Patent ID: 7857385
Filing Date: 2010-12-28
Classification: B60N

Abstract:
1. A compactible juvenile vehicle seat comprising a seat base adapted to set on a vehicle seat and formed to include a seat bottom adapted to support a juvenile in a seated position and an axle associated with the seat bottom, a foldable backrest mounted on the axle for folding movement between an upright use position arranged to extend upwardly away from the seat bottom and adapted to support a juvenile in the seated position on the seat bottom and a compact folded storage position arranged to extend along the seat bottom and lie in confronting relation to the seat bottom, a first backrest lock configured to provide means for retaining the foldable backrest in the upright use position and for releasing the foldable backrest to free the foldable backrest so that, once freed, the foldable backrest can be pivoted about a pivot axis established by the axle to assume the compact folded storage position, wherein the first backrest lock includes a first armrest and a first backrest anchor, the first armrest is mounted to the seat base for movement relative to the seat bottom between an upright backrest-blocking position arranged to lie in confronting relation to the foldable backrest to block forward pivoting movement of the foldable backrest on the axle from the upright use position toward the seat bottom and a retracted backrest-releasing position to free the foldable backrest to pivot on the axle about the pivot axis between the upright use position and the compact folded storage position, and the first backrest anchor, includes a latch retainer coupled to the foldable backrest and latch means coupled to the first armrest for releasably mating with the latch retainer upon movement of the first armrest to the upright backrest-blocking position and the foldable backrest to the upright use position to retain the foldable backrest in the upright use position, wherein the first armrest includes a backrest-blocker wall arranged to mate with a blocking portion of the foldable backrest upon movement of the foldable backrest to the upright use position and the first armrest to the upright backrest-blocking position to block forward folding movement of the foldable backrest from the upright use position toward the compact folded storage position, wherein the blocking portion of the foldable backrest is curved and the backrest-blocker wall is a rearwardly facing, concave, curved surface, and wherein the foldable backrest includes a back plate and a frame-receiving collar coupled to the back plate, the blocking portion is a tube arranged to extend through a tube-receiving passage defined by the frame-receiving collar, and the latch retainer is coupled to the frame-receiving collar and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the back plate.