High-back child restraint system

• US 5,964,502 A
• Filed: 10/25/1996
• Issued: 10/12/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Evenflo Company Incorporated (Goodbaby International Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: Evenflo Company Incorporated (Goodbaby International Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: Stephens, William B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, STEPHEN A
• Application Number:
  US08/736,971
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• Field of Search: 297/250.1, 297/256.13, 297/363, 297/364, 297/188.01, 297/484, 297/473, 297/483
• US Class Current: 297/250.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2812 for securing the child to the child seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2878 the back-rest being inclinable
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2205/30 Seat or seat parts characterised by comprising plural parts or pieces
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 3/103 detachable

Abstract

A child restraint system including a seat back pivotably connected to a seat bottom and having a fabric cover thereon. The seat back includes two oblong openings defined therein which are covered by mesh portions provided on the fabric cover to allow for the improved flow of air between the area behind and to the side of the seat back and the area in the vicinity of the torso of the child occupying the child restraint system and to allow for the easy connection of the child restraint system to the seat of the motor vehicle. A guide providing multiple possible positions for a shoulder belt of the motor vehicle seat belt system is provided on the seat back. The guide may be fixed with a plurality of fixed channels thereon for receiving and retaining the shoulder belt or the guide may be movable relative to the seat back, being yieldingly held in place by a spring and a pattern of serrations defined on the guide. The tiltable connection of the seat back to the seat bottom is accomplished by a pivot pin received within each of the seat back and the seat bottom. A locking member is selectively receivable within bores defined in the seat back and the seat bottom to prevent further pivotable movement.

Claims

1. A child restraint system adapted for use in a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having a sent therein and a seat belt system for restraining passengers therein, the motor vehicle seat belt system including a first engagement member associated with the motor vehicle seat and a continuous waist and shoulder belt associated with the motor vehicle seat onto which a second engagement member is slidably received so that when the first and second engagement members are engaged to each other, the second engagement member divides the continuous waist and shoulder belt into a waist belt portion and a shoulder belt portion, the child restraint system being adapted for boosting a child up from the motor vehicle seat, the child restraint system and the child being restrained in the motor vehicle sect by the motor vehicle seat belt system which passes over and around both the child restraint system and the child, the child restraint system comprising:

a seat platform adapted for resting on the motor vehicle seat;

a back platform attached to the seat platform, the back platform having ,ides and a top and a bottom thereon, the sides having upper and lower portions;

a belt guide attached to one side of the back platform in a position on an exterior of the child restraint system on the upper portion of the one side proximate to the top of the back platform and closer to the top than the bottom of the back platform, the belt guide defining at least three open adjacent, spaced-apart channels therein for removably receiving the shoulder belt portion of the continuous waist and shoulder belt in a selected one of the channels, the shoulder belt portion being slidable within the selected channel, the channels of the belt guide providing multiple spaced-apart locations for selectively positioning the shoulder belt portion in one of the multiple locations so that the shoulder belt portion can be positioned adjacent and resting on the front chest side of the child at a central point between the child'"'"'s neck and the shoulder when the first and second engagement members of the motor vehicle seat belt system are engaged to each other.

2. A child restraint system as defined in claim 1, wherein the belt guide is fixedly attached to the side of the back platform, the belt guide including a plurality of fixed open channels defined therein.

3. A child restraint system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the open channels includes a pair of opposed fingers that form a gap therebetween for threading the shoulder belt portion of the continuous waist and shoulder bell in and out of the channel.

4. A child restraint system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the open channels is defined by rigid members.

5. A child restraint system adapted for use in a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having a seat therein and a seat belt system for restraining passengers therein, the motor vehicle seat belt system including a shoulder belt, the child restraint system being adapted for boosting a child up from the motor vehicle seat, the child restraint system and the child being restrained in the motor vehicle seat by the motor vehicle seat belt system which passes over and around both the child restraint system and the child, the child restraint system comprising:

a seat platform adapted for resting on the motor vehicle seat;

a back platform attached to the seat platform, the back platform having sides thereon, the sides having upper and lower portions;

a belt guide attached to one side of the back platform in a position on an exterior of the child restraint system, the belt guide defining an open channel therein for removably receiving the motor vehicle shoulder belt, the motor vehicle shoulder belt being slidable within the channel, the belt guide providing multiple locations for positioning the motor vehicle shoulder belt so that the motor vehicle shoulder belt can be positioned adjacent and resting on the front chest side of the child at a central point between the child'"'"'s neck and the shoulder;

wherein the belt guide is fixedly attached to the side of the back platform, the belt guide including a plurality of fixed open channels defined therein, and further wherein each fixed open channel includes a bottom, two side walls, and two portions of a top, each portion of the top being attached to opposite ones of the side walls to define a gap between the two top portions, wherein the shoulder belt is insertable into and removable from the belt guide transversely through the gap, the top portions serving to retain the shoulder belt in the belt guide after the shoulder belt is threaded through the gap.

6. A child restraint system for restraining a child, comprising:

a platform base providing structural support to the child restraint system, the platform base including a seat bottom and a seat back, the seat back having a central portion and two side portions, with the central portion and each of the two side portions defining an opening substantially larger than the largest cross-sectional dimension of a motor vehicle seat belt therebetween proximate to the position of the child'"'"'s torso when the child is seated in the child restraint system; and

a fabric cover disposed on top of the platform base and snugly fitted thereto, the fabric cover being suitable for sitting on by the child, the fabric cover including a seat bottom portion and a seat back portion, the seat back portion having a central portion and two side portions, with the central portion and each of the two side portions being separated by a mesh portion, the fabric cove being adapted so that when snugly fitted to the platform base, the sect bottom portion of the fabric cover corresponds to and fits to the seat bottom of the platform base and the seat back portion of the fabric cover corresponds to and fits to the seat back of the platform base, with the mesh portion on each side of the fabric cover being aligned with and corresponding to the opening defined between the central portion and the sides of the seat back of the platform base, to allow for the increased circulation of air to and from the vicinity surrounding the child'"'"'s torso, the mesh portions each having an open texture with a plurality of evenly-spaced holes defined therein.

7. A child restraint system as defined in claim 6, wherein the opening covers a surface area greater than ten square inches.

8. A child restraint system for restraining a child, comprising:

a sect platform adapted for a child to sit thereon, the seat platform including a neck protruding from a backside thereof;

a back platform having an opening defined in a lower region thereof for slidably receiving the neck of the seat platform in the opening to engage the seat platform and the back platform together, the back platform being pivotably attached to the seat platform at a pivot point to allow the back platform to be positioned at one of a plurality of pivotable positions relative to the sect platform, the back platform being selectively attachable at a plurality of fixed positions to the seat platform by a locking member which is received within a cylindrical bore defined on one of the neck of the seat platform and the lower region of the back platform and which is selectively received within one of a plurality of spaced-apart cylindrical bores defined on the other of the neck of the seat platform and the lower region of the back platform, the plurality of cylindrical bores being located on an arcuate line, the plurality of cylindrical bores each having a diameter slightly larger than a diameter of the locking member to snugly and slidably receive the locking member.

9. A child restraint system as defined in claim 8, wherein the locking member is an elongated, cylindrical pin.