Rotatable Child Seat Armrest With Latch and Cup-Holding Recess

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional child car seat armrests are not suitable for holding articles like bottles and cans due to their limited functionality, as they are only rotatable upwardly and downwardly.

Innovation Solution

A rotatable armrest assembly with a shaft extending into an insert hole on the armrest support, allowing the armrest to rotate, and a spring-biased latch for locking and unlocking positions, enabling the armrest to be fully opened for ingress and egress and featuring an article-holding recess.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional armrests are made rotatable upwardly and downwardly, then the armrest can provide limited movement functionality, but it cannot hold articles such as bottles and cans

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvearticle-holding capabilityVSAvoidarmrest structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The armrest is designed to perform multiple functions: it can rotate upwardly and downwardly for positional adjustment, and it can also hold articles such as bottles and cans when positioned horizontally. The article-holding recess is integrated into the armrest structure, allowing the same component to serve both as a support surface and as a container for articles.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Ease of operation

If the armrest is made fully openable for ingress and egress, then child access is facilitated, but the armrest loses its ability to support articles

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveingress and egress facilitationVSAvoidarticle-holding function

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The armrest is designed with dynamic positioning capability through rotational movement. It can be rotated to a fully open position to facilitate child ingress and egress, and then rotated back to a horizontal position to serve as an article holder. The spring-biased latch mechanism enables easy transition between these positions while maintaining both functions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Adaptability or versatility

If a shaft extending into an insert hole is used for rotation, then the armrest can rotate about an axial direction, but the structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverotational movement capabilityVSAvoidrotation mechanism

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The rotation mechanism is divided into separate components: a shaft portion on the armrest and a corresponding insert hole in the armrest support. This segmentation allows the armrest to rotate independently while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure. The shaft and insert hole interface provides rotational freedom without requiring complex mounting mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS7850236B2Rotatable armrest assembly

Publication Date: 2010.12.14 WONDERLAND SWITZERLAND AG

AI summary

A rotatable armrest assembly comprises: an armrest support adapted to be connected to a base of the child car seat and having an insert hole; and an armrest having top and bottom ends that are opposite to each other in an axial direction, and provided with a shaft that extends into the insert hole so as to permit the armrest to be rotatable relative to the armrest support about an axis of the shaft that extends in the axial direction.