Abstract:
A child safety seatbelt for restraining a child in a seat. The device comprises two independent straps each of which fasten at one end to the seat. The opposite ends of the straps lock together to form a continuous safety restraint over the waist of a child. An adjustment means is incorporated onto one of the straps to lengthen or shorten the seatbelt to ensure proper fit. The seatbelt further comprises textual or graphic indicia visible on the front face of the belt. The indicia may represent, for example, logos, instructions for use, or warnings. Accordingly the device may be used concurrently as a safety device and a marketing device for businesses, as for example when used on a shopping cart. Alternatively, the seatbelt may be used as a portable safety restraint device for private individual use.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application derives priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/281,329 for “CHILD SAFETY SEATBELT”; filed: Apr. 4, 2001. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to child restraint devices. Specifically, it relates to a portable child safety seatbelt for restraining a child in a seat.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Background  
           [0005]    To protect the safety of a child when riding in a child seat, stroller, baby chair, shopping cart seat or the like, it is appropriate to restrain the child around the waist using a seatbelt. Many seats intended for use by small children are not equipped with a means to safely secure the child.  
           [0006]    Absent such restraining means, a child is liable to fall out of the seat and sustain an injury.  
           [0007]    Such dangers are presented, for example, in a shopping cart child seat. Shopping carts commonly incorporate a collapsible compartment with an integral child seat. Typically, such seats comprise a backrest, a seat panel, and openings for the child&#39;s legs. Absent a restraining device, such seats fail to keep a child from standing, wriggling, or otherwise freeing himself from the confines of the seat. Once freed, the child may fall out of the seat and suffer serious injury.  
           [0008]    Inventors have created several types of seatbelts for shopping carts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,800 to Dietrich discloses a shopping cart safety belt having a single strap coupled to an intermediate slide fastener and a terminal snap hook for attachment to a cart. The belt comprises a polypropylene webbing material.  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,676 to Trubiano shows another child safety belt for shopping carts, comprising a single strap made of an elastic material.  
           [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,464 to Cook teaches a child restraining safety belt for a shopping cart seat. The device comprises a fabric material and secures a child using the combination of a waist-belt, a securing strap, and a pair of shoulder straps.  
           [0011]    Unfortunately, each of these belts is made of a fabric material which is unhygienic and difficult to clean. The textured fibers of the fabric material trap and hold bacteria and germs. Proper cleaning of fabric materials soiled with such contaminants, dirt, or oily residues requires soaking and agitation in soapy water. Simply wiping the belts fails to remove the contaminants deeply embedded in the textured fibers of the fabric. Laundering such belts is complicated by the various clips and fasteners associated with the belts, which makes them unfit for washing in a conventional washing machine.  
           [0012]    Further, it is difficult to incorporate printed material directly on fabric belts, as the additional manufacturing step of attaching a tag, stitching, or printing the written message onto the strap is required.  
           [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,046 to Gordy et al. discloses a portable shopping cart seat belt. The belt comprises an anchoring strap stitched to a primary waist belt strap. A snap hook carried on the anchoring strap secures the belt and child to a shopping cart. Unfortunately, the anchoring strap creates a weak point in the belt, and is susceptible to tearing when tension is placed on the belt during use.  
           [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,622 to Burgard shows an improved child safety strap for use in a shopping cart. The belt is permanently attached to the shopping cart using a grommet.  
           [0015]    Unfortunately, although the grommet may help to preventing theft of the belt, it also unduly complicates the procedure for cleaning the belt, as the grommet must be removed in order to release the belt from the shopping cart.  
           [0016]    Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,613 to Ward teaches a restraining device for use in a shopping cart, stroller, or chair. The device comprises a pair of straps having a releasable fastener at each end portion. However, the straps are of a nylon webbing material which presents the above-mentioned cleaning and printing hardships. Further, the straps attach to the frame of a shopping cart by crisscrossing over the back and chest of the child, and restrain the child by passing over his shoulders rather than around the waist. Consequently, the device is unduly cumbersome to use because it requires that the straps be connected at four separate points on the cart.  
           [0017]    Lacking in the prior art, is a portable child safety seatbelt constructed in two pieces for easy attachment and removal to a child seat. Also lacking from the prior art is a two piece belt which, once attached to the seat, is secured around the waist of a child using a single central fastener. Lastly, absent from the prior art is a child safety seatbelt made from a material that is easily maintained in a sanitary, hygienic condition, and can be manufactured with aesthetically pleasing and highly visible raised indicia representing company logos, directions for use, warning instructions, or any textual or picto-graphic material.  
           [0018]    In light of the foregoing, it would be of great advantage to create an improved child safety belt comprising independent strap portions which join together at a central fastener over the waist of a child. The two-piece construction enhances portability and convenience of operation. It would further be of great advantage to make the belt from a material which is easily maintained in a sanitary condition, and which bears integral raised indicia representing textual or graphic images.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0019]    It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to restrain a child in a seat by providing a seatbelt for attachment to the seat and around the waist of a child.  
           [0020]    It is another object of the present invention to construct the seatbelt in two distinct pieces each piece having a means for attaching to the seat on one end, and bearing corresponding interlocking elements of a central fastening means on the other end.  
           [0021]    It is a further object to provide a seatbelt having an adjustment means to lengthen or shorten the belt to ensure a proper fit over the waist of a child.  
           [0022]    It is yet another object to provide a seatbelt that is easily attached to and removed from a seat to promote portability and simplify use.  
           [0023]    A still further object of the invention to provide a seatbelt comprising a vinyl plastisol material which facilitates the maintenance of the belt in a sanitary, hygienic condition by providing a material that is easily wiped clean of dirt, oils, and grime which naturally accumulate through use.  
           [0024]    It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a vinyl plastisol seatbelt having raised indicia representing company logos, directions for use, warning labels or any other textual or picto-graphic images integrally molded onto the seatbelt.  
           [0025]    According to the present invention, the above-described and other objects are accomplished by providing a child safety seatbelt comprising a vinyl plastisol material. The seatbelt attaches to a child seat and is fastened around the waist of a child seated thereon. The seatbelt is equipped with terminal means to secure it to a child seat, and a central fastener to close the belt over the waist of a child. Raised indicia are present on the belt in the form of text or graphics, and an adjustable fastener is affixed to the belt for loosening or tightening to ensure a proper fit. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]    Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and certain modifications thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 1 is a top view of the assembled child safety seatbelt.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 2 is a front view of the first strap of the child safety seatbelt.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 3 is rear view of the first strap of the child safety seatbelt.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 4 is front view of the second strap of the child safety seatbelt.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 5 is rear view of the second strap of the child safety seatbelt.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the child safety seatbelt in an exemplary fastened and operative configuration on a shopping cart. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0033]    An improved child safety seatbelt  2  is shown in FIG. 1. The belt generally comprises a first strap portion  4  and a second strap portion  6 . Strap portion  4  and strap portion  6  are individual separable elements of seatbelt  2  and may be releasably joined together by an interlocking fastener  8  to form a continuous child restraint device. Attachment mechanisms  12 ,  13  are carried on the ends of straps  4  and  6  respectively.  
         [0034]    Band  10  engages attachment means  12 , and end  5  engages male connector  8   a  of interlocking fastener  8 . Attachment means  12  is preferably a two-piece pivoted ring, or “D” ring, comprising integral locking mechanism  14  which disengages to open the ring and locks together to securely close the ring. Attachment mechanism  12  preferably comprises plastic, but may alternatively comprise metal, rubber, vinyl plastisol or any other durable material. As shown in FIG. 3, end  7  engages attachment means  12  by passing through central opening  16 , folding over attachment means  12 , and attaching to the rear face of band  10 . Band  10  thereby forms terminal loop  30  as shown in FIG. 1. End  7  may attach by stitching or gluing depending on the material composition of band  10 .  
         [0035]    First strap portion  4  comprises band  10  having a uniform width and thickness. Band  10  is of a molded vinyl plastisol construction. Vinyl plastisol is a vinyl homopolymer or copolymer suspension containing plasticizers and other additives. It is available in temperature-resistant formulations, exhibits excellent resistance to abrasion, sunlight, and many chemicals, has exceptional shock-absorbing characteristics, and comes in a wide range of colors and textures that appeal to the senses of sight and feel. Traditionally, vinyl plastisol has not been used in the manufacture of safety belts because of its flexibility and comparatively low tensile strength relative to woven vinyl or fabric straps. However, it is well suited for a child seat restraint where high tensile strength is less important (the purpose is restraint as opposed to impact protection), and the flexibility affords greater comfort.  
         [0036]    Vinyl plastisol is a superior material for construction of seatbelt  2  because it is durable and easily manufactured by well known molding processes. Moreover vinyl plastisol is easily maintained in a sanitary condition because accumulated contaminants including bacteria, germs, dirt, oils and grime are easily wiped from its smooth surface with a damp cloth alone, or in conjunction with a conventional cleaning solvent. Alternatively, band  10  is a webbed material or other suitable fabric material.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 1 also shows the front face of second strap portion  6 , which comprises band  20  having a uniform width and thickness equal to the dimensions of band  10 , and made of the same material. Band  20  terminates at ends  5 , and end  5  engages attachment mechanism  13  which includes a pivoted terminal loop  34  in the manner described above for terminal loop  14 . Attachment means  13  is structurally and functionally identical in all respects to attachment means  12  described above.  
         [0038]    Female connector  8   b  of interlocking fastener  8  is carried on the mid-portion of band  20 . Female connector  8   b  comprises receptacle  9  for engaging male connector  8   a , and slot  11 . End  19  passes through slot  11  forming central loop configuration  26  (shown in FIG. 1). Central loop  26  thereby slidably secures female connector  8   b  to band  20 .  
         [0039]    Band  20  further carries adjustment means  22  which is preferably a slide fastener of the type well known in the prior art and within the public domain. Adjustment means  22  preferably comprises a rectangular fastener having a length slightly longer than the width of band  20  and a width of approximately one inch. Bar  24 , centrally placed within adjustment means  22 , extends through the length of the fastener from side to side.  
         [0040]    Once through slot  11 , end  19  reverses direction and continues along the rear face of band  20  toward attachment mechanism  13 , and engages adjustment means  22 . End  19  first passes under bar  24 , then wraps over the top of bar  24  and continues in reverse direction toward female connector  8   b , finally ending in terminal loop configuration  21  (as shown in FIG. 1).  
         [0041]    Prior to engaging slot  11 , end  19  is threaded under sides  22   a  and  22   b  of adjustment means  22 , and over the top of bar  24  thereby forming a first engagement with adjustment means  22 . Accordingly, terminal loop  21  comprises a second engagement between band  20  and adjustment means  22 . Strap  6  is easily shortened or lengthened by threading band  20  over bar  24  from one side, and pulling from the other side to take up the slack.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 2 is a front view of the first strap of the child safety seatbelt as in FIG. 1 except with an alternate one-piece attachment means  112 . FIG. 3 is a back view of the first strap of FIG. 2.  
         [0043]    As shown in FIG. 2, first strap portion  4  again comprises band  10  having a uniform width and thickness and terminating in ends  5 ,  7  (visible in FIG. 3). As before, band  10  is of a molded vinyl plastisol construction.  
         [0044]    Referring again to FIG. 3, end  7  of band  10  engages attachment means  112 , and end  5  engages male connector  8   a  of interlocking fastener  8 . Attachment means  112  is preferably a one-piece ring, or “D” ring, comprising integral locking mechanism  114  which disengages to open the ring and locks together to securely close the ring. Attachment mechanism  112  preferably comprises plastic, but may alternatively comprise metal, rubber, vinyl plastisol or any other durable material. As shown in FIG. 3, end  7  engages attachment means  112  by passing through central opening  16 , folding over attachment means  112 , and attaching to the rear face of band  10 . Band  10  thereby forms terminal loop  30  as shown in FIG. 1. End  7  may attach by stitching or gluing depending on the material composition of band  10 .  
         [0045]    In the embodiments of FIGS.  1 - 3 , male connector  8   a  of interlocking fastener  8  is carried on the opposite end of band  10 . Male connector  8   a  comprises prong  15  for engaging receptacle  9  of female connector  8   b  (shown in FIG. 4), and slot  17 . End  5  passes through slot  17 , folds over male connector  8   a , and attaches to the rear face of band  10 . Band  10  thereby forms terminal loop  32  as shown in FIG. 1. Terminal loop  32  is constructed in the same fashion as terminal loop  30  described above.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 4 shows the front face of second strap portion  6  with a one-piece ring, or “D” ring type attachment means as item  112  of FIG. 2. Second strap portion  6  comprises band  20  having a uniform width and thickness equal to the dimensions of band  10 , and made of the same material. Band  20  terminates in ends  19 ,  23  shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, end  23  engages attachment mechanism  113  forming terminal loop  34  (visible in FIG. 1) in the manner described above for terminal loop  30 . Attachment means  13  is structurally and functionally identical in all respects to attachment means  112  described above.  
         [0047]    As described above with reference to FIG. 1, female connector  8   b  of interlocking fastener  8  is carried on the mid-portion of band  20  and comprises receptacle  9  for engaging male connector  8   a , and slot  11 . End  19  passes through slot  11  forming central loop configuration  26  (shown in FIG. 1). Central loop  26  thereby slidably secures female connector  8   b  to band  20 .  
         [0048]    Band  20  further carries adjustment means  22  which is preferably a slide fastener of the type well known in the prior art and within the public domain. Adjustment means  22  preferably comprises a rectangular fastener having a length slightly longer than the width of band  20  and a width of approximately one inch. Bar  24 , centrally placed within adjustment means  22 , extends through the length of the fastener from side to side.  
         [0049]    Once through slot  11 , end  19  reverses direction and continues along the rear face of band  20  toward attachment mechanism  13 , and engages adjustment means  22 . End  19  first passes under bar  24 , then wraps over the top of bar  24  and continues in reverse direction toward female connector  8   b , finally ending in terminal loop configuration  21  (as shown in FIG. 1). Prior to engaging slot  11 , end  19  is threaded under sides  22   a  and  22   b  of adjustment means  22 , and over the top of bar  24  thereby forming a first engagement with adjustment means  22 . Accordingly, terminal loop  21  comprises a second engagement between band  20  and adjustment means  22 . Strap  6  is easily shortened or lengthened by threading band  20  over bar  24  from one side, and pulling from the other side to take up the slack.  
         [0050]    As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, indicia  40 ,  42 , and  44  are present on the front face of bands  10 ,  20 . Indica may comprise business logos  40 , textual information such as warnings  42 , or picto-graphic information  44  relating, for example, directions for use. Color schemes between bands  10 ,  20  and indicia  40 ,  42 ,  44  may be chosen to coincide with a particular business&#39; logo or mark, or to provide contrast for improved legibility.  
         [0051]    In all of the embodiments shown in FIGS.  1 - 4  wherein bands  10 ,  20  comprise molded vinyl plastisol, indicia  40 ,  42 ,  44  are integrally molded on the front face of the bands concurrently with the manufacture of bands  10 ,  20 . In this manner, indicia  40 ,  42 ,  44  are easily and economically incorporated on seatbelt  2 . Further, the integral raised indicia exhibit an improved resistance to wear over stitched or printed indicia, and are easily cleaned with the remainder of the belt. Alternatively, indicia  40 ,  42 ,  44  may be stitched or printed on bands  10 ,  20  in an embodiment wherein the bands are comprised of a fabric material.  
       IN THE OPERATION  
       [0052]    [0052]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the seatbelt in an exemplary operative configuration on a shopping cart equipped with a child seat. Seatbelt  2  is secured to the cart by attachment means  12 ,  13 . Locking mechanisms  14 ,  15  respectively are disengaged enabling attachment means  12 ,  13  to be secured around the frame of the cart. Engagement points should be selected on the cart on opposite sides of the child seated thereon, and at a height such that the belt crosses over the child at waist level. Once attachment means  12 ,  13  are in position, locking mechanisms  14 ,  15  are re-secured. Female connector  8   b  and male connector  8   a  are then fastened over the midsection of the child, and form the continuous restraint device. Band  20  may be shortened or lengthened using adjustment means  22  to ensure a proper fit. Thus assembled, indicia  40 ,  42 ,  44  are visible on the outer face of bands  10 ,  20 .  
         [0053]    The child is subsequently removed from the seat by disengaging interlocking fastener  8 . The belt may be left in the cart if the property of the store, or may be disengaged from the frame of the cart in the reverse manner of assembly if the property of the individual user. Accordingly, the belt is portable for individual use, or may remain removably affixed to the cart for customer use. Moreover, visible indicia  40 ,  42 ,  44  render seatbelt  2  both a protective safety device, as well as a valuable marketing device.  
         [0054]    The portable nature of the child safety belt as assembled and used as described herein enables a broad range of child seats to be retrofitted for improved safety. Accordingly, attachment means  12 ,  13  are secured to the frame of a stroller, high-chair, baby seat, car seat, or the like and the belt is fastened over the waist of a child as described above with reference to the exemplary shopping cart child seat.  
         [0055]    Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiments and certain modifications of the concept underlying the present invention, various other embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of the embodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with said underlying concept. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth in the appended claims: