Chairs and seats – Supplemental seat – Adjustable to plural operative positions
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-01
2002-09-10
Chen, Jose V. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Supplemental seat
Adjustable to plural operative positions
C297S256140, C297S256160, C297S473000, C297S484000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06447060
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to infant and toddlers protective devices and in particular to a child restraint devices designed for attachment to a vehicle seat such as an aircraft passenger seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Child restraint devices have basically been designed for use in privately owned passenger automobiles. This use is limited to normally one or two children over the useful life of the restraint device. Furthermore, the restraint device is designed for long stable placements in normally one or two automobiles. As the restraint device is intended for long stable placements, relatively routine removal and replacement of the attached device in a passenger seat is generally a cumbersome process.
Examples of previous restraint devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,664 issued to Tanaka et al. for a “Harness Anchoring for Child Safety Seat”: U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,558 issued to Jakob for a “Child Safety Seat”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,040 issued to Gannac for a “Safety Harness for Use By a Child In a Vehicle”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,247 issued to Dillender for a “Child's Safety Harness”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,594 issued to Pukish for a “Safety Harness”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,125,375 issued to Bird et al. for a “Safety Seat Harness for Vehicle”.
Between forty thousand (40,000) to fifty thousand (50,000) children under the age to two (2) travel by airplane daily in the United States. Current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules allow children under the age of two (2) to be retained in parents' laps, which obviously provides little, if any, protection to the child during an accident or in an emergency situation. Recent studies found that placing unrestrained children on the lap of an adult is “likely to promote fatalities and injuries to these children in an impact situation.” Additionally, supplementary restraints for lap held children was found to possibly “promote other injuries due to the manner in which the restraining forces are transmitted to the children.”
Performance standards for child restraint systems sold in the United States are defined by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS-213). Performance criteria of child restraint systems installed in airplane seats should at least provide the level of protection implied in the government standards and test procedures by which they are approved. These criteria include protection from serious injury to the head, chest, and legs.
Conventional restraint devices used for automobiles are inadequate for use with existing aircraft seats. There are important differences between airplane and automobile seats. The main problem is the fact that the anchor point for an automobile seat is located generally aft and below the point where the back and sitting portion of the frame members meet. As seen in
FIG. 1
, a back mounted conventional car restraint device
400
is shown attached to a conventional airline passenger seat
300
by the insertion of seat belt
180
through a slot
402
. With this attachment, the attachment point of the car restraint device
400
is adjacent to a center of gravity
403
of the secured child which prevents significant, if any, vertical movement of restraint device
400
. However, the attachment angle is approximately one hundred and ten (110°) degrees, which places the attachment point too far back for safety purposes. Thus, in an airline accident, car restraint device
400
is not secured tightly, relative to the imposed horizontal vector, and can move translationally (horizontally), as indicated by arrow T, at least six (6) inches creating an unsafe condition for the child secured within car restraint device
400
.
A “below the knee” mounted car restraint device
450
is shown attached to a conventional airline passenger seat
300
by the insertion of seat belt
180
through a slot
452
(FIG.
2
). With this attachment, the attachment point of the car restraint device
450
is below a center of gravity
453
of the secured child. Furthermore, the attachment angle is approximately twenty (20°) degrees, which places the attachment point too far forward for safety purposes. Thus, in an airline accident, car restraint device
450
is not secured tightly relative to the vertical vector and can move rotationally, as indicated by arrow R, creating an unsafe condition for the child secured within car restraint device
450
.
FAA's studies have shown that conventional car seats perform poorly in simulated aircraft accidents. Present standards allow for thirty-two (32) inch head excursion. Conventional automotive seats may not meet this criteria when installed in aircraft seats. Seat belts
180
used for existing aircraft are positioned approximately 10 inches forward from the point that the automobile seat belts are located and are four (4″) inches forward of the seat bight. Thus, if aircraft seat belt
180
is inserted through the slot in the back portion of the conventional restraint device a tight attachment of the device to the aircraft seat is not possible.
Thus, during an accident the loose attachment of a conventional car restraint device to an aircraft passenger seat, would cause the restraint device to rotate or travel forward, via rotational or translational forces acting on the aircraft passenger seat. This scenario could possibly cause the child or infant disposed therein to hit his or her head against the food tray or seat disposed in the row in front of the infant or child. Accordingly, conventional restraint devices can not be sufficiently anchored to prevent a child's head from striking the seat ahead. As such, too much forward or rotational movement is allowed. Even when the forward or rotational movement is within federal standards of thirty two (32) inches, a child's head can still hit the seat ahead.
According, to FAA document No. DOT/FAA/AM-94/19 entitled “The Performance of Child Restraint Devices in Transport Airplane Passenger Seats” dated September 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the “FAA Report”), lap belts for automobiles are attached at locations that are geometrically different from a typical airplane passenger seat. Inboard and outboard belt anchor points
602
and
604
, respectively, on an automotive seat
600
are at different heights (FIG.
17
). A line passing through the belt anchor points is not parallel to the lateral line defined by a seat back pivot axis
606
. The lap belts on an airplane seat
700
are usually located near a horizontal lateral line passing through a cushion reference point
702
(FIG.
16
). This difference results in a more vertical lap belt path over the restraint device in the airplane seat.
Automotive seat backs do not rotate forward in a manner representative of airplane passenger seats during impact. See FAA report which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Airplane passenger seats commonly have breakover seat backs as a convenience feature. On seats with breakover backs, the seat back can be rotated forward to a horizontal position by pushing on the seat back, nominally with thirty (30) pounds of force applied at the top of the seat back. The combined effects of breakover seat backs and aft row occupant impact forces transferred through the seat back in an accident situation were not evaluated by FMVSS-213 when the current standards were adopted.
Additional problems with the use of conventional restraint devices is that modem automobile restraints use a short fixed-length strap on one side. The tension of the belts and shoulder straps is automatically adjusted by the retractor mechanism in the inertia reel. Typically, an automobile buckle is positioned to the inboard side of the occupant when in use. See FAA Report. Airplane passenger seat belts are manually adjusted, and the range of adjustment is limited. The buckle on an airplane passenger seat is centered over the lower abdomen when adjusted by an adult occupant.
Another problem is that the available lateral space for the installation of a child restraint device
Brady Dean T.
Brookman Michael J.
Vila Jose Franco
Chen José V.
DME Corporation
Malin Haley & DiMaggio, P.A.
White Rodney B.
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