Child Seat Backrest Locking Mechanism Against Accidental Folding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current child stroller designs with adjustable backrests can accidentally fold, posing a risk of injury to children, as they lack a reliable mechanism to prevent unintended displacement of the backrest to a parallel position with the seat.
Innovation Solution
A child seat with a backrest that can be adjusted using a mechanism comprising a positioning element and a latch element, along with a safety lock that restricts the backrest's displacement to a parallel position, ensuring the backrest remains securely positioned relative to the seat part.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the backrest is allowed to fold completely forward to a position parallel with the seat part for accommodating infant car seats, then the versatility and convenience of the stroller is improved, but the risk of accidental folding during use increases, compromising child safety
Solution Approach 1:
The safety lock mechanism applies preliminary anti-action by preemptively preventing the backrest from folding beyond the predetermined angular range. The lock engages with the latch element to block further folding motion before accidental complete folding can occur, thus counteracting the potential harmful action in advance while preserving the intended versatility of the design.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning element with channel and latch element performs preliminary action by establishing predetermined safe angular positions for the backrest before use. The channel guides the latch element to engage at specific positions, ensuring the backrest is preliminarily positioned within the safe angular range before the child is placed in the stroller.
2Ease of operation
If the backrest adjusting mechanism allows easy movement for angle adjustment, then the ease of operation is improved, but the risk of unintended displacement increases, reducing safety
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism employs dynamics by allowing the backrest to be easily adjusted within the safe angular range through smooth movement of the latch element along the channel. The safety lock remains dynamically engaged during normal adjustment but can be deliberately disengaged by the user when complete folding is intentionally required, providing dynamic control that balances ease of operation with safety.
3Reliability
If the safety lock mechanism is added to prevent accidental folding, then the reliability and safety are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The safety lock mechanism merges with the existing backrest adjusting mechanism by integrating the lock and latch element into the same structural assembly. The safety lock shares the channel and positioning elements with the adjustment mechanism, combining two functions (adjustment and safety prevention) into a unified structure rather than adding completely separate components, thus minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A child seat comprises a seat part, a backrest operable to rotate relative to the seat part, a backrest adjusting mechanism and a safety lock movably mounted on the backrest. The backrest adjusting mechanism comprises a positioning element mounted stationary relative to the seat part, and a latch element mounted on the backrest and movable to engage with the positioning element. The positioning element comprises a channel that delimits a range of adjustable angular positions of the backrest relative to the seat part. In addition, the safety lock has a lock position adapted to restrict displacement of the latch element relative to the channel, and an unlock position enabling the latch element to move out of the channel when the backrest is moved out of the range of adjustable angular positions toward a position lying substantially parallel with the seat part.