Abstract:
A child safety seat anchorage is mechanically attached and welded to a robust support member, e.g., a tube or bracket, which in turn is secured to a vehicle seat or the vehicle frame. The welding of the wire rod is primarily for the purpose of positioning the wire rod at the prescribed location within a vehicle so that hooks, straps or other connectors from a child safety seat can be attached to the wire rod anchorage. The anchorage is located at and extends from a bite line between a seat cushion and a seat back. Alternative attachment designs include the use of a strap, alternative design wire rod anchorages and slots and holes to connect the wire rod anchorage to the tube or bracket.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application is related to the application titled Retainer and Wire Rod for Child Safety Seat Anchorage, to Tong, et al., filed ______; and to the application titled Mechanical Attachment of Anchorage and Bracket, to Adams, et al., filed ______, which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of securely anchoring an article, such as an infant, child or toddler vehicle carrier or seat, to a vehicle seat. More particularly the present invention relates to a robust way of attaching an anchorage to the vehicle. Still more specifically, the invention relates to a mechanical coupling for connecting an anchorage to the vehicle seat or to the vehicle frame.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Anchoring various articles to vehicle seats is becoming increasingly important as new products, rules, regulations and laws begin to transform prior practices. For example, until recently seats to be installed in a vehicle seat (hereinafter referred to as “child safety seats”) for infants, toddlers and small children were held in place using the available shoulder and lap belt which were, of course, designed for protection of much larger passengers. While the shoulder and lap belt adequately secured the infant seat to the vehicle seat, due to design variations from vehicle to vehicle and from child safety seat to child safety seat, the efficacy of such systems were subject to the user&#39;s ability to properly install the infant seat.  
           [0004]    Some modifications and standardization were incorporated into child safety seats such as providing belt notches to guide the factory installed belts across the child, and even as of the filing date of this specification, law enforcement personnel, child safety seat manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers and sellers, and various safety advocates are trying to inform parents and other child care givers about the best ways to attach child safety seats and snug or tighten them into compressive engagement with the vehicle seat&#39;s seat cushion and seat back.  
           [0005]    In addition to child safety seats, it is also desirable to be able to securely attach other articles and devices to vehicle seats, e.g., play or activity centers, auto office products, and entertainment centers (such as those which employ VHS, DVD or CD input to a monitor or screen). While passengers do not occupy the space consumed by such products, it is important to ensure that such articles do not come loose and injure passengers, e.g., in the event of a severe impact.  
           [0006]    In numerous foreign countries (e.g., Australia and Canada), and recently in the United States, a new system for child safety seat attachment has been developed and mandated for use. This system is known in the United States as L.A.T.C.H. (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) The system involves providing anchorage at the bite line of a vehicle seat (i.e., the area between the seat cushion and the seat back) to which straps, belts or a linkage from a child safety seat are attached. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards relating to Crash Worthiness as set forth in 49 C.F.R. Parts 571 and 596, which are incorporated herein by reference, require a pair of wire rod anchorage to be spaced apart from one another by a specific distance, and in use a child safety seat is placed on the seat cushion between them. In particular, it is required that the child safety seat anchorages be standardized and independent of the vehicle seat belts. Two straps secured to the child safety seat (or a single strap passing through the child safety seat) have hooks or other connectors attached to their free ends. The hooks are placed over the wire rods, and slack is taken out of the straps using length adjustment devices which, in and of themselves, are of the types used with passenger lap belts. The child safety seat is then held in place by a system which ultimately depends on the robustness of wire rods.  
           [0007]    It can also be mentioned here that a third point of anchoring the child safety seat is also being required, namely a package shelf anchorage (for the rear seat of a vehicle which has a package shelf) or a third anchorage at the base of the back of a seat (such as captain, bucket, or bench seats in a sport utility vehicle, van and the like). The latter allows a third strap or tether attached to the top of a child safety seat to be secured to this third anchorage to assist in preventing forward tilting of the child safety seat in the event of an impact. The applicability of the present invention to such third anchorages will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the background and the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention continue.  
           [0008]    The number of ways in which the wire rods used in the aforementioned system are construed varies widely, due to the style of seat and vehicle, and the available seat frame or vehicle frame locations for attachment of the wire rods are numerous. In most cases, however, the wire rods are attached by welding them to a seat frame or vehicle frame component such as a tube connected to the seat. The type of connection may also depend upon the type of seat that the anchorage is being connected such as a bench seat, a captain&#39;s chair or other alternative seat. Therefore, the robustness of the load bearing performance of the wire rod anchorage is dependent on many factors including the wire rod material, geometry, weld materials, weld design and workmanship, and many events subsequent to wire rod installation which could affect the integrity of the welds.  
           [0009]    Several examples exist which demonstrate types and designs of connections for attaching a wire rod anchorage to a vehicle seat. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,354,648; 6,196,628; 6,030,046; 5,941,601; 5,918,934; 5,816,651; 6,361,115; 6390,560; and 6,276,754 all disclose a variety of designs for attaching an anchorage to a vehicle seat and all of which have significant drawbacks in that they either require the wire rod anchorage be directly welded to another seat device or they require a manufacturing process that is overly complex and costly.  
           [0010]    It would be highly desirable in this art to use a system for installing the wire rod anchors which substantially eliminates the potential failure based on a weld between the wire rod and another component due to problems with materials, design or workmanship. The benefit to the art would be further enhanced if any such system could be readily adapted to a wide variety of seat types and styles having a similar variety of support mechanisms and frame attachment configurations.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    One feature of the present invention relates to providing a technique for attaching wire rod anchorages to a vehicle&#39;s seat or vehicle frame components which relies primarily on mechanical coupling rather than welding to transfer impact loads.  
           [0012]    Another feature of the present invention is to provide a technique for mechanically coupling wire rod anchorages to tubes and/or brackets of a vehicle or vehicle seat which may be readily adapted to a wide variety of vehicles and vehicle seat styles.  
           [0013]    A further feature of the present invention is to provide wire rod anchorages having improved reliability.  
           [0014]    A different feature of the present invention is to provide a method for coupling wire rod anchorages to tubes and/or brackets of a vehicle or a vehicle seat which reduces assembly time and cost.  
           [0015]    A still further feature of the present invention is to provide wire rod anchorages having improved load transfer in the event of sudden change in acceleration from an unintended event such as an impact from an accident.  
           [0016]    Generally, however, they are accomplished by mechanically coupling the wire rods to tubes or brackets which form part of a vehicle seat or the vehicle frame. Welds may be employed, especially for ensuring a proper location of the anchorages relative to the seat, but with the mechanical coupling system of the present invention, the welds have a limited function in transferring loads from the child safety seat (or other device) coupling to the load bearing structure of the seat or vehicle frame.  
           [0017]    In one embodiment of the present invention, a wire rod is generally U-shaped and includes outwardly curled ends on the leg portions of the “U.” The wire rod passes through a pair of opposed slots in a round tube so that the curved “U” shaped portion of the rod extends to the proper seat bite location and so that the curled ends enter a pair of holes in one side of the tube located adjacent each end of one of the slots. In a variant of this embodiment, the legs of the “U” are shorter and pair of receiving holes is located on the side of the tube from which the wire rod extends and a close-out bracket covers the slot through which the wire rod passes during assembly of holes and the curled ends are forced toward one another so that they fit within the slot and then spring outwardly so that the ends can be inserted into the holes. In either variant, one or a plurality of welds can be provided to hold the wire rod in its “in use” location. Moreover, one or more channel brackets can be provided around the exposed legs of the U-shaped wire rods to resist bending of the legs of the U-shaped components.  
           [0018]    In another embodiment of the present invention, U-shaped wire rods with inwardly curled ends on the legs are coupled to a bracket element which is stamped or otherwise formed to include a pair of elongate, spaced-apart recesses on either side of a raised portion. The recess extends about the bottom of the raised portion and an opening into the raised portion is provided to receive the ends of the legs. The wire rods are bent with respect to the plane of the raised portion so that any load placed on the wire rod is transferred to the bracket. Again, welds and channels can be added for positioning and anti-bending purposes.  
           [0019]    In another alternate embodiment of the invention, the legs of the wire rod pass through aligned openings in a tube, with the location of the holes and bends in the wire rods being arranged so that loads applied to the wire rods are transferred to the tube. In this embodiment, the wire rod ends which extend through the openings are bent back around the tube to be used as an anchorage for the seat back tether connection.  
           [0020]    In a still further embodiment of the present invention a generally U-shaped strap surrounds a portion of a tube and the wire rod is formed to pass through opposed ends of the strap so that portions of each leg of the wire rod lies against an outer surface of the tube. The assembly may be located at any position along the tube and is spot welded at the desired final location.  
           [0021]    In yet another embodiment, the wire rods are bent into a Z shape (the rods still having a U-shaped coupling portion and a pair of legs extending therefrom). These wires are inserted through a carrier bracket such that loads imposed thereon are transferred to the bracket, which in the illustrated embodiment is coupled to a tube frame.  
           [0022]    How the foregoing and other features of the present invention are accomplished individually, collectively or in various sub-combinations will be described in the following detailed description of the preferred and alternate embodiments taken in conjunction with the attached FIGURES.  
           [0023]    Other ways in which the above-referenced features are accomplished will become apparent to those skilled in the art after they have read this specification, and such other ways are deemed by the inventors to fall within the scope of the present invention if they fall within the scope of the claims which follow. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]    In the FIGS. , like reference numerals will be used to designate like components, wherein:  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a tube having a wire rod inserted there through according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the combination shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, wherein the wire rod is mechanically coupled to a single wall of the tube;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bracket and wire rod system according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the curled ends of the wire rod;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a combination seat anchorage and tether anchorage system according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 6 is an end schematic view showing the seat anchorage and tether anchorage of the third embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 5;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 7 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention showing a Z-shaped bend for the wire rod and a carrier bracket;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and further showing components of a vehicle seat frame;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a further preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a wire rod and a strap component for connection to a tube;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 10 is an end view of the embodiment of FIG. 9 positioned on a tube; and  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 11 is an isolated perspective view of the strap component of the assembly of FIG. 9. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]    Initially provided are several general comments about the applicability and scope of the present invention. First, the materials used for the wire rods and other structural components shown in the FIGURES can be selected from those known to the art, including steel, various other alloys, or high strength metals such as stainless steel and steel alloys. In particular, the wire rod is preferably made of steel consistent with ASTM A510 standard, steel grade 1018 which is reduction hardened to have a minimum yield strength of at least 80 k.s.i. using any known or appropriate manufacturing process or what may be mandated by other regulation or standard.  
         [0037]    Second, the number of anchorages will vary with the type of vehicle, application and seat design. The spacing between a pair of anchorages remains substantially constant according to standards and regulations but may be of any known or appropriate distance. There will typically be a single pair of anchorage for a given passenger seat. Thus, for a bench seat having multiple passenger seats, two or three pairs of seat anchorage may be included. Further, it should be noted that the particular syntax and usage of the term anchorage herein is intended to be interpreted as appropriately applicable to either a given passenger seat and a given child safety seat or a plurality of same regardless of the correct grammatical context.  
         [0038]    Third, the mechanical attachment feature of the present invention is primarily illustrated in connection with seat bite line anchorages. It is understood that any anchorage for a vehicle seat, including a tether anchorage, can also benefit from the teachings set forth herein.  
         [0039]    One example of a tether anchorage is provided in FIGS. 6 and 7 with the tether anchorage mechanically attached to the same tube as the child safety seat anchorages. However, the tether anchorage could be mechanically attached at other locations near the floor or on the rear of a seat back if suitable structural members are present there, and the tether anchorage could also be mechanically attached to a structural element at or beneath a package shelf, if any.  
         [0040]    Fourth, the child safety seat anchorages are illustrated for use with passenger vehicles, such as automobiles, light trucks, SUVs, vans and the like. However, the principles of the present invention are readily adaptable to install anchorages at other locations with in a particular vehicle as well in any appropriate application including such as in airplanes, trains, buses and even in strollers with detachable seats.  
         [0041]    Proceeding now to the description of FIGS.  1 - 2 , a anchorage system  10  is shown in a first preferred embodiment depicted in perspective and sectional views. The anchorage system  10  includes a generally U-shaped wire rod  12  adapted to be inserted into and mechanically attached to a tube  11 . Wire rod  12  is depicted as having a round or circular cross-section. It should be understood that the wire rod  12  may have any appropriate or known shape cross-section without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention. The wire rod  12  includes a generally U-shaped end  14  and a pair of elongate legs  16 . The U-shaped end  14  is preferably constructed to receive car seat connections or hooks (not shown). The elongate legs  16  are long enough to allow placement of end  14  at the correct location in the vehicle and to extend through tube  11  by a sufficient amount to allow curled ends  18  to bend about the outside of tube  11  and reenter the tube  11  through a pair of openings  24 .  
         [0042]    To this end, tube  11  includes a pair of slots  20  and  22 , each wide enough to allow the rod material to pass through the tube and long enough to spread between legs  1   6 . Installation can easily be comprehended from FIG. 2 where the wire rod is pushed upwardly through slot  22  until portion  14  passes through slot  20 . If properly prepared, U-shaped end  14  will be precisely located when wire rod  12  is full inserted into the tube  11  so that ends  18  pass into holes  24 .  
         [0043]    With respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, it may be appreciated that wire rod  12  can be held in position using a friction or interference fit, if close tolerances are followed, or the wire rods  12  can be prepared so that the legs  16  diverge slightly so that wire rod  12  will be held in tube  11  by an outwardly directed spring force acting on the ends of slots  20  and  22 . The easiest way to ensure that wire rod  12  will hot move with respect to tube  11  is to spot weld any area of the wire rod  12  to tube  11 , as is illustrated at  30  in FIG. 2.  
         [0044]    Collars  25  are also shown in FIGS.  1 - 3  having a semi-cylindrical leg  26  partially surrounding legs  16  and a perpendicular leg  27 . Collars  25  are welded to tube  11  and assist in preventing bending of legs  16  under load conditions.  
         [0045]    Referring next to FIG. 3, an alternate embodiment is shown which relies on some of the teachings of the FIG. 1 embodiment, and some of the same reference numbers with a prime notation used to indicate components. Legs  16 ′ are shorter, and holes  24 ′ are located on the same side of the tube  11  as slot  20 ′. Fabrication here is accomplished by urging wire rod  12 ′ through a longer slot  28  until the legs  16 ′ are received in holes  24 ′. Spot welding as at  30 ′, the addition of a second bracket to close out slot  28 , and the addition of collars  25 ′ completes the fabrication.  
         [0046]    It can now be appreciated that both embodiments described to this point rely on mechanical attachment of the wire rods to the main load carrying component (i.e., the tube  11 ), and that while spot welds may be provided to hold the wire rods in place, impact or deceleration loads are transferred directly to the load carrying component without relying on the strength or the size of the weld or the workmanship thereof.  
         [0047]    The second preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 where a bracket and wire rod assembly  40  is shown from a rear view. The bracket  42  may be made from any suitable, strong material useful for manufacturing seating components and is stamped or otherwise formed in the shape shown. In this embodiment, a pair of raised surfaces are formed in bracket  42 , and a pair of wire rods  45  are connected to the bracket around the raised areas.  
         [0048]    A depressed region or channel  46  is formed around the two sides and the bottom of each raised portion  44 , the raised portion being sufficiently high from the bottom of the channel to accommodate the thickness of the wire rods  45 .  
         [0049]    Alternatively to the other embodiments, in the present design, the ends of the legs of the wire rods  45  are curled inwardly at  48 , and a slot opening  50  is provided at the lower junction of the raised portion  44  and channel  46 . The slot is sufficiently wide to allow the insertion of the ends of both inwardly curled legs  48 .  
         [0050]    After the wire rods  45  are in such position, they may be attached to bracket  42  by means of welds shown at  52 . In this instance the welds  52  are preferably edge welds opposed to the spot welds shown on other embodiments. These welds  52  will retain the wire rods  45  in the appropriate position relative to the seat, but it will be understood by reference to the overall drawings that loads imposed on wire rods  45  will be efficiently transferred to the bracket  42 .  
         [0051]    It should also be noted in FIG. 4 that the wire rods are bent forwardly as at  55 , the amount of which will depend on the seat frame design, location and the overall size of the wire rods  45 . In any event, when the bracket  42  is suitably welded, bolted or otherwise attached to the seat frame or frame of the vehicle, another mechanical attachment system for the wire rods has been illustrated.  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 5 illustrates in a front perspective view of a third preferred embodiment of the invention, this one including a tether anchorage along with the seat connector anchorages previously discussed. This embodiment includes a tube  60  which extends along and beneath the rear of the seat cushion so that a pair of wire rods  62  may be fastened thereto to provide the required seat anchorages. Located in between wire rods  62  is another wire rod  65  which extends through tube  60  and is bent around the tube so that a tether hook extending from a car seat (not shown) can be secured thereto by passing the tether strap over the back of the seat and coupling a hook or other fastener to wire rod  65  at or near the floor of the vehicle.  
         [0053]    The construction of the embodiment of FIG. 5 is simple in that the wire rods  62 ,  65  are formed with the necessary bends, as at  67 , and a straight portion passes through diametrically opposed openings  68  in the tube. A spot weld such as at  69  may be used to retain the wire rods in their appropriate position.  
         [0054]    The geometry of the rods  62  and  65  is shown in an end view schematic at FIG. 6. From this illustration, it will appear to those skilled in the art that loads extending longitudinally from the U-shaped ends will be directly transferred to the support tube. Tube  60  may be attached to the vehicle seat, to the vehicle or at some other location suitable for absorbing impact and rapid deceleration forces.  
         [0055]    As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a respective bracket element  70  surrounds at least an intermediate portion of each of the wire rods  62  and acts, as with the channel brackets of FIG. 1, to resist bending of the wire rod  62 . The particular shape and the method of attachment of the bracket elements  70  is not critical to the present invention provided the bracket element  70  support and co-act with at least a portion of the wire rod  62 .  
         [0056]    Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this embodiment, probably best appreciated by reference to the side schematic of FIG. 7, the wire rod  80  is bent into a generally Z-shape and extends through openings in a carrier bracket  82  which in turn is securely attached to a tube  84 . A rear isometric view of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 8 with several automotive seat vehicle components illustrated (but not described), showing the exposed portion of rods  80 . Rods  80  may be welded as indicated at  85 , while the retaining bracket  82  is welded to tube  84  as shown at  87 . Again, while welds are employed to hold the wire brackets  80  in place, loads imparted thereto are transferred directly to the retaining bracket and then to the tube, with the welds playing only an insubstantial role in the overall strength of the wire rod connection.  
         [0057]    A still further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in connection with FIGS.  9 - 11 . In this embodiment, the mechanical coupling is accomplished using a strap  90  and a wire rod  92  adapted to engage one another and generally surround a fixed tube  95  (see FIG. 10). The strap  90  is general U-shaped and includes a first leg  96  having a pair of generally parallel slots  97  between the bottom  91  of the “U” and the top  98  of leg  96 . The other leg includes a pair of holes  100  located between the bottom  91  of the “U” and a bend  102  located at the top of leg  99 . The bend  102  includes an inwardly directed portion  104 , a 180° U-shaped bend portion  105  and a top portion  106 .  
         [0058]    The wire rod  92 , best seen in FIG. 9, is also generally U-shaped and includes the attachment portion  110  (for attachment of a car seat strap, etc.), and a pan of legs  111  and  112 . The legs  111  and  112  are configured to pass through holes  100 , extend over a tube in a generally curved middle section  113  and terminate in bent sections  115  (about 90°) after they have passed through slots  97 .  
         [0059]    As can be appreciated from FIGS.  9 - 10 , the strap  90  and wire rod  92  will preferably be pre-assembled and then installed on and moved along tube  95  to the desired location where the strap  90  and the wire rod  92  may be affixed in any suitable manner, e.g., spot welding, staking, or the like. As with the other embodiments, forces imparted to attachment portion  110  are transferred mechanically to the tube  95 . While the strap  90  does support the wire rod  92  and does carry a portion of the load applied to the wire rod  92 , necessarily a portion of the load applied to the wire rod  92  will pass through the weld between the wire rod  92  and the tube  95   
         [0060]    While several embodiments of the invention have been described in connection with the illustrations, and various modifications thereto have been referred to in the written text, the invention is the mechanical attachment of the wire rods to various support structures, and the shift away from using welds as the primary mechanism by which loads are imparted to the supports. Accordingly, the invention may be variously embodied using this basic principle without departing from its intended scope. The invention is therefore not to be limited to the materials, shapes, orientations and proportions illustrated and described, but it is to be limited solely by the scope of the claims which follow.