Collapsible Booster Seat Base with Rotating Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional child safety seats require users to lift and rotate the booster seat or separate the seat back from the base while in use, making it difficult to switch between configurations without accessing parts that are not accessible when the seat is positioned on a vehicle seat.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible child booster seat with a seat support frame that can be folded from an in-use configuration to a collapsed configuration, allowing for easy adjustment and configuration changes without removing the seat from the vehicle seat, featuring rotating members and tab members for secure attachment and detachment from the seat back.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional booster seats use a fixed seat base and seat back configuration, then the seat provides stable support for children, but the user cannot easily switch between different seating configurations without removing the seat from the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The booster seat is divided into separate modular components: a seat base and a seat back that can be independently attached and detached. This segmentation allows the seat back to be removed or attached without removing the entire seat from the vehicle, enabling configuration changes while maintaining the base position on the vehicle seat.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat back incorporates a dynamic adjustment mechanism with multiple position settings (e.g., reclined, upright, removed) that can be changed on-demand. This dynamic capability allows users to adapt the seat configuration to different child sizes and comfort needs without removing the seat from the vehicle.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional booster seats allow seat back removal, then the seat can be converted to base-only mode for larger children, but the user must lift and rotate the seat or access inaccessible parts to operate the release mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The release mechanism is designed to be self-operating through intuitive user actions. When the user lifts the child from the seat, the seat back automatically returns to an upright position due to its resilient nature, and the release mechanism automatically engages or disengages based on the seat's position, eliminating the need for complex manual operations or inaccessible controls.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the user to manually operate a release mechanism while the seat is in use, the system is designed so that normal seat usage (lifting the child) automatically triggers the configuration change. The seat back's resilient property causes it to return to upright position when unloaded, which naturally activates the release mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If the seat back is made resilient and returnable to upright position, then the seat automatically adjusts to child size, but the mechanism must maintain reliable engagement and disengagement during normal use
Solution Approach 1:
The release mechanism incorporates a resilient element that is pre-loaded to maintain constant engagement force between the seat back and base. This pre-loaded resilient force ensures reliable engagement during normal use while automatically allowing disengagement when the seat back is lifted to the release position, providing both reliability and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A child's booster seat is provided and can include a booster seat base and seat back. The booster seat base can be collapsed or folded from an in-use configuration to a collapsed configuration to improve portability of the booster seat base. The booster seat base can include multiple seating surface panels that are rotatably coupled to one another to allow the booster seat base to be collapsed from an in-use width to a collapsed width that is less than the in-use width. The booster seat base can also be coupled and decoupled from the booster seat back. The booster seat base can include tab members that can be inserted into tab receiving cavities of the booster seat back. Adjustment of the booster seat base from the in-use configuration to the collapsed configuration can also facilitate removal of the tab members from the tab receiving cavities of the booster seat back.