Low-Profile Child Seat Recline Mechanism With Pin Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing children's car seats have a tall seat base that elevates the child, obstructing the driver's view and increasing the center of gravity, making them aesthetically undesirable and potentially hazardous during crashes, especially in smaller vehicles. Additionally, complex and expensive recline mechanisms are often noisy and difficult to operate.
Innovation Solution
A reclinable child seat assembly with a low-profile support base and a simplified recline mechanism featuring a recline positioner, pin, biasing element, and release handle, allowing easy adjustment between recline positions without increasing the seat's overall height, thus lowering the center of gravity and improving safety and aesthetics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tall seat base is used to support the car seat, then the car seat can be installed on the vehicle seat, but the center of gravity increases and the driver's view is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a recline mechanism that allows the seat shell to dynamically adjust between upright and reclined positions. This dynamic adjustment enables the seat to achieve stable installation in both positions without requiring a tall base structure, as the recline mechanism provides the necessary support and positioning variability.
Solution Approach 2:
The car seat is divided into separate functional components: a support base and a seat shell. The recline mechanism is integrated into the support base, allowing the seat shell to be independently positioned. This segmentation enables the base to remain compact while the shell achieves the desired recline angles through the mechanism.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a complex recline mechanism with many parts is used, then the car seat can be adjusted between different recline positions, but the mechanism becomes difficult and time-consuming to manufacture and assemble
Solution Approach 1:
The recline mechanism integrates multiple functions into a unified structure within the support base. The mechanism combines the recline adjustment function with the base structure itself, eliminating the need for separate complex components. This merging simplifies both manufacturing and assembly while maintaining the ability to adjust between different recline positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The recline mechanism is designed to be self-contained within the support base, with the base structure itself providing the mechanical means for adjustment. The mechanism uses the base's own structural elements to enable recline position changes, reducing the need for additional parts and simplifying the overall system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a manual recline mechanism with significant number of parts is used, then the car seat can be reconfigured between different recline positions, but the mechanism becomes complex and not intuitive to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The recline adjustment function is extracted and integrated directly into the support base structure. The base contains the mechanical elements needed for adjustment, allowing the user to operate the recline mechanism through simple interactions with the base itself rather than complex controls. This extraction simplifies the user interface while maintaining full recline position adjustability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a safer, more aesthetically pleasing, and compact car seat that is easier to use and maintain, with a lower center of gravity and reduced obstruction for the driver's view, while being more affordable and intuitive to operate.
Implementation Method 1
The biasing element is coupled to the pin and is configured to bias the pin to the engaged position
Data Source
AI summary
A child seat assembly has a base to rest on a vehicle seat, a seat shell, and a recline mechanism that selectively permits adjustment of the seat shell between first and second recline positions and includes a recline positioner, pin, biasing element, and handle. The recline positioner has first and second portions defining the first and second recline positions, respectively. The pin is movable between a released position and an engaged position in which the pin is configured to engage the first or second portion to retain the seat shell in the corresponding first or second recline position. The biasing element is coupled to the pin and configured to bias the pin to the engaged position. The handle is operable to move the pin from the engaged position to the released position in which the seat shell is movable between the first and second recline positions.