Patent Application
20160059746
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/042,827 for “Adjustable Foot for an Infant Car Seat Base”, filed Aug. 28, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure generally relates to infant and child safety systems for use in passenger vehicles. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to an adjustable foot integrated into a car seat base.
Child restraint systems are well known in the art, and are designed to protect children from injury or death during collisions. The design of child restraint systems typically varies depending on the age and size of the child. For example, children under 4 feet, 9 inches tall may require the use of a simple booster seat until they are large enough to use an adult seat belt. Infant or child safety seats typically have more components, and place an infant or child in a rearward-facing, semi-recumbent position.
Typically, a child safety seat is made up of two parts: a car seat carrier, and a base into which the car seat carrier is mounted. The base is positioned on the seat of a vehicle, such as a car, truck, train, or airplane, and secured using either the passenger restraint system of the vehicle or another form of tethering system. For example, a base is typically secured in place on an automobile seat through the use of the vehicle's seat belt or a LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system.
The car seat carrier is then attached to the base, typically using one or more connection points. This allows the base to be left secured to the vehicle seat, while only the carrier is removed. To provide maximum protection to the infant, the carrier is typically oriented such that when the infant is properly placed in the carrier, the infant's feet are nearest the seat back.
There are a number of issues associated with each of these two components. One such issue is the variation in slope and position of the vehicle seat onto which the base is placed. For example, some vehicle seats are horizontal, or nearly horizontal. Others, however, are more sloped. Typically, the inner portion of the seat, where it meets the seat back, will be at a lower height than the outer portion of the seat, where the user's legs hang from. Therefore, the base, unless it has an adjustment, is positioned at different inclinations based on the vehicle's seat. These differences in inclination cause the child safety seat to also be at different inclinations, some of which may not offer sufficient protection and comfort for the child. Height adjustments within the base can be used to minimize this issue.
Currently, some of these issues are addressed in a variety of ways, with varying degrees of success. In some cases, the solutions to these issues are expensive, thereby raising the price of the child safety seat. It would be beneficial if these issues could be addressed in a safe, convenient and cost effective manner.
The problems of the prior art are addressed by a novel child safety seat system comprising an adjustable foot in a car seat base. The base comprises a height adjustment to allow the base to assume one of a plurality of positions and inclinations when mounted to the vehicle seat. Certain embodiments can comprise a shaft that is configured to translate longitudinal movement into lateral movement of a retaining member, which is used to releasably engage an adjustable foot disposed in the base.
In one embodiment, a base for a child safety seat comprises a base plate having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface configured to receive a car seat and the bottom surface adapted to face toward a vehicle seat. A cavity can be disposed in the bottom surface. The base can further comprise a height adjustment assembly, which can comprise an actuator, a shaft having a first end attached to the actuator, and a retaining member disposed on the shaft. An adjustable foot is disposed within the cavity and has a locking member on an inner surface. The shaft has a locked position, wherein the retaining member extends from the shaft and cooperates with the locking member to hold the adjustable foot in a first height position, and an unlocked position where the retaining member retracts from the locking member, thus allowing free movement of the adjustable foot. In certain embodiments, the actuator may be accessible from the top surface of the base plate. In certain embodiments, the base can further comprise one or more additional locking members disposed on the inner surface, wherein the one or more additional locking members allow the adjustable foot to be held in a variety of height positions. In certain embodiments, the base can comprise one or more additional retaining members disposed on the shaft, such that the one or more additional retaining members allow the adjustable foot to be held in a variety of height positions. In certain embodiments, the base can further comprise a biasing member in communication with the retaining member, wherein the biasing member is configured to bias the shaft to the locked position. In certain embodiments, the retaining member can comprise a pin, and the locking member can comprise a recess configured to receive the pin.
In another embodiment, a base for a child safety seat, comprises a base plate having an upper surface configured to securely receive a car seat carrier and a lower surface adapted to be positioned on a vehicle seat. A shaft is positioned within the base and in communication with a retaining member. The base is configured to translate longitudinal movement of the shaft into lateral movement of the retaining member. A foot is disposed on the lower surface. The foot is releasably engaged by lateral movement of the retaining member. In certain embodiments, the lower surface can further comprise a cavity, and the foot is at least partially disposed within the cavity. In certain embodiments, the foot can be configured to move longitudinally to adjust the height of the base with respect to the seat of the vehicle. In certain embodiments, the foot can be in contact with the vehicle seat. In certain embodiments, the base can further comprise an actuator disposed on the upper surface, wherein the actuator is in communication with the shaft. In these embodiments, the base can be configured to translate longitudinal movement of the actuator into lateral movement of the retaining member. In certain embodiments, the foot can further comprise a locking member, wherein lateral movement of the retaining member secures the foot by engaging with the locking member. In certain embodiments, the retaining member can comprise a locking pin in communication with an alignment pin, and the base can further comprise a diagonal slot, wherein the base is configured to translate longitudinal movement of the shaft into lateral movement of the retaining member by tracking the alignment pin within the diagonal slot. In certain embodiments, the retaining member is biased towards engagement with the foot. In still further embodiments, the foot can be pivotally attached to the lower surface of the base.
In another embodiment, a base for a child safety seat, adapted to be mounted in a vehicle seat, comprises a base plate having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface configured to receive a car seat carrier and the bottom surface adapted to face toward the vehicle seat, the bottom surface further comprising a cavity. The base can further comprise a height adjustment assembly, which can include an actuator, a shaft having a first end attached to the actuator, and a retaining member disposed on the shaft. An adjustable foot can be disposed within the cavity and includes a locking member. The shaft can have a locked position, wherein the retaining member cooperates with the locking member to hold the adjustable foot in a first height position, and an unlocked position wherein the retaining member retracts from the locking member to allow free movement of the adjustable foot. Further, the base can be configured to translate longitudinal movement of the shaft into lateral movement lateral movement of the retaining member. In certain embodiments, the retaining member can comprise a plurality of retaining members. In still further embodiments, the locking member can comprise a plurality of locking members.
For a better understanding of the present disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein by reference and in which:
In certain embodiments, the base plate 100 and mounting frame 106 may comprise a single molded plastic component. However, in other embodiments, the base plate 100 may comprise multiple plastic components that are fit or secured together. The base plate 100 can comprise polypropylene or other plastic materials. As shown in this embodiment, the base plate 100 may be formed to have two opposite ends. One end is configured for a child's head and the opposite end is configured for the child's feet. The two edges perpendicular to the ends are referred to as sides.
The height adjustment assembly 200 can comprise an actuator for adjusting the height of the base plate 100. In this embodiment, the actuator comprises a release knob or release button 210. As shown in this embodiment, the release button 210 is visible and accessible from the top surface 102 of the base 10. The release button 210 is configured to actuate an adjustable foot 290, which can be visible on and accessible from the bottom surface 104 of the base 10. Like the base plate 100, some components of the height adjustment assembly 200 may be made from polypropylene or other plastic. The adjustable foot 290 may be disposed in a cavity or gap located on the bottom surface 104 of the base plate 100, for example, as shown in the embodiment of
As shown in this embodiment, the release button 210 may be in communication with or attached to a shaft 220. The shaft 220 has a top portion, which attaches to the release button 210, and a bottom portion which is in communication with a locking pin housing 230. However, in certain embodiments, the release button 210 can comprise the top portion of the shaft 220, such that the shaft 220 and release button 210 are an integral component. The shaft 220 may be hollow or may be a solid component. The shaft 220 can have a width, which can be the dimension between the two sides of the base plate 100. As shown in this embodiment, the top portion of the shaft 220 can be wider than the bottom portion. The shaft 220 can also have a depth, which can be the dimension between the two ends of the base plate 100. Finally, the shaft 220 can have a height, which is the dimension perpendicular to both the width and the depth.
As shown in this embodiment, the shaft 220 can be disposed in a passageway or channel 115 that is part of the mounting frame 106. However, in certain embodiments, the channel 115 may be formed as part of the base plate 100. The channel 115 may be slightly larger than the shaft 220, so that the shaft 220 is able to slide within and be accommodated by the channel 115. In certain embodiments, the channel 115 may be vertical, such that the shaft 220 may move longitudinally between the top and bottom surfaces 102, 104 of the base plate 100. As shown in this embodiment, the channel 115 can further comprise an upper portion 116, a lower portion 117, and a ledge 118. The upper portion 116 is sized to accommodate the top portion of the shaft 220, and the lower portion 117 is sized to accommodate the bottom portion of the shaft 220. The ledge 118 serves to prevent the shaft 220 from overextension downwards, i.e., by contacting the top portion of the shaft 220 when the shaft 220 is sufficiently urged downwards.
As better seen in
The height adjustment assembly 200 can be configured to translate longitudinal movement of the shaft 220 into lateral movement of one or more retaining members extending from the locking pin housing 230. This causes the one or more retaining members to extend and retract in order to engage and disengage, respectively, from the adjustable foot 290 in response.
Also shown in the embodiment of
Referring back to
The adjustable foot 290 can be disposed in a gap between the front wall 108 of the mounting frame 106 (e.g., as shown in
In the locked position, as shown in
In use, an operator or caregiver may then allow the adjustable foot 290 to move to a desired position to achieve a desired height of the base plate 100. For example, this height may be that required to place the base plate 100 in a level configuration with respect to the vehicle seat to which the base plate 100 is attached. Once a desired position and height have been achieved, the release button 210 may then be released. This action results in the locking pin biasing member 250 urging the locking pins 235 to extend outwards, so that the alignment pins 240 slide through the horizontal slots 231 of the locking pin housing 230 and the diagonal slots 221 of the shaft 220. Thus, the shaft 220 and release button 210 are returned to their biased and locked position, as shown in
As described above, the adjustable foot 290 comprises a plurality of recesses 297 which can be aligned with the locking pins 235. While
Further, it should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to embodiments having only a single set of locking pins 235. For example, in another embodiment the locking pin housing 230 may feature multiple sets of locking pins 235. In this embodiment, the height adjustment assembly 200 may have only a single set of recesses 297. Thus, the desired height of the height adjustment assembly 200 is set by placing one set of the locking pins 235 into the single set of recesses 297. Further variations of locking pins 235 and recesses 297 may be evident to those having skill in the art.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments of and modifications to the present disclosure, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, although the present disclosure has been described herein in the context of a particular implementation in a particular environment for a particular purpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure as described herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62042827 | Aug 2014 | US |
