Elastic Cupholder Structure for Child Restraint Impact Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child restraints lack effective solutions for protecting a cupholder from external impact forces without compromising its functionality, as conventional designs fail to absorb impacts without impairing the cup-receiving capability.
Innovation Solution
A juvenile seat with a cupholder made of elastic deformable material, anchored to a rigid cupholder support, allowing the cupholder to deform elastically when exposed to external forces while maintaining its structural integrity and functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the cupholder is made of rigid material to maintain structural integrity, then it can hold cups effectively, but it cannot absorb external impact forces
Solution Approach 1:
The cupholder material's physical state is changed from rigid to viscoelastic, allowing it to exhibit both structural integrity and impact absorption. The viscoelastic material maintains its shape under normal conditions while dissipating impact energy through deformation and hysteresis, resolving the contradiction between rigidity and impact resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The cupholder is constructed using composite material structure combining rigid support elements with viscoelastic damping material. This composite approach provides both the structural strength needed to hold cups and the energy absorption capability to mitigate impact forces from collisions.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the cupholder is made of soft deformable material to absorb impacts, then it can reduce impact forces, but it cannot maintain its shape to hold cups
Solution Approach 1:
The viscoelastic material's time-dependent mechanical properties are utilized: under static load (cup weight), it maintains sufficient rigidity to hold shape, while under dynamic impact loads, it exhibits increased deformation and energy dissipation. This parameter change with loading rate resolves the contradiction between shape maintenance and impact absorption.
Solution Approach 2:
The viscoelastic material is pre-configured within the cupholder structure to provide inherent cushioning before impact occurs. The material's hysteresis properties ensure that impact energy is dissipated through internal friction during deformation, providing beforehand protection while maintaining structural form.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the cupholder is firmly anchored to prevent movement, then it remains stable, but it cannot absorb impact energy through deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The cupholder system is segmented into rigid anchoring structures that provide stability and viscoelastic damping elements that absorb impact energy. The rigid portions remain firmly anchored to maintain position, while the viscoelastic portions deform to dissipate impact energy, resolving the contradiction between stability and energy absorption.
Solution Approach 2:
The viscoelastic material acts as an intermediary between the rigid anchored structure and external impact forces. It transmits minimal reaction forces to the rigid anchor while absorbing the majority of impact energy through its damping characteristics, allowing both stability and energy absorption.
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 effectively absorbs external impact forces, ensuring the cupholder's long-term functionality and safety by allowing elastic deformation without compromising its shape or ability to hold cups, thus enhancing the protection and usability of the child restraint system.
Implementation Method 1
A portion of the deformable cup holder is unsupported by the cupholder support and is free to deform elastically and move relative to the cupholder support when exposed to certain external impact forces
Data Source
AI summary
According to the present disclosure, a child restraint includes a juvenile seat and a child-restraint harness coupled to the juvenile seat. The juvenile seat includes a seat bottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seat bottom. The juvenile seat further includes a cupholder coupled to the seat bottom.