A child restraint assembly is integrated into the backrest portion of a passenger seat in motor vehicle. The assembly includes a rear cushion and a pivoting bottom cushion for supporting a child in a seated posture. Left and right safety belts extend in a generally vertical direction over the torso of the child to secure the child on the rear and bottom cushions. The left and right safety belts are wound on individual retractor spools each having a respective vertical axis of rotation which allows the left and right safety belts to emanate in opposing horizontal directions. A diverter plate is positioned near the retractor spools for redirecting each of the left and right safety belts from the generally horizontal direction upon which each emanates from its respective retractor spool to the generally vertical use direction, thus providing more efficient and beneficial packaging options. Also, it is possible to better maintain tension in the safety belts thereby resisting improper rewinding upon the retractor spools. Additionally, the retraction forces present on the safety belts by way of the power or other return spring mechanism associated with the retractor spools reduces the chances for discomfort to the restrained child.
A vehicle seat assembly includes a vehicle seat, a first retractable restraint system for the vehicle seat and a second retractable restraint system for the vehicle seat. The first restraint system is in the form of a retractable, three-point shoulder harness. The second restraint system includes a first strap designed to resiliently retract onto a first take-up reel located within the back rest of the vehicle seat, a second strap designed to resiliently retract onto a second take-up reel located within the back rest of the vehicle seat, and a buckle assembly located within the seat support of the vehicle seat which is designed to lockably receive a tongue affixed onto each of the first and second straps. In operation, the first and second retractable restraint systems operate independently of one another and provide the vehicle seat with two separate means for safely restraining a passenger therein, the first restraint system being designed to restrain passengers in the vehicle seat who weigh over 100 pounds and the second restraint system being designed to restrain passengers in the vehicle seat who weigh between 40 and 100 pounds.
The present invention is directed to providing a simple, cost effective device for tightening a restraining device such as a belt, strap, rope or the like that requires very little space, and that can be easily operated to provide complete tightening of the restraining device, even when the restraining device is in a difficult to reach area. Exemplary embodiments can be configured as a unitary structure wherein arms of the unitary structure are each slotted and attached to a base of the unitary structure so that a belt can be easily inserted into the slots. The unitary structure can then be used to clamp the restraining device, such as a seat belt used to hold a child safety seat, in place. Tightening of the belt can be achieved through the use of a removable lever that tightens the belt with each rotation. Upon tightening of the belt to a desired tension, a secure locking mechanism, such as a nut, can be used to hold the belt in its tightened state without concern of belt slippage.
A child seat comprising a seat portion, a back support as well as belts that can be connected to a crotch member for securing a child in the child seat. A least one belt or the crotch member is provided with a spring element, by means of which the belt or the crotch member can be moved against spring force from a first position, in which the shoulder belt and the crotch member are disconnected, to a second position, in which the shoulder belt and the crotch member are connected.
To form a child seat having relatively wide regulated side walls in a relatively thin folding seat back for a wagon or light van, without changing the hip point of the rear seat passenger, the rear seat is divided into a first wide seat back and a second narrow seat back in such a way as to be folded up frontward separately, a recessed seat back portion of the child seat is formed at roughly a vehicle-middle portion of the first wide seat back, a child seat cushion of the child seat is pivotally mounted at the child seat recessed seat back of the first wide seat back, and in particular, two side wall portions of the child seat are formed by a first projecting portion of the first wide seat back along an inner stepped portion of the recessed seat back portion and by a second projecting portion the second narrow seat back along an inner end surface of the second narrow seat back, respectively, in such a way that the child seat cushion can be accommodated in the recessed seat back portion when not used.
A child restraint seat assembly integral with a passenger seat in a vehicle. The child seat includes a back support constructed and arranged to support a torso of a child in a seated posture. A bottom support is pivotally mounted to the back support and moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position for supporting the child in the seated posture when in the deployed position. A pair of shoulder belts extend over the back support and are constructed and arranged to secure the torso of the child to the back support. A pair of lap belts extend over the bottom support and are constructed and arranged to secure a lap region of the child. A crotch belt is integrally connected to the lap belts and extends upwardly from the bottom support for locking engagement with the shoulder belts. The assembly is characterized by a retarding device integrally formed within the bottom support and engaging the crotch belt for limiting movement of the crotch belt and the lap belts relative to the bottom support to ensure a proper fitting relationship between the belts and the child.
