Child car seat having active protection means

• US 9,707,868 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2013
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc. (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc. (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Garnier, Nicolas, Renaudin, Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): Beck, Karen
• Application Number:
  US14/437,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20150291065A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: 280733
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0276 reaction to emergency situations, e.g. crash
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/265 Adaptations for seat belts
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2812 for securing the child to the child seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2884 with protection systems against abnormal g-forces
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2887 Fixation to a transversal anchorage bar, e.g. isofix
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42781 mechanical triggering

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns a child car seat comprising an active protection system and a system for triggering the active protection system when needed.

Claims

1. A child care device comprising a child car seat, active protection means and means for triggering said active protection means to deploy the active protection means, in case of need,

characterised in that said triggering means deliver a command for triggering said active protection means according to a combination of at least two signals:

at least one first signal delivered by a piece of equipment of said child car seat, indicating a use of said child car seat in a vehicle and that deployment of the active protection means is permitted, and

at least one second signal delivered by detection means, indicating the detection of an accident situation.

2. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that the or at least one of said first signals is delivered by one of the means belonging to the group comprising:

the sensors of the locking of said car seat to said vehicle;

the sensors of the locking of the straps for retaining a child in said car seat;

the sensors of the presence of a child in said car seat.

3. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that said detection means include electronic means, implementing at least one accelerometer.

4. The child care device according to claim 3, characterised in that said detection means take an adjustable triggering threshold into account.

5. The child care device according to claim 4, characterised in that said triggering threshold can be adjusted according to at least one of the parameters belonging to the group comprising:

the weight of the child;

the height of the child;

the deceleration of the vehicle;

the speed of the vehicle;

the direction of the impact.

6. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that said detection means comprise mechanical means, implementing at least one mobile inertia block subjected to a force of inertia.

7. The child care device according to claim 6, characterised in that said detection means include mechanical means and electronic means implementing at least one accelerometer, said mechanical means activating the electrical power supply of said electronic means, when a force of inertia greater than a first acceleration threshold, called the waking threshold, is detected, and said electronic means delivering said second signal, when they detect an acceleration force that is greater than a second threshold, greater than said first threshold and corresponding to an accident situation.

8. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that the or at least one of said second signals is delivered by said vehicle, according to the measurement signals delivered by sensors embedded in the latter.

9. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that at least one portion of said detection means are placed in, on or in the vicinity of a hooking clamp of said seat, intended to cooperate with an anchoring ring integral with said vehicle.

10. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises means that indicate that said active protection means have been triggered and/or that prevent the use of said car seat if said active protection means have been triggered.

11. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that said active protection means comprise at least one airbag.

12. The child care device according to claim 11, characterised in that it comprises two airbags, housed on or in the shoulder straps of a harness or on or in sheaths mounted on said shoulder straps, and which can be made integral by connecting means.

13. The child care device according to claim 12, characterised in that said connecting means carry a locking sensor, delivering the or at least one of said first signals.

14. The child care device according to claim 1, characterised in that said active protection means include at least one of the means belonging to the group comprising:

means for blocking or increasing the tension of a “

top tether”

strap, or anti-tipping strap, intended to fasten an upper portion of said seat and an anchoring point in said vehicle;

means for blocking or increasing the tension of the harness straps of said car seat, intended to maintain a child in said seat;

means for uprighting the seatback of said car seat;

means for deploying an anti-submarining device;

means for compressing the child seat on an armchair or a seat of the vehicle, on lower Isofix®

anchorings;

means for modifying the inclination of the seat by the intermediary of a support leg.

15. A child care device comprising

a child holder including child car seat adapted to set on a passenger seat in a vehicle and a child-restraint harness associated with the child car seat and formed to include a first shoulder strap and a second shoulder strap arranged to lie alongside and in spaced-apart relation to the first shoulder strap to provide a neck-receiving space therebetween through which the neck of a child extends when the child-restraint harness is worn by a child seated on the child car seat,

an inflatable head-cushion system coupled to the child-restraint harness and configured to include a first inflatable element linked to the first shoulder strap and a second inflatable element linked to the second shoulder strap, each of the first and second inflatable elements being activated to change from a compact storage shape to a relatively larger expanded use shape so as to cause each of the first and second inflatable elements to deploy and cushion the head of a child seated on the child car seat and restrained by the child-restraint harness, and

inflation means for activating the first and second inflatable elements to assume the relatively larger expanded use shapes in response to generation of both of a first signal associated with establishment of a predetermined car seat condition of one of the child car seat and the child-restraint harness and a second signal associated with detection of exposure of the child car seat to an external force in excess of a predetermined level so that each of the first and second inflatable elements change shape to assume the relatively larger expanded use shape after the predetermined car seat condition is established and after exposure of the child car seat to an external force in excess of the predetermined level is detected.

16. The child care device of claim 15, wherein the inflation means includes detection means for detecting application of an external force to the child car seat and generating the second signal when the external force is in excess of a predetermined level.

17. The child care device of claim 16, wherein the detection means is coupled to the child car seat to move therewith relative to the vehicle passenger seat.

18. The child care device of claim 17, wherein the detection means comprises mechanical means for implementing at least one mobile inertia block subjected to a force of inertia.

19. The child care device of claim 17, wherein the detection means comprises a preloaded spring and an inertial block coupled to the preloaded spring to form an inertial sensor and displacement of the inertial block beyond a chosen threshold causes generation of the second signal.

20. The child care device of claim 16, wherein the detection means includes electronic means for electronically generating the second signal in response to detection of a change in acceleration of the child car seat in excess of a relatively high triggering threshold and mechanical means for activating the electronic means to generate the second signal upon exposure to a change in acceleration of the child car seat in excess of a relatively low waking threshold as compared to the relatively high triggering threshold.

21. The child care device of claim 16, further comprising a hooking clamp coupled to the child car seat and configured to mate with an anchoring ring separated from the child car seat and adapted to be mounted in a stationary position relative to the vehicle passenger seat and the detection means is coupled to the hooking clamp.

22. The child care device of claim 16, wherein the inflation means further includes placement-sensor means for determining that the child car seat is retained in a predetermined location on the vehicle passenger seat to establish the predetermined car seat condition and generating the first signal when the child car seat is retained in the predetermined location.

23. The child care device of claim 16, wherein the inflation means further includes seat-lock sensor means for determining that the child car seat is retained in a stationary locked position on the vehicle passenger seat to establish the predetermined car seat condition and generating the first signal when the child car seat is retained in the stationary locked position.

24. The child care device of claim 16, wherein the child-restraint harness further includes a chest clip comprising a first part coupled to the first shoulder strap and a second part coupled to the second shoulder strap and configured to mate with the first part to maintain relative position of the first shoulder strap relative to the second shoulder strap when the child-restraint harness is worn by a child seated on the child car seat and the inflation means further includes strap-locking means for determining that the first part of the chest clip is mated to the second part of the chest clip to establish the predetermined car seat condition and generating the first signal when the first and second parts are mated.

25. The child care device of claim 16, wherein the inflation means further includes child-presence sensor means for sensing an external weight force applied to a seat portion of the child car seat to determine that a child is seated on the child car seat to establish the predetermined car seat condition and generating the first signal when the external weight force exceeds a predetermined level.