Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-28
2004-11-02
Lee, Benjamin C. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S457000, C340S611000, C180S273000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06812844
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a child safety seat with alarm for use in connection with transporting infants in vehicles. The child safety seat with alarm has particular utility in connection with notifying the driver of a vehicle that an infant is in its carrier inside of the vehicle when a door is opened.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Child safety seats with alarms are desirable for notifying the driver of a vehicle that an infant is in its carrier inside of the vehicle when a door is opened. Children frequently fall asleep when being transported in vehicles. As a result, it is possible for a driver to forget that they are transporting a child if the baby remains quiet for a long period of time. Forgetting a child inside of a vehicle can result in severe injury to or the death of the child from extreme temperature conditions and/or dehydration. Child safety seats with alarms not only protect the child in the event of accident, but also detect the opening of a vehicle door and remind the driver of the presence of the child through visual and audio alerts. The detector and alarm system are automatically engaged when the buckle of the child safety seat is closed. The condition of the batteries powering the detector and alarm system are also monitored so that the user can be confident that the detector and alarm system have adequate power to function.
The use of child alert systems for automobiles is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,291 to Thornton discloses a child alert system for automobiles. However, the Thornton '291 patent does not have a pressure transducer, and has further drawbacks of not sounding an alarm until a potentially dangerous temperature has already been reached inside of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,104,283 to Rossi discloses a warning system for detecting presence of the child in an infant seat that detects the state of the vehicle's ignition system. However, the Rossi '283 patent does not have a pressure transducer, and additionally does not have a buckle switch.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,070 to Thornton discloses a child alert alarm for automobiles that detects the presence of a child locked within a parked automobile during extreme temperatures. However, the Thornton '070 patent does not have a pressure transducer, and cannot sound an alarm until a potentially dangerous temperature has already been reached inside of the vehicle.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,234 to Emery et al. discloses an infant vehicle seat alarm system that produces an audible or visual warning when the seat/carrier component is initially aligned on the base component, not locked onto the base component, or when the harness is in an unused state. However, the Emery et al. '234 patent does not have a pressure transducer, and also does not alert the driver to the presence of an infant when a vehicle door is opened.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,509 to Rice discloses a voice-activated vehicle alarm system that generates an output signal in response to signals from a temperature sensor and a sound detector. However, the Rice '509 patent does not have a pressure transducer, and further lacks the ability to sound an alarm until a potentially dangerous temperature has already been reached inside of the vehicle.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 306,099 to Kassai discloses a child's safety seat for an automobile. However, the Kassai '099 patent does not have a pressure transducer, and has the additional deficiency of not generating an alarm when a vehicle door is opened.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a child safety seat with alarm that allows notifying the driver of the vehicle that an infant is in its carrier inside of the vehicle when a door is opened. The Thornton '291 patent, the Thornton '070 patent, and the Rice '509 patent make no provision for a pressure transducer, and further lacks the ability to sound an alarm until a potentially dangerous temperature has already been reached inside of the vehicle. The Rossi '283 patent, the Emery et al. '234 patent, and the Kassai '099 patent also lack a pressure transducer. Additionally, the Rossi '283 patent does not have a buckle switch, and the Emery et al. '234 patent and the Kassai '099 patent cannot alert the driver to the presence of an infant when a vehicle door is opened.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved child safety seat with alarm that can be used for notifying the driver of the vehicle that an infant is in its carrier inside of the vehicle when a door is opened. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the child safety seat with alarm according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of notifying the driver of the vehicle that an infant is in its carrier inside of the vehicle when a door is opened.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of child alert systems for automobiles now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved child safety seat with alarm, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved child safety seat with alarm which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a child safety seat with alarm which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a child safety seat having a buckle with a hollow housing mounted to the top of the child safety seat. The hollow housing encloses a detector and has an alarm attached to the housing's exterior. A power source is mounted inside the child safety seat. A switch is attached to the child safety seat as well. Battery wires connect the power source to the switch. Switch wires connect the switch to the detector. Light wires connect the detector to the alarm.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
The invention may also include a speaker and lights comprising the alarm. The power source may consist of four AA batteries. The detector may take the form of a pressure transducer. A device to monitor the status of the power source and alert the user of a problem with the power source may be employed. The switch may be attached to the buckle to monitor the closure status of the buckle. The power source may be contained within a battery compartment having a hingedly attached lid. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently current, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various wa
Lee Benjamin C.
Nguyen Phung
LandOfFree
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