CHILD SEAT
A child seat comprising a seat portion, a back support and shoulder belts extending through at least one opening in said back support. The opening is movable relative to the seat portion from at least one first position to a second position, and vice versa. The child seat furthermore comprises at least one spring which, upon movement of the opening, is deformable under spring force from a bent associated with said first position, through a plane extending between the spring ends, to a bent associated with said second position, and vice versa.
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The present invention relates to a child seat comprising a seat portion, a back support and shoulder belts extending through at least one opening in said back support, which opening is movable relative to the seat portion from at least one first position to a second position, and vice versa.
With such a child seat, which is known from US-A1-2005/0110318, the shoulder belts extend through two openings located side-by-side in the back support. The shoulder belts form part of a five-point harness system, by means of which a child can be secured in the child seat. The child seat is suitable inter alia for use as a child vehicle seat. By moving the openings relative to the seat portion, the shoulder belts can be adjusted to accommodate the size of the child. In the case of a comparatively small child, the openings will be located close to the seat portion, whilst in the case of a larger child a larger distance between the seat portion and the openings is required in order to realise a more comfortable and safer fit of the shoulder belts.
With the child seat according to said US patent application, locking means are disengaged from locking elements against spring force in order to move the openings. Said disengagement takes place from a side remote from the seat, the so-called rear side of the child seat.
The openings are then moved towards the seat portion or away from the seat portion by a user. If a user releases the locking means before the locking means are positioned opposite the locking elements, this will result in an undesirable and possibly unsafe situation. In the event of a collision, the openings, and thus the shoulder belts, may be moved away from or towards the seat portion in an undefined manner, as a result of which a child seated in the child seat may be moved undesirably.
The object of the invention is to provide a child seat in which the above disadvantages are avoided.
This object is accomplished with the child seat according to the invention in that the child seat furthermore comprises at least one spring which, upon movement of the opening, is deformable under spring force from a bent shape associated with said first position, through a plane extending between the spring ends, to a bent shape associated with said second position, and vice versa.
The spring has a bent shape both in said first position and in said second position, which shapes are mirror-symmetrical, for example, relative to a plane extending through the ends of the spring.
The spring will be deformed against the spring force when the opening is moved from the first position to the second position. Once the spring has been moved through said plane, the spring will support the movement of the opening from the first position to the second position, and the opening will be urged to the second position under spring force. The same takes place upon movement of the opening from the second position to the first position.
If the opening is not moved entirely to the second position by the user during said movement from the first position to the second position, the spring force exerted by the spring will move the opening either back to the first position or forward to the second position. In this way the opening will be either in the first position or in the second position at all times.
One embodiment of the child scat according to the invention is characterised in that the back support comprises at least a first portion and a second portion, each portion being provided with one opening through which the shoulder belts extend, which portions are movable relative to each other, the first portion being connected to the spring ends and the second portion being connected to the spring at positions between said ends.
In this way a simple connection between the portions that are movable relative to each other and the spring is realised.
Another embodiment of the child seat according to the invention is characterised in that said first portion is provided with locking elements, whilst the second portion is provided with locking means, or vice versa, which locking means are in engagement with said locking elements under spring force in said first and/or said second position of the opening, whilst the locking means can be disengaged from the locking elements against said spring force.
The opening is locked in said first or said second position by the locking means mating with the locking elements and cannot be moved undesirably from the first position to the second position or vice versa.
Yet another embodiment of the child seat according to the invention is characterised in that the locking means can be operated from a front side of the child seat located on the same side as the seat portion.
Said front side is within easy reach in the mounted position of a child seat in a vehicle.
Yet another embodiment of the child seat according to the invention is characterised in that the locking elements comprise at least two pairs of recesses located opposite each other, whilst the locking means comprise catches, which are positioned in a pair of recesses under spring force.
Such catches engaging in recesses are of relatively simple design, they are relatively easy to manufacture and relatively easy to operate.
Yet another embodiment of the child seat according to the invention is characterised in that each catch is provided with a hole, in which a user can position his or her fingers from the front side of the child seat.
The user only needs to insert his or her fingers into the holes of the two catches that are positioned in the recesses, and move said catches towards each other against spring force. As a result, the catches are moved out of the recesses, after which the opening can be moved from the first position to the second position, or vice versa. This is a comparatively simple operating method.
Yet another embodiment of the child seat according to the invention is characterised in that the first portion is provided with a slot extending from the seat portion, whilst the second portion is provided with a pin which is movably accommodated in said slot, or vice versa, wherein pin positions located near the ends of said slot are associated with the first and the second position of the shoulder belts.
Such a slot mating with a pin unequivocally defines the two extreme positions of the first and the second portion relative to each other.
The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which:
Like parts are indicated by the same numerals in the figures.
The second portion 10 is provided with a pair of openings 16 corresponding to the openings 11, a pin 17 extending into said slot 12 and two catches 18 forming locking means, which can be moved towards each other against the spring force of a spring 19. Each catch has an end 20, which mates with a recess 13, and a hole 21 located between the spring 19 and the end 20. The holes 21 in the catches 18 are located opposite passages 22 in the second portion 10.
In the first position of the openings 16 shown in
The operation of the child seat 1 will now be explained with reference to
In the first position, the leaf spring 15 takes up a bent shape relative to a plane 32 extending through the ends of the leaf spring 15. In this position, the pin 17 abuts against one end of the slot 12. If the user would take his or her fingers 31 out of the holes 21, the pin 17 would be pressed firmly against the bottom end of the slot 12 under the influence of the leaf spring 15. The catches 18 would be moved apart under the influence of the spring 19 and be positioned in the recesses 13 in that case, thus locking the second portion 10 against movement with respect to the first portion 9 again.
If the user 30 wishes to move the openings 16 to the second position, however, the user 30 will move the second portion 10 from the situation shown in
It is also possible to design the portions 9, 10 so that the catches 18 can be operated from a rear side of the child seat 1.
According to another possibility, the child seat 1 is not provided with locking means that mate with locking elements, in which case the second portion 10 is retained in the first position or in the second position only by the leaf spring 15.
The child seat may also be provided with a three-point seat belt instead of with a five-point seat belt.
Instead of using a leaf spring it is also possible to use a coil spring which takes up a bent shape in both positions.
The second pair of openings 11 may be left out when using the invention.
Claims
1. A child seat comprising a seat portion, a back support and shoulder belts extending through at least one opening in said back support, which opening is movable relative to the seat portion from at least one first position to a second position, and vice versa, characterised in that the child seat furthermore comprises at least one spring which, upon movement of the opening, is deformable under spring force from a bent associated with said first position, through a plane extending between the spring ends, to a bent associated with said second position, and vice versa.
2. A child seat according to claim 1, characterised in that the back support comprises at least a first portion and a second portion, each portion being provided with one opening through which the shoulder belts extend, which portions are movable relative to each other, the first portion being connected to the spring ends and the second portion being connected to the spring at positions between said ends.
3. A child seat according to claim 2, characterised in that said first portion is provided with locking elements, whilst the second portion is provided with locking means, or vice versa, which locking means are in engagement with said locking elements under spring force in said first and/or said second position of the opening, whilst the locking means can be disengaged from the locking elements against said spring force.
4. A child seat according to claim 3, characterised in that the locking means can be operated from a front side of the child seat located on the same side as the seat portion.
5. A child seat according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the locking elements comprise at least two pairs of recesses located opposite each other, whilst the locking means comprise catches, which are positioned in a pair of recesses under spring force.
6. A child seat according to claim 5, characterised in that each catch is provided with a hole, in which a user can position his or her fingers from the front side of the child seat.
7. A child seat according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first portion is provided with a slot extending from the seat portion, whilst the second portion is provided with a pin which is movably accommodated in said slot, or vice versa, wherein pin positions located near the ends of said slot are associated with the first and the second position of the shoulder belts.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 21, 2007
Publication Date: Mar 27, 2008
Applicant: COSCO MANAGEMENT, INC. (Wilmington, DE)
Inventors: Marc Mostert (Sittard), Paulus Adrianus Van Diepen (Den Haag)
Application Number: 11/859,560
International Classification: A47D 1/10 (20060101);