Patent Publication Number: US-2023150403-A1

Title: Child restraint spin lock and a safety seat having the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 16/991,764 filed Aug. 12, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/947,239 filed Dec. 12, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a child safety seat, and more particularly, to a child restraint spin lock for use with a safety seat of a vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Many conventional child restraint systems in the market come with child&#39;s seats that are rotatable while being installed in a vehicle for enhanced functionality. Such conventional child restraint systems usually include spin lock mechanisms to position the seats in a rear facing position or a forward facing position. However, the spin lock mechanisms used in the conventional child restraint systems have been found to be overly complex and may lack adequate spin lock retention in the event of a vehicle crash. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, the object of the disclosure is to provide a child restraint spin lock and a safety seat having the same that allow for ease of use, and that provide improved retention in the event of a vehicle crash, 
     According to one aspect of the disclosure, a child restraint spin lock is adapted to be installed in a safety seat of a vehicle. The safety seat includes a base member that has two lock sections being spaced apart from each other, and a mid base that is mounted to the base member and that is rotatable relative to the base member about an axis. 
     The child restraint spin lock includes two locking components and a pivot component 
     The locking components are adapted to be co-rotatably connected to the mid base, and are spaced apart from each other. Each of the locking components has a first end portion and a second end portion that are respectively proximate to and distal from the axis. Each of the locking components is adapted to be movable relative to the base member between a locked position, where the second end portion of each of the locking components is adapted to be engaged with a respective one of the lock sections of the base member such that the mid base is not allowed to rotate relative to the base member, and an unlocked position, where the second end portion of each of the locking components is adapted to be disengaged from the respective one of the lock sections of the base member. 
     The pivot component is adapted to be connected to the mid base, is rotatable relative to the mid base about the axis, and has two end segments. Each of the end segments is pivotally connected to the first end portion of a respective one of the locking components such that movements of the locking components from the locked position to the unlocked position are synchronized by rotation of the pivot component about the axis. 
     According to another aspect of the disclosure, a safety seat includes a seat unit and the child restraint spin lock mentioned above. 
     The seat unit includes a base member, a mid base and a seat member. The base member has two first lock sections that are spaced apart from each other. The mid base is mounted to the base member and is rotatable relative to the base member about an axis. The seat member is mounted atop the mid base and is co-rotatable with the mid base about the axis. The above-mentioned child restraint spin lock is installed in the seat unit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of an embodiment of a safety seat according to the disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a fragmentary perspective view of a mid base and a base member of the embodiment; 
         FIG.  3    is a fragmentary cutaway perspective view of the embodiment, illustrating two locking components of a child restraint spin lock at a locked position; 
         FIG.  4    is another fragmentary cutaway view of the embodiment, illustrating the locking components of the child restraint spin lock at an unlocked position; and 
         FIG.  5    is another fragmentary cutaway perspective view of the embodiment, illustrating the locking components of the child restraint spin lock at the locked position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1 ,  2  and  3   , an embodiment of a safety seat of a vehicle (not shown) includes a child restraint spin lock  1  and a seat unit  2 . The seat unit  2  includes a base member  21 , a mid base  22  and a seat member  23 . 
     The mid base  22  is mounted to the base member  21 , and is rotatable relative to the base member  21  about an axis (X). The base member  21  has two first lock sections  211  (see  FIG.  5   ) that are spaced apart from each other, and two second lock sections  211 ′ that are spaced apart from each other. In this embodiment, the first lock sections  211  are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the axis (X), the second lock sections  211 ′ are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the axis (X), and the first and second lock sections  211 ,  211 ′ are alternately arranged. That is, the first lock sections  211  (or second lock sections  211 ′) define an angle of 180 degrees with the axis (X) serving as the vertex of the angle. In the present embodiment, the first and second lock sections  211 ,  211 ′ are configured as slots. 
     It should be noted that, the first and second lock sections  211 ,  211 ′ are not limited to the above configurations. For example, in another embodiment of the disclosure, the first or second lock sections  211 ,  211 ′ may be disposed in a manner that they define an angle of 90 degrees. 
     The seat member  23  is mounted at op the mid base  22 , is co-rotatable with the mid base  22  about the axis (X), and includes an operating component  231  that is exposed to the external environment, and that serves as a manual actuator for the child restraint spin lock  1 . It should be noted that, the operating component  231  is not limited to the present configuration. For example, in other embodiments of the disclosure, the operating component  231  may be mounted to the base member  21  instead of the seat member  23 . 
     Referring further to  FIGS.  4  and  5   , the child restraint spin lock  1  is installed in the seat unit  2  between the base member  21  and the mid base  22  of the seat unit  2 , and includes two locking components  11 , a pivot component  12 , two resilient members  13 , a linking member  14  and a connecting pin  15 . 
     The locking components  11  of the child restraint spin lock  1  are co-rotatably connected to the mid base  22 , are spaced apart from each other. In this embodiment, the locking components  11  are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the axis (X). 
     Each of the locking components  11  has a first end portion  111  and a second end portion  112  that are respectively proximate to and distal from the axis (X), and is movable relative to the base member  21  between a locked position (see  FIG.  3   ) and an unlocked position (see  FIG.  4   ). It should be noted that,  FIGS.  3  and  4    only show the locked and unlocked positions of the locking components  11  with respect to the first lock sections  211  of the base member  21 ; the locked and unlocked positions with respect to the second lock sections  211 ′ are not shown in the figures but can be inferred therefrom. 
     When each of the locking components  11  is at the locked position, the second end portion  112  of each of the locking components  11  is engaged with (i.e. received in) a respective one of the first lock sections  211  of the base member  21 , such that the mid base  22  is not allowed to rotate relative to the base member  21 . 
     Conversely, when each of the locking components  11  is at the unlocked position, the second end portion  112  of each of the locking components  11  is disengaged from the respective one of the first lock sections  211  of the base member  21  so that the mid base  22  can be rotated relative to the base member  21 , thereby driving rotation of the seat member  23 . 
     It should be noted that, when the locking components  11  are engaged with the first lock sections  211  of the base member  21  as shown in  FIG.  3   , the seat member  23  is secured at, for example, a forward facing position (see  FIG.  1   ). And since the first lock sections  211  are disposed on opposite sides of the axis (X) in the present embodiment, when the locking components  11  are operated to the unlocked position and the seat member  23  is rotated to a rear facing position (not shown) that is 180 degrees from the forward facing position, the locking components  11  will still be engageable with the first lock sections  211  of the base member  21  to secure the seat member  23  at the rear facing position. 
     Similarly, since the second lock sections  211 ′ are disposed on opposite sides of the axis (X) in the present embodiment, when the locking components  11  are engaged with the second lock sections  211 ′ of the base member  21 , the seat member  23  is at one of two intermediate positions (not shown) which are 180 degrees different from each other. 
     It should also be noted that, the locking components  11  are not limited to be disposed on opposite sides of the axis (X) For example, in another embodiment of the disclosure, the locking components  11  may be perpendicular to each other and be arranged in an L-shape, and as mentioned above, the first lock sections  211  (or the second lock sections  211 ′) may be configured in a manner that they define an angle of 90 degrees, such that they can be engaged respectively with the locking components  11  arranged in an L-shape. 
     The pivot component  12  is connected to the mid base  22 , is rotatable relative to the mid base  22  about the axis (X), and has two end segments  121 . In the present embodiment, the end segments  121  of the pivot component  12  are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the axis (X), but are not limited thereto. 
     Each of the end segments  121  is pivotally connected to the first end portion  111  of a respective one of the locking components  11  such that movements of the locking components  11  from the locked position to the unlocked position are synchronized by rotation of the pivot component  12  about the axis (X). 
     As shown in  FIG.  5   , each of the resilient members  13  is mounted between the mid base  22  and a respective one of the locking components  11 . Specifically, each of the resilient members  13  has one end that abuts against the respective one of the locking components  11 , and the other end that abuts against the mid base  22  for biasing the respective one of the locking components  11  toward the locked position. 
     It should be noted that, in other embodiments of the disclosure, the child restraint spin lock  1  may include only one resilient member  13  that is mounted to one of the locking components  11 . Since the movements of the locking components  11  are synchronized by the pivot component  12 , such configuration will provide the same functionality. 
     The connecting pin  15  is mounted to one of the locking components  11 . The linking member  14  is connected to the one of the locking components  11  via the connecting pin  15 , and is operable for driving movement of the one of the locking components  11  from the locked position to the unlocked position to result in synchronous movement of the other one of the locking components  11  via the rotation of the pivot component  12  about the axis (X). The linking member  14  is further connected to the operating component  231  of the seat member  23  such that a user may manually actuate the operation of the linking member  14  via the operating component  231 . 
     In the present embodiment, the child restraint spin lock  1  includes only one linking member  14  that is configured as a flexible cable. However, in another embodiment of the disclosure, the child restraint spin lock  1  may include two linking members  14  that are connected to opposite ends of the connecting pin  15 , and the linking members  14  may be configured as rigid links. 
     During operation of the child restraint spin lock  1 , in the event that the seat member  23  is originally positioned in the forward facing position where the locking components  11  are engaged with the first lock sections  211  of the base member  12 , a user may interact with the operating component  231  to actuate the linking member  14  to move the locking components  11 . 
     When the locking components  11  are moved to the unlocked position with the second end portions  112  being respectively disengaged from the first lock sections  211  of the base member  21 , the user is all owed to rotate the seat member  23  (and to co-rotate the mid base  22 ) to change orientation of the seat member  23 . When the seat member  23  is rotated to one of the intermediate positions, the locking components  11  are operable to engage the second end portions  112  respectively with the second lock sections  211 ′ for positioning the mid base  22  relative to the base member  21  (or to the rear facing position, where the locking components  11  are operable to engage the second end portions  112  respectively with the first lock sections  211  again). 
     It should be noted that, by virtue of the disposition of the resilient member  13 , the user does not need to interact with the operating component  231  to move the locking components  11  from the unlocked position to the locked posit ion. Once the seat member  23  is rotated to any of the rear facing, forward facing and intermediate positions, the resilient member  13  will automatically push the locking components  11  to be engaged with the corresponding first or second lock sections  211 ,  211 ′. The above-mentioned process is applicable in rotating the seat member  23  from any of the rear facing, forward facing and intermediate positions to another. 
     It should also be noted that, in the present embodiment, a total number of the first and second lock sections  211 ,  211 ′ is four. However, this number may vary in other embodiments of the disclosure to provide the user more options for positioning the seat member  23 , depending on actual needs. 
     In sum, the present embodiment of the disclosure has advantages as follows. 
     By virtue of the disposition of the pivot component  12 , the movements of the locking components  11  are synchronized in a straightforward fashion via two pivotal connections among the locking components  11  and the pivot component  12 , without involving overly complex mechanisms. Such configuration requires less maintenance than that of the prior arts. 
     Also, compared with a single lock mechanism, the oppositely disposed locking components  11  are able to provide better retention, and are less susceptible to disengagement by crash forces. 
     Moreover, the present embodiment provides the user the options to position the seat member  23  in different orientations for different needs and circumstances. 
     In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.