Child restraint for vehicle
First Claim
1. A child restraint is provided for use with both a vehicle passenger seat and anchor mounts provided near the vehicle passenger seat, the child restraint comprisinga juvenile holder including a juvenile seat shell and a shell-support base, the shell-support base having a foundation adapted to set on a bench included in a passenger seat in a vehicle and a back extending upwardly from the foundation along an upright backrest included in the passenger seat in the vehicle, the foundation being formed to include a first belt-support pad and a second belt-support pad arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the first belt-support pad to form a belt-receiving channel therebetween, the foundation of the shell-support base being arranged to support the juvenile seat shell in a stationary position thereon,an anchor belt arranged to overlie the first and second belt-support pads and to communicate with the belt-receiving channel therebetween, the anchor belt including a strap having opposite end portions and a central portion interconnecting the opposite end portions and lying on the first and second belt-support pads to form a bridge spanning the belt-receiving channel and a connector coupled to each end portion and adapted to be coupled to one of the anchor mounts to establish a belt path of the anchor belt relative to the first and second belt-support pads when the central portion of the strap lies on the first and second belt-support pads and each connector mates with a companion one of the anchor mounts following initial installation of the anchor belt on the shell-support base to assume a just-installed position and to cause the anchor belt to produce an initial tension measurement when exposed to a belt-tension gauge during an initial belt-tensioning test, anda belt tensioner coupled to the back of the shell-support base and configured to include a belt pusher arranged to lie above a section of the central portion of the strap spanning the belt-receiving channel and move in up-and-down relation to the shell-support base in a guide formed in the back of the shell-support base and belt-path changer means for applying a downward force to the belt pusher to move the belt pusher in the guide in a downward direction toward the foundation to engage the central portion of the anchor belt before the juvenile seat shell is coupled to the foundation of the shell-support base and while the connectors included in the anchor belt remain coupled to the anchor mounts and the anchor belt remains in contact with the first and second belt-support pads to cause a change in the belt path of the anchor belt relative to the first and second belt-support pads to establish a first changed belt path to increase tension in the anchor belt to produce a predetermined tension measurement that is greater than the initial tension measurement when exposed to the belt-tension gauge during a subsequent second belt-tensioning test so that movement of the shell-support base and the juvenile seat shell coupled to the foundation of shell-support base relative to an underlying vehicle passenger seat is limited in accordance with a predetermined specification.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A child restraint includes a base, a seat, and an anchor belt. The anchor belt holds the base in place on a passenger seat of a vehicle. The seat mounts on the base and supports a child or infant for travel in the vehicle above the base.
-
Citations
31 Claims
-
1. A child restraint is provided for use with both a vehicle passenger seat and anchor mounts provided near the vehicle passenger seat, the child restraint comprising
a juvenile holder including a juvenile seat shell and a shell-support base, the shell-support base having a foundation adapted to set on a bench included in a passenger seat in a vehicle and a back extending upwardly from the foundation along an upright backrest included in the passenger seat in the vehicle, the foundation being formed to include a first belt-support pad and a second belt-support pad arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the first belt-support pad to form a belt-receiving channel therebetween, the foundation of the shell-support base being arranged to support the juvenile seat shell in a stationary position thereon, an anchor belt arranged to overlie the first and second belt-support pads and to communicate with the belt-receiving channel therebetween, the anchor belt including a strap having opposite end portions and a central portion interconnecting the opposite end portions and lying on the first and second belt-support pads to form a bridge spanning the belt-receiving channel and a connector coupled to each end portion and adapted to be coupled to one of the anchor mounts to establish a belt path of the anchor belt relative to the first and second belt-support pads when the central portion of the strap lies on the first and second belt-support pads and each connector mates with a companion one of the anchor mounts following initial installation of the anchor belt on the shell-support base to assume a just-installed position and to cause the anchor belt to produce an initial tension measurement when exposed to a belt-tension gauge during an initial belt-tensioning test, and a belt tensioner coupled to the back of the shell-support base and configured to include a belt pusher arranged to lie above a section of the central portion of the strap spanning the belt-receiving channel and move in up-and-down relation to the shell-support base in a guide formed in the back of the shell-support base and belt-path changer means for applying a downward force to the belt pusher to move the belt pusher in the guide in a downward direction toward the foundation to engage the central portion of the anchor belt before the juvenile seat shell is coupled to the foundation of the shell-support base and while the connectors included in the anchor belt remain coupled to the anchor mounts and the anchor belt remains in contact with the first and second belt-support pads to cause a change in the belt path of the anchor belt relative to the first and second belt-support pads to establish a first changed belt path to increase tension in the anchor belt to produce a predetermined tension measurement that is greater than the initial tension measurement when exposed to the belt-tension gauge during a subsequent second belt-tensioning test so that movement of the shell-support base and the juvenile seat shell coupled to the foundation of shell-support base relative to an underlying vehicle passenger seat is limited in accordance with a predetermined specification.
-
26. A child restraint comprising
a juvenile holder including a shell-support base having a foundation adapted to set on a bench included in a passenger seat in a vehicle in close proximity to first and second anchor mounts included in the vehicle and a back extending upwardly from the foundation and a juvenile seat shell adapted to be coupled to the shell-support base, the back of the shell-support base having a rear face adapted to face toward a backrest included in the passenger seat and arranged to extend upwardly from the bench and a front face arranged to face toward the juvenile seat shell when the juvenile seat shell is coupled to the shell-support bases base, an anchor belt including a first connector adapted to be coupled to the first anchor mount, a second connector adapted to be coupled to the second anchor mount, and a strap arranged to extend between the first and second anchor mounts and lie on the shell-support base along an initial belt path when the first connector is coupled to the first anchor mount and the second connector is coupled to the second anchor mount to establish a just-installed position of the anchor belt on the shell-support base, and a belt tensioner coupled to the front face of the back of shell-support base, the belt tensioner including belt-path changer means for changing the belt path of the anchor belt before the juvenile seat shell is coupled to the shell-support base and while the anchor belt is coupled to the first and second anchor mounts from the initial belt path to a first changed belt path to take slack out of the anchor belt so as to increase tension in the anchor belt from an initial installation tension associated with the just-installed position of the anchor belt to a relatively greater predetermined tension so that movement of the shell-support base and the juvenile seat shell coupled to the shell-support base relative to an underlying passenger seat in a vehicle is limited in accordance with a predetermined specification, wherein the belt-path changer means includes an actuator lever mounted on the back for pivotable movement about an actuator pivot axis, a belt pusher arranged to lie between the foundation and the actuator pivot axis and above the strap of the anchor belt, and a force-transfer device arranged to interconnect the belt pusher and the actuator lever and extend in an upward direction away from the foundation toward the actuator lever.
-
28. A child restraint comprising
a juvenile holder including a shell-support base including a foundation adapted to set on a passenger seat in a vehicle in close proximity to first and second anchor mounts included in the vehicle and a juvenile seat shell adapted to be coupled to the foundation of the shell-support base, an anchor belt including a first connector adapted to be coupled to the first anchor mount, a second connector adapted to be coupled to the second anchor mount, and a strap arranged to extend between the first and second anchor mounts and lie on the shell-support base along an initial belt path when the first connector is coupled to the first anchor mount and the second connector is coupled to the second anchor mount to establish a just-installed position of the anchor belt on the shell-support base, and a belt tensioner coupled to a back of the shell-support base that is arranged to extend upwardly from the foundation, wherein the belt tensioner is configured to include a belt pusher, a pivotable actuator lever separated from the belt pusher and mounted on the back of the shell-support base, and means for using the belt pusher in response to pivoting movement of the pivotable actuator lever toward the foundation to move the anchor belt downwardly relative to the shell-support base toward a portion of the passenger seat underlying the shell-support base before the juvenile seat shell is coupled to the foundation of the shell-support base and while the anchor belt is coupled to the first and second anchor mounts and a portion of the anchor belt remains in contact with a portion of the shell-support base from the initial belt path to a first changed belt path to take slack out of the anchor belt so as to increase tension in the anchor belt from an initial installation tension associated with the just-installed position of the anchor belt to a relatively greater predetermined tension so that movement of the shell-support base and the juvenile seat shell later coupled to the foundation of the shell-support base relative to an underlying passenger seat in a vehicle is limited in accordance with a predetermined specification.
-
29. A child restraint is provided for use with both a vehicle passenger seat and anchor mounts provided near the vehicle passenger seat, the child restraint comprising
a juvenile holder including a juvenile seat shell and a shell-support base formed to include a first belt-support pad and a second belt-support pad arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the first belt-support pad to form a belt-receiving channel therebetween, the shell-support base being adapted for mounting on the vehicle passenger seat and arranged to support the juvenile seat shell in a stationary position thereon, an anchor belt arranged to overlie the first and second belt-support pads and to communicate with the belt-receiving channel therebetween, the anchor belt including a strap having opposite end portions and a central portion interconnecting the opposite end portions and lying on the first and second belt-support pads to form a bridge spanning the belt-receiving channel and a connector coupled to each end portion and adapted to be coupled to one of the anchor mounts to establish a belt path of the anchor belt relative to the first and second belt-support pads when the central portion of the strap lies on the first and second belt-support pads and each connector mates with a companion one of the anchor mounts following initial installation of the anchor belt on the shell-support base to assume a just-installed position and to cause the anchor belt to produce an initial tension measurement when exposed to a belt-tension gauge during an initial belt-tensioning test, and a belt tensioner coupled to the shell-support base and configured to include a belt pusher arranged to lie above a section of the central portion of the strap spanning the belt-receiving channel and move in up-and-down relation to the shell-support base in a guide formed in the shell-support base and belt-path changer means for applying a downward force to the belt pusher to move the belt pusher in the guide in a downward direction to engage the central portion of the anchor belt before the juvenile seat shell is coupled to the shell-support base and while the connectors included in the anchor belt remain coupled to the anchor mounts and the anchor belt remains in contact with the first and second belt-support pads to cause a change in the belt path of the anchor belt relative to the first and second belt-support pads to establish a first changed belt path to increase tension in the anchor belt to produce a predetermined tension measurement that is greater than the initial tension measurement when exposed to the belt-tension gauge during a subsequent second belt-tensioning test so that movement of the shell-support base and the juvenile seat shell coupled to the shell-support base relative to an underlying vehicle passenger seat is limited in accordance with a predetermined specification, wherein the belt-path changer means includes an actuator lever mounted for pivotable movement on the shell-support base about an actuator pivot axis from an inactive position associated with an initial belt path corresponding to the just-installed position of the anchor belt to an active position associated with the first changed belt path of the anchor belt and a force-transfer device coupled to the actuator lever for pivotable movement about a mount pivot axis and coupled to the belt pusher and configured to apply the downward force to the belt pusher in response to pivoting movement of the actuator lever about the actuator pivot axis relative to the shell-support base from the inactive position to the active position, wherein the force-transfer device includes an upper end coupled to the actuator lever at the mount pivot axis and an opposite lower end and the belt pusher includes a push plate arranged to engage the central portion of the strap of the anchor belt and a push rod arranged to extend upwardly from the push plate to engage the lower end of the force-transfer device, and wherein the actuator lever is formed to include an interior region and the force-transfer device is arranged to lie in the interior region of the actuator lever upon movement of the actuator lever to the active position.
Specification