404 / 2022-03-01 19:17:59

Development of Shock Absorption Mechanism for Baby Carriage

Vibration,Impact force,Dynamic simulation,Experiment,Driving comfort,Stroller

Baby carriages are commonly used to transport babies and small children because they alleviate the physical stress that results from carrying a child. Baby carriages (strollers/buggies) are used to carry children in a seated position. Two factors affecting the safety and comfort of a baby carriage are the vibrations and impact force generated during operation. In particular, passing over a level difference generates large amounts of vibration and shock, which cause considerable physical stress to the driver. A previous study showed that the force applied to the driver’s arm was greatest when the carriage climbed a level difference after making initial contact. To reduce the impact force, the impact generated at the time of collision with the level difference should be prevented from being transmitted to the arms. To reduce the vibration and impact force transmitted to the driver's arm when passing over a level difference, this study developed a shock absorption mechanism that attached spring elements to a part of the front leg frame. In addition, because many baby carriages are designed to be foldable to reduce storage space and improve portability, this study did not change the base structure design significantly. First, the shock absorption mechanism was investigated using the developed multi-body dynamics model, and its effectiveness was confirmed through simulations. The shock absorption mechanism, which was found to have a good effect in the simulations, was further verified by experiments in actual environments. The simulations and experiments conducted in this study showed that the inclusion of spring elements in the front legs of a baby carriage had a significant effect on shock absorption when passing over a level difference.