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. In one preferred form of the invention, each attaching element include a female coupling member for cooperative engagement with a corresponding male coupling member on one of the ends of an elongated tether that is securable to the back of the support frame of a contemporary forward facing car seat or booster seat.
This application 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 B1 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 B2 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 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 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 or rear-end 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.
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, each end face of the pillow casing is provided with means to tether the pillow to the frame of a car seat.
2. The car seat pillow according to claim 1, wherein said means to adjustably tether said pillow to said car seat frame includes a female coupling member attached to each end face of said pillow and an elongated strap securable to the back of the support frame of a contemporary car seat, each end of said strap includes a complementary male coupling member for cooperative engagement with one of said female coupling members.
3. The car seat pillow according to claim 2, wherein said tether is in the form of a flexible strap and each end of said strap is adjustably attached to a male coupling member.
4. The car seat pillow according to claim 3, further including at least one threaded fastener for securing said strap to the back of a car seat frame.
5. The car seat pillow according to claim 3, wherein each male coupling member includes a clip portion for adjustably receiving one end of said strap.
6. The car seat pillow according to claim 5, wherein said coupling members are formed of plastic and said strap is one of canvas, and nylon.
7. A car seat pillow, comprising:
- an elongated, generally cylindrically shaped pillow casing filled with pillow stuffing, each end face of said pillow is provided with means to attach the pillow to the frame of a car seat in position to comfortably cradle and support the chin and cheeks while controlling the amount of movement of the nodding head of a properly harnessed sleeping child in the car seat during maneuvering of the vehicle.
8. The car seat pillow according to claim 7, wherein said means to attach the pillow to the frame includes:
- a ring attached to each end face of said pillow;
- an elongated elastic cord with a hook on each end, and
- means for securing said cord to the back of a car seat frame.
9. The car seat pillow according to claim 8, wherein said means for securing said cord to the back of a car seat frame includes a U-shaped cable clamp with a threaded fastener.
10. The car seat pillow according to claim 9, wherein said pillow casing is machine washable.
11. The car seat pillow of claim 7, wherein said means to attach the pillow to the frame includes:
- a ring attached to each end face of said pillow;
- a first swivel hook for removable attachment to the shoulder belt guides on a car seat frame;
- at least one removable link connecting said first swivel hook to a first one of said rings;
- a second swivel hook for removable attachment to the shoulder belt guides on a car seat frame; and
- at least one removable link connecting said second swivel hook to a second one of said rings.
12. The car seat pillow according to claim 7, wherein said means to attach said pillow to the car seat frame includes:
- a first flexible strap attached at one end to a first one of said end faces of said pillow and a second flexible strap attached at one end to a second one of said end faces of said pillow; and means for forming a loop at a free end of each strap that is attachable to the shoulder strap guides of a car seat.
13. The seat belt pillow according to claim 12, wherein said means for forming a loop at a free end of each strap is hook and loop fastener elements secured to each strap.
14. The seat belt pillow according to claim 12, wherein said means for forming a loop at a free end of each strap is male and female snap elements secured to each strap.
15. The car seat pillow according to claim 12, wherein said pillow casing is machine washable.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 14, 2005
Publication Date: Aug 11, 2005
Inventors: Joseph Morphew (Texarkana, TX), Lara Morphew (Texarkana, TX)
Application Number: 11/034,709