Chairs and seats – Supplemental seat – Secured by bottom-back crevice
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-05
2001-03-06
Brown, Peter R. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Supplemental seat
Secured by bottom-back crevice
C297S250100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196628
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a fastening device for fastening a child's seat to the seat of a vehicle by means of at least one retaining element which is attached to the vehicle seat and which holds a fastening element which can be moved between a service position and an out-of-service (“parking”) position.
2. Description of the Related Art
The usual method for attaching a child's seat to the seat of a motor vehicle is to use the available safety belt. This type of attachment, however, is unsatisfactory with respect to behavior during a crash. During a collision, deceleration occurs as the crumple zones of the vehicle undergo deformation and thus absorb energy, whereas the passengers do not begin to undergo deceleration until after the slack in their safety belts has been taken up. When a child's seat is attached to the vehicle by the same type of belt, however, the slack in this belt must be taken up first under the load of the child's seat, then the slack in the safety belt of the child's seat itself must be taken up. This means the child in the seat decelerates after the adults and thus the deceleration takes place when the crumple zone is no longer absorbing a great deal of energy, with the result that the child must endure the residual load of the deceleration process until a full stop is reached. It has already been proposed that two fastening elements on the vehicle seat in the form of yokes be permanently attached to the vehicle structure or seat. These permanent yokes, however, are a nuisance during the times when no child's seat is buckled into the vehicle seat and an adult passenger is using this seating area instead.
It has therefore already been proposed that fastening elements in the form of yokes be pivoted into a “parking” (stowed or out-of-service) position; these fastening elements would be adjacent to the long sides of the seats and be installed in the rear area of the seat between the back and the seat cushion. When the user wishes to attach the child's seat, the fastening elements would be swung up out of the gap between the seat cushion and the back and into the service position, where they project out over the seat cushion to allow the attachment of the child's seat. After the fastening elements are pivoted back into the parking position in the gap between the back and the seat cushion, they are held in place there by a detent pawl. This pawl is located in an inaccessible place, however, which means that the user of the seat can operate it only by pulling on a Bowden cable connected to a release lever. A comparable fastening device is described in DE 196-50,087 C1.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The task of the invention is to improve a fastening device of the type described above in such a way that the user of the seat can operate it easily without the need to actuate locking elements which must be released before-hand. This task is accomplished by means of the fastening element being connected to the retaining element by a latching mechanism, by means of which the fastening element can be lowered into a stowed position and returned to a service position. The retaining element can be easily installed by attaching it to the support structure of the seat or to the car body; it is advisable for one retaining element to be located near each long side of the seat. Because of the latching mechanism located between the fastening element and the retaining element, the fastening element effectively connected to each retaining element can be easily moved into the parking position and then again into the service position simply by pressing on it, which means that additional operating components for arriving at the two positions of the fastening element can therefore be completely omitted.
In a preferred embodiment of the object of the invention, the latching mechanism between the fastening element and the retaining element is designed as a two-stage mechanism, the first latching stage of which makes it possible to move the fastening element into the stowed position, whereas the second latching stage allows the fastening element to be moved into the service position. The fastening element has a base body, which is acted on by an energy storage mechanism which attempts to push the base body in the direction of the service position. A yoke is attached to the base body. The fastening device also has a control tappet, which can slide in linear fashion in a control link of the retaining element, which is mounted on the vehicle seat in such a way that it can slide transversely to the fastening element.
It is advantageous for the control tappet projecting from the base body of the fastening element to have a cross section in the form of an isosceles triangle, where the base which connects the two equal sides extends in the direction of the linear movement of the fastening element. It is advantageous for the control link which accepts the control tappet to consist of a guideway with both outer control surfaces and the inner control surfaces, the inner control surfaces being formed by an angled projection; these outer and inner control surfaces, furthermore, alternate in their directions, proceeding first in a linear manner in the direction in which the control tappet moves and then proceeding at a slant, in the same direction as that of one or the other of the equal sides of the triangular control tappet.
To secure the fastening element with its yoke in the first latching position, in which the yoke is recessed into the seat part, and also to move it reliably into the second latching position, in which the yoke projects out of the seat part, the control surface of the angled projection facing the latching stages extends over certains areas of the two control surfaces of the latching stages, the two of which both slant in the same direction, but is itself slanted in the direction opposite that of the control surfaces of the latching stages. This slanted control surface of the angled projection, furthermore, is limited by a linear control surface extending in the direction in which the control tappet moves and is pointed toward the slanted control surface of the second latching stage. The position of the yoke on the fastening element which corresponds to the second latching position, i.e., the position in which the yoke is pulled out over the top surface of the seat, is limited by an upper stop in the path of the control tappet of the fastening element, this stop being connected to the retaining element so that it remains permanently attached to it. To ensure the interference-free movement of the control tappet in the control link, the distance between the outer and inner control surfaces of the control link is made large enough to allow smooth passage of the control tappet.
In another embodiment of the object of the invention, a latching mechanism is used which makes it possible for the fastening element, with its yoke, to be supported pivotably on the retaining element in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the seat, where, as a result of the latching mechanism, the fastening element, i.e., its yoke, can be moved either into an upward-projecting service position or into a stowed position, folded down onto the surface of the seat. So that the user of the seat will not be disturbed by the fastening element while the element is not in use, the surface of the seat has a recess to hold the yoke of the fastening element while it is in the stowed position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5669663 (1997-09-01), Feuerherdt
patent: 5941601 (1999-08-01), Scott et al.
patent: 4427768 (1995-11-01), None
patent: 196 50 087 C1 (1997-12-01), None
patent: 0417394 (1991-03-01), None
Goy Reinhard
Lebkücher Michael
Liedhegener Ralf
Reimer Peter
Brown Peter R.
Friedrich Kueffner
Keiper GmbH & Co.
LandOfFree
Device for fixing a child seat to the seat of a motor vehicle does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device for fixing a child seat to the seat of a motor vehicle, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device for fixing a child seat to the seat of a motor vehicle will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2516268