Apparel – Body garments – Vests
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-16
2001-11-13
Hale, Gloria M. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Body garments
Vests
C297S465000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06314578
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to child protecting clothes for vehicles, used with a seatbelt so as to protect a child sitting on a seat of an automobile from a shock of an accident.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In an automobile, various kinds of safety devices for protecting the bodies of occupants are provided on the assumption that the collision of the automobile will occur. A current automobile is provided without exception with, for example, a three-point support type seatbelt for binding a human body on a seat of the automobile.
This three-point support type seat belt is passed around the waist and breast of a seated person to prevent his body from flying out when the automobile collides with something.
To be exact, in the case of a driver's seat (in a right-hand drive vehicle), a driver in a seated state grasps a leader portion of a seatbelt, which is provided in a looped state on the right side of the driver's seat, with a hook, and passes the seatbelt and hook from the right shoulder toward a diagonally left lower portion of the body of the driver via the breast of him, the hook on the seatbelt being then fitted firmly in a lock member provided on the portion of the seat which is close to the left thigh of the driver. Thus, the continuously extending seatbelt is used to hold the upper half of the body of the driver in a shoulder-bound state, and also an abdominal region of the driver substantially straight in a horizontal direction by a lower portion of the seatbelt. When impact acceleration of a traffic accident and the like is sensed, a seatbelt draw-out action is stopped, and a movement in the interior of the vehicle of the body of the driver is prevented.
This seat belt is provided usually on the basis of a case where it is put on a person having a sitting height of substantially not smaller than 50 cm.
When this seatbelt is put on a person who is up to such standards, the upper half of the person is held in a shoulder-bound state by the seatbelt passed from the left (right) shoulder toward a diagonally right (left) lower portion of the body of the person via his breast, and the waist of the person can be secured safely at once.
However, in the case of a child having a small sitting height, the seatbelt holding the upper half of the body of him by passing the same from the left (right) shoulder toward the diagonally right (left) lower portion of the body of the child via the breast of him passes just the neck portion of the child in a shoulder-binding state.
Therefore, when a traffic accident occurs, a so-called neck-wringing phenomenon occurs, and the seatbelt which originally gives safety to a person involves a risk of being turned into a tool for hurting a child. Moreover, when the seatbelt is put on a child forcibly, a free movement of him is prevented.
Under the circumstances, a child seat has been developed as equipment for a child which is used in place of the seatbelt.
A child seat usually includes an auxiliary seat provided with a seat back for having a child (especially, an infant) sit on the seat stably, an auxiliary seatbelt for holding the seated child, and a releasing device for undoing a lock of this seatbelt by one pressing operation in case of emergency.
The child seat is formed so that it can be fixed to a seat of an automobile by using a seatbelt.
In the child seat of the above-described construction, a drawback encountered in a case where a seatbelt mentioned above and originally provided in an automobile is put directly on a child, i.e. a danger of the occurrence of a neck wringing phenomenon and the like is substantially eliminated. On the other hand, when the child seat is set in an automobile, the body of a child is held in a shut-up state in a narrowly demarcated space by a material of a comparatively high rigidity, so that a free action of the child is mostly hampered. Moreover, since the child seat itself is formed strongly, it does not fit the body of a child very well. Moreover, the drawback to the child seat of receiving a force locally and collectively due to the auxiliary seat belt when the collision of the automobile occurs has also been pointed out.
Above all, fixing and removing the child seat to and from a seat of an automobile takes much time, and the child seat is of great bulk. Moreover, the child seat cannot be transported in a folded state.
In addition, a high price is also one of the drawbacks to the child seat.
The shape of the child seat is restricted because of the limited shape of the seat of an automobile, so that the child seat lacks convenience.
The present invention has been developed in view of such technical problems.
The present invention provides a safe protective member interposed between a child sitting on a seat of an automobile and the same seat, and adapted to secure the safety of the child when an accident of collision of the automobile occurs, and more particularly child protecting clothes for vehicles, interposed between a child sitting on a seat of an automobile and the same seat, capable of securing the safety of the child when an accident of collision of the automobile occurs, inexpensive and comfortable to wear, and capable of securing a high degree of freedom of action of the child.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above.
Namely, according to an aspect of the present invention, the children's clothes for vehicles to be put on a child sitting directly on a seat of an automobile are characterized in that a back member of the protective clothes is formed double and includes inner and outer cloth portions, between which a seatbelt can be inserted.
The inner and outer cloth portions of the back member are made connectable or separable at their lower end portions, and the connection or separation of the inner and outer cloth portions is carried out by inserting or removing a string member into or from both of these cloth portions.
In the case of child clothes for a comparatively grown child of around 6-7 years, the back member as a whole may be formed double but the back member of child clothes for a child of 3-4 years is preferably provided at a lower half section only thereof with a double part which permits a seat belt to be inserted therethrough, and which is formed of inner and outer cloth portions.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the child protecting clothes for vehicles, which are put on a child sitting on a seat of an automobile via a child seat has a slit through which a seatbelt is inserted, a back member of the protective clothes being formed double and including inner and outer cloth portions, the seatbelt being made able to be inserted through a space between the inner and outer cloth portions of the back member via the slit. The child seat referred to in this paragraph is a mat-like material interposed between a child wearing the protective clothes and the seat of the automobile.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the child protecting clothes for vehicles has a front member, and a back member formed of inner and outer cloth portions, between which a space through which a seatbelt can be inserted is given, characterized in that clips constituting another feature of the invention are provided which are adapted to clamp the seatbelt with a predetermined level of force when the seatbelt has been passed correctly through a space between the inner and outer cloth portions and set properly. Owing to such an arrangement, a person outside of the automobile can ascertain that a child correctly wearing the child protecting clothes for vehicles wears the clothes correctly and sits in a correct position, and a secondary accident, which occurs when the child seat is set in an incorrect position, can be avoided.
Especially, it is preferable that each of these clips be formed of a support member, and an elastic pressure member, which is adapted to be moved as it elastically clicks the portion of the seat belt which is between two positions thereon, and that the support
Masuda Mitsunori
Yamamoto Taku
Clark & Brody
Hale Gloria M.
Patel Tejash
Zenkoku Bousai Jigyo Kyogyo Kumiai
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