HK1113115B - An infant seat for motorcars - Google Patents

Description

Infant seat for a motor vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an infant seat of the type commonly used to be mounted on the rear seat of a motor vehicle for child safety.

Background

These infant seats comprise the seat itself, a backrest with a transverse protection, and a liftable headrest which is usually also provided with a transverse protection, said infant seats being designed for children of different ages, in particular for children over one year.

The headrest is formed as a separate piece which is adapted to be fitted to the backrest in an upwardly movable configuration so as to be located at a position which is suitable for the height of the child and still protect the child's head, whereas the transverse protectors of the backrest remain in a fixed configuration so as not to perform their function properly, since their lower position does not provide sufficient protection for the transverse movements of the child, such as may occur during sudden changes in direction of the motor vehicle.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve this problem, the infant seat which is the subject of the invention is designed in such a way that, when the headrest is lifted, the transverse protection of the backrest is also lifted relative to the seat itself.

In order to achieve this improvement, the backrest is provided at the lower part with a complementary member (complementary member) connected to the headrest by a mechanism, the transverse protection of the backrest being arranged in a raised configuration with respect to the seat itself when the headrest is lifted, with the complementary member of the headrest remaining in the rest condition.

The above-mentioned mechanism is arranged between a back plate and a front plate constituting the backrest, the complementary members of the headrest and of the backrest having guide elements for their movement between the two plates. The mechanism comprises an element which is rotatably fixed at its centre and is fitted at each of its ends with a respective connecting rod which is connected to the lower complementary members of the headrest and the backrest, respectively.

These and other characteristic features will be made clearer by the following detailed description, which will be more easily understood by the accompanying drawings, which show practical embodiments, cited only by way of example, without limiting the scope of the invention.

Drawings

In the drawings:

figures 1 and 2 illustrate in side view an infant seat of conventional type with the headrest in a lowered position and a raised position respectively;

figure 3 illustrates in a side view an infant seat which is the object of the invention, showing the raised position of the transverse protection of the backrest when the headrest is raised;

FIG. 4 illustrates in perspective view a back-headrest assembly attached to the infant seat;

figures 5 and 6 illustrate the backrest-headrest assembly described above in front elevation views in lowered and raised positions, respectively.

Detailed Description

This type of infant seat a (fig. 1) comprises the seat itself 1 with the armrest 2, to which the backrest 3 with the transverse protection 4 is hingedly fitted, and to which the headrest 5, also with the transverse protection 6, is fitted, in a slidable configuration, so as to be in the raised position shown in fig. 2. It can be seen in the figures that the head is also protected as the child grows, while the transverse protection 4 of the backrest remains in the lower position, so that it does not provide the child with correct protection during possible lateral movements of the child.

The infant seat a' which is the object of the invention has eliminated this disadvantage, wherein in fig. 3 it can be seen how the transverse protection 4 of the backrest is also in the raised position when the headrest 5 is lifted.

To achieve these lifts, the backrest is provided, in the lower part, with a complementary member 7 connected to the headrest 5 by means of a mechanism 8, said mechanism 8 causing the transverse protection 4 of the backrest to be arranged in a raised configuration with respect to the seat 1 itself, when the headrest is lifted as indicated by the arrow F, with said complementary member 7 of said headrest remaining in a rest condition.

The above-mentioned mechanism 8 is arranged between a back plate 9 and a front plate 10 constituting the backrest, the headrest 5 and the complementary member 7 of the backrest having guide elements 11 for their movement between said two plates.

The above-mentioned mechanism 8 in this example comprises an element formed by a flat piece 12 fitted rotatably at its centre 13 to a pin fixed to the plate 10, the flat piece 12 being fitted at each of its ends to a respective one of two links 14 and 15, the links 14 and 15 being connected to the headrest 5 and to the complementary member 7 of the backrest by respective fixing elements 16 and 17, respectively. This mechanism may be replaced by another mechanism that allows the complementary members 7 of the headrest 5 and the backrest to be connected to each other in the manner described above.

The above-mentioned complementary element 7 is constituted by a plate comprising, at its lower edge, an engagement element 18 for removably and hingedly fitting the backrest to the seat 1.

Both the transverse protectors 4 and 6 of the backrest and the headrest may be provided with mechanisms fitted to adjust their separation so that they fit the width of the child.

Claims (3)

1. An infant seat for a motor vehicle comprising the seat itself, a backrest with a transverse protection, and a liftable headrest; the infant seat for a motor vehicle is characterized in that the backrest (3) is provided at the lower part with a complementary member (7) connected to the headrest (5) by means of a mechanism (8) which lifts the transverse protection (4) to a higher position when the headrest is lifted, with the complementary member (7) of the headrest remaining in a rest condition.

2. An infant seat for motor vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that the above-mentioned mechanism (8) is arranged between a back plate (9) and a front plate (10) that constitute the backrest, the headrest (5) and the complementary member (7) of the backrest having guide elements (11) for their movement between the two plates (9 and 10).

3. An infant seat for motor vehicles according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the above-mentioned mechanism comprises an element (12) which is rotatably fixed at its centre (13) and is fitted at each of its ends with a respective connecting rod (14 and 15) which is connected to the headrest (5) and to the complementary member (7) of the backrest, respectively.