Booster seat

A seat for restraining a child in a vehicle, the seat comprising:

• a shell having an upper back portion and a lower seat portion;
• a belt positioner adjustable coupled to the upper back portion for positioning a shoulder belt relative to the child, the belt positioner including a rack attached to the upper back portion and having a longitudinally extending slot, a cover plate with a post disposed in the slot for longitudinal movement therein, a clip pivotally coupled to a first end of the cover plate, and means for retaining a seat belt, the retaining means extending from a second end of the cover plate to the clip and cooperating with the cover plate to form a conduit for guiding a seat belt;
• and
• size indicia disposed at predetermined locations relative to the upper back portion indicating a height limit for a child seated in the seat.

A child's car seat positionable in a vehicle seat to accommodate a child occupant to be restrained by a shoulder belt of the vehicle, said car seat comprising:

• a seat shell having an upper, back portion and a lower, seat portion;
• and
• a shoulder belt positioner having:
• a fixed portion mounted to said back portion;
• a moveable portion slidably mounted to said fixed portion for movement between an upper limit and a lower limit;
• and
• means mounted to said moveable portion for releaseably retaining the vehicle's shoulder strap.

A shoulder belt positioner for use on the back portion of a child's car seat to position a shoulder belt at an appropriate height for a child occupant of the seat, said shoulder belt positioner comprising:

• a fixed portion mountable to the seat's back portion, said fixed portion including a rack;
• a moveable portion slidably mounted to said fixed portion for movement between an upper limit and a lower limit to accommodate different sized children, said moveable portion including a cover plate having means for locking the cover plate in position relative to the rack;
• and
• means mounted to said moveable portion for releaseably retaining the vehicle's shoulder strap.

A shoulder belt positioner for use on the back portion of a child's car seat to position a should belt at an appropriate height for a child occupant of the seat, said shoulder belt positioner comprising:

• a fixed portion mountable to the seat's back portion;
• a moveable portion slidably mounted to said fixed portion for movement between an upper limit and a lower limit to accommodate different sized children;
• and
• means mounted to said moveable portion for releaseably retaining the vehicle's shoulder strap, said shoulder strap retaining means including an elongate flexible member fixed at a first end to said moveable portion and releaseably coupled at an opposite, second end to said moveable portion.

A seat comprising:

• a seat body having a front seating area and a back;
• a seat cover disposed to substantially cover said front seating area and having a clip retaining cord and a plurality of attachment loops depending therefrom;
• and
• a clip operatively disposed adjacent the back and attached to the seat cover, said clip including a plurality of loop-receiving apertures, each of said plurality of loop-receiving apertures being configured to releaseably receive at least one attachment loop, said clip being non-releaseably coupled to said retaining cord,
• whereby said seat cover is retained on said seat body by engagement of said loops with said apertures.

A seat comprising:

• a seat body having a front seating area and a back;
• a seat cover disposed to substantially cover said front seating area and having a plurality of attachment loops depending therefrom;
• and
• a clip operatively disposed adjacent the back and attached to the seat cover, the clip including a plurality of apertures, each of the plurality of apertures being configured to releaseably receive at least one loop, the plurality of apertures including a first aperture for non-removably receiving a cord attached to the seat cover to attach the clip to the seat cover, a second aperture for removably receiving a single loop attached to the seat cover, and a third aperture for removably receiving a pair of loops attached to the seat cover,
• whereby said seat cover is retained on said seat body by engagement of said loops with said apertures.

A method for manufacturing a child's car seat comprising the steps of:

• forming a unitary shell having an upper back portion, a lower seat portion and a hinge formed therebetween, each of the upper and lower portions including a coacting joint member, each of said coacting joint members including an aperture, wherein said coacting joint members are formed as a mortise and a tenon;
• pivoting the upper and lower portions toward each other about the hinge to position the upper and lower portions in a booster seat configuration wherein said mortise and tenon are disposed adjacent each other with their respective apertures aligned coaxially and with said tenon inserted into said mortise;
• and
• disposing a locking rod in the aligned apertures to lock the upper and lower portions into a fixed position with respect to each other.

A method for manufacturing a child's car seat comprising the steps of:

• forming a unitary shell having an upper back portion, a lower seat portion and a hinge formed therebetween, each of the upper and lower portions including a coacting joint member, each of said coacting joint members including an aperture;
• pivoting the upper and lower portions toward each other about the hinge to position the upper and lower portions in a booster seat configuration in which said coacting joint members are disposed adjacent each other with their respective apertures aligned coaxially;
• and
• disposing a locking rod in the aligned apertures to lock the upper and lower portions into a fixed position with respect to each other, said locking rod being disposed through substantially the entire width of said unitary shell.

A child'car seat, comprising:

• a unitary shell having an upper back portion and a lower seat portion hingedly connected to said upper back portion by an integral hinge;
• a mortise formed on one of said upper and lower portions;
• and
• a tenon formed on the other of said upper and lower portion and engageable with said mortise,
• said upper and lower portions being pivotable about said hinge into a use position in which said mortise and said tenon are engaged.