Child seat foldable from within seat back having extension control mechanism

#THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a seating arrangement for a motor vehicle and, more particularly, relates to a seating arrangement intended primarily for use by adults but incorporating a child's safety-seat, the child's safety-seat ordinarily being in a retracted inoperative position, but being movable to an extended position when the child's safety-seat is to be utilised.

#It has been proposed previously to provide a seating arrangement of the type outlined above, especially in the rear seat of a motor car where the child s safety-seat has been incorporated in a central arm rest. The arm rest has been movable from an retracted position, in which the arm rest is retained within a recess formed in the back of the seat, to a forwardly extending position, in which the arm rest can actually be utilised as an arm rest. An upper cover provided on the arm rest may then be moved upwardly to reveal the child's safety-seat, the upper cover of the arm rest forming the back of the child's safety-seat.

#A disadvantage with a child's safety-seat of this type is that the squab of the child's seat only has a width which is equal to the width of the arm rest. Typically an arm rest has a relatively narrow width. The present invention seeks to provide an improved seating arrangement.

#FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of part of a seating arrangement in accordance with the invention in a first position,

#FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing the seating arrangement in an alternative position,

#FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the seating arrangement when virtually ready for use by a child,

#Referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a seating arrangement in accordance with the invention comprises primarily an adult seat 1 having a squab 2 and a back portion 3. The back portion 3 defines a recess 4 which can receive a child's seat 5. The recess may be centrally located in the back 3 of the seat 1, so that the child's seat may also act as an arm rest, although it is to be understood that two child's seats may be provided in the back-seat of a motor vehicle, being located one towards each side of the motor car, so that two children can ride in the seats side-by-side.

#As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, the child's seat 5 includes a squab 6 to which is pivotally connected a back part 7. The combination of the squab 6 and the back 7 may be received completely within the recess 4 so that the seat 1 may be used as an ordinary seat by an adult. The squab 6 and back 7 may be moved together to the position illustrated in FIG. 1, where the elements of the child's seat may act as an arm rest. However, the back part 7 of the child's seat 5 may be pivoted up, as shown in FIG. 2, to reveal the squab 6 of the child's seat.

#Referring now to FIG. 3, the child's seat 5 is illustrated, showing the back 7 and the squab 6. It can be seen that the squab 6 consists of an underlying support 8 and two squab elements 9,10 which are mounted on the support 8 and which each have an overall width which is no greater than the width of the underlying support 8. The two squab elements 9,10 are movable laterally from an initial position to the illustrated extended position, in which the two squab elements 9,10 extend over the sides of the underlying support 8, thus effectively extending the width of the squab. A cushion 11 is provided to be mounted on the squab elements 9 and 10.