WO1994004389A1

WO1994004389A1 - Child's car seat

Info

Publication number: WO1994004389A1
Application number: PCT/SE1993/000583
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sven Flyborg
Original assignee: Sven Flyborg
Priority date: 1992-08-20
Filing date: 1993-06-28
Publication date: 1994-03-03
Also published as: AU4593593A; SE9202424D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a child's car seat provided with a protective member (2) whereby said protective member (2) comprises a protective pad (3) preferably of compressible material, said protective pad (3) being affixed firmly to said child's car seat so as to allow the protective member (2) to provide an impact absorbing surface projecting forwardly beyond the side support portions (7) of the child's car seat without cocooning the child to an unnecessary extent, so as to maintain the advantages of 'open' access to the child seat occupant.

Description

Title: Child's car seat

Field of the Invention:

The invention relates to a child's car seat of the type placed in a vehicle either in the front or in the rear, said child seat being provided with a base portion, a back portion and lateral support portions projecting substantially perpendicularly to said back portion for supporting a child's body laterally.

Such seats are used in order to increase the safety for child or baby passengers whose bodily dimensions are such that they find inadequate support in a standard vehicle seat and/or where the vehicle's ordinary seat belts are incorrectly adjusted for them.

An example of such a seat is known from NO-A-159 255 for example. This document discloses a moulded base portion attached to a substantially planar back portion.

Additionally attached to the back portion by means of fabric attachment strips (or alternatively by screws) is a vertically movable shoulder/head lateral support portion projecting with its side wings on both sides forwardly of said back portion by a small distance. As disclosed in said document, this portion laterally supports the child's head/neck when the child rests and, should a side collision occur, provides some support against sideways movement for the head and neck.

Background to the invention

There are many known types of seats corresponding to the opening paragraph above and these are used widely.

Additionally it should be stated at this point, that whilst the expression "child's car seat" has been used, it is merely descriptive of the general type of seat in question which can also be referred to in different ways such as e.g. a baby seat, child's safety seat etc. Normally these seats will be safely secured to the car using the car's own seat belts or sometimes by specially adapted belts if required.

These seats have proven very effective in accidents from collisions at the front or rear of the vehicle, but less effective when the collision is a lateral one or one at an angle which causes the child, and in particular the child's head, to be projected sideways or more commonly forwards and sideways in the seat. Additionally, the whole seat may also displace sideways on the vehicle seat either towards one of the windows/doors or towards one of the vehicle's structural members (e.g. the C-pillar) . Furthermore parts of the car interior, in particular the door itself or parts of the door next to which the child sits, may be displaced inwardly by a collision and thus strike the seat occupant from the side.

This type of collision from the side is generally referred to as a "side impact" collision. Side impact collisions have met increasing scrutiny in the last few years, since it has been ascertained that a very high proportion of accidents are side impact collisions involving the passenger being subjected to extremely high sideways inertia forces which in particular are known to cause injuries from the adjacent door.

Clearly when one relates these forces to a baby or child, whose muscles, in particular neck muscles, and bones are not as strong as those of an adult, it can be clearly seen that the child is often at greater risk even at low impact speeds. Child seats of the known type clearly offer only minimal protection in side impact collisions by means of the side support members, these being insufficient to give any worthwhile protection unless the side members are made very large. However, such large construction is undesirable since the child's or baby's view of e.g. passengers on adjacent seats is obstructed, which leads to a discomforting feeling of isolation for the child and also a difficulty for the accompanying adult who may wish to communicate or pass objects to the child. Thus a need has arisen to achieve greater protection in side impact collisions, but to avoid cocooning the child and thus severely obstruct its view, yet still maintain some lateral support for when the child is resting and for minimal sideways forces caused by cornering and minor impacts for example.

Summary of the invention

The above problems are solved by the provision of a child's car seat according to the preamble of claim 1 which is characterized in that said child seat is provided with a protective member comprising a protective pad, said protective pad provided with attachment means for being affixed firmly at at least one side of said child's seat, such that the protective member provides an inwardly facing impact absorbing surface, projecting forwardly beyond said lateral support portions.

Further preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Brief description of the figure

Fig.l shows a side view of a child's car seat fitted with a protective member according to the invention. Detailed description of the figure

The figure shows a car seat 1 and protection member 2 in accordance with the invention. The car seat 1 has a back portion comprising side support members 7 projecting substantially perpendicularly therefrom, said side portions thus forming a surface against which the child's body is supported in normal use. To one of the side portions has been fitted a protection member 2 which has an inner surface (i.e. facing the child seat occupant) normally made of a compressible material or covered with one, such that in the event of a force being applied to it the force will be absorbed. Such force could occur from a collision in which the child is projected sideways in the chair and the compression of the material thus absorbs the kinetic energy of the child. Additionally, the door and associated parts which intrude into the child seat area will first contact the protective member and thus the child will be protected from the hard and sharp elements of the intruding door structure and/or broken glass for example. v. The protection member 2 has attached thereto, or integral therewith, a mounting fixture 5, which would normally be made from a strong, relatively rigid material such as steel or relatively rigid plastics. This mounting fixture 5 is attached to the child seat by means of a rail 4 which is itself firmly attached to the car seat on one of the outer surfaces. As can be seen, the rail 4 is mounted substantially vertically along the arm portion of the child seat 2.

The mounting fixture 5 is preferably slidably mounted on the rail 4 so as to provide allowance for the height of the individual occupant and thus so as to be able to adopt a position of maximum protection. Accordingly a fixing means 6 on the fixture 5 is provided, said fixing means 6 being movable in relation to the member 5 so as to be able to locate with its end in a hole or recess in rail 4.

The fixing means 6 can be spring biased towards its locking position in the rail 4 so as to provide an easy adjustable means of location. However the means 6 could also be any other type of fixing means such as a screw threaded member or the like.

Whilst certain fixing means have been described it is clear that many other types are imaginable still within the scope of the invention.

Reference numeral 8 indicates a torque balancing means. In the example shown, this comprises a part which projects from the main plane of the fixture plate 5 inwardly towards the seat 2. In this way a force applied, for example by the baby's head during a side impact, to the protection member 2 will exert a torque on the rail 4 but likewise the projecting surface of the torque balancing means will produce a force against the seat, thus equalising moments on both sides and hence balancing the torque. Further, whilst not shown, it may be desirable to extend the fixture plate 5 around the back of the seat to provide additional support.

The vertical or substantially vertical rail has been described with reference to being mounted on one side of the child seat. However child seats are often mounted, on varying occasions, on the other side of the vehicle or rearwardly in the front seat for example. To take account of this, a rail or mounting points therefor will often be provided on both sides of the seat.

Similarly, the rail could also be provided on another seat surface and the mounting fixtures adapted to correctly position the protective members to assume their desired position. For example the rail (or rails) could be arranged at the rear side of the seat and the mounting fixture and/or the protection member should then extend around and in front of the side of the seat.

The rail 4 may also serve other additional purposes and can for example have various attachments added, such as a movable member which holds down the diagonal part of the seat belt and thus provides a safer and more comfortable attachment for the child. The rails could also be advantageously used to provide a mount for a bottle holder or other attachment. Such attachments can of course be added with the side member(s) in position on the spare portion of the rail 4.

The protective member 2, as depicted in the figure, projects forwardly beyond the lateral support member 7. The degree by which it projects forwardly is optional to some extent, as is its actual size. However, a pad 3 projecting forwardly at a distance from the seat back of between about 30% and 80% of the seat base length is typical. Particularly suitable has been found to be where the member projects to about 50% of the seat base length from the back.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference particularly to the embodiment shown in the figure it is clear that the invention is not limited thereto and many other variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Child seat (1) of the type placed in a vehicle either in the front or in the rear, normally on one of the standard seats fitted to the vehicle, said child seat having a base portion, a back portion and lateral support portions projecting substantially perpendicularly to said back portion for supporting a child's body laterally, characterized in that said child seat is further provided with a protective member (2) comprising a protective pad (3) , said protective pad (3) being provided with attachment means (4, 5) for being affixed firmly at at least one side of said child's car seat, such that the protective member (2) provides an inwardly facing impact absorbing surface, projecting forwardly beyond said lateral support portions.

2. Child's car seat according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for affixing the protective member to the child's car seat comprises a substantially vertical rail (4) firmly attached to an outer surface of the child's car seat, and a mounting fixture firmly (5) attached to said protective pad (3) , said mounting member being releasably attached to said rail (4) .

3. Child's car seat according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the mounting fixture (5) has a fixing means (6) for height adjustment of the mounting member with respect to the vertical rail (4) .

4. Child's car seat according to claim 3, characterized in that the fixing means (6) is a spring loaded pin-type member which fits into a corresponding hole or recess on the vertical rail (4) . 9

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5. Child's car seat according to claim 3, characterized in that the fixing means (6) is a stop screw which fits into a corresponding hole, recess or other locating means on the vertical rail.

6. Child's car seat according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the mounting fixture (5) is provided with a torque equalizing portion (8) which is located at a distance rearwardly of the vertical rail (4) and projects from the mounting member inwardly towards the seat outer surface, to thus equalize the torque which can occur on the vertical rail.

7. Child's car seat according to any preceding claim, characterized in that compressible material is provided at least on the inner side of the protective member (2) so as to face the child seat occupant.

8. Child's car seat according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the substantially vertical rails (4) are provided on one or both sides of the child's car seat.

9. Child's car seat according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the substantially vertical rail (4) is provided with a means for attachment of the car seat belt, said means allowing the height adjustment of the diagonal part of the seat belt.

10. Child's car seat according to any preceding claim, characterized in that said protective member (2) is comprised substantially of compressible material.