Deployable Child Safety Seat Extension for Rear-Facing Leg Room
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current child safety seats are not designed to accommodate children of different ages, particularly older children whose longer legs do not have enough room when installed in a rear-facing position, leading to concerns about leg safety during collisions.
Innovation Solution
A child safety seat with an adjustable extension member and base that allows for multiple angular positions and configurations, including a deployable extension member to increase leg room and a latching mechanism for secure installation, enabling the seat to adapt to various child sizes by providing more space for older children's legs while maintaining stability and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the child safety seat is designed to receive younger children with small bodies, then the seat fits younger children well, but older children with longer legs do not have enough room and their legs may be crushed against the vehicle seatback during collision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the extension member movable between retracted and deployed positions. The extension member can be extended forward to provide abuttal contact against the vehicle seatback, creating additional leg room for older children in rear-facing seats, and retracted when not needed. This dynamic adjustment allows the same seat to accommodate both younger children (with member retracted) and older children (with member deployed), resolving the contradiction between adaptability and installation confidence.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the extension member is deployed forward to provide abuttal contact against the vehicle seatback, then leg room is increased for older children, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the seat structure into separate functional components: the base seat shell and the detachable extension member. The extension member is a separate segment that can be independently deployed or removed, allowing leg room adjustment without redesigning the entire seat. This modular approach increases adaptability while minimizing overall device complexity by adding only the necessary extension component rather than making the entire seat adjustable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the extraction principle by removing the extension function from the main seat structure and implementing it as a separate, deployable member. The extension member is extracted as an independent component that can be positioned forward to provide abuttal contact against the vehicle seatback when needed, and retracted or removed when not needed. This separation allows the core seat design to remain simple while adding the leg room adjustment capability only when required.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the seat shell is made adjustable relative to the base between multiple angular positions, then the seat can accommodate different installation preferences and child positions, but the locking mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service through the spring-loaded latching mechanism that automatically engages with the adjustment holes when the seat shell is positioned at the desired angle. The spring-loaded latch self-activates to lock the seat shell in place, eliminating the need for manual locking operations. The actuating interfaces simply need to be moved to drive latching and unlatching, and the system self-completes the locking action, reducing operational complexity while maintaining multi-position adjustability.
Data Source
AI summary
A child safety seat includes a seat shell having a seat portion and a backrest, the seat portion having a front end opposite to the backrest, and an extension member connected with the seat shell and having a forward end. The extension member is configurable between a first position where the forward end deploys forward away from the front end of the seat shell, and a second position in which the extension member is retracted toward or removed from the seat shell. The child safety seat has a rear facing configuration of installation, and the forward end of the extension member when in the first position is configured to provide abuttal contact against a seatback of the vehicle seat in the rear facing configuration.