Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Enclosed compartment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-18
2001-07-17
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Enclosed compartment
C296S063000, C296S064000, C297S248000, C297S256160
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260903
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to automobile passenger-compartment partitions, and, more particularly, to an automobile safety partition for children.
2. Related Art
Children seated in a rear seat of an automobile may engage in squabbling, fighting, or other behavior that may be distracting to the driver. Prior devices have been developed to separate the children by placing a partition between them. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,837 to Chapman is directed to a device that includes a planar panel and “J”-shaped mounting members to secure the panel orthogonally of the rear seat. Telescoping members may also be used in accordance with Chapman to frictionally engage surfaces of the automobile opposed to the seat in order to secure the panel in place. Once the panel is secured, children may be seated on the automobile seat, with the panel between them.
Another conventional device with a similar purpose is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,227 to Setina. This device is a “Z”-shaped divider that may be positioned within an automobile to separate the operator from the passengers. The partitioning device of Setina includes a support bar frame having two legs that are attached to the floor of the automobile, and a roll bar that extends from the top of the support bar to a third leg anchored to the floor of the automobile. The front passenger seat apparently is removed to accommodate the installation of the device. Other conventional devices generally intended to separate passengers in an automobile or similar vehicle are listed in Chapman, at column 1.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A disadvantage of some conventional automobile partition devices is that they are intended to be permanent or are not easily removable. It often is the case, however, that a driver who is transporting children wishes to provide a separating partition, but does not wish to install a device that will restrict the use of the passenger compartment. For example, older children or adults not requiring the partition may also frequently use the rear seat. Other conventional devices are intended to be easily removed, but still require the use of various attaching mechanisms (such as the J-shaped and telescoping mounting members described in the Chapman patent, noted above). These attaching mechanisms generally are intended to provide stability to the devices, but may add significantly to their weight and bulk, and/or to the complexity of their installation. Typically, a driver does not wish to carry to and from the vehicle, or store therein, a cumbersome mechanism that is difficult to carry or requires substantial storage space.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome in one embodiment of the portable partition of the present invention for use in an automobile. As used herein, the word “utomobile” is to be understood broadly to include any type of motor vehicle, including a truck, van, recreational vehicle, mobile home, and so on. The automobile has a seat including a seat bench and a seat backrest. The partition includes a seat plate that has first and second portions structured to rest on the seat bench, and a partition plate. Typically, the seat plate is disposed medially on the seat bench since an automobile seat bench typically is structured to accommodate two people and perhaps a third person in the middle. Therefore, medial disposition of the seat plate generally accommodates two children on the seat bench. However, in alternative embodiments, the seat plate may be disposed elsewhere on the seat bench so that, for example, two children may be separated by it on one side of the seat bench and an adult may be seated on the other side of the seat bench.
The partition plate has a bottom edge connected to the seat plate between the first and second seat-plate portions. When the seat plate is disposed upon the seat bench, the partition plate is disposed substantially orthogonal to the seat bench. In some aspects, the partition plate is constructed in part of a substantially transparent material. Thus, the driver's view is not obstructed by the partition plate.
In one implementation of this embodiment, the partition also has a hinge that joins the first and second portions. The hinge may be made of a flexible material, or it may be another type of hinge device. The hinge advantageously permits the seat plate to more closely fit the seat bench, particularly when a child is seated on a cushion or a child seat placed on top of one or both of the portions of the seat plate. The weight of the child or children may cause the seat bench to depress, and this depression may not be uniform across that portion of the seat bench upon which the seat plate is disposed. Thus, without the hinge, one or the other portion of the seat plate may rise when the other falls due to depression of the seat bench or for other reasons, such as the seat bench not being uniformly planar. Alternatively, if two children are seated on respective portions of the seat plate, the seat plate may be subject to undesirable stresses intermediate the two portions, or a see-saw effect may result, particularly if there is a protrusion or some kind of rigid member between the two sides of the seat bench. Placement of the hinge intermediate the two portions of the seat plate typically reduces or eliminates these stresses and effect.
Advantageously, whether the seat plate is hinged or not, the weight of the child or children on the seat plate (seated either in a car seat or on a cushion) provides stability to the seat plate. Therefore the partition plate is also stabilized because, as noted, its bottom edge is connected to the seat plate. Thus, the children themselves, in cooperation with the seat plate, act as stabilizing mechanisms for the partition device as a whole. In effect, the children replace, or reduce the need for, conventional stabilization mechanisms.
The partition plate may extend vertically so that its top edge is near to the ceiling of the automobile. This vertical extension may be advantageous, for example, in ensuring that children seated on a cushion or car seat on top of seat plate portions on either side of the vertical partition plate cannot throw objects over the partition plate. The back edge of the partition plate may be shaped to conform to the shape of the seat back and to provide that the back edge and the seat back are close to each other. For example, it may be determined that a typical automobile seat backrest is set at a slightly reclining angle with respect to the automobile seat bench. An appropriate implementation of the portable partition for use in this kind of automobile thus may include a partition plate having a back edge that makes an angle with the bottom edge of the partition plate that is slightly greater than ninety degrees. Similarly, for automobile seat backrests that are slightly convex, the partition plate's back edge may be slightly concave. Close shaping and spacing of the back edge of the partition plate with the seat backrest may help to keep the children from intruding into the other's space.
In addition, the proximity of the partition plate and the seat backrest may facilitate the optional use, in some aspects of this implementation, of a seat-backrest hook. The seat-backrest hook is slidably connected to the back edge of the partition plate, and is constructed and arranged so that it may engage a top surface of the seat backrest. This optional seat-backrest hook provides additional stability to the partition plate and may also be used as a handle to carry the partition in its stored position. Thus, in contrast to some of the attaching mechanisms used with conventional separation devices, the seat-backrest hook of the present invention optionally provides additional stability while facilitating transport of the device.
The partition plate may include a track connected to its back edge that receives the seat-backrest hook for sliding. The partition plate may also have stopping means for selectively fixing the seat-backrest hook
Blankenship Greg
Dayoan D. Glenn
Wolf Greenfield & Sacks P.C.
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