Child safety seat assembly

• US 5,664,830 A
• Filed: 11/19/1996
• Issued: 09/09/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Clek Inc.
• Original Assignee: Birgit S. Garcia
• Inventors: Ganaja, Scott, Garcia, Birgit S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelson, Jr., Milton
• Application Number:
  US08/752,737
• Time in Patent Office: 294 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.11, 297/216.1, 297/250.1, 297/216.19, 297/256.1, 297/256.13, 297/256.14, 297/216.16
• US Class Current: 297/216.11
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2821 having a seat and a base part
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/286 forward facing B60N2/2866 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2884 with protection systems against abnormal g-forces
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42709 involving residual deformation or fracture of the structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42736 of the whole seat

Abstract

A novel child safety seat assembly for utilization in an automotive vehicle is comprised of a base sub-assembly having a pair of arcuate side rails, of a seat sub-assembly slidably supported on the base sub-assembly and having a pair of arcuate side rails engaged with the base sub-assembly arcuate side rails, and a collapsible energy absorber element functionally positioned intermediate the base sub-assembly and the seat sub-assembly.

Claims

1. A child safety seat for use in an automotive vehicle, and comprising:

a base sub-assembly having a spaced-apart pair of rigidly attached side rail elements which each have a longitudinally arcuate configuration;

a seat sub-assembly supported by said base sub-assembly and having an occupant restraint means and a spaced-apart pair of rigidly attached side rail elements which each have a longitudinally arcuate configuration and is slidably engaged with a respective one of said base sub-assembly side rail elements; and

collapsible energy absorbing means connected to said base sub-assembly and to said seat sub-assembly;

said base and seat sub-assembly longitudinally arcuate side rail configurations having the same axis of rotation, and said collapsible energy absorbing means being collapsed when said seat sub-assembly is rotated in a given direction relative to said base sub-assembly.

2. The child safety seat defined by claim 1 wherein said energy absorbing means comprises a collapsible honeycomb core cylinder.

3. The child safety seat defined by claim 2 and further comprised of shear pin means functionally positioned intermediate said base sub-assembly and said seat sub-assembly, said shear pin means restraining said seat sub-assembly attached side rail elements from slidable movement relative to said base sub-assembly attached side rail elements until a threshold level of seat subassembly inertial force has been attained by the seat sub-assembly.