Child car seat with integrated belt system

Abstract

This document describes a child seat adapted to be removablely attached to a vehicle seat. The child seat comprises a seat body having contact surfaces for receiving at least the head, back, and buttocks of a child, and an integrated belt system attached to the seat body. The integrated belt system comprises a central buckle attached to a connecting element extending between the child's legs when the child is belted by the belt system, a first belt device having a first belt (50a) extending over the child's left shoulder when the child is belted by the belt system, and a second belt device having a second belt (50b) extending over the child's right shoulder when the child is belted by the belt system. Both belts are connectable to the central buckle, thereby giving a Y-shaped geometric form in the belted configuration. To facilitate the buckling process for caregivers, the first belt device includes a first retractor (54a) for winding up the first belt, and the second belt device includes a second retractor (54b) independent of the first retractor (54a).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a child seat unit having a child seat with an integrated belt system as described in the preamble of claim 1.

Background Art

[0002] In many countries, when transporting a child in a vehicle, the use of a child seat unit is mandatory. In this patent application, the term "child" also includes the youngest children (infants). Such a child seat unit further includes a seat body and an integrated belt system attached to the seat body. The seat body has a contact surface for receiving at least the child's head, back, and buttocks. In the case of a baby seat, the contact surface receives the entire body of the infant, including the infant's legs. The seat body always essentially comprises a stable base portion and a cushion. In the case of a baby seat, a carrying handle is often attached to the base portion.

[0003] In contrast to the normal belt system of a vehicle seat, the integrated belt system of a child seat mainly aims to prevent the child from actively leaving the seat. In case of an accident, the restraint function is either not relevant or at least not very relevant. Especially in the case of a baby seat, the orientation of this baby seat is usually such that in the case of a frontal collision, due to inertia, the infant is pressed towards the contact surface rather than towards the belt of the integrated belt system. For this reason, the belt of the integrated belt system is manually adjusted by the caregiver so that the child cannot move away from the child seat as long as the child is restrained by the belt.

[0004] The most common configuration of an integrated belt system is the so-called Y-configuration, which includes a central buckle device (often a buckle) attached to a connecting element (often a short belt), the connecting element extending between the child's legs when the child is belted by the integrated belt system. The integrated belt system further includes a first belt and a second belt, each of which includes a buckle device adapted to be buckled at the central buckle device. The buckle device carried by the belt is usually a tongue. Often, the tongues of the first belt and the second belt must be pre-connected to each other and can only be buckled together at the central buckle. In use, the first belt extends over the child's left shoulder and the second belt extends over the child's right shoulder (where "first" and "second" are, of course, arbitrarily selected). In most child car seat units used today, the first and second belts have a fixed or pre-adjusted length, and the connecting element that connects the central buckle device to the seat body can be tightened manually after the first and second belts are connected to the central buckle device. Handling such child car seat units by caregivers is often somewhat difficult, as they often need to hold the child with one hand (especially if the child is still an infant), and only the other hand is available to deal with the buckling and tightening process.

[0005] From General Chinese Patent No. 214822745(U), a child seat unit is known in which an integrated belt system comprises a single retractor to which a first belt and a second belt are indirectly connected via additional belt sections. These additional belt sections are wound section by section onto the belt shaft of the connecting retractor.

[0006] While the use of a retractor in an integrated belt system can simplify the buckle fastening process, the child seat described in Chinese Patent No. 214822745(U) was found to still be unsuitable.

[0007] Building upon this prior art, the objective of the present invention is to improve a typical child car seat unit so that it can be used more comfortably by caregivers. [Overview of the project]

[0008] According to the present invention, the first belt device comprises a first retractor for winding up the first belt, and the second belt device comprises a second retractor for winding up the second belt. These two retractors are independent of each other, thereby allowing each belt to be unwound independently from its retractor.

[0009] This proved to make the buckling process extremely easy, as it allows the buckling process to be fully performed with one hand while the other hand can be used to control the child.

[0010] As mentioned above, the primary purpose of an integrated belt system in a child seat unit is to prevent the child from actively slipping out of / crawling out of the seat. This means that the child should not be able to loosen one of the belts in order to "escape". Naturally, the belt system should also be child-friendly, so the force exerted on the child by the belt should not be too great, as tension is applied to the belt by a spring acting between the belt shaft and the retractor frame. Therefore, it is often preferable to provide a non-emergency locking device on each belt device. This non-emergency locking device has a first state and a second state, in which the belt can be pulled out from the retractor, and in which the belt is prevented from being pulled out from the retractor. The second state should be activated as long as the child is restrained and being transported by the belt. For example, the retractor may be designed to only provide belt retraction after the belt has been pulled out beyond a predetermined length (e.g., the total length of the belt), until the belt is fully retracted again. Such retractors are marked and described, for example, in German Patent No. 4132876(C2).

[0011] In other embodiments, the reactors are set to their second state by a separate actuator, which can be controlled, for example, by a central buckle device or a separate switch. Such actuators can function simply mechanically or electromechanically. In yet another embodiment, a separate clamping device independent of the retractor is provided on each belt. While all of these embodiments are possible, it may be particularly preferable to provide a retractor such as the one described above in German Patent No. 4132876(C2), as it does not require any additional parts.

[0012] A further advantage of the child car seat according to the present invention is that when the headrest (adjustable part) is adjusted to the child's size, there is no need to manually adjust the length of the belt.

[0013] While not strictly required, it may be even more preferable for each belt system to be equipped with an emergency locking device having a first state and a second state, as is naturally known from standard seat belt systems for vehicle seats, in the first state the belt can be pulled out from its retractor, and in the second state the belt shaft is locked against its frame. Such an emergency locking system is equipped with a belt-sensitive sensor and / or an acceleration-sensitive sensor. Providing such an emergency locking device improves the overall level of safety as it can function as a backup locking device.

[0014] If an acceleration sensor (which is usually also a tilt sensor) is present, it is even more preferable that the retractor be mounted relative to the free-standing plane of the vehicle seat such that the retractor sensor is in the initial unlocked position when the child seat is secured to the vehicle seat.

[0015] Naturally, the retractors must be mounted to the seat body in such a way that they do not interfere with the overall handling of the child seat. For this reason, it may be preferable that the seat body has two freestanding sections and that the retractors are positioned within the bottom region of the seat body between the freestanding sections, in particular so that the child seat can be positioned on a support surface (e.g., the base of a vehicle seat) like a standard child seat, and that the retractors do not extend beyond those freestanding sections.

[0016] Since the primary task is to facilitate the overall use of the child seat for the caregiver, it is even more preferable for the child seat unit to be equipped with an ISOfix system. In one embodiment, the ISOfix system acts directly between the child seat and the vehicle seat, and in another embodiment, the child seat unit additionally includes a base element adapted to be mounted on the vehicle seat, particularly by the ISOfix system. In this case, connecting means for connecting the child seat to the base element must be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] Next, the present invention will be described using preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the completed child car seat. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the base portion of the child car seat shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the base section shown in Figure 2, viewed from the front. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the base and integrated belt system shown in Figures 2 and 3, viewed from the rear. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a child car seat, as described above, viewed from the side, with a child, especially an infant, restrained in the car seat with a belt. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the central buckle and belt tongue. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows the central buckle as viewed from direction R in Figure 6. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a child seat attached to a vehicle seat using ISOfix connections. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a child seat unit, including a base element connected to the vehicle seat using ISOfix connections. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0018] The following describes all elements of the inventive child seat of the described embodiment with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 shows the completed child seat (forming the completed child seat unit when no base elements are provided). The child seat comprises a seat body 12 and an integrated belt system attached to the seat body 12. Figure 1 shows the completed child seat, Figures 2 and 3 show only a part of the seat body, i.e., its base, and Figure 4 shows the base and a part of the integrated belt system. All of these figures will be referenced below.

[0019] The seat body 12 of the child seat 10 comprises a base 14 and a cushion 30, as described above, the upper surface of the cushion defining a contact surface for the child. As can be best seen in Figure 1, the integrated belt system includes a central buckle 40, which is connected to the seat body, i.e., its base 14, by a connecting element in the form of a connecting belt 44. This connecting belt 44 can have a predetermined length. Although not shown in detail in Figure 1, this connecting belt 44 can be surrounded by a soft cover to enhance the child's comfort. Because the connecting belt 44 (or other connecting element) can have a predetermined length, it is possible to provide a relatively rigid core, thereby allowing the central buckle 40 to be raised to a position where tongue insertion is easily facilitated with only one hand. This possibility is not shown in Figure 1.

[0020] The one-piece belt system further includes a first belt 50a and a second belt 50b, and belt covers 51a, 51b can be provided on either of them. In the buckled state as shown in FIG. 1, a Y-shaped geometry is defined such that the first belt 51a extends over the left shoulder of the child and the second belt 51b extends over the right shoulder (the child is not shown). The first ends of the belts 51a, 51b each carry a buckle device in the form of tongues 52a, 52b. As will be seen later by referring to FIG. 4, each belt 51a, 51b extends to a retractor. As is known in the prior art, the cushion 30 is provided with slits for each of the belts 50a, 50b.

[0021] As can be best seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the base portion 14 includes a main portion 15 having a bottom section 16 and a rear section 17, and an adjustable portion 20 that can be a slit along the rear section 17 of the main portion 15. A restraint device is provided to define the position of the adjustable portion 20 in the main portion 15, but this restraint device is not shown. Suitable restraint devices are known in the prior art.

[0022] The adjustable portion 20 includes two slit-shaped holes 22a, 22b, and the rear section 17 of the main portion 15 includes two elongated slits 18a, 18b. Regardless of the position of the adjustable portion 20, the slit-shaped hole 22a is located in front of the elongated slit 18a, and the slit-shaped hole 22b is located in front of the elongated slit 18b, whereby each belt 50a, 50b can pass through the base portion 14 including the main portion 15 and the adjustable portion 20. This can be best seen from FIG. 4, which additionally shows the retractors 54a, 54b over which the belts 50a, 50b extend.

[0023] In the embodiments described, the retractors 54a, 54b are of the type described in German Patent No. 4132876(C2) above or of a similar type. Thus, the process of restraining with the belt is as follows: each belt is pulled out to a predetermined length (e.g., completely). The tongue of the belt is then buckled into the central buckle. Finally, the caregiver causes the belt to be retracted by the retractor. The belt cannot be pulled out again until the tongue is released from the buckle and the belt is fully retracted by the retractor. This means that after the child has been buckled, the child cannot pull out (loosen) one of the belts 50a, 50b and therefore cannot "escape". This means that each belt device is equipped with a non-emergency locking device. Both retractors may be additionally equipped with an emergency locking device, as is known in the prior art in the field of vehicle seat belt systems.

[0024] As can be seen from Figure 2 and further from the schematic diagram in Figure 5, the retractors 54a, 54b are located in the bottom region of the main part 15 between the two lateral freestanding sections 19a, 19b of the main part 15. The retractors do not extend beyond the freestanding plane P defined by their freestanding sections 19a, 19b, thereby allowing the child seat 10 to be positioned on the surface, like a standard child seat. Each retractor naturally comprises a frame (reference number 56b in Figure 5) and a belt shaft (reference number 58b in Figure 5) that is blocked by the frame when the retractor is locked.

[0025] Figure 6 shows the central buckle 40 connected to the base portion 14 of the seat body 12 via the connecting belt 44, the first tongue 52a to which the first belt 50a extends, and the second tongue 52b to which the second belt 50b extends.

[0026] Figure 7 shows the central buckle 40 of Figure 6 as viewed from direction R. Each tongue 52a, 52b is provided with separate slots 41a, 41b, which allows the tongues to be subsequently connected to the central buckle 40, and it can be seen that this makes the buckling process even easier. However, alternatively, it is also possible to provide joining slots for two tongues, which would require the tongues to be pre-connected and then inserted together into the joint slot, as known in the prior art. In either case, a release button 42 can be provided.

[0027] Figure 8 shows a child seat 10 (in this embodiment, the entire child seat unit) positioned on a vehicle seat S and fixed to the seat S via an ISOfix connection 70. In the above embodiment, the child seat is in the style of a typical infant car seat, that is, an infant car seat installed with the infant's head oriented toward the front of the vehicle.

[0028] Figure 9 shows an alternative example of the schematic diagram in Figure 8, where the child seat unit 5 further comprises a base element 7 connected to the vehicle seat S, particularly via an ISOfix connection 70. The child seat 10 is securely but detachably connected to this base element, so that the base element 14 can be permanently installed in the vehicle, and the child seat 10 can be mounted on and detached from the base element 7. For this purpose, for example, snap connections can be provided. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0029] 5 Child seat unit 7 Base elements 10 Child car seats 12-seat main unit 14 Base section 15 Main parts 16 Bottom section 17 Rear section 18a, b Slits in the rear section 19a, b Freestanding sections 20 Adjustable part 22a, b Slit-shaped holes 25 Carrying handle 30 cushions 40. Central buckle 41a, b slots 42. Unlink button 44. Connecting elements (connecting belts) 50a, b belt 51a, b Belt cover 52a, b Buckle device (tongue) 54a, b Retractor 56a, b frames 58a, b Belt shaft 60 base elements 70 ISOfix connection S Vehicle Seat P freestanding plane

Claims

1. A child seat unit (5) adapted to be removablely attached to a vehicle seat (S), wherein the child seat unit (5) comprises a child seat (10), and the child seat (10) is - A seat body (12) having contact surfaces for receiving at least the child's head, back, and buttocks. - An integrated belt system attached to the seat body (12), wherein the integrated belt system is When the child is restrained by the belt system, a central buckle device (40) is attached to a connecting element (44) extending between the child's legs, A first belt device comprising a first belt (50a) that extends over the left shoulder of the child when the child is restrained by the belt system, wherein the first belt (50a) extends from a first end that carries a first buckle device (52a) connectable to the central buckle device (40), A second belt device comprising a second belt (50b) that extends over the right shoulder of the child when the child is restrained by the belt system, wherein the second belt (50b) extends from a first end that carries a second buckle device (52b) connectable to the central buckle device, comprising an integrated belt system, The first belt device includes a first retractor (54a) for winding up the first belt, and The second belt device is characterized by comprising a second retractor (54b) independent of the first retractor (54a), A child seat unit (5) in which each retractor (54a, 54b) comprises a frame (57a, 57b), a belt shaft (58a, 58b), and a spring acting between the frame (57a, 57b) and the belt shaft (58a, 58b).

2. The child seat unit according to claim 1, characterized in that each belt device is equipped with a non-emergency locking device having a first state and a second state, wherein in the first state the belt (50a, 50b) can be pulled out from its retractor (54a, 54b), and in the second state the belt (50a, 50b) is prevented from being pulled out from its retractor (54a, 54b).

3. The child seat unit according to claim 2, characterized in that when the non-emergency locking device is in its second state, the non-emergency locking device blocks the belt shaft (58b) from the frame (57b).

4. The child seat unit according to claim 3, characterized in that when the belts (50a, 50b) are pulled out from the retractors (54a, 54b) beyond a predetermined length, the non-emergency locking device transitions from its first state to its second state.

5. A child seat unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each belt device is equipped with an emergency locking device having a first state and a second state, in the first state the belt (50a, 50b) can be pulled out from its retractor (54a, 54b), in the second state the belt shaft (58a, 58b) is blocked against the frame (57b) thereby preventing the belt (50a, 50b) from being pulled out from its retractor (54a, 54b), and the emergency locking device is equipped with a belt-sensitive sensor and / or an acceleration-sensitive sensor.

6. The child seat according to claim 5, characterized in that the retractors (54a, 54b) are attached to the seat body (12) such that the sensor is in the initial unlocked position when the child seat (10) is fixed to the vehicle seat (S).

7. The child seat unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the seat body (12) comprises at least two self-supporting sections (19a, 19b), and the retractors (54a, 54b) are located in the bottom region of the seat body (12) between the self-supporting sections (19a, 19b).

8. The child seat according to claim 7, characterized in that the retractors (54a, 54b) do not extend beyond the self-supporting plane (P) defined by the self-supporting sections (19a, 19b).

9. The child seat according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the first buckle device (52a) and the second buckle device (52b) can be buckled to the central buckle device (40) independently of each other.

10. A child seat unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by comprising exclusively the child seat (10) adapted to be attached directly to a vehicle seat (S), preferably via an ISOfix system.

11. A child seat unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a base element (7) adapted for mounting on a vehicle seat (S), and provided with connecting means for connecting the child seat (10) to the base element (7).

12. The child seat according to claim 11, characterized in that the base element is adapted to be connected to a vehicle seat via an ISOfix system.

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