Patent Application
20200298792
The present disclosure is generally directed to energy absorbing occupant restraint systems, such as for use in restraining a child seat in an automobile or other vehicle.
Many types of personal restraint systems are used in automobiles, utility task vehicles (UTVs), and other vehicles. Small children, for example, are typically secured in a portable child seat that can be mounted to a passenger seat in an automobile or other vehicle. The child seat can be secured to the passenger seat by attaching one or more straps, belts, etc., (e.g., webs) from the child seat to corresponding anchor points in the vehicle, and then adjusting the tension in the webs to securely hold the child seat in place. During a crash or other significant dynamic event, substantial loads can be applied to the webs as the vehicle rapidly decelerates. The webs can stretch a small amount and absorb some energy during the crash, but the anchor points in the vehicle are generally rigid and offer little energy absorption. As a result, significant shock loads can be partially transmitted to the child seat during a crash.
The following disclosure describes various embodiments of energy absorbing systems for restraining child seats. For example, some embodiments of the present technology are directed to a restraint system including a web slide having first and second web apertures. A web can be threaded through the web slide such that the web extends (a) through the first web aperture from a first side to a second side of the web slide and (b) back through the second web aperture from the second side to the first side of the web slide. The web can further be folded and attached to itself to form a joined portion adjacent the second side of the web slide. For example, the web can be attached to itself with frangible stitching to form the joined portion of the web. Upon application of a tension load to the web (e.g., during a crash), the joined portion of the web is pulled taught against the web slide, thereby rupturing the frangible stitching and absorbing a portion of the energy transmitted by the web.
In one aspect of the present technology, the restraint system can be used to securely attach a child seat to an anchor point in a vehicle. For example, the web can be coupled to the anchor point, and the web slide can be coupled to the child seat such that the joined portion of the web is adjacent to a front side of a rear wall or panel of the child seat. During a crash or other dynamic event, the joined portion of the web is pulled against the web slide to break the stitching and absorb kinetic energy transmitted by the web to thereby reduce the shock on a child secured in the child seat.
Certain details are set forth in the following description and in
The terminology used below is to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain examples of embodiments of the technology. Indeed, certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Description section.
The accompanying Figures depict embodiments of the present technology and are not intended to be limiting of its scope. The sizes of various depicted elements are not necessarily drawn to scale, and these various elements may be arbitrarily enlarged to improve legibility. Component details may be abstracted in the Figures to exclude details such as position of components and certain precise connections between such components when such details are unnecessary for a complete understanding of how to make and use the invention. Many of the details, dimensions, angles and other features shown in the Figures are merely illustrative of particular embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments can have other details, dimensions, angles and features without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments of the invention can be practiced without several of the details described below.
In the Figures, identical reference numbers identify identical, or at least generally similar, elements. To facilitate the discussion of any particular element, the most significant digit or digits of any reference number refers to the Figure in which that element is first introduced. For example, element 110 is first introduced and discussed with reference to
In the illustrated embodiment, the first web 102 includes a first end portion 105a and a second end portion 105b. The first end portion 105a extends through the web adjuster 106 and is configured to be grasped and pulled by a user to increase the tension in the webs 102, 104. The second web 104 is coupled to a hook 108 that can be releasably attached to, for example, an anchor point in a vehicle, More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment the second web 104 includes an attachment loop (e.g., a portion of web material that is formed in a loop and stitched to itself by stitching 101) that extends through a web aperture 109 in the hook 108 to couple the second web 104 to the hook 108.
In the illustrated embodiment, the restraint system 100 includes a web slide 110 (e.g., a three-bar slide) having a first side 112a, a second side 112b opposite the first side 112a, a first web aperture 116a (e.g., a generally rectangular opening) extending through the web slide 110 between the sides 112a, b, and a second web aperture 116b (e.g., a generally rectangular opening) extending through the web slide 110 between the sides 112a, b. More specifically, the web apertures 116 are formed between pairs of adjacent crossmembers 114 (identified individually in
As shown in
The first stitching 111 is configured to maintain the web attachment at the first joined portion 122 even when a tension load is applied to the first web 102. That is, the first stitching 111 is configured not to break when a tension load is applied to the first web 102. As described in detail below with reference to
The restraint system 100 can be used to absorb kinetic energy and reduce shock loads in a wide variety of applications.
The web slide 110 is positioned in the recessed portion 239b of the aperture 238 such that first web 102 (e.g., the first looped portion 126) extends through/past the rear wall 236 of the shell 232. For example, the web slide 110 can be positioned in the recessed portion 239b of the aperture 238 and against the flange portion 239a to resist being pulled through the flange portion 239a of the aperture 238 in the direction L. In other embodiments, the flange portion 239a of the aperture 238 can be omitted and the web slide 110 can be secured directly against the front side 237b of the rear wall 236 (e.g., not within a recess therein) with, for example, fasteners, adhesives, etc. In one aspect of the present technology, the restraint system 100 extends through only a single aperture formed in the rear wall 236 of the shell 232.
Accordingly, referring to
Referring to
If the applied shock or tension load is great enough, subsequent rows of the second stitching 120 can sequentially rupture in a rapid zipper effect, thereby decreasing the length of the second joined portion 124 and dissipating the energy from the crash. After all the second stitching 120 is ruptured, the second looped portion 128 can be pulled against the web slide 110 and form a single looped portion together with the first looped portion 126 that stops any further extension of the first web 102. The combined rupture of the second stitching 120 and lengthening of the first looped portion 126 can absorb at least a portion of the shock energy during a rapid deceleration event that would otherwise be transmitted to the child seat 230 by the first web 102—thereby reducing the shock exerted on the child in the child seat 230.
In one aspect of the present technology, by arranging the rows of second stitching 120 generally parallel to the second cross member 114b of the web slide, the web slide 110 can apply a consistent force along the rows of second stitching 120 to generally maximize the force each row of the second stitching 120 can absorb before breaking. In another aspect of the present technology, the second crossmember 114b is configured to generally apply a force only to the row of second stitching 120 directly adjacent thereto (e.g., the first row 120a of the second stitching 120 in
In some embodiments, the restraint system 100 is configured such that the second stitching 120 ruptures when the force applied to the first web 102 is greater than or equal to a preset value or “design-level load.” For example, the restraint system 100 can be configured such that each of the rows of the second stitching 120 rupture at a design-level load of between about 250-500 lbf, and the number of rows of the second stitching 120 can control the overall design-level load for the restraint system 100. More generally, the shape and size of the rows of second stitching 120, the thread material type and mechanical properties of the thread and/or other components of the restraint system 100, and the shape and size of the second crossmember 114b can be selected to provide a desired amount of rupture and corresponding decrease in the length of the second joined portion 124 at any of a variety of design-level loads. These and other features can be selected and modified to match or correspond to a calculated design-level load.
The foregoing description of embodiments of the technology is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed technology to the precise embodiments disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the present technology are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the present technology, as those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize. For example, although the restraint systems illustrated in
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to”. Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the disclosed technology have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the present technology. Certain aspects of the disclosure described in the context of particular embodiments may be combined or eliminated in other embodiments. Further, while advantages associated with certain embodiments of the disclosed technology have been described in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages to fall within the scope of the disclosed technology. Accordingly, the disclosure and associated technology can encompass other embodiments not expressly shown or described herein.
In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the present technology to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above-detailed description explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the present technology encompasses the disclosed embodiments and all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure under the claims.
