Abstract:
A restraint system is disclosed for securing a passenger to a seat in a motor vehicle. The restraint system is composed of a restraint belt removably attached to a vehicle seat having a plurality of vertical straps and an attachment mechanism for connecting said straps across the passenger&#39;s chest. Each of the vertical straps has a first end removably attached to a lap belt and a second end removably attached to a latch located behind the vehicle seat.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. Ser. No. 11/156,407 filed on Jul. 20, 2005 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to child safety restraint devices, and more particularly, to an adjustable restraint system of securing a child weighing more than sixty pounds to a vehicle seat. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Federal vehicle seat minimum performance standards have been established to ensure a reasonable degree of safety for a seat occupant. In the case where vehicle seats are intended for children, these performance standards require providing a child with a seat restraint compatible with the child&#39;s size. Among other requirements, when the child is secured in the seat, the restraints should not pass over the face, neck or throat of the child. As a result, child restraint systems are typically provided in many sizes and configurations. 
     A wide variety of potential child restraint systems are well known in the art and include both conventional forward (or rearward) facing car seats and boaster seats which utilize the vehicle supplied shoulder and lap belt for restraining the child in the seat. Each of these potential child restraint systems possess known drawbacks resulting from the rapid growth and development of children. Conventional car seats tend to be “grown out of” in relatively short periods of time, requiring adjustment or replacement at various stages of the physical development of the child. Conventional car seats also are typically only intended to safely and comfortably secure a child weighing up to sixty pounds. Boaster seats which utilize the vehicle supplied shoulder and lap belt for restraining the child in the seat can be difficult to position and adjust to provide a larger child with maximum benefit from the restraint system. Both conventional car seats and child booster seats are also balky and create storage and space availability issues when not in use within a vehicle. 
     It is therefore desirable to provide a child restraint system that is easily adjustable, compact and capable of accommodating and providing a child weighing over sixty pounds with the maximum benefit from the restraint system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a restraint system for securing a child in a motor vehicle capable of accommodating and providing a child weighing over sixty pounds with the maximum benefit of a seat restraint system. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a restraint system having a high degree of adjustability for accommodating a range of seat occupants using a minimal number of independently adjustable parts. 
     In accordance with the foregoing aspects of the invention, a seat restraint system is shown that includes a restraint belt removably attached to a vehicle seat having a plurality of vertical straps and an attachment mechanism for connecting said straps across the passenger&#39;s chest. Each of the vertical straps has a first end removably attached to a lap belt and a second end removably attached to a latch located behind the vehicle seat. 
     Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  s a front view of a seat restraint system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of a seat restraint system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. 
     Referring now to the drawings, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention described hereinafter according to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , a seat restraint system  10  according to the present invention is shown that is used for securing a passenger  50  to a seat  30 . The vehicle seat  30  has a seat back  20  that extends vertically upward from the horizontally positioned seat as is well known in the art. A headrest  40  may also be attached to the top of the seat back  20 . 
       FIG. 1  shows a passenger  50  in a sitting position on the seat  30 . The passenger is secured to the seat  30  by the restraint system  10 . The restraint system  10  consists of two shoulder straps  12  and  14  that extend vertically upward over the passenger&#39;s shoulders and are looped over the top of the seat back  20  and headrest  40 . The shoulder straps  12  and  14  are first secured to the vehicle by forward attachment mechanisms  52  and  54 . In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the forward attachment mechanisms are loops  52  and  54  integrally formed with the shoulder straps  12  and  14 . A lap belt, which is attached to the front of the seat back  20 , is then placed within the loops  52  and  54  to interconnect the shoulder straps  12  and  14  at a front location overlying the lap of the passenger  50 . The lap belt has two component parts  72  and  74  each having a component of a quick-release, conventional seat belt buckle fastener  70 , with a male portion, mating female portion, release mechanism and length adjustable slide mechanism as is well-known in the art. 
     The restraint system  10  has a chest belt attached to the shoulder swaps  12  and  14 . The chest belt interconnects the shoulder straps  12  and  14  at a front location overlying the chest of the passenger  50  with the chest belt having two component parts  62  and  64 , one attached to each of the shoulder straps by any suitable method, such as sewing. The two component parts each have a component of a quick-release, conventional seat belt buckle fastener  60 , with a male portion, mating female portion, release mechanism and length adjustable slide mechanism as is well-known in the art. It is understood that while the exemplary embodiment of the present invention details a horizontal chest belt, the present invention also encompasses the use of a simple tongue and buckle arrangement located at chest level for connecting the shoulder straps  12  and  14 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a rear view of the restraint system  10  attached to the vehicle seat  30 . The shoulder straps  12  and  14 , which are looped over the seat back  20  on either side of the head rest  40 , are then secured to the vehicle behind the seat back  20  by means of a rear latch mechanism  84  located behind the seat. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shoulder straps  12  and  14  are joined together prior to attaching to the rear latch mechanism  84 . After the shoulder straps  12  and  14  are joined to each other, the straps connect to a length adjustable fastener  16 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the fastener  16  is a simple buckle connected to a connector strap  18  having a loop fed through the fastener  16  to allow the length of the connector strap  18  to be adjusted to a variety of lengths. The connector strap  18  is then connected to the rear latch mechanism  84 . The rear latch mechanism  84  consists of tether anchor hooks which may be located on the rear window ledge of the vehicle, the back of the vehicle seat, or on the floor of the vehicle as is well known in the art. A rear latch mechanism  84  centered relative to the vehicle seat is desirable as a direct restraint minimizing the ability of the restraint system to move out of position and enabling the passenger  50  to be positioned in an unfavorable load path relative to the restraint system  10 . 
     After attachment of the restraint system  10  to the vehicle as described above, the passenger  50  may then be secured in the vehicle through use of the chest belt  62 ,  64  and buckle  60  and lap belt  72 ,  74  and buckle  70 . The passenger is then secured to the vehicle seat  30  in a safe and comfortable seating position. The advantage of the present invention over prior restraint systems is that it is easily adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of sizes of children weighing sixty pounds who are too large for conventional car seats but too small to use vehicle provided safety restraints. Another advantage of the present invention is that the restraint system of the present invention is easily removable and compact for storage purposes when not in use. 
     It is noted that in an exemplary form of the invention, all of the strap components are made of conventional nylon webbing, but those skilled in the art will recognize that other materials may be used to construct the strap components of the present invention. It is further noted that while the exemplary embodiment described herein describes the use of a length adjustable fastener  16  and connector strap  18 , those skilled in the art will recognize that the shoulder straps  12  and  14  may be connected directly to the rear latch mechanism  84 . Those skilled in the art will further recognize that length adjustment mechanisms may be added to each shoulder strap  12  and  14  as an alternate means of permitting the adjustment of the restraint system  10  to fit a variety of passenger sizes. 
     The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.