Bicycle Trailer LATCH Layout for Secure Child Car Seat Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bicycle trailers lack effective and secure mechanisms for attaching and securing child car seats, particularly in configurations that meet the requirements of the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system, which is essential for safe transportation of children.
Innovation Solution
The bicycle trailer design incorporates a plurality of latches, including eye bolts with a 6 mm diameter ring, strategically positioned to securely attach both rear-facing and front-facing child car seats, ensuring compatibility with the LATCH system and providing secure anchoring points through rotatable and accessible mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional attachment mechanisms are used in bicycle trailers, then the structure remains simple, but the ability to securely attach child car seats meeting LATCH system requirements is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The latch system is divided into multiple independent latches distributed at different positions (front, rear, left, right) of the trailer. Each latch can independently secure different parts of the car seat, providing redundant security while maintaining modular simplicity in the overall design.
Solution Approach 2:
The latches are designed with a universal 6 mm diameter ring configuration that meets LATCH system requirements and can accommodate various car seat types and orientations (front-facing and rear-facing). This multi-functional design allows the same latch mechanism to serve multiple attachment purposes without requiring different specialized components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple latches are added to secure both front-facing and rear-facing car seats, then adaptability to different car seat configurations is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The latch system employs an asymmetric distribution of latches with different quantities at different ends of the trailer. The first end has a first plurality of latches while the second end has a second plurality of latches, allowing optimization for both front-facing and rear-facing car seat configurations without requiring identical symmetric attachment points.
Solution Approach 2:
The latches are designed to be rotatable, allowing dynamic adjustment and access from different directions. This rotational capability enables the same latch mechanism to serve multiple attachment orientations and makes the latches accessible through openings in the trailer walls, reducing the need for additional fixed-position latches.
3Ease of operation
If latches are made accessible through openings in closed walls, then ease of operation is improved, but the protective enclosure of the trailer is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The latch mechanism is nested within the trailer structure, with the latch body housed inside the closed wall and only the essential 6 mm diameter ring portion exposed through the opening. This nested configuration allows operational access while maintaining the protective enclosure, as the critical latch components remain sheltered within the trailer's closed walls.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations of bicycle trailers may include a first end and a second end, the second end opposite the first end, a first plurality of latches coupled to the first end, and a second plurality of latches coupled to the second end. The first plurality of latches may be configured to secure a rear-facing child's car seat facing the first end. The second plurality of latches may be configured to secure the rear-facing child's car seat facing the second end. The second plurality of latches may be configured to secure a front-facing child's car seat facing the first end.