Car seat pillow
The car seat pillow is in the form of an elongated, generally cylindrically shaped pillow casing filled with pillow stuffing. Each end face of the pillow is provided with an attaching element to adjustably attach the pillow to the support frame of a car seat. Each attaching element may include a flexible strap for releasable engagement with a corresponding shoulder strap guide formed on the sides of a car seat.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/034,709, filed Jan. 14, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/541,951, filed Feb. 6, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to car seat accessories, and more particularly to a child car seat pillow.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,245, issued Nov. 12, 1991 to Stephens, teaches an inflatable pillow construction for mounting and positioning adjacent a side rotating wall of an associated child car seat that includes an elongate tubular cushioned member mounting a pillow member at its upper terminal end. Straps with clips may be provided on the inflatable construction to secure the pillow to the car seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,611, issued Jun. 13, 1989, teaches a car seat pillow constructed of foam having a pair of side cushions engageable with opposite sides of a child's head. A neck cushion extends between the side cushions and tether straps are provided on the side cushions for attaching the cushions to the shoulder straps of a child safety harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,832, issued Jul. 31, 2001 to Ezell, shows an infant cranial support system adapted to cushion and support the head of an infant carried in an infant restraining car seat. A first toroidal cushion receives the posterior region of the infant's skull and is provide with a relieved region next to the neck of the infant. A second toroidal cushion is preferably provided to encircle the neck of the infant to cushion against lateral and forward motion of the head. The cushions may be releasably attached to each other and at least one strap fastener is provide for attaching the system to the restraining straps of the car seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,901, issued Feb. 25, 2003, teaches a child's sleep collar having a pair of collar supports forming a left and a right collar support. Each of the supports has a body, an attachment end, and a coupling end. The attachment end includes an attachment strap and is designed to attach to a left or right belt-positioning clip of a child safety seat. The attachment ends releasably engage each other to prevent strangulation of the child during an accidental impact.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe car seat pillow of the present invention is provided in the form of an elongated, generally cylindrically shaped pillow casing filled with pillow stuffing. Each end face of the pillow is provided with means to adjustably tether the pillow to a car seat. The pillow is suspended by the tethering means between the shoulders of a child car seat in a position to comfortably cradle and support the chin and cheeks and control the amount of movement of the nodding head of a properly harnessed sleeping child during maneuvering of the vehicle.
It is an object to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes, which will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is a car seat pillow for a forward facing car seat or booster seat 20, as generally indicated in
In a first preferred form of the invention, (see
Tether strap 40 may be formed of one of canvas, nylon or any other suitable material. Self-tapping threaded fasteners 49 adjustably attach the strap 40 to the back 23 of the car seat support frame. The coupling members 35, 45, 36, 46 may be of any type of coupling, buckling or snap-fastener arrangement that is quickly releasable using a single hand. The pillow 30 is suspended by tether strap 40 across the shoulders of child, car seat 20 in a position over harness straps 24 and 25 to comfortably cradle and support the head of a sleeping child. See
Turning now to
A variation of the
Another form of the invention is shown in
In all forms of the present invention the pillow 30 is positioned to restrain movement of the head of the child immediately after the child's body engages the harness during an evasive braking maneuver, collision or impact. All forms of the invention may be used in similar fashion on umbrella strollers or the head rests of conventional adult car seats.
In the alternative embodiment of
The ends 131, 132 of casing 130 each have a flexible material flap 110 extending therefrom. Preferably, each first fastener 138 is a short hook and loop fastener patch attached to a respective flap 110, and each strap 133, 134 is attached to, and extends outwardly from, a respective flap 110, as shown. Second hook and loop fasteners 137 are elongated hook and loop fastener strips attached to straps 133 and 134.
In
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A car seat pillow, comprising:
- an elongated, generally cylindrically shaped pillow casing filled with pillow stuffing to form a pillow, the pillow having opposing first and second ends; and
- means for attaching the pillow to a pair of shoulder strap guides formed on a frame of a car seat in position to comfortably cradle and support a child's chin and cheeks while controlling movement of a properly harnessed sleeping child's nodding head in the car seat during maneuvering of a vehicle.
2. The car seat pillow according to claim 1, wherein said means for attaching comprises:
- first and second flexible straps extending from the first and second ends of said pillow, respectively, each of the straps having a free end; and
- means for forming a loop at the free end of each of the straps, the loops being adapted for attachment to the shoulder strap guides of the car seat.
3. The car seat pillow according to claim 2, wherein the first end of said pillow further comprises a first material flap and the second end of said pillow further comprises a second material flap, said first and second flexible straps being attached to the first and second material flaps, respectively.
4. The car seat pillow according to claim 3, wherein said loop-forming means comprises:
- first releasable fasteners attached to said first and second material flaps; and
- second releasable fasteners attached to said first and second straps, the second releasable fasteners engaging the first releasable fasteners to form the loops.
5. The seat belt pillow according to claim 4, wherein said first and second releasable fasteners comprise mating hook and loop fasteners.
6. The car seat pillow according to claim 4, wherein said first and second releasable fasteners comprise male and female snap fasteners.
7. The car seat pillow according to claim 1, wherein said pillow casing is hand washable.
8. A car seat pillow, comprising:
- an elongated, substantially cylindrical pillow having flaps extending from opposing ends thereof;
- a flexible strap extending from each of the flaps; and
- mating releasable fasteners attached to the flaps and the straps, respectively;
- whereby the straps are adapted for extending through shoulder guides on opposing sides of a car seat frame, the releasable fasteners mating to form loops attaching the pillow to the car seat frame for supporting a child's chin and restricting forward movement of the child's neck during sudden stops.
9. The car seat pillow according to claim 8, wherein said mating releasable fasteners comprise:
- a first short patch of hook and loop fastening material attached to each of said flaps; and
- a second elongated strip of hook and loop fastening material attached to each of said straps, the second hook and loop fastening material adjustably engaging the first hook and loop fastening material so that the loops are adjustable in size.
10. A child's car seat, comprising:
- a child's car seat frame having opposing sides and shoulder guides attached to the opposing sides;
- an elongated, substantially cylindrical pillow having flaps extending from opposing ends thereof;
- a flexible strap extending from each of the flaps; and
- mating releasable fasteners attached to the flaps and the straps, respectively, the straps extending through the shoulder guides and the releasable fasteners mating to form loops attaching the pillow to the car seat frame for supporting a child's chin and restricting forward movement of the child's neck during sudden stops.
11. The child's car seat according to claim 10, wherein said mating releasable fasteners comprise:
- a first short patch of hook and loop fastening material attached to each of said flaps; and
- a second elongated strip of hook and loop fastening material attached to each of said straps, the second hook and loop fastening material adjustable engaging the first hook and loop fastening material so that the loops are adjustable in size.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 3, 2006
Publication Date: Mar 8, 2007
Inventors: Joseph Morphew (Texarkana, TX), Lara Morphew (Texarkana, TX)
Application Number: 11/592,257
International Classification: A47C 7/36 (20060101);