AU2011253899A1 - A child safety seat for a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

There is disclosed a child safety seat (10) for a vehicle. The child safety seat (10) comprises a body for receiving the child therein. The body has a backrest portion (12), a seat portion (14), and a pair of side walls (18) that project beyond the backrest portion (12) so as to extend at least along opposing sides of a head of the child. One or more members (22) are attachable to the pair of side walls (18) in a region adjacent the head of the child. Each member (22) is configured to support the head of the child in the event of impact of the head of the child with the member (22) so as to absorb energy associated with said impact, or to protect the child's head from hitting a part of the vehicle.

Description

A Child Safety Seat for a Vehicle CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2010905410 filed on 9 December 2010, the contents of which 5 are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a child safety seat for a vehicle, and in particular, to a child safety seat for a vehicle that having improved impact protection for a child located within the seat. 10 BACKGROUND ART The use of child safety seats to accommodate infants and young children whilst travelling in a vehicle is well established throughout the world. Most countries have introduced various laws and regulations that dictate the manner in which infants and children are to be transported in vehicles, and the types of 15 restraints that are acceptable for this purpose. Most such laws require the infant/child to be restrained in a dedicated and approved child safety seat that is anchored or otherwise secured to a rear seat of the vehicle. The child safety seat may include a dedicated harness that restrains the child in position within the seat, or the child safety seat may utilise the vehicle seat belt or a separate 20 harness to restrain the child therein, depending upon the size and/or age of the child. As such, there exist a variety of types of child safety seats that are approved for use with children of a variety of ages and/or sizes. These types can be broadly characterised as follows. Type A seats typically refer to rear facing 25 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 refer to forward facing seats used to accommodate toddlers and young children from approximately 6 months to 4 years, or from 8 - 26 kg. Type E seats typically refer to booster seats and booster cushions used to accommodate 30 children between 4 - 8 years old, or approximately from 14 - 32 kg, and which are typically used in combination with the vehicle seat belt. 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 18 kg. In relation to type B/E combination seats, such seats are configured to be used in a forward facing 5 mode to accommodate a children from as young as 6 months to 8 years old, or from 8 - 32 kg. Hence, whilst some such combination safety seats have been developed for use between different age and weight brackets, during the life of a child there is still a requirement to purchase at least two different types of seats to accommodate transition between a Type A and a Type E seating 10 arrangement. Irrespective of the type of child safety seat, some commercially available child safety seats are manufactured to provide a degree of protection to the head of the child from side impact. Typically this is achieved through the introduction of side walls or "wings" which extend out from the backrest of the seat along 15 the sides of the child. Such side walls or "wings" are typically located adjacent the sides of the head of the child and provide a degree of physical protection to the child's head from impact and act to locate or restrain side movement of the child's head. Whilst side walls or wings provide a degree of protection to the child, 20 particularly in the head region by restricting sideways movement of the child's head, such side walls or wings typically provide no substantial means for absorbing energy associated with the impact with the child's head in the event of an accident or the like. For this purpose, the addition of material such as polystyrene has been proposed to be provided about the child but such regions 25 have a tendency to be particularly brittle and thus often break or crack during general every-day use of the seat. Such material also has a tendency to break away during the event of an accident. Whilst covers, soft foams, and the like may be used to provide a softer surface over the side walls or wings, such covering typically provides minimal energy 30 absorption. As such, there is a need to provide a seat configuration that has enhanced energy absorption for the child in relation to side impact protection, whilst being sufficiently sturdy to withstand general ever-day use of the seat without becoming damaged or structurally compromised. Alternatively, or in addition 35 thereto, there is a need to provide a seat configuration that provides increased height of the seat structure around a child seated therein, to accommodate larger or taller children. 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 5 discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the 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 10 Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a child safety seat of a vehicle, comprising: a body for receiving the child therein, the body having a backrest portion, a seat portion, and a pair of side walls that project beyond the backrest portion so as to extend at least along opposing sides of a head 15 of the child; and one or more members attachable to the pair of side walls in a region adjacent the head of the child, the or each cushion member being configured to support the head of a child in the event of impact of the head with the member so as to absorb energy associated with said 20 impact and/or to restrict the child's head movement beyond the confines of the child safety seat. In one embodiment, the, or each, member is a cushion member. The, or each, cushion member may be detachably mounted to an inner surface of the pair of side walls on opposing sides of the child's head. The, or each, cushion member 25 may comprise a hollow blow moulded member. The hollow blow moulded member may have a central region that is deformable so as to collapse upon impact with the head of the child. One or more grooves may be formed in an outside edge thereof to provide structural support to the hollow blow moulded member. 30 In another embodiment, the or each cushion member may be formed integral with an inner surface of the pair of side walls on opposing sides of the child's head. The cushion member may comprise a bag filled with polystyrene beads. In another embodiment, the, or each, cushion member is formed from an injection moulding process. The injection moulded process could be controlled to form an outer cushion member formed in the head region of the child safety seat, or an inner cushion member formed in the head region of the child safety seat. In yet another embodiment, the cushion member may have a skin formed from 5 an injection moulded plastic material, with the skin surrounding an energy absorbent material. The energy absorbent material may be polystyrene. According to another aspect, there is provided a child safety seat of a vehicle, comprising: a body for receiving the child therein, the body having a backrest 10 portion, a seat portion, and a pair of side walls that project beyond the backrest portion so as to extend at least along opposing sides of a head of the child; and one or more members attachable to the body so as to be positionable in a region adjacent the head of the child, the or each member being 1s configured to protrude above an upper extremity of the side walls of the body so as to receive the head of the child in the event of impact of the head of the child with the member, each member being configured to prevent the head of the child from contact with the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 20 The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which: Figure 1 is perspective view of a child safety seat employing an impact protection system according to one embodiment of the present invention; 25 Figure 2 is a side view of the child safety seat of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detailed perspective view of the child safety seat of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a front view of the child safety seat of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an 30 impact protection system according to the present invention; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a child safety seat employing an alternative embodiment of an impact protection system; Figure 7 is a top perspective view of the child safety seat of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a top view of the child safety seat of Figure 6; Figure 9 is a cross-sectional front view of the child safety seat of Figure 5 7 taken through line A-A of Figure 8; and Figure 10 is a front view of the child safety seat of Figure 9. 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 1o understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. Referring to Figures 1 - 4, a first embodiment of an impact protection system 20 is shown in use with a Type B/E seat 10. The seat 10 is configured to be used by a child in a Type B mode where the child uses an internal harness (not 1s shown) and a Type E mode where a seat belt of the vehicle is used to restrain the child in position in the seat 10. The seat 10 is configured to be positioned on a seat of a vehicle and generally comprises a seat portion 14 which receives the posterior of the child and a backrest portion 12 against which the back and head of the child is received. 20 As is shown, the seat 10 may also include armrests 16 located at either sides of the seat portion 14 which form a gap 17 between the armrests 16 and the seat portion 14 to provide a path for the vehicle seat belt to pass as it extends over the hip or upper leg region of the child. Whilst not shown, when a child is positioned in the seat 10, the child's head is 25 located towards the upper region of the backrest portion 12, depending upon the age and/or height of the child. When the child is positioned in this manner, the side walls or wings 18 extend forward of the backrest 12 along either sides of the child. Thus, the side walls or wings 18 function to provide a degree of side protection to the child, in the form of a physical barrier, to protect the 30 child against side impact. The side walls or wings 18 also function to restrain sideways movement of the child in the seat 10, particularly in the head region of the child. As will be appreciated, in the event of a vehicle side impact, the child's head makes contact with the side walls or wings 18 of the seat 10 to restrain lateral movement of the child's head. Thus, the side walls or wings 18 function to reduce the severity of impact between the child's head and the seat 10. In 5 order to provide for energy absorption to reduce the severity of the contact between the child's head and the seat 10, an impact protection system 20 is employed in accordance with the present invention. The impact protection system 20 comprises a pair of cushion or barrier members 22 that are each attached to the inner walls of the side walls or wings 10 18 of the shell of the seat 10 in the region of the child's head. The members 22 extend inwardly from the inner walls of the side wings and further act to restrict head movement in the event of a side impact and may be configured to provide a degree of energy absorption to the child's head when the head makes contact with the members 22. As is shown in Figure 2, the members 22 are 1s configured to also extend above the top of the seat 10 to increase the height of the seat 10, particularly in the event of the child rising in the seat during impact or if the child is particularly tall. Referring to Figure 3, an embodiment of the members 22 is shown in more detail. The members 22 are typically made from a blow moulding and are 20 substantially hollow so as to be filled with air. The inner region 24 of the members 22 is moulded to be thinner and thus softer such that during impact with the head the inner region 24 collapses to absorb energy associated with the impact. Grooves 26 are also provided along the edges of the members 22 to provide extra support along the outside edge of the members 22 to ensure 25 that the members 22 retain their structural integrity during use. As the members 22 are configured so as to be firm along the top and front edges yet soft or more flexible at the inner region, the members 22 are able to function more readily as an energy absorption member when a child's head makes contact therewith during an accident. 30 As the members 22 function to extend the height of the side wings 18, the present invention also has the ability to accommodate a wider range of children's heights. In this regard, in the event that a taller child is present in the seat 10, the child's head will be prevented from making contact with the vehicle door or other parts of the vehicle interior by the presence of the 35 members 22 which act to extend the height of the side wings 18. As is shown in Figure 4, the members 22 can be either configured to be retained within the side wings 18 of the seat as is shown as member 22a, or may be configured to overlap with the top edge of the seat or side wing 18, as is shown as member 22b. In either event, in a preferred embodiment the members are attached to the seat shell 10 by way of a securement means 28. 5 The securement means 28 may take a variety of forms and is typically formed during the blow moulding of the seat shell 10 and the members 22. In this regard, the securement means 28 may comprise a pair of lugs or projections formed on the surface of the backrest 12 of the seat shell 10 which are received within a pair of recesses formed in the members 22. Such an 10 arrangement enables the members 22 to be separately attached to the seat 10 as desired. In this regard the securement means 28 may be a single means provided on opposing sides of the seat to secure the member 22 in position, or multiple securement means may be provided on opposing sides of the seat for this purpose. It will be appreciated that the securement means 28 may take a 15 variety of alternative forms and still fall within the spirit of the present invention. Referring to Figure 5, an alternative embodiment of an impact protection system 20 of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, the members 30 are integrated with the side wings 18 during the blow moulding process. 20 As is similar to the members 22 described above, the members 30 are hollow and are formed such that their outer faces have thinner walls to enable the surface of the members 30 to collapse or deflect upon impact with the child's head. Further, the edges of the members 30 are provided with strengthening ridges 32 to ensure that the members 30 have a degree of structural integrity to 25 function as an energy absorbing element. It will be appreciated that the means for strengthening the edges of the members 30 may take a variety of alternative forms, including providing increased wall thicknesses of the members in such regions. Alternatively, the members 30 may be configured so as to have a provision therein for receiving an energy absorbing member or material, such 30 as polystyrene or the like. Figures 6 - 10 shows an embodiment of the present invention employed in relation to a Type E or booster seat 40. In this arrangement the seat 40 is configured for use with a vehicle seat belt and comprises a backrest portion 42 against which the back of the child is to be received and a seat portion 44 for 35 receiving the posterior of the child. A pair of armrests 45 is located on opposing sides of the seat portion 44. In the embodiment as shown, the seat 40 comprises an adjustable headrest 46 that is configured to be positioned adjacent the child's head. The adjustable headrest 46 is movable in the direction of arrow A to accommodate children of a variety of different heights and sizes. The adjustable headrest 46 is configured to have a rear portion 47 against which the child's head may be 5 supported, and a pair of side walls 48 that extend from the rear portion 47 to provide side impact protection to the child's head and act to restrain lateral head movement. In this arrangement, the impact protection system 20 is provided through the provision of members 50 formed in the surface of the rear portion 47 and the surface of the side walls 48 of the adjustable headrest 10 46. It will be appreciated that in an alternative embodiment, the members 50 may be provided on and attached to the surface of the rear portion 47 and side walls 48 of the adjustable headrest 46. As is shown more clearly in Figures 7 and 8, in one embodiment, when the child is positioned in the seat 40, the members 50 formed in the rear 47 and 15 side walls 48 of the headrest 46, provide a surface upon which the child's head may contact during use. One embodiment of the members 50 can be seen in cross-sectional detail in Figure 9. In this embodiment, the member 50 comprises a flexible sack or membrane 51 filled with polystyrene beads 52. The membrane 51 may be 20 made from a suitable polymeric material having significant flexibility and strength properties, alternatively, the membrane 51 may be made from a rubber material. As the side walls 48 are formed from blow moulding or injection moulding, one or more gaps or spaces 55 are formed in the wall partitions 56. As the side 25 walls are formed to be hollow, the holes 55 provide paths for air to travel during impact with the child's head but are of a sufficient size to prevent beads from passing therethrough. This ensures that during impact, the beads 52 provided in the membrane 51 compress such that the beads 52 absorb impact energy. Any air present between the beads 52 is also expelled through the 30 holes 55 and away from the members. The expulsion of air from the system also aids in releasing energy from the impact. It will be appreciated that due to the physical properties of the beads 52, impact of the child's head with the member 50 will force the beads 52 to the outside perimeter of the membrane 51 of the member 50 thereby centralising 35 the child's head against the side wall 48, thus restricting rolling or forward movement of the child's head out of the headrest 46. This results in an impact protection system 20 that not only absorbs impact energy but also acts to support and position the child's head. Alternatively, in each of the above embodiments, the members may be formed by an injection moulded process such that they become integral with the child 5 safety seat. In this regard, the injection moulding process may form the members on an inside portion of the child safety seat or on an outside portion of the child safety seat. It will be appreciated that other absorption material may also be incorporated in the members of the present invention, such as a gel or similar material and 10 still fall within the spirit of the present invention. Referring to Figure 10, in order to provide added strength to the outer surfaces of the headrest 46, one or more strengthening ribs or ridges 59 may be formed on the outer surfaces of the headrest 46 as shown. This acts to further ensure the structural integrity of the headrest 46 during use. 15 It will be appreciated that whilst the embodiment shown in Figures 6 - 10 are applied to a booster seat having an adjustable headrest, the members 50 may be equally applied to booster seats or child restraints that employ an integral headrest or side wings. It will also be appreciated that whilst the members have been described as 20 being formed integral with a shell of the child safety seat or attachable to the child safety seat, the members may be part of a cover member that is configured to be fitted over the child safety seat. In such an arrangement, due to the fitted nature of such a cover member to the shell of the child safety seat, fitting the cover member in position on the seat will result in the members 25 formed integral with the cover member being located or positioned in a desired location on the seat shell. Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That 30 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. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and 5 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 safety seat uppermost.

Claims (10)

1. A child safety seat of a vehicle, comprising: a body for receiving the child therein, the body having a backrest portion, a seat portion, and a pair of side walls that project beyond the backrest portion so as to extend at least along opposing sides of a head of the child; and one or more members attachable to the body so as to be positionable in a region adjacent the head of the child, the or each member being configured to receive the head of the child in the event of impact of the head of the child with the member, such that the member absorbs at least a portion of the energy associated with said impact.

2. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein the, or each, cushion member is detachably mounted to an inner surface of the pair of side walls on opposing sides of the child's head.

3. A child safety seat according to claim 2, wherein the or each cushion member comprises a hollow blow moulded member.

4. A child safety seat according to claim 3, wherein the hollow blow moulded member has a central region that is deformable so as to collapse upon impact with the head of the child.

5. A child safety seat according to claim 4, wherein the hollow blow moulded member has one or more grooves formed in an outside edge thereof to provide structural support to the member.

6. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein the or each cushion member is formed integral with an inner surface of the pair of side walls on opposing sides of the child's head.

7. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein the cushion member comprises a bag filled with polystyrene beads.

8. A child safety seat according to claim 7, wherein the bag filled with polystyrene beads if formed integrally with a cover of the child safety seat.

9. A child safety seat of a vehicle, comprising: a body for receiving the child therein, the body having a backrest portion, a seat portion, and a pair of side walls that project beyond the backrest portion so as to extend at least along opposing sides of a head of the child; and one or more members attachable to the body so as to be positionable in a region adjacent the head of the child, the or each member being configured to protrude above an upper extremity of the side walls of the body so as to receive the head 12 of the child in the event of impact of the head of the child with the member, each member being configured to prevent the head of the child from contact with the vehicle.

10. A child safety seat substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.