Child Seat Retractor Assembly for Easier Vehicle Anchor Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of child safety seats in vehicles can be cumbersome and prone to improper installation due to the complexity of existing systems, particularly for regular child seats like booster seats that lack a simple and easy-to-operate harness structure.
Innovation Solution
A child seat design featuring a seat shell with a retractor assembly, anchor strap portions, and an adjustment part that allows for easy attachment and detachment from a vehicle's anchor structure using a simple and intuitive mechanism, including a lock and adjustment strap system to facilitate secure anchoring and easy removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vehicle seatbelt is used to secure the child safety seat, then the child can be protected in case of collision, but the installation becomes cumbersome and prone to improper installation
Solution Approach 1:
The seat belt system is segmented into separate functional components: the vehicle seatbelt remains for safety restraint, while a dedicated LATCH system with separate anchor straps and connectors provides the installation function. This segmentation allows each system to optimize its specific purpose without interfering with the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The LATCH system acts as an intermediary between the child seat and the vehicle structure. Instead of directly using the seatbelt for installation, the LATCH anchors connect to the vehicle's dedicated anchor points, providing a simplified installation path while maintaining safety through the separate seatbelt restraint system.
2Ease of operation
If an internal harness is provided to anchor with the vehicle seat without using the passenger seatbelt, then the installation is facilitated, but the design is limited to complex child safety seats
Solution Approach 1:
The LATCH system is designed as a universal installation mechanism that can be applied to both complex safety seats and simple booster seats. The standardized anchor straps, connectors, and routing paths create a multi-functional solution that works across different seat types without requiring complex internal harness structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The installation function is extracted from the seat's internal structure and implemented as a separate, dedicated LATCH system. This extraction allows the installation mechanism to be simplified and standardized, while the seat's primary structure can remain simple (as in booster seats) without needing to incorporate complex harness systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If anchor strap portions are extended outward from the rear of the seat shell, then attachment to vehicle anchor structure is enabled, but the straps may become loose or improperly tensioned
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor strap system incorporates dynamic tensioning mechanisms including reel assemblies that can pay out and retract the straps, and adjusters that allow for dynamic adjustment of strap length and tension. This enables the system to adapt to different installation scenarios while maintaining proper tension and stability through controlled movement and adjustment capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A child seat includes a seat shell, a retractor assembly connected with the seat shell, two anchor strap portions extending outward from a rear of the seat shell, and an adjustment strap extending outside the seat shell. Each of the two anchor straps is provided with a fastener operable to attach with an anchor structure of a vehicle. The two anchor strap portions extend outward from a rear of the seat shell, and are provided with two fasteners operable to attach with an anchor structure of a vehicle, the anchor strap portions being connected with the retractor assembly. The adjustment strap is operable to actuate the retractor assembly to retract the anchor strap portions toward an interior of the seat shell.