AU2982201A - A tether strap for a safety seat and method of joining a tether strap in relation to a safety seat - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

oo o* oooo oooo 00oo Name of Applicant: Actual Inventors: Address for Service: Invention title: Britax Child-Care Products Pty Ltd Michael Andrew Lumley Wieslaw Maciejczyk MADDERNS, 1st Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia A TETHER STRAP FOR A SAFETY SEAT AND METHOD OF JOINING A TETHER STRAP IN RELATION TO A SAFETY SEAT Details of Associated Provisional Application No: PQ 6884 dated 14 April 2000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

(PatAU131 FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a tether strap for a safety seat, and in particular relates to the method of attaching the tether strap to a safety seat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Infant safety seats used in motor vehicles make use of tether straps that extend from the head of the seat to an attachment point that is fixed with respect to the vehicle. This is the case for safety seats that face both in a forward and rearward direction.

These tether straps are normally fixed to the safety seat via threaded fasteners which attach to the shell of the safety seat or by guides which are attached to the outer surface of the safety seat.

15 Another method of attaching the tether straps is illustrated in Australian Patent No. 680150 which makes use of apertures within the shell of the safety seat.

This enables the tether strap to extend between the apertures across the backrest portion of the safety seat which does away with the need to use fixed fasteners or guides.

S oooo However, all of the examples described above result in the requirement for an i assembly operation such as attachment of fittings to the safety seat shell or stitching of webbing after it is located in place. These operations are inconvenient and time consuming, and therefore it would be an advantage to have a system that enables a much simpler means of attaching and securing a tether strap to a safety seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In its broadest form, the invention is said to reside in a tether system for a safety seat that comprises: a strap that locates through apertures in said safety seat, at least one coupling element to which each end of said strap attaches, said coupling element allowing said ends to be connected, and a tether connector on said strap for attachment of said strap to an anchor point, wherein the ends of said strap are each located through an aperture in said safety seat and brought together to enable connection with said coupling element so that said strap can resist movement of said safety seat away from said anchor point.

The invention enables the attachment of the tether strap to a safety seat without the need to carry out any other manufacturing operations such as stitching or attachment of fasteners or guides. This of itself is a significant advantage.

Preferably, the tether strap is prevented from moving with respect to the safety seat by having the coupling element also secured with respect to the safety seat. Without such an arrangement, the tether strap would be free to slide through o• the apertures. This presents some difficulties when a length adjuster is incorporated into the tether strap. The length adjuster is preferably placed on one side of the tether 15 strap between the safety seat and the tether connector. If the tether strap is not fixed S• with respect to the safety seat, the adjuster may end up being positioned so close to either the safety seat or the tether connector that it prevents proper adjustment of the tether strap. The fixing of the tether strap with respect to the safety seat also enables fixing of any length adjusters which may be incorporated into the safety seat.

Securing of the coupling element to the safety seat may also resist twisting of the tether strap.

Preferably, the coupling element enables quick and easy attachment to secure the ends of the tether strap. Such a couplings element may comprise a combination of two-bar and three-bar links. One of the ends can be attached to the centre of the three-bar link with the other end attached to one of the bars of the two-bar link. The three-bar link is orientated so that it passes through the aperture of the two-bar link and then repositioned so that it is flat against the two-bar link which then results in the ends of the tether strap being held when tension is applied. In addition to the use of a two-bar and three-bar link, the backrest of the restraint may have an additional aperture through which the ends of the straps are passed prior to connection to the connection element or elements. The links, when laying flat with respect to the backrest abut the surface around the edge of the aperture so that the links are brought hard against the backrest when tension is applied to the tether strap. This prevents any movement of the tether strap with respect to the backrest so that any length adjusting fitting incorporated into the tether strap can remain in a fixed position with respect to one side of the safety seat.

As an alternative, the end of each strap may each be attached to a single coupling element. The ends of the strap are folded back on each other and stitched to form a loop. The ends of the strap located through the respective apertures in the safety seat and are brought together for connection to the coupling element. In this aspect of the invention, the coupling element may comprise a pair of connected spigots to which respective loops are attached to connect the ends to the strap.

S: 15 In an alternative embodiment the coupling element may include a plate S" having a central aperture and spigots either side of the central aperture whereby the ends of the straps are passed through the central aperture and connected to the S.spigots.

There also may be a cover element or retaining cap over the coupling elements which is retained to the back of the backrest.

.eeeei In order to fully understand the invention, a preferred embodiment will now be described. However, it should be realised that the invention is not to be limited in any way to the features of the preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a part rear perspective view of a safety seat and a tether strap according to a first embodiment, Fig. 2 shows the same safety seat illustrated in Fig 1 but with the tether strap fully attached, Fig. 3 shows a part rear perspective view of a safety seat and a tether strap according to a second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 4 shows the coupling element used in the second embodiment of Fig 3, Fig. 5 shows the coupling element of the embodiment shown in Fig 3 with the ends of the tether strap attached in greater detail, Fig. 6 shows a part rear perspective view of a safety seat and a tether strap according to a third embodiment of the invention, Fig. 7 shows cut away detail of the coupling element used in the third embodiment shown in Fig 6, and Fig. 8 shows a section view along line A-A shown in Fig 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 15 A first embodiment is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The child safety seat 10 shown in o C. the accompanying drawings has a backrest portion 11 and side walls 12. Apertures 13 are formed in each side wall 12 and a central aperture 14 is formed in the backrest 14.

The tether strap comprises a length of webbing 16 which has a two-bar link 17 attached at one end of the strap 16 and a three-bar link 18 attached at the other end of the strap 16. The two-bar link is a rectangular plate of material with a central aperture where the longer sides of the rectangle form the bars to which the webbing is attached. The three-bar link is similar but has a pair of apertures so that a third central bar is formed. The strap is secured to both the two-bar and three-bar links 17 and 18 by a stitching process.

A tether connector 19 is attached to the strap 16. It has an aperture 20 through which the tether strap locates. The tether connector 19 can freely move along the length of the strap 16.

The tether strap has a length adjuster 22 which enables the strap 16 to be shortened or lengthened to accommodate the variation in location of anchor points to which the tether connector 19 is attached. The length adjuster 22 also enables the required tension to be applied to the strap 16.

The strap 16 is fitted to the safety seat 10 by feeding the two-bar and three-bar links 17 and 18 through the respective apertures 13. Similarly, the two-bar and threebar links 17 and 18 are passed through aperture 14. The two-bar and three-bar links 17 and 18 are then connected by passing the three-bar link 18 through the central aperture of the two-bar link 17. Both the two-bar and three-bar links 17 and 18 are then orientated in a position shown in Fig 1 so that the three-bar link 18 abuts against the two-bar link 17. The connected two and three-bar links 17 and 18 abut against the edge of the backrest 11 around the aperture 14 as shown in Fig. 2. In this manner, the ends of the straps 16 are connected and the strap is prevented from moving with respect to the backrest 11 so that the adjuster 22 remains in a fixed position.

15 A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 3 to 5. In this 0. embodiment, the ends of the strap 16 are formed into loops 24 by folding the ends of the straps back on themselves and stitching across the overlapping strap portions. In this embodiment, the coupling element 25 comprises a pressed metal plate having a pair of spigots 26 with a rectangular portion 27 between the spigots 26. The S° 20 rectangular portion has a central aperture 28.

As seen in Figure 5, the two ends of strap 16 locate through the central .i aperture 28 where the loops 24 are then located over respective spigots 26. The strap 16 is then pulled tight so that the coupling element 25 abuts against the back rest surface 11. The coupling element 25 will then locate directly over the central aperture 14 in the backrest 11.

In this position, the ends of the straps 16 are restrained from vertical movement by the rectangular portion 27. This means that the loops 24 cannot become detached from the spigots 26.

A third embodiment is illustrated in Figures 6 to 8. This embodiment is similar to the second illustrated in Figure 3, but in this embodiment, the coupling element is a U-shaped member having a pair of spigots 36. As with the second embodiment, the ends of the strap 16 are formed into loops 24 which locate through respective side apertures 13 and through the central aperture 14. Each spigot 36 of the coupling element 35 then locates within one of the loops 24 of the strap 16. This will hold the ends of the strap 16 together. A retaining cover 30 is then clipped in place over the central aperture 14. This is more clearly illustrated in Figures 7 and 8. The retaining cover 30 has a pair of barbed spigots 31 that locate within apertures 32 in the back rest 11. The retaining cover 30 keeps the coupling element 35 within the loops 24 so that the loops 24 cannot disengage from the coupling element As seen from the above description the invention enables a simple and rapid *assembly of the tether strap 16 to the safety seat 10. No manufacturing operations 15 such as additional stitching or fitting of other attachments or fasteners are required.

This is obviously of significant advantage in the manufacture and assembly of such safety seats.

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Claims (12)

1. A tether system for a safety seat that comprises: a strap that locates through apertures in said safety seat, at least one coupling element to which each end of said strap attaches, said coupling element allowing said ends to be connected, and a tether connector on said strap for attachment of said strap to an anchor point wherein the ends of said strap are each located through an aperture in said safety seat and brought together to enable connection with said coupling element so that said strapcan resist movement of said safety seat away from said anchor point.

2. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 1 wherein the tether strap is C@ O* prevented from moving with respect to the safety seat by having the coupling element also secured with respect to the safety seat. go 6 eo.

3. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim I further including a length adjuster on one side of the tether strap between the safety seat and the tether C connector. *v C 20

4. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 1, 2 or 3 comprising two coupling elements each secured to respective end of the tether strap, the coupling elements being detachably connectable to each other.

A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 4 wherein the coupling elements comprise a two-bar link and a three-bar link wherein one of the ends of the strap is attached to the centre of the three-bar link with the other end of the strap is attached to one of the bars of the two-bar link and the three-bar link is orientatable so as to pass through the aperture of the two-bar link and then be repositioned so that it is flat against the two-bar link whereby the ends of the tether strap are held when tension is applied.

6. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 1, 2 or 3 further including the backrest of the safety seat having an additional aperture through which the ends of the straps are passed prior to connection to the coupling element whereby the coupling element, when laying flat with respect to the backrest abut the surface around the edge of the aperture so that the coupling element is brought hard against the backrest when tension is applied to the tether strap.

7. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 1, 2, 3 or 6 wherein the respective ends of the strap are each attached to a single coupling element.

8. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 7 wherein the respective ends of the strap are folded back on each other and stitched to form a loop and the ends of the strap are located through the respective apertures in the safety seat and are brought together for connection to the coupling element.

9. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 8 wherein the coupling element includes a pair of connected spigots to which respective loops are attached to connect the ends of the strap to the coupling element.

10. A tether system for a safety seat as in any one previous claim further including a cover element adapted to cover the connection elements. .e

11. A tether system for a safety seat as in Claim 10 wherein the cover element is adapted to be fastened to the safety seat by means of barbed spigots engageable in apertures in a-backrest of the safety seat.

12. A tether system for a safety seat as in any one of claims 1 to 3 or 6 wherein the coupling element includes a plate having a central aperture and spigots either side of the central aperture whereby the ends of the straps are passed through the central aperture and connected to the spigots. DATED this 21 st day of March, 2001. BRITAX CHILD-CARE PRODUCTS PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys MADDERNS .0 *o o*