AU2008100722B4 - Anchor System for a Child Safety Seat - Google Patents

Description

InnovationSpec-template 00 ANCHOR SYSTEM FOR A CHILD SAFETY SEAT c CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2008900795 filed on 20 February 2008, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION The present application relates to an anchor system for a child safety seat, and in particular, to a system for anchoring a tether arrangement of a child safety seat and a o00 harness arrangement in a combined manner to a common vehicle anchorage point.

BACKGROUND TO THE NVENTION Due to their size and body shape, infants and young children travelling in vehicles are typically unable to safely use standard vehicle restraint systems, such as seat belts and the like. For this reason, child safety seats have been developed to assist in the safe transport of infants and children.

Child safety seats come in a variety of styles and sizes depending on the age and/or size of the child to be transported. Capsule-type safety seats are typically employed to transport infants, whilst more conventional forward facing and upright seats are employed to transport toddlers and young children. In most cases, the safety seat is typically mounted to standard vehicle seating using the standard vehicle seat belt and is further anchored to a dedicated anchor point on the vehicle by way of a tether strap, to provide stability to the safety seat.

Restraints/harnesses are typically employed with existing child safety seats to restrain the child in a seated position within the seat. A variety of different types and styles of restraints have been developed for this purpose, ranging from standard three-point harnesses to five point harnesses. Typically, such restraints/harnesses are anchored to a shell of the safety seat. One problem with such an arrangement is that, in the event of a vehicle accident, the safety seat and/or the restraint/harness can be subject to significant forces. As such, any imperfections in the shell of the safety seat can result in the restraint/harness failing to perform its function, thereby placing the child in danger of injury.

In some instances, particularly in safety seats suitable for larger children, the safety seats may be configured to utilise the existing seat belt system of the vehicle to restrain the child in position. In such instances, the vehicle seat belt may be incorrectly fitted InnovationSpec-template 00 about the child and may fail to restrain the child in the event of an accident. Another O problem with incorrectly fitted seat belts is that under the forces of an accident the seat C- belt may apply excessive forces against the child. Should these forces be applied to Svital organs, damage to such organs is possible.

To address these and other problems dedicated restraint/harness systems that are anchored directly to the vehicle have been developed. Such anchor systems are designed to fit children of various ages and sizes in a safe and effective manner and are Sdirectly anchored to the dedicated anchor point of the vehicle. In such systems two separate anchor points on the vehicle are typically required to anchor both the tether strap for the safety seat and the harness. A variety of anchor attachments have been 00 proposed to achieve this. Such proposals include additional vehicle bolts and fittings to 0 provide multiple attachments points at a single anchor point of the vehicle. A problem with this proposal is that it requires a number of additional parts to be bolted to the vehicle which, in turn, requires additional time and expertise to assemble the system.

Alternative proposals, as disclosed in International Patent Application No.

PCT/AU2005/000820, have been directed at providing an additional connection strap carried by the safety seat tether strap to connect with the harness such that both the harness and the tether strap of the safety seat are anchored to the same anchorage point of the vehicle. This proposal has a number of drawbacks in that it reduces the interchangeability between straps of various seating systems, and has a large reliance of the integrity of the stitching connecting the straps together. Hence, should the stitching connecting the straps fail under load, the harness no longer becomes anchored to the vehicle.

International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2005/000820 also proposes a system whereby a tether hook anchoring the tether strap of the safety seat to the vehicle anchorage point has an elongate body that receives a hook associated with the harness such that the harness and the safety seat tether strap are connected to a single vehicle anchorage location. A problem with such a tether hook arrangement is that the tether hook must be formed to assume a length sufficient to provide such a dual connection to the safety seat tether strap and the harness. As the tether hook must also be rigid, when it is secured to the anchor point on the vehicle, the tether hook is difficult to manoeuvre to facilitate connection of the harness thereto. As such, significant effort is required to assemble the various components.

InnovationSpec-template OO As such, there is a need to provide for an anchorage system for attaching a tether strap C of a safety seat and a harness of a safety seat to a single attachment point of a vehicle N which is both relatively easy to use and is relatively safe and secure.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the N field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim C 10 of this application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 00 According to a first aspect, the present invention provides a system for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to an anchor point of a vehicle including: a hook member attachable to the anchor point; and a buckle member configured to pivotally engage with the hook member, the buckle member having a first eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection with a tether strap of the child safety seat and second eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection with the harness, such that the child safety seat and the harness are anchored to the anchor of the vehicle.

In one embodiment of this aspect, the buckle member is inserted into an eye of the hook member to engage therewith. A pin may be provided through the buckle member to securely engage the buckle member within the eye of the hook member.

According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a buckle for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: a body configured to engage with an eye of a hook member, the hook member being engageable with an anchorage point on a vehicle, said body further comprising at least one eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection of the body to one or more of a tether strap of the child safety seat and/or the harness.

According to a third aspect, the present invention provides a tether strap arrangement for connection of a child safety seat to an anchorage point of a vehicle, including: a tether strap secured with respect to the child safety seat so as to extend from the child safety seat to be secured with respect to the anchorage point by way of a hook member; and a buckle member configured to pivotally engage with an eye of the hook member, the buckle member having at least one hole formed therethrough for facilitating InnovationSpec-template 00 connection with a harness used with the child safety seat such that the harness is 0 anchored to the anchorage point of the vehicle.

0

(N

tAccording to a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a system for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: an anchor fixed to the vehicle; a hook member attachable to the anchor; and a buckle having a body with an end configured to engage with an eye of the hook (1 member to secure the buckle to the hook member, the body further having a first eye 0 10 formed therethrough for facilitating connection with a tether strap of the child safety seat and second eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection with the harness 0 such that the child safety seat and the harness are anchored to the anchor of the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the end of the body is a C-shaped clip that is inserted into the eye of the hook member to engage therewith. A pin may be provided in the body to close the C-shaped clip to provide secure engagement between the buckle and the hook member.

The first eye may be a slot formed in the body and the width of the slot may be substantially equivalent to the width of the tether strap.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a buckle for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: a body having an end configured to engage with an eye of a hook member engageable with an anchorage point on a vehicle, said body further comprising a first eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection of the body to a tether strap of the child safety seat and a second eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection of the body to the harness such that the child safety seat and the harness are anchored to the anchorage point of the vehicle.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for 3o anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: an anchor fixed to the vehicle; a hook member attachable to the anchor; and a buckle having a body adapted to extend through an eye provided in the hook member and a flange extending from said body and configured to engage with the eye of the hook member to secure the buckle in position, wherein, the buckle has a first eye for facilitating connection with a tether strap of the child safety seat and second eye for facilitating connection with the harness such that the child safety seat and the harness are anchored to the anchor of the vehicle.

InnovationSpec-template 00 In one embodiment, the buckle is made from a metal. The flange may extend from the O body at an acute angle to an underside of the body. The flange may have a width C greater than the body such that the flange is preventing from passing through the eye of the hook memlrber.

The tether strap may comprise a loop of material threaded through the first eye to facilitate connection with the child safety seat, and the harness comprises a hook member that is received within the second eye to facilitate connection with the harness.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or 0step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, Sinteger or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS By way of example only, the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of a clip member according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 shows a side view of the clip member of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a prior art anchoring system; FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention; FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention; FIG. 6 shows a front perspective view of a buckle member according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 shows a top view of the buckle member of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 shows a side view of the buckle member of FIG. 6; FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention employing the buckle member of FIGS. 6 8; and FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of yet another alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention employing the buckle member of FIGS. 6 8.

DETAILED D)ESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to FIG. 3, a prior art anchorage system 50 is shown. The anchorage system comprises an anchor 12 which is secured to the vehicle by way of a bolt or the like (not shown), to define a vehicle anchorage point. The anchor 12 has an eyelet 11 for receiving an anchor hook 14 of the safety seat tether strap 15. The tether strap 15, is InnovationSpec-template 00 typically a woven strap connected at its ends to the safety seat (not shown) so as to O extend in a loop from the safety seat and through the eyelet 13 formed in the anchor C hook 14. In this arrangement, attachment of the anchor hook 14 to the anchor 12 f3 secures the safety seat (not shown) to the vehicle.

A connection strap 52 also extends from the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. The connection strap 52 is in the form of a short loop of woven material having a connector 54 provided at a distal end thereof. The connector 54 has a first eye 53 through which c1 the connection strap 52 is received, and a second eye 55 for receiving a harness hook 17 of the harness system 16. The harness system 16 comprises a looped strap connecting the shoulder straps (not shown) of the harness system, which passes through eye 18 00 provided in harness hook 17.

In the prior art arrangement as shown in FIG. 3, the tether strap 15 is directly anchored to the vehicle by way of anchor clip 14. The harness system 16 is indirectly anchored to the vehicle by way of harness clip 17 that connects with connector 54, which in turn is connected to anchor clip 14 by way of connection strap 52. Such an arrangement provides multiple connection of the safety seat and the harness to one vehicle anchorage point.

It will be appreciated that, in the prior art system 50, the connection strap 52 is permanently fixed to anchor clip 14 by way of stitching 19. As such, in order to connect a harness system 16 of a safety seat to a vehicle, the tether strap 15 must be of a type having a connection strap 52. Other tether strap arrangements will not provide such a harness connection. Hence, the various parts of the system 50 are not interchangeable with other anchorage systems of alternative seat arrangements. Further, the connection strap 52 comprises a stitched woven material, with the integrity of the system relying upon the strength of the material and the stitching to ensure that the harness system 16 is secured to the vehicle. As the connection strap 52 is subject to significant load during use, particularly during connection of the harness system 16 and tightening of the harness system 16, should the connection strap 52 fail under load, the harness system 16 will fail to perform its restraining function.

One embodiment of the anchorage system 10 of the present invention is shown in FIG.

4. For ease of understanding, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same/similar features of the prior art system 50 of FIG. 3.

As shown, the anchor hook 14 is received within the eye 11 of the anchor 12 to anchor the system 10 to the vehicle. A buckle 20, made from a suitable metal such as steel, is In novationS pec-temnplate 00 received within the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14 and extends therefrom. The buckle O 20 has a first or tether eye 22 formed therein for receiving the tether strap 15, and a c- second or harness eye 24 for receiving the hook 17 of the harness system 16. In this arrangement, both the tether strap 15 and the harness 16 are connected to the anchorage point of the vehicle at a single point, namely the buckle Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the buckle 20 is shown in isolation. The buckle comprises an elongate body 21 which is shaped to extend through and project from the Ci eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. The body 21 is a substantially flat and thin strip of metal, such as steel, with the tether eye 22 and the harness eye 24 formed therethrough.

A flange 23 extends from the body 21 at an acute angle to the underside of the body 21.

0 The flange 21 has a width greater than the width of the body 21. In this arrangement, Owhilst the body 21 has a width that enables it to be inserted through the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14, the flange 21 has a width that prevents passage through the eyelet 13, thereby engaging with the hook 14. In this position, the tether strap 15 and the harness hook 17 can be attached to the eyes 22 and 24 respectively such that both the harness 16 and the tether strap 15 are secured to the anchor 12 by way of anchor hook 14. It will be appreciated that the position of the eyes 22, 24 may assume a variety of orientations, and in one form they may be oppositely orientated such that eye 24 is located proximal the flange 23 and eye 22 is located distal the flange 23.

A pin 25 is provided within a hole formed in the body 21 of the buckle 20. The pin is located at an end of the body adjacent the flange 21 and is extendible so as to project from the body 21 in the manner as shown in FIG. 2. The pin 25 may be in the form of a grub screw, self-tapping screw, or the like, that is received within a threaded recess in the body 21. Prior to insertion of the body 21 through the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14, the pin 25 is located within the body 21 such that the ends of the pin 25 are substantially flush with the surface of the body 21. This enables the body to be inserted through the eyelet 13 of the hook 14. Following insertion of the body 21 through the 3o eyelet 13, the pin 25 is caused to extend or project from the surface of the body 21, by a screwing or similar motion. The pin 25 then prevents withdrawal of the body 21 back through the eyelet 13 of the hook 14, by increasing the thickness of the body 21 in the region proximal the flange 23, thereby retaining the buckle 20 in position.

The buckle 20 of the present invention can be readily used with tether straps 15 of existing safety seats by merely threading the buckle 20 onto the tether strap 15 such that the loop of the tether strap 15 passes through the tether eye 22. As the forces applied to the buckle 20 by the tether strap 15 and the harness 16 during use are in the direction of arrow A (FIG. the buckle is in constant engagement with the hook 14. Further, as InnovationSpec-template 00 the buckle 20 is made from a metal, it has sufficient strength to withstand considerable O force without failing.

SAn alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5 as reference numeral 40. The anchorage system 40 is similar to that shown in FIG. 4, and as such the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar features.

N In anchorage system 40, the tether strap 15 is received within the eyelet 13 of the tether hook 14. Buckle 26 is also inserted through the eyelet 13 of the tether hook 14 in the _same manner as described above in relation to FIG. 4. The buckle 26 may be inserted through the eyelet 13 such that it is received over the tether strap 15, as shown.

SAlternatively, the buckle 26 may be inserted through the eyelet 13 such that it is received under the strap 15. Buckle 26 has a single recess or eye 24 for receiving the harness hook 17 of the harness system 16. A pin 25 is provided through the buckle 26 adjacent the flange 23 to lock the buckle in engagement with the hook 14, in the manner as described above.

Whilst buckle 26 employs flange 23 to engage with the tether hook 14, it will be appreciated that instead of flange 23, a hook flange arrangement may also be employed, such as that which is referred to as reference numeral 34 in FIGS. 6 9.

In the anchorage system 40, the buckle 26 can be fitted to a variety of existing tether arrangements by merely inserting the buckle through the existing tether hook 14. The harness hook can then be attached to the recess 24 of the buckle 26 to facilitate secure anchorage of the harness 16 to the vehicle. As the buckle 26 is made from a rigid metal, such as steel or any other variety of hardened metals, the harness 16 is securely retained in position.

An alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 and is referred to by reference numeral Referring to FIG. 9, the system 45 comprises a buckle 30 which is configured to connect to eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14 so as to anchor the system to a vehicle anchorage point (not shown). The buckle 30 has an elongate body 31 that extends from the eyelet 13 in the manner as shown. The body 31 is movable with respect to the eyelet 13 so as to provide manoeuvrability to facilitate ease of use and assembly of the system 45. The body 31 has a slot 32 formed therein for receiving the tether strap 15 of child safety seat. The body 31 also has a hole 33 located at a distal end thereof for receiving a hook InnovationSpec-template 00 17 associated with a harness system 16 in the manner as shown. As such, the tether O strap 15 and the harness 16 are anchored to the vehicle anchorage point at a single C location, namely the buckle The buckle 30 is shown in isolation in FIGS. 6 8. As for the buckle 20 shown and described in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, the buckle 30 is made from a suitable metal, such as steel. The body 31 is a substantially flat and thin strip of metal having the slot 32 and the hole 33 formed therethrough by way of punching or machining.

A proximal end 3 la of the body 31 is shaped to perform as a clip to be received into the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. In this regard, the proximal end 31 comprises a flange oO 34 folded under the body 31 so as to form a C-shaped end thereof. It will be Sappreciated that the end of the body 31 could be configured to form a U-shape, V-shape or a variety of such shapes so as to function as a clip. A pin 35, such as a rivet, can then be passed through the body 31 and the flange 34 to close the C-shaped end so as to secure the buckle 30 to the hook 14 as shown in FIG. 9. It will be appreciated that the pin 35 can provide permanent connection of the buckle 30 to the hook 14, through the use of a rivet or the like, however, other pin arrangements are also envisaged which may provide a detachable connection between the buckle 30 and the hook 14.

As shown in FIG. 7, the shape of the body 31 of the buckle 30 differs between proximal end 3 la and distal end 3 lb. The proximal end 3 la of the body 31 has a narrow width so as to facilitate insertion into the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. The width of the body 31 increases in the region proximal the slot 32 to accommodate slots 32 capable of receiving tether straps 15 of varying widths. In a preferred embodiment, the slot 32 is sufficiently wide enough to accommodate webbing or straps 15 of 38mm, which is a standard strap width for most vehicle applications. However, it will be envisaged that the width of tlhe slot 32 could vary according to the specific applications of the present invention. As is shown, the width of the body 31 narrows as it approaches the distal end 31b that accommodates hole 35. In this regard, the width of the distal end 31b need only be wide enough to accommodate hole 35, hence the shape of the body 31 in this region may vary. It will be appreciated that with buckle 30, the body 31 is not configured to be inserted through the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14, as is the case with buckle 20 of FIG. 4. As such, there is more variation in the width of the body 31 a so as to accommodate variable width tether straps 15 and the like.

It will also be appreciated that the buckle 30 provides a secure single point attachment means for securing/anchoring a tether strap of a child safety seat and a harness to the vehicle anchorage point. Such a single point of attachment 30 is sufficiently strong and InnovationSpec-template 00 robust so as to cater for a variety of forces as expected during use without failing. As O the buckle 30 is pivotable, it also provides a relatively simple multiple attachment point c- that can be easily manoeuvred and installed with a variety of existing anchorage Ssystems, without significant remodification required.

Referring to FIG. 10, an alternative embodiment of the arrangement shown in FIG. 9 is depicted. In this embodiment, buckle 30 is configured to connect to eyelet of the hook 17 associated with the harness 16, such that the harness 16 is directly connected to the Ci vehicle anchorage point 12. The anchor hook 14 is then connected to the buckle 30 by way of hole 33 to facilitate anchorage of the tether strap 15 of the child safety seat to the _vehicle anchorage point.

00oO SIt will be appreciated that such an arrangement as shown in FIG. 10 ensures greater load distribution of the system during use. In particular, the harness 16, which typically takes a greater load during use, is directly secured to the vehicle anchorage point, whilst the tether strap 15, which typically takes a lesser load than the harness 16, is indirectly secured to the vehicle anchorage point by way of buckle It will also be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (2)

1. 3. A system according to claim 2, wherein a pin is provided through the buckle member to securely engage the buckle member within the eye of the hook member.
2. 4. A buckle for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: a body configured to engage with an eye of a hook member, the hook member being engageable with an anchorage point on a vehicle, said body further comprising at least one eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection of the body to one or more of a tether strap of the child safety seat and/or the harness. A tether strap arrangement for connection of a child safety seat to an anchorage point of a vehicle, including: a tether strap secured with respect to the child safety seat so as to extend from the child safety seat to be secured with respect to the anchorage point by way of a hook member; and a buckle member configured to pivotally engage with an eye of the hook member, the buckle member having at least one hole formed therethrough for facilitating connection with a harness used with the child safety seat such that the harness is anchored to the anchorage point of the vehicle.