GB2434089A

GB2434089A - Child's safety seat mounting

Info

Publication number: GB2434089A
Application number: GB0600731A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Cox
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-13
Filing date: 2006-01-13
Publication date: 2007-07-18
Also published as: GB0600731D0; WO2007080423A1

Abstract

A mounting 10 for a child's safety seat 20 comprises a first part 12 adapted to be releasably fastened adjacent a back 36 of a vehicle seat 32 in a substantially vertical position, and a second part 14 adapted to be releasably fastened to the child's safety seat 20. The second part 14 is hinged to the first part about a substantially vertical axis of rotation 16 disposed substantially along one edge of the second part 14, enabling lateral and rotational movement of the safety seat 20 fastened to the second plate 14.

Description

I

TITLE: CHILD'S SAFETY SEAT MOUNTING The present invention relates to a child's safety seat mounting and particularly to a child's safety seat mounting suitable for attachment to the seat of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Safety seats for infants and children are generally attached to the rear seat of a vehicle, and it is currently thought that the safest position for a child's safety seat is at the centre of the rear seat, located behind the driver and passenger seats. A child seated in a central position is less likely to suffer injury in a side impact collision with another vehicle, than a child seated to one side of the vehicle, le potentially closer to the point of the collision.

However, when a child seat is positioned at the centre of a vehicle, it is awkward for an adult to place a child in the seat, because he or she has to lift the child, stretch into the vehicle whilst holding the child and turn the child to place the child in the safety seat.

Stretching and twisting, whilst lifting, exposes the person lifting the child to risk of injury, and in particular, back injury. In some cases, this can lead to a child being dropped, for example, when the person lifting the child experiences sudden pain, It is particularly difficult for the pregnant and obese to lift in this way, because the centre of gravity of the child is necessarily further away from their body, which increases the strain on the back.

In general, it is regarded as good health and safety practice when manual handling of loads, not to hold or manipulate a load at distance, not to attempt to twist and lift at the same time, not to stoop and lift, not to reach forward and lift, to try to avoid sudden movement of load, and to avoid frequent physical effort. A child can be difficult to grasp, and is an unstable load, ie the child may begin to move or wriggle when being lifted. This adds to the difficulty of lifting a child, and it is recognised that lifting a child into a safety seat positioned at a central position in the rear of a vehicle contravenes the majority of health and safety advice for safe lifting.

In order to facilitate taking a child in and out of a safety seat positioned in the middle of a vehicle, it is known to provide means enabling the safety seat to rotate through 90 about a substantially vertical central axis as disclosed in US 6,938,954 Bi (Hendron and Beale) and CA 2382664 Al (Ziegler). When the child seat is rotated to a position facing a side door of the vehicle, it is significantly easier to lift a child in and out of the seat, because the child does not need to be turned, thus avoiding the need for the person lifting the child to twist. Nevertheless, even with a rotated child seat, it is still necessary to lean and stretch into the vehicle to lift the child to the centre of the vehicle's rear seat. This problem has also been addressed in, for example, CA 2382664 Al by providing a carriage on which a safety seat is mounted. The carriage is movable sideways by means of an extendible mechanism to a more convenient child loading position, close to the side of the vehicle.

A problem with this arrangement is that the base unit including the extendible mechanism and carriage is bulky, and takes up a considerable amount of space on the back seat of the vehicle, when not in use. The arrangement also comprises a large number of moving parts, and hence is relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, releasing and locking of the carriage is required both in loading and travelling positions. This requires a parent to put down a child in order to move the position of the safety seat, prior to loading the child.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mounting for a child safety seat, which substantially reduces these problems.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a mounting for a child's safety seat comprising a first part adapted to be releasably fastened adjacent a back of a vehicle seat in a substantially vertical position, and a second part adapted to be releasably fastened to a child's safety seat, the second part being hinged to the first part about a substantially vertical axis of rotation disposed substantially along one edge of the second part.

It is an advantage of the invention that the position of the hinge along one edge of the second part enables a child's safety seat attached to the second part to be moved both laterally and rotationally between a travel position and a loading/unloading position in a single movement. Further advantages are that the mounting is slim-line, simplistic and is envisaged to be relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Preferably a releasable locking means is provided for locking the first and second parts together.

Preferably the releasable locking means is childproof.

The releasable locking means may be released either manually or remotely.

Preferably the releasable locking means can be released by an aerial remote control.

Preferably biasing means is provided for biasing the first and second parts apart.

The biasing means may be a spring.

Preferably the biasing means is a gas strut.

Alternatively drive means is provided for rotating the second part relative to the first part between a closed position and an open position.

Preferably the drive means is an electric motor.

The remote release of the locking means combined with the biasing means or drive means enables a seat to be moved to a position close to the side of the vehicle automatically. This is particularly advantageous when a parent is holding a child and is unable to put the child down in order to move the position of the safety seat.

A third part may be adapted to be releasably fastened to a second child's safety seat and may be hinged to the first part about a substantially vertical axis of rotation disposed substantially along an opposite edge of the second part.

This arrangement provides for seating of two children, side by side, at the centre of the rear seat of a vehicle. It is advantageous because by positioning the hinges at opposite edges of the second and third parts, and at opposite ends of the first part, the second and third parts can swing open in opposite directions towards opposite sides of the vehicle. This enables a child to be placed into a safety seat on either side of the vehicle.

Preferably a second releasable locking means is provided for locking the first and third parts together.

Preferably the second releasable locking means is childproof.

The second releasable locking means may be released either manually or remotely.

Preferably the second releasable locking means can be released by an aerial remote control.

Preferably a second biasing means is provided for biasing the first and third parts apart.

The second biasing means may be a spring.

Preferably the second biasing means is a gas strut.

Alternatively second drive means is provided for rotating the third part relative to the first part between a closed position and an open position.

Preferably the second drive means is an electric motor.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a child's safety seat when fastened to a mounting according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle, when fitted with a mounting according to the first aspect of the invention.

Preferably an interlock is provided between the vehicle and the or each releasable locking means, which prevents starting of the vehicle's engine or other drive means unless the or each releasable locking means is in a locked state. This prevents the vehicle being driven with a safety seat in an unsafe position, ie unlocked.

In all aspects of the invention, straps or tethers may be provided to anchor the mounting to a vehicle. It is an advantage of the mounting that the straps or tethers may remain fastened during use of the mounting. In particular, straps extending from the upper edge of the mounting over a vehicle seat back may remain fastened to Isofix anchor points in the vehicle, in use.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a mounting for a child's safety seat comprising a movable portion adapted to be moved between a forward or rearward facing position in a vehicle and a side facing position in the vehicle, and means for controlling the position of the movable portion remotely.

This aspect of the invention may be combined with any one of the features of the previously described aspects of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a child's safety seat mounting in a closed position in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows a plan view from above of the safety seat mounting of Figure 1 in a closed position; Figure 3 shows a schematic side view of the safety seat of Figures 1 and 2, with the mounting in an open position; Figure 4 shows a schematic plan view from above of the safety seat of Figures 1 to 3, with the mounting in an open position; Figure 5 shows a schematic plan view from above of the safety seat mounting of Figures 1 to 4 in use in a vehicle; and Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of a child safety seat mounting in use in a vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring firstly to Figure 1, a mounting for a child's safety seat is indicated generally at 10. The mounting comprises a first part or back-plate 12 and a second part or front-plate 14. The front-plate 14 is hinged to the back-plate 12 about a substantially vertically disposed pivot 16. The pivot 16 is positioned along the left hand edge of the front plate 14, as viewed. The back and front plates 12,14 are planar, but may be moulded in plastics with cut-outs and/or reinforcing ribs as desired. Referring also to Figure 2, anchor tethers 18 are attached to the upper end of the back-plate, as viewed, which can be passed over a rear seat of a vehicle and fastened to an anchor point disposed behind the rear seat. These anchor tethers 18 are intended to be compliant with the UK "Isofix" regulation fittings. By February 2006, all new ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) approved vehicles must be equipped with Isofix anchorage points and "top tether" points for the attachment of child safety seats.

A child's safety seat 20 is releasably attached to a face of the front-plate 14.

Releasable locking means 22 is provided for locking the back and front-plates together, and the releasable locking means is child proof. The releasable locking means can be released either manually or remotely, and in one arrangement the releasable locking means 22 can be released by means of an aerial remote control, for example, similar to that commonly used to unlock and lock a vehicle.

A gas strut 24 is disposed at the upper end of the back and front-plates 12, 14 and biases the back and front-plates 12, 14 apart to an open position, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The gas strut also acts as a stabilising means and holds the front-plate 14 in an open position, ie rotated through 900 for lifting a child into and out of the safety seat 20.

Referring also to Fig 5, the mounting 10 is shown in use in a typical family car 26. The car 26 includes driver and passenger seats 28,30 with a typical rear bench style seat 32 behind. The rear seat 32 has a seat 34 and a seat back 36. The back-plate 12 is positioned against the seat back 36 and fastened centrally in the vehicle using the tether anchor straps 18. The mounting 10 is fastened in position with the front-plate 14 in a closed position, ie lying flat against the back-plate 12 (as shown in Figures 1 and 2). The safety seat 20 is then fastened to the face of the front-plate 14.

In order to place a child 40 in the safety seat 20, the lock 22 is released and the front-plate 14 is biased away from the back-plate 12 to the open position. In other words, the front-plate is forced to move about the pivot 16 through an angle of approximately degrees under the action of the gas strut 24. The safety seat 20 is now in the position shown in Figure 5, with the child's safety seat 20 facing the side of the car 26.

By virtue of the fact that the safety seat is moved in an arc, the safety seat 20 is moved both laterally from the centre of the car seat 32 to the end of the car seat, and is rotated to face the side of the car. The car door (not shown) is open, and an adult 42 standing close to and facing the side of the car can place the child 40 in the seat 20. The adult does not have to stretch into the car 26, and it is not necessary to turn the child, hence the adult does not have to twist.

The adult 42 can now simply strap the child into the safety seat 20 in conventional manner, push the front-platel4 back against the back-plate 12 and engage the lock 22.

The child is then safely seated at the centre of the rear seat 32 of the car 26. Removal of the child 40 is performed similarly, by releasing the lock 22. The child 40 is then carried to the position shown in Figure 5 by the movement of the front-plate 14 as described above. In this position the child 40 can be un-strapped and lifted out of the safety seat 20. The seat 20 is then pushed back into its central position and locked when not in use. The seat 20 can be removed, if desired, leaving the mounting 10 in the car 26.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the gas strut is replace by a spring. In a further alternative embodiment the gas strut is replaced by an electric motor and drive system, which drives the front-plate 14 between the open and closed positions. In all embodiments, the lock 22 can be operated remotely, and in the motorised embodiment, the motor is also controlled remotely. Remote control has the advantage of being able to prepare the safety seat 20 for use, without the use of both hands. This enables a parent to keep hold of a child, until the child is strapped into the seat 20.

A further embodiment of mounting adapted to mount seats for two children is shown in Figure 6. Parts in common with parts in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numeral with 100 added. The mounting 110 has a larger back plate 112, which supports two front-plates 114,115 hinged to the back-plate 112 at either end. The hinges 116 are positioned along opposite edges of the front plates 114,115, so that the front plates swing open to face opposite sides of the vehicle 26.

When in the closed position the front plates 114,115 lie side by side against the back-plate 112. Locks 122, gas struts 124 and anchor tethers 118 are provided and operate in the same manner as those of the first embodiment. Furthermore, the alternative embodiments described above, namely the spring, motor and remote control can be applied equally to this embodiment.

In another embodiment (not shown), a supporting plate is disposed at the lower end of the or each front plate 14,114,115 and extends perpendicularly therefrom, for the purpose of mounting an infant carrier, often referred to as a carry-cot.

It is an advantage of the invention that the back-plates 12,112 can be left strapped in a vehicle semi-permanently, and the safety seats 20,120 removed as desired. This allows the rear seat 32 of the vehicle 26 to be used for carrying both goods and passengers, because the back- plates 12,112 are slim-line. The invention obviates the need to stretch and twist, when lifting one or two children into a vehicle.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A mounting for a child's safety seat comprising a first part adapted to be releasably fastened adjacent a back of a vehicle seat in a substantially vertical position, and a second part adapted to be releasably fastened to a child's safety seat, the second part being hinged to the first part about a substantially vertical axis of rotation disposed substantially along one edge of the second part.

2. A mounting as claimed in claim I in which releasable locking means is provided for locking the first and second parts together.

3. A mounting as claimed in claim 2 in which the releasable locking means is childproof.

4. A mounting as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 in which the releasable locking means can be released either manually or remotely.

5. A mounting as claimed in claim 4 in which the releasable locking means can be released by an aerial remote control.

6. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim in which biasing means is provided for biasing the first and second parts apart.

7. A mounting as claimed in claim 6 in which the biasing means is a spring.

8. A mounting as claimed in claim 6 in which the biasing means is a gas strut.

9. A mounting as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 in which drive means is provided for rotating the second part relative to the first part between a closed position and an open position.

10. A mounting as claimed in claim 9 in which the drive means is an electric motor.

11. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim in which a third part is adapted to be releasably fastened to a child's safety seat and is hinged to the first part about a substantially vertical axis of rotation disposed substantially along an opposite edge of the second part.

12. A mounting as claimed in claim 11 in which a second releasable locking means is provided for locking the first and third parts together.

13. A mounting as claimed in claim 12 in which the second releasable locking means is childproof.

14. A mounting as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13 in which the second releasable locking means can be released either manually or remotely.

15. A mounting as claimed in claim 14 in which the second releasable locking means can be released by an aerial remote control.

16. A mounting as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 15 in which second biasing means is provided for biasing the first and third parts apart.

17. A mounting as claimed in claim 16 in which the second biasing means is a spring.

18. A mounting as claimed in claim 16 in which the second biasing means is a gas strut.

19. A mounting as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 15 in which second drive means is provided for rotating the third part relative to the first part between a closed position and an open position.

20. A mounting as claimed in claim 19 in which the second drive means is an electric motor.

21. A child's safety seat when fastened to a mounting as claimed in any preceding claim.

22. A vehicle, when fitted with a mounting as claimed in any preceding claim.

23. A vehicle as claimed in claim 22 in which an interlock is provided between the vehicle and the or each releasable locking means, which prevents starting of the vehicle's engine or other drive means unless the or each releasable locking means is in a locked state.

24. A mounting substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.