and accurate attribution of the actual level of vibrations absorbed by a single and well identified user/driver: this allows a real monitoring of the actual working conditions (and therefore of wellbeing in the workplace!) of the single operators that can alternate, even in very long operating periods (for example, several weeks or months) and therefore can be constantly "traced" - and possibly notified in advance - on the achievement of their individual and personal threshold values of absorbed vibrations.

It should also be noted that the unique association function of the vibration level to a single driver/user (in turn duly and uniquely identified) can act as a basis for the implementation of additional functions that are precluded to devices of the known type, such as e.g., the creation and management, also in a delocalised way, such as "cloud" technology, of a user database, where it is possible to optimize work shifts and changes taking into account equitable distribution (even calculable in advance) of the vibrations and/or taking into account changes to the work shifts when events occur, associated with individual users, in which the vibrations absorbed were particularly intense or rarefied.

The univocal identification of the user/driver and of the relative level of vibrations can also lead to preventive actions that can be carried out directly from on board the vehicle, such as the emission of warning signals of close reaching of the absorbable vibration threshold or, in cases where the vehicle's on-board technology makes it possible, the predisposition of the vehicle's on-board systems to operate at regimes that favour the abatement of the vibrations themselves (consider for example an energy saving mode to be given to the engines and/or to the vehicle actuators or to the activation of possible active damping suspension joints interposed between the seating and the vehicle, along the lines of the so-called "active engine supports" already present in the automotive field).

From the strictly anatomical point of view, it should be noted that the characteristics of the present seating - which, as already highlighted in other parts of the present disclosure, can also find implementation autonomy with respect to the functional group responsible for the unambiguous association of the vibration level - considerably improve the accommodation and removal of the driver/user with respect to the seating itself, while improving the extent and quality of possible joint movements in all those conditions where an adjustment of the seating components or the performance of a seating is required or direct control execution towards one or more vehicle on-board systems.

Finally, it should be noted that the present seat can be easily installed both as "first equipment" on new vehicles and in rear-fitting mode on already operating vehicles, to the advantage of the possibility of increasing their operational capabilities and compliance with the regulations for use.

Claims

1. vehicular seating including:

- a seat (2) and a backrest (3) mutually interconnected and cooperatively suitable to house a user/driver of a vehicle on which the seat (1) can be installed; and

- means (4) for detecting vibrations transmissible through said seat (2) and/or through said backrest (3) to said user/driver,

characterized in that it further comprises means for association of a predetermined quantity of vibrations to a single and univocal user/driver housed on the seat (1) for a predetermined period of time, said means for association being operatively connected to the seat (2) and/or to the backrest (3).

2. seating according to claim 1 , wherein said detection means (4) comprise a predetermined number of sensors for measuring forces and/or accelerations, said sensors being adapted to produce a predetermined number of parameters for quantification of said vibrations, the means for association comprising:

- an identification element (5a) for conveying and/or transmitting at least one identifying data that can be unequivocally associated with a user/driver;

- an identification element (5b) connected to the seat (2) and/or the backrest (3) and/or the detection means (4) and adapted to receive said at least one identifying data; and

- a processing element (5c) connected to said identification element (5a) and to said recognition element (5b) and adapted to define an individual overall absorption index related to said identifying data univocally associable to a user/driver and to said vibrations quantification parameters.

3. seat according to claims 1 or 2, wherein said identification element (5) and/or said recognition element (5b) and/or said processing element (5c) are suitable, preferably in a mutually co-operative manner, to determine a period of working time in which the user/driver is housed on the seat (1), said time period being defined by at least start time, in which the user/driver takes his seat on the seating (1) and for at least one end time after that start time in which the user/driver moves away from the seating (1).

4. seat according to claim 3, wherein the means for association are suitable to define said individual overall absorption data in said predetermined working period in which the user/driver is housed on the seat (1).

5. seat according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the means for association further comprise a positioning element (5d) able to detect a condition of vicinity and/or proximity and/or functional association between the user/driver and the seating (1) in this configuration, the quantification parameters and/or the period in which the user/driver is housed on the seating (1) are determined in the occurrence of said condition of vicinity and/or proximity and/or functional association.

6. seat according to any one of the preceding claims from 2 to 5, wherein the identification element (5a) comprises a transmitter, preferably comprising in turn an electronic card with RFID and/or NFC and/or Bluetooth and/or wireless connectivity, the recognition element (5b) comprising a receiver, preferably comprising in turn a reception circuit compatible with transmissions generated by said electronic card with RFID and/or NFC and/or Bluetooth and/or wireless connectivity.

7. seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the means for association further comprise a storage element (5e) of a predetermined sequence of identifying data univocally associable to a user/driver and to said vibrations quantification parameters, at least one and preferably each of said identifiable data univocally associable in said sequence being related to successive working time periods in which the same user/driver is housed on the seating (1).

8. seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein there are also means for displaying and/or signalling one or more uniquely associated identifiable data and/or at least one warning signal correlated to a threshold value resulting from said one or more uniquely associated identifiable data, said visualization and/or signalling means preferably comprising acoustic and/or visual and/or multi-sensorial warning devices and even more preferably comprising at least one visualization instrument apt to show optically and simultaneously, by means of representations straight or curvilinear bar graphs, an exposure time to vibrations of the user/driver and at least a quantitative parameter of said vibrations.

9. seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which there are also ergonomic operating means (6) connected to the seat (2) and/or the backrest (3) and connectable to at least one vehicle command and control system, said ergonomic operating means (6) being positioned in an access area accessible through movements exclusively of a forearm of the user/driver housed in the seating (1) in a condition whereby his back and the parts of arms comprised between shoulders and elbows are substantially in contact with the backrest (3).

10. seat according to Claim 9, in which the ergonomic operating means (6) comprise a rotating and/or prewired control like a switch positioned in a lateral and frontal area ofthe seat (2).

11. seat according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are also selective ergonomic facilitation means for reversibly configuring the seating in a plurality of adaptive configurations to anatomical-physiological characteristics of the user/driver, said means for selective ergonomic facilitation being active on the seat (2) and/or on the backrest (3) to vary positions and/or trim and/or size.

12. seating according to claim 11 , wherein said selective ergonomic facilitation means comprise:

- a prismatic body (7a) slidably engaged with the seat (2) along a translation axis and supporting at least a scapular portion (3a) of the backrest (3); - a prismatic base (7b) having at least one cross-section coinciding with a respective cross-section of said prismatic body (7a) at least at a condition of mutual contact, said prismatic base (7b) being integral with a lumbar portion (3b) of the backrest (3), said lumbar portion (3b) being preferably integral with the seat (2); and

- movement means (7c) operatively active between the prismatic body (7a) and the prismatic base (7b), preferably motorized, and contained in a concealing cavity defined by the prismatic body (7a) and the prismatic base (7b).

13. seat according to claim 12, wherein are also present ventilation means (7d) active at least on the backrest (3) and reversibly configurable between a closing condition when the prismatic body (7a) and the prismatic base (7b) are in mutual contact and an opening condition when the prismatic body (7a) and the prismatic base (7b) are mutually separated, the ventilation means preferably comprising passages for air and/or grids and/or ducts obtained in the prismatic body (7a) and/or in the prismatic base (7b).

14. seat according to claim 12, wherein the prismatic body (7a) comprises a lower/lumbar segment connected to the lumbar portion (3a) of the backrest (3) and an upper/scapular segment connected above said lower/lumbar segment and rotating around said translation axis of the prismatic body (7a), said upper/scapular segment allowing a relative rotation of the scapular portion (3b) of the backrest (3) with respect to a lumbar portion of the backrest (3) itself.

15. seat according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the selective ergonomic facilitation means comprise at least one, and preferably two armrests (8a) emerging laterally from the backrest (3) and rotatable engaged with respect to the backrest (3) itself, said armrests (8a) being reversibly configurable between:

- a supporting condition wherein they are adapted to support an arm and/or a forearm of the user/driver and in which they are arranged at a first stationary angle in which they define a non-minimum distance from the seat (2); and

- an access condition wherein they are adapted to allow handling in lateral distancing and/or approaching of the user/driver to the seating (1), the armrests (8a) being arranged at a second stationing angle lower than the first and preferably defined by a rotation arc downwards of the armrests (8a) themselves, the armrests (8a) defining in said access condition a minimum distance from the seat (2).

16. seat according to claim 15, wherein are also present:

- discrete rotational constraint bodies (8b) interposed between the armrests (8a) and the backrest (3), said rotational constrains being adapted to define multiple intermediate conditions of the armrests (8a) themselves with respect to the backrest (3), said multiple intermediate conditions corresponding to a plurality of stationary angles and/or rotation arcs towards the bottom or the top of the armrests (8a); and/or

- continuous rotational constraint bodies (8c) active between the armrests (8a) and the backrest (3) and/or between the armrests (8a) and said discrete rotational constraint bodies (8b), called continuous rotational constraint bodies (8c) suitable to define stationing angles and/or rotation arcs additional to stationary angles and/or rotation arcs selectable by the user/driver through said discrete rotational constraint bodies (8b).

17. seat according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the selective ergonomic facilitation means further comprising a pneumatic adjustment unit (9) able to determine multiple inclinations of the backrest (3) with respect to the seat (2), said multiple inclinations being preferably selectable in a continuous and non-discrete way.

18. seat according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the selective ergonomic facilitation means comprise an electro pneumatic adjustment unit (10a) able to determine multiple arrangements in the seating space (2), said electro-pneumatic adjustment unit (10a) preferably comprising a control interface (10b) placed frontally on the seat (2).

19. seat according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are also means for selective inflation of portions of the seat (2) and/or of the backrest (3), said selective inflation means being preferably adapted to decrease or increase a volume of portions of the seat (2) and/or of the backrest (3) to achieve anatomical adaptations to the user/driver.

20. vehicle (100), preferably of a tractor or construction or agricultural machine type, comprising a driving position (200) housed in the vehicle (100) itself, characterized in that it comprises at least one seating (1) located in said driving position (200) and according to any one of the preceding claims.