Abstract:
A car seat is formed with a harness storage cavity in the car seat shell for placement of the five-point harness to permit the conversion of the car seat into a belt positioning booster configuration without requiring the harness to be removed from the car seat shell. The headrest and back panel pads on the back rest are removed to provide access to the harness storage cavity which is covered by a hinged door. The harness buckle and the chest clip, still attached to the harness webbing, are placed into the storage cavity and the door closed to provide a flush surface on the seat back so that the child has a smooth supporting surface. The harness webbing projects out of slots to allow the webbing to lie flat beneath the headrest and back panel pads when replaced over the closed door to the storage cavity.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims domestic priority on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/191,607, filed on Sep. 10, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a car seat for use in transporting children in an automobile, and, more particularly, to a five-point harness storage system to allow the car seat to be converted from a car seat for small children to a belt positioning booster for larger children. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Car safety seats for children are commercially available in a many configurations corresponding to differences in the age, weight, and size of the child being transported. Parents can choose a car seat that is not only the correct size for their child and their vehicle, but one that also suits their tastes, budget, and life style. As children grow in size and maturity level, they need different kinds of car seats. For example, a child may initially use a rearwardly facing infant car seat, then graduate to a forward facing toddler seat with an integrated harness, and finally to a belt positioning booster seat utilizing the vehicle&#39;s lap and shoulder belt system before being able to safely use the vehicle&#39;s seat belts alone. 
     There are many car seats on the market that can be used in multiple configurations. For instance, a forward facing car seat with an integral five-point harness appropriate for a 20-40 pound child might accommodate a child weighing 30-100 pounds as a belt positioning booster seat with the removal of the harness and utilizing the vehicle&#39;s lap and shoulder belts. This is convenient for the care giver because it means fewer seats to purchase. Currently available car seats typically have a monolithic shell, i.e. the back and seat cannot be used separately. Some car seats are designed to have a no back base option, but are configured as a separate seat fastened under the monolithic seat and back, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,999, issued on Jul. 5, 1998, to James Kain. The problem with this configuration is the redundancy of seats; one as part of the monolithic shell, and one as a seat only. 
     States review and regulate restraint age limits and weight requirements. With continuing age and weight increases for recommendations in child restraint safety, a variety of restraint sizes are needed to accommodate the increasing span of children needing car seat safety restraints. The shoulder height and proper placement of belt paths are critical to the safety function of car seat restraints for use with smaller children, but when the car seat is to be utilized as a belt positioning booster, the five-point harness is cumbersome and cannot be simply left on the seat. One option to convert a car seat having a five-point harness to a belt positioning booster is to disconnect the five-point harness from the car seat shell and store the harness at a remote location. Of course, the disconnected harness can be lost, misplaced or accidentally thrown out, preventing the car seat to be reconverted back from the belt positioning booster mode to the car seat configuration. 
     It would also be desirable to provide a five-point harness storage system that will permit a quick and effective conversion of the car seat into a belt positioning booster without requiring the harness to be removed from the car seat shell. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art by providing a car seat that can be easily converted into a belt positioning booster configuration without requiring the removal of the five-point harness from the car seat shell. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide a harness storage system in a child&#39;s car seat to allow the five-point harness to be stowed out of the way without requiring the harness to be removed from the car seat shell. 
     It is a feature of this invention that the shell of the car seat is formed with a storage cavity into which the harness buckle and chest clip assembly can be deployed when the car seat is converted into a belt positioning booster configuration. 
     It is an advantage of this invention that the five-point harness does not have to be removed from the car seat shell to allow the car seat to be converted into a belt positioning booster configuration. 
     It is another feature of this invention that the storage cavity is constructed with a hinged door to cover the storage cavity when the car seat is in use in any configuration. 
     It is another advantage of this invention that the storage of the five-point harness within the car seat shell will prevent the harness from being lost in the event re-configuration of the belt positioning booster back to a car seat is needed. 
     It is still another advantage of this invention that the conversion of the belt positioning booster into a car seat configuration can be accomplished quickly and easily without requiring a the five-point harness to be retrieved from a remote location. 
     It is still another object of this invention to provide a method of converting a car seat between a car seat configuration and a belt positioning booster configuration. 
     It is still another feature of this invention that the method of conversion includes a re-positioning of the five-point harness into a storage cavity formed into the car seat shell to hide the harness from view. 
     It is yet another feature of this invention that the harness belts project out of the harness storage cavity so that the harness belts can be retained on the car seat shell. 
     It is yet another advantage of this invention that only the chest clip and the harness buckle are located within the harness storage cavity. 
     It is yet another advantage of this invention that the re-conversion of the car seat from a belt positioning booster into a car seat configuration will not risk an improper connection of the five-point harness onto the car seat shell. 
     It is a further feature of this invention that the five-point harness is never disconnected from the car seat shell to convert the car seat into a belt positioning booster configuration. 
     It is a further advantage of this invention that the closed door over the harness storage cavity provides a smooth back support surface for the child in both the car seat and belt positioning booster configurations. 
     It is yet another object of this invention to provide a harness storage system for a car seat shell to permit the conversion of the car seat into a belt positioning booster, which is durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use. 
     These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a car seat formed with a harness storage cavity in the car seat shell for placement of the five-point harness to permit the conversion of the car seat into a belt positioning booster configuration without requiring the harness to be removed from the car seat shell. The headrest and back panel pads on the back rest are removed to provide access to the harness storage cavity which is covered by a hinged door. The harness buckle and the chest clip, still attached to the harness webbing, are placed into the storage cavity and the door closed to provide a flush surface on the seat back so that the child has a smooth supporting surface. The harness webbing projects out of slots to allow the webbing to lie flat beneath the headrest and back panel pads when replaced over the closed door to the storage cavity. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a car seat incorporating the principles of the instant invention, the car seat being placed in a car seat mode of operation with a five-point harness exposed for utilization to secure a small child; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged partial front elevational view of the seat portion of the car seat to depict the disconnection of the crotch harness from the car seat shell to start the conversion of the car seat into a belt positioning booster configuration; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial front elevational view of the car seat to depict the step of disconnecting and raising the head rest pad to permit a re-positioning of the harness webbing; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged partial front elevational view of the car seat to depict the disconnection and displacement of the back panel pad to gain access to the harness storage cavity formed into the car seat shell in the back rest; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged front elevational view of the lower part of the back rest with the back panel pad removed and the hinged door opened to permit the placement of the harness buckle and the chest clip into the opened harness storage cavity; 
         FIG. 5A  is an enlarged front elevational view similar to that of  FIG. 5  to show the harness storage cavity, the harness being broken away for purposes of clarity in depicting the harness storage cavity; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged front elevational view similar to that of  FIG. 5  but with the harness buckle and chest clip stowed in the harness storage cavity with the hinged door closed to provide a smooth back rest support surface, the harness webbing projecting out of slots formed in the respective corners of the storage cavity; 
         FIG. 7  is a front elevational view of the car seat with the pads removed to shown the storage of the harness into the harness storage cavity before the pads are replaced; and 
         FIG. 8  is a front elevational view of the car seat with the conversion into the belt positioning booster configuration completed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-8 , a car seat incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen. The car seat  10  is constructed to include a generally horizontal seat member  12 , a generally vertical back rest  13  projecting upwardly from the rear portion of the seat member  12 , and preferably a pair of arm rests  14  on the laterally opposing sides of the seat member  12 . The car seat  10  can also include a head rest  15  that is mounted on the upper portion of the seat back  13  and can be vertically positionally adjustable relative to the seat back  13  to accommodate and properly support growing children. The car seat  10  is generally formed with a rigid shell  16  defining the eternal surfaces of the car seat  10  but padding is mounted on the shell  16  to provide a soft surface on which the child is supported while seated in the car seat  10 . The padding includes, among others, a head rest pad  17 , a back panel pad  18  and a seat pad  19 . 
     The car seat  10  is provided with a harness, for example a five-point harness  20  that includes a pair of generally vertically oriented shoulder straps  21  connected to the shell  16  at the back rest  13 , a pair of generally horizontally oriented belt straps  22  connected to the shell  16  at the rear of the seat member  12 , and a crotch strap  23  that is coupled to the shell  16  at the forward portion of the seat member  12 . One skilled in the art will recognize that the shoulder strap  21  and the belt strap  22  on each respective side of the car seat  10  are formed from a single harness web that has a opposing ends connected to the seat shell  16  at appropriate locations. Each harness web forming a shoulder strap  21  and a corresponding belt strap  22  has mounted thereon a latch member  24  and a chest clip  26 . The crotch strap terminates in a harness buckle  25 , which can be positionally adjusted to accommodate a growing child. When fastened around a child to secure the child in the car seat  10 , the chest clips  26  are connected together to interconnect the shoulder straps  21  and the latch members  24  are snapped into engagement with the harness buckle  25  to secure the shoulder straps  21  and the belt straps  22  to the crotch strap  23  and complete the five-point harness connection. 
     The car seat  10  is shown in  FIG. 1  in its car seat configuration with the five-point harness  20  available for securing small children into the car seat  10 . When the child grows to an adequate age and size, according to state regulations, the child can be positioned in a booster seat so that the child can be positioned high enough for proper engagement and support from the vehicle&#39;s seat and shoulder belts. The car seat  10  can be utilized as a belt positioning booster, but the five-point harness  20  would not be used in such a configuration and if the harness  20  were simply left on the padding behind the child, the child would have an uncomfortable seat and would not be provided with a smooth supporting surface on which the child may be secured for transportation in the vehicle. 
     To accommodate the five-point harness  20 , the shell  16  of the back rest  13  is formed with a harness storage cavity  30  in the lower, central portion thereof, as is best seen in  FIGS. 5 and 5A . The harness storage cavity  30  is formed to receive the latch members  24 , the harness buckle  25  and the chest clips  26  therein. A cover  32 , preferably in the form of a hinged door, though other attachment concepts, such as hook and loop fasteners, friction fit, etc., could also be applied to the cover  32  to make it selectively removable from the shell  16  to expose the harness storage cavity  30  under the cover  32 . As best seen in  FIGS. 5 and 5A , the door  32  is preferably formed with a deflector latch  33  that is arranged to engage the shell  16  when the door  32  is closed to secure the door  32  in place against the shell  16 . The harness storage cavity  30  is also formed with slots  34  in the top and bottom areas for passage of the harness webbing members  21 ,  22 , which will remain connected to the harness buckle  25 , latch members  24  and chest clips  26 , as will be described in greater detail below. 
     To convert the car seat from the car seat configuration shown in  FIG. 1  to the belt positioning booster configuration shown in  FIG. 8 , the harness  20  is stored in the harness storage cavity  30 . The first step, as depicted in  FIG. 2 , is to remove the crotch strap  23  from the forward portion of the seat shell  16 . In the alternative, the crotch strap  23  can be lengthened and passed underneath the seat pad  19  to exit at the rear of the seat pad  19  so that the harness buckle  25  can reach the harness storage cavity  30 . In most situations, the crotch strap  23  is most easily disconnected from the seat shell  16 . The head rest pad  17  is then loosened from the other adjacent padding members and folded upwardly over the head rest  15 , or the back of the back rest  13 , as is depicted in  FIG. 3 . The movement of the head rest pad  17  positions the shoulder straps  21  against the back rest shell  16 . 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the back panel pad  18  is loosened from the adjacent padding members and either removed, or preferably, folded over onto the seat pad  19 . The removal of the back panel pad  18  results in the belt straps  22  being positioned against the back rest shell  16 . The respective chest clips  26  are connected together to draw the shoulder straps  21  inwardly toward the center of the back rest  13 , and the latch members  24  are clipped into engagement with the harness buckle  25 . 
     As reflected in  FIG. 5 , the cover  32  over the harness storage cavity  30  is removed, or in the preferred embodiment opened against the hinges to expose the harness storage cavity  30  formed in the back rest  13 . As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 5A , the harness storage cavity  30  can be configured as a generally rectangular cavity having a size that will accommodate the receipt of both the connected chest clips  26  and the connected latch members  24  and harness buckle  25 . Alternative, the storage cavity  30  can be formed in specific shapes to register with the shape of the connected chest clips  26  and the connected latch members  24  and harness buckle  25 , so that the closure of the cover  32  would trap these harness components securely within the harness storage cavity. At the upper left and right corners and at the lower left and right corners, the storage cavity  30  is formed with slots  34  that are sized to receive and allow the passage of the shoulder straps  21  and the belt straps  22 , respectively, from the harness storage cavity  30 . 
     As a result, as best seen in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the closure of the door  32  against the shell  16  hides the chest clips  26 , the latch members  24  and engaged harness buckle  25  internally of the harness storage cavity  30  with the shoulder straps  21  and belt straps  22  projecting out of the storage cavity  30  at the top and bottom thereof. Tightening of the straps  21 ,  22 , positions the shoulder straps  21  and the belt straps  22  against the shell  16 . The crotch strap  23  can be rolled into the harness storage cavity  30  with the harness buckle  25  if disconnected from the seat shell  16 . With the door  32  closed, the seat back again provides a smooth support surface against which a child can be seated for comfortable transportation. Replacement of the back panel pad  18  and then the head rest pad  17  completes the covering of the harness webbing and presents a clean belt positioning booster configuration devoid of the five-point harness  20 , as can be seen in  FIG. 8 . 
     The re-conversion of the belt positioning booster configuration to the car seat configuration is done in the same manner as above, only to remove the harness  20  from storage in the shell  16 . As noted above, the head rest pad  17  and the back panel pad  18  are disconnected from the adjacent padding members and moved aside to expose the shell  16  and the closed cover  32 . The door  32  is then opened to expose the stored chest clips  26 , latch members  24  and harness buckle  25 , which are withdrawn from the harness storage cavity  30 . The belt straps  22  are then worked around the back panel pad  18  so that the back panel pad  18  can be re-connected to the adjacent padding with the belt straps  22  on the outside of the back panel pad  18 . The same re-positioning is done with the shoulder straps  21  and the head rest pad  17  replaced with the shoulder straps  21  on the outside of the head rest pad  17 . The crotch strap  23  is then reconnected to the front portion of the seat shell  16 , and all straps  21 - 23  adjusted in length to accommodate the child to be secured into the car seat by the now functioning five-point harness  20 . 
     It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.