WO2007003923A1

WO2007003923A1 - Child safety seat

Info

Publication number: WO2007003923A1
Application number: PCT/GB2006/002449
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vincent Freeman; Ian Powell; Gareth James
Original assignee: Britax Excelsior Ltd
Current assignee: Britax Excelsior Ltd
Priority date: 2005-07-01
Filing date: 2006-06-30
Publication date: 2007-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 2008-01-01
Also published as: EP1904336A1

Abstract

A child safety seat (1) for a vehicle, such as a car or bicycle, comprising a seat base (5); two side supports (3), provided respectively on opposing sides of the seat (1), said side supports (3) and seat base (5) defining a user area for receiving a user; and a moveable panel (4) provided on at least one of the side supports (3); wherein the or each moveable panel (4) is adjustably extendable from its respective side support (3) into the user area for supporting the user at the sides.

Description

CHILD SAFETY SEAT

[001] The present invention relates to a child safety seat and in particular to child safety seat for use in cars, with bicycles or with other vehicles.

[002] In this respect, child safety seats are well known for assisting in securing a child within the interior of a vehicle. Such seats take many forms, but in general involve a seat base which rests on the vehicle seat base, and a seat back which, in the case of forwardly facing child seats, rests against the vehicle seat back.

[003] Increased public awareness of road safety issues has meant consumers recognize the importance of child safely seats, and in particular the importance of selecting the correct size and fit child seat for ensuring the safety of their child. Conventionally, this has meant that child safety seats are only suited to children within a certain age (or rather size) range, since the effectiveness of a seat in an accident situation will be reduced if a child is too small or too large for the particular seat. In the past, this has meant parents may have to buy up to three different seats to safely transport their children during different stages of their childhood development. To address this problem,- manufacturers have developed various modifications to child seats in order to extend the age range for which the child seat can be used. For example, one such modification involves the use of height adjustable harnesses and headrests, which can be extended to allow taller children to be accommodated in the seat.

[004] In recent years it has also become common to provide side supports for child safety seats. These side supports not only help to keep the child in place within the seat during travel, but also improve safety in the event of a side impact collision as well as improve the rigidity of the seat by linking the seat base and seat back. However, the inclusion of side supports limits the advantages associated with height adjustable seats since a narrow seat width prohibits use of the seat by larger children, and a wide seat means that the side supports are too far apart to adequately secure smaller children.

[005] Conventional seats overcome this problem by forming the side supports on pivotable mountings attached to the side of the seat back. In order to accommodate larger_, children, the side supports can thereby be pivoted outwardly to open out the space within the seat. However, such an arrangement means that the side supports can no longer connect to the base of the child seat, and hence they no longer provide additional rigidity for the seat or side impact protection to the child.

[006] The present invention seeks to resolve such problems of known arrangements.

[007] According to the present invention there is provided a child safety seat for a vehicle, the child seat comprising:- a seat base; two side supports, provided respectively on opposing sides of the seat, said side supports and seat base defining a user area for receiving a user; and a moveable panel provided on at least one of the side supports; wherein the or each moveable panel is adjustably extendable from its respective side support into the user area for supporting the user at the sides.

[008] In this way, the present invention provides a child safety seat which allows the position of the moveable side panels to be adjusted depending on the size of the child to _„

- 3 - be seated. For example, the panels may be extended inwardly to support a smaller child. If a larger child is to be accommodated, the panels can be retracted to provide a larger area in which they can sit. Furthermore, because the moveable panels are moveable relative to the main body of the side supports, the side supports can still provide additional rigidity and side impact protection.

[009] Conveniently, the side supports include a cavity formed therein for receiving a said moveable panel when in a retracted position. In this way, the moveable panels can be retracted into the main body of the side supports so they do not protrude from the outer surface of the side supports .

[0010] Conveniently, there are provided one or more adjustment handles for adjusting the position of the one or more moveable panels, wherein moving the one or more adjustment handles causes the moveable panels to move between retracted and extended positions. In this way the position of the moveable panels, and hence the available seating area of the seat can be easily adjusted.

[0011] Conveniently, the one or more adjustment handles are provided on each of the side supports. In this way each moveable panel can be adjusted individually and the mechanism for moving the panels can be greatly simplified.

[0012] Conveniently, the one or more adjustment handles are slidably moveable along a track provided on the side supports. In this way a parent can easily adjust the fit of the seat once the child is , seated by simply pushing or pulling the slidable adjustment handles.

[0013] Conveniently, one of the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle is provided with an inclined cam track opposing a cam follower provided to the other of the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle, wherein the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle are moveable relative to one another to retract or extend the moveable panel.

[0014] Conveniently, the inclined cam track has an arcuate configuration .

[0015] Alternatively, the one or more adjustment handles may be rotatable to actuate, via a screw threaded shaft, the retraction or extension of the moveable panel.

[0016] Conveniently, each of the moveable panels is extendable by pivoting outwardly from its respective side support.

[0017] Alternatively, each of the moveable panels is extendable by moving linearly outward from its respective side support.

[0018] Conveniently, said side supports are fixed in position with respect to the seat.

[0019] An example of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a child safety seat having adjustable side supports according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows an alternative perspective view of the child safety seat of figure 1 in which moveable panels of the adjustable side support are partially extended;

Figure 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of a side support of the child safety seat of figures 1 and 2 with the movable panel removed; Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the moveable panel shown in figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the side support and moveable panel shown in figures 1 and 2, when the movable panel is in an extended position; and

Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the side support and moveable panel shown in figure 5, when the movable panel is in a near un-extended position.

[0020] Figures 1 and 2 show a child safety seat 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The safety seat 1 comprises seat base 5 and a seat back 2, along with two side supports 3 at each, side of the seat. An extendable headrest is provided on the seat back 2 and can be raised or lowered depending on the size of the child to be accommodated.

[0021] Each of the side supports 3 is provided with a number of support ridges 9 on their outer surfaces to provide additional rigidity.

[0022] Each side support 3 is also provided with a slidable adjustment handle 6 on its outer surface. The adjustment handles 6 connect through aperture 7 in side support 3 to a moveable panel 4 provided on the inner surface of the side support 3.

[0023] Figure 3 shows a representation of the inner surface of the side support of figures 1 ^'and 2 where the movable panel 6 has been removed. In this connection, a cavity 10, into which the moveable panel 4 fits, is formed in the surface of the side support 3. Support ridges 9 extend through the cavity 10 to maintain rigidity. Two pivot attachment apertures 11 (only one shown) are provided at rearward position on the cavity 10 opposing one another. The pivot attachment apertures 11 provide an attachment point onto which the movable panel can pivotably attach.

[0024] The aperture 7 has an elongate configuration, and the elongate edges of the aperture 7 form a track in which which adjustment handle 6 is slidably attached and guided. The handle 6 also includes a protrusion which will be described in more detail later.

[0025] Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the moveable panel 4. Pivot arms 12 are provided on an outer rearward portion of the panel 4 and can be fitted into the pivot attachment apertures 11 in cavity 10 so as to pivotably attach the panel 4 to the side support 3.

[0026] The outer sides of the moveable panel 4 form a skirt which allows the panel to be fitted over the protruding features of the side support cavity 10, such as support ridges 9. Two elevated track members 8 are formed on an inner surface of the moveable panel 4, and these are configured so as to key into (inter engage) the protrusion of adjustment handle 6. The elevated track members 8 also have an arcuate configuration.

[0027] In this connection, Figures 5 and 6 show a cross sectional view through side support 3, when the moveable panel 4 is attached. Adjustment handle 6 is provided with keying members 61 which slidably attach to the attachment tracks 31 which form the elongate edges of aperture 7 in the side support 3. The adjustment handle 6 is thereby able to slidably move along the attachment track 31.

[0028] Adjustment handle 6 is also provided with a protrusion 62 which is positioned between keying members 61. The protrusion 62 is provided with two ridges into which corresponding ridges 82, provided on elevated track members 8, slidably key. In this way, when the adjustment handle β is moved along attachment tracks 31, the handle is also guided along elevated track members 8.

[0029] Figure 5 represents the side support 3 when the adjustment handle 6 is at its furthest position away from the seat back 2. As can be seen, in this position, the elevated tracks 8 are at their most raised position such that moveable panel 4 is pivoted outwardly to protrude out from the side supports 3. The skirt formed on moveable panel 4 extends towards the side support into cavity 10, so as to overlap with the surface of side support 3. In this way, children' s fingers are prevented from being caught behind the moveable panel 4.

[0030] Figure 6 represents the side support 3 when the adjustment handle 6 is close to its nearest position to the seat back 2. As can be seen, in this position, the elevated tracks 8 are much shorter, and therefore the moveable panel 4 is retracted into cavity 10. The skirt of moveable panel 4 fits over support ridges 9 as it is drawn into the cavity, and the outer surface of the moveable panel 4 moves towards a position where it is flush with the outer surface of side support 3.

[0031] The moveable panels are retained in their set positions due to the frictional forces and mechanical locking which occurs between the keying mechanisms connecting the adjustment handle 6 to side support 3 and moveable panel 4.

[0032] A more comfortable seating surface can be provided by covering the seat, including side supports 3, with a padded cover (not shown) . The cover also serves to smooth over the joints between the outer surface of the side support 3 and moveable panel 4, and to further prevent children's fingers being caught in the joints.

[0033] As will be understood from the above, the elevated tracks 8 have a earning effect on the position of the moveable panel 4, such that when the adjustment handle 6 is moved along the attachment tracks 31, the moveable panel can be pivoted outwardly or retracted into the side panel 3. In this way, the position of moveable panels can be adjusted easily depending on the size of the child to be accommodated. For example, a smaller child may at first require the moveable panels 4 to be extended, as shown in Figure 5, in order to provide them with support at their sides. However, as the child grows, the adjustment handles 6 can be easily moved backwardly towards the rear of the seat so as to retract the moveable panels 9 and provide more space in the seat.

[0034] In this way, the present invention provides a child safety seat in which the side supports 3 can be easily adjusted to allow for different sized children. Furthermore, since the side supports themselves are not required to pivot, the side supports are able to extend fully between the rear of the seat and the seat base in order to provide improved rigidity to the seat and improved side impact protection. Moreover, the present invention also allows for a more simplified construction, since the main frame of the seat base, seat rear and side supports can be formed of a single unitary piece.

[0035] As will be understood, the illustrated embodiment described above shows an example of the invention only for the purposes of illustration. In practice the invention may be applied to many different configurations the detailed embodiments being straightforward to those skilled in the art to implement .

[0036] For example, the elevated tracks 8 may be provided with one or more notches formed therein which help to maintain the adjustment handle 6 in a set position and may also mark out fixed level settings, for example where the moveable panels are set to 50%, 75% or. 100% extended.

Alternatively, a locking mechanism, such as a ratchet and paw mechanism, may be provided to maintain the adjustment handle in position.

[0037] Furthermore, although in the above described embodiment the moveable panels 4 pivot outwardly and a cam mechanism is used, alternative constructions are also envisaged. For example, a rotatable adjustment handle connected to a screw threaded shaft may alternatively be provided. In such an embodiment, the adjustment handle could be twisted to elevate or retract the moveable panel. In addition, instead of a pivoting action, the moveable panel could be provided on one or more tracks extending out from the side support and allowing the moveable panel to extend linearly or in a telescopic action, for example.

[0038] ^■ In another envisaged embodiment, an electric motor with, for example, a ball/screw mechanism may be provided to move the moveable panel into an extended position.

Claims

1. A child safety seat for a vehicle, the child seat comprising: - a seat base; two side supports, provided respectively on opposing sides of the seat, said side supports and seat base defining a user area for receiving a user; and a moveable panel provided on at least one of the side supports; wherein the or each moveable panel is adjustably extendable from its respective side support into the user area for supporting the user at the sides.

2. A child safety seat according to claim 1, wherein said side supports include a cavity formed therein for receiving a said moveable panel when in- a retracted position.

3. A child safety seat according to claims 1 or 2, further comprising one or more adjustment handles for adjusting the position of the one or more moveable panels, wherein moving the one or more adjustment handles causes the moveable panels to move between retracted and extended positions .

4. A child safety seat according to claim 3, wherein the one or more adjustment handles are provided on each of the side supports.

5. A child safety seat according to claim 4, wherein the one or more adjustment handles are slidably moveable along a track provided on the side supports.

6. A child safety seat according to claims 4 or 5, wherein one of the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle is provided with an inclined cam track opposing a cam follower provided to the other of the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle, wherein the or each moveable panel and adjustment handle are moveable relative to one another to retract or extend the moveable panel.

7. A child safety seat according to claim 6, wherein the inclined cam track has an arcuate configuration.

8. A child safety seat according to claim 4, wherein the one or more adjustment handles are rotatable to actuate, via a screw threaded shaft, the retraction or extension of the moveable panel.

9. A child safety seat according to any preceding claim, wherein each of the moveable panels is extendable by pivoting outwardly from its respective side support.

10. A child safety seat according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein each of the moveable panels is extendable by moving linearly outward from its respective side support.

11. A child safety seat according to any preceding claim, wherein said side supports are fixed in position with respect to the seat.

12. A child safety seat substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.