Child Restraint Belt Guide for Direct Thigh Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catching elements for vehicles do not securely restrain children during accidents or rollovers, as they require a significant distance for the child's body to be slowed down, potentially leading to head impact with the front seat or other objects.
Innovation Solution
A catching element with a diagonal and horizontal belt system where the horizontal belt section directly contacts the child's thighs, utilizing slot-like belt guides to ensure secure fixation, with adjustable mounting to optimize retention and reduce injury risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the catching element is designed to hold the child securely during accidents or rollovers, then the child safety is improved, but the child's upper body must cover a comparatively large distance before being slowed down, which may lead to head impact with front seat or fittings
Solution Approach 1:
The belt system is segmented into a diagonal belt section and a horizontal belt section, with separate belt guides for each section. This segmentation allows the horizontal belt section to directly contact the child's thighs and provide immediate restraining force, while the diagonal belt section handles the upper body, reducing the stopping distance and preventing head impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The horizontal belt section acts as an intermediary element between the child's upper body and the vehicle seat. By directly contacting the child's thighs through the second belt guide, it provides an intermediate restraining force that slows down the child's forward movement more quickly, preventing direct impact with the front seat or fittings.
2Reliability
If the horizontal belt section directly contacts the child's thighs, then the child is held securely in the seat during accidents, but the belt system complexity increases with additional belt guides and routing
Solution Approach 1:
The catching element is designed to work with standard 3-point belt systems that are already present in vehicles. By utilizing the existing diagonal and horizontal belt sections and adding only two belt guides, the system achieves enhanced child retention without requiring a completely new belt system, thus limiting the increase in complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The belt guides are designed to dynamically adapt to the child's position and movement. The first belt guide accommodates the diagonal belt section while the second belt guide allows the horizontal belt section to freely extend between guide sections, enabling the system to maintain effectiveness during normal use and accidents without requiring complex mechanical adjustments.
3Reliability
If the second belt guide is arranged on the catching element, then the horizontal belt section can be positioned to rest directly on the child's thighs, but the catching element structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The second belt guide's guide sections are integrated into the catching element structure, with the belt guide nested within the overall catching element design. This nesting approach allows the horizontal belt section to be properly positioned on the child's thighs while maintaining a compact and integrated structure rather than adding separate external components.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a restraining element (1) for restraining a child (25), comprising a vehicle belt system which comprises a diagonal belt portion (7) and a horizontal belt portion (17), in particular for use with a child seat (21). The restraining element (1) extends approximately transversally above the upper leg of a child (25) sitting on a seat surface (29). The restraining element is characterized in that the restraining element has a first belt guide (5) for the diagonal belt portion (7), and the horizontal belt portion (17) interacts with a second belt guide (15) such that the horizontal belt section (17) extends away directly over the upper leg of the child (25).