Chairs and seats – Supplemental seat
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-29
2001-01-30
Brown, Peter R. (Department: 3624)
Chairs and seats
Supplemental seat
C297S452410
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179383
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a child seat allowing a child to be safely seated on a passenger seat of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional child seats fall into broad categories: a so-called built-in type which is integrated into the vehicle seat, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.9 (1997)-267677, and a type which is separate from the vehicle seat and designed to be securely installed on the vehicle seat, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.10(1998)-119611.
The child seat of the former type is adapted to retract into the vehicle seat. Accordingly, the vehicle seat may readily be shifted to a normal adult seating position by retracting the child seat into the vehicle seat when the child seat is not used. This offers improved convenience of use. However, because of the integration into the vehicle seat, the child seat cannot be removed and hence, is not installable in different vehicles. That is, there is a disadvantage that the child seat is specific to the vehicle.
On the other hand, the child seat of the latter type has an advantage of being installable in different vehicles. However, this child seat suffers a rather great total weight because a seat body is highly rigidly constructed and a securing device is required for installing the seat body on the vehicle seat. This results in difficult operations for attaching or removing the child seat to or from the vehicle seat. Besides, an additional disadvantage is that a space is necessary for storing the removed child seat when it is not used.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide a child seat which features lightweight, easy attachment or removal thereof with respect to the vehicle seat and convenience in handling the child seat when it is not used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention for achieving the above object, a child seat installable on a vehicle seat comprises: a seat body comprising an elastic member formed in a hollow and airtight structure and including a gas filling port, and distended with a gas filled therein to define at least a backrest portion and a seating portion; a safety belt secured to the seat body for restraining a seated child; and retaining means for retaining the seat body, placed on the vehicle seat, in position on the vehicle seat.
The child seat is arranged such that the seat body is distended with the gas filled therein through the gas filling port, thereby defining at least the backrest portion and the seating portion on which the child is seated. The child seated on the seat body is restrained by the safety belt for some movement. The seat body is increased in rigidity with increase in the pressure of the gas filled therein, thus becoming less susceptible to deformation by an external force. Additionally, the seat body is light in weight as formed by filling the gas in the elastic member of the hollow and airtight structure. Hence, the seat body is easy to carry or to install on the vehicle seat. Such a seat body is retained in position on the vehicle seat by the retaining means, as mentioned above. The seat body may be installed on the vehicle seat before or after the seat body is filled with the gas. However, the seat body is more flexible when unfilled with the gas and hence, is easier to install.
The seat body becomes flat when the gas therein is discharged from the gas filling port so that the flattened seat body on the vehicle seat permits a passenger to be seated thereon or a baggage or the like to be placed thereon. Shortly, the inventive child seat need not be removed from the vehicle seat when it is not used as the child seat and hence, is free of cumbersomeness in use. If the child seat were to be removed, the seat body with the gas discharged therefrom is so flexible as to be readily removed, requiring only a limited space for storage.
If an adhesive or the like is used for securing an end of the safety belt to the seat body, the secured portion may not have a sufficient adhesive strength. This leads to a fear that the secured portion may be broken by a tensile force applied to the safety belt, failing to ensure child safety. Therefore, it is preferred that the safety belt is secured to the seat body in a wrap-around fashion. In this arrangement, whether the safety belt is broken by the tensile force or not is dependent upon the tensile strength of the safety belt itself. Judged by the current technological common sense, it is more than practicable to impart the safety belt with a sufficient tensile force for positively ensuring the child safety.
During a collision of the vehicle, the child tends to be moved forwardly or otherwise laterally, or is subject to a lateral external force. In order to ensure the positive child safety, the seat body is preferably provided with a side guard for protection of lateral sides of the seated child. Alternatively, the side guard may preferably be extended along peripheral edges of the backrest portion and seating portion in a manner to surround the lateral sides, head and foots of the seated child. This provides protection of the lateral sides as well as the head and foots of the seated child. The side guard may be arranged such that a hollow portion therein is divided into plural segments for selective gas supply to any of these hollow segments. This arrangement permits an inside gap between the opposite side guard portions to be set according to the size of a child to be seated, so that the child may be held in a safer position as sandwiched between the side guard portions.
A trouble is expected to occur in association with some external force causing damage to the seat body surface, the damage extending to the inside of the seat body to result in leakage of the internal gas from the damaged portion and incapability of maintaining the given configuration of the seat body. It is preferred in the interest of the prevention of this trouble to cover the seat body with a cover sheet. A protective effect of the cover sheet may prevent the seat body surface from sustaining damage from the external force. An aesthetic appearance or an upscale image may be added to the child seat by forming this cover sheet of fabric, synthetic leather or natural leather.
There may be provided angle adjusting means for adjustment of an intersection angle between the backrest portion and the seating portion of the seat body. The vehicle seats vary in the backrest angle depending upon the vehicle types. Some vehicles are available with a so-called reclining seats for varying the backrest angle. If the angle adjusting means permits adjustment for the backrest angle of the seat body, the backrest portion of the seat body may be brought into a positive contact with the backrest of the vehicle seat by coinciding the backrest angle of the seat body with that of the vehicle seat. This ensures that the child seat rests on the vehicle seat in a stable manner.
There may be provided gas supply means for feeding a pressurized gas into the seat body through the gas filling port. In this arrangement, the seat body may be distended with the gas fed thereinto by the gas supply means thereby to define the backrest portion and the seating portion. Thus, the seat body is readily brought into a ready-to-use condition.
Provision of a relief valve at the seat body is effective to prevent rupture of the seat body as a result of increase in the air pressure of the seat body in association with temperature rise in the vehicle cabin.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4687452 (1987-08-01), Hull
patent: 4836605 (1989-06-01), Greenwood et al.
patent: 5292175 (1994-03-01), Artz
patent: 5335968 (1994-08-01), Sheridan et al.
patent: 5516188 (1996-05-01), Bruhuke et al.
patent: 5560056 (1996-10-01), Tai
patent: 3544041 (1987-06-01), None
Patent Abstract of Japan No. 09267677 A, dated Oct. 14, 1997.
Patent Abstract of Japan No. 10119611 A, dated May 12, 1998.
Armstrong, Westerman Hattori, McLeland & Naughton
Brown Peter R.
Oriental Sangyo Ltd.
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