Patent Application
20170273476
The present invention relates generally to the field of children's accessories, and more particularly to straps, harnesses and other restraints for child seats and other children's accessories that are easily cleaned without removing the restraints from the seat.
Restraints such as straps and harnesses are an important safety component of many children's accessories such as child seats, high chairs, booster seats, rockers, bouncers and the like. Such restraints are commonly provided for use in connection with children's accessories for the purpose of preventing a child from positioning himself unsafely, falling out of the seat, or causing a seat to tip over. Restraints are particularly important in high chairs and boosters, where young children of varying neck-strength are seated in a semi-upright position, because of the need for safe positioning for feeding to prevent choking.
However, many restraints are typically comprised of webbing or fabric straps, which are difficult to clean after a meal, as they stain easily and provide a surface for food particles to adhere. Unthreading the straps from the seat for daily washing would generally be difficult and impractical, and provide opportunities for the strap to be rethreaded incorrectly or unsafely. Accordingly, it can be seen that needs exist for restraints for a child seat or other children's accessory that are easily cleaned without removing said restraints from the seat. It is to the provision of restraints for a child seat or other children's accessory meeting these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.
In example embodiments, the present invention provides a strap, harness or other restraint for a children's accessory such as a child seat that is easily cleaned without removing said restraint from the seat. In further embodiments, the invention relates to a child seat of other children's accessory including such a restraint. In still other embodiments, the invention relates to methods of fabricating or treating a restraint for a children's accessory.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a restraint for a child seat. The restraint preferably includes at least one strap, the strap including a flexible base material and a water-resistant coating covering an exterior surface of at least a portion of the flexible base material.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a child seat including a seating surface configured for supporting a child seated thereon, and a restraint for holding the child seated in position on the seating surface. The restraint preferably includes at least one strap having a water-resistant exterior surface.
In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of producing a water-resistant strap for use in a restraint for a children's accessory, the method comprising applying a water-resistant coating material onto an exterior surface of an inner strap material to form an outer coating over at least a portion of an exterior surface of the inner strap material.
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be understood with reference to the drawing figures and detailed description herein, and will be realized by means of the various elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following brief description of the drawings and detailed description of example embodiments are explanatory of example embodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of example embodiments taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Any and all patents and other publications identified in this specification are incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
Also, as used in the specification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.
With reference now to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout the several views,
The restraint harness 30 comprises a waist strap 32 configured for placement around the waist of a child C seated in the seat 14, a pair of shoulder straps 34, 36 configured for placement over the child's shoulders, a waist strap fastener 38 configured for detachable fastening of opposed segments of the waist strap, and shoulder strap fasteners 40, 42 configured for detachable fastening of the shoulder straps to the waist strap to define a four-point harness. The fasteners 38, 40, 42 can be buckles, clips, or any other form of harness fastener. The straps 32, 34, 36 can be formed from webbing, fabric, leather, or any other suitable flexible material. In example embodiments, the straps comprise a polyester, nylon or other woven polymeric webbing material. The restraint harness 30 is generally configured to hold and support the child C in a generally upright position, a slightly reclined position, and/or in one or more specified positions within the chair 10, for example for feeding, play, rest, interaction, and/or other activities.
In example embodiments, one or more straps of the restraint can be coated with a pliable polymer such as urethane or any other suitable material, such that the coating will resist the adhesion of food particles or other particles, stains, liquids, or other materials.
In example forms, the strap 200 may define an external surface formed by the coating 204 presenting the outward appearance of a smooth “plastic” while maintaining the durability of the internal webbing or other material comprising the inner portion 202 of the strap. For example, a rubberized or silicone film or coating 204 may be applied over all or a substantial portion of the exterior surfaces of a polyester or nylon webbing inner portion 202 of the strap 200. In alternate embodiments, the strap 200 can be treated with a thin water-resistant coating 204, such that the strap would retain the outward appearance of its constituent inner strap material 202, but would have a water-resistant hydrophobic and stain-resistant external layer. The water-resistant coating could be, for example, a hydrophobic fluoropolymer or other surfactant, or a nano-coating such as a vacuum-induced plasma-bound hydrophobic layer. Alternatively, the coating can be any other hydrophobic or stain-resistant material known in the field. In alternate embodiments, the restraint straps themselves can be made of a liquid and/or stain-resistant extruded polymer such as a urethane or other flexible and tough thermoplastic material, with no separate internal webbing or other inner component.
While the invention has been described with reference to example embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications, additions and deletions are within the scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/313,918 filed Mar. 28, 2016, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62313918 | Mar 2016 | US |
