Belt-positioning booster seat for vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9789792-B2
Application number	US-201614993604-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 12, 2016
Priority date	Mar 5, 2013
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

A belt-positioning booster seat is adapted to be positioned on a passenger seat included in a vehicle and to support a child seated on the passenger seat. The belt-positioning booster seat includes a seat pad to elevate a child above a seat bottom of the passenger seat along with left and right belt guides adapted to receive a lap belt that extends over a child seated on the seat pad.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A booster seat adapted to be removably positioned on a vehicle passenger seat comprising
a compliant contoured seat pad including a body adapted to support a child seated on the booster seat, a left ear thinner than the body and arranged to extend from a left side of the body, and a right ear thinner than the body arranged to extend from a right side of the body,
a left lap belt-positioning tether coupled to the left ear and arranged to extend from the left ear, the left lap belt-positioning tether configured to receive a lap belt, and
a right lap belt-positioning tether coupled to the right ear and arranged to extend from the right ear, the right lap belt-positioning tether configured to receive a lap belt,
wherein the left lap belt-positioning tether is coupled to the left ear by stitches of thread that extend through the left lap belt-positioning tether and the left ear to secure the left lap belt-positioning tether to the compliant contoured seat pad so that a lap belt received in the left lap belt-positioning tether is retained in a selected position relative to the compliant contoured seat pad and the right lap belt-positioning tether is coupled to the right ear by stitches of thread that extend through the right lap belt-positioning tether and the right ear to secure the right lap belt-positioning tether to the compliant contoured seat pad so that a lap belt received in the right lap belt-positioning tether is retained in a selected position relative to the compliant contoured seat pad,
whereby the seat pad is adapted to be removed from the vehicle passenger seat by only removal of the lap belt from the left lap belt-positioning tether and right lap belt-positioning tether.

2. The booster seat of claim 1 , wherein the body of the compliant contoured seat pad includes a rear low-elevation buttocks-support portion adapted to underlie buttocks of a child seated on the booster seat and a front high-elevation leg-support portion adapted to underlie thighs of a child seated on the booster seat, the high-elevation leg-support portion includes a laterally extending peak and a forward tailbone-locator incline, the laterally extending peak having a curved convex top surface that extends from the left side to the right side of the body, and the forward tailbone-locator incline is arranged to extend downwardly from the laterally extending peak toward a back of the body to locate a tailbone of a child rearward of the forward tailbone-locator incline over the rear low-elevation buttocks-support portion when the child is seated on the compliant contoured seat pad.

3. The booster seat of claim 2 , wherein the body of the compliant contoured seat pad is formed from a plurality of shaped foam layers received in a cover and the shaped foam layers are sized to define the rear low-elevation buttocks-support portion and the front high-elevation leg-support portion.

4. The booster seat of claim 3 , wherein the left ear and the right ear are formed from portions of the cover that do not receive a shaped foam layer so that the left ear and the right ear are thinner than the body of the compliant contoured seat pad.

5. The booster seat of claim 4 , wherein the low-elevation buttocks-support portion of the body includes a aft tailbone-locator incline and a tailbone support, the aft tailbone-locator incline arranged to extend upwardly from the tailbone support toward the back of the compliant contoured seat pad to locate a tailbone of a child forward of the aft tailbone-locator incline over the tailbone support of the rear low-elevation buttocks-support portion when the child is seated on the compliant contoured seat pad.

6. The booster seat of claim 1 , wherein the left lap belt-positioning tether includes a left lap belt guide adapted to receive a lap belt and a first portion of a lap belt strap that is secured to the left ear by stitches of thread and the right lap belt-positioning tether includes a right lap belt guide adapted to receive a lap belt and a second portion of the lap belt strap secured to the right ear by stitches of thread.

7. The booster seat of claim 6 , wherein the lap belt strap extends along an underside of the compliant contoured seat pad from the left side to the right side of the compliant contoured seat pad to provide a handle that can be grasped by a caregiver moving the booster seat.

8. The booster seat of claim 1 , wherein the lap belt-positioning tethers are configured to guide a lap belt strap across the thighs of a child seated on the compliant contoured seat pad.

9. A booster seat adapted to be removably positioned on a vehicle passenger seat comprising
a compliant contoured seat pad adapted to support a child seated on the booster seat,
a left lap belt-positioning tether coupled to the compliant contoured seat pad and arranged to extend outwardly from a left side of the compliant contoured seat pad, the left lap belt-positioning tether configured to receive a lap belt, and
a right lap belt-positioning tether coupled to the compliant contoured seat pad and arranged to extend outwardly from a right side of the compliant contoured seat pad, the right lap belt-positioning tether configured to receive the lap belt,
wherein each of the left lap belt-positioning tether and the right lap belt-positioning tether includes a lap belt guide configured to receive and retain the lap belt and a lap belt strap that extends outwardly from the compliant contoured seat pad and the lap belt guides of the left lap belt-positioning tether and of the right lap belt-positioning tether coupled to a corresponding lap belt strap to move along the corresponding lap belt strap toward and away from the compliant contoured seat pad,
whereby the seat pad is adapted to be removed from the vehicle passenger seat by only removal of the lap belt from the left lap belt-positioning tether and right lap belt-positioning tether.

10. The booster seat of claim 9 , wherein each lap belt guide is formed to include a pair of spaced apart apertures that receive the corresponding lap belt strap to provide adjustment means for allowing a caregiver to vary an effective length of lap belt straps between the compliant contoured seat pad and the corresponding lap belt guides.

11. The booster seat of claim 9 , wherein the lap belt-positioning tethers are configured to guide a lap belt strap across the thighs of a child seated on the compliant contoured seat pad.

Assignees

• Dorel Juvenile Group Inc

Inventors

• Amirault David M
• Clayburn Kelley L
• Lin Meihui

Classifications

• B60N2/2866 Primary

  booster cushions, e.g. to lift a child to allow proper use of the conventional safety belts · CPC title

• B60R22/26

  secured to the seat · CPC title

• B60N2/2806

  for securing the child seat to the vehicle · CPC title