Patent ID: 7717506

Claim:
Child restraint apparatus for restraining a child within a vehicle interior, the apparatus having a body comprising an internal area for receiving a child, and an energy absorbing member which, in use, extends over at least part of an external surface of the body and which faces away from the internal area, the energy absorbing member comprising an airtight membrane enclosing a layered arrangement of resilient foam that in its uncompressed state substantially defines the shape of the energy absorbing member, each layer of foam of the layered arrangement having a different energy absorbing characteristic, the airtight membrane further including a vent defined therethrough that provides an open air flow pathway between an interior chamber of the airtight membrane and the exterior, such that air is expelled from the chamber upon impact and air is taken in to re-inflate the chamber for a subsequent use, wherein the air flow pathway through the vent remains open prior to and subsequent to impact.