EP3998910B1

EP3998910B1 - Booster seat for children

Info

Publication number: EP3998910B1
Application number: EP20745296.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Antonella Festa
Original assignee: Artsana SpA
Current assignee: Artsana SpA
Priority date: 2019-07-16
Filing date: 2020-07-06
Publication date: 2023-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-06
Also published as: WO2021009610A1; EP3998910A1; BR112022000103A2; MX2022000446A; IT201900011862A1

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a booster seat for children with a folding tray and a supporting rod therefor.

Description of the Prior Art

Booster seats for children allow children to sit on normal chairs at a table, in case a child is too small to use a normal adult chair but has grown enough to find the high chair too narrow and uncomfortable, or when the use of the high chair is not practical. Furthermore, most booster seats have a tray as a replacement for the table top. Certain booster seats have a rod engaged in the center of the bottom surface of the tray to be situated between the child's legs as he/she sits.
Booster seats are folded to a more compact closed form for storage when not in use and for easier transport.
In the prior art, since the tray with the supporting rod form a single piece and since the tray is engaged in cantilever fashion to the rest of the booster seat, the booster seat can be only folded to the closed position after removing the tray. A booster seat with a foldable tray is known from TW M 577 278 U .

Problem of the prior art

In booster seats of the prior art, in order to fold, store and carry the booster seat, the tray with the rod must be first separated from the frame, the latter must be moved to a closed position by folding down the backrest onto the seat portion and collapsing the legs. Since the rod overhangs the tray, the backrest cannot be folded down onto the seat without first removing the tray with the rod. This requires an additional operation when folding and requires in certain cases two separate parts to be carried, the frame with the backrest and the seat, and the tray with the rod. Therefore, the booster seat 1 in the closed configuration is not very practical to carry and store.
In addition, in order to reuse the booster seat, the frame is redeployed for the tray and the rod to be reconnected to the booster seat. Indeed, to redeploy the booster seat, it is necessary to first lift the backrest from the seat portion, and then reconnect the tray with the rod to the frame of the booster seat.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a booster seat for children that can be more easily moved to a closed configuration, while obviating the aforementioned prior art problems, In particular, the object of the invention to provide a booster seat which can be folded to a closed form with a simple mechanism.
These and other objects are fulfilled by a booster seat for children as defined in any of the accompanying claims.

BIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA WINGS

The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will result from the following detailed description of a possible practical embodiment, illustrated as a nonlimiting example in the set of drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a booster seat of the present invention in the open configuration,
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the booster seat of Figure 3 with the tray disengaged,
Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the booster seat of Figure 1 with the seat portion parallel to the lower base portion,
Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the booster seat of Figure 1, with both the seat portion and the tray parallel to the lower base portion,
Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the booster seat of Figure 3 in the closed configuration,
Figure 6 shows a bottom view of the booster seat of Figure 1,
Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a booster seat of the present invention, with one detail highlighted,
Figure 8 shows a detail of the seat portion of the booster seat of Figure 1,
Figure 9 shows a detail of the seat portion of the booster seat of Figure 1,
Figure 10 shows a detail of the seat portion of the booster seat of Figure 1,
Figure 11 shows a detail of the tray and the supporting rod portion of the booster seat of Figure 7,
Figure 12 shows a perspective view of a booster seat of Figure 1 without the tray,
Figure 13 shows a side view of the booster seat of Figure 1 in a particular operating configuration.

The booster seat as shown in the accompanying figures shall be deemed to be schematically illustrated, not necessarily drawn to scale, and not necessarily representing the actual proportions of its parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The figures show a booster seat according to the invention, generally designated by numeral 1.
The booster seat 1 comprises a frame 2 composed of a front structure 3 and a rear structure 4. The front structure 3 is formed by a lower base portion 5 and an upper backrest portion 6.
Both the lower base portion 5 and the rear structure 4 may be either composed, for example, of a single support, as shown in the accompanying figures, or have two distinct lateral support feet, not shown in the accompanying figures, to form, in the former case, a front and a rear support with two large bearing surfaces or, in the latter case, two front supports and two rear supports with four separate bearing areas. The upper backrest portion 6 comprises two upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b. Also, the rear structure 4 is rotatably connected to the lower base portion 5.
The booster seat 1 comprises a seat portion 8 that is attached to the upper backrest portion 6 to rotate about an axis of rotation R and a tray 9. The seat portion 8 is rotatably attached to the upper backrest portion 6 below the region in which the lower support portion 5 is rotatably attached to the rear structure 4. The tray 9 comprises a base plate 10, a pair of lateral arms 11 connected to the base plate 10 and a supporting rod 17 for supporting the base plate 10;
Furthermore, the booster seat 1 comprises engagement/disengagement means 12, preferably for quick engagement/disengagement, for reversibly attaching the tray 9 to the upper backrest portion 6 of the booster seat 1. The engagement/disengagement means 12 are located above the region in which the seat portion 8 is rotatably attached to the lower base portion 5. The engagement/disengagement means 12 are composed of a pair of first components 12a respectively fixed to the pair of upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b and a pair of second components 12b which can be reversibly engaged with the pair of first components 12a respectively. The pair of second components 12b can be disengaged from the pair of first components 12a to allow the tray 9 to be removed from the booster seat 1.
The seat portion 8 comprises a hole 16 in a substantially central position of the seat portion 8, the hole 16 being preferably centered with respect to the sides of the seat portion 8 and being closer to the front side thereof than to the rear side.
The pair of second components 12b of the booster seat 1 is rotatably attached to the pair of lateral arms 11 of the tray 9 to commute the tray 9 between a use configuration and a stored configuration. In the use configuration, the tray 9 projects in cantilever fashion from the upper backrest portion 6 and, for example, objects may be laid on the base plate 10 and the tray 9 may be used as a table. On the other hand, in the stored configuration, the tray 9 is substantially parallel to the upper backrest portion 6. Preferably, the extension plane of the tray 9 is parallel to the extension plane of the upper backrest portion 6.
The rod 17 of the booster seat 1 is rotatably attached to the base plate 10 and is configured to move between a supporting position and a rest position. In the supporting position, the rod 17 is perpendicular to the base plate 10 and fits into the hole 16 to keep the tray 9 in the use configuration, by acting as an upright. Preferably, in the supporting position the rod 17 is perpendicular to the extension plane of the base plate 10. Conversely, in the rest position, said rod 17 is disengaged from the hole 16 and substantially parallel to the base plate 10. Preferably, in the rest position, the rod 17 is parallel to the extension plane of the base plate 10 (Figure 13). The rod 17 engaged in the hole 16 is placed in front of the seat portion 8 to allow the child to sit on the seat portion 8 with the rod 17 between his/her legs as an additional safety element to prevent the child from sliding in front of the booster seat 1.
The booster seat 1 is adapted to be commuted between an open configuration and a closed configuration. In the open configuration, the lower ends of the lower base portion 5 and the lower ends of the rear structure 4 are spaced apart with the seat portion 8 substantially parallel to the tray 9 in the use configuration, with the rod 17 in the supporting position. The seat portion 8 is preferably is parallel to the tray 9. In the closed configuration, the lower ends of the lower base portion 5 are close to the lower ends of the rear structure 4 with the seat portion 8 and the tray 9 substantially parallel to the upper backrest portion 6 and with the rod 17 in the rest position. Preferably, in the closed configuration, the extension plane of the tray 9 and the extension plane of the seat portion 8 are parallel to the extension plane of the lower base portion 5.
The open configuration is the configuration adapted for use of the booster seat 1, with the booster seat 1 being placed, for example, on a chair and the child sitting on the seat portion 8. In addition, as shown in Figure 12, the tray 9 may be removed from the booster seat 1 with the child using a table as a supporting surface instead of the base plate 10 of the tray 9. Conversely, the closed configuration is the configuration adapted for storage of the booster seat 1 when not in use for easy transportation thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, as shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10, the hole 16 comprises an engaging member 23 for engagement of the free lower end of the rod 17 and a manually operable release lever 24 for disengaging the rod 17 from the hole 16. Preferably, the release lever 24 comprises a tab that can be manually pulled to disengage the rod 17 from the hole 16.
Preferably, in the supporting position the rod 17 is perpendicular to the extension plane of the base plate 10. Conversely, in the rest position, the rod 17 is disengaged from the hole 16 and substantially parallel to the base plate 10. Preferably, in the rest position, the rod 17 is parallel to the extension plane of the base plate 10. The rod 17 engaged in the hole 16 is placed in front of the seat portion 8 to allow the child to sit on the seat portion 8 with the rod 17 between his/her legs as a safety to prevent the child from sliding in front of the booster seat 1.
In another preferred embodiment, as shown in Figure 11, the rod 17 comprises a docking seat 25 for the attachment of the fastening member 23 at its free end. The docking seat is in the form of a hole at the free lower end of the rod 17, i.e. the one that is not attached to the base plate 10.
In a preferred embodiment, the booster seat 1 comprises two sleeves 18a, 18b fixed to the sides of the upper backrest portion 6 and telescopically connected to the lower base portion 5. The seat portion 8 is rotatably attached to the sleeves 18a, 18b. In other words, the sleeves 18a, 18b are fixed in a manner that they will be rigidly joined to the upper backrest portion 6, i.e. with no relative movement between the sleeves 18a, 18b and the upper backrest portion 6. Preferably, each sleeve 18a, 18b comprises a first coupling for the upper backrest portion 6 and a second coupling for the lower base portion 5. Each sleeve 18a, 18b is stationary with respect to the upper backrest portion 6 and can slide relative to the lower base portion 5. This configuration is used to slide the upper backrest portion 6 and the seat portion 8 in a rigidly joined state so that the upper backrest portion 5 and the seat portion 8 may be lifted or lowered with respect to the lower base portion 5 to adjust the upper backrest portion 6 and the seat portion 8 according to the height of the child (open configuration) or may be fully lowered for storage of the booster seat 1 as shown in Figure 5 (closed configuration). The lower base portion 5 is caused to slide in the two sleeves 18a, 18b to move toward the upper backrest portion 6 and the seat portion 8, for the structure of the booster chair 1 to be compacted and conveniently stored in the closed configuration.
In a preferred embodiment, the lower base portion 5 comprises two lower lateral uprights 5a, 5b. The upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b are telescopically connected to the lower lateral uprights 5a, 5b via he sleeves 18a, 18b. In particular, each upper lateral upright 7a, 7b is telescopically connected to a respective lower lateral upright 5a, 5b by means of a respective sleeve 18a, 18b. The two sleeves 18a, 18b are respectively fixed to the sides of the two upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b. Advantageously, the upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b and the lower lateral uprights 5a, 5b are laterally aligned with respect to the seat portion 8 for the structure to have greater stability.
In addition, the rear structure 4 is rotatably attached to the lower base portion 5. Preferably, the rear structure 4 comprises two rear lateral uprights 4a, 4b rotatably attached to the front structure 3. More preferably, each rear upright 4a, 4b is rotatably attached to a respective upper lateral upright 7a, 7b.
In a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying figures, the two upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b and the two lower uprights 5a, 5b lie on the same plane. Furthermore, the front structure 3 comprises a lower rod 5c and an upper rod 7c, each perpendicular to the upper uprights 7a, 7b and the lower uprights 5a, 5b, respectively. Specifically, the upper rod 7c and the two upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b form a U-shaped structure and, likewise, the lower rod 5c and the lower uprights 5a, 5b form a U-shaped structure These U-shaped structures of the upper backrest portion 6 and the lower base portion 5 respectively lie on the same plane as the upper lateral uprights 7a, 7b and the lower lateral uprights 5a, 5b. Likewise, the rear structure 4 comprises a rear rod 4c which forms a U-shaped structure with the two rear uprights 4a, 4b. The U-shaped rear structure 4 lies on a plane inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to that of the lower base portion 5 and of the upper backrest portion 6 in the open configuration, and lied on a plane parallel to that of the lower base portion 5 and of the upper backrest portion 6 in the closed configuration.
In another preferred embodiment, the booster seat 1 comprises locking/unlocking means 13 which are operable on the seat portion 8 for reversible commutation between a locked configuration and an unlocked configuration. The locking/unlocking means 13 are located on a bottom surface of the seat portion 8 and fit into appropriate receptacles formed on the upper backrest portion 6 and namely in the sleeves 18a, 18b. In the locked configuration, the seat 8 is rotatably constrained with respect to the structure 3. Conversely, in the unlocked configuration, the seat 8 is rotatably released with respect to the structure 3.
According to a preferred embodiment, the booster seat 1 may be commuted between the open configuration and the closed configuration by commuting the locking/unlocking means 13 from the locking configuration to the unlocking configuration. In the open configuration, the locking/unlocking means 13 are in the locked configuration in which they keep the seat portion 8 substantially parallel to the tray 9 in the use configuration.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, during commutation between the open configuration and the closed configuration, the seat portion 8, and the tray 9 move from the open configuration to the closed configuration.
Preferably, during commutation between the open configuration and the closed configuration, the respective extension planes of the rear structure 4, the tray 9, the seat portion 8 and of the lower base portion 5 are parallel to one another.
Preferably, the locking/unlocking means 13 comprise a pair of retaining elements 14 and a lever 15 operable on the pair of retaining elements 14. The pair of retaining elements 14 and the lever 15 are connected to each other by means of flexible connecting elements 14a. The retaining elements 14 engage the frame 2 at two respective points behind the axis of rotation R of the seat portion 8 to lock the rotation of the seat 8 with respect to the upper backrest portion 6 and in particular with respect to the sleeves 18a, 18b in the locked configuration. The lever 15 is adapted to be operated manually by a force applied by the user to disengage the retaining elements 14 from the frame 2 and in particular from the sleeves 18a, 18b of the upper backrest portion 6,in the unlocked configuration for the seat portion 8 to be commutated from the use configuration to the stored configuration.
In a further preferred embodiment, the locked configuration is required as a safety, to ensure that the seat portion 8 will not rotate about the axis of rotation R under a force inadvertently applied to the seat portion 8, such as the force applied when a child leans forward and his/her weight is excessively displaced toward the front part of the seat portion 8. On the other hand, the unlocked configuration is required when the booster seat 1 is to be moved to the closed configuration.
According to a preferred embodiment as shown in Figure 8, the seat portion 8 comprises a housing 22 to accomodate the buckle of a safety belt 20 when the latter is not in use. For example, if the booster seat 1 is used as a floor seat 2, no safety belt is required.
According to a preferred embodiment, not shown in the accompanying figures, the safety belts for securing the booster seat 1 to the adult chair can be engaged to the lower base portion 5 to engage the booster chair 1 to the seat portion of the adult chair and to the rear structure 4 to engage the booster seat 1 to the backrest of the adult chair using quick engagement/disengagement means.
According to a preferred embodiment, as shown in Figure 7, the booster seat 1 comprises a textile insert 21 on the seat portion 8 and on the upper backrest portion 6. The textile insert 21 may either be a single piece from the seat portion 8 to the upper backrest portion 6 or be composed of two separate pieces, one on the seat portion 8 and the other on the upper backrest portion 6, which are not connected to each other.
Two modes of use of the booster seat 1 by a user are described below, with the booster seat 1 being moved from the open configuration to the closed configuration and vice versa respectively.
According to a mode of use of the booster seat 1, in order to move from the open configuration (Figure 1) to the closed configuration (Figure 5), the rod 17 is disengaged from the hole 16. Then, the seat portion 8 is commutated from the open configuration to the closed configuration after commutating the locking/unlocking means 13 from the locked configuration to the unlocked configuration (Figure 3). Subsequently, the tray 9 is moved from the use configuration to the stored configuration (Figure 4). Now, the backrest portion 6 may be lowered using the sleeve 18a, 18b for the backrest seat 1 to be even more compact in the closed configuration (Figure 5). Finally, the rear structure 4 is moved to a position substantially parallel to the tray 9, the seat portion 8 and the lower base portion 5, to fold the booster chair 1 to a completely closed position (Figure 5).
On the other hand, in another mode of use of the booster seat 1, in order to move from the closed configuration (Figure 5) to the open configuration (Figure 1), the rear structure 4 is initially opened by spacing the lower ends of the rear structure 4 apart from the lower ends of the lower base portion 5 (Figure 4). Then, the seat portion 8 is moved to the open configuration (Figure 12, where the booster seat 1 is shown without the tray) and optionally raised with the backrest portion 6. While the seat portion 8 is moved to the open configuration, the locking/unlocking means automatically move to the locked configuration. The tray 9 is moved from the stored configuration to the use configuration by engagement of the rod 17 in the hole 16 for supporting the base plate 10 of the tray 9 with the latter projecting out of the upper backrest portion 6 in cantilever fashion (Figure 1).
The frame 2 is composed of a lower base portion 5 and a rear structure 4, which are rotatably attached to each other over the seat portion 8. Therefore, considering the structure of the booster seat 1 the latter may be folded or deployed to the closed and open positions in a single step, unlike the prior art in which the booster seats reached the closed or open positions with a minimum of three steps: removing the tray from the frame, folding or deploying the frame, and engaging the tray back with the frame.
Advantageously, the booster seat of 1 the present invention may be folded to the closed position with a simple mechanism, without requiring the tray to be separated from the rest of the booster seat.
Advantageously, a single booster seat assembly 1 may be obtained, that is compact and easy to carry and store.
A skilled person may obviously envisage a number of changes to the above described variants, without departure from the scope as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A booster seat (1) for children, comprising:
- a frame (2) composed of a front structure (3) and a rear structure (4), said front structure (3) being composed of a lower base portion (5) and an upper backrest portion (6) comprising two upper lateral uprights (7a, 7b), said rear structure (4) being rotatably attached to the lower base portion (5);

- a seat portion (8) rotatably attached to the upper backrest portion (6);

- a tray (9) comprising a base plate (10), a pair of lateral arms (11), which are connected to the base plate (10) and a support rod (17) for supporting the base plate (10);

- engagement/disengagement means (12) for reversibly attaching the tray (9) to the upper backrest portion (6) of the booster seat (1), said engagement/disengagement means (12) being composed of a pair of first components (12a) respectively fixed to the lateral uprights (7) and a pair of second components (12b) which can be reversibly engaged with the pair of first components (12a) respectively;

- the seat portion (8) comprises a hole (16) in a substantially central position of the seat portion (8);
characterized in that

- the pair of second components (12b) is rotatably attached to the pair of lateral arms (11) of the tray (9) for commuting the tray (9) between a use configuration in which the tray (9) overhangs the upper backrest portion (6) and a stored configuration in which the tray (9) is substantially parallel to the upper backrest portion (6);

- the rod (17) is rotatably attached to the base plate (10) and is configured to move from a support position in which the rod (17) is perpendicular to the base plate (10) and fits in the hole (16) to hold the tray (9) in the use configuration and a rest position in which said rod (17) is disengaged from the hole (16) and is substantially parallel to the base plate (10);

- the booster seat (1) can be commuted between an open configuration and a closed configuration whereby, in the open configuration the lower ends of the lower base portion (5) and the lower ends of the rear structure (4) are spaced apart with the seat portion (8) substantially parallel to the tray (9) which is in the use configuration with the rod (17) in the supporting position, and in the closed configuration the lower ends of the lower base portion (5) are close to the lower ends of the rear structure (4) with the seat portion (8) and the tray (9) substantially parallel to the upper backrest portion (6), and with the rod in the rest position.
A booster seat (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hole (16) comprises a fastening member (23) for engaging the rod (17) and a release lever (24) for disengaging the rod (17) from the hole (16).
A booster seat (1) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the rod (17) comprises a docking seat (25) for the attachment of the fastening member (23) at its free end.
A booster seat (1) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising two sleeves (18a, 18b) fixed to the sides of the upper backrest portion (6) and telescopically connected to the lower base portion (5), the seat portion (8) is rotatably attached to the sleeves (18a, 18b).
A booster seat (1) as claimed in an any of the preceding claims, wherein:
- the lower base portion (5) comprises two lower lateral uprights (5a, 5b),

- each upper lateral uprights (7a, 7b) is telescopically connected to a respective lower lateral upright (5a, 5b) via a respective sleeve (18a, 18b), the two sleeves (18a, 18b) being fixed to the sides of the two upper lateral uprights (7a,7b).
A booster seat (1) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising:
- lock/release means (13) operable on the seat portion (8) to reversibly move between a lock configuration in which the seat portion (8) is constrained in its rotation relative to the upper backrest portion (6) and a release configuration in which the seat portion (8) is released in its rotation relative to the upper backrest portion (6), wherein

- the booster chair (1) can be commutated between the open configuration and the closed configuration by commutating the lock/release means (13) from the lock configuration to the release configuration, whereby in the open configuration the lock/release means (13) are in the lock configuration in which they hold the seat portion (8) substantially parallel to the tray (9) which is in the use configuration.
A booster seat (1) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the lock/release means (13) are placed on the underside of the seat portion (8).
A booster seat (1) as claimed in an any of the preceding claims, wherein:
- when commutating between the open configuration and the closed configuration, the seat portion (8) moves from the open configuration to the closed configuration to move the tray (9) from the use configuration to the stored configuration.
A booster seat (1) as claimed in an any of the preceding claims, wherein:
- when alternating between the open configuration and the closed configuration, the rear structure (4) is substantially parallel to the tray (9), the seat portion (8) and to the upper backrest portion (6).
A booster seat (1) as claimed in any of the preceding claims 6 to 9, wherein:
- the seat portion (8) is rotatably attached to the upper backrest portion (6) about an axis of rotation (R);

- the lock/release means (13) comprise a pair of retaining members (14) and a lever (15) which is operable on the pair of retaining elements (14), the retaining elements (14) engaging the frame (2) in two respective locations behind the axis of rotation (R) of the seat portion (8) to prevent the rotation of the seat portion (8) relative to the upper backrest portion (6) in the lock configuration, the lever (15) being manually operable to disengage the retaining elements (14) from the frame (2) in the release configuration to commute the seat portion (8) from the use configuration to the stored configuration.
A booster seat (1) as claimed in claim 10, in which the seat portion (8) comprises a housing (22) to accommodate a safety belt (20) when not in use.
A booster seat (1) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the booster seat (1) comprises a textile insert (21) on the seat portion (8) and on the upper backrest portion (6).