Patent Application
20060006712
This invention relates generally to automobile seats, and more specifically to a child or infant seat for automobiles and other moving vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to child car seats that are foldable, lightweight and, therefore, easily portable.
It is well known in the transportation industry that vehicle seats, such as automobile seats, installed in a vehicle does not provide adequate safety for children, particularly very young infants. These vehicle seats are typically designed to contain adults due to their size and configuration. For example, the overall size of the seat and the location of the safety belts therein are designed for bodies of an adult size. When a child sits in such an adult vehicle seat, the child is not adequately contained and the safety belts are poorly positioned on the child's body. Thus, the child can easily slip under a belt during an accident thereby risking injury. In summary, a child riding in an adult vehicle seat is extremely unsafe.
Numerous devices have been proposed for enhancing the safety for children while driving in automobiles. While seat belts have provided some measure of safety for older children, separate smaller seats have generally been used for young children and infants since these tend to restrain the child from movement in almost every direction. Also, the harness seat belts of these child car seats can be positioned in the proper location about the child.
In most instances, these child car seats have been separate seats which can be installed on an adult automobile seat and secured in some fashion thereto by means of, for example, the adult seat belts. In newer automobiles, mounting structures are provided to connect the seat directly to the chassis of the vehicle. These child car seats have been found to be very effective in protecting the child when in a vehicle that has only adult-sized seats installed therein.
Child car seats in the prior art are known to be provided in two primary configurations. Most common are non-folding child car seats where the body of the seat is of a unitary construction. The seat is typically made of plastic with a cushioning thereon. The overall shape of the seat is fixed into a general L-shaped configuration. Frequently, certain styles of these fixed, non-folding child car seats can also receive a handle for easier portability. Appropriate structures are provided on the seat to secure it to the adult vehicle seat onto which it is installed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,086, issued to Gunji, is an example of such a construction.
Due to the unitary construction, the non-folding fixed child car seats of the prior art are very safe in that they are rigid structures that are not apt to collapse during an accident. This is a serious concern in aftermarket add-on seats within a vehicle. Also, the very unitary non-folding construction is also highly undesirable because it is very bulky during travel without the child or for storage, for example in the trunk of a vehicle when not in use. Therefore, in these non-folding child seats of the prior art, there is a trade off between the safety of the rigid non-folding design with portability and compactness to facilitate transport of the seat.
To address the shortcomings of the prior unitary fixed child vehicle seats, there have been attempts in the prior art to provide a folding child car seat. These prior art seats typically include a seat back and a seat bottom that are pivotally connected to each in some way. When in use, the seat back and the seat bottom are located in an open position relative to one another to form the desired seat configuration. When not in use, the seat bottom and seat back are pivoted relative to one another so that the seat can collapse whereby the seat bottom and the seat back are proximal to one another. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,543, issued to Hartmann, is a good example of this known construction.
The folding child vehicle seats of the prior art are more compact and portable than the non-folding seat discussed above because they fold. However, the presence of a pivot break point introduces a structural weakness in the construction of the seat. More specifically, the pivot point that hingedly connects the seat back to the seat bottom creates a stress point that is of particular concern from a safety perspective. Thus, the prior art folding seats must provide the appropriate locking mechanism to secure the hinged connection in its open condition during use. It is critical that satisfactory locking is provided to ensure that the seat does not fold up and collapse during an accident.
Prior art folding vehicle seats address this problem in a number of different ways. For example, locking mechanisms have been provided in the prior art directly about the pivot point between the seat back and the seat bottom. In this case, retractable pins or tabs have been used to engage with slots on the pivot structure to releasbly lock the seat in a desired open or closed condition. These pivot locks are susceptible to failure because most of the load during an accident is focused on the pivot point of the seat. Also, cross-struts have been used to secure the seat in an open condition, however, these struts are cumbersome and uncomfortable for the child when in operation. Further folding car seat designs have required cantilevered structures that require additional supports to enabled the cantilevered configuration to be successfully carried out.
Also, while prior art foldable child car seats do collapse to a smaller overall shape than non-folding seats to facilitate transport, they are still quite bulky even when in a closed condition. This is due to the nature and configuration of how they collapse, such as the location and nature of the pivot hinge. Also, the amount of folding is limited because the thickness of the seat bottom impacts into the thickness of the seat back. Thus, the overall thickness of the folded seat is the thickness of the seat back plus the thickness of the seat bottom. Some child seats have very thin seat backs and seat bottoms to provide a compact overall folded configuration, however, the reduced thickness and padding has a negative impact on the safety of the seat when in use.
The child car seats of the prior art suffer from various disadvantages that make them unsafe or cumbersome to use. Therefore, there is a need for a child car seat to be safe and comfortable to use. There is a further need for a child car seat to be compact and transportable while being safe. There is a particular need for compact folding child vehicle seat that safely stays open even during the impact of an accident. There is a further need for a seat with an improved structural linkage to make the frame structure of a seat more compact in configuration yet still being structurally sound. There is also a need to make the structural linkage of a folding seat easier to operate and assemble than prior art assemblies.
The present invention preserves the advantages of prior art folding seats, such as folding child car seats. In addition, it provides new advantages not found in currently available seats and overcomes many disadvantages of such currently available seats.
The invention is generally directed to a novel and unique folding child car seat that includes a bottom member with a first free end and a second free end, a first back member having a first free end and a second free end where the first free end of the first back member is pivotally connected about a first pivot axis to the second free end of the bottom member. The assembly also includes a second back member with a first free end and a second free end where the first free end of the second back member is pivotally connected about a second pivot axis to the second free end of the bottom member. A first free end of a cross member is pivotally connected to the second free end of the second back member and the second free end of the cross member is pivotally connected to the second free end of the first back member. As a result, the bottom member is pivotable, relative to the first back member and the second back member, between an open condition and a closed condition.
The structural frame linkage of the present invention can be carried out in many different configurations. Preferably, four linkages, as described above, are used, however, more than four can be used depending on the application. Also, as will be described below, linkages are preferably displaceably coupled by a pivot point connection. However, the linkages may be displaceably coupled by sliding action where a pin on one linkage slides within a slot in an adjacent linkage. Also, the linkages may be displaceably connected where adjacent linkages can actually disconnect from one another to permit desired movement of the linkages relative to one another.
These members are preferably made of steel, but could be made of other metal and non-metal materials as well that are suitable for load-bearing members.
The members of the assembly are preferably vertically oriented plates which can support large loads utilizing less material when positioned in this fashion which is unique to the present invention. Since the load of the seat is borne in the direction of the vertically oriented plate, it is much stronger because it is this greater thickness of the plate that is resisting flexing due to the presence of the load. Thus, the load bearing ability of the frame is greatly improved with less material weight when the plates therein are oriented on their ends in a vertical fashion.
The seat bottom member is pivotally connected to a first seat back member and a second seat back member. As the bottom seat member pivots relative to the first seat back member and the second seat back member, the first seat back member and the second seat back member much move relative to each other in view of their interconnection with a cross member or structure for allowing displaceably coupling thereof. Thus, when the first back member and the second back member are secured relative to one another, the bottom seat member will not be permitted to further pivot. For example, a pin may be routed through the first seat back member and the second seat back member for this purpose. Also to permit more complete folding, The side armrests of the seat bottom compactly nest within apertures or recesses in the seat back when the seat is in its folding condition, or the side armrests my compress downward during folding.
During folding, the members are allowed to pass through optional slots in the front surface(s) of the seat. This feature means that the members can be designed in a more linear shape for greater strength with less material and in the folded condition of the seat. Also, there can be a closer proximity of the seat back members and seat bottom members to each other, if desired. Further, the overall seat is lighter in weight yet still strongly supported while maintaining a thin folded profile.
The present invention addresses the problems associated with the prior art by providing a compact folding seat that has a unique folding construction coupled with a structure to receive the side arm rests of a seat bottom. A unique multiple linkage configuration permit the structural frame to be very low profile with a less complicated assembly than prior art structures.
As a result, the compact folding seat of the present invention is much more secure than prior art folding seats and is less likely to collapse during an accident while being extremely compact and light in weight. In view of the foregoing, the folding seat of the present invention is more safe and more compact than prior art folding seats.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a folding child car seat.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a folding child car seat that is safe, secure and will not collapse during an accident.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved frame assembly for a folding seat that includes a multiple member linkage.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a folding child car seat that is extremely compact.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a folding child car seat that is easy to operate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a child car seat that is lightweight yet safe and secure.
Another object of present invention is to provide a child car seat that is comfortable for a child to use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a child car seat that can fold quickly and easily.
Yet another object of the present
The novel features which are characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. However, the invention's preferred embodiments, together with further objects and attendant advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring first to
In general, the seat of the present invention includes a multiple linkage frame structure, as will be described below, and housing 12a installed thereon to give the seat 10a desired ergonomic seat. The housing 12a for the seat back 12 is in the form of a seat cover while the seat bottom 14 also includes a similar housing or cover 14a thereon. The covers 12a and 14a can be made out of any material but are preferably made of injection molded plastic. These covers 12a and 14a are shown in a given ergonomic shape but any desired shape and size can be employed and still be within the scope of the present invention. It is preferred to employ well known child vehicle seat configurations which are generally accepted to meet government standards. For example, side arm rests 16 on the seat bottom 14 and side panels 18 on the seat back 12 are preferably included. However, these structures are optional. Also, various sizes of the seat 10 of the present invention can be provided to accommodate children of different sizes and ages.
Additional padding, as seen in
For ease of illustration, the folding child vehicle seat 10 is shown without the cushioning 20 of
Turning now to
A cross member 36 is pivotally connected to the opposing free ends of frame members 32a and 32b by pivot member 36c connected to frame member 32b and pivot member 36d connected to frame member 32a. A result, a multiple linkage frame 30 is provided that is low-profile in configuration yet very strong.
The plate-like frame members 32a and 32b and bottom frame member 34 are oriented on their respective edges, namely, in a vertical orientation to achieve a scissoring type folding action, as will be described below. While two frame members 32a and 32b with cross member 32c for each frame 30, it is possible to employ only one, or more than two, vertically oriented frame member(s) for each of the seat back frame 30 and the seat bottom frame 34, and still be within the scope of the present invention. These plates 32a, 32b, 32c and 34 are preferably made of steel but could be made of other metal and non-metal materials that are suitable as frame members for bearing loads.
There are many ways to lock the frame members relative to one another to secure the seat in a either an open or closed condition. For example, a pin 22 may be routed through an aperture 23 in frame member 32a and aperture 25 in frame member 32b, as seen in
In particular, control of the counter-clockwise pivoting or rotation of the seat bottom frame 34 relative to the seat back frame members 32a and 32b is important because of the concern that a folding child car seat 10 may collapse due to the impact of an accident. More specifically, when an accident occurs, such a front impact, there is a tendency for the seat 10 to be thrown forward. This causes the seat back 12 to be urged forward with high force thereby placing downward force on the seat bottom 14. In the environment of a folding seat, forward and downward force into the seat bottom 14 causes significant stress on the pivot point of a folding seat. Therefore, a locking mechanism 22 may be employed to ensure that the folding seat does not collapse, that is the seat bottom 14 rotating in a counter-clockwise direction, in the event of an accident.
Referring now to
As will be described in further detail in connection with
In
As can be seen in
Preferably, pass-through apertures 106, as seen in
Referring now to
Referring to
More specifically, as in
The linkage frame members 32a, 32b, and 34 and linkage 32c of the present invention are the preferred frame construction for the child car seat 10 of the present invention. As described above, the orienting plate-like members on end in a vertical fashion enables a much larger load to be supported with the same or lesser amount of frame material. The use of internal vertically oriented plates 32a, 32b, 34 and linkage 32c are unique in a child vehicle seat 10, whether that seat is of the folding type or of the non-folding type.
Referring now to
Referring to
In view of the foregoing, a new and novel child car seat 10, 200 is provided that can be either folding or non-folding in configuration. A unique multiple linkage structure with members 32a, 32b, 32c and 34 is provided with members oriented vertically on their respective ends for added strength.
It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be covered by the appended claims.
This application claims priority from prior U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/587,277 filed on Jul. 12, 2004.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60587277 | Jul 2004 | US |
