AU658893B2 - Seating restraint - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA 658 8 93 Palent, Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (OW IG1INAL) Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Publdihd: Priority Related Art: *Il 0 0 .*0 Name(s) of Applicant(s):, Address(es) of Applicant(s): Actual Inventor(s): APPLICANT'S REF.: WILLIAM RAYMOND HOPE AND GRETA GERBER Ridge House.

Cnr. Ridge Road and Ridge Crescent MT. DANDENONG, Vic., 3767 WILLIAM RAYMOND HOPE GRETA GERBER Ge.

Address for Service is- PHILLIPS, ORMONDE AND FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne, Australia, 3000 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: SEATING RESTRAINT The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): 1,I01f 34 2 SEATING RESTRAINT The present invention relates to a seating restraint suitable for use in co-operation with a chair as a safety device to keep the wearer seated in the chair. The device has particular application for keeping young children seated in a chair and it will be convenient to describe the invention in relation to application for children however it will be appreciated that the device can equally be utilized for restraint or support of geriatric or disabled persons who have difficulty in maintaining balance when seated in a chair.

At home, young children are usually provided with a high-chair or a chair adapted to engage with a table top so that the child can sit at a table with adults during meals etc. While such chairs are conveninet for use at home, and are often provided at some public places such as restaurants, it is not always convenient to rely on such chairs. The paraphernalia usually required to be carried by parents when taking young children to visit friends or 20 relatives or on holidays is usually quite significant. It is not always convenient to carry around a foldable high chair or similar child's folding chair. There are occasions when it is desirable for a young child to sit up to a table with adults yet this can bo dangerous unless some kind of restraint is provided for the child if the child is too young to have good balance or to energetic to sit still for any period of time.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a readily portable seating restraint which can be conveniently 30 folded and carried, is light-weight and doesn't require much storage space. Moreover, there is a need for such a device which is convenient, safe and simple to use and is suitable for use on a wide variety of chair styles.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a conveniently transport&ble seating restraint which satisfies one or more of the 0 bove needs.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a seating restraint co-operable with a chair for seating a wearer comprising:- 3 a foldable sheet having a first portion positionable on the rear of a chair back and a second portion positionable on the front of a chair back; securing means on said first and second portions co-operable to secure said foldable sheet to said chair back; waist restraint attached to said first portion adapted to pass across the wearer's waist; and crutch portion engagable with said, waist restraint for passing betwee the wearer's legs.

The foldable sheet is preferably formed from a single piece of durable woven material such as denim, canvas, calico, or the like. Most preferably the foldable sheet is made from a washable and water impermeable material such as PVC or nylon. The foldable sheet must be sufficiently durable to withstand stresses and prevent detachment of the waist restraint, crutch portion and securing means attached thereto. The junctions between the waist restraint, crutch portion and securing means and 20 the foldable sheet may be reinforced to prevent separation. It should be noted however that the seating restraint can be made from a single piece of a suitable material. The foldable sheet is preferably capable of being folded or rolled into a small parcel.

The first portion of the foldable sheet must be positionable on the rear of a chair back whilst the second portion of the foldable sheet is positionable on the front of a chair back. Preferably, the foldable sheet comprises an elongate sheet which can be positioned over the back 9.

30 rest of a chair with half the sheet covering the rear of see* the chair back and half the sheet coverinng the front of the chair back. Preferably, the foldable sheet is *9 S1 substantially rectangular and the first and second portions are approximately equal in size.

Securing means are provided on the first and second portions and are co-operable with each other in order that the foldable sheet is secured to the chair back. The securing means may be any suitable means for securing the first portion and second portion around of the chair 4 back. Securing means may be co-operable press studs on corresponding positions of the first and second portions.

Securing means may be tapes which can be tied together or "Velcro" (registered trade mark) tabs attached to the first and second portions. Preferably, the securing means are attached to the first and second portions at a position distal from where the foldable sheet is folded over the chair back. A plurality of securing means may be provided such that the foldable sheet is secured around the chair back at a number of locations.

Waist restraint may be any suitable means for passing across the wearer's waist. The waist restraint is preferably a flexible tape, webbing, strap or the like which can easily be adjusted to fit snugly and comfortably 15 across the wearer's waist and which can conveniently be secured and released by a person when seating the wearer.

The waist restraint may be a pair of Velcro straps which can be secured together. The waist restraint is most preferably a webbing tape secured by way of an adjustable clip fastener or the like positioned to one side of the wearer adjacent the first portion. When the seating restraint is for use with small children, preferably the clip fastener is positioned out of reach and to one side of the child in order that the child cannot release 25 themselves from the restraint.

The crutch portion may be any suitable means configured to pass between the legs of the wearer to prevent the wearer from slipping down beneath the waist restraint. Preferably the crutch portion is a flexible tape attached to the second portion which can be passed between the wearer's legs and optionally looped through the waist restraint. The.length of the crutch portion may be fixed or optionally varied according to the size o£ the wearer and/or to suit the size of chair used. The crutch portion may be adjustable in length by any suitable adjustment means such as provision of Velcro tapes, press stud fasteners, tie-tapes, or by means of an adjustable buckle. When the crutch portion is a flexible tape the adjustment means is preferably a sliding adjustment buckle 5 or slide webbing fastener. Preferably the crutch portion is attached to the second portion at a position closest to the centre of the seat of the chair.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the drawings and the following description relate to a preferred embodiment only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

,Figure 1 is a plan view of the seating restraint according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a restraint according to the invention in an assembled form.

Seating restraint 1 comprises a foldable sheet 2 15 which consists of a first portion 3 and a second portion 4. The first and second portions are provided with pairs of securing tapes 5 and 5' and 6 and 6' the corners of foldable sheet 2.

Waist restraint webbing 7 is attached to one side of first portion 3 and adjustable buckle 8 is attached to a corresponding position of portion 3. An alternative arrangement is to provide a pair of Velcro tapes instead

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of the webbing and buckle arrangement shown in the drawings to act in the same way as webbing and buckles 7 25 and 8. Preferably, the waist restraint is attached to the first portion at a position such that when the device is positioned on a chair as shown in Figure 2, said waist restraint is at the level of the wearer's waist.

o* Crutch portion 9 is a loop ittached to the edge of second portion 4. Crutch portion 9 may be a webbing or tape structure whose length is determined by the size of the wearer. In one embodiment, .the length of crutch portion 9 may be varied by providing a slide webbing fastener.

In use setting restraint 1 is positioned over the back of a chair 10 and folded along central axis A such that the first portion 3 is draped over the rear of the chair back 11 whilst second portion 4 is draped across the front of the chair back 12. Tapes 5 and 5' and 6 and 6' 6 are then tied or otherwise secured together to hold the seating restraint securely on the chair back 10. The wearer (not shown) is then seated on chair seat 13 and crutch portion 9 is passed between the, wearer's legs.

Where an adjustment means is provided to vary the length of crutch portion 9, the length of crutch portion 9 may be lengthened or shortened in order to accommodate the wearer comfortably and securely. The length of crutch portion 9 may be varied either before or after the wearer is seated, whichever is most convenient. Webbing waist restraint 7 is then passed across the waist of the wearer and through a loop in crutch portion 9. Webbing waist restraint 7 is then passed through buckle 8 and tightened until it is snug across the waist of the wearer. In one embodiment (not shown) webbing waist restraint 7 may have an adjustable clip buckle toward its free end which is inserted into buckle 8 and then tightened snugly against the waist of the wearer. 'The wearer is thus held securely in the device and cannot readily struggle free or fall out when the device is properly secured.

To remove the wearer from the chair, webbing waist restraint 7 is simply released from buckle 8 and passed through the loop in crutch portion 9.

It should be noted that when the seating restraint 25 is made from a water impermeable material such as vinyl sheet or the like it can also be used as an infant change mat when spread out as shown in Figure 1. In such an arrangement waist restraint 7 and 8 can be applied around g* T. the infant's waist to keep the child on the change mat.

Moreover, a pocket may be incorporated into first portion 3 for storage of, for example, child's paraphernalia such as feeding bibs, cloth wipes, diapers etc.

The restraint provided by the invention may be used on a wide variety of chairs, can easily be positioned and removed and is simple to use on all wearers. The invention may be constructed using any known manufacturing techniques such as sewing, gluing, riveting, heat bonding or combinations of these as are known to those skilled in the art.

7- It is to be understood that various modifications, additions and/or alterations may be made for the configuration previously described witbkout departing from the ambit of thepresent invention.

Claims (9)

1. A seating restraint co-operable with a chair for seating a wearer comprising:- a foldable sheet having a first portion positionable on the rear of a chair back and a second portion positionable on the front of a chair back; securing means on said first and second portions co-operable to secure said foldable sheet to said chair back; waist restraint attached to said first portion adapted to pass across the wearer's waist; and crutch portion engagable with said waist restraint for passing between the wearer's legs.

2. A seating restraint according to claim 1 wherein 15 said foldable sheet is a substantially rectangular elongate sheet.

3. A seating restraint according to claim 2 wherein said securing means are located at the corners of said sheet.

4. A seating restraint according to claim 3 wherein said securing means comprise tapes.

5. A seating restraint according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said waist restraint is attached to said first portion at a position corresponding to a level of 25 the wearer's waist.

6. A seating restraint according to claim 5 wherein said waist restraint comprises a webbing belt co-operable i with a buckle.

A seating restraint according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said crutch portion comprises a tape loop.

8. A seating restraint according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherin said crutch portion is attached to the portion of said second portion closest to the wearer's crutch.

9. A seating restraint according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein there is provided a pouch incorporated with said first portion. A seating restraint substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying 9- drawings. DATED: 25 June, 1992. PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK ATTORNEYS FOR:- AdS W c WILLIAM RAYMOND HOPE AND GRETA GERBER 9096i I 635 ABSTRACT A seating restraint co-operable with a chair for seating a wearer comprising:- a foldable sheet having a first portion positionable on the rear of a chair back and a second portion positionable on the front of a chair back; securing means on said first and second portions co-operable to secure said oldable sheet to said chair back; waist restraint attached to said first portion adapted to pass across the wearer's waist; and crutch portion engagable with said waist restraint for passing between the wearer's legs. 9096i *OSS 00 o