Patent ID: 8052210

Claim:
A child restraint comprising a juvenile vehicle seat and an energy-dissipation system coupled to the juvenile vehicle seat, the energy-dissipation system comprising a ride-down pad including an air bag made of an expansible material to cause the air bag to have a variable thickness and a variable perimeter and formed to include a closed chamber and a deformable support frame located in the closed chamber, wherein the deformable support frame is configured to provide means in the closed chamber for supporting and completely enclosing the air bag in a distended and unflattened state to maintain a predetermined initial first perimeter dimension of the air bag until the air bag is deformed when exposed to an external impact force sufficient to cause the air bag to vary in shape to assume an expanded and flattened state wherein the air bag is characterized by a second perimeter dimension that is greater than the initial first perimeter dimension owing at least in part to stretching of the expansible material forming the air bag during deformation of the air bag so that the ride-down pad absorbs external energy associated with an external impact force applied to the juvenile vehicle seat to minimize g-loads experienced by a child seated on the juvenile vehicle seat.