Abstract
Apparatus for adapting an adult three-point seatbelt for securing a child, the seatbelt comprising a belt extending from above the shoulder to an anchor point connected to chassis of vehicle, and a clasp attached to the chassis on opposite side of an occupant of the seat, such that the belt may be drawn downwards and across the occupant to engage the clasp, thereby restraining the occupant with both sash and lap sections of the seatbelt, the apparatus comprising: a mat with side catches for engaging the lap section of the seatbelt and holding it down over the legs of the child, and a strap fixed to the mat and having a clip at a distal end thereof, for extending behind the child, and the clip for clippably engaging the belt extending from the drum, to bring the sash section of the belt down, over the shoulder of the child.
Claims
1. An apparatus for adapting an adult three-point seatbelt of a vehicle for use by a short occupant of a seat; wherein the seatbelt comprises a belt that extends from above shoulder height of the occupant to an anchor point connected to chassis of the vehicle at seat level, and a clasp attached to the chassis on an opposite side of the occupant from the anchor point, such that the belt may be drawn downwards and across the occupant to engage the clasp, thereby restraining the occupant with both a sash section and a lap section of the seatbelt, the apparatus comprising: a mat with side catches mounted on arms that extend from said mat a variable amount for engaging the lap section of the seatbelt and for holding it down over the legs of the occupant, and a strap fixed to said mat, said strap having a clip at a distal end thereof, and said strap arranged to extend behind the occupant, said clip adjustably engaging the belt extending from above shoulder height of the occupant, to bring the sash section of the belt down, over the shoulder of the occupant, wherein separation of the side catches is adjustable to adjust said apparatus to occupants of different widths.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mat comprises at least two sections that are hinged together enabling the mat to be folded for storage.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the side catches are selected from the group comprising shackles, open buckles, and hooks.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the side catches are open C shaped hooks.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein effective length of said strap may be adjusted by a buckle.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said clip comprises a locking magnetic element.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the arms are selectively extendible from the mat and retractable into the mat.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the arms are rigid.
9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the arms are flexible.
10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the arms comprise floppy straps.
11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the arms comprise plastic and the side catches comprise metal c clips cast into ends of the arms.
12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the arms are lockable at different extended positions.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
(1) For a better understanding of the invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, purely by way of example, to the accompanying drawings.
(2) With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention; the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.
(3) In the accompanying drawings:
(4) FIG. 1a is a schematic illustration of a three point seatbelt of the prior art;
(5) FIG. 1b is a schematic illustration of an adult size occupant of a car seat, restrained by a three point seatbelt of the prior art;
(6) FIG. 2a shows an adult pulling a seatbelt of the prior art down and across;
(7) FIG. 2b shows the adult of FIG. 2a buckling the seatbelt of the prior art;
(8) FIG. 3 shows a child wearing an adult seatbelt of the prior art where the sash section rubs against the child's neck;
(9) FIG. 4 shows a child with the seatbelt of the prior art adjusted to go under the arm;
(10) FIG. 5 shows a child sitting on a booster seat of the prior art and raised thereby, so that the seatbelt is correctly and comfortably positioned;
(11) FIG. 6 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, comprising a flexible roll up mat with hinged shackles for engaging the lap section of a seatbelt, and a strap with a clip for engaging the vertical section of the seatbelt, so that the sash belt correctly spans from shoulder to hip;
(12) FIG. 7a-7e show various side catches that may be used as part of the apparatus of various embodiments for engaging the lap section of the seatbelt;
(13) FIG. 8 shows a child sitting on mat of FIG. 6, with the shackles and clip pulling both lap strap and sash strap downwards into a comfortable position with respect to the child;
(14) FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a seat belt engaging system that is integral to a car chair;
(15) FIG. 10 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention in fully open view from above;
(16) FIG. 11 shows the preferred embodiment of FIG. 10 in fully open view from below, showing the side catches attached to an extendible strip;
(17) FIG. 12 shows the preferred embodiment of FIG. 10 in perspective view from the top, where the left seatbelt engaging means is in an extended position and the right seatbelt engaging means is in a closed position; open view from below;
(18) FIG. 13 shows the preferred embodiment of FIG. 10 in fully closed view from above, with the strap wrapped around the folded rigid pad;
(19) FIG. 14 shows the preferred embodiment of FIG. 10 in fully closed view from below showing the clip positioned on the folded pad and showing sliding locking devices for locking the extendible side arms in various extending positions, and
(20) FIG. 15 shows the preferred embodiment of FIG. 10 in fully closed perspective view, clearly showing a C shaped side catch.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
(21) With reference to FIG. 1a, a three point seatbelt system 10 is shown. The three point seatbelt 10 consists of a seatbelt 12 of tough, flexible material, typically woven nylon, which is attached to the chassis of the car at a lower attachment point 16, typically behind the edge where the seat 22 and back 24 meet. As shown in FIG. 1b, the top end of the belt 12 goes over a fixture 20 that may be attached to the chassis of the vehicle, above shoulder height 26 of an occupant 28 sitting on the seat 22. In some vehicles, the fixture 20 is a sprung loaded reel or drum around which the seatbelt 12 is wound. In other vehicles the fixture 20 is a pulley, and the seatbelt 12 goes over and around the pulley and down to a take up reel or drum below the level of the pulley, which may be exposed or concealed behind a cover.
(22) In many three point seatbelts systems 10, a slider 30 having a slot 32 through which the seatbelt 12 runs and a protruding tongue 34 is provided. The slider 32 can be raised or lowered along the seatbelt 12 between the lower point of attachment 16 and the fixture 20. A clasp 36 is provided, typically on a flexible rod for front or back seats, and sometimes on a strap 38 for back seats, that is fixed to the chassis of the vehicle. The clasp 36 is configured to lockingly engage the tongue 34 of the slider 30.
(23) An occupant 28 restrained by the seatbelt system 10 of FIG. 1a is shown in FIG. 1b.
(24) With reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b, An occupant 40 of the seat 42, sitting between the taut length of seatbelt 12, on the outer side of occupant 40 and the flexible rod 46 on the inner side of occupant 40 slides the slider 30 to a convenient position and then pulls it across and down so that the tongue 34 thereof may be inserted into the clasp 36 where it is locked in place. The seatbelt 12, thus stretches from the fixture (not shown), down, over the shoulder 26 and across the torso 44 of the occupant 40, through a slot 32 of the slider 30 attached to the tongue 34 that is lockingly engaged by the clasp 36, creating a sash strap section 54 of the seatbelt 12, and then the belt 12 goes back over the occupant's 40 lap to create a lap strap section 56 and is fixed to the lower anchor point 16.
(25) The type of arrangement shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b is a well established solution. Commercially available three point seat-belts are widely employed and are required by regulatory authorities in many cases. A drum is often provided that keeps the seatbelt 12 taut. The slider 30 may be moved up and down the seatbelt 12. The drum may be the fixture above the occupant's shoulder, or the fixture 20 may be a pulley rod over which the seatbelt 12 is threaded, and the drum or take up reel may be positioned below the fixture 20, possibly out of sight. In some vehicles, the seatbelt 12 itself is engaged by a clasp or similar, on the inner side of the passenger, rendering the slider 30 and tongue 34 arrangement obsolete. There are also various other three-point seat belt arrangements, mutatis mutandis. These features enable the seatbelt arrangement to be easily adjusted for comfort by occupants 28, 40 of a wide variety of shapes and sizes, including, inter alia, tall, short, fat, thin, male and female occupants.
(26) With reference to FIG. 3, it is well established that adult sized seat belt arrangements 10 of FIGS. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, are not appropriate for smaller children 60, since the diagonal sash section 54 of the belt 12 tends to rub against the child's neck 62 or face, and the lap belt 56 section rides too high, and pushes of the child's stomach 58, since the clasp 36 is invariably on a flexible rod that holds the seat belt in too high a position above the child's lap. Indeed, even when the clasp 36 is on a short strap, it still has a tendency to ride up, due to the relatively small legs of the child and the wide separation between the anchor point and the clasp.
(27) As shown in FIG. 4, sometimes smaller children fasten the diagonal sash section 54a under the arm 64. This solution is more comfortable for the smaller child 60, but results in both the sash section 54 and the lap section 56 lying across the smaller child's abdomen 58. If the vehicle stops suddenly, instead of retracting against the shoulder and rib cage which are relatively hard and protective, the seat belt retracts against the soft tissue and may cause internal damage.
(28) With reference to FIG. 5, booster seats 70 of various types have been proposed for use with three point seatbelts 12. The booster seat 70 raises the child 60, and this adjusts the position of the child 60 with respect both to the sash section 54 and the lap section 56 of the seatbelt 12. However, booster seats 70 have two inherent problems. Firstly, they are relatively bulky and when stored in the trunk of the car to make room for adult passengers, take up a lot of space. Secondly, some older children/young adults, may be self conscious about using something they consider babyish.
(29) Embodiments of the present invention address these issues.
(30) With reference to FIG. 6, a first embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown. The embodiment consists of an apparatus 200 that consists of a mat 205 to which a strap 220 is attached. This strap 220 is intended to engage the sash section 54 of a seatbelt 12 of a standard seatbelt arrangement 10. Also attached to the apparatus 200 are side catches 215a, 215b, that engage the lap section 36 of the seat belt 12 and pull it downwards, towards the seat 20 and the legs of a child occupant 60 sitting on the mat 205 and hold the seatbelt 12 down on each side of the child 60. The strap 220 is provided with a clip 225 for adjustably clipping sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12, so that the sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12 is held at an appropriate height to lie across the shoulder 64 of the child 60, and not against the neck 62 of the child 60. Apparatus 200 is shown as including a circular mat 205, but it will be appreciated that the mat 205 may be oblong, square or substantially any shape. In some embodiments, the mat 205 may be fabricated from nylon or other tough fabric so that it may be folder or rolled away when not in use. In other embodiments, the mat 205 may be fabricated from two or more sections that are hinged together, allowing the apparatus 200 to be folded. Apparatus 200 of the invention overcomes at least two disadvantages of booster seats 70. Firstly, the apparatus 200 is far less bulky than a booster seat 70, and therefore may be carried in a schoolbag or satchel by the child, in a mother's handbag, or stored in the glove compartment or under the front seats of the vehicle. If stored in the trunk of the vehicle, it nevertheless takes up much less room than conventional booster seats 70. Additionally, the apparatus 200 is more discrete than a booster seat 70 and is therefore perceived as less childish by the smaller child 60, and therefore more likely to be used by a child who is older but nevertheless too short for unaided use of an adult seatbelt 12.
(31) The mat 205 itself may be fabricated from substantially any material. Preferably at least a widthwise strap 210 and the strap 220 for engaging the sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12 are fabricated from nylon, or other tough fabric, or from leather, for example. The widthwise strap 210 may, however, be a steel strip, for example. In preferred embodiments, the width wise strap 210 of the mat 205 is provided with a number of loops 212 to which the side catches 215a, 215b may alternatively be coupled. In this manner, the effective width of the apparatus 200 may be adjusted to the width of the pelvises of children of different sizes, or may be periodically adjusted to that of a child as he/she grows or by different children of different sizes.
(32) With reference to FIG. 7a-7d, the side catches 215a, 215b shown in FIG. 6, may be shackles 215c, 215d or clips 80, 90 that may be opened to allow insertion of the seat belt 12, and then closed to hold the seatbelt 12. There are very many easily opened and closed shackles used that can be used to engage and hold the seatbelt 12 in place over the legs of the occupant. In addition to a purposely designed shackle for the apparatus 200, some easily opened and closed commercially available shackles are designed for rock-climbing and are sufficiently strong for restraining an occupant in a head on collision. Other types of side catches 215 may be employed. For example, clip 80 shown in FIG. 7c has a loop 82 for a seatbelt 12, into which the seatbelt 12 may be slid and removed by pressing on a sprung loaded flap 84. In FIG. 7d, a split buckle 90 is shown, having a gap 92 through which a seatbelt 12 may be threaded, and then straightened in slot 94 and restrained therein by broken strip 96. The strip 98 on the other side of the split buckle 90 may be solid if permanently fixed to apparatus 200, or may be provided with a gap 92b.
(33) Referring to FIG. 7e, preferably, however, the side catch is an open, typically flattened, C shaped clip 100, enabling the seatbelt to be easily positioned and disengaged, with one hand.
(34) With reference to FIG. 8, a child 60 sitting on the apparatus 200 of FIG. 6 is shown, illustrating how the apparatus 200 enables the adult three-point seatbelt arrangement 10 to be adjusted to comfortably secure a child 60. Referring to FIG. 8, mat 205 is placed on the seat 22 of the vehicle, with strap 220 positioned rearwards. Strap 220 extends upwards and the clip 225 coupled thereto may be clipped onto sash section 54 of seatbelt 12, above the shoulder 64 of the child 60. In this way, the sash section 54 is held downwards and correctly positioned across the shoulder of the child. The side catch 215a (215b not shown) are proximate to the thighs of the child 60 and hold the lap section 54 of the strap down across the lap.
(35) The clip 215 and side catches 215 may vary considerably within the scope of the invention, and some embodiments consists of hook arrangements, rods threaded through two eyes and the like.
(36) The strap 220 may be riveted or sewn to the mat 205 and the clip 225 may be attached to the strap 220 by a buckle 230 whose tongue may be threaded through any of a number of eye holes 235 punched through the strap 220. In other embodiments, other adjustment means, may be used to appropriately size the strap.
(37) In other embodiments, the mat 205 may be rigid. Preferably the rigid mat is foldable for ease of storage. The side catches 215a, 215b may be attached to the mat by extendible arms or straps to allow the apparatus to be sized to occupants of different sized pelvises.
(38) Although described hereinabove for use by children, it will be appreciated that the apparatus 200 may be used by shorter adults as well.
(39) With reference to FIG. 9, a further embodiment is shown in which the system for engaging the seatbelt and adjusting it for child or generally smaller occupants is part of the car chair 300, which may be a front seat, a back seat, or part of a back bench for two or three passengers. For purposes of illustration, the car chair 300 illustrated is the middle sitting position of the backseat of a vehicle, which is designed for two or three occupants.
(40) The car chair consists of a seat 302 and a back 304, which are generally upholstered and may have rigid frames. The seat 302 is provided with side catches 306A, 306B attached to the seat 302 for engaging a lap section 56 of a seat belt 12 and directing it across thighs of an occupant (60 FIG. 8), and a clip 308 attached to the back 304 of the car chair 300 for engaging a shoulder strap 54 of the seatbelt 12 and directing it across the shoulder 64 of the occupant 60.
(41) In some embodiments the side catches 306A, 306B comprise C clips (e.g. 100 FIG. 7e) detachably attachable to loops in the fabric of the seat 302 upholstery. In other embodiments the side catches 306A, 306B comprise shackles 215c, 215d, open buckles 90, hooks and clips 80 detachably attachable to loops in the fabric or permanently attached to the fabric of the seat 302.
(42) In some embodiments the side catches 306A, 306B comprise straps provided with one part of a hook and loop fabric fastener (as developed by Velcro), to detachably attach to a second part of the hook and loop fastener sewn to fabric of the seat 302.
(43) In some embodiments the clip 308 attached to the back 304 of the seat, for engaging the shoulder sash 54 part of the seatbelt 12 comprises a loop permanently attached to fabric of the seat back 304. In other embodiments the clip 308 attached to the back 304 of the car chair 300 for engaging the shoulder sash 54 part of the seat belt 12 comprises a strap provided with one part of a hook and loop fabric fastener (Velcro) to detachably attach to a second part of the hook and loop fastener sewn to fabric of the seat back 304. In some embodiments the clip 308 attached to the chair back 304 for engaging the shoulder sash 54 section of the seat belt 12 comprises a substantially vertical series of cloth loops permanently attached to fabric of the seat back 304 and a detachable clip e.g. 215, 90, 100 (FIG. 7) for engaging one of the cloth loops and the shoulder sash section 54 of the seat belt 12.
(44) With reference to FIGS. 10 to 15 another preferred embodiment is shown from various perspectives. The most preferred embodiment is fully shown in design application no. FIG. 1a 29/516,718 filed on 5 Feb. 2015.
(45) In the preferred embodiment, an apparatus 1200 that includes a rigid oblong mat 1205 fabricated from two sections 1205A, 1205B that are hinged together by a hinge 1210, allowing the apparatus 1200 to be folded like a book. The apparatus 1200 has a strap 1220 attached. This strap 1220 is intended to engage the sash section 54 of a seatbelt 12 of a standard seatbelt arrangement and is provided with a clip 1225 for adjustably clipping sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12, so that the sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12 is held at an appropriate height to lie across the shoulder 64 of the occupant 60, and not against the neck 62 of the occupant 60.
(46) The occupant 60 may be a child or may be a short adult, it being noted that often the three point passenger seatbelts installed in vehicles do not properly restrain shorter adults, since the sash part of the seatbelt may rub against the neck instead of lying over the shoulder.
(47) Also attached to the apparatus 1200 are side catches 1215a, 1215b, that engage the lap section 36 of the seat belt 12 and pull it downwards, towards the seat 20 and the legs of an occupant 60 sitting on the mat 205 and hold the seatbelt 12 down on each side of the occupant 60.
(48) As shown in FIGS. 13-15, apparatus 1200 of the invention may be folded. Consequently apparatus 1200 overcomes at least two disadvantages of booster seats 70. Firstly, the apparatus 1200, particularly when folded (FIGS. 123-145) is far less bulky than a booster seat 70, and therefore may be conveniently carried and stored. For example, the apparatus 1200 may be put into a schoolbag or satchel of a child, or carried in a mother's handbag. It may be stored in the glove compartment or under the front seats of a vehicle, for example. If stored in the trunk of the vehicle, the apparatus 1200 nevertheless takes up much less room than conventional booster seats 70. Additionally, the apparatus 1200 is more discrete than a booster seat 70 and is therefore perceived as less childish by the smaller child 60, and therefore more likely to be used by a shorter adult or by a child who is older but nevertheless too short for unaided use of a standard adult seatbelt 12.
(49) The rigid mat 1205 itself may be fabricated from substantially any material. Preferably the strap 1220 for engaging the sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12 is fabricated from nylon, or other tough fabric, or from leather, for example.
(50) The side catches 1215a, 1215b are mounted on strips 1210a, 1210b that may be rigid and may be fabricated from a tough plastic or from steel strip, for example, but in some embodiments, may be rigid yet bendable. In other embodiments, the strips 1210a, 1210b are flexible straps that may be manufactured from nylon, leather, metal links, and the like. The strips 1210a, 1210b may be extended from the mat 1205 by a variable amount and locked in place by locks 1250a, 1250b at varying extensions, to allow the apparatus to be compacted for storage and sized to occupants of different sized pelvises, thereby appropriately sizing the effective width of the apparatus 1200 by adjusting the separation of the side catches 1215a, 1215b by extending the strips 1210a, 1210b from the mat 1205 by varying amounts to adjust apparatus 1200 to the width of the pelvises of occupants of different sizes, such as different children, or to periodically adjust to a child as he/she grows, for example.
(51) With reference to FIG. 15, the side catches 1215a, 1215b may be open, typically flattened, C shaped clips 1100, enabling the seatbelt to be easily positioned and disengaged, with one hand. In some embodiments, the side catches 1215a, 1215b consist of metal C clips that are positioned into the mould used for fabricating plastic strips 1210a, 1210b, so the metal side catches 1215a, 1215b are integral to the plastic strips 1210a, 1210b. However it will be appreciated that the clip 1215 and side catches 1215 may vary considerably within the scope of the invention.
(52) Thus persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and includes both combinations and sub combinations of the various features described hereinabove as well as variations and modifications thereof, which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description.
(53) In the claims, the word comprise, and variations thereof such as comprises, comprising and the like indicate that the components listed are included, but not generally to the exclusion of other components.
