AU2010227052A1

AU2010227052A1 - Safety Device for a Child Safety Seat

Info

Publication number: AU2010227052A1
Application number: AU2010227052A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Richard Horsfall
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-09
Filing date: 2010-10-08
Publication date: 2011-04-28

Description

SAFETY DEVICE FOR A CHILD SAFETY SEAT CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2009904903 filed on 9 October 2009, the content of which is incorporated herein by 5 reference. FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a safety device for use with a vehicle seat belt system, and in particular, to a safety device for a child safety seat that is removably fitted to the child safety seat to locate and position a lap belt of a vehicle seat belt system with respect to a 1o user seated therein. BACKGROUND ART A variety of types of child safety seats have been developed to accommodate children of a variety of ages and/or sizes while travelling in vehicles. Such different types of seats are typically approved for use with children of specific ages or sizes so as to ensure that 15 the child is safely secured and restrained within the vehicle as the child's physical requirements change. These types of seats can be broadly characterised as follows. Type-A seats typically refer to rear facing seats or capsules suitable for accommodating babies/infants up to around 6 months of age and/or 70 cm in length and up to 12 kg. Type-B seats typically 20 refer to forward facing seats used to accommodate toddlers and young children from approximately 6 months to 4 years, or from 8 - 18 kg. Type-E seats typically refer to booster seats and booster cushions used to accommodate children between 4 - 8 years old, or approximately from 14 -- 32 kg, and which are typically used in combination with the vehicle seat belt. 25 To provide a child safety seat that accommodates a child as they grow, combination child safety seats have been proposed, such as Type-A/B or Type-B/E seats. In the case of Type-A/B seats, such seats are configured so as to be used as both a rearward facing seat and a forward facing seat to accommodate children up to 4 years, or from infancy to 1 8 kg. In relation to Type-B/E combination seats, such seats are configured to be used 30 in a forward facing mode to accommodate a children from as young as 6 months to 8 years old, or from 8 - 32 kg. Typically, Type-A, -B and -A/B child safety seats employ a combined harness to restrain the child within the seat. Such harnesses may come in a variety of forms, such as three or five-point harnesses, and require connection of the harness about the child after the child is positioned in the seat. In contrast, child safety seats used in the Type-E mode use the lap/sash belt of the vehicle to restrain the child in position. Such Type-E seats typically employ a sash 5 guide to correctly position the sash belt of the vehicle seat belt system across the chest of the child and away from their neck region to minimise the risk of damage to the child during an accident. The lap belt of the seat belt typically passes across the waist of the child. In Type-E seats it has been shown that incorrect positioning of the vehicle seat belts 10 with respect to the child can increase the risk of injury to the child in the event of an accident. One such problem that has been noted with children using vehicle seat belts with or without a Type-E seat has been a phenomenon referred to as "submarining". In such a phenomenon, in the event of an accident or sudden vehicle breaking, the child's body moves forward and slips under the lap belt of the vehicle seat belt such that the 15 effectiveness of the seat belt is reduced and the seat belt applies forces against the abdominal region of the child which can cause damage to internal organs. Such a phenomenon can result in significant damage to the child and is some instances, may be fatal. The instance of "submarining" can be attributable to an incorrectly fitted vehicle seat belt about the child or incorrect child posture when restrained. 20 To avoid "submarining" an auxiliary crutch strap has been proposed to be secured to the child safety seat so as to be located between the legs of a child seated therein. The crutch strap carries a clip or similar engagement means that engages with the lap belt of the vehicle seat belt as it travels over the waist of the child, thereby providing a physical barrier extending between the child's legs preventing them from sliding under the lap 25 belt in the event of an accident or sudden vehicle breaking. Whilst such an arrangement has proven effective in preventing the phenomenon of "submarining" in children, due to the rigid strap arrangement extending between the legs of the child, it still has the ability to cause damage to the child and does not necessarily act to better position the lap belt on the hips or waist of the child. Further, the crutch strap is typically securely attached 30 to the child safety seat thereby making it difficult to remove, particularly in instances where such an arrangement is not required for the child. In this regard, it has been found that provided that the lap belt is positioned correctly, namely low on the hips or across the top of the legs of the child, the incidence of "submarining" can be significantly reduced if not eliminated. "Submarining" typically 35 occurs when the position of the lap belt rides higher above the child's waist and as such, rather than providing a physical connection strap between the child's legs, "submarining" can be controlled by better controlling the position of the lap belt with respect to the child's waist and hips. Hence, there is a need to provide a simple and effective system for controlling the position of a lap belt with respect to the child which can be used with or without a child 5 safety seat. The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the 10 understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part. STATEMENT OF INVENTION Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a safety device for optimally positioning a lap belt of a vehicle seat belt system with respect to a user, 15 comprising: a body configured to receive said user thereon, the body having a seat portion and a backrest portion against which the user is received; a latch member attached to the seat portion of the body, the latch member being configured to engage the lap belt so as to position the lap belt with respect to the user; 20 wherein, the body is configured to be positioned on a surface dedicated to receive the user such that the weight of the user against the body retains the body in position with respect to the surface. In one embodiment, the body comprises a flexible and soft pad member that is shaped to conform to the surface dedicated to receive the user. In one form, the surface dedicated 25 to receive the user may be a child safety seat for a vehicle. In this form, the body may be shaped to substantially conform to the shape of the child safety seat such that the body also provides padded comfort to the user. In another form, the surface dedicated to receive the user may be a vehicle seat. The latch member may be attached to the seat portion such that it is located between the 30 legs of a user when the user is received thereon. The latch member may comprise a length of material or webbing that is secured at one end to a strap member and which has a fastener located at an opposing end. The fastener located at the opposing end may be a component of a hook and loop fastener. The opposing end may be able to extend in a loop so as to extend around the lap belt and engage with a corresponding fastener provided on the strap member. The corresponding fastener provided on the strap member may comprise a corresponding component of a hook and loop fastener. The length of material or webbing provided to extend around the lap belt may be adjustable 5 so as to provide adjustability of the position of the lap belt with respect to the user's body. One or more slots may be provided in the seat portion of the body to receive the strap member. The strap member may extend through the slots in a closed loop to secure the strap member in position with respect to the seat portion of the body. A reinforcing 10 member may be provided on an undersurface of the seat portion to provide strength to the seat portion in the region between the slots. The reinforcing member may extend along the undersurface of the seat portion such that it extends under the legs of an individual seated thereon. In this regard, the reinforcing member may be a steel or plastic plate or bar over which the strap member passes and contacts. The reinforcing 1s member preferably reduces the likelihood of any force being applied by the strap member to the seat portion in the region between the slots which may cause tearing of the seat portion. In another aspect, the invention provides a method of optimally positioning a lap belt of as vehicle seat belt system with respect to a user comprising: 20 positioning the safety device in accordance to the first aspect of the invention on a surface to which the user is to be received; receiving the user on the safety device such that the user is received on the seat portion and the users back is received on the backrest portion of the device; securing the vehicle seat belt system about the user in a conventional manner; 25 engaging the latch member of the safety device with the lap belt of the vehicle seat belt system so as to adjust the position of the lap belt with respect to the user. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which: 30 Figure 1 is front perspective view of a Type E child safety seat for use with the present invention: Figure 2 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of a safety device in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the safety device of Figure 2 in use with the child safety seat of Figure 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 5 Figure 4 is an isolated view of the safety device of Figure 1 employed in use with a vehicle seat belt. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the 10 features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. Whilst the device of the present invention will be described below in relation to its application for use with a Type-E child safety seat, it will be appreciated that the safety device of the present invention may be employed with other types of child safety seats or 1s separately and still fall within the spirit of the present invention. Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a Type-E child safety seat 10, referred to as a booster seat. The seat 10 is configured to be positioned on a rear seat of a vehicle and may be secured in position by way of a tether arrangement or the like (not shown), as is conventional in the art. The seat 10 comprises a seat portion 14 to receive a posterior of 20 a child thereon, and a backrest portion 12 that extends substantially orthogonally to the seat portion 14 to receive and support a back of the child such that the child is supported in the seat in a substantially upright position. The backrest portion 12 has a rear surface 13 that is configured to abut the upright portion of the vehicle seat when the seat 10 is positioned for use. Similarly, the seat portion 14 of the seat 10 has a base 15 that is 25 adapted to be received on the horizontal surface of the vehicle seat. In the seat 10 of Figure 1, a headrest 16 is provided to provide protection a head region of a child when positioned within the seat 10. The headrest 16 has a pair of side wings 17 that extend laterally along opposing sides of a child's head to provide additional support to the head region. The height of the headrest 16 may be adjustable to 30 accommodate children of different heights. The backrest 12 also has a pair of side wings 19 that extend laterally along opposing sides of the seat 10 to provide additional protection to the child seated therein. For comfort, a pair of armrests 18 are provided, which are spaced above the seat portion and extend along opposing edges of the seat portion 14. In such an arrangement, when the child is seated in the seat 10 the lap belt of the vehicle seat belt typically passes between the armrests 18 and the surface of the seat portion to extend across the child's lap. Referring to Figure 2, the safety device 20 of the present invention is shown. The safety device 20 is in the form of a body, such as a pad, having a seat portion 24 and a back 5 portion 22 that extends substantially perpendicular to the seat 24. The device 20 is made from a high density foam or similar material, and is sufficiently flexible to enable its shape to vary in accordance with its use. In this regard, if the device 20 is to be used with a child safety seat 10, the device 20 is positioned within the seat 10 such that he back 22 and the seat 24 are located against the backrest portion 12 and the seat portion 10 14 of the seat 10, in the manner as shown in Figure 3. In this position the child is seated on the device 20 and the device 20 is sufficiently resilient to conform to the shape of the seat 10 and the child, so as to provided added comfort to the child. It will be appreciated that in such a position as shown in Figure 3, the weight of the child will retain the device 20 in position on the seat 10 without the need for any additional 1s securing means. However, it will be appreciated that additional securing means, such as Velcro fasteners and the like may be provided to aid in positioning of the device 20 within the seat 10 and still fall within the spirit of the present invention. A latch member 25 is attached to the seat 24 of the device 20. The latch member 25 is in the form of a length of material or webbing that is secured at one end to a strap 20 member 26 and which has a component of a hook and loop fastener 25a located at an opposing end. The opposing end being able to extend in a loop so as to engage with a corresponding component of a hook and loop fastener 25a provided on strap member 26. In this regard, Figure 2 shows the latch member 25 in a closed position. The strap member 26 extends through slots 23 provided in the seat 24 of the device 20. 25 The slots 23 are formed so as to be centrally located on the seat 24, such that in use, the latch member 25 is located between the legs of the child. A reinforcing member 27, such as a plastic or steel plate or bar is provided to extend along the undersurface of the seat 24 so as to provide strength to the seat 24 in the region between the slots 23. This reinforcing member 27 preferably extends to be below the child's legs when seated on 30 the device 20 such that the weight of the child's legs are applied to the reinforcing member 27. The reinforcing member 27 therefore acts to reduce the likelihood of any force being applied to the strap member 26 tearing the seat 24 in the region between the slots 23. The manner in which the device 20 cooperates with the seat belt system 30 of the 35 vehicle is shown in Figure 4. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the standard seat belt system 30 of a vehicle comprises a sash belt 32 that is configured to extend across the chest and upper torso of the child in a conventional manner. A lap belt 31 is also provided which is configured to extend across the lap of the child. When the device 20 is to be used in association with a child safety seat 10, in the manner as shown in Figure 3, the child is positioned in the seat 10 to be positioned atop the 5 device 20. The vehicle seat belt system 30 is then employed to retain the child in position within the seat 10, by threading the lap belt 31 between a gap between the seat portion 14 and the handles 18 such that it passes over the lap of the child. The sash belt 32 is then positioned to extend diagonally across the torso of the child. Sash guides may be provided on the seat 10 to assist in positioning the sash belt 32 correctly. 10 Once the vehicle seat belt system 30 is positioned in this manner, the latch member 25 is undone such that the length of webbing is able to loop around the lap belt 31 in the manner as shown in Figure 4. The latch member 25 is then closed by bringing the component of the hook and loop fastener on the free end of the length of webbing into contact with the corresponding component of the hook and loop fastener provided on the 15 strap member 26. The latch member 25 can be readily adjusted such that the location or height of the lap belt 31 can be adjusted with respect to the child. Such an arrangement ensures that the lap belt cannot ride too high on the child, particularly if the child moves or adjusts their position in the seat 10, thereby increasing the likelihood of submariningg" in the event of an accident of sudden vehicle breaking. 20 It will be appreciated that the present device can be simply adapted for use with a variety of child safety seats. Similarly, the present invention can be used without a child safety seat making it suitable for larger children graduating to an adult seating position, as well as for pregnant women and the like. It will be appreciated that the present invention can be particularly beneficial for use with pregnant women as provides a 25 simple means for locating the lap belt close to the pelvis thereby preventing any damage to an unborn foetus. As the device of the present invention comprises a back portion and a seat portion, when an individual is seated on the device force is applied to the device at both the back and seat portions thereby reducing the likelihood of the device slipping or changing position. 3o The device also provides additional comfort and support to the user and provides a simple yet effective means for ensuring that the vehicle seat belt is located at the most optimal position for the individual to reduce the likelihood of injury in the event of an accident. Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives are 35 intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word "comprise" and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. 5 Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and are based on the premise that the component, item, article, apparatus, device or instrument will usually be considered in a particular orientation, typically with the device uppermost. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations 10 may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A safety device for optimally positioning a lap belt of a vehicle seat belt system on a body of a user, comprising: a body configured to receive said user thereon, the body having a seat portion and 5 a backrest portion against which the user is received; a latch member attached to the seat portion of the body, the latch member being configured to engage the lap belt so as to position the lap belt with respect to the user; wherein, the body is configured to be positioned on a surface dedicated to receive 10 the user such that the weight of the user against the body retains the body in position with respect to the surface.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the body comprises a flexible and soft pad member that is shaped to conform to the surface dedicated to receive the user. 15

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the surface dedicated to receive the user is a child safety seat for a vehicle.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the body is shaped to substantially conform to the shape of the child safety seat such that the body also provides padded comfort to the user. 20

5. A device according to claim 2, wherein the surface dedicated to receive the user is a vehicle seat.

6. A device according to claim 1, wherein the latch member is attached to the seat portion such that it is located between the legs of a user when the user is received thereon. 25

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the latch member comprises a length of material or webbing that is secured at one end to a strap member and which has a fastener located at an opposing end.

8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the fastener located at the opposing end is a component of a hook and loop fastener. 30

9. A device according to claim 7, wherein the opposing end of the length of material or webbing is able to extend in a loop so as to extend around the lap belt and C,, engage with a corresponding fastener provided on the strap member.

10. A device according to claim 9, wherein the corresponding fastener provided on the strap member is a corresponding component of a hook and loop fastener.

11. A device according to claim 7, wherein the length of material or webbing 5 provided to extend around the lap belt is adjustable so as to provide adjustability of the position of the lap belt with respect to the user.

12. A device according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein one or more slots are provided in the seat portion of the body to receive the strap member.

13. A device according to claim 12, wherein the strap member extends through the 10 slots in a closed loop to secure the strap member in position with respect to the seat portion of the body.

14. A device according to claim 13, wherein a reinforcing member is provided on an undersurface of the seat portion to provide strength to the seat portion in the region between the slots. 1s

15. A device according to claim 14, wherein the reinforcing member is a steel or plastic plate or bar over which the strap member passes.

16. A device according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcing member functions to reduce the likelihood of any force being applied by the strap member to the seat portion in the region between the slots which may cause tearing of the seat 20 portion.

17. A method of optimally positioning a lap belt of as vehicle seat belt system with respect to a user comprising: positioning the safety device in accordance to the first aspect of the invention on a surface to which the user is to be received; 25 receiving the user on the safety device such that the user is received on the seat portion and the users back is received on the backrest portion of the device; securing the vehicle seat belt system about the user in a conventional manner; engaging the latch member of the safety device with the lap belt of the vehicle seat belt system so as to adjust the position of the lap belt with respect to the user. 30 1 /\