AU2023219859A1

AU2023219859A1 - Child safety seat

Info

Publication number: AU2023219859A1
Application number: AU2023219859A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Richard Horsfall
Original assignee: Hbg Ip Holding Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Hbg Ip Holding Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-22
Filing date: 2023-08-22
Publication date: 2024-03-07

Abstract

A child safety seat for a vehicle, comprising: a seat portion; a backrest portion mounted with respect to the seat portion; a headrest mounted with respect to the backrest portion so as to be moveable in a vertical manner over the backrest portion; a harness system comprising at least two shoulder straps, each shoulder strap configured to pass through at least one laterally extending slot formed in the headrest to be secured with respect to the backrest portion; at least two elongate voids formed in the backrest portion, the at least two elongate voids are configured to extend vertically in a divergent manner such that the distance between each elongate void increases as the voids extend in a vertical direction; wherein, a pair of limiting members are mounted within the at least one laterally extending slot formed in the headrest, an end of each of the limiting members is received within a respective one of the at least two elongate voids, the limiting members being configured to move laterally within the at least one laterally extending slot to vary the available width of the at least one laterally extending slot as the headrest moves between an extended and a retracted position. 20 F~.2,4-

Description

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CHILD SAFETY SEAT FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a child safety seat for accommodating a child in a vehicle, and in particular, to a child safety seat for accommodating a child in a vehicle that is configured to facilitate variable separation of shoulder straps of a harness system as the height of the child changes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The introduction of dedicated safety seats to accommodate infants and children travelling in vehicles has been an important development in preventing death and injury in a variety of vehicle situations. Such seats function to restrain and protect the child and create an environment about the child that minimises unwanted movement of the child and potential contact with other parts of the vehicle.

Traditionally, such child safety seats have been provided in the form of dedicated rearward facing capsules to accommodate newborn infants, through to dedicated booster seats to accommodate toddlers and older children. More recently, combination child safety seats have been developed to avoid the need for guardians of the child to purchase multiple different types of safety seats to accommodate the child as the child grows. Such combination safety seats can be used in a rearward and forward facing manner such that as the child grows, the seat can be converted to suit the growing child's safety needs.

Most child safety seats typically employ an internal harness system that comprises a pair of shoulder straps that attach behind the backrest of the seat to a dedicated anchorage point, and extend over the shoulders of the child to be secured at a buckle extending between the child's legs. In such an arrangement, as the child's height changes, the point at which the shoulder straps exit the backrest must also change to ensure that the shoulder straps are positioned on the child correctly. For this reason, many safety seats provide for a plurality of slots located in a pair of vertical lines extending along the backrest to provide for an adjustment in the height at which the shoulder straps are located. In safety seats having an adjustable headrest, the headrest may be configured to accommodate the shoulder straps such that as the headrest is adjusted in height, the shoulder straps are also adjusted accordingly.

However, in existing safety seat arrangements, there exists a system referred to as a no-rethread harness system that is used in child safety seats. Such a harness system enables the height of the shoulder straps of the harness to be adjusted manually without having to manually reroute or rethread the shoulder straps through the seat. In such a system the lateral distance between the shoulder straps is kept constant irrespective of the height at which the shoulder straps extend from the seat backrest. As a result, the lateral distances between the shoulder straps is the same for a newborn child as it is for an older child.

Thus, there is a need to provide a child safety seat that provides for no-rethread harness system that is capable of varying the width between the shoulder straps depending upon the height of the child seated therein.

1o 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 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

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 dependent claims.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a child safety seat for a vehicle, comprising: a seat portion; a backrest portion mounted with respect to the seat portion; a headrest mounted with respect to the backrest portion so as to be moveable in a vertical manner over the backrest portion; a harness system comprising at least two shoulder straps, each shoulder strap configured to pass through at least one laterally extending slot formed in the headrest to be secured with respect to the backrest portion; at least two elongate voids formed in the backrest portion, the at least two elongate voids are configured to extend vertically in a divergent manner such that the distance between each elongate void increases as the voids extend in a vertical direction; wherein, a pair of limiting members are mounted within the at least one laterally extending slot formed in the headrest, an end of each of the limiting members is received within a respective one of the at least two elongate voids, the limiting members being configured to move laterally within the at least one laterally extending slot to vary the available width of the at least one laterally extending slot as the headrest moves between an extended and a retracted position.

In one embodiment, the limiting members are configured to facilitate connection between the headrest and the backrest portion of the child safety seat.

Each shoulder strap of the harness system may pass through an aperture formed in an upper region of the backrest portion to be secured with respect to the backrest portion at a rear surface thereof.

The at least two elongate voids formed in the backrest portion may be configured to prevent the shoulder straps of the harness system from passing therethrough.

child safety seat for a vehicle, comprising: a seat portion; a backrest portion mounted with respect to the seat portion; a harness system comprising at least two shoulder straps, each shoulder strap configured to pass through the backrest portion such that a position at which each shoulder strap extends from the backrest portion is vertically adjustable; at least two elongate voids formed in the backrest portion through which the shoulder straps pass, the at least two elongate voids are configured to extend vertically in a divergent manner such that the distance between each elongate void increases as the voids extend in a vertical direction; wherein, vertically adjusting the position at which each shoulder strap extends from the backrest also adjusts a spacing between the shoulder straps in accordance with the distance between each elongate void at the vertically adjusted position.

In one embodiment, a width of each elongate void is substantially equivalent to a width of the at least two shoulder straps.

The seat may further comprise a headrest mounted to the backrest portion to support a head of the child.

The headrest may be vertically adjustable with respect to the backrest.

The headrest may be configured to receive the harness system such that adjustment of the vertical position of the headrest adjusts the point at which the shoulder straps of the harness system passes through the void.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a child safety seat for a vehicle, comprising : a seat portion; a backrest portion mounted with respect to the seating portion, the backrest portion having at least two elongate voids formed therein and configured to extend vertically in a divergent manner such that the distance between each elongate void increases as the voids extend in a vertical direction; a headrest adjustably mounted by a connection means with respect to each of the elongate voids in the backrest portion; a harness system comprising at least two shoulder straps, each shoulder strap configured to pass 1o through at least one aperture provided in the headrest and through the at least one aperture configured in the backrest portion to be secured with respect to the seat portion; wherein, the at least one aperture provided in the headrest has a maximum width substantially equal to a required horizontal distance between an outer edge of each of the shoulder straps when the headrest is in an uppermost position in relation to the backrest, such that as the headrest is moved to a lowermost position, the connection means located in each of the elongate voids are configured to move towards each other within the at least one aperture provided in the headrest, wherein an outer edge of each shoulder strap are subsequently caused to move towards each other thereby reducing the spacing between the shoulder straps.

In one embodiment, each connection means is also a limiting member with respect to the shoulder strap.

The at least one aperture in the headrest may be of a restricted height with respect to the shoulder straps so as to maintain the shoulder straps in a substantially flat position within the at least one aperture.

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 perspective view of a child safety seat in accordance with the prior art;

Fig. 2 is a front perspective view of a child safety seat in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention with a harness system removed;

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of the child safety seat of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of a child safety seat of Fig. 2 with the headrest in a lowered position to accommodate a newborn infant;

Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of a child safety seat of Fig. 2 with the headrest in a raised position to accommodate a taller child;

Fig. 6 is a rear perspective view of the child safety seat of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a child safety seat of the present invention with the headrest in a lowered position;

Fig. 8 is a front perspective view of the child safety seat of Fig. 7 with the headrest portion in an elevated position;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the child safety seat of Fig. 7 depicting the manner in which the shoulder strap engages with the headrest;

Fig. 10 is a front perspective view of yet another embodiment of a child safety seat of the present invention with the headrest in a lowered position;

Fig. 11 is a front perspective view of the child safety seat of Fig. 10 with the headrest portion in an elevated position; and

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of the child safety seat of Fig. 10 depicting the manner in which the slot for receiving the shoulder straps is configured.

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.

The child safety seat of the present invention will be described below in relation to a forward facing child safety seat. However, the child safety seat of the present invention may take a variety of forms, including a rearward facing seat and a combination forward/rearward facing seat, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is disclosed a safety seat 10 in accordance with the prior art. The safety seat 10 is configured to be mounted on a seat of a vehicle and comprises a base 12 for supporting a posterior of a child thereon and a backrest 14 to support the back of the child when seated in the safety seat 10. A harness system 11 is formed integral with the safety seat 10 to extend about the child to secure the child therein.

The harness system 11 comprises a pair of shoulder straps 15 that extend through slots 16 formed in the backrest 14 to be secured to an adjustable anchor point provided on, or adjacent to, the rear of the backrest 14, such as a rod or clip member (not shown). The shoulder straps extend from the slots 16 to be secured with respect to the base 12 of the safety seat 10, such as through two thigh straps. Each of the shoulder straps 15 have a clip member 18 that is attached thereto in a sliding manner. The clip members 18 engage with a buckle member 13 that is mounted to the base 12 of the seat 10 by way of a strap member 19. The strap member 19 is configured to extend between the legs of the child when seated on the seat 10 1o such that buckle member 13 is positioned to receive the clip members 18 of each shoulder strap 15. The harness system 11 is completed when the clip members 18 engage with the buckle member 13, to securely retain the child within the safety seat 10.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 1, the slots 16 are provided in the backrest 14 in a pair of vertical rows 17. As a result, the slots 16 are arranged in a plurality of equi spaced pairs of slots 16, extending substantially the height of the backrest 14. For younger children, or children that are small in height, the shoulder straps 15 extend from the lowermost pairs of slots 16, namely those slots 16 that are closer to the shoulder region of the child. In this regard, as the child grows and becomes taller, the shoulder straps 15 can be adjusted to extend through an upper pair of slots 16 that better positions the shoulder straps 15 adjacent the shoulder of the child. Fig. 1 shows the shoulder straps 15 adjusted to extend through an upper pair of slots 16, to accommodate a taller child.

As is clearly seen from Fig. 1, whilst the slots 16 are vertically spaced over the backrest 14 of the seat 10, the horizontal spacing between pairs of slots is the same. Thus, as the child becomes taller the spacing between the shoulder straps 15 is substantially the same as it was when the child was smaller in height. This is a problem, as when the child is smaller, the shoulder straps 15 should be closer together to be better positioned over the shoulder of the child and as the child grows, and their shoulders widen, the shoulder straps 15 should be further apart. By providing the same spacing between the shoulder straps irrespective of the height of the slots 16, the shoulder straps will be positioned closer to the child's neck when child is taller, which can be a choking hazard and be uncomfortable, or may be positioned too far from the child's shoulders when the child is smaller in height, which can result in the harness system failing to correctly restrain the child.

In the above described system, even if the shoulder straps 16 are arranged with varying widths between the slots, to adjust the height of the shoulder straps 16 requires a user to dismantle the harness system 11 to re-thread the harness system through the seat. Such a requirement can present significant problems as the harness system may be incorrectly re-installed which can be significantly impact the ability of the seat to restrain the child in the event of an incident.

To address this, a child safety seat 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is proposed, as depicted in Figs. 2 - 6. It should be noted that, for reasons of clarity, the seat cover has been removed from these figures.

Referring to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the seat 20 is depicted with an internal harness system 21 removed. The seat 20 comprises a base 22 and a backrest 24 and is 1o configured to be positioned on a rear seat of a vehicle in a conventional manner. The backrest 24 is configured to support the back of a child seated therein, with the base 22 supporting the child's posterior.

A headrest 30 is mounted to the backrest 24 to be vertically slidable along tracks 32 formed in the backrest 24. The headrest 30 is shaped to receive and support a head of the child seated in the seat 20, and the slidable movement of the headrest 30 along the backrest 24 provides for vertical adjustment of the position of the headrest to accommodate children of varying height. The headrest 30 will include a locking means for locking the vertical position of the headrest 30 along the backrest 24, as is well understood in the art.

A pair of voids 26 are formed in the backrest 24 to provide access through the backrest 24. The voids 26 are in the form of elongate slots that diverge from each other at an angle as the slots extend vertically along the backrest 24. In this regard, at their lowest position, the voids 26 are closely spaced together and at their uppermost position, the voids 26 are spaced further apart. In the embodiment as shown, the tracks 32 extend between the voids such that the headrest 30 is centrally located between the voids 26, as shown.

Referring to Fig. 2, the lower end of the headrest 30 has a securing member 35 attached thereto, so as to extend substantially along the lower edge of the headrest 30. The securing member 35 has a pair of elongate slots 36 extending laterally therealong. The slots 36 are separated by a central pillar 37 and each slot has a width that substantially covers the angular displacement of the voids 26. In this regard, when the headrest 30 is at the lowermost position on the backrest 24 the slots 36 align with the voids 26 to provide a path through the backrest. Further, when the headrest 30 is at the uppermost position on the backrest 24, the slots 36 also align with the voids 26 to provide a path through the backrest 24, as is shown in Fig. 2. In this regard, irrespective of the vertical position of the headrest 30 along the backrest 24, the slots 36 in the securing member 35 will align with the voids 26.

It will be appreciated that, whilst two slots 36 are shown as being formed in the securing member 35 it is possible that one slot could be provided to accommodate both straps 25, and in some embodiments, the locating member 35 may be removed and the shoulder straps 25 emerge from the voids below the headrest 30 and are guided by the voids 26.

Referring to Fig. 3, the rear of the seat 20 is depicted, showing the voids 26 formed in the vertically divergent manner. The slots 36 formed in the securing member 35 are also shown, which clearly show how they function to form a passage through the backrest 24 for the shoulder straps of the harness system of the seat 20 to pass, as will be described in more detail below.

A locating member 38 is provide at the rear of the seat 20 and is attached to the headrest 30. The locating member 38 is movable in a vertical direction along tracks 39 such that it moves with movement of the headrest 30. A support rod 37 extends through the locating member 38, such that it projects from opposing sides of the locating member 38 in a substantially horizontal manner. The rear of the seat 30 has a series of slots or grooves 34 extending laterally across the rear of the backrest 24. These grooves 34 are configured to engage the ends of the support rod 37, such that the vertical position of the support rod 37 is securely maintained according to the required height of the shoulder straps 25 of the harness system 21. To vary the height of the support rod 37, the ends of the support rod 37 may be removed from the grooves 34 and repositioned to locate the shoulder straps 25 as required. It will be appreciated that the means for adjusting the height of the support rod 37 may vary and could employ a variety of different sliding and locking mechanisms to achieve this purpose. It will also be appreciated that a different supporting means may be employed other than a rod for supporting the shoulder straps 25 of the harness system 21, with respect to the headrest. Similarly, the support means may be provided separately to the seat or configured to be adjusted in a variety of alternative means.

Referring to Fig. 4, the seat 20 of the present invention is depicted with the harness system 21 shown and the seat 20 configured to accommodate a small child, such as an infant. In this arrangement, the headrest 30 is positioned in a low vertical position on the backrest 24. Each shoulder strap 25 of the harness system 21 is positioned to pass through the slots 36 formed in the securing member 35 and through the voids 26 formed in the backrest 24 of the seat. Whilst not shown, the locating member 38 is positioned on the rear surface of the seat with the support rod 37 secured in position at the desired height. In this regard, as the shoulder straps 25 pass through the slots 36 and void 26, they pass over the locating rod 37 to be secured with respect to the base of the seat 20.

In the position as shown in Fig. 4, due to the divergent configuration of the voids 26, when the shoulder straps 25 are located in the low position, the horizontal space between the shoulder straps 25 is limited by the space between the voids. As the voids 26 diverge, the space between the voids 26 is less at the lowered position that it is at an upper position of the seat. As the headrest 30 is positioned to 1o accommodate the child's head when seated in the seat, adjusting the headrest position to suit the child will automatically adjust the spacing between the shoulder straps 25 to accommodate the height of the child.

As is shown in Fig. 5, when the headrest 30 is adjusted to an uppermost position, the shoulder straps 25 have a wider separation than that depicted in Fig. 4. This is 1s achieved by the divergent nature of the voids 26 which are spaced apart wider at the top end of the backrest then they are at base end of the backrest. As the slots 36 provided in the securing member 35 of the backrest are wide enough to cover the angular diversion of the voids 26, the adjustment of the spacing between the shoulder straps 25 occurs automatically as the headrest is adjusted.

Referring to Fig. 6, as the shoulder straps 25 pass through the slots 36 formed in the securing member 35 of the headrest 30, the straps 35 pass through the voids 26 and over the support rod 37. The support rod 37 is adjusted in position to be located at a level immediately behind the slots 36 such that the shoulder straps pass directly over the support rod to be secured with respect to the base of the seat 20. In this regard, the ends of the shoulder straps 25 may attach to a plate member 40 that is located on a strap member 41 that is securely attached to the base 12 of the seat 20.

The width of the voids 26 is substantially equivalent to the width of the shoulder straps 25, such that the voids 26 dictate the separation width of the shoulder straps 25. In such an arrangement, the shoulder straps of the harness can be brought closer together to accommodate a newborn or child smaller in height, as is depicted in Fig. 4. Then, as the child grows, or if a taller child is to use the seat, the headrest 30 can be simply adjusted to accommodate the taller child, which will automatically adjust the spacing between the shoulder straps 25 to a preferable spacing. It will be appreciated that whilst in the depicted embodiment of the invention the position of the shoulder straps 25 along the voids 26 is dictated by movement of the headrest 30, it will be appreciated that the position of the shoulder straps 25 may be performed manually and independently of the position headrest 30.

In this regard, for a newborn infant the optimum width of separation of the shoulder straps may be between 25 mm - 35 mm and the voids, at their lower ends, may be separated to provide this spacing. For a taller child, the optimum width of separation of the shoulder straps may be between 45 mm - 60 mm and the voids, at their upper ends, are separated to provide this spacing.

Referring to Figs. 7 - 9, an alternative embodiment of a child safety seat 50 in 1o accordance with the present invention is depicted. For clarity reasons, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same features. It should also be noted that, for reasons of clarity, the seat cover has been removed from these figures.

In this embodiment, the elongate voids 26 are provided in the backrest 24, as discussed in the embodiment described above, however the shoulder straps 25 do not pass through the voids 26 to be secured with respect to the rear of the seat 50, rather they pass through dedicated slots 52 provided in the upper end of the backrest 24.

In this embodiment, the lower end of the headrest 30 has a horizontally extending cavity 54 formed therein. As is shown more clearly in Fig. 9, a pair of guide members 55 are mounted within the cavity 54 such that they are free to slide along the cavity 54 in the direction of the arrows. Each guide member 55 has a connector lug 56 extending from a rear surface thereof and located at the distal ends of the guide member 55. The connector lug 56 is configured to be received and extend into the elongate void 26 such that as the headrest 56 moves in a vertical manner along the backrest 24, the guide members 25 slide laterally along the cavity 54 due to the divergent orientation of the voids 26. As such, the guide members 55 will be arranged closer together when the headrest 30 is at its lowest position and will be furthest apart when the headrest 30 is at its uppermost position.

Each of the guide members 55 have an aperture 57 formed therein through which a shoulder strap 25 passes, as is shown more clearly in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. In this regard, the shoulder straps extend behind the headrest 30 and along the backrest 24 to pass through the dedicated slots 52 formed through the upper region of the backrest 24. In this arrangement, as the headrest 30 is moved vertically along the track 32 between the lowermost position of Fig. 7 to the uppermost position of Fig. 8, the distance between the shoulder straps 25 increases. This is achieved due to the divergent configuration of the voids 26, which receive the guide members 55. As such, by simply adjusting the height position of the headrest 30, the distance between the shoulder straps 25 as they pass through the headrest 30 will also be adjusted. Such an arrangement ensures that the shoulder straps are correctly located in accordance with the height of the child seated therein.

Another embodiment of a seat 50 in accordance with the present invention is depicted in Figs. 10 - 12. In this embodiment, rather than the seat 50 having guide members 55 mounted within a horizontally extending cavity 54 formed in the backrest, a pair of limiting members 56A are provided within an elongated slot 54A formed in the backrest 24. The limiting members 56A are in the form of pin members having an enlarged head portion at one end that is configured to be received in the elongate slot 54A so as to slide in a lateral direction within the slot 54A. The opposing end of the limiting members 56A are configured to be received in the slanted elongate voids 26A such that as the headrest 30 is moved in an 1s upward and downward direction the limiting members move to widen or narrow the gap therebetween.

The enlarged head portion of the limiting members 56A function to control the width of the elongate slot 54A depending upon the position of the headrest 30. As the shoulder straps 25 will largely be pushed towards the opposing ends of the elongate slot 54A when a child is seated in the seat 50 by their neck and shoulders, the limiting members 56A provide an end stop that defines the maximum separation of the shoulder straps 25 allowable with the headrest in that position.

This is shown in Fig. 10 whereby the headrest 30 is shown in a lowered position and the limiting members 56A are positioned in the elongate slot 54A in a position away from the ends of the slot 54A. In such a position the width between the shoulder straps 25is controlled by the width of the spacing between the limiting members 56A, which is narrower than the slot 54A. Fig. 11 shows an arrangement of the seat 50 wherein the headrest 30 is in an elevated position. In this elevated position, the limiting members 56A are located at the ends of the slot such that the space between the limiting members 56A is at a maximum distance. This ensures that the shoulder straps 25 are spaced apart a maximum distance to accommodate a taller child without requiring manual repositioning of the shoulder straps 25. As the position of the limiting members 56A changes as the headrest 30 is raised and lowered due to the divergent nature of the slanted elongate voids 26A, the spacing distance between the shoulder straps 25 automatically changes to suite the needs of the child without manual repositioning.

In the embodiment as shown in Figs 10 - 12, the elongate slot 54A is depicted as being a single slot extending the width of the base of the headrest 30. However, it will be appreciated that the elongate slot 54A may constitute two slots located in a side-by-side manner, as well as other configurations, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

It will be appreciated that the present invention could apply to all child safety seats that use a harness but in particular the Type A/B (suitable from newborn to approximately a four year old), a Type A/G (newborn to approximate eight year old). In this regard, the present invention is particularly suitable where there is a 1o big variance between the size/height of the smallest applicable child compared to the largest size/height child suitable for that seat.

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 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.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A child safety seat for a vehicle, comprising: a seat portion; a backrest portion mounted with respect to the seat portion; a headrest mounted with respect to the backrest portion so as to be moveable in a vertical manner over the backrest portion; a harness system comprising at least two shoulder straps, each shoulder strap configured to pass through at least one laterally extending slot formed in the headrest to be secured with respect to the backrest portion; at least two elongate voids formed in the backrest portion, the at least two elongate voids are configured to extend vertically in a divergent manner such that the distance between each elongate void increases as the voids extend in a vertical direction; wherein, a pair of limiting members are mounted within the at least one laterally extending slot formed in the headrest, an end of each of the limiting members is received within a respective one of the at least two elongate voids, the limiting members being configured to move laterally within the at least one laterally extending slot to vary the available width of the at least one laterally extending slot as the headrest moves between an extended and a retracted position.

2. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein the limiting members are in the form of pin members having a head portion at one end that is configured to be received in the at least one laterally extending slot.

3. A child safety seat according to claim 2, wherein the head portion is received within the at least one laterally extending slot to slide laterally within the laterally extending slot.

4. A child safety seat according to claim 2, wherein an opposing end of each of the limiting members are configured to be received in one of the at least two elongate voids such that as the headrest moves between an extended and a retracted position the limiting members move to widen or narrow the gap therebetween.

5. A child safety seat according to claim 4, wherein the head portion of the limiting members function to control the width of the at least one laterally extending slot formed in the headrest depending upon the vertical position of the headrest on the backrest portion.

6. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein the limiting members are configured to facilitate connection between the headrest and the backrest portion of the child safety seat.

7. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein each shoulder strap of the harness system passes through an aperture formed in an upper region of the backrest portion to be secured with respect to the backrest portion at a rear surface thereof.

8. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein the at least two elongate voids formed in the backrest portion may be configured to prevent the shoulder straps of the harness system from passing therethrough.