Child safety seat and base and locking mechanism therefor

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a child safety seat and a base and a locking mechanism therefor, i.e., a child safety seat, a base for a child safety seat, and a locking mechanism configured to be fixed relative to the child safety seat. In one aspect, the support leg is pivotally connected with respect to a forward facing portion of the child safety seat for swinging inward toward the seat and outward away from the seat, characterized by further comprising a releasable locking device that is activated in response to forward acceleration of the seat, the degree of outward swinging of the supporting legs is limited.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to European application number 23170704.3 filed on April 28, 2023 and entitled “SUPPORT LEGREBOUND LOCK”, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a foot prop for a child safety seat, a child safety seat, a seat base including such a foot prop, and a child safety seat including such a foot prop or such a seat base. In a specific form, the present disclosure relates to a foot prop and its use with a seat base of a child safety seat or with a child safety seat. Background Art

[0004] Children may not be secured in the vehicle using the vehicle's seat belts until they reach a certain age or height. Therefore, child safety seats must be used to safely transport children in vehicles. Smaller children, such as infants or toddlers, are securely held in their safety seats, which are mounted on the passenger seat of a vehicle with a special child restraint system, such as an integrated harness system. For people of this age group, a safety seat with a 3-point or 5-point harness that uses a harness buckle as a connection device is the safest way to travel. The 3-point or 5-point harness of the safety seat securely secures the child's shoulders and hips to the seat.

[0005] Typically, a child safety seat is mounted on a seat of a vehicle. The child safety seat is either fixed by using the vehicle's seat belt or by anchoring the child safety seat to the vehicle seat using a specific anchoring mechanism, such as the Isofix system.

[0006] When using anchoring mechanisms, such as Isofix or LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), the child safety seat is attached to a corresponding anchoring unit of the vehicle seat, such as a ring mount fixed in the vehicle, by means of a rigid link or latch. These anchoring mechanisms usually employ two anchoring units. The anchoring units thus define a transverse axis of the vehicle. Therefore, a child safety seat installed by means of such an anchoring mechanism (e.g. the Isofix system) tends to rotate about said transverse axis.

[0007] In both frontal and rear-end collision situations, a rotation of the child safety seat about the aforementioned transverse axis may cause serious danger and risk of injury to a child secured in the child safety seat.

[0008] However, a rear-end collision typically causes the child safety seat to first be lifted from the vehicle seat and then to rebound to its original position (rebound phase). The greater the force or energy of the impact, the higher the child safety seat is rotated about the transverse axis and the higher it falls back. The child is therefore subjected to high accelerations both when being lifted from the vehicle seat and when being lowered back into the vehicle seat. In the event of a frontal collision, the child safety seat is also forced to rotate about the transverse axis and is thereby pressed downward in the vehicle seat.

[0009] There are different mechanisms for dealing with unwanted rotation about a transverse axis defined by, for example, an Isofix anchoring unit. One such mechanism is the so-called top tether. This mechanism comprises a tether and a rigid point in the vehicle body. The tether connects the rigid point to the top of the child safety seat, thereby preventing the child safety seat from moving forward relative to the vehicle seat in the event of a collision.

[0010] Another mechanism for handling rotation is the so-called "Isofix pivot link", which is described in European Patent EP 1 090 804. The mechanism using the Isofix pivot link operates to control the movement of the child safety seat so that the forward movement and the rotational movement of the child safety seat are at least partially converted into a (translational) downward movement of the child safety seat into the vehicle seat. Thus, this mechanism reduces the overall tilt angle of the child in a frontal collision.

[0011] A third mechanism for inhibiting a child safety seat from rotating about a transverse axis is given by a support leg or alias footrest. A support leg or footrest for a child safety seat is a device that prevents a child safety seat from rotating about a transverse axis in the event of an impact. Typically, a support leg is attached to the front end of a seat base for a child safety seat. The seat base can be attached to a corresponding anchoring unit of the vehicle at its rear end by means of an Isofix link. The front end of the seat base with the attached footrest can extend away from the vehicle seat. In the event of a frontal accident, the support will support the seat base to prevent it from being pressed down into the vehicle seat.

[0012] However, in the event of a rear impact, the seat pivots upwards and the support legs are known to pivot or fold inwards towards the lower base. After the seat has rotated to its maximum height, it falls back onto the seat during a rebound phase and eventually rests on the support legs. During this rebound phase, the support legs are completely uncontrolled and pivot freely while not in contact with the vehicle floor, which means that the point at which the support legs reconnect with the floor is uncontrolled and can be detrimental to the child occupant of the seat.

[0013] JP2003094994A discloses a support leg for a child seat, which is attached to the front portion of the child seat to prevent the child seat from moving. When not using the support leg, the support leg can be stored against the lower surface of the child seat.

[0014] It is against this background that the present disclosure has been developed. Utility Model Content

[0015] According to a first aspect, there is provided a child safety seat for use with a vehicle seat, the child safety seat comprising: a support leg pivotally connected relative to a forward facing portion of the child safety seat so as to swing inwardly toward the seat and outwardly away from the seat, and a locking device activated by forward acceleration of the seat during an accident in which the support leg swings inwardly to impose a limit on the extent of outward swing of the support leg.

[0016] In one form, the locking means is releasable.

[0017] In one form, the locking arrangement allows the support legs to pivot inwardly during impact, but then imposes a limit on the extent to which the support legs can swing outwardly during the rebound phase.

[0018] In one form, the support leg cannot return to its initial position and eventually comes to rest at an angle defined by the locking means.

[0019] In one form, locking means secure the support legs at this outward limit.

[0020] In one form, the locking means is located adjacent a pivot point for the support leg.

[0021] In one form, the locking means comprises a detent mechanism.

[0022] In one form, the locking means comprises an engagement member for engaging with the support leg.

[0023] In one form, the engagement member is movable relative to the support leg between an engaged position and a disengaged position.

[0024] In one form, the locking device includes a housing.

[0025] In one form, the engagement member comprises a detent.

[0026] In one form, the pawl pivots about a pivot point.

[0027] In one form, the pawl includes a generally elongated body portion and a head portion projecting toward one side of the body portion.

[0028] In one form, the head portion of the pawl includes an upwardly projecting ramp.

[0029] In one form, the bevel includes an upper side surface that slopes away from an inner side edge of the head portion.

[0030] In one form, the bevel includes an upper side surface that slopes away from an inner corner of the head portion.

[0031] In one form, in the alternative, the engagement member comprises a pin.

[0032] In one form, the pin acts linearly.

[0033] In one form, the locking means comprises a biasing member acting against the engagement member.

[0034] In one form, the biasing member biases the engagement member toward its disengaged position.

[0035] In one form, the locking device is configured so that it will never inadvertently lock the support leg during normal use.

[0036] In one form, the support leg is pivotally connected relative to the base of the child seat.

[0037] In one form, the base is integral with the body of the chair.

[0038] In one form, in an alternative arrangement, the body of the seat is separable from the base.

[0039] In one form, a child safety seat includes a link projecting from a child seat body, and a releasable connector disposed on the link for engaging an anchor unit associated with a vehicle seat.

[0040] According to a further aspect, there is provided a child safety seat for use with a vehicle seat, the child safety seat comprising: a support leg pivotally connected relative to a forward facing portion of the child safety seat so as to swing inwardly towards the seat and outwardly away from the seat, and a releasable locking arrangement, wherein, in use, the releasable locking arrangement permits inward pivoting of the support leg but imposes a limit on the extent of outward swinging of the support leg.

[0041] According to a further aspect, there is provided a base for a child safety seat comprising: a support leg pivotally connected relative to a forward facing portion of the base so as to swing inwardly toward the seat and outwardly away from the seat, and a releasable locking device activated by forward acceleration of the seat during an accident in which the support leg swings inwardly to impose a limit on the extent of outward swing of the support leg.

[0042] According to a further aspect, a locking mechanism is provided that is configured to be fixed relative to a child safety seat, the child safety seat including a support leg that is pivotally connected relative to a forward-facing portion of the seat so as to swing inwardly toward the seat and outwardly away from the seat, wherein during an accident in which the support leg swings inwardly, the locking mechanism is activated by forward acceleration of the seat to impose a limit on the extent of outward swing of the support leg.

[0043] In one form, the locking mechanism includes an engagement member for engaging the support leg, and a biasing member for biasing the engagement member toward its disengaged position.

[0044] In one form, the locking mechanism further includes a housing relative to which both the engagement member and the biasing member are fixed.

[0045] In one form, the locking mechanism is configured to be retrofitted with respect to a child safety seat.

[0046] In one form, the locking device further includes a pawl check device configured to allow the pawl to move from its disengaged position to its engaged position but prevent the pawl from returning to its retracted position.

[0047] In one form, the pawl check device includes an obstruction member movable relative to the pawl between a non-obstructing position and an obstructing position.

[0048] In one form, the pawl includes a recess configured to receive the obstruction member and release the obstruction member when the pawl moves from its disengaged position to its engaged position.

[0049] In one form, the obstruction member comprises a nut.

[0050] In one form, in the alternative, the obstruction member comprises a ball bearing.

[0051] In one form, in the alternative, the obstructing member comprises a pin.

[0052] In one form, the obstruction member is biased into its obstruction position.

[0053] For ease of description, a child seat embodying features of the present invention is described below in its normal use position as shown in the accompanying drawings, and terms such as front, rear, upper, lower, horizontal, longitudinal, etc. may be used with reference to this normal position. However, the child seat assembly may be manufactured, shipped, sold, or used in an orientation different from that described and shown herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0055] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a child safety seat;

[0056] Figure 2 is a detail view of the support legs of a child safety seat;

[0057] Figure 3 is a detailed view of the mounting bracket (mount) for the support legs;

[0058] Figure 4 is a detailed view of the locking device for the support leg;

[0059] Figure 5 is an exploded view of the locking device;

[0060] Figure 6 is a plan view of the locking device showing the pawl retracted;

[0061] Figure 7 is a plan view of the locking device showing the pawl extended;

[0062] Figure 8 is an isometric view of the locking device showing the pawl extended;

[0063] Fig. 9 is an isometric view of a locking device according to another form;

[0064] Fig.10 and Fig.11 yes Fig. 9 Detailed view of the locking device;

[0065] Fig.12 is an isometric view of a locking device according to another form;

[0066] Fig.13 yes Fig.12 An exploded view of the locking device;

[0067] Fig.14 yes Fig.12 A plan view of the locking device; and

[0068] Fig.15 and Fig.16 is an isometric view of the locking device showing the pawl extended.

[0069] In the following description, the same reference numerals designate the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] Reference now Figure 1 and Figure 2 , a child safety seat 1 for use with a vehicle seat is shown.

[0071] The child safety seat 1 comprises a seat base 10 including an anti-rebound bar 11. In the illustrated embodiment, the child seat body 20 is releasably fixed relative to the seat base 10, but in an alternative, the base may be integral with the seat body (i.e., not separable). The seat base 10 is releasably fixed to the vehicle seat by a connector (such as, but not limited to, an Isofix connector). The connector engages with a corresponding anchor unit of the vehicle seat 1.

[0072] The child seat body 20 can generally be secured in a vehicle in a rear-facing configuration or a forward-facing configuration, depending on the size and age of the child. The child occupant is secured in the child seat body 20. The present disclosure has particular benefits for the case of a forward-facing occupant secured in a seat installed in a vehicle involved in a rear-end collision. It can also provide some advantages for forward-facing occupants.

[0073] The support leg 40 (also known as a footrest) is pivotally connected relative to the forward-facing portion of the seat base 10 of the child safety seat 1 at a pivot point PP so as to swing inwardly (rearwardly in the vehicle) toward the seat 1 and outwardly (forwardly in the vehicle) away from the seat 1. This pivot connection allows the support leg 40 to be folded toward the seat 1 into a retracted and stowed position within the underside of the base 10 for compactness and easy storage. When desired, the support leg 40 can be extended and its length locked in an installed position or use position in which the foot 42 of the support leg 40 contacts the vehicle's cabin floor.

[0074] Reference now Figures 3 to 8 , the seat base 10 includes a support frame 12 including a mounting bracket 14 for a support leg 40. The support leg 40 is positioned between a pair of spaced apart mounting portions 14a, and a pivot pin 16 passes through the support leg 40 and the mounting portions to form a pivot point PP.

[0075] Preferably, a metal frame 12 for the support leg 40 is provided at least at the front of the child safety seat 1, the metal frame 12 being conveniently formed of metal. However, other possibilities are conceivable, such as a polymer support leg 40 and a polymer support structure therefor.

[0076] The locking device 50 is located adjacent to the pivot point PP of the support leg 40 .

[0077] Reference Figure 5 The locking device 50 includes a housing 52 that is fixed relative to the support frame 12 at a position close to the pivot point PP of the support leg 40. In the illustrated embodiment, the housing 52 is fixed relative to one of the mounting portions 14a of the frame 12 and includes a tab 54 located above the pivot pin 16.

[0078] The housing 52 houses a pawl 60 that can freely rotate about a pivot point PP that fixes the pawl 60 relative to the housing 52 .

[0079] The pawl 60 includes a generally elongated body portion 62 and a head portion 64 protruding to one side of the body portion 62. The pivot point PP and the head portion 64 are located at the distal end of the body portion 62. The head portion 64 bends in an arc shape about the pivot point PP as it extends outward.

[0080] The pawl 60 and housing 52 are both shown formed from a rigid sheet of material, but may also be molded from plastic. The pawl 60 and housing 52 both lie flat on top of an upwardly facing surface of one of the mounting portions 14a, with the housing 52 uppermost and oriented with the pivot point PP positioned forwardly on the seat 1 and the head portion 64 of the pawl 60 positioned rearwardly on the seat 1.

[0081] It is contemplated that the housing 52 may be secured to the frame without any additional fasteners, such as by clamping thereto, or by using existing features, such as using the pivot pin 16 via the locating tabs 54, to achieve retention thereof. It is contemplated that the housing 52 and pawl 60 may be made from a low slip coefficient polymer sheet that is a flat 2D design that must be folded to form the housing 52. These parts may also be 3D printed or molded.

[0082] The pawl 60 is pivotable between a retracted position, in which the pawl 60 is almost completely contained within the housing 52 , and an extended position, in which a head portion 64 of the pawl 60 protrudes from the housing 52 .

[0083] The sliding surface between the housing 52 and the pawl 60 may include ribs to ensure sliding without any sticking.

[0084] It is contemplated that the locking device 50 may be provided as a component that may be retrofitted to the seat 1 .

[0085] A biasing member in the form of a spring 70 extends between the attachment point 56 on the housing 52 and the attachment point 66 on the pawl 60. The spring 70 biases the pawl 60 toward its retracted position to preclude accidental deflection of the pawl 60 which would undesirably lock the support leg 40 in normal use. The attachment point 66 comprises a pin extending through a slot 58 provided in the housing 52.

[0086] The center of mass of the pawl 60 is positioned as far away from the pivot point PP as possible so that the pawl 60 will pivot to its extended position in the event of an effective forward acceleration of +X (such as in the rebound phase of a rear impact). However, such extension of the pawl 60 is initially blocked because the side walls of the junction of the support legs 40 hinder such extension, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 and Figure 6 Once the support legs 40 are folded, Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, this side wall of the support leg 40 moves upwards and, as soon as sufficient space is available, the pawl 60 shears into the free space.

[0087] Due to continued acceleration and inertia, the pawl 60 remains extended during the rebound phase. Once the support leg 40 rotates backward, the joint hits the top of the pawl 60, which prevents the support leg 40 from returning to its initial position. As a result, the support leg 40 can no longer return to its initial position and eventually stays at the angle defined by the pawl 60. The location of the pivot point PP and the outer shape of the pawl 60 allow the pawl 60 to be sheared out of its housing 52 as far as practicable.

[0088] The forces that may occur in a rear impact cause the child safety seat to rotate about a transverse axis defined by the connection point of the connector of the rigid link and the anchor unit. This causes the front part of the seat base 1 to rise relative to the vehicle seat. As a result, the position and orientation of the child safety seat differ significantly from the installed position.

[0089] Advantageously, the locking device 50 allows the support leg 40 to pivot inwardly during a crash, but then prevents full outward pivoting during the rebound phase.

[0090] This ensures that the support leg 40 can be "landed" in a position that facilitates contact between the child occupant's head and the headrest.

[0091] It has been found that the angle at which the support leg 40 lands again on the vehicle floor when the support leg 40 has been pivoted outwards to the maximum extent is the most unfavourable, as this causes the seat 1 to drop and rotate further, causing the occupant's head to strike the headrest at a faster speed.

[0092] It has been found that the angle of the support leg 40 when it lands again on the vehicle floor is advantageous when the seat 1 stops rotating more quickly in a slightly higher position, since the occupant's head is caught earlier and therefore more gently by the headrest.

[0093] For this reason, it has been found that it is advantageous for the support leg 40 to be at or near vertical when landing on the vehicle floor again. Therefore, ideally, the locking device 50 limits the range of the outward swing of the support leg 40 to be at or near vertical.

[0094] The presence and operation of the locking device 50 may conceivably reduce instances of head and neck injuries to very young children secured in seats in vehicles involved in rear-end collisions.

[0095] Furthermore, the presence and operation of the locking device 50 may conceivably reduce the size of the rebound rod required for a given seat. This may reduce the complexity and cost of manufacturing the seat.

[0096] Reference now Figures 9 to 11 , which shows a locking device 150 according to another form. Figures 1 to 8 Those parts that are identical (or nearly identical) to corresponding parts shown in the locking device 50 will be indicated by the same reference numerals and will not be described again in detail.

[0097] The head portion 64 of the pawl 60 of the locking device 150 includes an upwardly protruding inclined surface 68. This inclined surface 68 includes an upper side surface that is inclined rearward from the inner side edge E of the head portion 64. The thickness of the head portion 64 increases as it extends rearward from the inner side edge E, thereby increasing the weight of the head portion 64, which facilitates the operation of the pawl 60.

[0098] When the locking device 150 is compared to the locking device 50, an additional difference of the locking device 150 is the location of the attachment point 56 of the spring 70 on the housing 52. For the locking device 150, the attachment point 56 of the spring 70 on the housing 52 is positioned toward the end of the pawl 60 that is the same as the pivot point PP of the pawl 60. This changes the line of action of the spring 70 in order to ensure that in the event of significant forward acceleration in +X (such as in the rebound phase of a rear impact), the spring 70 does not unduly impair the operation of the pawl 60.

[0099] In use, the upwardly projecting ramp 68 serves to assist the head portion 64 of the pawl 60 to extend as early as possible in the event of significant forward acceleration in +X, such as in the rebound phase of a rear impact, by reducing the surface pressure when it engages the support leg 40. In addition, the upwardly projecting ramp 68 stops the rotation of the support leg more quickly than a flat pawl 60, the advantages of which are discussed above.

[0100] Reference now Figures 12 to 16 , which shows a locking device 200 according to another form. Figures 1 to 8 Those parts that are identical (or nearly identical) to corresponding parts shown in the locking device 50 will be indicated by the same reference numerals and will not be described again in detail.

[0101] In this form, the housing 52 and the pawl 60 are molded from an engineering plastic material. The housing includes an integrally formed cover 52c that can be folded between an open position and a closed position, in which the cover 52c covers the pawl 60.

[0102] The main body portion 62 of the pawl 60 includes a recess 72 for receiving at least a portion of the spring 70. This allows the spring 70 to have a direct line of action with the pawl 60 and improves the packaging of the parts within the housing 52 for compactness.

[0103] It is noteworthy that the locking device 200 further includes a pawl check device 210. In use, the pawl check device 210 allows the pawl 60 to move from its disengaged (or retracted) position to its engaged (or extended) position, but prevents the pawl 60 from returning to its disengaged (retracted) position.

[0104] The pawl check device 210 includes an obstruction member 220 that is movable relative to the pawl 60 between a non-obstructing position and an obstructing position.

[0105] In the illustrated form, the obstruction member 220 comprises a nut, and the pawl 60 comprises a recess 212 for receiving the nut 220 in the plane of the pawl 60. The recess 212 comprises a slot having a width that matches the size of the nut 220 in the opposite plane. The blind end of the slot 212 is shaped to match the edge profile of the nut 220 so that the nut 220 nests in the blind end of the slot 212. When so nested, the obstruction member nut 220 is in its non-obstructing position. The slot 212 is inclined forward to an opening through the outer edge of the pawl 60 so that the slot 212 forms an oblique slot for the nut 220.

[0106] In use, in the event of an effective forward acceleration of +X (such as in the event of a rebound phase of a rear impact), when the pawl 60 moves to the engaged (extended) position, the nut 220 travels in the forward direction until it leaves the recess 212 and enters the cavity vacated by the locking pawl 60, but when the pawl 60 is stored in its disengaged (retracted) position, the nut 220 is otherwise occupied by the pawl 60. Thus, the locking pawl 60 is prevented from returning to its disengaged position because the nut 220 is wedged between the rear side of the pawl 60 and the wall of the housing 52 and hinders the return movement of the pawl 60.

[0107] The pawl check device 200 serves as an additional level of safety to prevent the pawl 60 from failing.

[0108] In an alternative, not shown, form, the pawl check device 200 may include a spherical catch or spring loaded pin that is biased to extend into a cavity vacated by the locking pawl 60 but is occupied by the pawl 60 when the pawl 60 is stored in its retracted position.

[0109] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an admission of any kind that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

[0110] It should be understood that the terms "comprise" and "include" and any derivatives thereof (e.g., comprises, comprising, includes, including) as used in this specification and the following claims should be interpreted as including the features referred to by the terms and not as excluding the existence of any additional features unless otherwise stated or implied.

[0111] In some cases, for simplicity and / or to help understand the scope of the present disclosure, a single embodiment can combine multiple features. It should be understood that, in such a case, these multiple features can be provided separately (in separate embodiments), or in any other suitable combination. Alternatively, in the case of describing separate features in separate embodiments, unless otherwise stated or implied, these separate features can be combined in a single embodiment. This also applies to claims that can be recombined in any combination. That is, the claims can be amended to include features defined in any other claim. In addition, the phrase "at least one" mentioned in the list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single components. As an example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc and abc.

[0112] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited in its use to the specific application or applications described. The present disclosure is also not limited to its preferred embodiments with respect to the specific components and / or features described or depicted herein. It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed one or more embodiments, but is capable of various rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing from the scope set forth and defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A child safety seat, the child safety seat being used together with a vehicle seat, characterized in that: The child safety seat includes a support leg pivotally connected relative to a forward-facing portion of the child safety seat so as to swing inwardly toward the child safety seat and outwardly away from the child safety seat, and a releasable locking device that is activated in response to forward acceleration of the child safety seat during an event in which the support leg swings inwardly to impose a limit on the extent of outward swing of the support leg.

2. The child safety seat according to claim 1, characterized in that: The releasable locking means allows the support legs to fully pivot inwardly but then imposes a limit on the extent to which the support legs can swing outwardly.

3. A child safety seat according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that After activation, the support leg cannot return to its initial position and eventually comes to rest at an angle defined by the locking device.

4. The child safety seat according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking device is located adjacent to the pivot point of the support leg.

5. The child safety seat according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking device includes an engagement member for engaging with the support leg.

6. The child safety seat according to claim 5, characterized in that: The engagement member is movable relative to the support leg between an engaged position and a disengaged position.

7. The child safety seat according to claim 5, characterized in that: The engagement member includes a pawl that pivots about a pivot point.

8. The child safety seat according to claim 5, characterized in that: The locking arrangement comprises a biasing member acting against the engagement member.

9. The child safety seat according to claim 8, characterized in that: The biasing member biases the engagement member toward its disengaged position.

10. The child safety seat according to claim 7, characterized in that: The locking device further comprises a pawl check device configured to allow the pawl to move from its disengaged position to its engaged position but prevent the pawl from returning to its disengaged position.

11. The child safety seat according to claim 10, characterized in that: The pawl check device includes an obstruction member movable relative to the pawl between a non-obstructing position and an obstructing position.

12. The child safety seat according to claim 11, characterized in that: The pawl includes a recess configured to receive the obstruction member and release the obstruction member when the pawl moves from its disengaged position to its engaged position.

13. The child safety seat according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The obstruction member includes a nut.

14. The child safety seat according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The obstructing member comprises a ball bearing or a pin.

15. The child safety seat according to claim 11, characterized in that: The obstruction member is biased into its obstruction position.

16. The child safety seat according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support leg is pivotally connected relative to the base of the child safety seat.

17. The child safety seat according to claim 16, characterized in that: The base is integrated with the main body of the child safety seat.

18. The child safety seat according to claim 16, characterized in that: The main body of the child safety seat can be separated from the base.

19. A base for a child safety seat, characterized in that: The base includes a support leg pivotally connected relative to a forward-facing portion of the base so as to swing inwardly toward the child safety seat and outwardly away from the child safety seat, and a releasable locking device activated by forward acceleration of the seat during an event in which the support leg swings inwardly to impose a limit on the extent of outward swing of the support leg.

20. A locking mechanism, characterized in that: The locking mechanism is configured to be fixed relative to a child safety seat, the child safety seat including a support leg pivotally connected relative to a forward-facing portion of the child safety seat so as to swing inwardly toward the child safety seat and outwardly away from the child safety seat, wherein during an event in which the support leg swings inwardly, the locking mechanism is activated by forward acceleration of the child safety seat to impose a limit on the extent of outward swing of the support leg.

Images