EP1866180B1

EP1866180B1 - Infant seat

Info

Publication number: EP1866180B1
Application number: EP06725394A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Joaquim PLAY S.A. JAN STOPP
Original assignee: Play SA
Current assignee: Play SA
Priority date: 2005-04-05
Filing date: 2006-03-29
Publication date: 2010-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-29
Also published as: ES2341992T3; ES2264634B1; ATE461839T1; CN101184649A; CN100556732C; WO2006106063A8; WO2006106063A1; EP1866180A1; ES2264634A1; DE602006013105D1

Abstract

The infant seat (1) comprises a rotatable handle (2) about the rest of the seat (1) which can be steadily placed in a plurality of positions, characterised in that the seat comprises automatic returning means (7, 8) of said handle (2) to one of said steady positions. Said automatic returning means of the handle to one of said steady positions comprises elastic means (7) comprising at least a spring (7) integral with the seat (1) linked to a body (8) integral with the handle (2), so that said spring (7) tends to push said body (8) to a position where the spring (7) is extended, so that the handle (2) is placed in one of said steady positions. It permits the handle to return automatically to one of said steady positions.

Description

The present invention refers to an infant seat, comprising a rotatable handle which is places steadily in a plurality of positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Now there are known infant seats provided with a rotatable handle which can be placed steadily in a plurality of positions.
This handle, e.g. is designed to move the seat when it is un its substantially vertical position, as support on the floor when it is in a sloping position backwards, and when it is used as security seat in an automobile when it is placed in an intermediate position.
Such a seat is disclosed, e.g. in the Spanish utility model ES-U200002304 , of the same holder of the present application.
The infant seat disclosed in this utility model comprises a lever provided in the upper part of the handle to place it in any of said positions. This utility model also discloses the mechanism which is used to change the position of the handle.
Even though this mechanism works and fulfils its function, the applicant has observed that the handle can be placed between two of said positions accidentally, and the handle can rotate freely to the next steady position.
US 2002/0033621 discloses an infant seat including a shell, a handle and spring. The handle has an arm hub coaxially aligned with, and rotatably attached to, a side hub of the shell. In one design, the side hub has notches, and the arm hub a projection. A spring has a longitudinal axis aligned substantially parallel to the hub axis and is positioned to radially bias the projection into engagement with a rotationally-aligned notch. The handle is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the hub axis to disengage the projection from the radially-aligned notch permitting the handle to be rotated to other notches corresponding to other handle positions. In another design, the arm hub has the notches, and the side hub has the projection.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With the infant seat of the invention said problems can be solved, presenting other advantages that will be described.
The infant seat of the present invention comprises a handle rotatable about the rest of the seat which can be steadily placed in a plurality of positions, and it is characterised in that the seat comprises automatic returning means of said handle to one of said steady positions.
Therefore, it is avoided the handle to be accidentally between two steady positions.
Advantageously, said automatic returning means of the handle to one of said steady positions comprises elastic means.
According to a preferred embodiment, said elastic means comprises at least a spring integral with the seat linked to a body integral with the handle, so that said spring tends to push said body to a position where the spring is extended, so that the handle is placed in one of said steady positions.
According to said embodiment, said spring is housed inside a socket integral with the seat, said socket comprising a plurality of cavities, one for each steady position of the handle, where a complementary protrusion provided in the handle can be housed.
Preferably, said complementary protrusion is movable between two positions, a rest position, in which the protrusion is housed inside one of said cavities, and a driving position, in which the handle can be rotated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of what have been described some drawings are attached in which, diagrammatically and only as a non-limitative example, a practical case of embodiment is shown.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the infant seat of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a diagrammatical lateral elevation view of the lower part of the handle included in the infant seat of the present invention in its use position;
Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical lateral elevation view of the socket where the lower part of the handle is housed, the spring being in its extended position;
Fig. 4 is a diagrammatical lateral elevation view of the lower part of the handle included in the infant seat of the present invention in its position of position change; and
Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical lateral elevation view of the socket where the lower part of the handle is housed, the spring being in its compressed position.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the infant seat of the present invention, indicated generally by reference numeral 1, comprises a handle 2 rotatable about the seat 1, and it can be placed in a plurality of steady positions. The rest of the parts of the infant seat 1 that are shown in Fig. 1 are not described because they are known and do not form part of the present invention.
In Fig. 2 and 4 a lower end of the handle 2 in shown in a lateral elevation view. Each end of the handle 2 is housed in a socket 3 integral with the seat 1, which is shown in Fig. 3 and 5.
The handle 2 comprises blocking means of the handle in a plurality of steady positions, three in the case of the shown embodiment, and automatic returning means of the handle to one of said positions.
The blocking means comprises a protrusion 4 rotatably integral with the handle 2 which is housed in a cavity 5 provided in said socket 3. In the shown embodiment, the socket 3 comprises three cavities 5, each one corresponding to each steady position of the handle 2.
Said protrusion 4 is movable between a blocking position, in which the protrusion 4 is inside a cavity 5 (Fig. 2 and 3) and a releasing position, in which the protrusion 4 is outside said cavities 5 (Fig. 4 and 5). Said protrusion 4 is associated to a pair of springs 6, which tend to maintain said protrusion 4 in the blocking position.
The automatic returning means of the handle 2 to a steady position comprises a spring 7 housed in said socket, which is in contact by one of its ends with a body 8 integral in rotation with the handle 2.
The rotation of the handle 2, and consequently of the body 8, makes the spring 7 to compress, as can be seen in Fig. 5. If accidentally the handle 2 is placed in an intermediate position between two steady positions, as in Fig. 5, the thrust of the spring 7 when it is extended cause the movement of the body 8 in the direction shown by the arrow, causing the movement of the protrusion 4, which is housed inside one of said cavities 5. Therefore, the handle 2 cannot be in an intermediate position between two steady positions.
Even though reference is made in an specific embodiment of the invention, it is apparent for a person skilled in the art that the disclosed infant seat in susceptible of some variations and modifications, and that all the cited details can be substituted by other technically equivalent ones, without departing from the scope of protection define by the appended claims.

Claims

Infant seat (1), comprising a rotatable handle (2) about the rest of the seat (1) which can be steadily placed in a plurality of positions, comprising a socket (3) integral with the seat (1), said socket (3) comprising a plurality of cavities (5), one for each steady position of the handle (2), where a complementary protrusion (4) associated to a pair of springs (6), provided in the handle (2) are housed, the seat comprising automatic returning means (7, 8) of said handle (2) to one of said steady positions, characterised in that said automatic returning means of the handle to one of said steady positions comprises at least a spring (7) integral with the seat (1) linked to a body (8) integral with the handle (2), so that said spring (7) tends to push said body (8) to a position where the spring (7) is extended, so that the handle (2) is placed in one of said steady positions.
Infant seat according to claim 1, characterised in that said spring (7) is housed inside said socket (3).
Infant seat according to claim 2, characterised in that said complementary protrusion (4) is movable between two positions, a rest position, in which the protrusion (4) is housed inside one of said cavities (5), and a driving position, in which the handle (2) can be rotated.