Pivoting Child Seat Brace for Compact Rear-Facing Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child restraints face challenges in fitting vehicles with small cabin spaces when reoriented from forward-facing to rearward-facing arrangements, as the shell back may protrude past the seat cushion, making installation difficult.
Innovation Solution
A child restraint system with a pivotable juvenile-seat brace that adjusts its length and orientation, allowing the shell back to fold inward in the rearward-facing position, and a hinge lock mechanism to secure the brace in place, enabling flexible recline adjustments and secure fitting in various vehicle configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the child restraint is reoriented from forward-facing to rearward-facing arrangement, then the child restraint provides better visibility and access for the child, but the shell back protrudes past the seat cushion making installation difficult in vehicles with small cabin spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The juvenile-seat brace is designed to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position and orientation. This enables the shell back to fold inward during rearward-facing installation, reducing the protrusion distance and allowing installation in vehicles with limited cabin space while maintaining proper support for the juvenile seat
Solution Approach 2:
The child restraint system is divided into separable components: the outer seat-support shell, the inner juvenile seat, and the juvenile-seat brace. This segmentation allows the brace to be independently positioned and adjusted, enabling the shell back to fold inward without compromising the structural integrity or support function of the overall system
2Adaptability or versatility
If the juvenile-seat brace is made pivotable to allow shell back folding, then the device complexity increases, but the adaptability to different vehicle configurations improves
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable juvenile-seat brace serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the juvenile seat, enables the shell back to fold inward for compact installation, and allows adjustment between different seating configurations. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity despite the added pivot capability
Data Source
AI summary
A child restraint comprising an outer seat-support shell adapted to rest on a vehicle seat and to be secured to the vehicle seat for transportation in a vehicle and an inner juvenile seat coupled to the outer seat-support shell. The inner juvenile seat is configured to provide a child-receiving space sized to receive a child therein.