Aeronautics and astronautics – Aircraft structure – Fuselage and body construction
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-24
2003-04-08
Carone, Michael J. (Department: 3644)
Aeronautics and astronautics
Aircraft structure
Fuselage and body construction
C297S485000, C297S464000, C297S216200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06543722
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
None.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to child safety restraint systems in transportation, and in particular, to child restraint systems for use on aircraft. More specifically, the present invention relates to a removable, portable strap assembly for securing automotive child safety seats to aircraft seats and frames in compliance with federal aviation safety regulations.
2. Description of Related Art
The safe transportation of children is an issue of national interest. Every state in the nation has enacted laws pertaining to the use of child safety seats in vehicles for the transportation of infants and toddlers under 2 years of age. Substantial progress has been made in the design of these seats and education of the public in the necessity of their use. Airline transportation has provided safety engineers with different problems to address than automobiles. Additionally, since travel by infants and toddlers on aircraft is less frequent than by automobile, design improvements have lagged. Since parents traveling with infants and toddlers are required to have child car safety seats at their final destinations, the safety seats normally travel with the parents, but often are stored as luggage, with the children being held by the parents or secured into an aircraft seat with a standard lap belt. The small bodies of children are not well protected by a lap belt, and are at extreme risk when being held by a parent or guardian. Infants held by a parent or guardian also pose a serious risk to other passengers and crewmembers, since the adult is unable to hold onto the child in severe turbulence, high energy stops, and crashes. The result is that infants and toddlers on aircraft are currently at much higher risk of injury or death than adults.
Presently, a number of child car seat designs are commercially available. These include, but are not limited to:
1. Rear-facing Infant Seats with and without removable bases (birth to 20 lbs.)
2. Convertible Seats, Rearward Facing Position (birth to 20 lbs.)
3. Convertible Seats, Forward Facing Position (20 to 40 lbs.)
4. Forward Facing Only Seats (20 to 60 lbs.)
5. High-Back Booster Seats with Built-in Harness (30 to 40 lbs. when used with harness).
6. Belt Positioning Booster Seats (40 to 80 lbs.)
The weight descriptions are used for general identification purposes only. The foregoing description is not intended to be instructive as to the use or safety of any car seat. Weight recommendations are usually combined with height recommendations and these numbers vary substantially from model to model. The manufacturers' recommendations for the individual car seat design should be consulted and followed. Forward facing child safety seats (not including booster seats) now include a top tether strap to provide additional protection to the child's head. This is part of the “Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) System,” which is also intended to make installation of child safety seats easier by requiring child safety seats to be installed without using the vehicle's seat belt system. This adjustable tether strap is attached to the back of a child safety seat, and has a hook for securing the seat to a tether anchor located on the rear shelf area, the rear floor, or on the back of the rear seat of the vehicle.
Aircraft operators currently permit the use of existing aircraft restraint belts in combination with (#1) Rear-facing Infant Seats and (#2) Convertible Seats, Rearward Facing Position. However, the use of existing aircraft restraint belts in combination with (#3) Convertible Seats, Forward Facing Position, (#4) Forward Facing Only Seats, and (#5) High-Back Booster Seats with Built-in Harness, fails to provide adequate safety for children in a survivable crash situation. The use of (#6) Belt Positioning Booster Seats is prohibited.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently accepts the use of automobile safety seats that meet the specific requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) §213 as required by Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) §121.311.
Public and governmental awareness of the continuing safety issues related to children traveling by plane has increased dramatically in recent years. On May 16, 1995, the National Transportation Safety Board issued Safety Recommendation A-95-51 recommending revision of 14 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Parts 91, 135, and 121 to require that all occupants be restrained during take-off, landing, and turbulent conditions, and that all infants and small children be restrained in a manner appropriate to their size.
On Feb. 11, 1998, the FAA issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments, data, and analysis regarding the use of existing child restraint systems during all phases of flight. The FAA is now developing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to require that all occupants (including infants and children) be properly restrained during take-off, landing, and turbulent conditions, when the seatbelt sign is illuminated and when instructed by a crewmember. Pending revisions to FAR §121.311 and new regulations under development, are intended to provide infants and toddlers an “equivalent level of safety” to that of the adult passengers by utilization of child safety seats secured to aircraft seats in a manner that meets the dynamic test requirements of FAR §25.562.
The use of existing forward facing child safety seats, secured by an aircraft lap belt, will not achieve the requirements of the new and revised Federal Aviation Regulations. The inventors have recognized that one reason for this failure is that when tension is applied to existing seat belts, they pull downward on the child safety seat. This allows a forward facing child seat to pitch, or rotate forward in the event of a crash. When this occurs, infants experience excessive head acceleration and possible collision with the seat backs of the seats in the adjacent row. The problem results from the relatively low and forwardly located position of the attach shackle of aircraft lap belts. The present invention corrects this problem with a simple, inexpensive, removable system that can be retrofitted to the great majority of the hundreds of thousands of commercial aircraft seats currently in use.
The concept of designing “aircraft only” child seats has a number of disadvantages. One disadvantage is that it would increase travel cost. Another disadvantage is that use of aircraft only safety seats becomes substantially inconvenient for travelers and airlines. Families would have to bring two child safety seats with them for every child. Alternatively, airlines would be forced to inventory numerous heavy, expensive, and bulky “aircraft only” safety seats. Another disadvantage is that this would increase the weight of the cargo of the aircraft, since parents would be traveling with the automotive safety seat anyway.
The option of dedicating a limited number of selected seats with integral safety seats to children has similar problems. One disadvantage is that such designs are not easily removable or portable, and would thus limit the seating arrangements between parents and children, since the number and spatial arrangement cannot accommodate the variable number of family members. Another disadvantage of these devices is that they are higher in weight. Another disadvantage of these devices is that they are expensive. Another disadvantage of these devices is that they pose additional sanitation issues.
It can thus be seen that there is a need to develop a design for securing automotive safety seats securely into aircraft seats in a manner that provides infants and toddlers at least an equivalent degree of safety as is provided to adults. There is also a need to design a system that meets or exceeds the requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations. There is also a need to design a system that is removable, portable, and light-weight, and not bulky to store. There is also
Duda David Joseph
Nathan Ronald John
Parrow James John
Carone Michael J.
Fischer, Esq. John G.
Golden Talon Aviation Consulting, Inc.
Holzen Stephen A
Storm & Hemingway LLP
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