Abstract:
A child restraint for use with aircraft seats wherein the restraint is a one-piece shell-like body having integrally formed bottom and side walls that support the child and which permit nesting of the seats for compact storage.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Safety seats or other restraint systems suitable for protecting young children from injury during transport in moving vehicles have, in the past, taken many forms. Generally adapted for transport in automobiles, the restraint devices have been bulky and cumbersome to relocate once installed into the automobile. Such existing seat safety structures are difficult to use when a child is to occupy an aircraft seat and cannot be conveniently stored, because the construction does not permit integration of individual seat-type restraints into a volume less than a multiple of the volume required by each restraint. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present child restraint seat is one that can readily be used in conjunction with existing aircraft seats and seat restraints, specifically, the usual lap belt. It is also configured to be stored in nested or stacked condition, so that it can be stored on board aircraft, for use when required. 
     Broadly, the child restraint seat of this invention is a unitary or one-piece molded shell-like body which has flared or sloping side walls that enable a plurality of seats to be nested, one on top of the other. This construction enables a plurality of seats to be stored in a volume that is significantly more compact than is possible with prior existing constructions. The molded shell-like body has openings located at selected sites through which the customary aircraft lap belt can be threaded to secure the shell-like body to the aircraft seat. The location of the openings permits the shell-like body to be placed either in a forward facing direction or in a rearward facing direction, as desired. Alternatively, the child restraint seat can be placed on an adult&#39;s lap and the aircraft safety belt used to both secure the adult and simultaneously secure the child restraint seat. Additional openings are located at appropriate sites through the shell for mounting a child restraint harness and a cushion on the shell-like body. The invention can be further understood by reference to the accompanying specification and drawings, in which: 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  in a front perspective of the child restraint seat mounted on an aircraft passenger seat; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective showing the back side of the seat of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation of the child restraint showing a child in the safety seat in a rear-facing position; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective illustrating a plurality of stacked restraint seats; and 
         FIG. 5  is an end elevation, partly in section of the stack shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     To more clearly define the invention, reference is made first to  FIG. 1  of the drawings where the numeral  10  identifies a one piece molded, shell-like body that is shaped to support a child and to also be stackable. Body  10  has a first upwardly extending shell portion  11  that defines a first surface  12  that is shaped to support a child&#39;s upper body part. Extending downwardly from the first supporting surface  12  is a second shell portion  15  which has a second surface  16  capable of supporting a child&#39;s lower body part. Extending upwardly and outwardly at an obtuse angle, and for a preselected length from the first and second support surfaces  12  and  16  are integral support flanges  20  and  21  that are present to provide support against lateral movement of the child&#39;s body. 
     First and second sidewalls  22  and  23  (see  FIG. 2 ) are formed integrally with the first and second shell support flanges  20  and  21  and extend outwardly and downwardly from the support flanges a preselected length which is greater than the length of the support flanges and at an acute angle with respect thereto. The side walls thus extend outwardly and downwardly at an acute angle to permit the shell like bodies to be stored in nested relationship. Located at the lower end of second shell portion  15  are openings  25  that are located at a preselected distance away from the first shell portion  11 . The selected distance is one at which the safety belt  26  will exert pressure on the body  10  that urges the body  10  down against the aircraft seat and rearwardly against the aircraft seat back. The openings  25  are present in order that an aircraft seat safety belt  26  can be passed through the lower part of the one piece shell-like body  10  to secure the shell to an aircraft seat. It should be noted that the position of the body  10  as shown in  FIG. 1  is located in a rearward facing position but that the position of the shell-like body could be reversed so that the concave part of the shell would be facing forwardly with respect to the back of the aircraft seat, as indicated by the dotted lines  27 . 
     Structure has been provided in the shell-like body  10  to permit the mounting of a pad  35  and a restraint harness  36  that will hold a child&#39;s body in position within shell-like body  10 . The mounting of the cushion and of the safety harness is enabled by the formation of a plurality of openings  37  through which the straps can pass. The straps are secured together on the rear side of support surfaces  12  and  16  as shown in  FIG. 2  of the drawings.  FIG. 3  illustrates an aircraft seat  40  (illustrated by broken lines) which shows the manner in which a child  41  would be supported on the shell-like body  10  in a rear facing position. As can be seen the usual aircraft safety lap belt  26  is responsible for maintaining the child restraint seat in mounted position. 
       FIG. 4  shows the manner in which a plurality of shells  10  would be superimposed one upon the other in nested or stacked condition for storage either on the ground or in a suitable space on board the aircraft for use as needed.  FIG. 5  shows an end view, partially in section, of the shell body  10  of  FIG. 5  as it would appear in the nested condition when in storage.