Patent ID: 7959223

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 first force dissipater associated with the juvenile vehicle seat and a second force dissipater positioned to lie in spaced-apart relation to the juvenile seat to locate the first force dissipater therebetween, wherein the first force dissipater includes a first air bag formed to include a first air chamber and a first air-discharge port opening into the first air chamber and a deformable first support frame located in the first air chamber and configured to maintain at least a predetermined volume of air in the first air chamber until the first air bag is deformed when exposed to an external impact force, the second force dissipater includes a second air bag formed to include a second air chamber and a first air-discharge port opening into the second air chamber and a deformable second support frame located in the second air chamber and configured to maintain at least a predetermined volume of air in the second air chamber until the second air bag is deformed when exposed to an external impact force, the first and second air bags are arranged to meet along a seam common to the first and second air bags, the first and second air bags are arranged to cause the first air-discharge ports of the first and second air bags to merge with one another at the seam to form a first seam aperture opening into the first air chamber of the first air bag and into the second air chamber of the second air bag, and the first seam aperture is configured to provide means for discharging air from the first and second air chambers to surroundings at a metered rate when a ride-down pad comprising the first and second force dissipaters is exposed to an external impact force so that the ride-down pad absorbs external energy associated with the external impact force to minimize g-loads experienced by a child seated on the juvenile vehicle seat.