CHILD'S SEAT ON A BICYCLE

Abstract: A child's seat on a bicycle is designed as a combination of child's seat and case to be attached to and released from the carrier (45) of a bicycle in simple operations. The child's seat comprises a body (10), a cover member (11) and a locking member (16, 17) for fixing the child's seat to the carrier. The body (10) and the cover member (11) are designed as an attaché case, whose cover member (11) in the raised state is adapted to serve as back and whose body (10) is adapted to serve as seat. The locking member (16, 17) is attached to the carrier of the bicycle and is designed for releasable connection with the body (10) for holding the same. To permit transportation of bigger children as well, the body comprises lowerable leg rests (12), which are lockable in the raised and in the lowered position.

Description: CHILD'S SEAT ON A BICYCLE For the transporting of children on bicycles in a satisfactory and safe manner, use is presently made of specially made child's seats, which in most cases are made in one piece and cast or injection-moulded of plastic material. The child's seats are mounted on the normal carrier of the bicycle and are permanently fixed thereto. Although the safety of these child's seats is excellent, they suffer from a number of drawbacks. The following drawbacks may be mentioned: 1. Since the child's seat is mounted by means of screws or the like and is permanently fixed to the bicycle, the carrier is not available on the occasions when the child is not coming along. 2. The permanently mounted child's seat is subjected to great stress, both in respect of variations in tempera¬ ture and under the action of sunlight. Therefore its life is limited. Besides, there is a risk of the child's seat becoming dirty. 3. A further negative factor is the risk of theft. 4. When the bicycle is used without a child being transported, the child's seat also yields a wind resis¬ tance. 5. The permanently fixed child's seat also constitutes an obstacle to the cyclist when mounting a man's bicycle, if the cyclist wants to swing his/her leg over the car¬ rier and saddle as usual when mounting and dismounting the bicycle. 6. Today's child's seats have only one field of appli- cation, viz. as a seat for a child being transported on the bicycle. An object of the present invention therefore is to obviate one or more of these drawbacks of known child's seats on bicycles. This object is achieved if the child's seat is de¬ signed as stated in the main claim. The subclaims define especially preferred embodiments of the invention. Summing up, the novelty of the invention resides in the fact that the child's seat is designed as a combina¬ tion of child's seat and case and in such a manner that it can be mounted and dismounted in one simple operation. The child's seat has a body, a cover member and a locking member for fixing the child's seat to the carrier of a bicycle. The body and the cover member are designed as an attache case, whose cover member in its raised state is adapted to serve as back and whose body is adapted to serve as seat. The locking member is attached to the car¬ rier of the bicycle and is designed for releasable con- nection with the body for holding the same. To enable transport also of bigger children, the body has lowerable legrests which are lockable in the raised and in the lowered position. The child's seat according to the invention has several advantages compared with the very well-known, fixed child's seats, among others: 1. When using the product for the transporting of chil¬ dren, the safety requirements for safe and comfortable transport are satisfied. 2. The product can be used as transport case and holder for the transporting of goods. It can also be carried separately in about the same manner as an attache case. Also in these types of use, it can be locked to the car¬ rier during cycling and readily be released when dis- mounting the bicycle. 3. To obtain a maximum effect, the existing carrier is supplemented with a special holder, which serves as attachment for the child's seat/attache case and can be used as "ordinary" carrier if the child's seat/attache case is not to be carried along during cycling. If an existing carrier is supplemented with attachments for the child's seat/attache case, the locking member can serve as carrier, together with straps. 4. The mounting of the child's seat/attache case in the embodiment shown as an example in the drawings is easy to carry out. The child's seat/attache case is placed on the carrier and pushed forwards. Then the edges of the car¬ rier engage with an undercut groove in the underside of the child's seat/case. In the front locking position, the locking is carried out by means of a locking device of snap-lock-type, about the same as in a seat belt, so as to accomplish locking. When releasing the child's seat/case, a release button is actuated and the dismount¬ ing of the child's seat/case is carried out in reverse order. 5. The transformation of the product from case into child's seat is also simple. The cover is raised and forms the back for the child. At each side of the product, part of the bottom and the side wall/front end wall can then be pivoted downwards to form legrests and leg-guards for the child. The lowerable parts can be locked to the rest of the product both in the raised (inactive) position and in the lowered (active) position. 6. The consumer thus gets four possibilities of use, i.e. a) as a portable transport case/attache case, b) as a transport box fixable to the bicycle, c) as a child's seat, and d) as a normal carrier by using the locking member together with straps. Admittedly, ϋS-A-4, 367, 829 discloses a child's seat, which can also be used alternatingly as child's seat and fixed transport box, but this known product suffers from many of the above-mentioned drawbacks of traditional, fixed child's seats, among other things the drawback that this known product is designed to be permanently fixed to the bicycle and to replace the traditional carrier. The greatest differences between this known product and the product according to the present invention are the facts that the cover constitutes both seat and back for the child and that the legrests for the child's legs consist of downwardly directed box or container portions, which more or less resemble ordinary panniers and which are united with one another as a rigid unit. This implies that the product must be released from the bicycle by means of tools and that it is not of very practical design as a loose and portable case. Two embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a basic sketch of a first embodiment of the product according to the invention in the lowered state (full lines) and in the raised state (dashed lines) . Fig. 2 illustrates a fitting which is adapted to be used together with a child's seat according to the inven¬ tion. Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of a child's seat designed according to the present invention, in its closed state. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the product in Fig. 3, seen obliquely from below. Fig. 5 shows the product in Fig. 3 in the raised state. Fig. 6 shows the product in Fig. 3 in a different raised state. Fig. 7 shows the product in Fig. 3, supplemented with a canopy and a fixed bag. Fig. 1 is a basic sketch of an attache case having a child's seat function according to the invention. The product is in the form of a box or attache case, which is adapted to be fixed to the bicycle by a snap-lock device (not shown) or a similar locking device for fixing and releasing in simple operations. The product comprises a body 10 and a cover member 11. The cover member 11 is foldable between a lowered position (full lines) in which the case or box is closed, and a raised position (dashed lines) in which the cover member serves as back for a child placed in the device. The cover member can be secured in its locked or raised position with the aid of locking or securing means (not shown) . The device comprises a safety belt (not shown) , by means of which the child is secured to the child's seat. If the device is used to transport very small children, the child can simply sit on the bottom member 10 and lean against the raised cover member 11 which serves as back. To permit transportation of somewhat bigger children as well, the body 10 comprises lowerable legrests 12, which are pivotally fixed to the rest of the body and which are fixable by means of snap locks (not shown) or other locks (as indicated at 13) in the raised and the lowered posi¬ tions, respectively. The product is fixed to the bicycle carrier provided with suitable hook means or other fastening means, which are adapted to engage in recesses 14 in the front end of the product. For securing the product to the rear end of the bicycle carrier, suitable engaging means can be ar- ranged, for instance, a detent pawl for releasable lock¬ ing of the product at the rear end of the carrier. When the product is not to be used, it is easily removed from the carrier and can then be used as a case having a lock- able cover and a handle 15. This also confers the advan- tage that the carrier will be free for normal use. Fig. 2 illustrates a fixing component or locking member 16, which is to be screwed to the carrier 45 of a bicycle (Fig. 6) and which is intended especially for the embodiment of the invention as shown in Figs 3-7. The locking member 16 comprises laterally projecting longitu¬ dinal flanges 17 serving a purpose that will be described below. The fixing of the inventive product to the carrier is effected by means of a counterplate 18 having suitable transverse recesses 19 for receiving the transverse rods of the carrier. Screws 20, washers 21 and nuts 22 are used to attach the locking member 16. Like in the above-described embodiment of the inven¬ tion, there are a body 10, a cover member 11 and legrests 12. However, the design is different. The body 10 has at its rear end an upwardly directed wall 23, whose upper edge is designed with a hinge 24 uniting the body with the cover member 11. The cover mem¬ ber has lateral flanges 25 which extend downwards into recesses 26 in the side walls 27 of the body and which continue forwards (in the closed state) to form side walls, when the product is in its closed state. The bottom of the body 10 is formed with an undercut groove 28 which in the shown embodiment is forwardly open. When mounting the child's seat, the undercut groove 28 cooperates with the flanges 17 for holding the child's seat in a reliable manner. To lock the child's seat in the mounted position, the groove 28 is extended backwards while leaving a bottom flange 29 in the bottom of the body. The rear edge of the locking member is extended backwards on the same level as the flanges 17, such that the rear edge will project inwardly above the bottom flange 29. In this extended rear edge portion, there is a hole 30 for cooperation with a locking pin 31, which is schematically indicated in Fig. 4 and can be operated with a handle 32 positioned in a recess in the bottom of the body. Fig. 5 shows the child's seat in a position of use for transporting a small child, which does not need low¬ ered legrests 12. The cover member 11 is raised to serve as back. The cover member is kept locked in its upright position with the aid of releasable securing means which can be released by means of a handle 44 let into the rear edge of the body. In this position, the child's seat is also useable for transporting e.g. beer crates, which in this case will stand on the bottom of the body and be kept in position by the side walls of the body and by the cover. Fig. 6 illustrates the child's seat in its position for transporting a bigger child which needs to have the legrests 12 lowered and locked in the lowered position. The lowering is rendered possible by detent pawls 33 in recesses 13 being released for releasing of the legrests. These can then be pivoted about hinges 34 and locked in the lowered position by means of snap locks 35 in the side walls 27 of the body 10. The arrangement is such that the snap lock 35 can engage with one of a plurality of locking recesses arranged along a circular arc in the side wall of the legrest to permit fixing of the legrest in different angular positions. The arrangement may also comprise footrests 48 which are releasably fixed in attachments 47 on the inside of the legrests 12. In this manner, the legrests can be adjusted to the length of the child's legs, if desired. Fig. 6 also shows a handle 15 in the front edge of the body 10. Here, also a lock 37 for the cover is arranged. In the rear edge of the body, there may be a storage space behind a cover 38. In this storage space, the foot- rests 48 can be stored. As is evident from Fig. 6, the child's seat com¬ prises a safety belt 39, 40, whose one part 39 is attached to the cover and whose other part 40 is attached to the bottom portion. As is also evident from Fig. 6, a spoke guard 49 is mounted. The top of this can be clamped between the lock¬ ing member 16 and the carrier 45 and its sides can be lowered on each side of the carrier. The lower end of the spoke guard is clamped by means of the wheel nut on each side of the bicycle. Fig. 7 shows how the child's seat can be supple¬ mented with a canopy 41, whose sides are held by spring rods 42, which are inserted into mounting holes 43 in the bottom member and the cover member. This canopy can be stored in the compartment behind the cover 38. The Figure also shows that the cover member may have suitable fas- teners 44 for fastening, for instance, a bag or ruck¬ sack 36.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A child's seat on a bicycle, comprising a body (10), a cover member (11) and a locking member (16) for attaching the child's seat to the carrier (45) of a bicycle, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the body (10) and the cover member (11) are designed as an attache case, whose cover member (11) in its raised state is adapted to serve as rest, and whose body (10) is adapted to serve as seat, that the locking member (16) is adapted to be fixed to the carrier (45) of the bicycle and is de¬ signed to be releasably connected to the body (10) for holding the same, and that the body has lowerable leg- rests (12) which are lockable in their raised and in their lowered position. 2. The child's seat as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a quick coupling (17, 28, 30-32) is available for releasable interconnection of the locking member (16) and the body (10) . 3. The child's seat as claimed in claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the body (10) has, in its underside, a longitudinal undercut groove (28), which is designed to coact with the locking member (16) mounted on the carrier of the bicycle, and that the locking mem¬ ber (16) and the body (10) have cooperating locking means (30, 31) for releasable locking of the body in a fixed horizontal position of the locking member. 4. The child's seat as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the cover member (11) has, on its outside, attachments (44) for fastening a bag, rucksack or the like. 5. The child's seat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that securing means (35) are arranged for locking the legrests (12) in different angular positions between the com¬ pletely raised and the completely lowered position. 6. The child's seat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the legrests (12) have attachments (47) for fixing a footrest (48) in different vertical positions. 7. The child's seat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it comprises attachments (43) for attaching a canopy (41) . 8. The child's seat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it also comprises a spoke guard (49) .

Inventors: MANOCHEHR SABETGHADAM, MANOCHEHR, SABETGHADAM
Applicants: MANOCHEHR SABETGHADAM, MANOCHEHR, SABETGHADAM
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B62J1
IPC codes: B62J1