NZ264413A

NZ264413A - Child safety seat; harness anchored on seat body stowable in seat back when not in use

Info

Publication number: NZ264413A
Application number: NZ26441394A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Adrian Sean Burleigh; Robert Stephen Bell
Original assignee: Britax Excelsior; Britax Nordiska Barn Ab
Priority date: 1993-10-02
Filing date: 1994-09-07
Publication date: 1996-01-26
Also published as: SE9403287L; GB9320371D0; GB2282321A; AU7160594A; SE9403287D0; AU681417B2

Description

264413 Priority Date(s): Complete Specification Filed: Class: $). . ..W?o *nl.10 ;Publication Date:...?.A..^A^.J?r?§. ;P.O. Journal No: ;n.z. PAT&rr of imc-* -7 SEP 1994 Patents Form No. 5 Our Ref: JB203644 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CHILD SAFETY SEAT We, BRITAX—EXCELSIOR LIMITED, a British company of 1 Churchill Way West, Andover, Hampshire P016 9SDr United Kingdom and BRITAX NORDISKA BARN AB, a Swedish company of Dlvsundavagen 18IF, 161 30 Bramma, Sweden hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: PT0521294 26441 This invention relates to a child safety seat for l use in a motor vehicle of the type having a seat body comprising a seat portion and a backrest, adapted to be positioned on a vehicle seat in a rearward facing mode for use by an infant and in a forward facing mode for use by an older child who is restrained on the safety seat body by a vehicle seat belt.

In a known child safety seat of this type, it is necessary to remove the child harness from the safety seat when the latter is to be used in the forward facing mode. In known forward facing child safety seats having separate harnesses for the child, it is usual to provide a plurality of slots on each side of the back portion at differing heights so that the shoulder straps may be removed from one set of slots and refitted in another in order to provide height adjustment., Both of these arrangements are subject to the risk that a user may refit the harness incorrectly. The present invention aims to provide a seat which is not subject to this disadvantage.

EP-A-0326265 discloses a child's safety seat for use in a forward facing mode in which a child user is restrained on the safety seat by the vehicle seat belt. When such a seat is used in the rearward facing mode, the. vehicle seat belt cannot be used to restrain a child occupant in the seat and it is necessary to provide a separate harness for the child which is secured to the safety seat. It is also desirable that when a forward facing child seat is used by a relatively young child, a separate harness having two shoulder straps should be provided.

According to the invention, a child seat of the type described above further comprises a child harness having shoulder straps and lap straps secured to respective anchorage points on the seat body, the seat body having stowage means for containing said child harness with>-tf /y <' straps thereof secured to their respective anchorage/ points when the seat body is in said forward facing mode.. 26 4 4 1 3 3 An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a child safety seat in accordance with the invention, with its child harness set up for use and its headrest in its highest position; Figure 2 is a front view similar to Figure 1 with the headrest in its lowest position; Figure 3 is a front view of the seat shown in Figures 1 and 2, with the seat cover open and the harness partly stowed; Figure 4 is a front view similar to Figure 1 to 3, with part of the seat cover closed and another part open, and the harness fully stowed; and Figure 5 is a front view similar to Figure 1 to 4, with the seat configured for use in conjunction with a vehicle seat belt as. described-in EP-A-0326265.

Figures 1 and 2 show a child safety seat comprising a seat body 10 having a seat portion 12 with side walls 14 and 16 forming armrests and a backrest 18 with side walls 20 and 22. A headrest 24 having side wings 26 and 28 is slidably mounted on the upper part of the backrest 18 with the side wings 26 and 28 between the side-walls 20 and 22.

The seat back 18 has two slots 30 and 32 just below the bottom of the headrest 24 (when the latter is in its uppermost position as shown in Figure 1) through which shoulder straps 34 and 36 project from behind the seat back 18. Each of the shoulder straps 34 and 36 is formed integrally with a corresponding lap strap 38, 40 from a continuous length of webbing which runs freely through a loop in a respective buckle tongue 42, 44. The tongues 42 and 44 engage in a buckle body 46 which is secured to one end of a crotch strap 48 which has its other end fixedly secured to an anchorage point 49 (Figure 3) in the front face 50 of the seat portion 12.

Behind the seat back 18, the shoulder straps 34 264413 4 and 36 are connected to a common strap 52, the free end of which extends through a belt adjuster and out through a slot in the front face 50 of the seat portion 12 just below the anchorage point 49 for the crotch strap 48. This permits adjustment of the length of the shoulder straps 34 and 36 as described in AU-B-503602.

As shown in Figure 2, the headrest 24 can slide downwardly to a position in which its bottom edge is below the slots 30 and 32, thus providing adjustment of the effective height of the tops of the shoulder straps 34 and 36.

The seat body 10 has a seat cove which includes a panel 54 is secured along its top edge to the rest of the seat cover. When closed, the panel 54 extends downwards to a line 56, leaving openings 58 and 60 (Figures 1 and 2) for the lap straps 38 and 40. The panel 54 is held in its closed position by strips 68-7 3 (Figure 3) formed of touch-and-close fastener material such as Velcro (Registered Trade Mark). Similarly, a flap 74 is fixed to the rest of the seat cover along its lower edge and extends upwardly to the anchorage point 49 for the crotch strap 48. When closed, the flap 74 is secured by strips of touch-and-close fastener material 75 and 76.

When in the configuration shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2, or with the headrest 24 in any intermediate position, the seat may be used either in a forward facing mode or in a rearward facing mode. The method by which the seat is secured in position in a vehicle in either of these modes does not form part of the present invention and will not be described in detail.

When the seat is to be converted for use by an older child in a forward facing mode in which the child is restrained on the seat by the vehicle seat belt, the panel 54 and the flap 74 are opened as shown in Figure 3. The two buckle tongues 42 and 44 are inserted into recesses 78 and 80 surrounding the anchorages for the lap straps 38 and 40. Next the common strap 52 is pulled out to its maximum 2644 13 extent so that the shoulder straps 3 4 and 36 extend in a straight path between the recesses 78 and 80 and the slots 30 and 32.

Referring to Figure 4, the next step is to return the flap 54 to its closed position, in which it covers the shoulder straps 34 and 36, together with the recesses 78 and 80 in which the buckle tongues 42 and 44 are contained. The panel 54 is held in its closed position by the touch-and-close fasteners 68-73, as described above. The common strap 52 and crotch strap 48 are then folded up and inserted into a recess 82 behind the panel 74 and the buckle body 46 is inserted on top of the folded-up straps, the width of the recess 82 being such that the buckle can be wedged in place.

Finally, the flap 74 is closed, as illustrated in Figure 5, and the seat is ready to be used in a forward facing mode with the child user restrained by the vehicle safety belt.

It should be understood that the various strips of touch-and-close fastener are shown in the drawings by way of example and additional strips of such material may be provided if desired. 264

Claims

WHAT WE CLAIM IS;

1. A child safety seat for use in a motor vehicle having a seat body comprising a seat portion and a backrest, adapted to be positioned on a vehicle seat in a 5 rearward facing mode for use by an infant and in a forward facing mode for use by an older child who is restrained on the safety seat body by a vehicle seat belt, characterised by a child harness having shoulder straps and lap straps secured to respective anchorage points on the seat body, the 10 seat body having stowage means for containing said child harness with the straps thereof secured to their respective anchorage points when the seat body is in said forward facing mode.

2. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein 15 a head rest is mounted on the backrest by means permitting adjustment of the distance between the head rest and the seat portion, the shoulder straps beinq secured to anchorage points on the seat back behind the head rest-

3. A child safety seat according to claim 1 or 2, 20 wherein the anchorage points for the lap straps are located in recesses within the seat, each lap strap being permanently attached to part of a buckle and each recess being large enough to accommodate said buckle part.

4. A child safety seat according to claim 1, 2 or 3, 25 wherein the seat body is fitted with a seat cover having an opening panel so arranged that it can be opened and the straps of the child harness stowed behind it.

5. A child safety seat according to claim 4, wherein the child harness includes a crotch strap attached to an 3 0 anchorage point located in a recess in the seat body, and the seat cover has an flap for covering said recess with the crotch strap stowed therein.

6. A child safety seat for use in a motor vehicle, substantially as hereinbefore described with r.e'ferencfe^, 3 5 the accompanying drawings. ^JSRITAX—EXCELSIOR v/BRITAX NORDISKA By Its Attorneys BALDWIN, SON & CAREY