Infant seat
An infant seat comprising a seat rest, back rest and two side supports and a front post. The front post and the two side supports define grooves for receiving legs of an infant when seated in the infant seat. Bottom surfaces of the groove is elevationally higher than a back portion of the seat rest for leaning the infant against the back rest when placed in the infant seat. Moreover, a pommel or tray may be removably attachable to the front post for further retaining an infant in the infant seat by blocking or preventing the infant from lifting himself or herself out of the infant seat.
Not Applicable
STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable
BACKGROUNDThe present invention relates to an infant seat for retaining an infant in an infant seat at a seated position.
Infants do not have the necessary muscles or physical coordination to remain at a seated position. As such, the infant requires support from all sides when being seated. Otherwise, the infant may fall rearward hitting his/her head on the ground or fall sideways hitting his/her head on the ground. Furthermore, in certain circumstances, the infant may also fall forward thereby possibly hitting his or her face on the ground. Prior art infant seats have been developed to support the infant at the seated position which may be the preferable orientation during certain activities such as feeding.
One such prior art infant seat is disclosed in WO00/65965 ('965 application) which is an international application published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. The '965 application discloses a prior art infant seat having a back rest, two side supports, a front post and a tray which is removably attachable to the two side supports and the front post. The prior art infant seat supports the infant at the seated position. Unfortunately, the prior art infant seat suffers from many deficiencies. For example, the tray is attached to the infant seat based upon a three point attachment system. In particular, lateral protuberances are formed on lateral sides of the tray and a front protuberance is formed on a forward portion of the tray. These protuberances are inserted into recesses formed on the two side supports and the front post of the prior art infant seat. The tray may be attached to the prior art infant seat by inserting the protuberances into the recesses and may be retained therein despite the infant's efforts to remove the tray. Unfortunately, the three point attachment system is unreliable because infants are strong enough to dislodge the protuberances from the recesses as the protuberances and recesses are fabricated from soft, flexible foam. As such, the child may unexpectedly remove the tray from the infant seat and fall forward hitting his/her head or escape out of the prior art infant seat.
BRIEF SUMMARYAn infant seat discussed herein addresses the needs discussed above, below and those known in the art. The infant seat may have a seat rest, back rest, two side supports and a front post. The two side supports, back rest and seat rest define a receiving cavity sized and configured to comfortably receive an infant therein. The front post and two side supports define two grooves which are sized and configured to receive the legs of the infant. An entrance or upper opening of the grooves is sufficiently large to allow a parent to place the infant in the infant seat or remove the infant from the infant seat easily. Bottom surfaces of the grooves are elevationally higher than a rear portion of the seat rest. As such, when the infant is place in the infant seat, the infant is leaned backwards onto the back rest providing support to the child to support the child in the seated position. The rearward angle of the seat rest retains the child or infant in the infant seat due to the infant's inability to lift himself or herself out of the infant seat.
A pommel or tray may be selectively and removably attachable to the front post. Various structures are disclosed herein for removably attaching the pommel or tray to the front post. Generally, a male member is fixedly attached to the pommel or tray. Also, a female member is fixedly attached to the front post of the infant seat. The male and female members have interlocking parts that allow the male and female parts to be engaged or disengaged. When the tray or pommel is attached to the front post, the infant is retained in the infant seat because the tray or pommel blocks the infant from lifting himself or herself out the infant seat. To remove the infant from the infant seat, the tray or pommel may first be disengaged from the front post. The discussion of the infant seat herein may describe the tray and pommel as blocking or preventing the infant from being removed from the infant seat or lifting himself or herself out of the infant seat when the tray or pommel is attached to the front post of the infant seat. However, such condition is not necessary. It is contemplated that the infant may be removed from the infant seat when the tray or pommel is still attached to the front post. In this case, it may just be easier to remove the infant from the infant seat with the pommel and tray attached to the front post.
In an aspect of the infant seat, a toy may be removably attachable to an upper surface of the tray.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
Referring now to the drawings which are for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the infant seat and not for the purpose of limiting the same,
By way of example and not limitation, as shown in
The two side supports 18 may be attached to the seat rest 14 and also the back rest 16 on lateral sides thereof. The side supports 18 may also be joined to the seat rest 14 in a curvilinear fashion and extend vertically upward. The two side supports 18 may also be curvilinearly joined to the back rest 16. The front post 20 may extend vertically upward from a front portion 26 (see
The seat rest 14, back rest 16, two side supports 18 may define a cavity having a bulbous configuration which cooperates with each other so as to comfortably receive the buttocks, legs 30 and back of the infant 12. As shown in
The front portion 26 (see
The seat rest 14, back rest 16, two side supports 18 and front post 20 may be fabricated from a soft material such as polyurethane, rubber or other compliant material. The seat rest 14, back rest 16, two side supports 18 and front post 20 may collectively define a base 40 (see
The infant seat 10 may have a tray 50 (see
As shown in
The tray 50 may be removably attached to the front post 20 via mating male and female members 60, 62 (see
The male member 60 may have inwardly directed flanges 74 (see
Also, the female member 62 may have first and second rows of toothed slot 71 which are inwardly oriented toward each other, as shown in
In use, the tray 50 may be removed from the front post 20 of the infant seat 10 to allow easy removal of the infant 12 from the infant seat 10. The reason is that when the tray 50 is attached to the front post 20, the parent may not simply lift the infant 12 upward to remove the infant 12 from the infant seat 10. Rather, the parent must slide the legs 30 of the infant 12 out of the aperture formed by the grooves 28 and the tray 50 to remove the infant 12 from the infant seat 10. Since the tray 50 is removably attachable from the front post 20, the parent may remove the tray 50 from the front post 20 to facilitate removal of the infant 12 from the infant seat 10. After the tray 50 is removed, the infant 12 may be lifted upward for removal from the infant seat 10. In a similar manner, the tray 50 may be removed from the front post 20 for facilitating seating of the infant 12 in the infant seat 10.
The infant 12 is retained in the infant seat 10 due to the rearward angle of the seat rest 14 thereby leaning the infant 12 back onto the back rest 16. Moreover, the infant 12 may be retained in the infant seat 10 by attaching the tray 50 to the front post 20. When the tray 50 is attached to the front post 20, the tray 50 extends over the grooves 28. The grooves 28 and the tray 50 form apertures through which the legs 30 of the infant 12 are disposed. When the legs 30 of the infant 12 are disposed in the apertures, the infant 12 may not simply lift himself or herself out of the infant seat 10.
In another aspect, the tray 50 may be replaced with a pommel 52, as shown in
When the parent desires to remove the infant 12 from the infant seat 10, the pommel 52 may be removed from the front post 20 thereby enlarging the space between the front post 20 and the two side supports 18. The parent or caretaker may lift the infant 12 out of the infant seat 10 at this moment. The pommel 52 shown in
The female member 86 may have an inverted hat configuration. A cavity 100 may be formed at a central portion of the female member 86 which is sized and configured to receive the pawls 90 of the left and right levers 84a, 84b. More particularly, a leading edge 102 of the aperture may be sized and configured to mate with the beveled surfaces 92 of the left and right lever 84a, 84b pawls 90 when the pommel 52 is being attached to the female member 86. In the relaxed position, the pawls 90 are aligned to the leading edge 102 of the female member 86 aperture. Due to the angle of the beveled surface 92, the levers 84 are inwardly displaced when the beveled surfaces 92 contact the leading edge 102 of the aperture and the pommel 52 is engaged to the front post 20. As the pommel 52 is pushed into engagement with the front post 20, the pawls 90 are contained within the cylindrical portion of the female member 86. As the pawls 90 are further inserted into the aperture of the female member 86, the lower distal ends 98 of the finger receiving surfaces 88 contacts a rim 96 of the female member 86 preventing further insertion of the pawls 90 into the aperture. At about this moment, the pawls 90 are displaced outwardly and received into openings defining cam surfaces 104. The cam surfaces 104 engage the pawls 90 and the pommel 52 is locked to the front post 20.
To remove the pommel 52 from the front post 20, the parent may inwardly depress the finger receiving surfaces 88 which disengage the pawls 90 from the cam surfaces 104. At this point, the pommel 52 may be lifted out of the aperture of the female member 86 and the pommel 52 is disengaged and removed from the front post 20.
The parent may place the infant 12 into the infant seat 10 by first removing the pommel 52 from the front post 20 by depressing the finger receiving surfaces 88 and pulling upward on the pommel 52. Thereafter, the infant 12 is placed in the infant seat 10 and leaned against the back rest 16 in the seated position. Once the infant 12 is in the seated position, the parent may attach the pommel 52 to the front post 20. The distance between the outer periphery 80 of the pommel 52 and the two side supports 18 may be less than an outer diameter of the infant's leg 30 thereby preventing the infant 12 from pushing himself or herself up out of the infant seat 10 due to the interference between the legs 30 of the infant 12 and the pommel 52.
The female member 114 may have an aperture. The aperture may be defined by a cylindrical wall 127 (see
To attach the pommel 112 to the front post 20, the post 116 is inserted into the aperture of the female member 114. The tab 126 is received into the entrance portion 130 of the slot 128 of the female member 114 via the cut-out 138 and the spring 124 may press against the raised portion 140 of the female member 114. The post 116 is inserted fully into the aperture of the female member 114 then rotated counterclockwise to align the tab 126 to locking portion 134 of the slot 128. The spring 124 lifts the tab 126 into the locking portion 134 of the J-configured slot 128 such that the child or infant 12 may not remove the pommel 112 from the front post 20. To remove the pommel 112 from the front post 20, the parent may push down on the pommel 112 until the tab 126 is released from the locking portion 134 of the J-configured slot 128. The pommel 112 is rotated in the clockwise direction and the tab 126 is aligned to the entrance portion 130 of the slot 128. The tab 126 traverses through and out of the entrance portion 130 via the cut out 138 and the post 116 is lifted out of the aperture of the female member 114. In this manner, the pommel 112 is removed from the front post 20.
The pommel 112 shown in
The fourth embodiment of the infant seat 10 was described in a manner that counter clockwise rotation of the pommel 112 engaged the pommel 112 to the front post 20 and clockwise rotation of the pommel 112 disengaged the pommel 112 from the front post 20. However, it is also contemplated that the structure of the male and female members 110, 114 may be reversed such that the pommel 112 is engageable to the front post 20 via a clockwise rotation of the pommel 112 and the pommel 112 is disengageable from the front post 20 via a counter clockwise rotation of the pommel 112.
The female member 152 may have a central aperture 164 (see
To remove the pommel 154 from the front post 20, the pommel 154 is rotated in the opposite direction. The flange 156 of the male member 150 is then aligned to the notch 168 of the lower plate 162. Also, the notch 158 of the flange 156 releases the cam surface or the lower plate 162. The male member 150 may now be removed from the female member 152 and the pommel 154 released from the front post 20.
More particularly, the protuberance 170 may be attached to an underside of the tray 50 or pommel. The protuberance 170 may be sized and configured to be mateable with a cavity 173 formed in the front post 20 of the infant seat 10. By way of example and not limitation, the protuberance 170 may have an elongate structure. A distal portion 172 of the protuberance 170 may have a bulbous configuration. Similarly, the cavity 173 formed in the front post 20 may have an elongate configuration. A distal portion 178 of the cavity 173 may have a mating bulbous configuration. For example, if the bulbous distal portion 172 has a box configuration, then the distal portion 178 of the cavity 173 may also have a box configuration. To attach the tray 50 to the front post 20, the distal portion 172 of the protuberance 170 is aligned to an entrance of the cavity 173. The tray 50 is pushed downward until inner side walls of the cavity 173 apply radial inward forces to the bulbous distal portion 172 of the protuberance 170. Such radial inward forces reduce the diameter of the bulbous portion 172 such that the bulbous portion 172 may slide past a neck 180 of the cavity 42. Once the bulbous portion 172 traverses downward past the neck 180 of the cavity 42, the bulbous portion 172 expands to fill the bulbous configured portion 184 of the cavity 173.
To remove the tray 50 from the front post 20, the protuberance 170 is removed from the cavity 173. In particular, the parent may lift the tray 50 upward which urges the bulbous distal portion 172 of the protuberance 170 upward. The neck 180 of the cavity 173 applies radial inward forces which reduces the diameter of the bulbous portion 172 such that the bulbous portion 172 may slide past the neck 180 of the cavity 42. Once the bulbous portion 172 traverses upward past the neck 180 of the cavity 173, the protuberance 170 may easily be removed from the cavity 173 and the tray 50 is disengaged from the front post 20.
Under normal usage, the infant 12 should not be able to create sufficient upward force to remove the protuberance 170 from the cavity 42 formed in the front post 20. Also, the parent should be able to easily lift the tray 50 so as to disengage the tray 50 from the infant seat 10.
The amount of force required to insert the protuberance 170 into the cavity 173 and remove the protuberance 170 from the cavity 173 may be increased or decreased by altering the surface texture, surface treatment and type of material for the protuberance 170 and the front post 20.
To engage the tray 50 to the infant seat 10, the shaft 190 is inserted into the cavity 192. The outer surface of the shaft 190 begins to engage the inner surface of the cavity 192. The shaft 190 is fully inserted when a stop 194 contacts the upper surface 78 of the front post 20. When the shaft 190 is fully inserted into the cavity 192, the shaft 190 is frictionally engaged to the cavity 192. An infant 12 seated in the infant seat 10 is not able to lift the tray 50 up because of the frictional engagement between the shaft 190 and the cavity 192. Moreover, the infant 12 is not able to push the tray 50 forward or pull the tray 50 backward because the shaft 190 is fixedly engaged to the tray 50 and frictionally engaged to the cavity 192.
The tray 50 may be removed from the infant seat 10 to assist in the removal or seating of the infant 12 in the infant seat 10. In particular, the parent may lift up the tray 50 overcoming the frictional engagement between the shaft 190 and the cavity 192. After the frictional engagement between the shaft 190 and cavity 192 has been overcome, the parent may remove the tray 50 from the infant seat 10. Although
The latch 210 may have a hook configuration. The latch 210 may engage the cam surface 204 of the elongate shaft 202 when the elongate shaft 202 is inserted into a cavity of the front post 20 and the latch 210 is traversed to the retracted position. When the latch 210 engages the cam surface 204, the tray 50 is engaged to the front post 20 and may not be removed by the infant 12. To remove the tray 50 from the infant seat 10, the parent may depress the button which is preferably positioned out of the reach of the infant 12 when the infant 12 is seated in the infant seat 10. For example, the button may be positioned at a lower central portion of the front post 20. When the button is depressed, the latch 210 is traversed to the released position. The parent may lift the tray 50 upward and remove the shaft 202 out of the cavity and the tray 50 from the infant seat 10. Although
The male member 222 may have an upper portion 226 and a lower portion 228, as shown in
Referring to
To engage the pommel 220 to the front post 20, the lower portion 228 of the male member 222 is inserted into the aperture 250 of the female member 226. (See
The pommel 220 may be removed from the front post 20 by rotating the pommel 220 (e.g., 45 degree) with respect to the front post 20, as shown in
Alternatively, the pommel 220 may be removable from the front post 20 via two motions, namely, a downward force (see
As discussed above, the female member 224 may be fixedly engaged to the front post 20 via adhesive, molding or any other method known in the art. One method not known in the art will be described below. By way of example and not limitation, the female member 224 may be selectively engageable to a locking ring 268 (see
The locking ring 268 may have a corresponding number of apertures 278 as there are flanges 272 as shown in
After the flanges 272 are fully inserted into the first slot 280 of the aperture 278, the biasing tabs 290 and locking tabs 288 are flexed upwardly. The female member 224 may be subsequently rotated so as to align the flange 272 to a second smaller slot 292 (see
Referring now to
Conversely, to remove the tray 294 from the front post 296, the tray 294 is urged forward. As the tray 294 is pushed forwardly, the ridges 310b of the male member 302 slide over the ridges 310a of the female member 304 until the ridges 310b of the male member 302 entirely or completely disengage the ridges 310a of the female member 304. The flange 308b of the male member 302 is removed from the slot 306a of the female member 304, and thus, the tray 294 is removed from the front post 296.
More particularly, as shown in
The male member 302 may be attached to the underside surface 300 of the tray 294 via any method known in the art. The male member 302 may comprise a base portion 318 which is attached to the tray 294 and a lever 320 pivotable with respect to the base portion 318. The lever 320 may be engaged to the base portion 318 with interlocking hooks 322. When the lever 320 is engaged to the base portion 318, the ridges 310b or the lever portion 320 is flexed upwardly, as shown by the dashed lines in
The lever 320 is flexed upwardly in a bow configuration. The junction 324 (see
In an aspect of the infant seat 10, the same may be formed with at least one suction cup 420 (see
In an aspect of the infant seat 10, a toy 422 may be removably attachable to the tray 50, as shown in
An elongate member 428 may be removably engageable to the tray 50 via the depressions 424. In particular, the elongate member 428 may have a rod like configuration. The elongate member 428 may be bendable and flexible and may also hold its shape once it is bent or shaped. For example, the elongate member 428 shown in
In use, the elongate member 428 may be engaged to the tray 50 via the depressions 424. In particular, an outer diameter 436 of the elongate member 428 may be slightly greater than a distance between tips of the nubs 426 formed on opposing vertical side wall surfaces 434 of the depressions 424. To engage the elongate member 428 to the depressions 424, the elongate member 428 is bent, as shown in
The toy 422 may have apertures 438 which are sized and configured to receive the post 430 of the elongate member 428. After the elongate member 428 is attached to the tray 50, the posts 430 are inserted into the apertures 438 of the toy 422 and further insertion of the post 430 into the apertures 438 of the toy 422 is prevented by the retaining ring 432.
Alternatively,
The toy 422 may also be removably attachable to the upper surface 56 of the tray 50 via a suction cup 448, as shown in
In an aspect of the infant seat 10, it is contemplated that the tray 50 or pommel 52 may be removably engageable to the front post 20 via any of the embodiments discussed herein. By way of example and not limitation, although the third embodiment illustrates a pommel 52 being removably engageable to the front post 20, it is also contemplated the tray 50 may be removably engageable to the front post 20 via the same method disclosed in the third embodiment.
In another aspect, it is also contemplated that the infant seat may be removably engageable to both the tray and/or pommel. For example, as shown in
In the various embodiments of the infant seat discussed above, reference may have been made that the tray or pommel when attached to the front post prevents the infant from being removed from the infant seat or prevents the infant from lifting himself or herself out of the infant seat. However, such condition is not required. Rather, when the tray or pommel is attached to the front post, it may be more difficult to remove the infant from the infant seat or the infant may have more difficulty in lifting himself or herself out of the infant seat.
Additionally, the above discussion of the infant seat referenced parts rotating in the counter clockwise or clockwise direction. However, the rotating direction of the parts was made for convenience and is not a requirement. The rotation of the parts may be reversed. By way of example and not limitation,
Moreover, the above discussion of the infant seat discussed certain parts as being molded to the infant seat. However, such condition is also not required. Rather, the parts may be attached to the infant seat in any manner discussed herein or known in the art. By way of example and not limitation,
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
Claims
1. An infant seat for retaining an infant in the infant seat at a seated position, the infant seat comprising:
- a seat rest for receiving buttocks of the infant;
- a back rest attached to a rear portion of the seat rest for receiving a back of the infant;
- left and right side supports attached to left and right sides of the seat rest and attached to lateral sides of the back rest;
- a front post attached to a front portion of the seat rest, the front post and the left and right side supports defining grooves; and
- a tray removeably attachable solely to the front post, the tray extendable laterally over the grooves for blocking the legs of the infant.
2. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising means for removeably attaching the tray to the front post.
3. The infant seat of claim 2 further comprising a pommel removeably attachable to the front post, the pommel extendable laterally over the grooves for blocking the legs of the infant.
4. The infant seat of claim 3 further comprising means for removeably attaching the pommel to the front post such that tray or the pommel may be attached to the front post.
5. The infant seat of claim 1 wherein the tray extends over the two side supports.
6. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member comprising: a first flange attached to the tray; and a lever traverseable between a release position and an engaged position, the lever having at least one tooth; and
- a female member comprising: a second flange attached to the front post, the second flange and front post defining a slot for receiving the first flange; and at least one toothed slot for engagement with the tooth of the lever.
7. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member comprising: levers having pawls, the levers being traverseable between a release position and a depressed position;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a cam surface for receiving the pawl to attach the tray to the front post.
8. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member having a post with a radially extending tab;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a J configured slot of receiving the tab;
- a spring disposed between the male member and female member for biasing the male member away from the female member.
9. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member having vertically oriented flanges, at least one of the flanges having a notch;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a cam surface with a notch;
- wherein the flange is insertable into the notch of the cam surface, and the cam surface is receivable into the notch of the flange for attaching the tray to the front post.
10. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member having a bulbous configuration;
- wherein the front post has a cavity sized and configured to receive the bulbous configured male member.
11. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member having a tapered configuration;
- wherein the front post has a cavity sized and configured to frictionally receive the taper configured male member.
12. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member having a cam surface;
- a latch attached to the front post, the latch traverseable between a depressed position and an engaged position, at the depressed position, the latch clears the cam surface of the male member, at the engaged position, the latch engages the cam surface so as to secure the tray to the front post.
13. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member having an inwardly displaceable tang;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having an aperture sized and configured to receive and engage the tang of the male member.
14. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the tray, the male member having a plurality of ridges;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a plurality of ridges sized and configured to mate with the ridges of the male member.
15. The infant seat of claim 1 further comprising a toy removeably attachable to the tray.
16. The infant seat of claim 15 wherein the toy is removeably attachable to the tray with an elongate member snappable into a depression formed in an upper surface of the tray.
16. The infant seat of claim 15 wherein the toy is removeably attachable to the tray via a suction cup.
17. An infant seat for retaining an infant in the infant seat at a seated position, the infant seat comprising:
- a seat rest for receiving buttocks of the infant;
- a back rest attached to a rear portion of the seat rest for receiving a back of the infant;
- left and right side supports attached to left and right sides of the seat rest and attached to lateral sides of the back rest;
- a front post attached to a front portion of the seat rest, the front post and the left and right side supports defining grooves;
- a pommel removeably attachable solely to the front post, the tray extending laterally over the grooves for blocking the legs of the infant.
18. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising means for removeably attaching the pommel to the front post.
19. The infant seat of claim 17 wherein the pommel extends over the two side supports.
20. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member comprising: a first flange attached to the pommel; and a lever traverseable between a release position and an engaged-position, the lever having at least one tooth; and
- a female member comprising: a second flange attached to the front post, the second flange and front post defining a slot for receiving the first flange; and at least one toothed slot for engagement with the tooth of the lever.
21. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member comprising: levers having pawls, the levers being traverseable between a release position and a depressed position;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a cam surface for receiving the pawl to attach the pommel to the front post.
22. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member having a post with a radially extending tab;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a J configured slot of receiving the tab;
- a spring disposed between the male member and female member for biasing the male member away from the female member.
23. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member having vertically oriented flanges, at least one of the flanges having a notch;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a cam surface with a notch;
- wherein the flange is insertable into the notch of the cam surface, and the cam surface is receivable into the notch of the flange for attaching the pommel to the front post.
24. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member having a bulbous configuration;
- wherein the front post has a cavity sized and configured to receive the bulbous configured male member.
25. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member having a tapered configuration;
- wherein the front post has a cavity sized and configured to frictionally receive the taper configured male member.
26. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member having a cam surface;
- a latch attached to the front post, the latch traverseable between an depressed position and an engaged position, at the depressed position, the latch clears the cam surface of the male member, at the engaged position, the latch engages the cam surface so as to secure the pommel to the front post.
27. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member having an inwardly displaceable tang;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having an aperture sized and configured to receive and engage the tang of the male member.
28. The infant seat of claim 27 wherein the tang has a hook and the female member has a protrusion, the hook being removeably engageable to the protrusion of the female member.
29. The infant seat of claim 28 wherein the protrusion has a beveled surface for inwardly displacing the tang as the tang is being inserted into the aperture of the female member.
30. The infant seat of claim 29 wherein the male member has a slotted portion adjacent to the hook such that the protrusion may be traversed therethrough to disengage the pommel from the front post.
31. The infant seat of claim 17 further comprising:
- a male member attached to the pommel, the male member having a plurality of ridges;
- a female member attached to the front post, the female member having a plurality of ridges sized and configured to mate with the ridges of the male member.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 5, 2006
Publication Date: Mar 6, 2008
Inventors: Thomas E. McConnell (Santa Ynez, CA), Francois P. Hacquard (Los Angeles, CA), Michael T. McConnell (Santa Ynez, CA)
Application Number: 11/515,635
International Classification: A47D 1/10 (20060101);