Child Seat Multi-Latch Release for Secure Base Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional child safety seats face challenges in securely attaching and easily removing the seat portion from a base or stroller structure, particularly due to the smaller body size of young children which may not sustain the pressure of vehicle seatbelts, and the need for a secure yet easy-to-operate attachment mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A child safety seat design featuring two protruding rails with symmetrically disposed latches that lock onto a base or stroller, and a release mechanism allowing concurrent unlocking of the latches for easy removal, ensuring secure attachment and easy detachment from both base and stroller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a secure attachment mechanism is provided to hold the seat portion with the base, then the reliability of the attachment is improved, but the ease of operation for removing the seat portion deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism is divided into multiple independent latches (at least four latches in two symmetric pairs) that can be individually actuated. Each latch can be engaged or disengaged separately, allowing the seat portion to be securely attached through multiple latch points while enabling controlled removal by actuating the release mechanism to disengage latches in sequence or simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The latches are designed with movable components that can transition between engaged and disengaged states. The release mechanism provides dynamic control over the latch state, allowing easy transition from a secure locked position to an unlocked position for removal, thus resolving the contradiction between secure attachment and easy removal.
2Reliability
If multiple latches are provided to securely lock the child seat with the base, then the attachment security is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
While the latches are arranged symmetrically in pairs, the internal structure of each latch may incorporate asymmetric features for engagement and disengagement. The release mechanism may have asymmetric actuation paths that simplify the user interaction while maintaining secure multi-point attachment, thus managing complexity while ensuring reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The release mechanism is designed to control multiple latches through a single actuation point or unified control system. By merging the control functions into one release mechanism, the complexity of operating multiple individual latches is reduced, while the security provided by multiple latches is maintained.
Data Source
AI summary
A child seat can comprise a seat shell having two protruding rails extending at an underside of the seat shell, at least four latches disposed in two symmetric pairs adjacent to the two rails, wherein the latches are operable to lock the child seat with a base, and a release mechanism operable to drive the latches to unlock from the base.