Child vehicle safety seat

Abstract

A car seat has a support base configured to test on a dedicated seat of a vehicle when installed. The car seat also has a seat shell coupled to the support base that defines a seating surface of the car seat. The seating surface has a seat bottom portion that terminates at a front end of the seat shell. The seat shell is adjustable to a plurality of selectable seat recline orientations relative to the support base. A recline lever is mounted under the seat shell and is movable between a latch position and a release position. A handle on one end of the recline lever is positioned below and projects forward of the front end of the seat shell. The handle is movable upward to move the recline lever to the release position. A shroud projects forward from the front end of the seat shell and is positioned above and spaced from the handle. A top side of the shroud is positioned to act as a fixed bearing surface for grasping and moving the handle upward toward the shroud.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION DATA [0001] This patent claims the priority benefit of prior filed U.S. provisional application Ser. Nos. 60 / 676,288, which was filed on May 2, 2005, and 60 / 676,938, which was filed on May 3, 2005, the entire contents of which are each incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Disclosure [0003] The present disclosure is generally directed to vehicle safety seats for children, and more particularly to a car seat with a storage receptacle for the car seat's instruction manual, an attachment between a stationary support base and a reclineable seat shell, a safety strap retainer and belt path arrangement, and / or a user friendly recline grip arrangement. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Safety seat assemblies or car seats are known in the art for use in seating children in vehicles. Nearly all car seats come with an instruction manual that explains how to install the product, secure it in the vehicle, and operate it...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

As a result, in most instances the location for storing the instruction manual is positioned on the car seat in a place that is not accessible to the user after the car seat has been installed.

The instruction manual in these types of seats can only be put back in place for proper storage while the seat is not installed.

This produces a couple of different problems, each occurring because the owner typically reads or should read the manual while installing the car seat in their vehicle.

In one instance, the manual might not be put back in place for proper storage after the product is installed, resulting in the manual becoming lost or misplaced.

This can result in the car seat not being properly installed or reinstalled because the manual could not be referenced during actual product installation.

However, the instruction manual can be very difficult to remove once it is within a thin plastic pocket or sandwiched between a thin plastic sheet and a surface of the car seat.

Also, the plastic film pocket or sheet are typically pretty flimsy and can easily become damaged and torn over time and after several uses.

This can result in the manual falling out of the storage receptacle and becoming lost, or in the storage receptacle no longer being of use for storing the manual.

The second arrangement results in a LATCH belt loosely tethered to the car seat but not held in place in its proper belt path on the structure.

This can result in separation between the seat shell and the support base.

A number of problems exist with the typical reclining car seat.

This alone is generally not easy to do because of the biasing force and the position of the handle.

Second, the weight of the seat and the child, along with the smooth, hard surface of the conventional plastic lever handle, combine to require a substantial force to keep the lever in the depressed position.

The smooth handle does not typically provide much in the form of gripping characteristics.

A parent often is seated in the front seat of the vehicle while trying to adjust the seat recline angle, which can make the task even more difficult.

This solution is not comfortable for the parent, as the grip improvement is achieved by the rib digging into the parent's skin.

A problem sometimes occurs when the parent grabs the recline lever handle.

Inadvertent actuation of the A-lock can result in the harness becoming loosened and improperly fitted to the child, and can easily go unnoticed by the parent.

Whether the tensioner or A-lock position is a problem or not, the front edge of the car seat simply does not offer an ergonomically suited, leverage-enhancing resting place for the parent's thumb or palm when adjusting the seat recline.

This surface profile does not provide an adequately placed, ergonomic, leverage-enhancing surface for a parent's thumb or palm.

Even this location and surface is typically not adequately placed to provide a comfortable hand position while adjusting the seat shell recline angle.

However, the tension in the harness can be inadvertently affected.

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