Infant vehicle seat with tiltable base

• US 6,554,358 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2000
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc. (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cosco Management Incorporated (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kain, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): BARFIELD, ANTHONY DERRELL
• Application Number:
  US09/751,107
• Publication Number:
  US 20020084680A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: 797/256.13, 797/256.14
• US Class Current: 297/256.13
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2806 for securing the child seat to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2821 having a seat and a base part
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2845 having handles
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2863 backward facing
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2875 inclinable, as a whole or partially

Abstract

A tiltable base is adapted to rest on a vehicle seat and support a juvenile vehicle seat in a desired position with respect to the underlying vehicle seat. The base includes a support foundation, a seat support movable relative to the support foundation, and a retainer configured to retain the seat support in selected positions relative to the support foundation and to release the seat support for movement relative to the support foundation.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising

a juvenile seat including a seat bottom and a seat back and

a base to be coupled to the juvenile seat, the base having a front edge positioned to lie directly under the seat back, the base comprising:

a support foundation adapted to set on a vehicle seat,

a seat support to be coupled to the juvenile seat and mounted to move relative to the support foundation to establish a position of the juvenile seat relative to the support foundation, and

an actuator mounted to move between a locked position retaining the seat support in a fixed position relative to the support foundation and an unlocked position releasing the seat support for movement relative to the support foundation, the actuator being positioned to be actuated from the front edge of the base.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the front edge of the base provides an opening, and the actuator includes a handle positioned to lie in the opening.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support foundation includes a frame having an anchor support and an anchor carried by the anchor support, the frame having first and second legs extending transversely from the anchor support.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein a first pivot mount is coupled to the first frame leg and a second pivot mount is coupled to the second frame leg, the first and second pivot mounts cooperate to provide a pivot axis about which there is relative movement between the seat support and support foundation.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the anchor has an axis substantially parallel to the pivot axis.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the anchor is positioned to lie between the first and second frame legs.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the actuator includes an end configured selectively to engage the anchor so as to provide the locked position when the end is engaged with the anchor and the unlocked position when the end is disengaged with the anchor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the end of the actuator includes a first forked arm and a second forked arm in spaced relation to the first forked arm, the first and second forked arms cooperating selectively to engage and disengage the anchor.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the end provides a plurality of notches for selective engagement of the anchor with one of the notches.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the relative movement between the seat support and the support foundation is pivotal about an axis near the front edge of the base.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a spring is coupled to the actuator for biasing the actuator in the locked position.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the seat support includes a mounting rod for mounting the seat to the seat support and the actuator includes a slot formed to accommodate the mounting rod and provide a sliding relationship between the actuator and the seat support.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuator can be operated when the juvenile seat is coupled to the seat support and when the juvenile seat is decoupled from the seat support.

14. An apparatus for retaining a juvenile in a vehicle seat, the apparatus comprising

a juvenile seat,

a seat support having a rear portion adapted to rest against a vehicle seat back and a front portion opposite the rear portion, the seat support being adapted to receive the juvenile seat thereon and to pivot relative to the support foundation about an axis substantially at the front portion of the seat support,

a support foundation pivotally coupled to the seat support and adapted to lie on a vehicle seat, and

an actuator coupled to the seat support, the actuator accessible from the front portion of the seat support and movable between a locked position and an unlocked position to provide movement of the seat support relative to the support foundation.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the support foundation includes an anchor and the actuator includes a plurality of notches for selectively receiving the anchor.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the actuator is engaged with the anchor in the locked position and the actuator is disengaged from the anchor in the unlocked position.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the actuator includes a handle for selectively positioning the actuator in one of the locked position and the unlocked position.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the handle is positioned to lie in an opening formed in the front portion of the seat support.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a spring for biasing the actuator in the engaged position.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the actuator can be operated when the juvenile seat is received on the seat support.

21. A seat mount for a juvenile seat, the seat mount comprising

a seat support having a rear portion adapted to rest against a vehicle seat back,

a support foundation coupled to the seat support to pivot relative to the seat support about an axis positioned substantially at a front portion of the seat support, and

means for permitting adjustable movement of the support foundation relative to the seat support to establish a position of the juvenile seat relative to the support foundation so that the juvenile seat is oriented to lie in a desired position regardless of the inclination of the vehicle seat underlying the support foundation, wherein the permitting means is accessible to a caregiver when the juvenile seat is coupled to the seat support and the seat support is mounted on the vehicle seat and further wherein the moving means is actuated from a front portion of the seat support.

22. The seat mount of claim 21, wherein the moving means includes an anchor coupled to the support foundation and an actuator, the actuator and the anchor cooperating to provide a locked position when the actuator is engaged with the anchor and an unlocked position when the actuator is disengaged with the anchor.

23. The seat mount of claim 22, wherein the anchor is a rod and the actuator includes an end having a plurality of notches adapted to engage the rod in a selected one of the notches.

24. The seat mount of claim 22, wherein the actuator includes a handle for moving the actuator between the locked position and the unlocked position.

25. The seat mount of claim 22, wherein the moving means includes a spring for biasing the moving means in the locked position.

26. An apparatus comprising

a juvenile seat and

a base under the juvenile seat,

the base including a support foundation adapted to set on a vehicle seat and formed to include an anchor, a seat support coupled to the juvenile seat and mounted for movement relative to the support foundation in a region above the seat foundation and below the juvenile seat, and an actuator mounted for movement relative to the seat support to engage the anchor to block further movement of the seat support relative to the support foundation to establish a position of the juvenile seat relative to the support foundation, wherein the actuator includes a grip handle positioned to lie at a first end of the base and the anchor is positioned to lie at an opposite second end of the base.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the actuator further includes a frame arranged to extend under the Juvenile seat from the first end of the base to the second end of the base, the grip handle is coupled to a first end of the frame, and an anchor receiver is coupled to an opposite second end of the frame and arranged to engage and disengage the anchor in response to movement of the actuator relative to the juvenile seat.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the anchor receiver is formed to include a series of spaced-apart anchor-receiving slots, each anchor-receiving slot corresponds to a distinct inclined position of the seat support relative to the support foundation, and the anchor is sized to fit into one of the anchoring receiving slots upon movement of the seat support about a pivot axis relative to the support foundation to establish an inclined position of the seat support and juvenile seat coupled thereto relative to the support foundation.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the pivot axis is arranged to extend through the first end of the base and lie in perpendicular relation to the frame of the actuator.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the anchor is defined by an elongated rod arranged to lie in spaced-apart parallel relation to the pivot axis, the frame includes a pair of laterally spaced-apart forked arms, a first of the forked arms includes a forked end configured to define the anchor receiver and arranged to engage a left-side portion of the elongated rod, and a second of the forked arms includes a forked end configured to define another anchor receiver and arranged to engage a right-side portion of the elongated rod.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the seat support includes a shell and a mounting rod coupled to the shell and coupled to the juvenile seat, the frame is formed to include at least one oblong slot, and the mounting rod is arranged to extend through the at least one oblong slot to limit movement of the actuator relative to the seat support as the actuator moves between a locked position wherein the anchor receiver engages the anchor to retain the scat support in a fixed position relative to the support foundation and an unlocked position wherein the anchor receiver disengages the anchor to release the seat support for movement relative to the support foundation.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the mounting rod includes two spaced-apart exposed portions coupled to the juvenile seat and a covered portion located under the shell and between the two spaced-apart exposed portions and the covered portion is arranged to extend through the at least one oblong slot formed in the frame.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the actuator is mounted for movement between a locked position wherein the anchor receiver engages the anchor to retain the seat support in a fixed position relative to the support foundation and an unlocked position wherein the anchor receiver disengages the anchor to release the seat support for movement relative to the support foundation and the actuator further includes a spring located between the anchor receiver and the grip handle and arranged to engage the frame and the seat support to bias the actuate toward the locked position.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the frame includes a post carrying the spring and extending into a post receiver formed in the seat support to cause one end of the spring to engage the frame and an opposite end of the spring to engage the seat support.

35. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the juvenile seat includes a seat bottom coupled to the seat support and a seat back arranged to extend away from the seat bottom and overlie the first end of the base and the grip handle provided at the first end of the base.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the seat support is formed to include a notch providing an opening in the first end of the base under the seat back and the grip handle is positioned to lie in the notch.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the actuator further includes a frame mounted for movement relative to the seat support and a spring carried on the frame and arranged to engage the seat support normally to bias the frame to move toward the second end of the base to cause an anchor receiver coupled to a second end of the frame to engage the anchor to establish a fixed position of the seat support and the juvenile seat coupled thereto relative to the support foundation and to cause the grip handle coupled to an opposite first end of the frame to lie in the notch formed in the seat support.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the seat support is mounted to the support foundation to pivot about a pivot axis arranged to lie under the seat back.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the support foundation includes a movable end carrying the anchor and cooperating with the seat support to establish the second end of the base and a pivot end lying under the seat back and cooperating with the seat support to establish the first end of the base.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the pivot end of the support foundation includes a first pivot mount coupled to the seat support along the pivot axis and a second pivot mount located in spaced-apart relation to the first pivot mount to locate the grip handle therebetween and coupled to the seat support along the pivot axis.

41. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein a pivot end of the seat support is coupled to a pivot end of the support foundation at a pivot axis established at the first end of the base to allow pivotable movement of the seat support relative to the support foundation about the pivot axis.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the seat support is formed to include a notch providing an opening in the first end of the base and the grip handle is positioned to lie in the notch.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the actuator further includes a frame mounted for movement relative to the seat support and a spring carried on the frame and arranged to engage the seat support normally to bias the frame to move toward the second end of the base to cause an anchor receiver coupled to a second end of the frame to engage the anchor to establish a fixed position of the seat support and the juvenile seat coupled thereto relative to the support foundation and to cause the grip handle coupled to an opposite first end of the frame to lie in the notch formed in the seat support.

44. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the pivot end of the support foundation includes a first pivot mount coupled to the seat support along the pivot axis and a second pivot mount located in spaced-apart relation to the first pivot mount to locate the grip handle therebetween and coupled to the seat support along the pivot axis wherein the actuator includes a grip handle positioned to lie at a fir anchor is positioned to lie at an opposite second end of the base.