JP2001310669A - Tether strap for safety seat and method for attaching tether strap to safety seat - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tether strap for a safety seat provided with a connecting device arranged through an aperture of the safety seat. SOLUTION: Both ends of a strap are attached to a safety seat by means of a connecting device so as to be arranged in the neighborhood of a seat back. The strap further includes a tether connector for attaching the strap to the connecting point. The connecting device fixed to the safety seat prevents movement of the tether strap relative to the safety seat. The connecting device is a combination of a two-bar link and a three-bar link to which loops on both ends of the strap are attached, or is a U-letter shape structure. A cover member configured to cover the connecting device may be used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a tether strap for a safety seat, and more particularly to a method of attaching the tether strap to a safety seat.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Infant safety seats used in motor vehicles use tether straps that extend from the head of the seat to anchor points that are fixed with respect to the vehicle. This is the case with the safety seat facing both forward and backward.

[0003] These tether straps are typically secured to the safety seat through threaded fittings attached to the shell of the safety seat or by guides mounted on the exterior surface of the safety seat.

Another method of attaching a tether strap is described in Australian Patent No. 680150 which utilizes an opening in the shell of the safety seat. This allows the tether strap to extend between the openings that sandwich the back portion of the safety seat without the need for the use of fixed fittings or guides.

[0005]

However, all of the above-mentioned examples require an assembling operation such as attachment of the mounting device to the shell of the safety seat and suturing after the webbing is arranged. Because these operations are inconvenient and time consuming, it would be advantageous to have a system that allows for much simpler means for attaching and securing the tether strap to the safety seat.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In its broadest form, the present invention is a tether system for a safety seat, wherein a strap positioned through an opening in the safety seat, and each end of the strap is attached, At least one coupling member for joining the ends and a tether connector of a strap for attaching the strap to a tether, so that the strap can be prevented from being displaced from the tether of the safety seat. It can be said that each end of the strap is located through an opening in the safety seat and resides in a tether system that allows coupling to the coupling members to each other.

The present invention allows the tether strap to be attached to the safety seat without having to perform any other manufacturing operations, such as sewing or attaching attachment parts or guides. This is an important advantage in itself.

[0008] Preferably, the tether strap is prevented from moving with respect to the safety seat by having a coupling member fixed with respect to the safety seat. Without such a configuration, the tether strap would slide freely through the opening. This creates several problems when the length adjuster is incorporated into a tether strap.
The length adjuster is preferably located on one side of the tether strap between the safety seat and the tether connector.
If the tether strap is not secured with respect to the safety seat, the length adjuster will ultimately be placed too close to the safety seat or tether connector and will not be able to properly adjust the tether strap. Also,
Securing the tether strap with respect to the safety seat allows for the fixing of any length adjuster that can be incorporated into the safety seat.

Further, the tether strap can be prevented from being twisted by fixing the joint member to the safety sheet.

[0010] Preferably, the use of a coupling member allows both ends of the tether strap to be secured by quick and easy attachment. Such a coupling member may include a combination of a two bar link and a three bar link. Attach one end to the center of the three bar link and the other end to the two bar
It can be attached to one of the bars of the link. The three-bar link is oriented to pass through the opening of the two-bar link, and is then repositioned to be flat with respect to the two-bar link, so that when tension is applied, the tether -Both ends of the strap are held. In addition to the use of two-bar links and three-bar links, additional openings may be provided in the restraint back to pass through the ends of the strap prior to coupling to one or more coupling members. When the link is flat with respect to the backrest, it abuts the surface around the edge of the opening, and when tension is applied to the tether strap, the link is pressed strongly against the backrest. This allows the tether strap to be immovable with respect to the backrest and any length adjuster incorporated within the tether strap to remain in a fixed position with respect to one side of the safety seat.

Alternatively, the ends of each strap may be attached to a single joint member. The ends of the strap are folded back and sewn together to form a loop. Both ends of the strap disposed through each opening of the safety seat are connected to each other with a joint member. In this embodiment of the invention, the coupling member may include a pair of coupled bayonets to which respective loops are attached to couple the ends to the strap.

A cover member or a holding cap may be provided on the joint member held on the back of the backrest.

In order to fully understand the present invention, preferred embodiments will be described below. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the features of the preferred embodiments.

Preferred embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0015]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment.
Shown in The child safety seat 10 shown in the accompanying drawings has a back portion 11 and side walls 12. An opening 13 is formed in each side wall 12, and a central opening 14 is formed in the backrest 11.
Are formed.

The tether strap includes a length of webbing 16 having a two bar link 17 attached to one end of the strap 16 and a three bar link 18 attached to the other end of the strap 16. Two
The bar link is a rectangular plate made of a material having an opening in the center, and the long side of the rectangle forms a bar to which the webbing is attached. Three Bar Link is similar,
There is a pair of openings and a third central bar is formed. The straps are two bar link and three bar link
Both the links 17 and 18 are fixed by a suturing process.

Tether connector 19 is attached to strap 16. Tether connector 19 is tethered
It has an opening 20 through which the strap passes. The tether connector 19 is free to move across the strap 16.

The tether strap is a length adjuster 2 for shortening or lengthening the strap 16 to cope with a change in the position of the anchor point where the tether connector 19 is attached.
2 The necessary tension can be applied to the strap 16 by the length adjuster 22.

The strap 16 can be attached to the safety seat 10 by passing two-bar links and three-bar links 17, 18 through respective openings 13. Similarly, two bar links and three bars
Bar links 17, 18 are threaded through opening 14. Then two bar link and three bar link 1
7 and 18 are three bar links 18
The connection is made by passing through the central opening of the link 17. Both the two-bar link and the three-bar link 17, 18 are then oriented in the manner shown in FIG. 1 and the three-bar link 18 abuts the two-bar link 17. Combined two-bar link and three-bar
The bar links 17, 18 abut the edge of the backrest 11 around the opening 14 shown in FIG. In this way, the ends of the strap 16 are joined, the strap is prevented from moving with respect to the backrest 11, and the length adjuster 22 is held in a fixed position.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. In this embodiment, the end of the strap 16 is formed in the loop 24 by folding back the end of the strap and suturing the overlapped strap portion. In this embodiment, the coupling member 25 comprises a pressed metal plate having a pair of inserts 26 with a rectangular portion 27 therebetween. The rectangular portion includes a central opening 28.

As shown in FIG. 5, the two ends of the strap 16 are positioned through a central opening 28, after which the loops 24 are located on respective bayonet 26. The strap 16 is then pulled tight so that the joint member 25 abuts against the surface 11 of the backrest. The joint member 25 is located directly on the central opening 14 of the backrest 11.

In this position, both ends of the strap 16 are restrained by the rectangular portion 27 from vertical movement. This means that the loop 24 cannot be removed from the insertion part 26.

A third embodiment is shown in FIGS. This embodiment is similar to the second embodiment shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, the joint member 35 includes a pair of insertion portions 3.
6 is a U-shaped member. As in the second embodiment, both ends of the strap 16 are formed into a loop 24 passing through the opening 13 and the central opening 14 on each side. Each insertion portion 36 of the joint member 35 is connected to the loop 2 of the strap 16.
4 within one. This allows the strap 16
Are held together. Next, the holding cover 30 is fixed at a predetermined position on the central opening portion 14. This is shown in detail in FIGS. The holding cover 30 has a pair of projecting insertion portions 31 passing through the opening 32 of the backrest 11. The retaining cover 30 holds the joint member 35 within the loop 24 so that the loop 24 does not come off the joint member 35.

As can be seen from the above description, the present invention allows for simple and quick attachment of the tether strap 16 to the safety seat 10. No suturing or mounting of any additional accessories or fittings is required. This is clearly a significant advantage in the manufacture and assembly of such safety sheets.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial rear perspective view showing a safety seat and a tether strap according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows the same safety seat as in FIG. 1 with the tether strap fully attached.

FIG. 3 is a partial rear perspective view showing a safety seat and a tether strap according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a joint member used in the second embodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the joint member of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, showing the tether strap with both ends attached.

FIG. 6 is a partial rear perspective view showing a safety seat and a tether strap according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a detailed cutaway view showing a joint member used in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Safety seat 11 Backrest 12 Side wall 13 Opening 14 Central opening 16 Webbing 17 Two-bar link 18 Three-bar link 19 Tether connector 20 Opening 22 Length adjuster 24 Loop 25 Joint member 26 Insertion part 27 Rectangular Part 28 Central opening 30 Holding cover 31 Insertion part 32 Opening 35 Joint member 36 Insertion part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant 501151425 99 Derby Road Sunshine 3020 Victoria, Australia (72) Inventor Wislow Mashedik Seek Victoria Sanshain Australia 3020 Derby Road 99F Term (Reference) 3B087 CE06 DA01 DA10 DE10

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A tether system for a safety seat, comprising: a strap positioned through an opening in the safety seat; and at least one coupling member to which each end of the strap is attached and joins the ends. A strap tether connector for attaching the strap to an anchor point, each end of the strap being an opening in the safety sheet so as to prevent the strap from slipping from the anchor point of the safety sheet. A tether system disposed through the section to enable coupling to the coupling member with each other. 2. The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 1, wherein further securing the coupling member with respect to the safety seat prevents movement of the tether strap with respect to the safety seat. 3. The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 1, further comprising a length adjuster on one side of the tether strap between the safety seat and the tether connector. 4. The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the tether system includes two joint members each secured to a respective end of the tether strap and removably coupled to each other. 5. The coupling member includes a two-bar link and a three-bar link, one of the ends of the strap is attached to the center of the three-bar link, and the other end of the strap is a two-bar link. Attached to one of the bars of the link, the three-bar link is oriented to pass through the opening of the two-bar link, and then re-aligned to be flat against the two-bar link 5. The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 4, wherein the tether strap is positioned such that both ends of the tether strap are retained when under tension. 6. The backrest of a safety seat having an additional opening through both ends of the strap prior to coupling to the coupling member, whereby the opening of the opening when the coupling member is flat with respect to the backrest. The joint member is pressed against the backrest when the tension is applied to the surface around the edge and the tether strap is subjected to tension.
4. A tether system for a safety seat according to 2 or 3. 7. The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 1, wherein each end of the strap is attached to a single joint member. 8. Each end of the strap is folded back over and stitched to form a loop, and both ends of the strap are positioned through respective openings in the safety seat;
The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 7, wherein the tether system is coupled to the coupling member. 9. The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 8, wherein the coupling member includes a pair of coupled inserts to which respective loops are attached to couple the ends of the strap to the coupling member. 10. The tether system for a safety seat according to claim 1, further comprising a cover member configured to cover the joint member. 11. The tether for a safety seat according to claim 10, wherein the cover member is configured to be fixed to the safety seat by a protruding insertion portion engageable with an opening of a backrest of the safety seat. system. 12. A joint member having a central opening and an insert on either side of said central opening, whereby both ends of the strap are coupled to said insert through said central opening. Item 7. A tether system for a safety seat according to any one of Items 1 to 3 and 6.