AU2013245547A1 - Child restraint for a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

There is described a child safety seat for a vehicle comprising: a seat shell having a seat portion and a backrest portion for receiving a child therein; a harness system attachable to the seat shell, said harness system comprising at least one crotch strap, at least one hip strap and at least one shoulder strap and configured to extend about the child to restrain the child within the seat shell; and a harness adjustment system mounted on or with respect to said seat shell and configured to engage with any one or more of the crotch strap, hip strap and shoulder strap to reduce an effective length of the crotch strap, hip strap and/or shoulder strap so as to reposition the harness system with respect to the child; wherein the harness adjustment system is deployable without requiring detachment of the crotch strap, hip strap or shoulder strap from the seat shell. 'IC I-i-

Description

CHILD RESTRAINT FOR A VEHICLE RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2012904557 filed 18 October 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated 5 herein by reference. FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a child restraint for a vehicle, and in particular, to a child restraint having an integrated harness system that can be reconfigured to accommodate children of a variety of sizes. 10 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of child restraints to accommodate infants and young children whilst travelling in a vehicle is a well established practice. Most countries have established various laws and regulations that dictate the manner in which infants and children are to be transported in vehicles, and the types of restraints that are acceptable for such use. 15 Most laws adopted for such purposes 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 harness to restrain the child therein, depending upon the size and/or 20 age of the child. As such, conventionally there have existed a variety of types of child safety seats that are approved for use with children of a specific age and/or size. These types 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 25 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 - 18 kg; and 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 30 vehicle seat belt. Over recent times, combination child safety seats have been proposed which are combinations of Type A/B, B/E and A/B/E seats. Such child safety seats are designed to be varied to accommodate the child as the child grows, thereby overcoming the need for a parent or guardian to purchase multiple child safety seats for their child as they grow through the various age and/or weight divisions. Whilst combination child safety seats have proven effective in providing an alternative option for parents or guardians wishing to purchase a seat that will accommodate their 5 child's needs over an extended period, many such seats have proven less effective in accommodating a wide range of children sizes, especially where the child safety seat includes an internal harness system. In this regard, in a child safety seat that can be configured for use in a Type A mode, it has been difficult to adjust the position of the internal harness to accommodate an infant having a low birth weight, such as an infant 1o weighing around 2 Kg. In such instances, the position of the crotch, waist and shoulder straps may be more suitable for a larger infant and not readily adapted to accommodate an infant on the smaller size and/or weight range. Thus, there is a need to provide a child safety seat for accommodating a child therein that employs an internal harness that can be readily adjustable to accommodate an 15 occupant across a variety of size and weight ranges in a simple an effective manner. 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 20 the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention according to one or more aspects is as defined in the independent claims. Some optional and/or preferred features of the invention are defined in the 25 dependent claims. Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a child safety seat for a vehicle comprising: a seat shell having a seat portion and a backrest portion for receiving a child therein; 30 a harness system attachable to the seat shell, said harness system comprising at least one crotch strap, at least one hip strap and at least one shoulder strap and configured to extend about the child to restrain the child within the seat shell; and a harness adjustment system mounted on or with respect to said seat shell 35 and configured to engage with any one or more of the crotch strap, hip strap and shoulder strap to reduce an effective length of the crotch strap, hip strap and/or shoulder strap so as to reposition the harness system with respect to the child; wherein the harness adjustment system is deployable without requiring detachment of the crotch strap, hip strap or shoulder strap from the seat shell. 5 In one embodiment, the harness system is a five point harness system comprising a pair of shoulder straps, a pair of hip straps and at least one crotch strap, the at least one crotch strap carrying a buckle member that facilitates connection between the pair of shoulder straps and the pair of hip straps about the child seated therein. 10 The effective length of the crotch strap, hip strap or shoulder strap may be the length of the respective strap extending between a point at which the respective straps leave or depart the surface of the seat shell to the point at which the straps attach to the buckle of the harness system. In another embodiment, the harness adjustment system is formed in the seat shell. The 15 harness adjustment system may comprise at least a crotch strap retainer and a hip strap retainer formed in a surface of the seat portion of the seat shell to engage with the crotch strap and hip strap to reduce the effective length thereof. In one form, the crotch strap retainer and the hip strap retainer may comprise a recess formed the surface of the seat portion of the seat shell and a hook member provided within the 20 recess to receive and engage with the crotch strap or hip strap as the crotch strap or hip strap passes thereover. In another form, the crotch strap retainer and the hip strap retainer may comprise a webbing member attachable to the surface of the seat shell to receive and engage with the crotch strap or hip strap as the crotch strap or hip strap passes thereover. 25 In another embodiment, the harness adjustment system is a pad member positionable under the child seated within the seat member. The pad member may have a backrest portion and a seat portion that is configured to be received on the backrest portion and the seat portion of the seat shell. The pad member may comprise at least a crotch strap retainer and a hip strap retainer formed in a surface of the pad member to extend 30 therefrom so as to engage with the crotch strap and hip strap to reduce the effective length thereof. The pad member may be positionable under a cover of the child safety seat. The cover of the child safety seat may comprise openings formed therein through which the crotch strap retainer, hip strap retainer and/or shoulder strap retainers may pass. 35 The pad member may comprise padding for enhancing comfort of a child seated thereon. At least part of the pad member may be formed by an injection moulded process. In one form, the at least one of the crotch strap retainers, hip strap retainers and/or shoulder strap retainers may be formed integral with the pad member. In another form, at least one of the crotch strap retainers, hip strap retainers and/or 5 shoulder strap retainers may be fixed in position with respect to the pad member. According to another aspect, there is provided a pad member for a child safety seat comprising: a body configured to be positioned under a child seated in the child safety seat; and 10 at least one retainer member located on said body to engage with any one or more of a crotch strap, hip strap or a shoulder strap of a harness system of the child safety seat to reduce an effective length of the crotch strap, hip strap and/or shoulder strap so as to reposition the crotch strap, hip strap and/or shoulder strap about the child. 15 In this aspect of the invention, the body may be configured to be positioned under a cover of the child safety seat. The cover may have one or more openings formed therein through which the at least one retainer member may pass to engage with the crotch strap, hip strap or shoulder strap of the harness system of the child safety seat. The at least one retainer member may be fixedly connected to the body. In another 20 form, the at least one retainer member may be detachably connected to the body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which: Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a child safety seat in accordance with one 25 embodiment of the present invention with the integral harness system being employed in a conventional manner; Figs. 2A and 2B show top and cross-sectional side views of a hip strap or crotch strap retainer in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 shows a front perspective view of the child safety seat of Fig. 1, with the 30 hip and crotch straps of the integral harness system being employed in a repositioned manner in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 shows a front perspective view of the child safety seat of Fig. 1, with the hip and crotch straps and the shoulder straps of the integral harness system being employed in a repositioned manner in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a hip strap retainer for use with the child safety 5 seat of Figure 1, in accordance with another embodiment; Fig. 6 shows a front perspective view of the child safety seat of Fig. 1, with the hip strap and crotch strap retainers in a covered position; Fig. 7 shows a front perspective view of another embodiment of a child safety with the hip and crotch straps and the shoulder straps of the integral harness 10 system being employed in a repositioned manner; Fig. 8 shows a front perspective view of yet another embodiment of a child safety with the hip and crotch straps and the shoulder straps of the integral harness system being employed in a repositioned manner; Fig. 9 shows a pad member used in the embodiment of Fig. 9 in isolation in 15 accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 10 shows another embodiment of a pad member of the present invention; and Fig. 11 shows an enlarged view of a hip strap guide member in accordance with the embodiment of Fig. 10, in use. 20 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 features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. 25 The present invention will be described below in relation to a Type A mode of a child safety seat, which is generally fitted in a vehicle in a rearward facing mode. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention may be used in a Type B or a Type E mode or any combination of modes where adjustment of a harness is required to accommodate a child therein. Further, for ease of description the present invention has 3o not been described in relation to the manner in which the child safety seat is secured in position on a seat of a vehicle. In this regard, it will be appreciated that the child safety seat may be secured to the vehicle seat by way of conventional means, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Referring to Fig. 1, a child safety seat 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment the child safety seat 10 is configured for use in a Type A mode to accommodate an infant from birth up to around 12 kg. 5 The child safety seat 10 generally comprises a backrest portion 12 which receives and supports a child's back, shoulder and head region. A headrest 11 is mounted on the backrest portion 12 of the child safety seat 10 to provide a degree of support and protection for the child's head and neck region. The headrest 11 may take a variety of forms and is typically adjustable in position along a vertical axis of the backrest 10 portion 12 in accordance with the requirements of the child seated therein. It will be appreciated that the headrest 11 is optional and the present invention can function with or without a headrest 11 present. The child safety seat 10 also comprises a seat portion 14 that supports the posterior and leg region of the child. The seat portion 14 extends substantially orthogonally from the backrest portion 12 but in some instance the angle 15 of inclination between the backrest portion 12 and the seat portion 14 may be adjustable. A harness system 15 is provided in the seat 10 to securely restrain the child in position against the backrest portion 12 and the seat portion 14 of the child safety seat 10. In the embodiment as shown in Fig. 1, a five-point harness system 15 is shown. The 20 harness system 15 comprises a pair of crotch straps 16 which are mounted to the shell of child safety seat 10 at the surface of the seat portion 14 at one end, and which terminate in a buckle 17 at their other end. The crotch straps 16 have a length sufficient to extend between the legs of a child seated within the seat 10 such that the buckle 17 is located over their pelvic region. It will be appreciated that in another 25 embodiment, the crotch straps 16 may comprise a single strap having a buckle 17 at an end thereof. A pair of hip straps 18 are provided which are secured at one end to the shell of the child safety seat 10 adjacent the lateral sides of the seat 10 as shown at points 18a. The hip straps 18 are configured to extend across the hip or waist region of the child when 30 seated therein. The hip straps 18 each pass through a clip member 13 and become shoulder straps 19 that extend from the clip member 13 over the shoulder or upper torso region of the child where the shoulder strap 19 is secured at a terminal end to the shell of the child safety seat in the backrest portion 12 at points 19a. Points 19a are typically in the form of slots formed in the backrest portion 12 which enable the distal 35 end of the shoulder straps 19 to pass through the backrest portion to be secured at the rear of the seat 10, in a conventional manner.

By inserting each of the clip members 13 into the buckle 17 located in the pelvic region of the child, the combined hip straps 18 and shoulder straps 19 functions to restrain the child in position within the child safety seat 10. In this regard the shoulder/hip straps 18, 19 are adjustable in length to accommodate infants of a variety 5 of sizes. It will be appreciate from Fig. 1 that, whilst the harness system 15 is designed to accommodate a variety of sizes and ages of infants/children, in instances where very small infants are required to be seated within the seat 10, the harness system 15 may not provide adequate security. In this regard, the position of the crotch straps 16 and 10 the hip straps 18 may provide a gap that is too large whereby a small infant may not be suitable restrained by a universal harness system. Thus, in order to accommodate a smaller infant/child, a crotch strap retainer 20 and a pair of hip strap retainers 22 are provided in the surface of the seat portion 14, as shown. 15 One embodiment of a manner in which the crotch strap retainer 20 and hip strap retainers 22 are formed is shown in Figs 2A and 2B. Each of the crotch strap retainer 20 and hip strap retainers 22 comprises a recess 21 formed in the surface of the seat portion 14. A retaining member 23 is provided within the recess 21 in the form of a rigid hook member that is located within the recess 21 so as to not project beyond the 20 surface of the seat portion 14. The hook member 23 may have a barb or projection 24 formed on a free end thereof which acts to retain the crotch straps 16 or hip straps 18 when passed thereunder, as shown by the dashed lines 16, 18. An alternative embodiment of a hip strap retainer 22 is shown in Figure 5. In this embodiment, rather than the hip strap 18 passing under a hook member 23 formed 25 within a recess 21 in the seat portion, a pair of slots 30 are formed in the seat portion 14 to define a finger portion 32 therebetween. A slot 33 is formed in the finger portion 32 to enable the hip strap 18 to be passed under the finger portion 32 in the manner as shown. Referring to Figure 3, the manner in which retainers 20, 22 function to reposition the 30 crotch straps 16 and the hip straps 18 of the harness system 15 is shown. By positioning the hip straps 18 to pass under the retaining member 23 of the retainers 22 the effective spanning width 'Y' of the hip straps 18 is reduced. In a normal situation, as is shown in Fig. 1, the spanning width of the hip straps 18 is 'X' and is defined by the distance between attachment points 18a of the respective straps. By reducing the 35 spanning width of the hip straps 18 to 'Y' by passing the hip straps under retaining member 23 of the retainers 22, the hip straps more snugly fit about the hip of a child, thereby enhancing the safety of a small child. Similarly, by passing the crotch straps 16 under the retaining member 23 of retainer 20, the location at which the crotch straps 16 depart from the surface of the seat portion 14 is moved closer to the child. This also reduces the height 'H' of the crotch 16 straps 5 such that the buckle 17 is positioned closer to the surface of the seat portion 14 to be more appropriately positioned for a smaller infant or child. It will be appreciated that the retainers 20, 22 function to maintain the hip straps 18 and the crotch straps 16 in a closer orientation to accommodate a smaller infant or child. 10 Referring to Figure 4, the manner in which the shoulder straps 19 are adjusted to accommodate a smaller child or infant is shown. In a normal manner, the ends of the shoulder straps 19 typically pass through points 19a formed in the backrest portion 12 of the child safety seat. Thus, the distance between outer edges of the slots or points 19a defines the spanning width 'W' of the shoulder straps 19. For most infants such a 15 spanning distance 'W' may be sufficient to safely restrain the infant in position within the child safety seat 10. However, for smaller or low birth weight infants, the distance 'W' may be too large. To reduce the distance 'W', a constraining member 25 is provided to engage about each of the shoulder straps 19 to reduce the spanning width of the straps to a width 20 'V', as shown in Fig. 4. The constraining member 25 generally comprises a strap or cable having a pair of loops 26 through which each shoulder strap passes prior to entering the slots or points 19a. The length of strap or cable extends from each loop 26 to pass through each slot or point 19a to be attached at the rear of the backrest portion 12 as shown by the dashed lines of Fig. 4. 25 As can be seen from Fig. 4, the loops 26 of the constraining member 25 function to move the shoulder straps 19 closer together prior to passing through the slots 19a, such that the spanning width 'V' is significantly less than the spanning width 'W' in the normal position. By reducing the distance between the inner edge of each shoulder strap 19 the shoulder straps 19 follow a closer path over the shoulders or torso of the 30 child positioned therein. Such a closer or narrower path of the shoulder straps 19 reduces the likelihood of the shoulder straps falling of the shoulders of a smaller infant, thereby increasing the safety of the smaller infant. It will be appreciated that by employing the retainers 20, 22 and the constraining member 25, a standard harness system 25 of a child safety seat can be simply and 35 effectively altered to accommodate a child with low birth weight in a safe and secure manner. Referring to Fig. 6, when the child safety seat is to be used in its standard form, cover members 35 are employed to cover the retainers 20, 22. The cover members 35 are preferably in the form of flaps of material stitched into the cover of the child safety 5 seat which employ a removable fastener, such as Velcro@, to cover the retainers 20, 22 in the manner as shown. An alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 7. In this embodiment, child safety seat 40 is configured in much the same manner as child safety seat 10 of Figure 1, and has a backrest portion 12 and a seat portion 14. 10 An integral harness system 25 is also provided comprising a five-point harness consisting of crotch straps 16, hip straps 18 and shoulder straps 19, as described previously. In the embodiment as shown in Figure 7, the child safety seat 40 does not employ retainers 20, 22 formed in the shell of the child safety seat in the manner as discussed 15 in the previous embodiments. Rather, the means for reducing the integral harness system 25 is incorporated into the cover system of the child safety seat. Hence, webbing straps 42 are stitched to the surface of the cover of the child safety seat in the regions inward of the lateral sides of the seat and adjacent the crotch region of the child, as shown. Alternatively, the webbing straps 42 may be riveted or otherwise 20 attached to the shell of the child safety seat 40 to extend through holes provided in the seat cover. The webbing straps 42 function in substantially the same way as the retainers 20, 22 described in the previous embodiment. In this regard, the hip straps and the crotch strap(s) are each passed under the webbing straps 42 such that the webbing straps 25 function to limit the spanning width of the hip straps 18 and the height of the crotch strap 16, such that the harness system 25 is more tightly controlled around the child to restrain a child of small size or weight. The shoulder straps 19 are similarly constrained together by way of a webbing guide 43, as shown, in a similar manner as described in the previous embodiment. It will be 3o appreciated that in order to reduce the overall size of the harness system 25, it may not be necessary to constrain the shoulder straps 19 by way of the webbing guide 43, depending upon the position of the slots 19a through which the shoulder straps 19 pass. If the slots 19a are sufficiently close together the shoulder straps will naturally travel in a narrow path over the child's torso so as to accommodate a small child or a child of 35 low birth weight.

Another alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 8. In this embodiment, the child safety seat 50 employs a pad member 52, represented by the dashed lines, which is positioned on the child safety seat 50 below the cover 51 of the seat. 5 The pad member 52 is shown in isolation in Fig. 9. The pad member 52 has a seat portion 53 which is shaped to extend over the surface of the seat portion 14 of the child safety seat 50 and a backrest portion 54 which is shaped to extend along the surface of the backrest portion 12 of the child safety seat 50. The body of the pad member is made from a flexible material and may be constructed from a fabric or plastic sheeting 10 such that it can be positioned on the surface of the child safety seat 50 with a cover 51 and child positioned thereon during use. A crotch strap guide member 55 is located on the seat portion 53 of the pad member 52 such that when the pad member 52 is positioned on the child safety seat 50 for use, the crotch strap guide member 55 is located in a central region of the seat portion 14, 15 between the legs of the child seated thereon. Hip strap guide members 56 are similarly located towards a rear edge of the seat portion 53 and inward of the lateral sides of the pad member 52. Shoulder strap guide members 57 may be located on an upper region of the backrest portion 54 of the pad member 52, as shown. The shoulder strap guide members 57 20 function in the same manner as the webbing guide 43 described previously and comprises a pair of loops through which the shoulder straps of the harness system 25 of the seat 50 pass. It will be appreciated that the shoulder strap guide members 57 may not be required where the normal distance between the shoulder straps of the harness system 25 is minimal. 25 As is shown in Figure 8, the cover 51 of the child safety seat 50 extends over the surface of the seat 50 and has recesses 58 formed therein adjacent the crotch strap guide member 55, hip strap guide members 56 and shoulder strap guide members 57. In such an arrangement the crotch strap guide member 55, hip strap guide members 56 and shoulder strap guide members 57 are able to protrude through the recesses 58 in 30 the cover 51 to receive the straps in accordance with the invention and as shown in Figure 8. By employing the pad member 52, the weight of the child assists in retaining the pad in position under the cover 51 of the seat 50 such that the pad member can be used to reduce or constrain the integral harness system 25 of the seat 59 for use with a small child or infant to enhance the safety of such a small infant travelling therein. 35 An alternative arrangement of a pad member 60 is shown in Fig. 10. This pad member 60 is configured to be used in the same manner as pad member 52 above, namely to be positioned under the cover 51 of the child safety seat 50. The pad member 60 has a seat portion 63 and a backrest portion 64 with a flexible connection joining the backrest portion 64 and the seat portion 63 to facilitate folding of the backrest portion 64 with respect to the seat portion 63. Both the backrest portion 64 and the seat 5 portion 63 may be formed from a moulded plastic material, preferably by way of an injection moulded process. Crotch strap guide member 65, hip strap guide members 66 and shoulder strap guide members 67 are also formed in the pad member at appropriate positions as part of the moulding process. As can be best seen in Fig. 11, the crotch strap guide member 65 and the hip strap 10 guide members 66 are in the form of a raised, elongate plastic arm 69 having a head portion 68 located at a distal end thereof. The head portion 68 is an elongated tube having a narrow slot 68a formed therein. By positioning the pad member 60 on the seat under the seat cover, the crotch strap guide member 65 and the hip strap guide members 66 are able to pass through the slots 15 already formed in the seat cover to accommodate the integral harness system 25. The elongate plastic arm portion 69 is able to extend inwards through the pre-existing slots formed in the cover as is shown in Figure 11 whereby the crotch strap(s) 16 and hip straps 18 are able to be passed through the narrow slot 68a formed in the head portion 68 so as to be held in position by the crotch strap guide member 65 and the hip strap 20 guide members 66 to reposition the harness system 25 about a smaller child positioned within the seat. Where required, the shoulder strap guide members 67 of the pad member 60 are in the form of raised rigid clips that pass through slots in the cover of the seat to hold and reposition the shoulder straps of the harness system about the smaller infant or child. 25 It will be appreciated that the pad members 52 and 60 can be readily employed with an existing child safety seat to provide a simple means whereby the integral harness system of the child safety seat can be readily adapted to cater for the needs of a small infant, without requiring a parent or guardian to purchase or hire a dedicated child safety seat for the infant in the interim period. The pad members act to constrain the 30 integral harness system about the child in a safe and secure manner. In this regard, in another embodiment, the pad members 52 and 60 may be positioned on top of the cover 51 of the seat and still function to achieve the present invention. Similarly, the child safety seat configurations 10 and 40 of the present invention provide a safety seat having a means designed therein, which can be employed as required to adapt the 35 integral harness system of the child safety seat to the needs of an infant of a low birth weight or size. Such a means for repositioning the integral harness system of a child safety seat provides a parent or a guardian with an ability to purchase a seat that they can use for the child from birth. 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 5 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. 10 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 child safety seat uppermost. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations 15 may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (20)

1. A child safety seat for a vehicle comprising: a seat shell having a seat portion and a backrest portion for receiving a child therein; 5 a harness system attachable to the seat shell, said harness system comprising at least one crotch strap, at least one hip strap and at least one shoulder strap and configured to extend about the child to restrain the child within the seat shell; and a harness adjustment system mounted on or with respect to said seat shell 10 and configured to engage with any one or more of the crotch strap, hip strap and shoulder strap to reduce an effective length of the crotch strap, hip strap and/or shoulder strap so as to reposition the harness system with respect to the child; wherein the harness adjustment system is deployable without requiring detachment of the crotch strap, hip strap or shoulder strap from the seat shell. 15

2. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein the harness system is a five point harness system comprising a pair of shoulder straps, a pair of hip straps and at least one crotch strap, the at least one crotch strap carrying a buckle member that facilitates connection between the pair of shoulder straps and the 20 pair of hip straps about the child seated therein.

3. A child safety seat according to claim 2, wherein the effective length of the crotch strap, hip strap or shoulder strap is the length of the respective strap extending between a point at which the respective straps depart the surface of the seat shell to a point at which the respective straps engage with a buckle of 25 the harness system.

4. A child safety seat according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the harness adjustment system is formed in the structure of the seat shell.

5. A child safety seat according to claim 4, wherein the harness adjustment system comprises at least a crotch strap retainer and a hip strap retainer formed in a 30 surface of the seat portion of the seat shell to engage with the crotch strap and hip strap to reduce the effective length thereof.

6. A child safety seat according to claim 5, wherein crotch strap retainer and the hip strap retainer comprises a recess formed the surface of the seat portion of the seat shell and a hook member provided within the recess to receive and 35 engage with the crotch strap or hip strap as the crotch strap or hip strap passes thereover.

7. A child safety seat according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the harness adjustment system is a pad member positionable under the child seated within the seat member. 5

8. A child safety seat according to claim 7, wherein the pad member has a backrest portion and a seat portion that is configured to be received on the backrest portion and the seat portion of the seat shell.

9. A child safety seat according to claim 8, wherein the pad member comprises at least a crotch strap retainer and a hip strap retainer formed in a surface of the 10 pad member to extend therefrom so as to engage with the crotch strap and hip strap to reduce the effective length thereof.

10. A child safety seat according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the pad member is positionable under a cover of the child safety seat.

11. A child safety seat according to claim 10, wherein the cover of the child safety 15 seat comprises openings formed therein through which the crotch strap retainer, hip strap retainer and/or shoulder strap retainers pass.

12. A child safety seat according to any one of claims 7 - 11, wherein the pad member comprises padding for enhancing comfort of a child seated thereon.

13. A child safety seat according to claim 7, wherein at least part of the pad member 20 is formed by an injection moulded process.

14. A child safety seat according to claim 13, wherein at least one of the crotch strap retainers, hip strap retainers and/or shoulder strap retainers are formed integral with the pad member.

15. A child safety seat according to claim 13, wherein at least one of the crotch 25 strap retainers, hip strap retainers and/or shoulder strap retainers are fixed in position with respect to the pad member.

16. A pad member for a child safety seat comprising: a body configured to be positioned under a child seated in the child safety seat; and 30 at least one retainer member located on said body to engage with any one or more of a crotch strap, hip strap or a shoulder strap of a harness system of the child safety seat to reduce an effective length of the crotch strap, hip strap and/or shoulder strap so as to reposition the crotch strap, hip strap and/or shoulder strap about the child.

17. A pad member according to claim 16, wherein the body is configured to be positioned under a cover of the child safety seat. 5

18. A pad member according to claim 17, wherein the cover has one or more openings formed therein through which the at least one retainer member may pass to engage with the crotch strap, hip strap or shoulder strap of the harness system of the child safety seat.

19. A pad member according to claim 16, wherein the at least one retainer member 10 is fixedly connected to the body.

20. A pad member according to claim 16, wherein the at least one retainer member is detachably connected to the body.