Seating height indicator for car seat
AssigneeMattel, Inc.
InventorDavid M. Bapst
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A child's booster seat is configured to be molded in a single piece, with an upper, back portion and a lower, seat portion connected by an integral hinge. The upper and lower portions can be pivoted about the hinge so that integral mortise and tenon structures are brought into engagement and can be pinned to hold the seat in an upright, use configuration. Indicia are disposed on the upper portion to show maximum and minimum suitable seated heights for child occupants of the seat. An adjustable shoulder belt positioned is disposed on the upper portion.
Claims31
A seat for safely restraining a child in a vehicle, the seat being suitable for use by children having seated heights ranging between a predetermined maximum seated height and a predetermined minimum seated height, said seat comprising:
- a shell having an upper, back portion and a lower, seat portion having a seating surface, the maximum seated height referring to the maximum vertical distance between the seating surface and shoulder of the largest seated child that can be safely restrained in said seat and the minimum seated height referring to the minimum vertical distance between the seating surface and shoulder of the smallest seated child that can be safely restrained in said seat;
- first and second size indicia disposed on the back portion, said first size indicium being located at a position corresponding to the maximum seated height and said second size indicium being located at a position corresponding to the minimum seated height, the first size indicium being configured such that when a parent places a child in said seat and the seated child's shoulder position is disposed above said first size indicium, the position of the first size indicium below the child's shoulder indicates to the parent that the child is too big for said seat and therefore not safely restrainable in said seat, and the second size indicium being configured such that when a parent places a child in said seat and the seated child's shoulder position is disposed below said second size indicia, the position of the second indicium above the child's shoulder indicates to the parent that the child is too small for said seat and therefore not safely restrainable in said seat.
A seat for restraining a child in a vehicle, the vehicle including a passenger shoulder harness and a lap belt, said seat comprising:
- a shell having an upper back portion and a lower seat portion;
- and
- size indicia disposed at predetermined locations relative to the upper back portion indicating a height limit for a child seated in said seat, said size indicia including a first marker indicating a maximum height for the child and a second marker indicating a minimum height for the child;
- wherein said seat is devoid of a restraint harness and the child is restrained in said seat by the passenger shoulder harness and lap belt.
A method for seating a child in a child's car seat, the seat being suitable for use by children having a seated height between predetermined maximum and minimum seated heights, the seat having a lower, seat portion defining a seating surface and an upper, back portion, the maximum seated height corresponding to the maximum vertical distance between the seating surface and the seated height of the largest child suitable for said seat and the minimum seated height corresponding to the minimum vertical distance between the seating surface and the seated height of the smallest seated child suitable for said seat, said method comprising the steps of:
- placing a first and second size indicium on the seat upper back portion, the first and second size indicium being positioned on the seat so as to be comparable with the child's seated height;
- placing the child on the seat portion with the child's back against the back portion;
- determining whether the child's seated height is less than the maximum seated height by reference to the first size indicium;
- and
- if the child's seated height is less than the maximum seated height, securing the child in the seat.
A child car seat for retaining an appropriately sized child in a vehicle using the vehicle's passenger shoulder belt to restrain the child's torso and thereby retain the child in the seat, said seat comprising:
- a body having a side wall and an inside surface, said body defining an upper back and seating surface of said child car seat;
- first and second indicia disposed on said inside surface, said first and second indicia indicating a range of appropriate seated heights, the range being defined by a maximum seated height corresponding to the shoulder position of the largest child appropriately sized for said car seat and a minimum seated height corresponding the shoulder position of the smallest child appropriately sized for said car seat, wherein said first and second size indicia are positioned so as to indicate to a user whether a child is of an appropriate size for said seat by reference to whether the seated child's shoulder position is disposed below said first indicium and above said second indicium;
- and
- a belt positioner mounted on said side wall, said belt positioner being positionable among a plurality of positions between the heights of said first and second indicia.
A seat for restraining a child in a vehicle using the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt, the seat being suitable for use by children having a predetermined maximum seated height, the seat comprising:
- a shell having an upper, back portion and a lower, seat portion;
- a size indicium disposed on the back portion and located at a position corresponding to the maximum seated height;
- and
- a belt positioner mounted on said side wall, said belt positioner including:
- a guide fixed to said back portion and defining a plurality of shoulder belt positions;
- and
- a retaining member for releasably retaining the vehicle shoulder belt, said retaining member being slidingly coupled to said guide and positionable among said plurality of shoulder belt positions;
- wherein the vehicle shoulder belt is positionable across the shoulder of children having seated heights less than the position corresponding to the maximum seated height by positioning the said retaining member.
A child car seat for retaining an appropriately sized child in a vehicle using the vehicle's passenger shoulder belt to restrain the child's torso and thereby retain the child in the seat, said seat comprising:
- a body having a side wall and an inside surface, said body defining an upper back and seating surface of said child car seat;
- first and second indicia disposed on said inside surface, said first and second indicia indicating a range of appropriate seated heights;
- the range being defined by a maximum seated height corresponding approximately to the shoulder position of the largest child appropriately sized for said car seat and a minimum seated height corresponding approximately to the shoulder position of the smallest child appropriately sized for said car seat, wherein said first and second size indicia are positioned so as to indicate to a user whether a child is of an appropriate size for said seat by reference to whether the seated child's shoulder position is disposed below said first indicia and above said second indicia.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.