Abstract:
A child seat for transporting a child in a car includes a seat support with a support bottom and a support back which extends above the support bottom, a seat frame that has harness belts for holding the child against the seat frame, and slides between the seat support and the seat frame for coupling the seat frame in adjustable tilt positions to the seat support, which slides include an upper slide for connecting the upper or shoulder part of the seat frame to the support back and a lower slide for connecting the lower or bottom part of the seat frame to the support bottom. In accordance with the invention on both sides of the seat frame the seat support includes a diagonal bar for connecting the forward part of the support bottom to the support back above or at the height of the upper slide.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority from European patent application no. 07116385.1, filed Sep. 13, 2007, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention concerns a child seat for transporting a child in a car comprising a seat support with a support bottom and a support back which extends above the support bottom, a seat frame that has harness belts for holding the child against the seat frame, and slides between the seat support and the seat frame for coupling the seat frame in adjustable tilt positions to the seat support, which slides comprise an upper slide for connecting the upper or shoulder part of the seat frame to the support back and a lower slide for connecting the lower or bottom part of the seat frame to the support bottom. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Such devices are known and document WO 2005/000627 shows such a device. In the known device during collision inertia forces on the child tension the belt and the upper slide pulls on the upper part of the support back. As the support back is made of plastic material that is flexible, the upper part will deform due to the forces and this will cause additional movement of the child under the inertia forces. The additional movement of the child causes the risk of injury to the child to increase and this must be avoided. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to avoid this risk, the child seat has on both sides of the seat frame ( 12 ) the seat support ( 7 ) comprising a diagonal bar ( 6 ) for connecting a forward part of support bottom ( 8 ) to the support back ( 34 ) above or at the height of the upper slide ( 29 ,  30 ). In this way, inertia forces on the child acting on the support back transfer directly and without deformation of the support to the support bottom and from there to the car. This means that the harness belts restrain the child better and that injury is prevented. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, the child seat comprises the diagonal bar ( 6 ) that has a tube shaped section that is rectangular with rounded or elliptical corners whereby the height is at least three times the width. In this way, the sideways protection and support of the child in the seat is considerable as the diagonal bars prevent parts of the car to contact the child. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, the child seat has tilt positions that range from an upright sitting position to a recline position and whereby the diagonal bars ( 6 ) are in all tilt positions in front of the upper or shoulder part ( 37 ) of the seat frame ( 12 ). In this way, the diagonal bar provides protection for the child even when the seat frame is in recline position. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, the child seat comprises the seat frame ( 12 ) that has between the diagonal bars ( 6 ) a height adjustable head support ( 3 ,  24 ,  26 ). The head support provides additional support and protection of the child&#39;s head, while the diagonal bars protect the head support and prevent its deformation in a collision. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, the child seat comprises the support bottom ( 8 ) which has first attachment means ( 40 ) for removably connecting the support bottom to a base ( 52 ) fastened on the seat of the car. In this way, it is easy to place and fix the child seat on the base in the car or to remove it from the car by gripping the diagonal bars. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, the child seat comprises the seat support ( 7 ) which has second attachment means ( 4 ,  5 ,  9 ,  10 ) for guiding and attaching a shoulder belt ( 56 ,  57 ,  58 ) and a hip belt ( 61 ) of the car to respectively the support back ( 34 ) and the support bottom ( 8 ). In this way, it is easy to fix the child seat in the car, while the diagonal bars prevent that the forces on the shoulder and/or hip belt deform the support and so prevent additional movement of the child in a collision. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, the child seat includes the harness belts that comprise a shoulder belt ( 22 ) that is guided through an opening ( 2 ) in the height adjustable head support ( 3 ,  4 ,  26 ). In this way, the height adjustment of the head support and the shoulder belts are combined in an easy way. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, the child seat whereby during height adjustment of the head support ( 3 ,  4 ,  26 ) a catch ( 31 ) moves relative to gaps ( 33 ) and whereby tension in the shoulder belt ( 22 ) prevents movement of the catch. In this way, the height of the head support cannot change during a collision. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiments by means of a drawing, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a child seat with a seat support and a seat frame in a reclined position with belts, 
         FIG. 2  shows the child seat of  FIG. 1  whereby the seat frame is in upright position and without belts, 
         FIG. 3  shows a section of the child seat of  FIG. 1  whereby the seat frame is in reclined position and a head support in its highest position, 
         FIG. 4  shows a detail of  FIG. 3 , in particular the height fixation of the head support, 
         FIG. 5  shows a section of the child seat of  FIG. 2  whereby the seat frame is in upright position and the head support is in its lowest position, 
         FIG. 6  shows a section of a diagonal bar of the seat support, 
         FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of the child seat similar to the seat shown in  FIG. 2  whereby the child seat is fixed on a base that can be fixed in a car, and 
         FIG. 8  shows in interrupted thin lines a perspective view of the child seat similar to the seat as shown in  FIG. 2  or  7  and in full lines the course of the car belt that holds the child seat in a fixed position on a back seat of a car. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The  FIGS. 1-6  illustrate the various positions of use and parts of a child seat  1 . The child seat  1  has a seat support  7  that can be positioned on a seat in a car or on a base  52  (see  FIG. 7 ) that can be mounted on the seat in the car. A seat frame  12  is coupled to the seat support  7  in such a way that the seat frame  12  can make a tilting movement in a direction  17 . For this the seat frame  12  has at its bottom coupling ridges  44  that hold a coupling pin  45  that is held in and can slide in slots  39  of a guide plates  38 . The guide plates  38  are mounted in the seat support  7  near a support bottom  8 . For positioning the coupling pin  45  in the slots  39  the coupling pin  45  is coupled by brackets  43  to a positioning pin  42  which a spring (not shown) pushes in a positioning gap  41  and so positions the coupling pin  45  in the longitudinal direction of the slot  39 . A tilt handle  14  moves via tilt arms  46  the brackets  43  and can move the positioning pin  42  free from a positioning gap  41  so that the coupling pin  45  can move in the longitudinal direction of the slot  39  and the seat frame  12  can move in a direction  17 . 
     The seat frame  12  has a seat back  37  and a pin  30  fastened to the top of the seat back  37  and can slide in a bracket  29  that is fastened to the top of a support back  34  that is part of the seat support  7 . Movement of the seat frame  12  in the direction  17  causes the coupling pin  45  to slide in the slot  39  and the pin  30  to slide in the bracket  29 . In case of a collision of the car in which the child seat  1  is mounted the forward movement of the child is stopped by tension in shoulder belts  22 . The shoulder belts  22  will pull the seat back  37  forward and the seat back  37  will pull via the bracket  29  the support back  34  forward. In order to limit the forward movement of the child in such a situation as much as possible the forward movement of the support back  34  must be limited as much as possible. For this the support back  34  is fastened at its top to an upper reinforcement bar  4 . Diagonal bars  6  at each side of the seat frame  12  between the reinforcement bar  4  and the support bottom  8  support the reinforcement bar  4  and prevents deformation of the support back  34 . The diagonal bar  6  is placed at a distance in front of the lower part of the support back  34  so that there is an opening  62  between the diagonal bar  6  and the seat back  34 . Preferably, the diagonal bar  6  is tube shaped with a wall  49  and can be filled with foam filling  48 . In order to save space the diagonal bar  6  has a rectangular shape with rounded and/or oval corners. Its height is preferably at least three times its width so that the total width of the child seat  1  hardly in-creases. The diagonal bars  6  are placed as much forward as possible so that they also protect the child from objects that might move during a collision towards the child. Examples are parts of the car or its door at the side of the child seat  1  that move in case of a side impact towards the child seat  1 . 
     The seat frame  12  has at its bottom a seat cushion  13  and each side of the seat cushion  13  a seat side support  11  that limits sideways movement of the child. The seat back  37  has a back cushion  36  for supporting the child and side support cushions  23  limit sideways movement of the child. The diagonal bars  6  limit the sideways movement of the side support  11  and the side support cushion  23 . In addition to limiting sideways movements of the child in the child seat  1  the diagonal bars  6  protect the child in case of a side impact. For limiting injuries of a child when it collides against parts of the child seat  1  the various parts and cushions are soft, for instance covered in or made of foam. Also the diagonal bars have a flexible surface  21  that reduces injuries. 
     A harness positions the child in the seat frame  12 . In this embodiment as is usual in the art, the harness has two shoulder belts  22  that are in length adjustable. There are two hip belts  20  coupled to the seat frame  12  and a crotch belt  19  connected to the seat frame  12  through an opening  18  in the seat cushion  13 . The belts  19 ,  20 ,  22  are coupled to a buckle  25 , which can be opened for loosening the belts and removing the child from the seat frame  12  or closed for placing and fixating the child in the seat frame  12 . Each shoulder belt  22  runs to the side of the back of the seat frame  12  through a belt opening  2 . A coupling plate  35  couples the shoulder belts  22  at the side of the back of the seat back  37 . An adjustment belt  15  runs from the coupling plate  35  through an opening  47  to an adjustment knob  16  at the front of the seat frame  12 . For adjusting the harness to the length of the child the adjustment knob  16  is used to adjust the length of the adjustment belt  15  and therewith the length of the shoulder belts  22 . 
     For protecting the head of the child in the child seat  1  a head support is attached to the seat frame  12 . The head support has a head support shell  26  with a slide groove  27  that can slide over a rail  28  that extends above the seat back  37 . The head support shell  26  can be moved upwards or downwards relative to the seat cushion  13  in order to adapt the height of the head support to the length of the child. A head support centre cushion  3  is mounted against the centre of the head support shell  26 . The head support centre cushion  3  continuous at the sides as a head support side cushion  24 . At the outside, this cushion  24  is supported and protected by the diagonal bar  6 . The head support side cushion  24  is relatively thick so that it limits the sideway movements of the child&#39;s head. 
     In order to maintain the shoulder belts  22  at the correct height relative to head and shoulders of the child the shoulder belts  22  are guided through belt openings  2  so that they move upwards and downwards with the head support. The head support is fixed at a certain height with a ratchet that is explained hereafter. The head support shell  26  is provided with ridges  63  in which there is a more or less triangular positioning opening  32  through which a positioning pin  31  is guided. A spring (not shown) pulls the positioning pin  31  towards the head support shell  26  in one of its corners. The seat back  37  is provided with positioning gaps  33 , which fit around the positioning pin  31  so that the position of the positioning pin  31  is fixed and therewith the height of the head support shell  26 . When the head support shell  26  is moved for instance downwards the positioning opening  32  moves to position  32 ′, shown with interrupted lines in  FIG. 4 , and lifts the positioning pin  31  out of the positioning gap  33  so that the head support can move further downwards where after the positioning pin  31  is pulled by the spring in the next positioning gap  33 . In this way, the height of the head support shell  26  can be adapted easily. As the shoulder belt  22  is looped around the positioning pin  31  tension in the shoulder belt  22  prevents lifting the positioning pin  31  out of the positioning gap  33 , so that in case of a collision the head support shell  26  maintains its height and maintains the protection of the child. 
     The child seat  1  can be fastened in a car by using the three-point belt of the car as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . For this the support bottom  8  has at its front a hip belt guide  10  for supporting a hip belt loop  61 . A hip belt clamp  9  positions the hip belt loop  61  relative to the child seat  1  and on one side of the child seat the hip belt ends at a hip belt fastener  60  and at the other side of the child seat the hip belt ends at a buckle  55 . At the top of the seat support  7  there is on each side a shoulder belt clamp  5 . The shoulder belt clamp  5  guides the shoulder belt of the car in a shoulder belt loop  57  around the upper reinforcement bar  4  and from the shoulder belt clamp  5  either upwards as a shoulder belt upper part  58  to a shoulder belt fastener  59  or downwards as a shoulder belt lower part  56  to the buckle  55 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  the base  52  can fasten the child seat  1  in the car. The base  52  has hooks  51  that connect to braces mounted in the car. The base  52  can be carried using a handle  53 . For connecting the child seat  1  to the base  52  the support bottom  8  has a flange  40  around which hooks mounted in the base  52  (not shown) can grip when a handle  54  is activated and so pull the child seat  1  on the base  52 . For further preventing unwanted forward tilting of the child seat  1  relative to the base  52  the base  52  can have a hook (not shown) that grips the support bottom  8  a ridge  50 .