The present disclosure relates to child safety systems and devices, and particularly to child seats. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a child seat for use in a vehicle.
According to the present disclosure, a child restraint includes a juvenile seat adapted to support a child in a vehicle and a seat base adapted to rest on a vehicle seat. The seat base is fixed to the vehicle seat to support the juvenile seat for transportation in the vehicle. The juvenile seat can move from a rearward-facing orientation to a forward-facing orientation for children of varying sizes.
In illustrative embodiments, the child restraint further includes a seat-orientation controller fixed to the seat base for movement therewith and relative thereto about a vertical rotation axis and configured to mount the juvenile seat to the seat base for rotation about the vertical rotation axis with the seat-orientation controller. The seat-orientation controller includes a support frame coupled to the seat base and a juvenile-seat recline unit coupled to the support frame. The juvenile-seat recline unit is configured to move relative to the support frame and the seat base about a horizontal pivot axis to change the juvenile seat from a first reclined position relative to the seat base to a second reclined position relative to the seat base, the second reclined position having a different orientation relative to the vertical rotation axis than the first reclined position.
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.
The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:
A child restraint 10 includes a seat base 12 adapted to rest on a vehicle seat 11 and a juvenile seat 14 adapted to mount to the seat base 12 to secure the juvenile seat 14 to the vehicle seat 11 as shown in
The seat base 12 includes a seat-base foundation 20, a release handle 22 coupled to the seat-base foundation 20, and a juvenile-seat rotation latch 24 coupled to the release handle 22 to move therewith as shown in
The seat-base foundation 20 includes a foundation bottom 26 and a foundation backrest 28 coupled to the foundation bottom 26 and arranged to extend upwardly away from the foundation bottom 26 as shown in
The seat-orientation controller 18 includes a rotation-guide pedestal 38 received within a pedestal-receiving space 40 formed in the foundation basin 30 and a juvenile-seat attachment unit 42 coupled to the rotation-guide pedestal 38 as shown in
The rotation-guide pedestal 38 includes a side wall 44 that is substantially parallel to the vertical rotation axis 16 and a retainer ring 46 coupled to a lower end of the side wall 44 and that extends radially inward toward the vertical rotation axis 16 as shown in
The juvenile-seat attachment unit 42 includes an attachment body 54, a seat-retainer unit 56 coupled to an upper end 54U of the attachment body 54, and a motion-blocking unit 58 configured to block movement of the seat-orientation controller 18 relative to the seat base 12 when the juvenile seat 14 is in the forward-facing orientation and the rearward-facing orientation. The attachment body 54 has a curved shape and is arranged to lie at least partially within the controller-receiving space 32 and to generally follow the concave shape of the foundation basin 30 defining the controller-receiving space 32. The seat-retainer unit 56 is configured to attach and retain the juvenile seat 14 to the attachment body 54. The motion-blocking unit 58 cooperates with the juvenile-seat retainer latch 24 to block circumferential rotation of the seat-orientation controller 18 relative to the seat base 12. The motion-blocking unit 58 also cooperates with the controller support 36 to block forward pivoting of the seat-orientation controller 18 relative to the seat base 12 during a front impact, for example.
The seat-retainer unit 56 includes a front-end seat retainer 60 and a rear-end retainer 62 as shown in
The motion-blocking unit 58 includes a first seat-motion blocker 64 and a second seat-motion blocker 66 as shown in
Each of the first and second seat-motion blockers 64, 66 has a J-shaped profile when viewed from the side as shown in
Each of the seat-motion blockers 64, 66 travel in a blocker pathway 65 which extends circumferentially around axis 16 and below the perimeter rim 34. The juvenile-seat retainer latch 24 and the controller support 36 are each aligned and reside at least partially with the blocker pathway 65. The first and second seat-motion blockers 64, 66 interlock with the controller support 36 and the juvenile-seat retainer latch 24 in both the forward-facing orientation and the rearward-facing orientation. The first and second seat-motion blockers 64, 66 interlock with the controller support 36 by passing under the controller support 36 when the seat-orientation controller 18 reaches the forward-facing orientation and the rearward-facing orientation.
The juvenile-seat retainer latch 24 includes a pair of opposing latch ramps 241, 242 which are inclined circumferentially toward one another. The ramps 241, 242 are biased to extend into the controller-receiving space 32 and are retractable from the controller-receiving space 32 in response to one of the seat-motion blockers 64, 66 impacting one of the ramps 241, 242 as the seat-orientation controller 18 rotates about axis 16. Once one of the seat-motion blockers 64, 66 is arranged to lie between the ramps 241, 242, the seat-orientation controller 18 is blocked from rotating about axis 16 by the ramps 241, 242. The release handle 22 is coupled to both ramps 241, 242 and retracts the ramps 241, 242 from the controller-receiving space 32 when actuated by a user to free the seat-orientation controller 18 to rotate about the axis 16.
The attachment body 54 includes a support frame 68 coupled to the rotation-guide pedestal 38 in a fixed position, and a juvenile-seat recline unit 70 coupled to the support frame 68 as shown in
The juvenile-seat recline unit 70 includes a movable recline carriage 74 (also called a recline unit), a recline lock 76 coupled to the movable recline carriage 74 for movement therewith, and a recline-lock actuator 78 coupled to the recline lock 76 as shown in
The recline lock 76 includes a first movable latch 80 and a second movable latch 82 each biased toward the support frame 68 to normally establish the locked position. The movable latches 80, 82 each extend into corresponding latch openings 90, 92 formed in the support frame 68 in the locked position. The recline lock further includes a latch mount 88 that receives guide pins 81, 83 coupled to each respective movable latch 80, 82 to guide translation of the movable latches 80, 82 relative to the latch mount 88 when the recline-lock actuator 78 is engaged. There are a plurality of latch openings 90, 92 in the support frame 68 which each correspond to a different recline position for the juvenile seat 14.
The recline-lock actuator 78 includes an actuator handle 84 configured to be gripped by a user and a latch mover 86 coupled to the actuator handle 84. The latch mover 86 is configured to be moved relative to the recline lock 76 in response to actuation of the actuator handle 84 by the user to change the first and second movable latches from the locked position to the unlocked position.
The latch mover 86 is formed to include a first latch-mover slot 94 that receives a latch guide pin 81 of the first movable latch 80 and a second latch-mover slot 96 that receives a latch guide pin 83 of the second movable latch 82. The first latch-mover slot 94 is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the first movable latch 80. The second latch-mover slot 96 is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the second movable latch 82. The latch mover 86 is configured to withdraw the first and second movable latches 80, 82 from opposing first and second latch openings 90, 92 formed in the support frame 68 to separate the first and second movable latches 80, 82 from the support frame 68 so that the movable recline carriage 74 is free to pivot about the horizontal pivot axis 72 relative to the support frame 68.
The first and second guide slots 94, 96 are at least partially angled toward one another to cause the first and second movable latches 80, 82 to be withdrawn toward one another. The first and second movable latches 80, 82 move toward one another as the latch mover 86 is actuated.
The movable recline carriage 74 includes a carriage housing 102 surrounding the recline lock 76, the recline-lock actuator 78, and a portion of the support frame 68 as suggested in
The support frame 68 includes a frame base 112, a first support beam 114 coupled to the frame base 112 and to a first side of the juvenile-seat recline unit 70, and a second support beam 116 coupled to the frame base 112 and an opposite, second side of the juvenile-seat recline unit 70. The first and second seat motion blockers 64, 66 are fixed to the frame base 112 and extend downwardly therefrom. The first support beam 114 and the second support beam 116 extend longitudinally along an entire length of the frame base 112 and extend upwardly therefrom.
The frame base 112 includes a curved base plate 118 coupled to both the first and the second support beams 114, 116 and the rotation-guide pedestal 38 that extends downwardly from the curved base plate 118 and that is secured to the seat base 12 to establish the vertical rotation axis 16. The first support beam 114 and the second support beam 116 are each formed to include a first guide slot 120 and a second guide slot 122 spaced apart from the first guide slot 120. The juvenile-seat recline unit 70 further includes a first guide pin 124 that extends through the first guide slot 120 formed in both of the first and second support beams 114, 116 and a second guide pin 126 that extends through the second guide slot 122 formed in both of the first and second support beams 114, 116. The first support beam 114 and the second support beam 116 are each formed to include the plurality of latch openings 90, 92 between the first and second guide slots 120, 122.
The bottom cover 110 of the carriage housing 102 is formed to include a pedestal-receiving opening 128 as shown in
The seat-orientation controller 18 further includes a circumferential motion blocker 140 that is configured to block rotation of the seat-orientation controller 18 about the vertical rotation axis 16 all the way to the forward-facing orientation until the seat-orientation controller 18 is moved to a predetermined recline position as suggested in
In the extended position, the circumferential motion blocker 140 protrudes into a travel path 140P positioned radially outward from the rotation guide pedestal 38 relative to the vertical rotation axis 18. The seat base 12 includes a rotation stop 142 that is fixed in position relative to the seat-orientation controller 18 and that extends into the travel path 140P from a rear end of the pedestal-receiving space 40. The circumferential motion blocker 140 will engage the rotation stop 142 if the seat-orientation controller 18 attempts to rotate to the forward-facing orientation when the circumferential motion blocker 140 is in the extended position as suggested in
A portion of the juvenile-seat recline unit 70 is configured to engage and move the circumferential motion blocker 140 from the extended position to the retracted position in response to changing the recline position of the seat-orientation controller 18 as suggested in
The circumferential motion blocker 140 is biased to the extended position by a spring 144 as shown in
The circumferential motion blocker 140 blocks a user from rotating the juvenile seat 14 to the forward-facing orientation until the juvenile seat 14 is in the fully reclined position. The juvenile seat 14 includes a first juvenile-seat support 150 coupled to a backside thereof as shown in
The child restraint 10 further includes a seat belt retainer 154 that is mounted to the seat base 12 and that is configured to pivot relative to the seat base 12 to open and close a beltpath 156 for a vehicle seat belt as shown in
The following numbered clauses include embodiments that are contemplated and non-limiting:
Clause 1. A child restraint includes a juvenile seat adapted to support a child in a vehicle.
Clause 2. The child restraint of clause 1, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, further including a seat base adapted to rest on a vehicle seat.
Clause 3. The child restraint of clause 2, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, further including a seat-orientation controller fixed to the seat base for movement therewith and relative thereto about a vertical rotation axis, the seat-orientation controller includes a support frame coupled to the seat base and a juvenile-seat recline unit coupled to the support frame and configured to move relative to the support frame and the seat base about a horizontal pivot axis to change the juvenile seat from a first reclined position relative to the seat base to a second reclined position relative to the seat base, the second reclined position having a different orientation relative to the vertical rotation axis than the first reclined position.
Clause 4. The child restraint of clause 3, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat recline unit includes a movable recline carriage, a recline lock coupled to the movable recline carriage for movement therewith and coupled releasably to the support frame, and a recline-lock actuator coupled to the recline lock and configured to move the recline lock from a locked position, in which the recline lock extends between and interconnects the movable recline carriage and the support frame to block movement of the movable recline carriage relative to the support frame, and an unlocked position, in which the recline lock is separated from the support frame and the movable recline carriage is free to move about the horizontal pivot axis relative to the support frame.
Clause 5. The child restraint of clause 4, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the recline lock includes a first movable latch and a second movable latch each biased toward the locked position, and the recline-lock actuator includes an actuator handle configured to be gripped by a user and a latch mover coupled to the actuator handle and configured to be actuated by the user to change the first and second movable latches from the locked position to the unlocked position.
Clause 6. The child restraint of clause 5, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the latch mover is formed to include a first latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the first movable latch and a second latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the second movable latch.
Clause 7. The child restraint of clause 6, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the first movable latch and the second latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the second movable latch such that the latch mover is configured to withdraw the first and second movable latches from opposing first and second latch openings formed in the support frame to separate the first and second movable latches from the support frame so that the movable recline carriage is free to pivot about the horizontal pivot axis relative to the support frame.
Clause 8. The child restraint of clause 4, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the recline lock includes a first movable latch that is biased toward the locked position and the recline-lock actuator includes an actuator handle configured to be gripped and actuated by a user and a latch mover coupled to the actuator handle and formed to include a first latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the first movable latch, at least a portion of the first latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the recline lock such that the latch mover is configured to withdraw the first movable latch from a first latch opening formed in the support frame to separate the first movable latch from the support frame so that the movable recline carriage is free to move relative to the support frame.
Clause 9. The child restraint of clause 8, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the recline lock further includes a second movable latch that is biased toward the locked position and the latch mover is formed to include a second latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the second movable latch, at least a portion of the second latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at an angle relative to the direction of travel of the recline lock different than the angle of the first latch-mover slot such that the latch mover is configured to withdraw simultaneously the first movable latch from the first latch opening and the second movable latch from a second latch opening formed in the support frame to separate the first and second movable latches from the support frame so that the movable recline carriage is free to move relative to the support frame.
Clause 10. The child restraint of clause 9, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first and second movable latches move toward one another as the latch mover is actuated.
Clause 11. The child restraint of clause 9, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the movable recline carriage includes a carriage housing surrounding the support frame, the recline lock, and the recline-lock actuator, a first recline-lock carrier beam arranged to lie on a first side of latch mover and coupled to the first movable latch, and a second recline-lock carrier beam arranged to lie on an opposite, second side of the latch mover and coupled to the second movable latch.
Clause 12. The child restraint of clause 3, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the support frame includes a frame base, a first support beam coupled to the frame base and to a first side of the juvenile-seat recline unit, and a second support beam coupled to the frame base and the an opposite, second side of the juvenile-seat recline unit.
Clause 13. The child restraint of clause 12, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the frame base includes a curved base plate coupled to both the first and the second support beams and a rotation-guide pedestal that extends downwardly from the curved base plate and that is secured to the seat base to establish the vertical rotation axis.
Clause 14. The child restraint of clause 13, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the carriage housing is formed to include a pedestal-receiving opening and the carriage housing is configured to move relative to the rotation-guide pedestal between the first reclined position and the second recline position such that a first end of the pedestal-receiving opening is closer to the rotation-guide pedestal in the first reclined position and an opposite, second end of the pedestal-receiving opening is closer to the rotation-guide pedestal in the second reclined position than the first end.
Clause 15. The child restraint of clause 12, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first support beam and the second support beam are each formed to include a first guide slot.
Clause 16. The child restraint of clause 15, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first support beam and the second support beam are each formed to include a second guide slot spaced apart from the first guide slot.
Clause 17. The child restraint of clause 16, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat recline unit further includes a first guide pin that extends through the first guide slot formed in both of the first and second support beams and a second guide pin that extends through the second guide slot formed in both of the first and second support beams.
Clause 18. The child restraint of clause 17, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first support beam and the second support beam are each formed to include a plurality of latch openings between the first and second guide slots.
Clause 19. The child restraint of clause 18, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat recline unit includes the recline lock having a first movable latch and a second movable latch each biased toward the locked position, the first movable latch is received in one of the plurality of latch openings formed in the first support beam and the second movable latch received in one of the plurality of latch opening formed in the second support beam.
Clause 20. The child restraint of clause 3, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat-orientation controller further includes a seat-retainer unit coupled to the juvenile-seat recline unit and configured to attach removably the juvenile seat to the seat base and a motion-blocking unit coupled to the support frame and configured to block movement of the seat-orientation controller relative to the seat base when the juvenile seat is in the forward-facing orientation and the rearward-facing orientation.
Clause 21. The child restraint of clause 20, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat retainer unit includes a first juvenile-seat retainer coupled to a front end of the juvenile-seat recline unit and a second juvenile-seat retainer coupled to a rear end of the juvenile-seat recline unit, the first and second juvenile-seat retainers are configured to engage the juvenile seat to retain the juvenile seat to the seat-orientation controller and the first and second juvenile-seat retainers are movable relative to the seat base from the first reclined position to the second reclined position.
Clause 22. The child restraint of clause 21, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the motion-blocking unit includes a first seat-motion blocker coupled to a front end of the support frame and a second seat-motion blocker coupled to a rearward end of the support frame.
Clause 23. The child restraint of clause 22, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first seat-motion blocker interlocks with a controller support fixed to the seat base when the juvenile seat is in the rearward-facing orientation and the second seat-motion blocker interlocks with the controller support when the juvenile seat is in the forward-facing orientation.
Clause 24. A child restraint includes a juvenile seat adapted to support a child in a vehicle and a seat base adapted to rest on a vehicle seat.
Clause 25. The child restraint of clause 24, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, further including a seat-orientation controller fixed to the seat base and configured to mount the juvenile seat to the seat base.
Clause 26. The child restraint of clause 25, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat base includes a seat base foundation, a release handle coupled to the seat-base foundation, and a juvenile-seat rotation latch coupled to the release handle to move therewith.
Clause 27. The child restraint of clause 26, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile seat and the seat-orientation controller are rotatable in unison relative to the seat-base foundation about a vertical rotation axis to arrange the juvenile seat in a forward-facing orientation or a rearward-facing orientation and the juvenile-seat rotation latch is biased into engagement with the seat-orientation controller to lock the juvenile seat in one of the forward-facing orientation and the rearward-facing orientation.
Clause 28. The child restraint of clause 27, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat-base foundation includes a foundation bottom and a foundation backrest coupled to the foundation bottom and arranged to extend upwardly away from the foundation bottom.
Clause 29. The child restraint of clause 28, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the foundation bottom includes a concave, foundation basin defining a mount-receiving space in which the seat-orientation controller is received, a perimeter rim coupled to an upper end of the concave foundation basin and arranged to extend circumferentially around the concave foundation basin and the vertical rotation axis, and a controller support coupled to a rear end of the perimeter rim and configured to interact with the seat-orientation controller in both the forward-facing orientation and the rearward-facing orientation to block movement of the seat-orientation controller relative to the seat base-foundation.
Clause 30. The child restraint of clause 29, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat-orientation controller includes a rotation-guide pedestal received within a pedestal-receiving space formed in the concave foundation basin and a juvenile-seat attachment unit coupled to the rotation-guide pedestal and configured to attach to the juvenile seat to mount the juvenile seat to the seat base.
Clause 31. The child restraint of clause 30, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat attachment unit includes an attachment body, a seat-retainer unit coupled to an upper end of the attachment body and configured to attach the juvenile seat to the attachment body, and a motion-blocking unit configured to block movement of the seat-orientation controller relative to the seat base when the juvenile seat is in the forward-facing orientation and the rearward-facing orientation.
Clause 32. The child restraint of clause 31, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat-retainer unit includes a front-end seat retainer arranged to lie on an upper side of the attachment body and at a front end of the attachment body and a rear seat retainer arranged to lie on the upper side the attachment body and at a rearward end of the attachment body, the forward and rear seat retainers are configured to secure the juvenile seat to the juvenile-seat attachment unit and allow separation of the juvenile seat from the juvenile-seat attachment unit.
Clause 33. The child restraint of clause 31, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the motion-blocking unit includes a first seat-motion blocker coupled to a front end of the attachment body and a second seat-motion blocker coupled to a rearward end of the attachment body.
Clause 34. The child restraint of clause 33, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first seat-motion blocker interlocks with the controller support when the juvenile seat is in the rearward-facing orientation and the second seat-motion blocker interlocks with the controller support when the juvenile seat is in the forward-facing orientation.
Clause 35. The child restraint of clause 28, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat-orientation controller includes a motion-blocking unit having a first seat-motion blocker coupled to the front end of the seat-orientation controller and a second seat-motion blocker coupled to the rearward end of the seat-orientation controller.
Clause 36. The child restraint of clause 35, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first seat-motion blocker interlocks with a controller support fixed to the seat-base foundation when the juvenile seat is in the rearward-facing orientation and the second seat-motion blocker interlocks with the controller support when the juvenile seat is in the forward-facing orientation.
Clause 37. The child restraint of clause 27, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat-orientation controller includes a rotation-guide pedestal secured to the seat-base foundation to establish the vertical rotation axis and an attachment body coupled to the rotation-guide pedestal and configured to support the juvenile seat.
Clause 38. The child restraint of clause 37, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the attachment body includes a support frame coupled to the rotation-guide pedestal in a fixed position, and a juvenile-seat recline unit coupled to the support frame and configured to move relative to the support frame about a horizontal pivot axis to change the juvenile seat from a first reclined position relative to the seat-base foundation to a second reclined position relative to the seat-base foundation, the second reclined position having a different orientation relative to the vertical rotation axis than the first reclined position.
Clause 39. The child restraint of clause 38, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat recline unit includes a movable recline carriage (unit), a recline lock coupled to the movable recline carriage for movement therewith and coupled releasably to the support frame, and a recline-lock actuator coupled to the recline lock and configured to move the recline lock from a locked position, in which the recline lock extends between and interconnects the movable recline carriage and the support frame to block movement of the movable recline carriage relative to the support frame, and an unlocked position, in which the recline lock is separated from the support frame and the movable recline carriage is free to move about the horizontal pivot axis relative to the support frame.
Clause 40. The child restraint of clause 39, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the recline lock includes a first movable latch and a second movable latch each biased toward the locked position, and the recline-lock actuator includes an actuator handle configured to be gripped by a user and a latch mover coupled to the actuator handle and configured to be actuated by the user to change the first and second movable latches from the locked position to the unlocked position.
Clause 41. The child restraint of clause 40, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the latch mover is formed to include a first guide slot that receives a portion of the first movable latch and a second guide slot that receives a portion of the second movable latch.
Clause 42. The child restraint of clause 41, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first guide slot is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the first movable latch and the second guide slot is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the second movable latch such that the latch mover is configured to withdraw the first and second movable latches from opposing first and second latch openings formed in the support frame to separate the first and second movable latches from the support frame so that the movable recline carriage is free to pivot about the horizontal pivot axis relative to the support frame.
Clause 43. The child restraint of clause 42, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first and second guide slots are at least partially angled toward one another to cause the first and second movable latches to be withdrawn toward one another.
Clause 44. A child restraint includes a juvenile seat adapted to support a child in a vehicle, a seat base adapted to rest on a vehicle seat, and a seat-orientation controller fixed to the seat base for movement therewith and relative thereto.
Clause 45. The child restraint of clause 44, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the seat-orientation controller includes a support frame coupled to the seat base and a juvenile-seat recline unit coupled to the support frame and configured to move relative to the support frame and the seat base about a horizontal pivot axis to change the juvenile seat from a first reclined position relative to the seat base to a second reclined position relative to the seat base, the second reclined position having a different orientation relative to the seat base than the first reclined position.
Clause 46. The child restraint of clause 45, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat recline unit includes a movable recline carriage, a recline lock coupled to the movable recline carriage for movement therewith and coupled releasably to the support frame, and a recline-lock actuator coupled to the recline lock and configured to move the recline lock from a locked position, in which the recline lock extends between and interconnects the movable recline carriage and the support frame to block movement of the movable recline carriage relative to the support frame, and an unlocked position, in which the recline lock is separated from the support frame and the movable recline carriage is free to move about the horizontal pivot axis relative to the support frame.
Clause 47. The child restraint of clause 46, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the recline lock includes a first movable latch and a second movable latch each biased toward the locked position, and the recline-lock actuator includes an actuator handle configured to be gripped by a user and a latch mover coupled to the actuator handle and configured to be actuated by the user to change the first and second movable latches from the locked position to the unlocked position.
Clause 48. The child restraint of clause 47, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the latch mover is formed to include a first latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the first movable latch and a second latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the second movable latch.
Clause 49. The child restraint of clause 48, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the first movable latch and the second latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at least partially at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the second movable latch such that the latch mover is configured to withdraw the first and second movable latches from opposing first and second latch openings formed in the support frame to separate the first and second movable latches from the support frame so that the movable recline carriage is free to pivot about the horizontal pivot axis relative to the support frame.
Clause 50. The child restraint of clause 46, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the recline lock includes a first movable latch that is biased toward the locked position and the recline-lock actuator includes an actuator handle configured to be gripped and actuated by a user and a latch mover coupled to the actuator handle and formed to include a first latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the first movable latch, at least a portion of the first latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at an angle relative to a direction of travel of the recline lock such that the latch mover is configured to withdraw the first movable latch from a first latch opening formed in the support frame to separate the first movable latch from the support frame so that the movable recline carriage is free to move relative to the support frame.
Clause 51. The child restraint of clause 50, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the recline lock further includes a second movable latch that is biased toward the locked position and the latch mover is formed to include a second latch-mover slot that receives a portion of the second movable latch, at least a portion of the second latch-mover slot is arranged to lie at an angle relative to the direction of travel of the recline lock different than the angle of the first latch-mover slot such that the latch mover is configured to withdraw simultaneously the first movable latch from the first latch opening and the second movable latch from a second latch opening formed in the support frame to separate the first and second movable latches from the support frame so that the movable recline carriage is free to move relative to the support frame.
Clause 52. The child restraint of clause 51, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first and second movable latches move toward one another as the latch mover is actuated.
Clause 53. The child restraint of clause 51, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the movable recline carriage includes a carriage housing surrounding the support frame, the recline lock, and the recline-lock actuator, a first recline-lock carrier beam arranged to lie on a first side of latch mover and coupled to the first movable latch, and a second recline-lock carrier beam arranged to lie on an opposite, second side of the latch mover and coupled to the second movable latch.
Clause 54. The child restraint of clause 45, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the support frame includes a frame base, a first support beam coupled to the frame base and to a first side of the juvenile-seat recline unit, and a second support beam coupled to the frame base and the an opposite, second side of the juvenile-seat recline unit.
Clause 55. The child restraint of clause 54, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first support beam and the second support beam are each formed to include a first guide slot.
Clause 56. The child restraint of clause 55, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first support beam and the second support beam are each formed to include a second guide slot spaced apart from the first guide slot.
Clause 57. The child restraint of clause 56, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat recline unit further includes a first guide pin that extends through the first guide slot formed in both of the first and second support beams and a second guide pin that extends through the second guide slot formed in both of the first and second support beams.
Clause 58. The child restraint of clause 57, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the first support beam and the second support beam are each formed to include a plurality of latch openings between the first and second guide slots.
Clause 59. The child restraint of clause 58, any other clause, or any suitable combination of clauses, wherein the juvenile-seat recline unit includes the recline lock having a first movable latch and a second movable latch each biased toward the locked position, the first movable latch is received in one of the plurality of latch openings formed in the first support beam and the second movable latch received in one of the plurality of latch opening formed in the second support beam.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/419,505 filed Oct. 26, 2022, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/545,648 filed Oct. 25, 2023, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/545,650 filed Oct. 25, 2023, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/545,654 filed Oct. 25, 2023, each of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63419505 | Oct 2022 | US | |
63545648 | Oct 2023 | US | |
63545650 | Oct 2023 | US | |
63545654 | Oct 2023 | US |