Abstract:
A non-freestanding child seat for use with in underlying seat or other support structure. The child seat is well-suited for use with “spectator” seats such as those found at sport event, theatres, and performing arts venues. The child seat may including a flexible member that is placed over and/or attached to an underlying seat or other structure. A child seat platform is attached to the flexible member and configured for position adjustment among other features.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/500,439, filed Sep. 4, 2003, and having the same title and inventor(s) as above. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to non-freestanding child seats. Child seats in accordance with the present invention are particularly well suited for use on “spectator” of “stadium” seating, e.g., the type of seating found at sporting events, theatres and/or other events, performances or venues, though the seat may be used with any suitable support structure.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Various child seats are known in the art, including child seats that are free-standing and child seats that are not non-freestanding child seats, i.e., made for attachment to a support structure of some type. Prior art child seats include those that offer protection from injury, such as vehicle safety seats, and those that permit a child to be seated at a desired height, such as table height for feeding and participating in family meals.  
         [0004]     Representative prior art child seats include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,641,953 issued to Abraham for a Convertible Baby Seat; U.S. Pat. No. 1,742,822 issued to Olson for an Auxiliary Seat for Automobiles; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,860 issued to Smith for a Collapsible Child Seat.  
         [0005]     While providing some beneficial aspects, prior art child seats (particularly non-freestanding seats) are disadvantageous for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the following: limited or no adjustability of seat height or position; limited or constrained seat attachment mechanisms which defeat more universal application; and the absence of a mechanism for keeping the chair (or other structure) to which the child seat is attached free of dirt and debris, such as dirt from the child&#39;s shoes or foodstuff dropped by the child. This latter problem is a major concern at stadiums, theatres and other public venues.  
         [0006]     The present invention overcomes these disadvantages aspects and provides additional benefits.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a child seat that is suitable for use with spectator seating and other support structures.  
         [0008]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a child seat that is readily adjustable and/or configured for more universal use, relative to prior art seats.  
         [0009]     It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a child seat that is lightweight, portable and/or capable of manufacture in a cost-efficient manner.  
         [0010]     These and related objects of the present invention are achieved by use of an adjustable non-freestanding child seat as described herein.  
         [0011]     In one aspect, a non-freestanding child seat apparatus of the present invention may include a cover member made of a flexible material and having a back portion configured to cover at least part of the back of a sitting structure and a seat portion configured to cover the seat of the sitting structure. The child seat may also include a seat platform adjustably coupled to said back portion, and an attachment mechanism for releasably coupling the back portion to a sitting structure.  
         [0012]     In another aspect, a non-freestanding child seat apparatus of the present invention may include a member made of flexible material that is configured for releasable attachment to a sitting structure and to fit over and descend from at least a portion of a sitting structure. The child seat may also include a seat platform coupled to the flexible member in a manner that permits adjustment of the height of the seat platform, and an attachment mechanism for releasably coupling the flexible member to a sitting structure.  
         [0013]     In yet another aspect, a non-freestanding child seat apparatus of the present invention may include a member made of flexible material that is configured for releasable attachment to a sitting structure and to fit over and descend from at least a portion of a sitting structure. The child seat may also include a seat platform coupled to the flexible member, and an attachment mechanism that releasably couples the flexible member to a sitting structure, the attachment member including a first type of fastening member that functions based on gravity and a second type of fastening member that functions based on mated-coupling.  
         [0014]     The attainment of the foregoing and related advantages and features of the invention should be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art, after review of the following more detailed description of the invention taken together with the drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIGS. 1-2  are perspective views of a non-freestanding child seat in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of part of the child seat of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIGS. 4-6  illustrates components of the child seat of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , a front perspective view and a back perspective view of an adjustable, non-freestanding child seat  10  in accordance with the present invention are shown. Seat  10  is shown as it might appear in use (when fitted over a chair or other structure, though that chair or other structure is not shown).  
         [0019]     Seat  10  includes a support and shield member  20  (“support member  20 ”), a seat  40 , and a plurality of straps and buckles. Support member  20  may be a continuous member that includes a first section  21  which fits over the back of a chair and a second section  22  which fits over the seat of a chair. Note that the term chair is used here to avoid confusion with the word seat. As used in the present discussion, the word seat is generally intended to mean the part of a sitting structure that a person typically sits on. Chair is intended to mean any sitting structure, such as a theatre seat, etc., whether it is coupled to or separate from other sitting structures.  
         [0020]     First section  21  includes front and back flaps  23 - 24  that respectively cover the front and back sides of a chair back. An anchor member  25  ( FIG. 2 ) securely attaches first section  21  (and support member  20 ) to the back or base of a chair. Straps  51 , 52  are coupled to back flap  24  and respectively terminate at releasable buckles  53 - 54  which are coupled to front flap  23 . This arrangements permits the coupling of the front and back flaps over a chair back. The buckles  53 - 54  are preferably adjustable permitting a user to cinch the flaps together tightly and hold flap  23  proximate a chair back.  
         [0021]     Second section  22  includes a top and bottom flap  28 - 29 , respectively, that cover or “shield” the seat of a chair. Straps  61 , 62  are coupled to top flap  28  and respectively terminate at releasable buckles  63 - 64  which are coupled to bottom flap  29 . This arrangements permits the coupling of the front and back flaps over a chair seat. Furthermore, straps  61 , 62  may be provided in a location where they attach behind a chair leg or a bend in the chair seat, thereby anchoring section  22  in position over the chair seat.  
         [0022]     Seat  40  is preferably made of a flexible material with added reinforcement, though it may be made in other configurations (e.g., the seat may be substantially inflexible, a planar sheet preferably covered with padding, or the like). In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , seat  40  is mounted to support structure  20  by four straps  71 - 74  and corresponding buckles  75 - 78 . The buckles may be adjustable to permit adjustment of the front and/or back of seat  40  to establish a desired tilt (seat position) and a desired seat height.  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates anchor member  25  and adjustable buckle  64 , among other components discussed with reference to  FIG. 1  and labeled with their appropriate reference number.  
         [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a plan view of child seat  10  of  FIGS. 1-2  without seat  40  and in an unfolded position is shown. Support member  20  is preferable a flexible, foldable material that when laid flat may have a configuration as shown in  FIG. 3 , though other configurations are possible without deviating from the present invention. First and second sections  21 , 22  include their respective flaps  23 - 24  and  28 - 29 . The arrangement of straps  51 , 52 , 61 , 62 , 71 - 74  and buckles  53 , 54 , 63 , 64  may be as shown.  
         [0025]     Support member  20  may be made of nylon material, such as 300-400 denier nylon, or another suitable material. The straps may be made of commercially available nylon or other suitable material. Suitable buckles  53 , 54 , 63 , 64  are known and available commercially. The straps and buckle attachment members may be sown to support member  20  via industry known sewing techniques or joined in another suitable manner or fabricated as an integral part of the support member, etc. The dashed lines in straps  71 , 72  indicate where each strap is bent back to hold its respective seat attachment buckle.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIGS. 4-5 , an exploded view and an assembled plan view of seat  40  in accordance with the present invention is shown. Seat  40 , in one embodiment, may include a top and a bottom member  41 , 42  that cover cushioning material  43 . Buckles  75 - 78  are coupled to seat  40  and may be attached to the seat in the same sewing operation that joins top and bottom members  41 , 42  around cushioning material  43 . Attachment members or straps  85 - 88  are shown coupled to one portion of each buckle  75 - 78 .  
         [0027]     Structural reinforcement members may also be provided to enhance the structural integrity of the seat, particularly when in use. In one embodiment, a plurality of rods  47 , fiberglass or other, are provided in sheaths or pockets  45  formed by the attachment of strips of appropriate material (such as nylon or other suitable material) to seat  40 . The pockets  45  may be formed in a non-sealed or releasably sealed manner such that the support members  47  may be removed for more compact storage or laundering, etc.  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  illustrates the seat of  FIG. 4  with the various components provided in their appropriate position and secured in those positions. Component securing may be achieved by sewing, glue, heat sealing, a combination of these techniques and/or by any other suitable securing means. Velcro®, buttons, zippers or other release fasteners may be used for releasable openings.  
         [0029]     The appropriate straps and bracket halves are then added to seat  40  and it may then be attached to support member  20  of  FIG. 3  (i.e., clipped into) to achieve the child seat  10  of  FIGS. 1-2 .  
         [0030]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , one of many seat belt arrangements in accordance with the present invention is shown. Seat belt assembly  90  may be much like a child safety harness used in a child car seat. In one embodiment, it includes a buckle unit  90  having two adjustable buckles  91 , 92  for respective coupling of over the shoulder safely straps  93 , 94 . These straps  93 , 94  may couple to support member  20 . The other part of unit  90  may be coupled through straps  95  to the underside of seat  40  or another suitable location. An adjustable and/or releasable buckle  96  may be provided in this strap.  
         [0031]     In closing, it should be recognized that the child seat  10  described herein may include a fully-adjustable seat  40  having a plurality of adjustable attachment straps, and be configured for securing to a wide variety of chairs or other structures. The child seat may also include a section that protects the underlying chair, seat or other structure to which child seat  10  is mounted. Made of a flexible material, child seat  10  may be easily folded into a relatively small, inconspicuous volume, and may be readily laundered.  
         [0032]     While the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth, and as fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims.