DE8804020U1 - Reclining toddler safety seat - Google Patents

Description

PATENTAWVXf ₁ TE.: '. \ .."'.,'. &bgr;&bgr;.-&igr;&ngr;&ogr;.&mgr;&lgr;&ngr;&idigr; vumtho» WUESTHOFF - v. PECHMÄNN - BEHRENS-T30BTZ "''""" ^MiDA

Dtn.'ttto. oikHAKO fuu U?ji-t>70 EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEYS dih^chbm. d«. &igr;. &mgr;&igr;&igr;&eegr;&bgr;&mgr; by »ichmann

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DIPL.-INC. DIH.·»!RTICH.-IKO, KUKkT 001T DIPL.•rHYI. DU. AXtL VON HCLLFELO

tAKATA CORPORATION ^ZoZTJs^

&Igr;&Agr;/IG—62 492 SCHWEIGERSTRASSE

24.03.1988 tilbfon! (&ogr;&iacgr;9)«&igr;&ogr;5&idiagr;

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TBLBXi 514070

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Tilting toddler safety seat

The invention relates to a toddler safety seat for vehicles.

Infant or baby safety seats for motor vehicles and other vehicles have been in widespread use for years. These conventional seats typically have a molded plastic seat body that is attached to the vehicle seat by means of permanently attached adult seat belts. Once attached, the infant seat remains in a fixed position , usually the sitting position, and is either not usable at all in any other position, such as a sleeping position, or only by physically repositioning the entire infant seat.

In the former case, traditional infant car seats do not offer the comfort of reclined or sleeping positions and require parents to either keep the infant in the seated position while resting or sleeping, or to sacrifice the safety of the infant car seat and remove the child from the seat during rest or sleeping periods.

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In the second case mentioned/ e.g. with the seat known from US-PS 3,794,379, the position of the toddler seat can only be changed by loosening and refastening the vehicle seat belts and by physically changing the position of the toddler seat. This is not only uncomfortable for the parents/ but also represents a disturbance for the toddler.

Furthermore, these conventional seats, which can be used in different positions, usually offer only two alternative seating positions/namely a sleeping position and a sitting position, as shown for example in Fig. 2 and 3 of US-PS 3,794,379.

The invention is based on the object of creating a toddler safety seat that can be tilted and locked into various positions of use, including sitting and sleeping positions, if necessary, while requiring only the least possible effort and causing no or only minor disturbance to the toddler.

A toddler safety seat for a vehicle which solves this problem, with a main seat part which can be fastened to the vehicle seat using the standard vehicle seat belts, a lower part for supporting the main seat part on the vehicle seat and a restraint harness for securely holding a toddler in the seat, is improved according to the invention in that the main seat part is supported on the lower seat part with relative movement between them in the longitudinal direction of the seat in such a way that movement of the main seat part into a variety of different positions of use is possible, and that a releasable blocking device is provided which locks the main seat part in the

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desired position of use. The main seat part p . can be easily moved between different positions of use if the locking device is disengaged when required &zgr; and then re-engaged to lock the seat in the new position.

To change the position of use, neither a physical shift of the entire seat, including the seat base, nor the removal of the

'-' It is not necessary to remove a toddler or baby from the seat. Instead, the seat is easily moved into the desired position by simply disengaging the locking device and tilting the main seat section.

In a preferred embodiment, a pair of curved slides or sliding surfaces are carried by or formed on the seat main part, and a pair of curved guide rails cooperating with them are carried by or formed on the seat base. The guide rails, and preferably also the slides or sliding surfaces, extend in the longitudinal direction of the seat, so that the seat can be conveniently moved into various positions of use by sliding the seat main part in the longitudinal direction of the seat base. In order to simplify the centering and blocking of the seat main part in desired positions of use, measures are preferably taken along the length of the guide rails or slides which set predetermined relative positions in the longitudinal direction for them, which correspond to the desired positions of use of the seat, e.g. for sitting, leaning back, sleeping, etc. In one embodiment, one or more rollers are provided as this measure, which are carried by the seat main part and in the cover position with longitudinally spaced rollers. Vr recesses in the guide rails and engage in them when the seat main body reaches the predetermined different positions.

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occupies positions of use.

The releasable locking device advantageously comprises a manually operable device which, in the engaged state, locks the seat main part to the seat base in the various positions of use. In a preferred embodiment, the locking device has a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes in one or both slides of the seat main part and a device on the seat base comprising a locking pin and an actuating lever. When the seat main part assumes a predetermined position relative to the seat base, which is defined, for example, by the rollers and recesses in the seat main part and base, the hole or holes in the seat main part are in a position of alignment with a locking pin or locking pins on the seat base, whereupon the actuating lever can be used to engage the locking pins in the holes in order to fix the seat main part against longitudinal relative movement. If the main seat part is to be moved into a different position of use, the locking pins are simply pulled out of the holes using the operating lever and the main seat part can then move again in the length direction of the seat base.

Several examples of the invention are explained in more detail below using thematic drawings. It shows

Fig. 1 «An unfolded pictorial representation of a extension form of the above-mentioned Klelnklnd safety slats,

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Fig. 2 is a side view of the same embodiment, showing the seat main part in two different positions of use,

Fig. 3 in the left half of the drawing the partial section A-A, in the right half of the drawing the partial section B-B in Fig. 2, with the direction of view corresponding to the arrows,

Fig. 4 shows the partial section C-C in Fig. 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows,

Fig. 5 is an oblique view of an embodiment of the disengageable blocking device according to the invention,

Fig. 6 is a partial section through another embodiment of the sliding pieces, the guide rails and the positioning and blocking device according to the invention, and

Fig. 7 shows a partial section through another embodiment of the disengageable blocking device, in which some components are not shown for reasons of greater clarity.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 1, the toddler safety seat comprises a main seat part 1 and a seat base 2 for supporting the main part 1 on the seat of a vehicle. To attach the toddler safety seat to the vehicle seat, the permanently installed vehicle seat belts (not shown) are inserted into openings 3 or 4 in the main seat part 1. The main part 1 is preferably, as is known in the art, a molded part made of fiber-reinforced plastic that is covered with an elastic foam rubber layer.

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The seat also includes a restraint harness, the seat belt unit, 5, with which the infant can be safely and reliably restrained in the main seat part 1. The harness 5, which can be of the type described in more detail in DS-PS 4,342,483, comprises two shoulder straps 6, an abdominal pad 7, a quick-opening buckle 8 and a retrieval device 9 arranged on the underside or rear of the main seat part. The buckle 8 is arranged in a recess 10 in the main part 1 and interacts with a tongue (not shown) which protrudes from the lower end of the abdominal pad 7 in order to hold the harness 5 in the fastening position. The shoulder straps 6 are led through openings 10* in the rear wall of the main seat part 1, combined or connected to form a single belt and wound onto the retrieval device 9. In an emergency or emergency situation, the retrieval device 9 blocks in such a way that it holds the restraint harness 5 securely in position. For further details of the structure and operation of the restraint harness 5, please refer to US-PS 4,342,483.

According to Fig. 1 to 4, the seat base 2 carries on its upper side a pair of guide rails 11 and guide surfaces 17 which extend in the direction of the seat length and have a curved shape in longitudinal section. Although the guide rails 11 and the guide surfaces 17 are shown in Fig. 1 to 4 as being integrally connected to the upper wall of the seat base 2, they can be designed as separate components and attached to the seat base 2 by means of screws or in another suitable manner.

The seat main part 1 has on its underside a pair of sliding parts that are integral with it or attached to it

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with lower sliding surfaces 14, which preferably also have a curved shape in longitudinal section and correspond to the guide rails &Pgr; and guide surfaces 17. The sliding pieces 13 and the sliding surfaces 14 can also be formed integrally with the main part 1 or formed separately and fastened to the main part 1 (see Fig. 3). According to Fig. 3, the sliding pieces 13 fit in the open upper parts of the U-shaped guide rails 11, such that the sliding flaps 14 rest on the guide surfaces 17 of the seat lower part L· .

By moving the sliders 13 along the guide rails 11, the seat main part 1 can be brought into the desired inclination position for use. In Fig. 2, the vertical or sitting position of the seat is shown in solid lines, and a lying, resting or sleeping position is shown in dotted lines. If required, the main part 1 can be inclined into other positions. Stops (not shown) can be provided at or near the front and rear ends of the sliders 13, which abut the ends of the guide rails 11 and limit the inclination adjustment range of the seat main part 1. Although according to Fig. 2 the sliders 13 are preferably longer than the guide rails 11 so that they extend above the latter, this is not necessary. The sliders 13 can be of a different shape, e.g. short blocks.

In order to simplify the use of the toddler seat, measures are preferably taken by which predetermined relative positions of the main seat part 1 and the lower seat part 2 are defined, which correspond to the different positions in which the seat is used. In the embodiment according to Fig. 4, this measure consists in the rotatable mounting of one or more rollers 15 on the sliding pieces 13 and in

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the formation of a plurality of recesses 18 arranged at a distance in the guide surfaces 17 of the seat base 2. Another possibility is to arrange the rollers 15 on the guide rails 11 and to work the recesses 18 into the sliding surfaces 14. According to Fig. 3, 4 and 6, the rollers 15 are mounted in oversized transverse bores 32 in the sliding pieces 13 so that the rollers 13 can engage and disengage from the guide rails 11 in the recesses 18. According to Fig. 6, springs 33 can be provided which pre-tension the rollers 15 towards the guide surfaces 17 in order to ensure that they engage in the recesses 18.

Preferably, the rollers 15 and the recesses 18 are arranged in relation to the slides 13 and the guide rails 17 and relative to each other so that the position of the roller(s) 15 in alignment with the various recesses 18 corresponds to the various positions of use of the seat. The seat can therefore be moved comfortably into any position of use according to feeling, without careful attention being required on the part of the parent.

The use of measures for positive position fixing, e.g. by means of the rollers 15 and the recesses 18, also simplifies the production of a perfect covering position and the engagement of a blocking device to secure the seat against accidental release from a given operating position. In the embodiment according to Fig. 1 to 4, the device for releasably blocking the seat in its position comprises a plurality of holes 16 machined at a longitudinal distance into the inner wall of each of the sliding pieces 13. The latter can accommodate blocking pins

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19 of a blocking device 12. In this design, a set of holes 16 is available for each position of use of the seat, namely one hole 16 for each sliding piece 13. The perfect alignment of the holes 16 and blocking pins 19 with each other in each position of use is ensured by the overlapping position of the rollers 15 with the recesses 18. According to Fig. 1 to 4, the (blocking) holes are formed in the sliding covers ]3; they can be incorporated into other components if required. For example, in the design according to Fig. 6, the holes 16 are formed in one or more separate components 34 which are formed in one piece with the main seat part 1 or are attached to it.

In addition to the holes 16 and the blocking pins 19, the releasable blocking device 12 comprises a manually operable lever 20 with which the blocking pins 19 can be brought into and out of engagement as required. The blocking pins 19 are guided in their transverse movement, according to an arrow 24 in Fig. 3, in transverse holes in a pair of U-shaped guide blocks 21 carried by the seat base 2 and through transversely extending slots 22 and 23 in the upper wall of the seat base 2 (see Fig. 1 and 3). The inner ends of the blocking pins 19 slide in oblique slots 25 in the actuating lever 20 (see Fig. 5). Springs 26 are connected to the seat base 2, which pre-tension the blocking pins 19 outwards towards the sliding pieces 13, i.e. towards the blocking position, whereas a spring 29 connected to the seat base 2 pre-tensions the actuating lever 20 backwards, i.e. in a direction that also corresponds to the blocking position of the blocking device 12. The actuating lever 20 has a longitudinal slot 27 into which a pin 28 carried by the base of the seat base 2 is inserted.

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engages" which enables a guided longitudinal movement of the actuating lever 20 (see Fig. 4).

When the operating lever 20 is pulled forward in the direction indicated by an arrow 31 in Fig. 4 and 5, the oblique slots 25 guide the blocking pins 19 inwards and out of engagement with the holes 16 in the slides 13. This releases the seat main part 1 for longitudinal movement relative to the seat base 2 by sliding the slides 13 along the guide rails 11. After reaching the desired new position, which is indicated by the rollers 15 engaging in the recesses 18, the operating lever 20 is released and returns under the action of the spring 29 to the rear or blocking position shown in Fig. 5. As the lever 20 moves backwards, the springs 26 and the inclined slots 25 urge the locking pins 19 into engagement with the new set of holes 16 located in front of the pins 19, thereby locking the seat in its new position. For convenient use of the lever 20, a finger opening 30 is machined into its front end.

In the other embodiment of the blocking device shown in Fig. 7, the blocking pins 19 can be pivoted between a non-blocked position shown in dot-dash lines and a blocking position shown in solid lines, in which the blocking pins 19 engage in slots 35 in the outer edge of the component 34 carried by the seat main part 1. In this example, the blocking pins 19 are preferably pre-tensioned in the direction indicated by an arrow 36 by springs (not shown) and are moved into the non-blocked position by means of the actuating lever (not shown).

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In yet another embodiment of the blocking device, the seat can be secured in its position by a clamping device which engages the sliding pieces 13 or the component 34 from both sides.

Claims (1)

WUESTHOFF-v.PECHliiANN-BEN&ENSTßOÖrZ DIFL.-IN6. CEBHABD VDU (»9JI-I97«) DL-INCDtETEB BEHBBNS DIFL--ING. BIri.-VtKTtCH.-f NC. BVFEET COE Din.-nrrs. de. axel von hzllfeld TAKATA CORPORATION °- ⁸⁰⁰⁰ MUNICH lA/lG-62 492 SCHVEIGERSTRASSE 2 24.03.1988 nwN:^)«»,: TEtXCBUiM: tEOTSCTMTBirr TELEX: 5>4&bgr;7&Ogr; fax: (es» 66 39 36 (in) Protection claims 1. Toddler safety seat for vehicles, with - a main seat part (1) that can be attached to the vehicle seat using the vehicle seat belts, - a restraint harness (5) for restraining a small child in the main seat part (1), and - a seat base (2) for supporting the seat main part (1) on the vehicle seat, marked by - means (11,13,14,17) carried partly by the main seat part (1) and partly by the lower seat part (2) for supporting the main seat part (1) on the lower seat part (2) in such a way that a longitudinal relative movement is possible between them to produce different inclinations of the seat corresponding to the different positions of use of the seat, and by - a device (112,16) which is able to releasably block the main seat part (1) to fix it in the various inclination positions on the seat base (2). 2. Seat according to claim 1,
characterized in that the means for supporting the seat main part (1) on the seat base (2) ·
■ · 24.03.1988 - 2 - 62 492 - a pair of curved slides (13,14) carried by the seat main part (1) or by the seat base (2) and f - a pair of longitudinal curved guide rails (11,17) carried by the seat base (2) or by the seat main part (1), wherein the sliding pieces (13, 14) interact with the guide rails (11, 17) in such a way that the main seat part (1) is supported on the seat base (2) so as to be longitudinally movable relative to the latter. 3. Seat according to claim 2, characterized in that at least the sliding pieces (13,14) or at least the guide rails (11,17) carry means (15,18) which are used for Seat main part (1) and the seat bottom part (2) in longitudinal tion to determine different relative positions, which correspond to different inclinations of the seat, in \ to which the seat main part (1) can be releasably attached by means of the releasable locking device (12,16). 4. Seat according to claim 3, characterized in that the means for determining the position in the longitudinal direction - at least one roller (15) which is rotatably mounted on the sliding parts (13, 14) or on the guide rails (11,17), UbJ - a plurality of recesses (18) arranged longitudinally in the guide rails (11, 17) or in the sliding pieces (13, 14) for receiving the roller (15) include. 24.03.1988 - 3 - 62 492 Si seat according to claim 4, characterized in that the means for determining the position in the longitudinal direction - Means (33) for elastically pre-tensioning the at least one roller (15) in the direction of the guide rails (11, 17) or the sliding pieces (13, 14) to facilitate the engagement of the roller (15) in the recesses (is). 6. Seat according to claim 1, characterized in that the disengageable blocking device (12) - a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes (16), - at least one blocking pin (19) movably arranged on the seat base (2) and, if necessary, can be snapped into the holes (16), and - an actuating device (20) which enables the user to bring the locking pin (19) into and out of engagement with the holes (16) as required, to enable movement of the seat main part (1) into different inclination positions relative to the seat base (2) and then to enable locking of the seat in these different inclination positions by securing the seat main part (1) to the seat base (2).