Child restraint with cupholder

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10023092-B2
Application number	US-201615337903-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 28, 2016
Priority date	Oct 30, 2015
Publication date	Jul 17, 2018
Grant date	Jul 17, 2018

Abstract

According to the present disclosure, a child restraint includes a juvenile seat having a seat bottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seat bottom. The juvenile seat further includes a cupholder coupled to the seat bottom.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A juvenile seat comprising
a seat bottom,
a cupholder support coupled to the seat bottom, the cupholder support including a cup-receiver platform having a top wall formed to include a lock-passage aperture and a lock retainer coupled to the underside of the top wall and arranged to extend downwardly away from the top wall and partly around the lock-passage aperture formed in the top wall, and
a cupholder including a cup receiver having a floor and a side wall arranged to cooperate with the floor to form a cup-receiving cavity sized and adapted to receive a drink cup used by a child seated on the seat bottom, and
wherein the side wall of the cup receiver includes a deformable portion that is unsupported by the cupholder support and is configured to deform elastically to change from an initial shape and move relative to the floor to assume a different temporary shape and reduce a volume of the cup-receiving cavity temporarily only during exposure of the deformable portion to an external impact force and to return to the initial shape following cessation of the external impact force, the deformable portion is made of a deformable elastic material, and the cupholder also includes cup-receiver lock means coupled to the floor of the cup receiver for engaging a downwardly facing surface of the lock retainer to retain the floor of the cup receiver in a fixed position on the cup-receiver platform of the cupholder support to locate the deformable portion of the side wall of the cup-receiver in spaced-apart relation to the cup receiver platform of the cupholder support
wherein the lock retainer includes a first downwardly sloping inclined ramp coupled to the underside of the top wall and formed to include a first end located at a first distance from the underside of the top wall and an opposite second end located at a relatively greater second distance from the underside of the top wall, the first downwardly sloping inclined ramp is arranged to extend partly around the lock-passage aperture, the lock retainer further includes a first anti-rotation stop located under the top wall at the second end of the ramp and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the first end of the ramp, the first downwardly sloping inclined ramp includes a first portion of the downwardly facing surface, and the cup-receiver lock means includes a first laterally extending anchor tab arranged to lie in a receiver-locking position to engage the first portion of the downwardly facing surface to trap the first downwardly sloping inclined ramp and a portion of the top wall between the first laterally extending anchor tab and the floor of the cup receiver.

2. The juvenile seat of claim 1 , wherein the cup-receiver lock means is a twist lock that includes the first laterally extending anchor tab and a tab-support sleeve that is coupled to the floor of the cup receiver and to the first laterally extending anchor tab and configured to support the first laterally extending anchor tab in spaced-apart relation to the floor of the cup receiver to provide a platform-receiving space therebetween that receives the portion of the top wall and a companion portion of the first downwardly sloping inclined ramp to establish an interference fit with the floor of the cup receiver and the first laterally extending anchor tab when the floor of the cup receiver is retained in the fixed position on the cup-receiver platform of the cupholder support.

3. The juvenile seat of claim 2 , wherein the tab-support sleeve has a cylindrical shape and the floor and the first laterally extending anchor tab are arranged to lie in spaced-apart parallel relation to one another.

4. The juvenile seat of claim 2 , wherein the floor of the cup receiver includes an interior layer and an exterior layer, the side wall and the interior layer of the floor cooperate to form a monolithic component made of a deformable elastic material and shaped to define the cup-receiving cavity, the exterior layer of the floor is made of a relatively rigid material and is coupled to an underside of the interior layer of the floor and to the tab-support sleeve of the twist lock to locate the first laterally extending anchor tab at a fixed distance in spaced-apart relation to the exterior layer of the floor to provide the platform-receiving space therebetween.

5. The juvenile seat of claim 1 , wherein the cupholder support also includes a fence coupled to a perimeter edge of the cup-receiver platform and arranged to extend upwardly away from the top wall and the first downwardly sloping inclined ramp and the fence is arranged to surround a part of the top wall to cooperate with a topside of the top wall to form a cup-receiver-receiving space, and the floor and a lower portion of the side wall of the cup receiver are retained in the cup-receiver-receiving space when the first laterally extending anchor tab is arranged to lie in the receiver-locking position.

6. The juvenile seat of claim 5 , wherein the seat bottom includes a first side bolster, a second side bolster, and a seat pad located between the first and second side bolsters, the cupholder support is coupled to the first side bolster, and the fence is formed to include a side-wall aperture facing toward the seat pad and the second side bolster and opening into the cup-receiver-receiving space to expose a section of the deformable portion of the side wall of the cup receiver that is retained in the cup-receiver-receiving space formed in the cupholder support.

7. The juvenile seat of claim 6 , further comprising a seat back arranged to extend upwardly from the seat bottom, and wherein the fence includes a tall rear wall located between the cup-receiver platform and the seat back and a relatively shorter front wall arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the seat back to locate the tall rear wall therebetween.

8. The juvenile seat of claim 7 , wherein the tall rear wall has a vertical edge that extends upwardly from the top wall and the relatively shorter front wall has a vertical edge that extends upwardly from the top wall and lies in spaced-apart relation to the vertical edge of the tall rear wall to define the side-wall aperture of the fence therebetween.

9. The juvenile seat of claim 7 , wherein each of the rear and front walls includes a concave interior surface facing toward the side wall of the cup receiver retained in the cup-receiver-receiving space formed in the cupholder support.

10. The juvenile seat of claim 1 , wherein the floor of the cup receiver includes an interior layer and an exterior layer, the side wall and the interior layer of the floor cooperate to form a monolithic component made of a deformable elastic material and shaped to define the cup-receiving cavity, the exterior layer of the floor is made of a relatively rigid material and is coupled to an underside of the interior layer of the floor and to the cup-receiver lock means to retain the cup-receiver lock means in a stationary position on the floor of the cup receiver.

11. The juvenile seat of claim 10 , wherein the seat bottom includes a first side bolster, a second side bolster, and a seat pad located between the first and second side bolsters, the cupholder support is coupled to the first side bolster, and a fence is formed to include a side-wall aperture facing toward the seat pad and the second side bolster and opening into the cup-receiver-receiving space to expose a section of the deformable portion of the side wall of the cup receiver that is retained in the cup-receiver-receiving space formed in the cupholder support.

12. The juvenile seat of claim 11 , wherein further comprising a seat back arranged to extend upwardly from

Assignees

• Dorel Juvenile Group Inc

Inventors

• Denbo Sean R
• Lin Mei-Hui
• Franke Kyle M

Classifications

• B60N3/103 Primary

  detachable · CPC title

• B60N2/28

  Seats readily mountable on, and dismountable from, existing seats {or other parts} of the vehicle · CPC title

• B60N2/2803

  Adaptations for seat belts · CPC title