CHILD RESTRAINT WITH MOVABLE HEADREST

- COSCO MANAGEMENT, INC.

A child restraint includes a seat shell and a carrying handle coupled to the seat shell. The seat shell includes a seat bottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seat bottom.

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Description
BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to child restraints, and in particular, to juvenile seats for use on passenger seats in vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to rigidifying structures included in juvenile seats.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, a child restraint includes a juvenile seat and a child-restraint harness coupled to the juvenile seat. The juvenile seat includes a seat bottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seat bottom.

In illustrative embodiments, the seat shell is configured to provide an infant carrier. The child restraint further includes a carrying handle mounted on the seat shell for pivotable movement about a horizontal pivot axis. The seat bottom and seat back cooperate to form the seat shell in an illustrative embodiment.

In illustrative embodiments, the child restraint further includes a headrest mounted for up-and-down movement relative to the seat back between a highest position and a lowest position to accommodate children of different ages and sizes in the seat shell. The movable headrest is also coupled to the child-restraint harness so that shoulder belts included in the child-restraint harness move up and down relative to the seat bottom as the movable headrest moves up and down on the seat back.

The child restraint also includes a headrest support coupled to the seat shell in an illustrative embodiment. The headrest support includes a shell-rigidifying plate that is coupled to the seat back to rigidify the seat shell and formed to include two side-by-side shoulder belt travel channels. The headrest support also includes an anchor receiver coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate. The anchor receiver is formed to mate with a movable anchor included in the movable headrest to lock the movable headrest in one of several predetermined positions on the shell-rigidifying plate to establish the height of the movable headrest relative to the seat bottom.

The shell-rigidifying plate is made of a sturdy material and coupled to the seat back to rigidify the seat shell. The movable headrest is arranged to be moved up and down by a caregiver on the shell-rigidifying plate of the head support to change the height of the movable headrest. A first load-transfer flange included in the movable headrest is arranged to engage and slide on a companion first load-receiver rail included in the shell-rigidifying plate during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest relative to the seat back. In illustrative embodiments, a second load-transfer flange included in the movable headrest is arranged to engage and slide on a companion second load-receiver rail included in the shell-rigidifying plate during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest relative to the seat back.

In illustrative embodiments, the movable headrest includes a head cradle located on a front side of the seat back above the seat bottom to receive the head of a child seated in the juvenile seat. The movable headrest also includes a headrest-height controller located on an opposite back side of the seat back.

The headrest-height controller is formed to include a slidable cradle retainer mounted for up-and-down sliding movement on the shell-rigidifying plate and a cradle-motion blocker mounted on the slidable cradle retainer to move therewith. The slidable cradle retainer is coupled to the head cradle to move with the movable headrest during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest on the shell-rigidifying plate and to tether the head cradle to the shell-rigidifying plate during up-and-down movement of the head cradle. The cradle-motion blocker includes a movable anchor that is arranged normally to engage the anchor receiver to lock the movable headrest to the headrest support in one of several available positions to establish a stationary height of the movable headrest relative to the seat bottom. A caregiver can move the movable anchor to disengage the anchor receiver included in the headrest support to free the movable headrest for up-and-down movement relative to the headrest support and the seat back.

The slidable cradle retainer is formed to include the first and second load-transfer flanges and is coupled to the first and second shoulder belts. The slidable cradle retainer is configured to provide means for transferring loads (applied by the first and second shoulder belts to the slidable cradle retainer in response to movement of the seated child relative to the juvenile seat to tension the first and second shoulder belts during exposure of a vehicle carrying the juvenile seat to an external impact) to the shell-rigidifying plate via two load-transfer paths established by mating engagement of the first and second load-transfer flanges on the slidable cradle retainer and the companion first and second load-receiver rails included in the shell-rigidifying plate that is mounted on the seat back of the seat shell.

Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a child restraint in accordance with the present disclosure for use on a passenger seat in a vehicle, with portions of a fabric covering broken away, showing a seat shell and a head cradle of a movable headrest also included in the child restraint and mounted for up-and-down movement relative to a seat back of the seat shell and suggesting that a headrest-height controller also included in the movable headrest (1) is coupled to the head cradle to move therewith relative to a shell-rigidifying plate that is coupled to a seat back of the seat shell and (2) can be operated by a caregiver to allow the movable headrest to be moved between a highest position shown, for example, in FIG. 3 and a lowest position shown, for example, in FIG. 4;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the child restraint of FIG. 1 (after a carrying handle also included in the child restraint has been pivoted to an upwardly extending position) showing a headrest-height controller located under the head cradle and below the seat back so that it can be accessed and operated by a caregiver to free the movable headrest so that it can be moved up or down relative to the seat back to a new position;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the child restraint of FIG. 1 showing the head cradle of the movable headrest in a highest position relative to the seat shell;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, with portions of the seat shell broken away, showing the head cradle of the movable headrest in a lowest position relative to the seat shell;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the child restraint of FIGS. 1-4 showing a top portion of the head cradle that is visible above an upper edge of the seat back of the seat shell;

FIG. 6A is an exploded perspective assembly view showing many of the components included in the child restraint of FIG. 1 and showing (from right to left) a head cradle included in the movable headrest and formed to include two angled belt-receiver slots, a headrest support including a shell-rigidifying plate formed to include two side-by-side shoulder belt-travel channels and an anchor receiver including a pair of lock strips arranged to extend along outboard edges of the belt-travel channels and include five tab-receiving notches each, a seat shell having a seat bottom and a seat back formed to include two side-by-side shoulder belt-travel channels, a pivotable carrying handle coupled to the seat shell, a headrest-height controller including (from bottom to top) a slidable cradle retainer adapted to mate with the head cradle to form the movable headrest and to move with the head cradle relative to the shell-rigidifying plate and a cradle-motion blocker including first and second movable anchors configured to (1) move on the slidable cradle retainer away from one another to engage notches formed in the first and second lock strips coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate to anchor the movable headrest in a selected stationary position on the shell-rigidifying plate as suggested in FIG. 10 and to (2) move on the slidable cradle retainer toward one another to disengage the notches formed in the first and second lock strips and thus free the movable headrest to be moved by a caregiver up and down on the shell-rigidifying plate to a new position as suggested in FIG. 11 and a coiled anchor-biasing spring for each of the first and second movable anchors;

FIG. 6B is another exploded perspective assembly view of the components shown in FIG. 6A taken from another point of view;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the movable headrest shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and made using components shown in FIG. 6A in a position separated from the shell-rigidifying plate that is coupled to the seat back of the seat shell as suggested in FIG. 6A showing that a headrest-height controller including a slidable cradle retainer and a cradle-motion blocker is coupled to a rear face of a head cradle to establish an illustrative movable headrest in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an exploded assembly view showing the shell-rigidifying plate of the headrest support in a position separated from the seat shell and suggesting that the slidable cradle retainer and a cradle-motion blocker comprising the movable anchors and anchor-biasing springs can be mounted on a rear face of the head cradle to locate the shell-rigidifying plate therebetween and to form the movable headrest shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the child restraint of FIG. 1 showing that the headrest-height controller included in the movable headrest is accessible by a caregiver after the movable headrest has been mounted on the shell-rigidifying plate coupled to the seat shell;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 showing each of the movable anchors included in the cradle-motion blocker biased in opposite outward directions by the anchor-biasing springs to cause a tab included in each movable anchor to extend into a companion tab-receiving notch formed in one of the lock strips included in the headrest-height positioner coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate to establish a stationary position of the movable headrest;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing inward movement of the movable anchors toward one another in response to application of squeezing forces by a caregiver to withdraw the tabs included in the movable anchors from the companion tab-receiving notches formed in the lock strips coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate to establish an unlocked and movable position of the movable headrest; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a child restraint system showing an infant carrier that is adapted to mate either with a base adapted to set on a passenger seat in a vehicle or with a stroller frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A child restraint 10 includes a seat shell 12, a headrest support 16 including a shell-rigidifying plate 18 coupled to seat shell 12 and an anchor receiver 19 coupled to shell-rigidifying plate 18, and a movable headrest 20 including a head cradle 21 and a headrest-height controller 22 as suggested in FIGS. 1, 6A, and 6B. Headrest 20 is movable at the option of a caregiver between a highest position shown, for example, in FIG. 3 and a lowest position shown, for example, in FIG. 4 to change the height of the movable headrest to accommodate children of different ages and sizes by manual operation of a squeeze-actuated cradle-motion blocker 40 included in headrest-height controller 22.

Headrest-height controller 22 includes a slidable cradle retainer 30 that is mounted to slide up and down on shell-rigidifying plate 18 as suggested diagrammatically in FIG. 1 (see double arrow 300) and illustratively in FIG. 8. Headrest-height controller 22 also includes a cradle-motion blocker 40 that is coupled to slidable cradle retainer 30 to move therewith and is configured to include a first movable anchor 41 as suggested diagrammatically in FIG. 1 and illustratively in FIGS. 6A, 10, and 11. First movable anchor 41 is normally spring-biased to engage anchor receiver 19 in headrest support 16 as suggested diagrammatically in FIG. 1 (see double arrow 410) and illustratively in FIG. 10 to lock movable headrest 18 in a selected stationary position on shell-rigidifying plate 18 of headrest support 16 to establish the height of movable headrest 18 relative to seat bottom 13 of seat shell 12. A caregiver can operate cradle-motion blocker 40 to disengage first movable anchor 41 as suggested diagrammatically in FIG. 1 (see double arrow 410) and illustratively in FIG. 11 from anchor receiver 19 in headrest support 16 to unlock and free movable headrest 20 for up-and-down movement relative to seat back 14.

Seat shell 12 includes a seat bottom 13 and a seat back 14 extending upwardly from seat bottom 13 as suggested in FIGS. 1 and 6B. Seat bottom and back 13, 14 cooperate to form a child-receiving region 15 as suggested in FIG. 1. Seat back 14 is formed to include first and second shoulder belt-travel channels 141, 142 as suggested in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Seat shell 12 is made of a first plastics material such as polypropylene in an illustrative embodiment.

Movable headrest 20 is mounted for up-and-down movement relative to seat back 14 of seat shell 12 as suggested in FIGS. 3 and 4 in FIG. 9. Movable headrest 20 includes a head cradle 21 and a headrest-height controller 22 coupled to head cradle 21 as suggested in FIG. 8 for up-and-down movement with head cradle 21 relative to shell-rigidifying plate 18 coupled to seat back 14. In illustrative embodiments, headrest-height controller 22 includes a slidable cradle retainer 30 configured to slide on shell-rigidifying plate 18 during up-and-down movement of movable headrest 20 relative to seat back 14 of seat shell 12 and a cradle-motion blocker 40 including spring-biased first and second movable anchors 41, 42. First and second movable anchors 41, 42 are normally urged by springs 41S, 42S to move away from one another to engage anchor receiver 19 and lock movable headrest 18 in a stationary position on seat back 14. First and second movable anchors 41, 42 can be moved toward one another by a caregiver to compress springs 41S, 42S to cause movable anchors 41, 42 to disengage anchor receiver 19 included in headrest support 16 and free movable headrest 18 to be moved up and down on seat back 14 of seat shell 12 to change the height of movable headrest 18.

Headrest support 16 includes a stationary shell-rigidifying plate 18 and an anchor receiver 18 comprising first and second lock strips 191 and 192 as shown, for example, in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 8. Shell-rigidifying plate 18 is made of a rigid material. Shell-rigidifying plate 18 is coupled to seat back 14 to rigidify seat shell 12. Each lock strip 191, 192 is coupled to shell-rigidifying plate 18 as suggested in FIG. 8. Each lock strip 191, 192 is formed to include a series of tab-receiving notches 19N sized and located to receive therein a tab included in one of movable anchors 41, 42 to lock movable headrest 20 in a selected stationary position on headrest support 16 so that a desired height of movable headrest 20 relative to seat bottom 13 is established by the caregiver. To unlock movable headrest 20 so that it can be moved up or down relative to seat bottom 13 to assume a new position and change the headrest height, a caregiver applies a squeezing force to move the spring-biased first and second movable anchors 41, 42 toward one another to retract the anchor tabs from the tab-receiving notches 19N formed in lock strips 191, 192 and then raises or lowers movable headrest 20 relative to seat bottom 13 of seat shell 12 to assume the desired height.

Shell-rigidifying plate 18 of headrest support 16 is formed to include two side-by-side shoulder belt-travel channels 181, 182 as shown, for example, in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 8. When shell-rigidifying plate 18 is coupled to seat back 14, first shoulder belt-travel channel 181 formed in shell-rigidifying plate 18 is aligned to communicate with first shoulder belt-travel channel 141 formed in seat back 14 and second shoulder belt-travel channel 182 formed in shell-rigidifying plate 18 is aligned to communicate with second shoulder belt-travel channel 142 formed in seat back 14 as suggested in FIG. 6A.

Shell-rigidifying plate 18 is coupled to seat back 14 to rigidify seat back 14 and seat shell 12 as suggested in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Seat back 14 is formed to include one upper fastener mount 100 and two lower fastener mounts 101, 102 as shown in FIG. 6A. First lower fastener mount 101 is located below first shoulder belt-travel channel 141 and second lower fastener mount 102 is located below second shoulder belt-travel channel 142 as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Upper fastener mount 100 is formed in an upper end of a middle strip 143 included in seat back 14 and located between first and second shoulder belt-travel channels 141, 142 as suggested in FIG. 6B.

Shell-rigidifying plate 18 includes a sheet 184 and fastener means 180, 181, 182 coupled to sheet 184 for engaging fastener mounts 100, 101, 102 formed in seat back 14 to hold shell-rigidifying plate 18 in a stationary position on seat back 14 between head cradle 21 and cradle-motion blocker 40 as suggested in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 9. In an illustrative embodiment, three separate snap-actuated fasteners 180, 181, 182 cooperate to define the fastener means coupled to sheet 184.

Shell-rigidifying plate 18 also includes first and second load-receiver rails 161, 162 coupled to sheet 184 as suggested in FIG. 8 and arranged to engage slidable cradle retainer 30 to support slidable cradle retainer 30 for sliding movement on shell-rigidifying plate 18 away from sheet 184. First and second load-receiver rails 161, 162 are arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another to support slidable cradle retainer 30 for movement above and away from sheet 184.

Sheet 184 of shell-rigidifying panel 18 includes top and bottom panels 184T, 184B arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another as suggested in FIGS. 6A and 8. Sheet 184 also includes a first side panel 1841 arranged to interconnect top and bottom panels 184T, 184B and coupled to first lock strip 191 of anchor receiver 19. Sheet 184 further includes a second side panel 1842 arranged to interconnect top and bottom panels 184T, 184B and coupled to second lock strip 192. A middle panel 184M is included in sheet 184 and arranged to interconnect top and bottom channels 184T, 184B. Middle panel 184M cooperates with first side panel 1841 to define a first shoulder belt-travel channel 241 therebetween. Middle panel 184M also cooperates with second side panel 1842 to define a second shoulder belt-travel channel 242 therebetween. When shell-rigidifying plate 18 is coupled to seat back 14, middle panel 184M mates with middle strip 143 while first shoulder belt-travel channels 141, 241 are aligned in communication with one another and second shoulder belt-travel channels 142, 242 are aligned in communication with one another as suggested in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

Anchor receiver 19 of headrest support 16 includes first and second lock strips 191, 192 as suggested in FIG. 8. First and second lock strips 191, 192 are arranged to lie in spaced-apart parallel relation to one another as shown, for example, in FIG. 8.

First lock strip 191 is coupled to first side panel 1841 of sheet 184 of shell-rigidifying plate 18 to extend along an edge of first shoulder belt-travel channel 241. First lock strip 191 is formed to include several tab-receiving notches 19N sized to receive therein a tab 41T included in movable first anchor 41 of cradle-motion blocker 40 upon movement of movable first anchor 41 from a retracted position shown in FIG. 11 to an extended position shown in FIG. 10 to block movement of movable headrest 20 relative to seat shell 12.

Second lock strip 192 is coupled to second side panel 1842 of sheet 184 of shell-rigidifying plate 18 to extend along one edge of second shoulder belt-travel channel 242. Second lock strip 192 is formed to include several tab-receiving notches 19N sized to receive a tab 42T included in movable second anchor 42 of cradle-motion blocker 40 upon movement of movable second anchor 42 from a retracted position shown in FIG. 11 to an extended position shown in FIG. 10.

As suggested in FIG. 8, first and second lock strips 191, 192 are arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to cause the tab-receiving notches 19N of second lock strip 192 to open toward the tab-receiving notches 19N of the first lock strip 191. First and second shoulder belt-travel channels 241, 242 of shell-rigidifying plate 18 are arranged to lie between first and second lock strips 191, 192.

Head cradle 21 is formed to include a first shoulder belt-receiver slot 211 that is aligned to remain in communication with first shoulder belt-travel channel 241 formed in shell-rigidifying plate 18 and with first shoulder belt-travel channel 141 formed in seat back 14 during up-and-down movement of movable headrest 20. Head cradle 21 is also formed to include a second shoulder belt-receiver slot 212 that is aligned to remain in communication with second shoulder belt-travel channel 242 formed in shell-rigidifying plate 18 and with second shoulder belt-travel channel 142 formed in seat back 14 during up-and-down movement of movable headrest 20.

Child restraint 10 also includes a child-restraint harness 15 comprising first and second s shoulder belts 151, 152 as suggested in FIG. 1. First shoulder belt 151 passes through first shoulder belt-receiver slot 211 formed in head cradle 21 and the first shoulder belt-travel channels 141, 241 formed in seat back 14 and shell-rigidifying plate 18. Second shoulder belt 152 passes through second shoulder belt-receiver slot 212 formed in head cradle 21 and the second shoulder belt-travel channels 142, 242 formed in seat back 14 and shell-rigidifying plate 18.

Movable headrest 20 is arranged to be moved up and down by a caregiver on shell-rigidifying plate 18 of head support 16 to change the height of movable headrest 20. A first load-transfer flange 301 included in slidable cradle retainer 30 of movable headrest 20 is arranged to engage and slide on a rigid companion first load-receiver rail 161 included in shell-rigidifying plate 18 of head support 16 during up-and-down movement of movable headrest 20 relative to seat back 14 as suggested in FIGS. 8, 10, and 11. A second load-transfer flange 302 included in slidable cradle retainer 30 of movable headrest 20 is arranged to engage and slide on a rigid companion second load-receiver rail 162 included in shell-rigidifying plate 18 of head support 16 during up-and-down movement of movable headrest 20 relative to seat back 14. Shell-rigidifying plate 18 and its rigid load-receiver rails are made of a rigid plastics material such as fiberglass-filled nylon in an illustrative embodiment.

In illustrative embodiments, loads applied to movable headrest 28 during exposure of a vehicle carrying child restraint to an external impact are transferred to shell-rigidifying plate 18 that is coupled to seat shell 12 owing to mating engagement of movable headrest 20 and shell-rigidifying plate 18 in accordance with the present disclosure. Movable headrest 20 is configured to provide means for (1) engaging child-restraint harness 15 to receive a load applied to shoulder belts 151, 152 in child-restraint harness 15 by a seated child seated and restrained on seat bottom 13 of seat shell 12 during movement of the seated child relative to seat shell 12 in response to a sudden stop of a moving vehicle carrying seat shell 12 and (2) transferring the load from movable headrest 20 to shell-rigidifying plate 18 coupled to seat shell 12. In illustrative embodiments, that load is transferred via a first load-transfer path established by mating engagement of first load-transfer flange 301 included in movable headrest 20 and the rigid companion first load-receiver rail 161 included in shell-rigidifying plate 18 coupled to seat back 14 and via a second load-transfer path established by mating engagement of second load-transfer flange 302 included in movable headrest 20 and the rigid companion second load-receiver rail 162 included in shell-rigidifying plate 18.

Claims

1. A child restraint comprising

a seat shell made of a first plastics material and adapted to support a child in a child-receiving region formed in the seat shell,
a headrest support including a shell-rigidifying plate made of a rigid second plastics material that is different from the first plastics material and coupled to the seat shell to lie in a stationary position relative to the seat shell so as to rigidify the seat shell and an anchor receiver coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate, and
a movable headrest mounted for up-and-down movement on the shell-rigidifying plate relative to the seat shell between highest and lowest positions, the movable headrest including a head cradle arranged to lie alongside a front face of the shell-rigidifying plate for movement in the child-receiving region and a headrest-height controller arranged to lie alongside an oppositely facing rear face of the shell-rigidifying plate and coupled to the head cradle for movement therewith during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest relative to the seat shell, wherein the headrest-height controller includes a movable first anchor supported for movement between an extended position wherein the movable first anchor engages the anchor receiver of the headrest support to block movement of the movable headrest on the shell-rigidifying plate relative to the seat shell an a retracted position wherein the movable first anchor disengages the anchor receiver of the headrest support to free the movable headrest for movement on the shell-rigidifying plate relative to the seat shell.

2. The child restraint of claim 1, wherein the shell-rigidifying plate is formed to include first and second shoulder belt-travel channels, the head cradle is formed to include a first shoulder belt-receiver slot aligned to remain in communication with the first shoulder belt-travel channel formed in the shell-rigidifying plate during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest, and the anchor receiver of the headrest support includes a first lock strip coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate to extend along an edge of the first shoulder belt-travel channel and formed to include several tab-receiving notches sized to receive therein a tab included in the movable first anchor upon movement of the movable first anchor to the extended position to block movement of the movable headrest relative to the seat shell.

3. The child restraint of claim 2, wherein the child restraint further includes a child-restraint harness comprising a first shoulder belt passing through the first shoulder belt-receiver slot formed in the head cradle and the first shoulder belt-travel channel formed in the shell-rigidifying plate and a second shoulder belt passing through a second shoulder belt-receiver slot formed in the head cradle and the second shoulder belt-travel channel formed in the shell-rigidifying plate, and the tab-receiving notches formed in the first lock strip open toward the first shoulder belt.

4. The child restraint of claim 3, wherein the anchor receiver of the headrest further includes a second lock strip coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate to extend along an edge of the second belt-travel channel and formed to include several tab-receiving notches sized to receive therein a tab included in a movable second anchor included in the anchor receiver of the headrest support upon movement of the movable second anchor to an extended position and the tab-receiving notches formed in the second lock strip open toward the second shoulder belt.

5. The child restraint of claim 4, wherein the shell-rigidifying plate includes top and bottom panels arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another, a first side panel arranged to interconnect the top and bottom panels and coupled to the first lock strip, a second side panel arranged to interconnect the top and bottom panels and coupled to the second lock strip, and a middle panel arranged to interconnect the top and bottom panels and to cooperate with the first side panel to define the first shoulder belt-travel channel therebetween and to cooperate with the second side panel to define the second shoulder belt-travel channel therebetween.

6. The child restraint of claim 4, wherein the first and second lock strips of the anchor receiver of the headrest support are arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to cause the tab-receiving notches of the second lock strip to open toward the tab-receiving notches of the first lock strip.

7. The child restraint of claim 4, wherein the first and second shoulder belt-travel channels are arranged to lie between the first and second lock strips.

8. The child restraint of claim 1, wherein the seat shell includes a seat bottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seat bottom and the shell-rigidifying plate is coupled to the seat back.

9. The child restraint of claim 8, wherein the seat back is formed to include fastener mounts and the shell-rigidifying plate includes fastener means for engaging the fastener mounts formed in the seat back to hold the shell-rigidifying plate in a stationary position on the seat back between the head cradle and the cradle-motion blocker.

10. The child restraint of claim 9, further comprising a child-restraint harness including first and second shoulder belts and wherein the seat back is formed to include a belt-receiving opening and a border around the belt-receiving opening and the border is formed to include the fastener mounts and each of the first and second belts is arranged to extend through the belt-receiving opening formed in the seat back.

11. The child restraint of claim 8, wherein the seat back is formed to include a first shoulder belt-travel channel that is aligned to communicate with a first shoulder belt-travel channel formed in the shell-rigidifying plate and a second shoulder belt-travel channel that is aligned to communicate with a second shoulder belt-travel channel formed in the shell-rigidifying plate and the seat back includes a middle strip located between the first and second shoulder belt-travel channels of the seat back and arranged to confront a middle panel included in the shell-rigidifying plate and located between the first and second shoulder belt-travel channels of the shell-rigidifying plate.

12. The child restraint of claim 11, wherein the head cradle is formed to include a first shoulder belt-receiver slot aligned to remain in communication with the first shoulder belt-travel channels formed in the seat back and the shell-rigidifying plate during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest, and the anchor receiver of the headrest support includes a first lock strip coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate to extend along an edge of the first shoulder belt-travel channel of the shell-rigidifying plate and formed to include several tab-receiving notches sized to receive therein a tab included in the movable first anchor upon movement of the movable first anchor to the extended position to block movement of the movable headrest relative to the seat shell.

13. The child restraint of claim 12, wherein the child restraint further includes a child-restraint harness comprising a first shoulder belt passing through the first shoulder belt-receiver slot formed in the head cradle and the first shoulder belt-travel channels formed in the seat back and the shell-rigidifying plate and a second shoulder belt passing through a second shoulder belt-receiver slot formed in the head cradle and the second shoulder belt-travel channels formed in the seat back and the shell-rigidifying plate, and the tab-receiving notches formed in the first lock strip open toward the first shoulder belt.

14. The child restraint of claim 13, wherein the anchor receiver of the headrest further includes a second lock strip coupled to the shell-rigidifying plate to extend along an edge of the second belt-travel channel of the shell-rigidifying plate and formed to include several tab-receiving notches sized to receive therein a tab included in a movable second anchor included in the anchor receiver of the headrest support upon movement of the movable second anchor to an extended position and the tab-receiving notches formed in the second lock strip open toward the second shoulder belt.

15. The child restraint of claim 14, wherein the shell-rigidifying plate includes top and bottom panels arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another, a first side panel arranged to interconnect the top and bottom panels and coupled to the first lock strip, a second side panel arranged to interconnect the top and bottom panels and coupled to the second lock strip, and a middle panel arranged to interconnect the top and bottom panels and to cooperate with the first side panel to define the first shoulder belt-travel channel of the shell-rigidifying plate therebetween and to cooperate with the second side panel to define the second shoulder belt-travel channel of the shell-rigidifying plate therebetween.

16. The child restraint of claim 14, wherein the first and second lock strips of the anchor receiver of the headrest support are arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to cause the tab-receiving notches of the second lock strip to open toward the tab-receiving notches of the first lock strip.

17. The child restraint of claim 14, wherein the first and second shoulder belt-travel channels of the shell-rigidifying plate are arranged to lie between the first and second lock strips.

18. The child restraint of claim 1, wherein the seat shell includes a seat bottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seat bottom and the shell-rigidifying plate is coupled to the seat back and the headrest-height controller includes a slidable cradle retainer coupled to the head cradle to move therewith during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest and arranged to slide on the shell-rigidifying plate without contacting the seat back during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest on the shell-rigidifying plate.

19. The child restraint of claim 17, wherein a first load-transfer flange included in the slidable cradle retainer is arranged to engage and slide on a companion first load-receiver rail included in the shell-rigidifying plate during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest relative to the seat back.

20. The child restraint of claim 18, wherein a second load-transfer flange included in the slidable cradle retainer is arranged to engage and slide on a companion second load-receiver rail included in the shell-rigidifying plate during up-and-down movement of the movable headrest relative to the seat back.

Patent History
Publication number: 20120261960
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 30, 2011
Publication Date: Oct 18, 2012
Applicant: COSCO MANAGEMENT, INC. (Wilmington, DE)
Inventors: Nathan W. Heisey (Seymour, IN), Jason H. Johnson (Brownstown, IN)
Application Number: 13/308,283
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Adjustable To Plural Operative Positions (297/256.1)
International Classification: A47D 1/00 (20060101); A47D 15/00 (20060101);