Patent Description:
Child seats are known and widely used, and their use has now been mandatory for some time when it is desired to transport children in cars.

Such child seats are usually constituted by a seat structure (or carry cot) inside which the child can be accommodated; the seat structure can be anchored, using devices of various kinds, to the seats of the car so as to ensure that, during the trip, the seat (and as a consequence the child) is stably integral with the seat.

To simplify the operations to fasten and unfasten the seat to (and from) the seat of the car, child car seats have been provided which can be associated with what is known as a "car base", which constitutes a form of interface between the seat of the car and the seat structure.

Basically, the car base is fixed directly to the seat with fixing devices associated with the seats themselves (such as, for example, the automatic fastening means known commercially as ISO-FIX) while the seat structure is fastened (or unfastened) directly to/from the car base, so that the child can be carried by hand or transported on a buggy.

It seems evident that the use of child seats associated with the car base has facilitated the fastening/unfastening operations, by making such operations intuitive and less arduous.

In the vast majority of cases, however, if it is desired to fix the carriage body of a pram to the seat, use is made of the seat belts of the seats of the car, but such anchoring is not so secure, and the related fastening and unfastening operations are quite laborious.

Solutions have been proposed however in which the carriage body is fitted with means of fastening directly to the car base, so as to appreciably increase safety in the event of an impact and to facilitate the fastening and unfastening maneuvers by the user.

However, in the known solutions a certain difficulty is encountered in the fastening and unfastening operations, in that the mutual fastening means that are provided on the car base and on the carriage body require a movement in the vertical direction, sometimes combined with a movement in the horizontal direction, which is quite inconvenient to perform from outside of the vehicle.

Devices are likewise known in which the accommodations (typically carrycots or child seats, but in some cases also carriage bodies) are coupled to and decoupled from the car base with a purely translational movement, substantially on a horizontal plane.

In this regard see the patent <CIT>, the patent <CIT>, the patent application <CIT>, or the patent applications <CIT> and <CIT> or <CIT>.

Such conventional solutions have some drawbacks, however.

Specifically, it is an extremely complex matter to design a single car base that is provided with means for fastening and for coupling which are configured to receive child seats, carrycots and also carriage bodies.

In many cases, every car base needs various types of fastening means, which are selectively engageable by corresponding engagement means with which the accommodation to be fastened are provided.

Furthermore, since carriage bodies are typically fastened to car bases at a front or rear region with respect to their longitudinal extension, it is necessary to appreciably weight and stiffen the structure of the carriage body in order to prevent an excessive deformation thereof during impacts.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle that is capable of improving the known art in one or more of the above mentioned aspects.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle that makes it possible to render the fastening and unfastening of carriage bodies extremely easy.

Another object of the invention is to devise a device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle that makes it possible to appreciably contain the weight of the carriage body, while ensuring a high standard of safety in the event of impacts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle that is highly reliable, easy to implement and of low cost.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle according to claim <NUM>, optionally provided with one or more of the characteristics of the dependent claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle according to the invention, which are illustrated for the purposes of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:.

With reference to the figures, the device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral <NUM>, comprises a car base <NUM> which can be associated detachably, via fixing means <NUM>, with a seat <NUM> of a car.

With reference to the embodiment shown in the figures, the fixing means <NUM> comprise fixing tabs which are provided with automatic fastening terminals, for example of the type commercially known as ISO-FIX.

There is no reason why different fixing means cannot be used to fix the car base <NUM> to the seat, such as for example means that involve the use of the car safety belt.

The car base <NUM> comprises fastening/unfastening means <NUM> which comprise at least one hook <NUM> which is configured to engage with a respective first engagement element (not shown in the figures) supported by a first accommodation <NUM> for children and/or infants which comprises a seat element <NUM>.

The seat element <NUM> can comprise a carrycot (as illustrated) or a child car seat for bigger children, fixed or reclining.

According to the present invention, the device <NUM> comprises an interface body <NUM> which can be associated detachably with the car base <NUM>.

In particular coupling means <NUM> are provided between the interface body <NUM> and a second accommodation <NUM> for children and/or infants.

The second accommodation <NUM> comprises a cradle element <NUM>, which extends along a longitudinal direction <NUM> and is configured to accommodate a child or an infant in a lying position.

The coupling means <NUM> comprise guide elements <NUM> with complementary shapes in order to provide a translation guide between the cradle element <NUM> and the interface body <NUM> which extends along a direction that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction <NUM> of the cradle element <NUM>.

The device <NUM> further comprises locking/release means which act between the interface body <NUM> and the cradle element <NUM>.

Conveniently, the coupling means <NUM> comprise at least two guide elements <NUM> which are arranged on opposite sides with respect to a main axis of extension of the interface body <NUM>.

Advantageously, the interface body <NUM> is provided with adjustment means <NUM> adapted to adjust the relative position of the guide elements <NUM>.

In particular, the adjustment means <NUM> make it possible to adjust the height of the relative position of the guide elements <NUM> and, more generally, to vary the inclination, about an oscillation axis, of the body supporting the guide elements <NUM>.

This makes it possible, independently of the plane of arrangement of the seat <NUM>, to arrange the guide elements <NUM> at the same height and, consequently, to keep the plane of arrangement of the cradle element <NUM> substantially flat.

Conveniently, the interface body <NUM> is or can be associated with an abutment body <NUM> which is intended to be arranged facing a portion of the external surface of the cradle element <NUM> arranged laterally with respect to the locking/release means, such portion being directed toward the front of the vehicle.

Preferably, the abutment body <NUM> is can be associated detachably with the interface body <NUM>.

The interface body <NUM> can be associated detachably with the car base <NUM> by way of coupling of the at least one hook <NUM> defined on the car base <NUM> with a respective second engagement element <NUM> defined on the interface body <NUM>.

According to a further aspect, the present invention relates to a car base <NUM> which can be associated detachably, via fixing means <NUM>, with a seat <NUM> of a car.

The fixing means <NUM> comprise fixing tabs which are provided with automatic fastening terminals, for example of the type commercially known as ISO-FIX.

Different fixing means can be used to fix the car base <NUM> to the seat, such as for example means that involve the use of the car safety belt.

The seat element <NUM> can comprise a carrycot (as illustrated) or a child car seat, fixed or reclining.

The car base <NUM> is provided with coupling means <NUM> with a second accommodation <NUM> for children and/or infants.

The coupling means comprise guide elements with complementary shapes in order to provide a translation guide between the cradle element <NUM> and the car base <NUM> which extends along a direction that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction <NUM> of the cradle element <NUM>.

The device <NUM> further comprises locking/release means which act between the car base <NUM> and the cradle element <NUM>.

Conveniently, the coupling means <NUM> comprise at least two guide elements which are arranged on opposite sides with respect to a main axis of extension.

The coupling means <NUM> comprise adjustment means <NUM> adapted to adjust the relative position of the guide elements <NUM>.

According to a further embodiment, the car base <NUM> is or can be associated with an abutment body <NUM>, which is intended to be arranged facing a portion of the external surface of the cradle element <NUM> arranged laterally with respect to the locking/release means, such portion being directed toward the front of the vehicle.

Preferably, the abutment body <NUM> can be associated detachably with the car base <NUM>.

The use of the device for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle, according to the invention, is the following.

If it is desired to use the car base <NUM> to hold a first accommodation <NUM>, for example a carrycot <NUM> or a child car seat, then such first accommodation is coupled directly on the car base <NUM>.

If on the other hand it is desired to use the car base <NUM> to hold a cradle element <NUM>, then the interface body <NUM> is coupled to the car base <NUM>, and this will make it possible to easily fasten/unfasten the cradle element <NUM> by way of a substantially horizontal translational movement.

In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects by providing a device <NUM> for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle that makes it possible, on the one hand, to render the fastening and the unfastening of the cradle element <NUM> to and from the car base <NUM> extremely easy, while on the other hand keeping a structure extremely simple and reliable, in that the car base <NUM> can be constituted in the traditional way, without altering mechanisms and without adding special components.

Furthermore, the ability to adjust the heights of the guide elements <NUM> makes it possible to arrange the bottom of the cradle element <NUM> to always be flat, thus ensuring superior comfort for the child or infant.

Finally, the presence of the abutment body <NUM> makes it possible to "lighten" the structure of the cradle element <NUM>, in that the body <NUM> supports the flank of the cradle element <NUM>, so absorbing part of the stresses that are created in the event of a frontal impact, which otherwise would all be absorbed by the cradle element <NUM>, with consequent necessary stiffening thereof.

The fact that the abutment body <NUM> helps in the event of impact avoids needing to reinforce the flank of the cradle element <NUM> and makes it possible to keep the weight of that element down.

There is no reason why there cannot be two abutment bodies <NUM>, one for each side of the interface body <NUM>, or one removable body, in order to mount it on one side or the other, depending on the side of the car that the user decides to use.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, as far as they are within the scope of the appended claims.

In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

Claim 1:
A device (<NUM>) for anchoring accommodations for children and/or infants to a seat of a vehicle, which comprises a car base (<NUM>) configured to be associated detachably, by way of fixing means (<NUM>), with a seat (<NUM>) of a car, said car base (<NUM>) comprising fastening/unfastening means (<NUM>) which comprise at least one hook (<NUM>) which is configured to engage with a respective first engagement element supported by a first accommodation (<NUM>) for children and/or infants which comprises a seat element (<NUM>), characterized in that it comprises an interface body (<NUM>) which is configured to be associated detachably with said car base (<NUM>), coupling means (<NUM>) being provided between said interface body (<NUM>) and a second accommodation (<NUM>) for children and/or infants which comprises a cradle element (<NUM>) which extends along a longitudinal direction (<NUM>) and is configured to accommodate a child or an infant in a lying position, said coupling means (<NUM>) comprising guide elements (<NUM>) with complementary shapes in order to provide a translation guide between said cradle element (<NUM>) and said interface body (<NUM>) which extends along a direction that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of said cradle element (<NUM>), locking/release means being further provided which act between said interface body (<NUM>) and said cradle element (<NUM>).