Child car seat with air bag protection bar

A new child car seat with air bag protection bar is provided for protecting a child in event of the release of an air bag. Included is a car seat portion having a seat portion and a back portion. The car seat portion includes a harness strap for securing a child therein. A lower end of the back portion has a slot therethrough for receiving a seat belt of a vehicle therethrough to facilitate securement of the car seat portion within the vehicle. A restraint system is provided including a pair of inner vertical brackets secured on opposing sides of the back portion of the car seat portion. The restraint system includes a pair of outer vertical brackets slidably received within the inner vertical brackets. The restraint system includes a pair of horizontal supports pivotally coupled with upper ends of the outer vertical brackets. An outer portion of the horizontal supports have a channel formed therein. An outer end of the horizontal supports have an aperture therethrough. The restraint system includes a cross bar extending between the outer portions of the horizontal supports.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to child seats and more particularly pertains 
to a new child car seat with air bag protection bar for protecting a child 
in event of the release of an air bag. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of child seats is known in the prior art. More specifically, child 
seats heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of 
familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding 
the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been 
developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
Known prior art child seats include U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,152 to Reilly et 
al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,028 to Abe et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,456 to 
Chiba et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,071 to Gotomyo et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 
5,282,648 to Peterson; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 334,847 to Takahashi et al. 
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and 
requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new child car 
seat with air bag protection bar. The inventive device includes a car seat 
portion having a seat portion and a back portion. The car seat portion 
includes a harness strap for securing a child therein. A lower end of the 
back portion has a slot therethrough for receiving a seat belt of a 
vehicle therethrough to facilitate securement of the car seat portion 
within the vehicle. A restraint system is provided including a pair of 
inner vertical brackets secured on opposing sides of the back portion of 
the car seat portion. The restraint system includes a pair of outer 
vertical brackets slidably received within the inner vertical brackets. 
The restraint system includes a pair of horizontal supports pivotally 
coupled with upper ends of the outer vertical brackets. An outer portion 
of the horizontal supports have a channel formed therein. An outer end of 
the horizontal supports have an aperture therethrough. The restraint 
system includes a cross bar extending between the outer portions of the 
horizontal supports. 
In these respects, the child car seat with air bag protection bar according 
to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional 
concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an 
apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting a child in 
event of the release of an air bag. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of child 
seats now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new 
child car seat with air bag protection bar construction wherein the same 
can be utilized for protecting a child in event of the release of an air 
bag. 
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described 
subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new child car seat with 
air bag protection bar apparatus and method which has many of the 
advantages of the child seats mentioned heretofore and many novel features 
that result in a new child car seat with air bag protection bar which is 
not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of 
the prior art child seats, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a car seat 
portion having a seat portion and a back portion. The car seat portion 
includes a harness strap for securing a child therein. A lower end of the 
back portion has a slot therethrough for receiving a seat belt of a 
vehicle therethrough to facilitate securement of the car seat portion 
within the vehicle. A restraint system is provided including a pair of 
inner vertical brackets secured on opposing sides of the back portion of 
the car seat portion. The inner vertical brackets each have a female 
dovetail recess formed along a length thereof. The recess has a plurality 
of linearly aligned apertures therein. The restraint system includes a 
pair of outer vertical brackets. The outer vertical brackets each have a 
male dovetail member extending outwardly therefrom for being slidably 
received within the female dovetail recesses of the inner vertical 
brackets. The outer vertical brackets each have upper and lower locking 
pins for selectively engaging two of the plurality of apertures of the 
inner vertical brackets. The restraint system includes a pair of 
horizontal supports pivotally coupled with upper ends of the outer 
vertical brackets. An outer portion of the horizontal supports have a 
channel formed therein. An outer end of the horizontal supports have an 
aperture therethrough. The restraint system includes a cross bar extending 
between the outer portions of the horizontal supports. The cross bar 
includes an interior rigid member and an exterior padded member. The 
interior rigid member has T-shaped stems extending outwardly of opposite 
ends thereof for being slidably received within the channels formed within 
the horizontal supports. The opposite ends of the interior rigid member 
each have a spring pin extending outwardly thereof for selectively 
engaging the apertures of the outer ends of the horizontal supports. The 
restraint system includes a pair of angular brackets extending between the 
horizontal supports and the outer vertical brackets. Upper ends of the 
angular brackets pivotally couple with the T-shaped stems of the cross 
bar. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that 
follows may be better understood, and in order that the present 
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional 
features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which 
will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the 
scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar 
with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a 
cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of 
the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention 
of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to 
be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new child 
car seat with air bag protection bar apparatus and method which has many 
of the advantages of the child seats mentioned heretofore and many novel 
features that result in a new child car seat with air bag protection bar 
which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by 
any of the prior art child seats, either alone or in any combination 
thereof. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new child car 
seat with air bag protection bar which may be easily and efficiently 
manufactured and marketed. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new child car 
seat with air bag protection bar which is of a durable and reliable 
construction. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new child 
car seat with air bag protection bar which is susceptible of a low cost of 
manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly 
is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby 
making such child car seat with air bag protection bar economically 
available to the buying public. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new child 
car seat with air bag protection bar which provides in the apparatuses and 
methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while 
simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated 
therewith. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new child car 
seat with air bag protection bar for protecting a child in event of the 
release of an air bag. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new child car 
seat with air bag protection bar which includes a car seat portion having 
a seat portion and a back portion. The car seat portion includes a harness 
strap for securing a child therein. A lower end of the back portion has a 
slot therethrough for receiving a seat belt of a vehicle therethrough to 
facilitate securement of the car seat portion within the vehicle. A 
restraint system is provided including a pair of inner vertical brackets 
secured on opposing sides of the back portion of the car seat portion. The 
restraint system includes a pair of outer vertical brackets slidably 
received within the inner vertical brackets. The restraint system includes 
a pair of horizontal supports pivotally coupled with upper ends of the 
outer vertical brackets. An outer portion of the horizontal supports have 
a channel formed therein. An outer end of the horizontal supports have an 
aperture therethrough. The restraint system includes a cross bar extending 
between the outer portions of the horizontal supports. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 
thereof, a new child car seat with air bag protection bar embodying the 
principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated 
by the reference numeral 10 will be described. 
As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the child car seat with air bag 
protection bar 10 comprises a car seat portion having a seat portion 12 
and a back portion 14. The car seat portion includes a harness strap 16 
for securing a child therein. A lower end of the back portion 14 has a 
slot 18 therethrough for receiving a seat belt of a vehicle therethrough 
to facilitate securement of the car seat portion within the vehicle. 
A restraint system is provided including a pair of inner vertical brackets 
20 secured on opposing sides of the back portion 14 of the car seat 
portion. The inner vertical brackets 20 each have a female dovetail recess 
22 formed along a length thereof. The recess 22 has a plurality of 
linearly aligned apertures 24 therein. The restraint system includes a 
pair of outer vertical brackets 26. The outer vertical brackets 26 each 
have a male dovetail member 28 extending outwardly therefrom for being 
slidably received within the female dovetail recesses 22 of the inner 
vertical brackets 20. The outer vertical brackets 26 each have upper and 
lower locking pins 30 for selectively engaging two of the plurality of 
apertures 24 of the inner vertical brackets 20. The restraint system 
includes a pair of horizontal supports 32 pivotally coupled with upper 
ends of the outer vertical brackets 26. An outer portion of the horizontal 
supports 32 have a channel 34 formed therein. An outer end of the 
horizontal supports 32 have an aperture 36 therethrough. The restraint 
system includes a cross bar 38 extending between the outer portions of the 
horizontal supports 32. The cross bar 38 includes an interior rigid member 
40 and an exterior padded member 42. The interior rigid member 40 has 
T-shaped stems 44 extending outwardly of opposite ends thereof for being 
slidably received within the channels 34 formed within the horizontal 
supports 32. The opposite ends of the interior rigid member 40 each have a 
spring pin 46 extending outwardly thereof for selectively engaging the 
apertures 36 of the outer ends of the horizontal supports 32. To disengage 
the spring pin 46 from the apertures 36, the user would simply rotate the 
cross bar 36 which will force the spring pin 46 to retract thereby 
allowing for the cross bar 36 to slide inwardly within the channels 34 
allowing the restraint system to pivot upwardly. The restraint system 
includes a pair of angular brackets 48 extending between the horizontal 
supports 32 and the outer vertical brackets 26. Upper ends of the angular 
brackets 48 pivotally couple with the T-shaped stems 44 of the cross bar 
38. 
In use, the present invention would provide additional frontal protection 
for a child in the car seat, possibly protecting him from injuries caused 
by air bags, and it could be easily and quickly disengaged for free access 
to the child. The cross bar 38 would be preferably aligned with the head 
of the child. This is achieved simply by sliding the outer vertical 
brackets 26 with respect to the inner vertical brackets 20. The parent 
simply pulls outwardly on the upper and lower locking pins 30 to 
facilitate this sliding. Once the proper height is found, the locking pins 
30 will engage the apertures 24 to lock the device in place. 
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the 
present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. 
Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and 
operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to 
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of 
operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to 
one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those 
illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are 
intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 
described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may 
be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.