AU777457B2 - A releasable tether strap for a child safety seat - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Britax Child-Care Products Pty Ltd Actual Inventors: Michael Andrew Lumley Wieslaw Maciejczyk Address for Service: MADDERNS, 1st Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: A RELEASABLE TETHER STRAP FOR A CHILD SAFETY

SEAT

Details of Associated Provisional Application No: PQ 6883 dated 14 April 2000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

*eo PatAU131 FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a releasable tether strap for a child safety seat and in particular relates to the method of releasing a tether strap on a rearward facing safety seat to improve access for removing or placing a baby in the rearward facing safety seat.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Infant safety seats used in motor vehicles make use of tether straps that extend from the head end 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 rear direction.

o o 10 The tether straps are normally fixed to an anchor point on the vehicle with a pair of straps extending to either side of the safety seat. This presents some difficulty in placing an infant into or removing it from the seat as the tether strap is located directly above the safety seat. The only convenient means of removing the tether strap is to loosen the tether strap by increasing its length and disconnecting it from the attachment point. This is inconvenient and time consuming and has the added ""disadvantage of increasing the safety risk if the strap is not refitted or is refitted incorrectly.

Accordingly, it is an aim of this invention to overcome the abovementioned problem.

o* BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In its broadest form, the invention is a releasable tether strap for a child safety seat comprising; a strap with one end of said strap attached to one side of said safety seat, a tether connector on said strap for attachment to an anchor point, a coupling on the other side of said safety seat, and a coupling element on the other end of said strap that releasably connects to said coupling.

In the case of a single coupling, this is preferably positioned on the side of the safety seat that is most convenient for placing the child into and taking it out of the safety seat. The coupling element can be released from the coupling so that the tether strap can be released and taken away from that side of the safety seat. That portion of the tether strap is then no longer in the way which enables easier access to the safety seat.

In a further aspect of the invention, both ends of the safety strap described above may be provided with coupling elements and respective couplings located on both sides of the safety seat. This enables the tether strap to be disconnected at either side of the safety seat.

Preferably, the coupling and coupling element comprise a tongue and buckle respectively where the tongue is inserted into the buckle and automatically catches S" therein. A spring loaded release on the buckle is depressed to allow release of the 15 coupling element.

As an alternative, a combination of two and three-bar buckles may be used as the coupling and coupling element respectively. In this case, the three-bar buckle is placed through the aperture in the two-bar buckle and rotated so that the three-bar buckle engages against the two -bar buckle.

As a further alternative, the coupling may comprise a hook which is secured to the safety seat and the coupling element may comprise a loop in the end of the strap which engages over the hook.

Length adjusters are preferably provided within the strap or at some point between the tether connector and the safety seat which enables tension to be applied to the tether strap once the tether connector is connected to the anchor point. The length adjuster can be used to slacken off the tether strap either before or after releasing the coupling element from the coupling.

The invention will be particularly useful in respect of rearward facing safety seats.

However, the tether strap can also be used when the same seat is used in a forward facing position. This is achieved by having the couplings attached to the safety seat so that they can swivel to allow connection of the coupling element from behind the safety seat. In this case, the tether strap can then be used with an anchor point which is behind the forward facing safety seat.

In a further aspect, the invention comprises a tether strap and safety seat having: a safety seat, a strap with one end of said strap attached to said safety seat, a tether connector on said strap for attachment of said strap to an anchor point, a coupling on at least one side of said safety seat, and a coupling element on the other end of said strap that releasably connects to S said coupling.

"15 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to fully understand the invention, preferred embodiments will now be described. However, it should be realised that the scope of this invention is not limited to the details described in each of the preferred embodiments.

The preferred embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying representations in which: Figure 1 shows a part rear perspective view of a safety seat in a forward facing position with a tether strap and with buckle and tongue couplings; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the safety seat shown in Figure 1 in a rearward facing position on a motor vehicle seat; Figure 3 shows a part rear perspective view of a safety seat with a tether strap using two and three-bar connectors for couplings; and Figure 4 shows a part rear perspective view of a safety seat with hook and loop connectors for the tether strap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to Figure 1, and Figure 2 the safety seat 10 comprises a backrest 11 and side walls 12. In this embodiment, the tether strap 14 has a pair of coupling elements comprising pressed metal tongues 15 located at each end of the tether strap. Each tongue 15 has an aperture 16 through which a loop of the tether strap 14 locates. On one side of the tether strap 14, the loop is stitched whereas on the other side, a length adjuster 17 is attached which enables the tether strap 14 to be lengthened or shortened. The couplings comprise a pair of buckles 19 with one buckle 19 located on each side of the safety seat 10. Each buckle 19 is attached to a short length of webbing S" 20. The other end of the webbing 20 is pivotally attached to the safety seat via a rivet 15 21. This enables the short length of webbing 20 to rotate between a forward facing and rear facing direction. When the buckles 19 and tongues 15 are connected, the tether strap is secured to an anchorage point 23 via a tether connector 22. The length adjuster 17 can be then used to tension the tether strap 14.

As an alternative, the length of webbing 20 may be increased and the length adjuster .i 20 17 may be placed on the webbing 20. More than one length adjuster 17 may be used in both the webbing 20 and the strap 14.

In order to either place an occupant in the safety seat 10 or to remove an occupant, the buckle on the most convenient side is released to thereby move that portion of the tether strap out of the way. In the case of the first embodiment shown in Figure 1, the buckles 19 have a spring loaded release mechanism which is depressed to release the tongue 15. In order to reconnect the tongue 15 to the buckle 19, the tether strap 14 can be lengthened via the length adjuster 17 to enable easy connection. The tether strap 14 can then be retensioned once it is reconnected.

Figure 2 shows the safety seat in the rearward facing direction and in this case the buckles 19 have been swung towards the front of the seat and in this position can connect with the tongues 15 of the coupling elements 16 to secure the seat. In order to either place an occupant in the safety seat 10 or to remove an occupant, the buckle 19 on the most convenient side is released to thereby move that portion of the tether strap 14 out of the way.

An alternative embodiment is shown in Figure 3 in which each coupling comprises a two-bar link 24 and the coupling elements comprise a three-bar link 25. Both the twobar and three-bar links 24 and 25 comprise rectangular plates. In the case of the twobar link 24, a centre aperture is formed with each of the longer edges of the plate forming bars to which webbing can be secured. In the case of the three-bar link 25, a pair of apertures is formed within the plate which results in a third central bar.

In the case of the three-bar links 25, the strap 14 is attached to the centre bar of the three-bar links 25. On one side of the tether strap 14, the strap is secured to the threebar link 25 via a stitched loop. On the other side, a length adjuster 17 secures the tether strap to the three-bar link The two-bar links 24 are attached at either end of a length of webbing 26 which is in C. oSC S turn secured to the backrest 11 of the safety seat 10. This can be by way of either a moulded aperture in the safety seat 10 or some other form of fixing such as threaded 20 fasteners.

C. C In order to attach the tether strap 14 to the safety seat 10, the three-bar links 25 are inserted through the centre aperture of the two-bar links 24. The three-bar link is then repositioned so that it is parallel and abuts against the two-bar link 24. In this manner, the tether strap 14 is secured to the safety seat.

Again, release and reconnection of one side of the tether strap 14 can be easily achieved in order to provide access to the safety seat.

A third embodiment is illustrated in Figure 4 in which each coupling comprises a bracket 28 that has a hook 29. Each end of the tether strap 14 is formed into a loop which locates over the respective hooks 29. Again this provides a means of easily disconnecting and connecting the tether strap 14.

As is the case with the first embodiment, both the second and third embodiments can be used with the safety seat either in a forward or rearward facing direction.

As will be seen from the above description, the invention provides a simple and easy means of improving access to a child safety seat.

o.

*o* o*

Claims (4)

1. A releasable tether strap for a child safety seat comprising: a strap with one end of said strap attached to one side of said safety seat, a tether connector on said strap for attachment to an anchor point, a coupling on the other side of said safety seat, and a coupling element on the other end of said strap that releasably connects to said coupling.

2. A releasable tether strap as in Claim 1 wherein the coupling element and coupling comprise a tongue and buckle respectively where the tongue is inserted into 10 the buckle and automatically catches therein and the buckle has spring loaded release adapted to be depressed to allow release of the tongue.

3. A releasable tether strap as in Claim 1 wherein the coupling element and coupling comprise a combination of two and three-bar links as the coupling and

9.. coupling element respectively wherein the three-bar link is placed through the aperture in the two-bar link and rotated so that the three-bar link engages against the S two-bar link. 4. A releasable tether strap as in Claim I wherein the coupling comprises a hook 9 .which is secured to the safety seat and the coupling element comprises a loop in the end of the strap which engages over the hook. 5. A releasable tether strap as in Claim 1 wherein length adjusters are provided on the strap. 6. A releasable tether strap as in Claim 1 wherein length adjusters are associated with the coupling element and the coupling. 7. A releasable tether strap as in Claim 1 wherein the coupling is mounted on the safety seat so that it can swivel to allow connection of the coupling element from either the back or the front of the safety seat. 8. A releasable tether strap as in any one previous claim wherein both ends of the safety strap are provided with coupling elements and respective couplings are located on both sides of the safety seat whereby the tether strap may be disconnected at either side of the safety seat. 9. A safety seat and tether strap assembly having: a safety seat, a strap with one end of said strap attached to said safety seat, a tether connector on said strap for attachment of said strap to an anchor point, a coupling on at least one side of said safety seat, and a coupling element on the other end of said strap that releasably connects to Ssaid coupling. o* oo* SDated this 30 th day of August, 2004 BRITAX CHILDCARE PTY LTD By its Patent Attomrneys MADDERNS 2 *o •g Ge oooo