WO2009041939A1

WO2009041939A1 - Safety-seat belt buckle cover

Info

Publication number: WO2009041939A1
Application number: PCT/US2007/020737
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jaylynn May Kerr
Original assignee: Jaylynn May Kerr
Priority date: 2007-09-26
Filing date: 2007-09-26
Publication date: 2009-04-02

Abstract

Safety-Seat Belt Buckle Cover is a cover that fits over a child seat's harness buckle and locks in place to prevent a child from accidentally or deliberately pressing the release button on the buckle. to use Safety-Seat Belt Buckle Cover, a parent, caregiver or other user would open the cover and place it beneath the harness buckle of a child seat and then attach the harness belts in the usual manner around the child. When this task is complete, the user simply closes the cover and locks the latch underneath the cover. To remove the child from the safety seat, the user would simply open the cover by undoing the latch and then press the release button on the buckle.

Description

SAFETY-SEAT BELT BUCKLE COVER

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This PCT patent application does not claim priority to any United States provisional patent application or any foreign patent application.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosures made herein relate generally to the child-care protection industry. The invention discussed herein is in the general classification of devices for safety seats.

BACKGROUND

In order to protect a child inside a motor vehicle, parents commonly place the child in a safely seat. Often, the safety seat is in the form of a thickly padded booster- style seat that can be tightly fastened to the backseat of the vehicle. The seat also has a harness that fastens over the child's body and a buckle that can be used to keep the harness in position over the child's body. Some young children like to undo the buckle that keeps the harness in position by pressing the release button on the buckle. This practice is dangerous for the child because the child will no longer be securely fastened to the seat and will be more vulnerable to injury in the event of a collision or other accident. Furthermore, a parent or other driver easily can become distracted if a child attempts to remove the buckle or successfully removes the buckle and begins to move around inside the vehicle, increasing the chances of an accident.

Hence, there is a need in the art for an effective device for safely, inexpensively and easily covering a child seat's harness buckle to prevent young children from pressing the release button on the buckle.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Safety-Seat Belt Buckle Cover is a cover that fits over a child seat's harness buckle and locks in place to prevent a child from accidentally or deliberately pressing the release button on the buckle.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a device that prevents a child from pressing the release button on the harness buckle of a child's seat. Another object of this invention is to provide a device that can be easily attached and used to prevent a child from pressing the release button on the harness buckle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an affordable device for covering a harness buckle of a child's seat. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a device that remains in place on the harness buckle after the buckle is undone for ease of use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention when it is closed.

FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention when it is opened.

FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention cut along the line A-A of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiment of Safety-Seat Belt Buckle Cover is comprised of at least some of the following: a small, rectangular cover with rounded corners made of plastic that is constructed in two sections held together with a plastic hinge. An elastic band would be attached to the inside of the cover and a latch capable of locking into position would be affixed to the exterior of the cover. FIG. 1 shows the preferred embodiment of the invention in a closed position.

A cover 1 that is rectangular in shape and has rounded corners is constructed in two sections having a hinge 2 separating the two sections. The cover 1 and hinge 2 are made of plastic in the preferred embodiment of this invention though other materials may also be utilized. The cover 1 is designed to fit over standard seat belts buckles and child car seats buckles. A latch 3 that locks into position underneath the cover 1 is designed to prevent a child from being able to open the cover 1. Openings 4 capable of accommodating a typical seat belt or safety harness for a child seat are located on the front and back of the cover 1.

The preferred embodiment of the cover 1 would be charcoal gray in color though any color may be utilized such as light gray or black. While other colors are also possible, ideally they would not attract the attention of the child and blend in with the car's appearance.

FIG. 2 depicts the preferred embodiment of the invention when it is opened to accept a buckle. An elastic band 20 capable of surrounding a harness buckle is attached to the inside of the cover on the bottom section 23. The latch 3 connected to the top section 21 of the cover can also be seen in greater detail in FIG. 3. The locking mechanism 22 on the bottom section 23 of the cover will permit the latch 3 to securely fasten out of reach of a child.

FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention cut along the line A-A of FIG. 1. The cover 1, hinge 2 and latch 3 along with one of the openings 4 and the locking mechanism 22 can be seen in this cross- section.

To use Safety-Seat Belt Buckle Cover, a parent, caregiver or other user would open the cover and slide the elastic band around the safety seat's harness buckle and then buckle the harness belt in the usual manner around the child. When this task is complete, the user simply closes the cover over the buckle and locks the latch underneath the cover, allowing the straps to protrude through the openings. To remove the child from the safety seat, the user would simply open the cover by undoing the latch and then press the release button on the buckle, leaving the cover on the harness for future use. The materials utilized for Safety-Seat Belt Buckle Cover may vary widely but would likely include plastic and potentially metal and rubber components. The metals would ideally be selected from available steel or alloys of steel and aluminum. The production process related to the use of these metals insures that the metal is non- corrosive, durable and strong. The selected metal should have high impact strength and be capable of accepting and retaining coloring materials for an extended length of time.

The plastic used in the production will ideally be selected for durability and longevity. Thermoplastics are commonly used in the manufacturing of components similar to those used in this invention. Polyethylene, polypropylene, and other similar thermoplastic materials would be among those with the necessary traits. Members of this family are recognized universally as being versatile and of high quality.

The plastic components of Safety-Seat Belt Buckle Cover can also be formed with the use of plastic molding techniques, such as injection molding or blow molding. Injection molding requires melted plastic to be forcefully injected into relatively cool molds. As the plastic begins to harden, it takes on the shape of the mold cavity. This technique is ideal for the mass production of products.

Alternatively, blow molding, a form of extrusion, could be utilized. Blow molding involves a molten tube being pushed into a mold. Compressed air then forces the molten tube against the cold walls of the mold.

It should be obvious that the components of the present invention can be of various shapes and sizes. It should also be obvious that the components of the invention can be made of different types of plastics or other suitable materials and can be of any color. While the device described herein is generally used with baby seats it could also be used to cover a standard buckle in an automobile or other vehicle to prevent elderly or mentally challenged individuals from unbuckling their seat belts.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. It should therefore be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is intended to include all changes and modifications that are within the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A safety device comprising: (a) a cover; and

(b) an opening on the cover for insertion of a buckle.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the cover is rectangular.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the cover is gray.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the cover is made of plastic.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the cover has rounded corners.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the cover has a first section and a second section.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the cover has a top section and a bottom section.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein a hinge operatively connects the top section and the bottom section.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the hinge is plastic.

10. The device of claim 7 wherein a latch is connected to the top section of the cover and attaches to a locking mechanism on the bottom section of the cover.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein an elastic band is attached to the inside of the cover.

12. A safety device comprising:

(a) a cover that is rectangular and made of plastic with rounded corners having a top section and a bottom section;

(b) a hinge made of plastic connecting the top section and the bottom section; (c) a front opening and a rear opening on the cover; (d) a latch connected to the top section and capable of attaching to a locking mechanism connected to the bottom section;

(e) an elastic band attached to the inside of the bottom section of the cover.