Patent Publication Number: US-2022234481-A1

Title: Limiting device and child safety seat

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to, and claims the benefit of priority of, CN Application No. 202120231352.3, entitled LIMITING DEVICE AND CHILD SAFETY SEAT, filed on Jan. 27, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The application relates to a limiting device, and also to a child safety seat with a limiting device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A safety seat is an apparatus installed on a car seat and restraining a child on it by a restraint arrangement. In the event of an emergency braking or accidental collision of the car, the safety seat reduces the impact on the child through its shell and restrains the child&#39;s body movement through its restraint arrangement, so as to reduce injury to infants in accidents, and ensure the safety of infants and young children in the car. 
     In some safety seats, side impact protection devices are provided to reduce lateral impacts received by the seats. One of the side impact protection devices includes side wings extending outside on both sides of a seat, the side wings may be arranged to have a folded position and an unfolded position. In the folded position, the side wings are attached to an outside of the seat to reduce the space occupied; in the unfolded position, the side wings extend outward from the side of the seat to provide a buffer between the seat and the car. The side impact protection device may be arranged to be automatically unfolded, that is, when the child is seated in the seat, the side impact protection device automatically moves from the folded position to the unfolded position, and e.g., the movement is driven by a preloaded spring. 
     Generally, considering the versatility of the safety seat, the side impact protection devices would be provided on both sides of the seat. However, when the safety seat is arranged close to the car door, only the side impact protection device facing the car door has an actual effect in fact. In such a circumstance, the side impact protection device on the other side (i.e., the side facing the interior of the car) is not expected to automatically unfolded. Therefore, a limiting device is needed to limit the side impact protection device in the folded position. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to the application, a limiting device is used for limiting a pivoting of a side impact protection block in respect to a child safety seat, and the limiting device includes: a mounting portion, located on a seat body of the child safety seat and arranged close to the side impact protection block; and a restricting member, has a free end and is arranged on the mounting portion, such that the restricting member is movable between a locked position and a released position. In the locked position, the free end of the restricting member abuts against the side impact protection block to prevent the side impact protection block from moving in an unfolding direction in respect to the child safety seat, and in the released position, the free end of the restricting member is away from the side impact protection block to allow side impact protection block to move in the unfolding direction in respect to the child safety seat. 
     In an embodiment, the mounting portion has an arc-shaped sliding slot that is concavely formed toward the seat body and centered on the rotating shaft, a limiting protrusion is disposed on a side face of the restricting member facing the mounting portion, the limiting protrusion is accommodated in the sliding slot, and when the restricting member rotates in respect to the mounting portion, the limiting protrusion slides along the sliding slot. 
     In an embodiment, the sliding slot of the mounting portion has a side wall on one side facing the rotating shaft, and has no side wall on the other side away from the rotating shaft, and the limiting protrusion slides along the side wall of the sliding slot. 
     In an embodiment, positioning portion raised from the sliding slot are respectively at both ends of the sliding slot, so as to provide a positioning when the limiting protrusion slides to both ends of the sliding slot. 
     In an embodiment, when the limiting protrusion of the restricting member is located in a middle of the sliding slot, the restricting member is located in its locked position; and when the limiting protrusion is located at either end of the sliding slot, the restricting member is located at its released position. 
     In an embodiment, the restricting member is symmetrical flat along its longitudinal centerline, and has a lateral width gradually increasing from the rotating end to the free end. 
     In an embodiment, the restricting member is provided with a contacting portion on a side face of the free end facing the mounting portion, for contacting the side impact protection block in the locked position, and wherein the rotating shaft, the limiting protrusion and the contacting portion are sequentially located in the longitudinal centerline, and the limiting protrusion is closer to the rotating shaft than the contacting portion. 
     In an embodiment, the contacting portion is an arc bulge protruding from a side face of the restricting member facing the mounting portion and extending along a rotation direction of the restricting member. 
     In an embodiment, the restricting member is arranged to slide in a direction approaching and away from the side impact protection block; the mounting portion is provided with a mushroom head and a slider protruding from a side face of the seat body, the slider is located on one side of the mushroom head and extends along a sliding direction of the restricting member; the restricting member is provided with a restricting member hole and a slider hole respectively extending along the sliding direction of the restricting member; and the mushroom head is inserted in the restricting member hole, and the slider is inserted in the slider hole. 
     According to the application, a child safety seat includes: a seat body; a side impact protection block, located on a side of the seat body and having pivoted end pivotally connected to the seat body and a ejected end opposite to the pivoted end, the side impact protection block has a folded position and an unfolded position, in the folded position, the ejected end is attached to a side face of the seat body, and in the unfolded position, the ejected end is away from the face of the seat body side; and the limiting device according to the application, the limiting device is arranged on a side close to the ejected end of the side impact protection block, and is used to prevent the ejected end from moving away from the side face of the seat body in the locked position. 
     In an embodiment, a pivoting shaft of the side impact protection block is substantially perpendicular to the rotating shaft of the restricting member. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a seat according to the application, in which a limiting device is in a locked position; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the seat according to the application, in which the limiting device is in a released position and a side impact protection block is in a folded position; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the seat according to the application, in which the limiting device is in the released position and the side impact protection block is in an unfolded position; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the seat according to the application, in which a restricting member of the limiting device is removed to show an mounting portion, and the side impact protection block is in the unfolded position; 
         FIG. 7  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a side of the restricting member facing the mounting portion; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the seat according to the second embodiment of the application, in which the limiting device is in a locked position; 
         FIG. 10  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the seat according to the second embodiment of the application, in which the limiting device is in a released position; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the seat according to the application, in which the restricting member is removed to show the mounting portion; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view showing a side of the restricting member facing the mounting portion in the second embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a transverse sectional view showing the limiting device in the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Although the application is illustrated and described with reference to specific embodiments, the application should not be limited to the illustrated details. Specifically, within the scope of the equivalents of the attached claims and without departing from the application, various modifications can be made to these details. 
     The descriptions of “front,” “rear,” “up,” “down” and other directions mentioned in this specification are only used for the convenience of understanding, and the application is not limited to these directions, but can be adjusted according to actual conditions. 
     Firstly please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a child safety seat  100  according to the application, in which a limiting device  150  is in a locked position. The child safety seat  100  includes a seat body  110  and a base  120  under the seat body  110 . The base  120  is a component which fixes the entire child safety seat  100  to a vehicle, and is provided with fixing devices such as straps. In an embodiment, the seat body  110  is coupled to the base  120  in a manner that can slide back and forth and can rotate about a substantially vertical axis, so that the seat body  110  is in a most comfortable and safest position and posture. 
     A side impact protection block  130  is disposed on an outer side of the seat body  110 .  FIG. 1  shows one side impact protection block  130 , though it should be understood, the other side of the seat body  110  may be provided with substantially the same (or substantially symmetrical) side impact protection block, moreover, the side impact protection block provided on the other side of the seat body  110  may have a structure or appearance as same as or different from that of the side impact protection block  130 . For sake of conciseness, exemplary description will be given below under the condition that the side impact protection block provided on the other side of the seat body  110  is same as the side impact protection block  130 . 
     A function of the side impact protection block  130  is to provide a buffer between the two sides of the child safety seat  100  and the internal structure of the vehicle, so as to better protect the child in the child safety seat  100  in the event of a vehicle collision. For this reason, in a working state of the side impact protection block  130 , the side impact protection block  130  can be ejected from both sides of the seat body  110 , and is located in an unfolded position to be substantially perpendicular to the side of the seat body  110  ( FIG. 4 ), so as to intervene between the side of the seat body  110  and the car door. Moreover, in an non-working state of the side impact protection block  130 , the side impact protection block  130  can be folded to fit the seat body  110 , and can be stored in a corresponding recess on the side of the seat body  110 , so as to reduce a space occupied by the child safety seat  100 , and provide a neat appearance of the child safety seat  100 . 
     The side impact protection block  130  may be arranged to be manually operated to switch between the unfolded position and the folded position, or may also be arranged to automatically ejected. That is, when a child is seated in the seat body  110 , the side impact protection block  130  automatically senses the seated child, and thus is ejected from the folded position to the unfolded position As mentioned above, the side impact protection block  130  located on the side of the seat body  110  close to the car door can effectively buffer the collision between the child safety seat  100  and the car, and the side impact protection block located on the other side of the seat body  110  away from the car door has less effect and occupies a space. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the side impact protection block on the side away from the car door from being automatically ejected. A function of the limiting device  150  according to the application is to prevent the side impact protection block  130  from being automatically ejected, so as to avoid the side impact protection block  130  facing the inner side of the vehicle from being ejected and occupying the interior space of the vehicle meaninglessly. 
     Now refer to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the child safety seat  100  according to the application, in which the limiting device  150  is in a released position and the side impact protection block  130  is in the folded position. At this time, it can be seen, compared to the position in  FIG. 1 , the limiting device  150  is rotated by an angle around an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the side face of the seat body  110 , so that the side impact protection block  130  is no longer blocked. Therefore, the side impact protection block  130  can be moved to its unfolded position. 
     Now refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 2 . A positional relationship between the limiting device  150  and the side impact protection block  130  can be seen more clearly from  FIG. 3 . 
     Now refer to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the child safety seat  100  according to the application, in which the limiting device  150  is in the released position and the side impact protection block  130  is in the unfolded position. Because the side impact protection block  130  is no longer blocked by the limiting device  150 , it can move from the folded position to the unfolded position shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Now refer to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 4 . The positional relationship between the limiting device  150  and the side impact protection block  130  can be seen more clearly from  FIG. 5 . 
     Now refer to  FIGS. 6 and 7 .  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the child safety seat  100  according to the application, in which a restricting member  140  of the limiting device  150  is removed to show a mounting portion  160 , and the side impact protection block  130  is in the unfolded position.  FIG. 7  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 6 . The limiting device  150  includes a restricting member  140  and a mounting portion  160 . Among them, the mounting portion  160  is a component fixed on the seat body  110 , or the mounting portion  160  may be integrally formed on the seat body  110 . Moreover, the restricting member  140  is rotatably connected to the mounting portion  160 , so as to rotate in respect to the seat body  110 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , after the restricting member  140  is removed, the structure of the mounting portion  160  can be seen more clearly. 
     The mounting portion  160  includes a disk portion  161 , a sliding slot  162 , a mounting portion shaft hole  163 , and a positioning portion (i.e., a limiting bulge or a limiting recess)  164 . The disk portion  161  is the main portion of the mounting portion  160 , and the disk portion  161  is located in a plane substantially parallel to the side face of the seat body  110 . The sliding slot  162  is located on a side of the disk portion  161  facing the side impact protection block  130 , and is formed as an arc concave facing the seat body  110  so as to guide and limit the restricting member  140  to rotate around the mounting portion  160 . The mounting portion shaft hole  163  is located at a center of the disk portion  161 , and a rotating shaft (not shown) passes through the mounting portion shaft hole  163  and a restricting member hole  141  in the restricting member  140  (as shown in  FIG. 8 ), such that the restricting member  140  can be rotatably assembled to the mounting portion  160 . The positioning portion  164  is located at each of the two ends of the sliding slot  162 , and forms a shape cooperation with the limiting protrusion  142  of the restricting member  14  to enable the restricting member  140  to stop at the released position and the locked position. In this embodiment, the positioning portion  164  is taken as an example of the limiting recess, and the positioning portion  164  is a limiting recess which is recessed in the sliding slot  162  toward the seat body  110 . In other embodiments, the positioning portion may be a limiting bulge in the sliding slot  162  which is further raised from the seat body  110 . In this embodiment, the positioning portion is located at both ends of the sliding slot  162 . In other embodiments, the positioning portion may be located only at one end of the sliding slot  162 . 
     Now refer to  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the side of the restricting member  140  facing the mounting portion  160 . The structure of the restricting member  140 , particularly the structure facing the side of the seat body  110 , will be explained by referring to  FIG. 8 . The restricting member  140  has a rotating end and a free end, where the rotating end is rotatably coupled to the mounting portion  160 , such that the restricting member  140  can rotate between the locked position and the released position in respect to the seat body  110 . The restricting member  140  is provided with a contacting portion  143  on a side face of the free end facing the mounting portion  160  for contacting the side impact protection block  130  in the locked position, where the restricting member hole  141 , the limiting protrusion  142  and contacting portion  143  are located in a longitudinal centerline in sequence, and the limiting protrusion  142  is closer to the restricting member hole  141  than the contacting portion  143 . In this embodiment, the restricting member hole  141  is a circular shaft hole. In an embodiment, the restricting member  140  has a substantially left-right symmetrical structure, the limiting protrusion  142  may be located in a symmetry axis of the restricting member  140 , and a distance to an extremity of the rotating end of the restricting member  140  is about one-third of the length of the symmetry axis. The restricting member  140  is provided with a contacting portion  143  on the side face of the free end facing the mounting portion  160  for contacting the side impact protection block  130  in the locked position. The contacting portion  143  may be formed as a crescent portion or an arc portion raised from the restricting member  140  and extending substantially along a rotation direction of the restricting member  140 . In an embodiment, the rotating shaft, the limiting protrusion  142  and the contacting portion  143  are sequentially located in the symmetry axis (i.e., the longitudinal centerline), and the limiting protrusion  142  is closer to the rotating shaft than the contacting portion  143 . In an embodiment, the contacting portion  143  is located near an edge of the free end. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the restricting member  140  is symmetrical flat along its longitudinal centerline, and has a lateral width that gradually increases from the rotating end to the free end. In other embodiments, the restricting member  140  may also be formed in an asymmetrical shape. For example, the limiting protrusion  142  may not be formed in the longitudinal centerline of the restricting member  140 , but at a position close to a longitudinal edge of a side of the restricting member  140 . In such case, the limiting recess of the mounting portion  160  may be formed only at one end of the sliding slot  162  corresponding to the limiting protrusion  142 . 
     In use, the user can lock or release side impact protection block by moving the restricting member  140  of the limiting device  150 . Due to the shape cooperation between the limiting protrusion  142  of the restricting member  140  and the limiting recess of the mounting portion  160 , the restricting member  140  can be maintained in the locked position or the released position. 
     Now a second embodiment according to the application will be described by referring to  FIGS. 9-13 . Similar to the first embodiment, the second embodiment also includes a child safety seat  200 , a seat body  210 , a base  220 , a side impact protection block  230 , a limiting device  250 . The difference from the first embodiment is that the limiting device  250  of the second embodiment is moved in sliding movement, rather than in rotating movement in the first embodiment. 
     Refer to  FIGS. 9 and 10 .  FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the seat according to the second embodiment of the application, in which the limiting device is in the locked position; and  FIG. 10  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 9 . In the state shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the restricting member  240  of the limiting device  250  slides to the right side in the figure, such that an end of the restricting member  240  blocks the side impact protection block  230  so it cannot be ejected. 
     Now refer to  FIG. 11 .  FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the seat according to the second embodiment of the application, in which the limiting device is in the released position. In the state shown in  FIG. 11 , the restricting member  240  of the limiting device  250  slides to the left in the figure, such that the restricting member  240  no longer blocks the side impact protection block  230 , thereby allowing it to be ejected. 
     Now refer to  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the seat according to the application, in which the restricting member of the limiting device is removed to show the mounting portion. As shown, the mounting portion  260  of the limiting device  250  includes a mushroom head  261  protruding from a side face of the seat body  210  and a slider  262 . Among them, the mushroom head  261  is engaged in the restricting member  240  to allow the restricting member  240  to slide on the side face of the seat body  210 , and the slider  262  is inserted into the restricting member  240  to limit a sliding direction of the restricting member  240 , which will be detailed later. In this embodiment, the slider  262  is provided on both sides of the mushroom head  261  (specifically the upper and lower sides in the figure). In other embodiments, the slider  262  may be provided on only one side, or the slider  262  may be provided at other positions (e.g., the front side or the rear side) on the mushroom head  261 . In this embodiment, the slider  262  has a long shape extending along the sliding direction of the restricting member  240  (i.e., the direction close to and away from the side impact protection block  230 ). In other embodiments, the slider  262  may also have different geometric shapes. 
     Now refer to  FIG. 13 .  FIG. 13  is a perspective view showing a side of the limiting member facing the mounting part in the second embodiment. As shown, the restricting member  240  is generally elongated, and is circular at both ends. The restricting member  240  includes an elongated restricting member hole  241  extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, and slider holes  242  on both sides of the restricting member hole  241 . At an end of the restricting member  240 , a contacting portion  243  protruding toward the seat body is also arranged. When the limiting device  250  is in the locked position, the contacting portion  243  abuts against the side impact protection block  230  to prevent it from being ejected. 
     Now refer to  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 14  is a transverse sectional view showing the limiting device in the second embodiment. As shown, the mushroom head  261  is engaged in the restricting member hole  241 , so as to assemble the restricting member  240  to the mounting portion  260  while allowing the restricting member  240  to slide. A side of the restricting member  240  facing away from the seat body (i.e., the side facing the user) has a shape in which both ends are tilted and the middle is recessed, and both ends are provided with corrugated features to facilitate the user to operate. The contacting portion  243  of the restricting member  240  abuts against a corresponding recess of the side impact protection block  230 , so as to stably lock the side impact protection block  230 . 
     Although the present application has been described with reference to the typical embodiments, the terms used are illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive. Since this application can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit and essence of the application, it should be understood, the above-mentioned embodiments are not limited to any of the foregoing details, but should be interpreted in the broadest sense within the scope defined by the claims. Therefore, all changes falling within the scope of the claims or their equivalents shall be covered by the claims. 
     LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 
       100 ,  200 : child safety seat 
       110 ,  210 : seat body 
       120 ,  220 : base 
       130 ,  230 : side impact protection block 
       150 ,  250 : limiting device 
       140 ,  240 : restricting member 
       141 ,  241 : restricting member hole 
       142 : limiting protrusion 
       242 : slider hole 
       143 ,  243 : contacting portion 
       160 ,  260 : mounting portion 
       161 : disk portion 
       261 : mushroom head 
       162 : sliding slot 
       262 : slider 
       163 : mounting portion shaft hole 
       164 : positioning portion