Resilient Side Impact Protection in Child Safety Seats

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Solution Overview

Problem

Child safety seats face challenges in providing enhanced side impact protection without increasing weight, mass, and volume, as additional padding can lead to greater damage in severe side impacts and potential wrenching of the seat from its anchoring elements.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating resilient side elements with an enclosed air chamber and controlled air flow, made from blow-moldable materials like polypropylene, which are deformable upon impact and return to their nominal shape, providing enhanced side impact protection without increasing the seat's weight or volume.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If more side padding is added to enhance side impact protection, then side impact protection is improved, but weight, mass and volume of the seat increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveside impact protectionVSAvoidweight of seat

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs a hollow side impact element with a thin-walled shell structure that provides enhanced side impact protection without significantly increasing weight. The hollow shell acts as a flexible protective structure that can deform during impact to absorb energy, resolving the contradiction between protection reliability and weight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The side impact element serves multiple functions: it provides side impact protection, absorbs impact energy through deformation, and maintains a compact form factor. This multi-functionality allows the structure to improve protection reliability without proportionally increasing weight and volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If more side padding is added to enhance side impact protection, then side impact protection is improved, but volume of the seat increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveside impact protectionVSAvoidvolume of seat

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The hollow side impact element uses a thin-walled shell design that provides substantial protection while occupying minimal space. The shell structure efficiently uses material to create a protective barrier without requiring large volume, resolving the contradiction between protection reliability and volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The invention transitions from traditional bulky padding (three-dimensional volume) to a hollow shell structure that provides protection through its geometric form and structural integrity rather than material volume. This dimensional approach allows enhanced protection with reduced volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Reliability

If more side padding is added to enhance side impact protection, then side impact protection is improved, but the seat mass increases latent energy that can cause greater damage in severe side impacts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveside impact protectionVSAvoidlatent energy in seat mass

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The hollow side impact element is designed to deform during impact, converting the seat's kinetic energy into deformation energy. This flexible structure prevents the transfer of excessive latent energy from the seat mass to the occupant, resolving the contradiction between protection reliability and energy loss.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The hollow shell structure is pre-designed to deform in a controlled manner during impact, providing beforehand cushioning that absorbs impact energy before it can be transferred to the occupant. This prevents the exacerbation of injury from the seat's latent energy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

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 and distributes impact forces, reducing the risk of seat displacement and injury severity while maintaining a lightweight and compact design, as demonstrated by compressive force testing showing the side elements' ability to return to their nominal shape after deformation.

Implementation Method 1

the chamber is adapted to contain air, and includes an air flow opening in the walls adapted to allow air flow communication with between the chamber and surrounding ambient air

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAir flow:

Implementation Method 2

the walls having sufficient rigidity to maintain a nominal shape and deformable in response to a predetermined minimum impact

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic deformation: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentUS8205940B2Juvenile seating with resilient side impact protection

Publication Date: 2012.06.26 BRITAX CHILD SAFETY INC

AI summary

A child safety seat including a seat bottom and seat back first and second resilient side elements carried on laterally-opposed sides of the seat back, and including walls defining an enclosed chamber. The walls have sufficient rigidity to maintain a nominal shape and are deformable in response to a predetermined minimum impact.