High-back child restraint system

A child restraint system adapted for use in a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having a seat therein and a seat belt system for restraining passengers therein, the motor vehicle seat belt system including a shoulder belt, the child restraint system being adapted for boosting a child up from the motor vehicle seat, the child restraint system and the child being restrained in the motor vehicle seat by the motor vehicle seat belt system which passes over and around both the child restraint system and the child, the child restraint system comprising:

• a seat platform adapted for resting on the motor vehicle seat;
• a back platform attached to the seat platform, the back platform having sides thereon, the sides having upper and lower portions;
• a belt guide attached to one side of the back platform in a position on an exterior of the child restraint system, the belt guide defining an open channel therein for removably receiving the motor vehicle shoulder belt, the motor vehicle shoulder belt being slidable within the channel, the belt guide providing multiple locations for positioning the motor vehicle shoulder belt so that the motor vehicle shoulder belt can be positioned adjacent and resting on the front chest side of the child at a central point between the child's neck and the shoulder;
• wherein the belt guide is fixedly attached to the side of the back platform, the belt guide including a plurality of fixed open channels defined therein, and further wherein each fixed open channel includes a bottom, two side walls, and two portions of a top, each portion of the top being attached to opposite ones of the side walls to define a gap between the two top portions, wherein the shoulder belt is insertable into and removable from the belt guide transversely through the gap, the top portions serving to retain the shoulder belt in the belt guide after the shoulder belt is threaded through the gap.

A child restraint system for restraining a child, comprising:

• a platform base providing structural support to the child restraint system, the platform base including a seat bottom and a seat back, the seat back having a central portion and two side portions, with the central portion and each of the two side portions defining an opening substantially larger than the largest cross-sectional dimension of a motor vehicle seat belt therebetween proximate to the position of the child's torso when the child is seated in the child restraint system;
• and
• a fabric cover disposed on top of the platform base and snugly fitted thereto, the fabric cover being suitable for sitting on by the child, the fabric cover including a seat bottom portion and a seat back portion, the seat back portion having a central portion and two side portions, with the central portion and each of the two side portions being separated by a mesh portion, the fabric cove being adapted so that when snugly fitted to the platform base, the sect bottom portion of the fabric cover corresponds to and fits to the seat bottom of the platform base and the seat back portion of the fabric cover corresponds to and fits to the seat back of the platform base, with the mesh portion on each side of the fabric cover being aligned with and corresponding to the opening defined between the central portion and the sides of the seat back of the platform base, to allow for the increased circulation of air to and from the vicinity surrounding the child's torso, the mesh portions each having an open texture with a plurality of evenly-spaced holes defined therein.