Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Pardeep Kumar

Chris O'Connor

Reddy Malapati

Rodney Simon

An attachment assembly for securing a child safety seat to a mounting portion of a vehicle is provided. The attachment assembly may include a guide having a channel, and a metal strap positioned in the channel of the guide in a retracted configuration such that a free end of the metal strap is adjacent to a front face of the guide, a fixed end of the metal strap is secured to a side of the channel, and a body of the strap is bent along a radius so as to double back between the free end and the fixed end. When pulled in tension, the metal strap is configured to transition from the retracted configuration to an extended configuration, and the guide is configured to constrain the strap during this transition so that the strap rolls along the radius within the guide, thereby absorbing energy.

Energy absorbing seat anchor restraint system for child safety seats

An energy-absorbing deformable structure to attach a child seat to a mounting portion of a vehicle is provided. The energy-absorbing deformable structure comprises a loop of metal rod including a base end configured to be coupled to the mounting portion of the vehicle, a distal end configured to be coupled to a child safety seat, and a plurality of sinuous deformable portions positioned intermediate to the base end and the distal end, wherein each of the sinuous deformable portions includes an inwardly extending portion that extends inward from a perimeter of the deformable structure to a substantially central interior region of the deformable structure; wherein the sinuous deformable portions of the deformable structure are configured to be deformed when the base end and distal end are pulled in tension, thereby absorbing energy.

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Canton, MI, United States of America

Pardeep Kumar