AU597097B2 - Booster seat - Google Patents

Description

r -YSOED AT SUB-OFFIC 2 6 AU 1987 Adelaide SCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA WARS PATENTS ACT 1952-62 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Form FEE STAMP TO VALUE OF

SACHED

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(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: 59709 7 Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: S Published: Priority: Class Int. Class Related Art: a lo d11I Name of'Applicant: Adars s of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: TC BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT SAFE-N-SOUND PTY. LIMITED 1521 Sydney Road, Campbellfield, State of Victoria, Commonwealth of Australia WILLIAM JAMES BOWTELL care of R.K. MADDERN ASSOCIATES, 345 King William Street, AcLalaide, South Australia, 5000 Complete Specification for the Invention entitled: "BOOSTER SEAT" The following statement Is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing It known to RWx us.

This invention relates to a booster seat assembly which is intended to provide a high degree of safety for a child which is too large for a child restraint seat but too small to safely use the main seat belt of a car seat of a motor vehicle, unless the child is elevated.

In the case of an impact of collision, a motor vehicle will impart very high acceleration forces on the occupants, and it is necessary for restraints to include a restraint across the thorax, that is below the neck and above the abdomen (even though a lap sash belt is also used which extends across the abdomen).

co 9 o 0 oo This requirement imparts certain difficulties to the

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design of a booster seat, and for example it is necessary that o the booster seat should not be compressible, for example o9 produced from a foam material (which, under the very high .9 impact forces, can cause downward movement of the child and consequently shift the restraint of the sash belt from the thorax up to the neck). It is also necessary that the sash belt of the motor vehicle should be held downwardly where it 9., crosses the child's shoulder, instead of extending diagonally from the thorax area to the upper anchor point of the vehicle.

The latter arrangement is satisfactory for an adult because the DII oo adult's neck is well above the sash belt, but it is quite unsatisfactory for a child, since the sash belt can do immense damage if it engages the child's neck under crash conditions.

ooaw The main object of this invention is to provide improvements whereby safety is increased, and in an embodiment of the invention a booster seat comprises a seat portion and a seat back portion, pivot means joining the lower end of the seat back portion to the seat portion, and between the seat and seat back portions there is provided a sash belt locating strap which, in use, extends behind the back of a child and retains the sash belt firmly against the child's shoulder.

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i For this arrangement, and particularly when this arrangement is used in conjunction with a noncompressible seat portion, the degree of safety is considerably enhanced above that provided with previously utilised booster seats An embodiment of the invention is described hereunder in some detail with reference to and is illustrated in, the accompanyung drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a booster seat assembly, .o O Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the sash belt arrangement fitting on an end of the locating strap, 9*9o 15 Fig.3 is a front elevation of the assembly, Fig. 4 is a side elevation of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on line of Fig. 3, but drawn to a larger scale, ',20 In this embodiment, a booster seat assembly o0.11. comprises a seat portion 11, a slat back portion 12, dnd hinge pins 13 therebetween.

o o 0 The seat portion 10 comprises two semi-rigid mouldings which are joined together in a generally lateral plane at 14 by fasteners, (not shown) both portions however having relatively deep side walls so that there is a high degree of stiffness imparted.

It will be appreciated that the soft adult seat 16 of a motor vehicle will itself depress upon impact forces being imparted, but the depression will be limited to such depression of the adult seat and will not include any substantial compression of the semi-rigid seat portion 11 such as can occur if foam material is used therefor.

-3- There is provided a locating strap 20, the locating strap 20 being secured at its lower end by a securing fitting 21 to the bottom of the seat back portion 12 which is hinged with respect to the seat portion as said above, the locating strap 20 passing outwardly from the crease 22 between those two portions and centrally of those two portions, and moving upwardly contiguous with the front surface of the seat back portion 12, and being releasably engageable with the adult sash belt of the vehicle. The engagement means for engaging the adult seat belt comprises an adjustable buckle 23 which OoO adjustably slides over the locating strap to control eo 0 8: its effective length in a way well known in the art, 6 t, 0 and a C-shaped sash belt engagement fitting 24 into which «0e 15 the "adult" sash belt 25 can be positioned. Thus in :0 0 use the C-shaped engagement fitting 24 is passed over the sash belt, and the tail of the adjustment strap is tightened through buckle 23 to pull the sash belt firmly against the shoulder of a child, thereby forming a loop "'20 26 over the shoulder of a child, such that the o" probability of the child's neck being damaged by the sash belt is substantially reduced.

0 Not only is a seat base 11 made stiff, but the seat back portion 12 is also stiffened by side walls 30 which o.o terminate in rearwardly directed flanges themselves 8" stiffened along their edges by outstanding ribs 31.

The entire weight of the booster seat is thereby retained to a very low level (less than 2 kg), this being important because the lap and sash belts of the vehicle restrain not only the weight of the child but also the weight of the seat on which the child is sitting, in the event of an accident.

The existence of the hinge pins 13 between the seat and seat back portions simplifies storage problems since -4i ~p the seat back portion 12 can be folded over the seat portion 11, and also provides means whereby the shape of the seat and seat back is adjustable to any configuration of vehicle seat and seat back. This contrasts favourably with single piece moulded booster seats, which are sometimes formed from crushable rigid foam.

The side walls 30 of the seat back constitute forwardly projecting head supports, and the seat portion 11 has upstanding thigh supports 32, this however being already known in the art. (A tether strap 34 inhibits 0.o 00 forward hinging of the seat back portion 12.) A consideration of the above embodiment will *15 indicate that although the invention is simple it nevertheless provides a marked improvement over prior art booster seats. The material from which these seats and seat back portions are moulded can very widely but desirably have some degree of elasticity so that danger 20 of fracture is substantially reduced under impact a conditions.

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Claims (7)

1. A booster seat assembly comprising a seat portion and a seat back portion, pivot means joining the lower end of the seat back portion to the seat portion, a sash belt locating strap, a sash belt engagement fitting on one end of the sash strap, and means securing the other end of the locating strap to the assembly in such a way that, in use, the locating strap extends behind the back of a child when seated in the assembly, and the engagement fitting engages the sash strap of a motor vehicle and retains it in engagement with a shoulder of the child. o

2. A booster seat assembly according to claim 1 wherein the sash belt engagement fitting comprises a C-shaped fitting positionable over and removable from a sash belt of a motor vehicle.

3. A booster seat assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the seat back portion contains an aperture through its lower end, said other end of the sash belt strap extending through that aperture and terminating in a securing fitting 5 which engages the front face of the seat back portion, passing downwardly from that aperture, around the lower edge of the o seat back portion, and upwardly to the securing means.

4. A booster seat assembly according to any preceding .claim wherein the effective length of the sash belt locating strap is adjustable by means of an adjustable buckle, such that, in use, a l.oop may be formed in a motor vehicle sash belt, to engage over a shoulder of a child when seated in the assembly.

L .i: A booster seat assembly according to any preceding claim comprising a tether strap capable of extending rearwardly from the upper end of the seat back portion.

6. A booster seat assembly according to any preceding claim wherein said seat portion and seat back portion are of rigid plastics material.

7 boos-te-r--sea-t--as-se-mb-l-y-a-eer-d-ng-t-e-a-ry- preceding claim-ifrt-hercomprising pivot means joining o the lower end of the seat back port-i-o -and the rear end of-the-sea-t-por-tion- S8. A booster seat assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as S, illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 26th day of August, 1987. SAFE-N-SOUND PTY. LIMITED By their Patent Attorneys, R.K. MADDERN ASSOCIATES. S4. V I -7-