Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
  • B60N2/24—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles
  • B60N2/26—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles for children
  • B60N2/28—Seats readily mountable on, and dismountable from, existing seats or other parts of the vehicle
  • B60N2/2872—Seats readily mountable on, and dismountable from, existing seats or other parts of the vehicle provided with side rests

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a child safety seat and in particular to child safety seat for use in cars, with bicycles or with other vehicles.
• Child safety seats are well known for assisting in securing a child within the interior of a vehicle.
• Such seats take many forms, but in general involve a seat base which rests on the vehicle seat base, and a seat back which, in the case of forwardly facing child seats, rests against the vehicle seat back.
• the present invention seeks to resolve such problems of known arrangements.
• a child safety seat for a vehicle, the child seat comprising:- a seat base; two side supports, provided respectively on opposing sides of the seat, said side supports and seat base defining a user area for receiving a user; and a moveable panel provided on at least one of the side supports; wherein the or each moveable panel is adjustably extendable from its respective side support into the user area for supporting the user at the sides.
• the present invention provides a child safety seat which allows the position of the moveable side panels to be adjusted depending on the size of the child toappel
• the panels may be extended inwardly to support a smaller child. If a larger child is to be accommodated, the panels can be retracted to provide a larger area in which they can sit. Furthermore, because the moveable panels are moveable relative to the main body of the side supports, the side supports can still provide additional rigidity and side impact protection.
• the side supports include a cavity formed therein for receiving a said moveable panel when in a retracted position.
• the moveable panels can be retracted into the main body of the side supports so they do not protrude from the outer surface of the side supports .
• one or more adjustment handles for adjusting the position of the one or more moveable panels, wherein moving the one or more adjustment handles causes the moveable panels to move between retracted and extended positions. In this way the position of the moveable panels, and hence the available seating area of the seat can be easily adjusted.
• the one or more adjustment handles are provided on each of the side supports. In this way each moveable panel can be adjusted individually and the mechanism for moving the panels can be greatly simplified.
• the one or more adjustment handles are slidably moveable along a track provided on the side supports. In this way a parent can easily adjust the fit of the seat once the child is , seated by simply pushing or pulling the slidable adjustment handles.
• one of the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle is provided with an inclined cam track opposing a cam follower provided to the other of the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle, wherein the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle are moveable relative to one another to retract or extend the moveable panel.
• the inclined cam track has an arcuate configuration .
• the one or more adjustment handles may be rotatable to actuate, via a screw threaded shaft, the retraction or extension of the moveable panel.
• each of the moveable panels is extendable by pivoting outwardly from its respective side support.
• each of the moveable panels is extendable by moving linearly outward from its respective side support.
• said side supports are fixed in position with respect to the seat.
• Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a child safety seat having adjustable side supports according to an embodiment of the present invention
• Figure 2 shows an alternative perspective view of the child safety seat of figure 1 in which moveable panels of the adjustable side support are partially extended;
• Figure 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of a side support of the child safety seat of figures 1 and 2 with the movable panel removed;
• Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the moveable panel shown in figures 1 and 2;
• Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the side support and moveable panel shown in figures 1 and 2, when the movable panel is in an extended position;
• Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the side support and moveable panel shown in figure 5, when the movable panel is in a near un-extended position.
• FIGS 1 and 2 show a child safety seat 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• the safety seat 1 comprises seat base 5 and a seat back 2, along with two side supports 3 at each, side of the seat.
• An extendable headrest is provided on the seat back 2 and can be raised or lowered depending on the size of the child to be accommodated.
• Each of the side supports 3 is provided with a number of support ridges 9 on their outer surfaces to provide additional rigidity.
• Each side support 3 is also provided with a slidable adjustment handle 6 on its outer surface.
• the adjustment handles 6 connect through aperture 7 in side support 3 to a moveable panel 4 provided on the inner surface of the side support 3.
• Figure 3 shows a representation of the inner surface of the side support of figures 1 ' and 2 where the movable panel 6 has been removed.
• a cavity 10 into which the moveable panel 4 fits, is formed in the surface of the side support 3.
• Support ridges 9 extend through the cavity 10 to maintain rigidity.
• Two pivot attachment apertures 11 are provided at rearward position on the cavity 10 opposing one another. The pivot attachment apertures 11 provide an attachment point onto which the movable panel can pivotably attach.
• the aperture 7 has an elongate configuration, and the elongate edges of the aperture 7 form a track in which which adjustment handle 6 is slidably attached and guided.
• the handle 6 also includes a protrusion which will be described in more detail later.
• Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the moveable panel 4.
• Pivot arms 12 are provided on an outer rearward portion of the panel 4 and can be fitted into the pivot attachment apertures 11 in cavity 10 so as to pivotably attach the panel 4 to the side support 3.
• the outer sides of the moveable panel 4 form a skirt which allows the panel to be fitted over the protruding features of the side support cavity 10, such as support ridges 9.
• Two elevated track members 8 are formed on an inner surface of the moveable panel 4, and these are configured so as to key into (inter engage) the protrusion of adjustment handle 6.
• the elevated track members 8 also have an arcuate configuration.
• Figures 5 and 6 show a cross sectional view through side support 3, when the moveable panel 4 is attached.
• Adjustment handle 6 is provided with keying members 61 which slidably attach to the attachment tracks 31 which form the elongate edges of aperture 7 in the side support 3. The adjustment handle 6 is thereby able to slidably move along the attachment track 31.
• Adjustment handle 6 is also provided with a protrusion 62 which is positioned between keying members 61.
• the protrusion 62 is provided with two ridges into which corresponding ridges 82, provided on elevated track members 8, slidably key. In this way, when the adjustment handle ⁇ is moved along attachment tracks 31, the handle is also guided along elevated track members 8.
• Figure 5 represents the side support 3 when the adjustment handle 6 is at its furthest position away from the seat back 2.
• the elevated tracks 8 are at their most raised position such that moveable panel 4 is pivoted outwardly to protrude out from the side supports 3.
• the skirt formed on moveable panel 4 extends towards the side support into cavity 10, so as to overlap with the surface of side support 3. In this way, children' s fingers are prevented from being caught behind the moveable panel 4.
• Figure 6 represents the side support 3 when the adjustment handle 6 is close to its nearest position to the seat back 2. As can be seen, in this position, the elevated tracks 8 are much shorter, and therefore the moveable panel 4 is retracted into cavity 10. The skirt of moveable panel 4 fits over support ridges 9 as it is drawn into the cavity, and the outer surface of the moveable panel 4 moves towards a position where it is flush with the outer surface of side support 3.
• a more comfortable seating surface can be provided by covering the seat, including side supports 3, with a padded cover (not shown) .
• the cover also serves to smooth over the joints between the outer surface of the side support 3 and moveable panel 4, and to further prevent children's fingers being caught in the joints.
• the elevated tracks 8 have a earning effect on the position of the moveable panel 4, such that when the adjustment handle 6 is moved along the attachment tracks 31, the moveable panel can be pivoted outwardly or retracted into the side panel 3.
• the position of moveable panels can be adjusted easily depending on the size of the child to be accommodated. For example, a smaller child may at first require the moveable panels 4 to be extended, as shown in Figure 5, in order to provide them with support at their sides.
• the adjustment handles 6 can be easily moved backwardly towards the rear of the seat so as to retract the moveable panels 9 and provide more space in the seat.
• the present invention provides a child safety seat in which the side supports 3 can be easily adjusted to allow for different sized children. Furthermore, since the side supports themselves are not required to pivot, the side supports are able to extend fully between the rear of the seat and the seat base in order to provide improved rigidity to the seat and improved side impact protection. Moreover, the present invention also allows for a more simplified construction, since the main frame of the seat base, seat rear and side supports can be formed of a single unitary piece.
• the elevated tracks 8 may be provided with one or more notches formed therein which help to maintain the adjustment handle 6 in a set position and may also mark out fixed level settings, for example where the moveable panels are set to 50%, 75% or. 100% extended.
• a locking mechanism such as a ratchet and paw mechanism, may be provided to maintain the adjustment handle in position.
• the moveable panels 4 pivot outwardly and a cam mechanism is used
• alternative constructions are also envisaged.
• a rotatable adjustment handle connected to a screw threaded shaft may alternatively be provided.
• the adjustment handle could be twisted to elevate or retract the moveable panel.
• the moveable panel could be provided on one or more tracks extending out from the side support and allowing the moveable panel to extend linearly or in a telescopic action, for example.
• an electric motor with, for example, a ball/screw mechanism may be provided to move the moveable panel into an extended position.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Child & Adolescent Psychology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Seats For Vehicles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=37022877

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (8)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2006
  • 2006-06-30 WO PCT/GB2006/002449 patent/WO2007003923A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2006-06-30 EP EP06755694A patent/EP1904336A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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