Child Restraint Seat

The present invention relates generally to child restraint seats and, more particularly, to a child restraint seat of the type integrated into the backrest of a vehicular seating arrangement and having means for causing coordinated movement of a headrest member and a seat member between stowed and deployed positions.

Virtually all motor vehicles are equipped with safety belt restraint systems for physically restraining the seat occupant when the vehicle is subjected to a high rate of deceleration which may occur, for example, during a motor vehicle collision. While conventional safety belt restraint systems are well-suited for restraining adult passengers, it is a common practice to use an auxiliary child restraint seat having a belt-type harness for children under a given age and weight. As is known, such auxiliary child seats are placed on top of the vehicle seat and secured thereto using the existing vehicular safety belt restraint system.

In an effort to minimize the inconvenience associated with installing and/or stowing auxiliary child seats, some motor vehicles are now available with seating arrangements that have a "fold-out" child restraint seat integrated into the backrest of an otherwise conventional seat. When needed, the integral child seat can be deployed by rotating a seat member to a lowered operative position and rotating a headrest member to a raised operative position thereby exposing a belt-type harness that is provided for restraining a child seated within the child seat. Following use, the integral child seat can be stowed by lowering the headrest member and raising the seat member to storage positions concealed within the backrest. Once stowed, the seating arrangement accommodates an adult in a normal seated position while preserving the overall cosmetic appearance and comfort of the vehicle seat. In addition, integral child restraint seats are typically equipped with a latching mechanism for releasably locking the headrest member in its raised and lowered positions.

Since integral child restraint seats are intended for use with small children, it is not uncommon for a person to be burdened with the job of releasing and deploying the child seat from its stowed position while holding the child in one arm. Thus, prior to placing the child in the child seat, the person must initially pull-down on the seat member for rotating the seat member to its lowered operative position. Thereafter, the latching mechanism must be deliberately actuated for unlocking the headrest member to permit subsequent rotation of the headrest member to its raised operative position. Unfortunately, this multi-step process for deploying a conventional integral child seat typically requires the use of both hands which is generally considered to be awkward and cumbersome. Furthermore, a similar process is required for subsequently returning the integral child seat to its stowed position. Thus, the need exists to provide an integral child seat with means for minimizing the amount of manual manipulation required for deploying and stowing the child seat.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to meeting the above object by providing a "fold-out" or integral child restraint seat having means interconnecting the headrest member and the seat member for causing coordinated movement therebetween. Thus, when it is desired to deploy the integral child seat, the headrest member is automatically moved to its raised operative position in coordination with movement of the seat member to its lowered operative position. Conversely, when it is desired to stow the integral child seat within the backrest, the headrest member is automatically moved to its lowered storage position in coordination with movement of the seat member to its raised storage position. As a result, movement of the integral child seat between its stowed and deployed positions can be accomplished in one operation for substantially enhancing the convenience afforded to the person attempting such movement.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved latching mechanism that is operable for positively retaining the integral child seat in either of its stowed and deployed positions. As a related object, the latching mechanism is operable for locking the seat member in either of its raised storage or lowered operative positions which, in conjunction with the movement coordinating means, causes the headrest member to be positively retained in the respective one of its lowered storage or raised operative positions.

Additional objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from studying the following written description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary vehicular seat having a pair of integral child restraint seats embodying the novel principles of the present invention, and which shows the passenger-side integral child seat in a "stowed" position and the driver-side integral child seat in a "deployed" position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the underlying structural components for the integral child seats illustrating these components retracted into the "stowed" position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the underlying structural components for the integral child seats illustrating these components extended to the "deployed" position; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified upper portion of an integral child seat illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention .

The present invention is generally directed to an improved construction for a child restraint seat which can be integrated into a vehicular seating arrangement. More particularly, various embodiments of an integral child restraint seat are disclosed which offer improved convenience and operational advantages over conventional integral child seats. Thus, it is to be understood that while the various embodiments of the present invention are hereinafter disclosed in association with a particular seating arrangement, the seating arrangement is merely an exemplary representation of one type of environment to which the present invention is readily applicable.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, an exemplary bench seat 10 of the type used in motor vehicles is shown. Bench seat 10 includes a seat cushion 12, a backrest 14, and a pair of integral child restraint seats 16 incorporated into backrest 14 on opposite sides of a central cushioned portion 18. Each integral child seat 16 includes a seat member 20 and a headrest member 22. As shown, the passenger-side of bench seat 10 is in a normal adult seating position with its integral child seat 16 retracted into a "stowed" position. In this position, integral child seat 16 is completely concealed within backrest 14 such that bench seat 10 has the cosmetic appearance and function of an otherwise conventional bench seat which can be used in the usual manner with a seat occupant restrained by a conventional vehicular safety belt restraint system (not shown). As is also shown, the integral child seat 16 associated with the driver-side of bench seat 10 is extended to a "deployed" position. Once deployed, a cushioned back pad 24, a cushioned seat pad 26, a cushioned headrest pad 28 and a safety belt restraint system, shown as a belt-type harness restraint 30, are exposed. As will be detailed hereinafter, integral child seats 16 include means interconnecting seat member 20 and headrest member 22 for causing concurrent and proportional movement therebetween. Thus, movement of integral child seats 16 between the "stowed" and "deployed" positions can be accomplished with one continuous motion.

With particular reference now to FIGS. 2 and 3, one of the integral child seats 16 is shown with its upholstery and padding removed to more clearly illustrate the novel structural and operational features of the present invention. In general, integral child seat 16 is a modular assembly having upper and lower mounting brackets 32 and 34, respectively, that are providing for securing integral child seat 16 to a rigid frame structure (not shown) of bench seat 10. More specifically, the basic underlying structure of integral child seat 16 includes a back support 36, a seat pan 38 coupled to a lower portion of back support 36 for pivotable movement about seat pivots 40 and a head support 42 having an elongated shaft 44 supported from an upper portion of back support 36 for pivoting head support 42 about headrest pivots 46. In addition, integral child seat 16 includes movement coordinating means 48 interconnecting seat pan 38 to head support 42 for coordinating the concurrent and proportional movement of seat member 20 and headrest member 22 between positions establishing the "stowed" and "deployed" positions. As an additional feature, means are also provided for causing pivotable reclining movement of back support 36 about seatback pivots 50 between a rearward upright position when integral child seat 16 is in its "stowed" position and a forward reclined position when integral child seat 16 is in its "deployed" position. Thus, such reclining movement allows integral child seat 16 to be articulated from its "stowed" position deep within a recessed cavity of backrest 14 to its "deployed" position providing greater seated comfort to the child.

In operation, when it is desired to return integral child seat 16 to its "stowed" position concealed within backrest 14, pivotal movement of seat pan 38 about seat pivots 40 toward a raised storage position causes movement coordinating means 48 to automatically pivot head support 42 about headrest pivots 46 toward a lowered storage position while back support 36 is pivoted about seatback pivots 50 toward its rearward upright position. As will be appreciated, movement coordination means 48 is also adapted to automatically pivot seat pan 38 toward its raised storage position in response to pivotable movement of head support 42 toward its lowered storage position. As seen from FIG. 2, when child seat 16 is stowed, seat pan 38 and head support 42 are generally parallel to upright back support 36 and their respective proximal edge portions 52 and 54 are oriented in a generally facing relationship.

When it is desired to move integral child seat 16 into the fully "deployed" position, pivotal movement of seat pan 38 about seat pivots 40 to a lowered operative position causes movement coordinating means 48 to automatically pivot head support 42 about headrest pivots 46 to an elevated operative position while back support 36 is pivoted about seatback pivots 50 to its forward reclined position. As seen from FIG. 3, when child seat 16 is opened into its fully "deployed" position, seat pan 38 is generally perpendicular to reclined back support 36 and head support 42 is generally parallel thereto. Thus, movement coordinating means 48 is adapted to cause about 180.degree. of rotation of head support 42 concurrent with about 90.degree. of rotation of seat pan 38 with respect to back support 36. Accordingly, movement coordinating means 48 is operable to permit a person to accomplish movement of integral child seat 16 between its "stowed" and "deployed" positions with one motion (i.e., a single-handed operation).

With continued reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, seat pan 38 is shown to include a pair of laterally-spaced and rearwardly extending legs 56. As seen, seat pivots 40 are preferably defined by pivot pins which pivotably interconnect the lower lateral portions of back support 36 to forward portions of legs 56. Pursuant to a preferred embodiment, movement coordinating means 48 includes a pair of elongated cranks or drive links 58 (one shown) each having its lower end pivotably coupled at a lower pivot 60 to an intermediate portion of its respective one of legs 56 on seat pan 38. In addition, movement coordinating means 48 also includes a pair of short pivot links 62 each having a first end pivotably coupled at an upper pivot 64 to the curved upper end of its respective one of drive links 58. The opposite end of each pivot link 62 is fixed to an end of elongated shaft 44. As noted, shaft 44 extends through opposite upper lateral portions of back support 36 for establishing headrest pivots 46. As such, pivotable movement of pivot links 62 results in simultaneous rotation of shaft 44 which, in turn, causes concurrent pivotal movement of head support 42 about headrest pivots 46. Thus, in one preferred form, movement coordinating means 48 is disclosed as a pair of laterally-spaced linkage assemblies that are synchronously operable to cause movement of one of head support 42 or seat pan 38 in response to movement of the other thereof.

To provide means for causing back support 36 to pivot about seatback pivots 50 between its upright and reclined positions in response to movement of integral child seat 16 between its "stowed" and "deployed" positions, respectively, a follower pin 66 is fixed to the distal end of each leg 56 and extends outwardly through elongated guide slots 68 formed in lower mounting brackets 34. Guide slots 68 are shown to be angulated upwardly and forwardly. Thus, as seat pan 38 is caused to pivot about seat pivots 40, the follower pins 66 at the distal ends of legs 56 slide within angulated guide slots 68 for causing pivotable movement of back support 36 about seatback pivots 50.

Integral child seat 16 is further equipped with a latching mechanism 70 for releasably latching child seat 16 in both of its "stowed" and "deployed" positions. In general, latching mechanism 70 is arranged to normally operate in a "locked" mode for inhibiting movement of either seat pan 38 or head support 42 which, in conjunction with movement coordinating means 48, further inhibits movement of the other component. More particularly, latching mechanism 70 is a manually-operable actuation assembly that can be selectively actuated for placing latching mechanism 70 in a "released" mode, whereby the above-noted coordinated and proportional movement of seat pan 38, head support 42 and back support 36 is subsequently permitted. According to the construction shown, latching mechanism 70 includes a first spring-biased latch pawl 72 that is pivotably coupled to one lateral edge of seat pan 38, a second spring-biased latch pawl 74 that is pivotably coupled to follower pin 66, and a latch plate 78 fixed to lower mounting bracket 34 and having a locking aperture 80 formed therein. While not shown, latching mechanism 70 includes a suitable spring-biasing arrangement for normally urging first latch pawl 72 and second latch pawl 74 toward a locked position. Latching mechanism 70 is also shown to include a first cable assembly 82 having an axially movable inner core 84 having a first end extending through a pulley 85 and coupled to a manually-operable release strap 86 and a second end coupled to first latch pawl 72. First cable assembly 82 also includes an outer sheath 88 supported from the lateral edge of seat pan 38. A second cable assembly 90 is coupled in series with first cable assembly 82 and includes a second inner core 92 interconnecting first latch pawl 72 to second latch pawl 74, and a second outer sheath 94 supported from leg 52 of seat pan 34.

As best seen from FIG. 2, first latch pawl 72 is Iockingly retained within locking aperture 80 of latch plate 78 for locking integral child seat 16 in its "stowed" position. In addition, the spring-biasing arrangement is adapted to normally maintain first latch pawl 72 in locked engagement with latch plate 78. Thus, when it is desired to deploy child seat 16, release strap 86 is pulled for axially displacing first inner core 84 in opposition to the biasing exerted on first latch pawl 72, whereby first latch pawl 72 is forcibly pivoted to a released position disengaged from locking aperture 80 of latch plate 78. Following such release of first latch pawl 72 from locking aperture 80, integral child seat 16 can thereafter be moved from its "stowed" position to its "deployed" position by continuing to pull on release strap 86 for causing seat pan 38 to rotate forwardly about seat pivots 40 from its raised storage position to its lowered operative position. As noted, such forward pivotal movement of seat pan 38 causes legs 56 of seat pan 38 to be driven upwardly due to follower pins 66 being guided within guide slots 68. Such upward movement of legs 56 cause drive links 58 to also move upwardly which, in turn, causes pivot links 62 to pivot about headrest pivots 46 for proportionally rotating head support 42 from its lowered storage position to its elevated operative position. Concurrently, back support 36 pivots about seatback pivots 50 to its reclined position. Alternatively, the concurrent articulated movement of seat pan 38, head support 42 and back support 36 can also be established, following release of first latch pawl 72 from latch plate 78, by pulling upward on headrest member 22 instead of pulling down on seat member 20.

From FIG. 3 it can be seen that once integral child seat 16 is in the fully "deployed" position, second latch pawl 74 is Iockingly retained in locking aperture 80 of latch plate 78 for inhibiting movement of seat member 20 and headrest member 22 toward their storage positions. Again, the spring-biasing arrangement is adapted to normally maintain second latch pawl 74 in locked engagement with latch plate 78. When it is desired to return integral child seat 16 to its "stowed" position, release strap 86 is again pulled in opposition to the biasing arrangement for releasing second latch pawl 74 from locking aperture 80, whereby downward movement of headrest member 22 or upward movement of seat member 20 causes concurrent articulated movement of the components toward their respective storage positions. Following release of the release strap 86, the spring-biasing arrangement will automatically retract release strap 86 to return latching mechanism 70 to its "locked" mode until release strap 86 is again deliberately pulled for intentionally placing latching mechanism 70 in its "released" mode.

With particular reference now to FIG. 4, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown. In brief, the upper end of drive links 58 has been modified to include a toothed rack segment 100, and short pivot links 62 have been replaced by toothed pinions 102 that are fixedly attached to opposite ends of shaft 44. Thus, when seat member 20 is pivoted about seat pivots 40, movement of drive links 58 causes rack segments 100 to rotate pinions 102 for concurrently rotating head support 42 about headrest pivots 46. As a result, when seat member 20 is lowered into its operative position, headrest member 22 is simultaneously articulated into its elevated operative position. This alternative construction may be further modified to include a geared arrangement for generating translatory movement of headrest member 22 instead of the previously-described rotary movement in response to movement of rack segments 100 with drive links 58.

Note that when either embodiment of child seat 16 is moved to its fully "deployed" position, pivot links 62 or pinions 102 have rotated nearly 180.degree.. However, the amount of such rotation can be controlled by changing the location of the lower end of drive links 58 with respect to legs 56 of seat pan 38. For example, if it was desired to rotate pivot links 62 or pinion 102 less than 180.degree., the lower end of drive links 58 could be pivotably coupled to legs 56 at a position closer to seat pivots 40, thereby causing drive links 58 to have less upward travel which results in less rotation of pivot links 62 or pinions 102.

Accordingly, one primary feature of the present invention is the ability to deploy child seat 16 with one hand by a simple one motion process. In the "stowed" position, release strap 86 on seat member 20 is grasped by the operator and pulled. Following release of first latch pawl 72 from latch plate 78, and without changing his/her grasp, the operator simply continues to pull on release strap 86 for pivoting seat member 20 into its lowered operative position where second latch pawl 74 automatically latches. As seat member 20 is pivoted into its operative position, headrest member 22 is automatically articulated into its operative position by movement coordinating means 48. Accordingly, the operator is able to quickly and easily move child restraint seat 16 between its "stowed" position and its fully "deployed" position with relative ease from even the most awkward locations.

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.