Abstract:
The present invention discloses a garment that is designed to prevent a child in a car-seat from removing his or her arms from the shoulder straps that are part of the modern 5-point harness system found in most car-seats. The garment is configured like a jacket, through the front of which the shoulder straps are threaded, allowing for access to the front closure hasp of the harness and ensuring the closure hasp is across the upper chest, while comfortably restricting the child&#39;s movement out of the straps by virtue of the sleeves of the garment which are now made part of the harness system itself.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Many parents of children have dealt with the struggle and unsafe situation that is created by a child who is easily able to wriggle out of the harness system that keeps the child in his or her car seat. While the harness system in newer-model car seats is intended to keep the child in the seat, even if the straps of the harness are securely fastened, more agile children are able to bring their arms out from under the straps and create a dangerous situation that can distract the driver of the car and cause potential harm to the child. In addition, many parents unknowingly place the chest closure of a typical 5-point harness system too low on their child, and not on the upper chest, where manufacturers recommend the closure be placed for maximum safety. What is needed is a solution to these problems that is cost-effective, safe, and compatible with most car seats. 
     Previous attempts at solving this problem have been made. U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,439 discloses a garment for use in a car seat, yet does not provide for the integration of the car seat straps within the garment itself. U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,371 discloses a type of vest to be used with a seat belt, but is not specially configured to fit the modern 5-point child seat harness system. Also, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2005/0017566 discloses an outerwear jacket made to be worn in cold weather, which facilitates the placing of car seat straps around the jacket without having to remove the outerwear thus subjecting the wearer to cold. However, this reference suffers from disadvantages, among them being the fact that the jacket assembly is complicated and not specifically directed to the problem above. 
     The present disclosure, however, relates to a jacket-type garment which remains in the car seat at all times and attached to the harness system of the seat. The garment is then ready at all times, and is put on a child when in the car seat to secure the child&#39;s arms in the seat. The harness system is then fastened as recommended by the manufacturer of the car seat, and the child, because the garment is attached to the harness system and retains the child within the garment, cannot remove his or her arms from the garment and also, by extension, the car seat harness straps. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to a garment that satisfies the above-stated need, which is to provide a means whereby a child cannot wriggle out of a car seat. The invention comprises a jacket-type garment without a front closure that consists of closed sleeves, and is of a size large enough to admit the torso and arms of the child for whom the car seat is required. The front of the garment consists of four attached admittances for the shoulder straps of the typical 5-point child seat harness, the admittances located two on each side of the front opening of the jacket, one above the other. These admittances allow for the shoulder strap portion of the 5-point harness to be threaded through them, which makes the jacket a permanent addition to the harness system. The admittances are in pairs of two such that the closure hasp between the two shoulder straps is still exposed and available for securing once the child has been placed in the garment. The remainder of the 5-point harness system—the two leg straps and the associated buckle located on the crotch strap—is then still available to be fastened as without the garment. 
     The shoulder straps of the harness can be threaded through the garment for initial placement by using the same process as the manufacturer of the car seat recommends for moving the straps between slots in the back of the car seat (for height adjustment). The straps are unhooked from the rear of the car seat, and then threaded through the admittances of the garment, which admittances are made wide enough to also allow the closure hasp to pass through on the way to its final position between the two admittances on each side of the front opening of the garment. The straps are then passed through the slots on the back of the car seat, and reattached in the back of the seat. 
     To place the child in the newly-equipped child seat, the child is seated in the car seat as usual, and then her arms are placed in the sleeves of the garment so that she is now wearing the garment. The closure hasp in the front of the garment is then fastened, and the bottom part of the 5-point assembly is fastened as usual. This unique approach to the problem of a child slipping her arms out from underneath her shoulder straps now restricts the movement of the child&#39;s arms since the placement of the shoulder straps through the garments does not allow her to move her arms under the straps. This keeps the child in her car seat, appropriately and comfortably restrained by the 5-point harness. To remove the child from the car seat, the harnesses are unfastened and the child is assisted in removing her arms from the sleeves of the garment. The garment remains in place on the car seat. 
     Of course, various different configurations of the described garment are possible and anticipated by this application. The garment may be made of different colors and patterns suitable for use by children of different sexes, and may also be made of different weights of material for the different seasons of the year or for comfort in various climates. The sleeves of the garment may be also full or short, the front of the garment may have different types of closures (or none at all), and the garment may be fabricated in different sizes to be comfortable for children of various heights and weights. Likewise, the admittances for the shoulder straps on the garment may also be of different configurations, such as consisting of one piece of sewn-on material with a cut-out for the closure hasp along each side of the jacket instead of the aforementioned two pieces, as long as the primary purpose of the invention is retained. 
     Some special advantages that are inherent in the design of this garment include that this will make seating special-needs children in car seats a more comfortable and secure experience, as well as the fact that the design of the admittances for the shoulder straps of the car seat will allow the chest closure of the car seat harness system to be located in the correct place. Many parents neglect to adjust this clasp to be in the recommended position, which is up on the upper chest of the child, and instead allow the clasp to be closed along the lower chest or even stomach of the child. By using the space in between the shoulder strap admittances on the garment, the chest clasp is located in the correct and safest position, ensuring the child&#39;s safety and comfort in the seat. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: 
         FIG. 1  shows a view of the garment as it appears from the front; 
         FIG. 2  depicts the garment as properly placed on the straps of a car seat; and 
         FIG. 3  depicts the garment in usage on a child when placed in the car seat. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     The garment  70  can be constructed of various materials, and may be assembled in a variety of ways. For purposes of this application, the garment  70  will be referred to as being constructed of different parts as follows, as depicted in  FIG. 1 : two sleeves  10  may be long or short, and are attached permanently to a back piece  25  of the garment  70 , and to front sides  30  of the garment  70 , each front side  30  is also connected permanently to the back piece  30  so as to resemble a typical button-up shirt or jacket. A collar  15  may be optional depending on comfort and design considerations, and the garment  70  may also be made of different colors to accommodate children of different sexes or of different sizes to accommodate children of different heights and weights. The front sides  30  may be connected with an optional closure  31  (not pictured) which may be a zipper, button and buttonholes, hooks and eyes, or any other suitable closure method. 
     To each of the front sides  30  is attached permanently an additional piece of material which has the function of receiving the chest straps  35  from the car seat  75 , as depicted in  FIG. 2 . These additional pieces of material are depicted in  FIG. 1  as being composed of a left upper piece  20 , a left lower piece  21 , a right upper piece  22 , and a right lower piece  23 , each of which is permanently sewn or attached to the front sides  30  on the sides parallel to the edges of the front sides  30  so as to admit vertically the chest straps  35  of the car seat  75 . It is also conceivable and possible to consolidate the left upper piece  20  and left lower piece  21  (and separately, the right upper piece  22  and the right lower piece  23 ) into one long vertical piece of material, permanently attached as aforementioned except for an opening in the sewing alongside the interior of the front side  30  so as to admit the closure hasp  40  of the car seat  75  to remain exposed for fastening. Each of these additional pieces of material  20 - 23  should be wide enough so that, after being permanently attached to the garment  70  along the left and right edges, they are able to accept the full width of the chest straps  35  of the car seat  75  as well as the closure hasp  40  so that the chest straps  35  can be threaded through the material pieces  20 - 23  without undue difficulty. The chest straps  35  are also designed to be located across the wearer&#39;s upper chest, which is where most car seat manufacturers recommend the chest closure hasp  40  be placed for the child&#39;s safety. The design of the garment  70  thus also ensures that the car seat harness system is fastened correctly on the wearer. 
     Most car seats  75  are provided with multiple openings  80  in the back of the seat (as depicted in  FIG. 2 ) to allow the chest straps  35  to be moved up and down in order to accommodate the changing height of a growing child. In accordance with the procedure which the manufacturer of the car seat  75  has proposed for making these adjustments, the chest straps  35  are generally disconnected from the rear of the car seat  75  which allows them to be threaded into the desired opening  80  in the back of the seat. Using this procedure, the chest straps  35  may be threaded through the material pieces  20 - 23  and then passed through the openings  80  in the back of the seat and then reconnected securely in the rear of the seat  75 . This then makes the garment  70  a permanent part of the car seat  75 , and is left in the car seat  75  until the user desires to remove the garment  70  by reversing the aforementioned procedure. The presence of the garment  70  does not impede nor diminish the effectiveness or safety of the 5-point harness system present in most modern car seats  75  as the closure hasp  40  remains available for fastening and as the garment  70  does not impede the function of the left buckle  50  and right buckle  51  located on the lower ends of the chest straps  35  as they are fastened into the buckle receiver  52  located on the crotch strap  45  of the car seat  75 . As long as all buckles and straps are positioned and fastened correctly as recommended by the car seat manufacturer, there is no risk to the child properly using the garment  70 . 
     Once the garment  70  is placed into the car seat  75  as depicted in  FIG. 2 , the child is now ready to be placed in the car seat as depicted in  FIG. 3 . The child&#39;s arms  55  are placed through the sleeves  10  of the garment  70 , and then the closure hasp  40  is closed and locked and the left buckle  50  and right buckle  51  are placed into the buckle receiver  52  located on the crotch strap  45 . With the child&#39;s arms  55  placed into the garment  70 , the child is now unable to slip his arms  55  out from under the chest straps  35  due to the attachment of the garment  70  to the chest straps  35 . Without the presence of the garment  70 , an agile child can place their arms  55  under the chest straps  35  if the straps are loose or improperly placed, or if the child wriggles enough to accomplish it. The garment  70  thus serves its purpose in comfortably preventing the child&#39;s arms  55  from reaching this undesirable position, and has the additional benefits of being warm if designed for winter use and being difficult for a child to remove without the assistance of an adult. The previously described versions of the present invention have many advantages, including that the garment is cost-effective, likely costing no more than a jacket of similar size and material weight would in the retail arena; safe in that it does not impede or frustrate the purpose of the 5-point harness system located in most modern car seats; and effective in that it prevents the problem described above of an agile child removing her arms from the straps of a car seat and causing a dangerous and distracting problem to herself and the other passengers in the vehicle. Of course, the garment does not require that all the advantageous features and all the advantages need to be incorporated into every embodiment of the invention, but what has been presented is what is believed to be the best mode of all possible versions of the invention. 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other variations are possible. For example, the garment  70  may be made from different patterns of material or adapted to use with other varieties of car seats, such as those not incorporating a 5-point harness system. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.