Abstract:
An adjustable harness and a chair therewith are disclosed. The adjustable harness includes an attachment component, an adjustment component, and a shoulder strap. The attachment component is fixedly disposed on a backrest of a chair. The adjustment component is disposed on the attachment component and capable of being operated to move relative to the attachment component. An end of the shoulder strap is connected to the adjustment component. Thereby, the attachment component and the adjustment component function as an adjustment mechanism, by which a user can simply and fast adjust the shoulder strap, so as to solve the problem of tediousness and time consuming in adjusting restraint systems in the prior art.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/629,224, which was filed on Nov. 15, 2011, and is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to a chair with safety harness, and especially relates to an adjustable harness and a chair therewith. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    High chairs provide a safe and comfortable sitting area that can be used for feeding, crafting activities or simply containing an infant or small child for a period of time. Because of the nature of an elevated seating area, a high chair is usually required to contain a safety restraint system that is adjustable for a certain range in height and weight of infants and children. In addition, restraint systems often contain removable infant inserts for comfort and are currently adjusted by weaving the shoulder straps in and out of slots molded into the backrest which can be tedious and time consuming. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    An objective of the invention is to provide an adjustable harness, installed on a chair. The adjustable harness uses a vertical adjustment mechanism for adjusting shoulder straps thereof simply and fast. 
         [0007]    The adjustable harness includes an attachment component, an adjustment component, and a shoulder strap. The attachment component is fixedly disposed on a backrest of the chair. The adjustment component is disposed on the attachment component and capable of being operated to move relative to the attachment component. An end of the shoulder strap is connected to the adjustment component. Thereby, the attachment component and the adjustment component function as an adjustment mechanism. A user can simply and fast operate the adjustment component in coordination with the attachment component to perform adjusting of the shoulder strap, so as to solve the problem of tediousness and time consuming in adjusting restraint systems in the prior art. 
         [0008]    Another objective of the invention is to provide a chair having adjustable harness. Similarly, a user can adjust shoulder straps of the chair simply and fast. 
         [0009]    The chair comprises a backrest, an attachment component, an adjustment component, and a shoulder strap. The attachment component is fixedly disposed on the backrest. The adjustment component is disposed on the attachment component and capable of being operated to move relative to the attachment component. An end of the shoulder strap is connected to the adjustment component. Similarly, the attachment component and the adjustment component function as an adjustment mechanism; a user can adjust the shoulder strap simply and fast by operating the adjustment mechanism. 
         [0010]    These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a chair with an adjustable harness of a first preferred embodiment according to the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a part of the adjustable harness in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating the backside of a backrest of the chair in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the adjustment component of the adjustable harness in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram illustrating a shoulder strap is pulled substantially parallel to an attachment strap of the adjustable harness in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating the shoulder strap is pulled non-parallel to the attachment strap of the adjustable harness in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram illustrating the chair in  FIG. 1  equipped with an infant insert. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating the chair equipped with an infant insert according to another embodiment. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating the chair equipped with an infant insert according to another embodiment. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram illustrating a part of the chair with an adjustable harness of a second preferred embodiment according to the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram illustrating a part of the chair with an adjustable harness of a third preferred embodiment according to the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram illustrating the backside of the backrest of the chair in  FIG. 11 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram illustrating a part of a chair further with a recliner handle of a fourth preferred embodiment according to the invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram illustrating the backside of a backrest of the chair in  FIG. 13 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 15  is a schematic diagram illustrating the backside of a backrest of the chair in  FIG. 13  with a different resilient member. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]    Please refer to  FIGS. 1 through 3 .  FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a chair  1  with an adjustable harness  2  of a first preferred embodiment according to the invention.  FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a part of the adjustable harness  2 .  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating the backside of a backrest  12  of the chair  1 . The adjustable harness  2  is installed on the chair  1  and includes two attachment components  22 , two adjustment components  24 , and two shoulder straps  26 , and other required components. Each shoulder strap  26  corresponds to one attachment  22  and one adjustment components  24 . The attachment component  22  is fixedly disposed on the backrest  12 . The adjustment component  24  is disposed on the corresponding attachment component  22  and capable of being operated to move relative to the corresponding attachment component  22 . An end of the shoulder strap  26  is connected to the corresponding adjustment component, so as to capable of being moved together with the corresponding attachment component  22 . Thereby, a user can simply and fast operate the adjustment component in coordination with the corresponding attachment component to perform adjusting of the corresponding shoulder strap  26 . 
         [0027]    In the embodiment, the attachment component  22  includes an attachment strap  222  and two retainers  224  at the two ends of the attachment strap  222 . The retainers  224  can be made by means of a butterfly sewing method, but the invention is not limited thereto. The backrest  12  has keyed slots  122  corresponding to the retainers  224 . The two ends of attachment strap  222  are mounted on the backrest  12  by inserting the retainers  224  into the corresponding keyed slots  122 . The attachment strap  222  passes through the adjustment component  24 . 
         [0028]    Please also refer to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the adjustment component  24 . The adjustment component  24  includes a tri-glide buckle  242  and a pulling tab  244 . The attachment strap  222  is woven through three bars  242   a,    242   b  and  242   c  of the tri-glide buckle  242 . The end of the shoulder strap  26  is attached by sewing onto the lower one  242   a  of the three bars  242   a,    242   b  and  242   c  of the tri-glide buckle  242 . The pulling tab  244  is attached by sewing onto the upper one  242   c  of the three bars  242   a,    242   b  and  242   c  of the tri-glide buckle  242 . Thereby, the shoulder straps  26  can move together with the tri-glide buckles  242  without detaching the adjustable harness  2  from the backrest  12 . 
         [0029]    Please refer to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  for the movement mechanism of the tri-glide buckle  242 .  FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram illustrating the shoulder strap  26  is pulled substantially parallel to the attachment strap  222 .  FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating the shoulder strap  26  is pulled non-parallel to the attachment strap  222 . The pulling direction is indicated by an arrow in the figures. When the tri-glide buckle  242  is applied with a force substantially parallel to the attachment strap  222  away from the tri-glide buckle  242 , the tri-glide buckle  242  can slide on the attachment strap  222  for adjusting the shoulder strap  26 . In practice, the parallel force can be produced by pulling the shoulder strap  26  downward (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) or pulling the pulling tab  244  upward. Therein, the pulling tab  244  can assist with an upward adjustment of the tri-glide buckle  242 . 
         [0030]    In another aspect, when the tri-glide buckle  242  is applied with a force non-parallel to the attachment strap  222  away from the tri-glide buckle  242 , the tri-glide buckle  242  can locks the attachment strap  222  for maintaining the relative position of the shoulder strap  26  to the attachment component  22 . In practice, the non-parallel force can be produced by pulling the shoulder strap  26  upward, as shown in  FIG. 6 . In a practical application, the shoulder strap  26  is wound around the front of the child seated on the chair  1 , so that the shoulder strap  26  is connected to the tri-glide buckle  242  non-parallel to the attachment strap  222 . If the child wants to get out of the chair  1 , the shoulder strap  26  will be dragged by the child to pull the tri-glide buckle  242  with a force non-parallel to the attachment strap  222 . Such non-parallel force makes the tri-glide buckle  242  lock the attachment strap  222 , so the child can be firmly seated on the chair  1  for safety. 
         [0031]    In addition, an infant insert  3  can be attached behind the tri-glide buckle  242  by means of weaving the adjustable harness  2  through button holes formed on the infant insert  3  and fixing the infant insert  3  between the tri-glide buckle  242  and the attachment strap  222  opposite to the shoulder strap  26 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . Because the infant insert  3  is disposed opposite to the shoulder strap  26 , infant insert  3  will not interfere with the adjustment of the shoulder straps  26 . Furthermore, this configuration allows the infant insert  3  to move with the shoulder straps  26  during the adjustment of the shoulder straps  26 . Therefore, when a user adjusts the shoulder straps  26 , it is unnecessary for the user to adjust the infant insert  3  in addition. In practice, the infant insert  3  thereon can form one button hole  32  corresponding to one tri-glide buckle  242 . The button hole  32  allows the attachment strap  222  to pass through, such that the infant insert  3  can be attached between the attachment strap  222  and the tri-glide buckle  242 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . Therein, the left tri-glide buckle  242  departs form the infant insert  3  in a distance for showing a clear illustration of the attachment strap  222  passing through the button hole  32 . In the case, a structural constraining force exists between the infant insert  3  and the tri-glide buckle  242 . The user can directly pull the infant insert  3  upward or downward to make the tri-glide buckle  242  move relative to the attachment strap  222 , so in the embodiment, the pulling tab  244  can be skipped and is shown in dashed lines in  FIG. 8 . In addition, in practice, the infant insert  3  thereon can form two button holes  34  corresponding to one tri-glide buckle  242 . The two button holes  34  allows the attachment strap  222  to pass through respectively, such that the infant insert  3  can be attached between the attachment strap  222  and the tri-glide buckle  242  more stably, as shown in  FIG. 9 . Therein, the left tri-glide buckle  242  departs form the infant insert  3  in a distance for showing a clear illustration of the attachment strap  222  passing through the button holes  34 . Similarly, the user can directly pull the infant insert  3  upward or downward to adjust the position of the tri-glide buckle  242  relative to the attachment strap  222 . In the case, the pulling tab  244  also can be skipped and is shown in dashed lines in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0032]    Please refer to  FIG. 10 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating a part of the chair  1  with an adjustable harness  4  of a second preferred embodiment according to the invention. The adjustable harness  4  is similar in logical structure to the adjustable harness  2 . The following will be concentrated on the difference therebetween. For other description of the adjustable harness  4 , please refer to the relevant descriptions of the adjustable harness  2 . The difference between the adjustable harness  4  and the adjustable harness  2  is that the adjustable harness  4  uses a different adjustment mechanism. The adjustable harness  4  includes two attachment components  42  (indicated by frames in dashed lines) and two corresponding adjustment components  44 . The attachment component  42  includes a plurality of keyed slots  422 , directly formed on the backrest  12 . The corresponding adjustment component  44  includes a flexible member  442  and a groove  444 . In the embodiment, the flexible member  442  is realized by a V-shaped clip which has a wedge portion and a blocking portion. The groove  444  is formed between the wedge portion and the blocking portion. The end of the shoulder strap  26  is fixed on the flexible member, precisely at the blocking portion. 
         [0033]    The flexible member  242  is resiliently compressible so as to be selectively inserted into one of the keyed slots  422 . Because of the resilience of the flexible member  442 , the flexible member  442  will decompress after the wedge portion fully passes through the keyed slot  422 , such that the groove  444  is engaged with the keyed slot  422  for locking thereto. At this moment, the edge of the keyed slot  422  is embedded in the groove  444 , and the wedge portion and the blocking portion are located at opposite sides of the backrest  12 , so that the adjustment component  44  is firmly attached to the backrest  12 . To remove the shoulder strap  26 , the flexible member  442  must be manually compressed such as by compressing the blocking portion and removed from the keyed slot  422 . Therefore, a user can easily operate the flexible member  442  by single hand, providing convenient operation. In addition, similarly, an infant insert can be attached to the adjustment component  44  by means of weaving and fixing the infant insert through button holes. 
         [0034]    Please refer to  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram illustrating apart of the chair  1  with an adjustable harness  5  of a third preferred embodiment according to the invention.  FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram illustrating the backside of the backrest  12  of the chair  1 . The adjustable harness  5  is similar in logical structure to the adjustable harness  2 . The difference between the adjustable harness  5  and the adjustable harness  2  is that the adjustable harness  5  uses a different sliding adjustment mechanism. The following will be concentrated on the difference therebetween. For other description of the adjustable harness  5 , please refer to the relevant descriptions of the adjustable harness  2 . The adjustable harness  5  includes an attachment component  52  and a corresponding adjustment component  54 . The attachment component  52  includes a guiding slot  522  and two relief slots  524 ; in the embodiment, the guiding slot  522  and the relief slots  524  are directly formed on the backrest  12  and extend parallel. 
         [0035]    The adjustment component  54  includes a sliding member  542 . The sliding member  542  has a retaining part  542   a  at its middle portion, passing through the guiding slot  522  such that the sliding member  542  can vertically slide on the guiding slot. The sliding member  542  also has two keyed slots  542   b  formed at its two side portions and corresponding to the two relief slots  524  respectively. The shoulder straps  26  (shown by dashed lines in the figures) are attached to the two side portions of the sliding member  542  respectively. The shoulder strap  26  has a retainer  262  at its end for being attached to the sliding member  542 . The retainer  262  can be made by means of a butterfly sewing method, but the invention is not limited thereto. The retainer  262  passes through the corresponding relief slot  524  to be fixed at the corresponding keyed slot  542   b.  Thereby, the shoulder straps  26  can move together with the sliding member  542  without detaching the adjustable harness  5  from the backrest  12 . 
         [0036]    In the embodiment, the attachment component  52  further includes a plurality of first ramped protrusions  526 , formed on the backrest  12 . The first ramped protrusions  526  are separately arranged parallel to the relief slot  524  (or the guiding slot  522 ). The adjustment component  54  includes two second ramped protrusions  544  (shown by hidden lines in  FIG. 12 ), disposed on the sliding member  542  and corresponding to the first ramped protrusions  526 . The sliding member  542  can provide a certain elastic deflection at its side portions, so the second ramped protrusion  526  is capable of moving with the sliding member  542  to be selectively embedded between the first ramped protrusions  526  for locating the sliding member  542 . Furthermore, to avoid the disengagement of the sliding member  542  from the guiding slot  522 , the attachment component  52  further includes a one-time snap  526  at a bottom opening end of the guiding slot  522  for obstructing the retaining part  542   a.  In addition, similarly, an infant insert can be attached to the retaining part  542   a  from the front side of the backrest  12 . 
         [0037]    Please refer to  FIG. 13  and  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram illustrating apart of a chair  6  further with a recliner handle of a fourth preferred embodiment according to the invention.  FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram illustrating the backside of a backrest  62  of the chair  6 . The chair  6  can be provided with one of the above-mentioned adjustable harness  2 ,  4  and  5 . In principle, the chair  1  in the above embodiments can be used as the chair  6 . The descriptions for the adjustable harness  2 ,  4  and  5  will not be described herein. The following will be concentrated on the recliner handle. The chair  6  includes the backrest  62 , a seat plate, a recliner mechanism, a single-structured handle  64  and a resilient member  66 . The backrest  62  has a guiding slot  622 , formed on the backrest  62 , an inlet space  624 , formed on the backrest  62  and communicating with the guiding slot  622 , and a one-time snap  626 , disposed at the inlet space  624 . The backrest  62  is disposed above the seat plate. The recliner mechanism is used for constraining the backrest  62  to be disposed at a slanted angle relative to the seat plate and includes a recliner wire  68 . The single-structured handle  64  is connected to the recliner mechanism and passes through and slides on the guiding slot  622 , for driving the recliner mechanism. 
         [0038]    In the embodiment, the single-structured handle  64  is molded in one piece and has a handle body  642  and a retaining portion  644 , disposed to be connected with each other at two sides of the guiding slot  622 . The handle body  642  is connected to the recliner wire  68  for driving the recliner mechanism. The profile of the inlet space  624  is larger than the profile of the retaining portion  644 . In practice, the single-structured handle  64  is assembled to the guiding slot  622  by inserting the retaining portion  644  into the inlet space  624  and moving upward the handle body  642 . When the single-structured handle  64  is normally assembled to the guiding slot  622 , the one-time snap  626  can obstruct the retaining portion  644  from getting into the inlet space  624  for preventing the single-structured handle  64  from being disengaged from the guiding slot  622 . 
         [0039]    In the embodiment, the resilient member  66  has two arm portions. Each arm portion is connected to the handle body  642  and the backrest  62  and is made of resilient material so as to be capable of being resiliently deformed by moving the single-structured handle  64  along the guiding slot  622 . In the embodiment, each arm portion is bar-shaped and can serve the same function and force as a spring. In practice, the resilient member  66  can be molded together with the single-structured handle  64 . In such case, one end of the arm portion is molded into the handle body  642 ; the other end can be constrained on the backrest  62  such as by inserting into a slot formed on the backrest  62 . Thereby, the resilient member  66  can provide a restoring force to the single-structured handle  64  when the single-structured handle  64  moves. Therefore, the assembly of the single-structured handle  64  and the resilient member  66  onto the backrest  62  can be implemented without additional fixtures such as screws. 
         [0040]    It is added that, the resilient member of the invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In practice, the resilient member can be molded in various different forms to achieve a force on the recliner wire  68  through the handle body  642 . For example, the resilient member can be molded in a ring-shaped structure  67 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . When the handle body  642  is moved upward to drive the recliner mechanism through the recliner wire  68 , the ring-shaped structure  67  is compressed. So the compressed ring-shaped structure  67  can applied a downward force on the recliner wire  68  through the handle body  642 . 
         [0041]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.