Nekkid Complete Air pics (what's really inside the headrest)

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
So I am getting a new seat under warranty (see:http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=125908 .) I had to send in a 5" square of fabric (along with a 5" piece of webbing and the scraped-off model/DOM label) in lieu of the whole seat (much easier!) So I decided to cut it out of the headrest because I can save the rest of the cover that way to have a spare in case I ever want it (my husband hates this car seat pack rat thing...) Also, I was curious. So, I have some pictures.

First off, here's kind of a side view. You can see the EPP foam behind the head and all the way around the air cushion things in the headwings.
ipo9ed.jpg


Then, here's a pic showing the top view of the air cushion, and how wide it is-- 2 inches at widest. It is made out of what seems to be very high-density foam, in a plastic casing.
2ngu5qa.jpg


Here it is squished down; it took significant pressure to compress it to about 1/2 inch (and this was a hard picture to take, sorry it's so cruddy.) I could not with my whole weight on it compress it down to less than 1/2 inch thick (1/4 of the total width.) Of note also, it tended to compress only where I was applying direct pressure, and spring back up as soon as my position changed, kind of like memory foam but much faster.
8wb713.jpg


Here you can see the little X-shaped slits in the plastic. There are 4, two on each part of the plastic (the side toward the child's head, and the rim that goes around the width), both toward the outside of the cushion. All are the exact same size, and I assume the size and placement is calculated to allow the air in the cushion to escape at a regulated rate to control energy dispersion (is that a word?) and all that stuff. (Also, all 4 are located directly under the meshy part of the headrest cover. So under pressure, they'd have access to air exchange.)
21ne3b4.jpg

2jb1n9w.jpg


And here is a top view of the layers that comprise this part of the headrest. You can see, inside to outside, air cushion, plastic shell, foam under rim (presumably to cushion the big plastic bolt-type part that's on the outside of the cover and keep it from potentially mushing into the plastic shell), then the cover. On the other side of the cover is the plastic plaque type bolt functiony thingy (don't you love my technical terms?)
2q3cfbt.jpg


And lastly, couldn't get a good shot, but just trying to show how there's a square of sticky adhesive stuff painted on the plastic, holding the air cushion in place. It's sticky enough that even after pulling it off for this picture, it stuck right back on. I don't know why exactly I cared but hey, experimenting for the greater knowledge, right?
i3x9b8.jpg



So that's a nekkid inside of a CA headrest, since you'll probably never see one in a non-trashed seat. I thought it was interesting so I hope you find it so too. If you have any other questions/things you want measurements/pics of, let me know before I destroy the shell of the seat. :)
 
ADS

NannyMom

Well-known member
I was so glad to read you're getting a replacement. Because otherwise, I thought for sure the police would be coming for you after removing the cover on the headrest. :whistle:

The pics are all really hard to see. But the explanations are good :thumbsup: So, there is EPP foam behind the air cushions?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Yeah, sorry, the materials are really glare-y. I also had the "help" of a 2 year old climbing all over me. :rolleyes:

There is no EPP under the air cushions. Only around (it goes right to the edge, and stops.)
 

lovinwaves

New member
Thanks for the detailed post!!

Yeah, the pictures are really hard to see. Is it possible there is something on your camera lens?
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Here you can see the little X-shaped slits in the plastic. There are 4, two on each part of the plastic (the side toward the child's head, and the rim that goes around the width), both toward the outside of the cushion. All are the exact same size, and I assume the size and placement is calculated to allow the air in the cushion to escape at a regulated rate to control energy dispersion (is that a word?) and all that stuff. (Also, all 4 are located directly under the meshy part of the headrest cover. So under pressure, they'd have access to air exchange.)

The other effect of this is that it makes it very easy to hear the "Air" feature when you press on the cushion. Very clever!

I wonder if we will ever know if this type of cushion is likely to prevent serious injury better than other energy absorbing materials. It seems like it has the potential to be superior, but is it enough to be significant in terms of real world performance?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
No, sorry. It's a combination of bad glare, cheap camera, and 2 year old jogging my arm repeatedly. (She was literally hanging and climbing on me, despite repeated attempts to make her back off and even bribery with cookies.) These were the best ones. (I can see them pretty well, except the last one, though... They look, well, pretty much like what the stuff looks like. It's not very high-contrast unfortunately.)
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
The other effect of this is that it makes it very easy to hear the "Air" feature when you press on the cushion. Very clever!

I wonder if we will ever know if this type of cushion is likely to prevent serious injury better than other energy absorbing materials. It seems like it has the potential to be superior, but is it enough to be significant in terms of real world performance?

I am satisfied that it would perform at least AS well as the EPP foam that surrounds it. Better? Who knows. It seems well thought-out and engineered to me, but I'm just a layperson here. ;)
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
The other effect of this is that it makes it very easy to hear the "Air" feature when you press on the cushion. Very clever!

I wonder if we will ever know if this type of cushion is likely to prevent serious injury better than other energy absorbing materials. It seems like it has the potential to be superior, but is it enough to be significant in terms of real world performance?

KQ- You should take the air pockets from that seat and some foam from anoher seat and do one of those egg-drop experiments. See which one protects the egg better. It wouldn't be totally scientific, but it would be fun if nothing else.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Yes, don't you want to see what happens if someone shoots it? :whistle:

I think if you shoot it, it go boom. Like any other seat. ;)

Jennie, not a bad idea except that because of the shape, I think eggs might not be the best medium... Maybe putting an old plate underneath, putting the foam and air cushion on top, and dropping a weight from a set height?
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
I think if you shoot it, it go boom. Like any other seat. ;)

Jennie, not a bad idea except that because of the shape, I think eggs might not be the best medium... Maybe putting an old plate underneath, putting the foam and air cushion on top, and dropping a weight from a set height?

Well, do SOMETHING with it. What a great science experiment idea. Too bad I didn't think of it sooner. DS has a homeschool expo coming up and that would have been a great project. Not like I'd shell out for a CA to destroy in the name of kindergarten science, but still.

If you do something, make sure you record it for us.
 

morninglori

New member
Can you slit open one of the air cushions and acutally see what type of foam is inside? is it dense like memory foam, or is it a more open matrix - like a sponge.

My theroy is that it is more open cell than memory foam so that the air is stored somewhere, and then as the force is imparted on the cushion, the air is first released, then the foam is compressed...like the cushions the stunt persons use when they jump off a building...

Anyway, seeing the type of foam that is in the cushion would be neat.
 

nursingnellie

New member
Well, do SOMETHING with it. What a great science experiment idea. Too bad I didn't think of it sooner.

Just needed to say how amazing I think this would be as a science experiment, maybe for someone with a high-schooler - at this moment, I'm almost sorry I teach math instead of science!
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Can you slit open one of the air cushions and acutally see what type of foam is inside? is it dense like memory foam, or is it a more open matrix - like a sponge.

My theroy is that it is more open cell than memory foam so that the air is stored somewhere, and then as the force is imparted on the cushion, the air is first released, then the foam is compressed...like the cushions the stunt persons use when they jump off a building...

Anyway, seeing the type of foam that is in the cushion would be neat.

It's definitely more firm and open-cell than memory foam. You can pretty much see it through the plastic, but if/when I get around to experimenting on it, I'll rip it open when I'm done if you want. :)
 

Stacy

New member
Yes, please do! Your hubby won't mind you holding on to just those air cusions, right? ;) It would be a shame to throw those out when you can have some fun first :D.
 

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