Patent Description:
A child safety seat is designed for ensuring safety of a child in a car. In general, the child safety seat is assembled in the car to allow the child sitting thereon for constraining the child in the car, so as to ensure safety of the child. A conventional child safety seat usually includes a base and a seat rotatably disposed on the base. The seat has a forward facing position and a rearward facing position relative to the base, so that a user can adjust the seat to a desired position according to the practical needs. For safety issues, it is forbidden that the user adjusts the seat to the forward facing position and then put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat. However, since the child safety seat does not have a seat misuse alarm function, the user often puts a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat at the forward facing position by mistake. Thus, it may cause a great risk to safety of a child in a car.

Therefore, it is necessary to design a seat misuse alarm device for solving the aforesaid problem. <CIT> discloses a seat with a misuse alarm device.

The present invention aims at providing a seat misuse alarm device for sending out an alarm when a seat is misused.

This is achieved by a seat misuse alarm device according to claim <NUM>. The dependent claims pertain to corresponding further developments and improvements.

As will be seen more clearly from the detailed description following below, the claimed seat misuse alarm device of the present invention includes a base, a seat, an alarm mechanism, and a switch triggering device. The seat has a forward facing position and a rearward facing position relative the base. The alarm mechanism has a switch. The switch triggering device triggers the switch to close for making the alarm mechanism send out an alarm when the seat is located at the forward facing position relative to the base.

Preferably, the seat is rotatably connected to the base.

Preferably, the alarm mechanism is disposed on one of the base and the seat, and the switch triggering device is disposed on the other of the base and the seat.

Preferably, the alarm mechanism is disposed on the base, and the switch triggering device is disposed on the seat.

A first hole is formed at a side of the base, the switch is located in the first hole, a second hole is formed at a side of the seat, the switch triggering device is disposed through the second hole, and with rotation of the seat to the forward facing position relative to the base, the first hole is aligned with the second hole to make an end of the switch triggering device extend into the first hole and then trigger the switch to close.

Preferably, the switch triggering device includes a driving member and an elastic returning member, the driving member is slidably disposed in the second hole, and the elastic returning member is disposed between the driving member and the seat for providing an elastic force to make the driving member ejected from the second hole.

Preferably, a first limiting portion is formed on an inner wall of the second hole, a protrusion is formed on the driving member, and the elastic returning member is disposed between the first limiting portion and the protrusion.

Preferably, a fixing base is fixed to the inner wall of the second hole, and the first limiting portion protrudes from the fixing base.

Preferably, a second limiting portion is formed on the fixing base and is spaced apart from the first limiting portion, and the protrusion is located between the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion.

Preferably, the elastic returning member jackets the driving member.

Preferably, the alarm mechanism includes a control device and an alarm device, the switch, the control device, and the alarm device are electrically connected to each other and cooperatively form an alarm circuit, and when the switch is triggered to close, the control device controls the alarm device to send out the alarm.

Preferably, after an alarm time of the alarm device reaches to a predetermined value, the control device controls the alarm device to stop sending out the alarm.

Preferably, the seat misuse alarm device further includes a headrest mechanism. The headrest mechanism is movably disposed on the seat and electrically connected to the alarm mechanism. When the seat is located at the forward facing position relative to the base for triggering the switch to close, a height of the headrest mechanism relative to the seat determines whether to conduct the alarm mechanism for making the alarm mechanism selectively send out the alarm.

Preferably, the headrest mechanism includes a headrest, a headrest fixing base, and a headrest triggering switch, the headrest is slidably disposed on a front side of the seat to be slidable between a higher position and a lower position relative to the seat, the headrest passes through the seat to be connected to the headrest fixing base located on a back side of the seat for making the headrest fixing base slidable together with the headrest, the headrest triggering switch is disposed on the back side of the seat and is electrically connected to the alarm mechanism, and the alarm mechanism sends out the alarm when the headrest slides to the lower position relative to the seat to make the headrest fixing base trigger the headrest triggering switch to close and the seat is located at the forward facing position relative to the base to trigger the switch to close.

Preferably, the headrest fixing base has a driving rib protruding therefrom corresponding to the headrest triggering switch, and the driving rib presses the headrest triggering switch to close when the headrest slides to the lower position relative to the seat.

Preferably, when the headrest slides away from the lower position relative to the seat to make the headrest fixing base not trigger the headrest triggering switch to close, the alarm device does not send out the alarm.

Preferably, the headrest mechanism includes a headrest, the headrest is slidably disposed on a front side of the seat to be slidable between a higher position and a lower position, the headrest is electrically connected to the alarm mechanism for cooperatively forming an alarm circuit, and the headrest breaks the alarm circuit to make the alarm device not send out the alarm when the headrest slides to the higher position relative to the seat.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention adopts the design that the switch triggering device is aligned with the switch of the alarm mechanism for triggering the switch to close when the seat is located at the forward facing position relative to the base. In such a manner, the alarm mechanism can send out an alarm to remind a user not to put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat at the forward facing position. Thus, the present invention can improve operational safety in use of a child safety seat.

The embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>. A seat misuse alarm device <NUM> of the present invention includes a base <NUM>, a seat <NUM>, an alarm mechanism <NUM>, and a switch triggering device <NUM>. The seat <NUM> has a forward facing position and a rearward facing position relative to the base <NUM>. Specifically, the seat <NUM> is rotatably connected to the base <NUM>. As such, the seat <NUM> can be adjusted to the forward facing position or the rearward facing position via rotation of the seat <NUM> relative to the base <NUM>, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the seat <NUM> could be detachably connected to the base <NUM>. In such a manner, the seat <NUM> could be detached from the base <NUM>, moved to the forward facing position or the rearward facing position, and then reassembled with the base <NUM>. The alarm mechanism <NUM> is disposed on one of the base <NUM> and the seat <NUM>, and the switch triggering device <NUM> is disposed on the other of the base <NUM> and the seat <NUM>. The alarm mechanism <NUM> has a switch <NUM>. When the seat <NUM> rotates to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the switch triggering device <NUM> triggers the switch <NUM> to close, so as to make the alarm mechanism <NUM> send out an alarm. In this embodiment, the alarm mechanism <NUM> is disposed on the base <NUM>, and the switch triggering device <NUM> is disposed on the seat <NUM>. With rotation of the seat <NUM> to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the switch triggering device <NUM> rotates to be aligned with the switch <NUM> of the alarm mechanism <NUM> and then trigger the switch <NUM> to close for making the alarm mechanism <NUM> send out the alarm, so as to remind a user not to put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat <NUM> located at the forward facing position. In another embodiment, the alarm mechanism <NUM> could be disposed on the seat <NUM> and the switch triggering device <NUM> could be disposed on the base <NUM> for achieving the same alarm effect.

Please refer to <FIG>, and <FIG>. A first hole <NUM> is formed at a side of the base <NUM>, and the switch <NUM> is disposed in the first hole <NUM>. A second hole <NUM> is formed at a side of the seat <NUM>, and the switch triggering device <NUM> is disposed through the second hole <NUM>. With rotation of the seat <NUM> to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the first hole <NUM> is aligned with the second hole <NUM> to make an end of the switch triggering device <NUM> extend into the first hole <NUM> and then trigger the switch <NUM> to close.

Please refer to <FIG>. In this embodiment, the switch triggering device <NUM> includes a driving member <NUM> and an elastic returning member <NUM>. The driving member <NUM> is slidably disposed in the second hole <NUM>. The elastic returning member <NUM> is disposed between the driving member <NUM> and the seat <NUM> for providing an elastic force to make the driving member <NUM> ejected out of the second hole <NUM>. The elastic returning member <NUM> could be a conventional compression spring commonly seen in the prior art. When the seat <NUM> is located at the rearward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, a side wall of the base <NUM> presses the driving member <NUM> into the second hole <NUM>, so as to make the elastic returning member <NUM> compressed by the driving member <NUM>. When the seat <NUM> rotates to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the first hole <NUM> is aligned with the second hole <NUM>, and the elastic force of the elastic returning member <NUM> drives an end of the driving member <NUM> to be ejected out of the second hole <NUM> and then extend into the first hole <NUM> of the base <NUM> since the driving member <NUM> is no longer pressed by the side wall of the base <NUM>, so that the driving member <NUM> can trigger the switch <NUM> to close for making the alarm mechanism <NUM> send out the alarm. To be noted, the design of the switch triggering device <NUM> is not limited to the aforesaid embodiment, meaning that the present invention could adopt the design that the switch triggering device is an elastic deformable member in another embodiment. Specifically, a first limiting portion <NUM> is formed on an inner wall of the second hole <NUM>, and a protrusion <NUM> is formed on the driving member <NUM>. The protrusion <NUM> is formed on a middle portion of the driving member <NUM>, and the elastic returning member <NUM> is disposed between the first limiting portion <NUM> and the protrusion <NUM>. To be more specific, a fixing base <NUM> is fixed to the inner wall of the second hole <NUM>, and the first limiting portion <NUM> protrudes from the fixing base <NUM>, and the elastic returning member <NUM> jackets the driving member <NUM>. The design of the first limiting portion <NUM> is not limited to the aforesaid embodiment. For example, the present invention could adopt the design that the first limiting portion <NUM> directly protrudes from the inner wall of the second hole <NUM>. Furthermore, a second limiting portion <NUM> protrudes from the fixing base <NUM> and is spaced apart from the first limiting portion <NUM>, and the protrusion <NUM> is located between the first limiting portion <NUM> and the second limiting portion <NUM>. As such, the driving member <NUM> can be partially constrained in the second hole <NUM> by the second limiting portion <NUM> limiting the protrusion <NUM> of the driving member <NUM>, so as to prevent complete ejection of the driving member <NUM> out of the second hole <NUM> via the elastic force provided by the elastic returning member <NUM>.

Please refer to <FIG> and <FIG>. In this embodiment, the alarm mechanism <NUM> includes a control device <NUM> and an alarm device <NUM>. The switch <NUM>, the control device <NUM>, and the alarm device <NUM> are electrically connected to each other and cooperatively form an alarm circuit. When the switch <NUM> is triggered to close, the control device <NUM> controls the alarm device <NUM> to send out the alarm. Specifically, the control device <NUM> is disposed in the base <NUM> and located at a middle portion of the base <NUM>, the alarm device <NUM> is located at an outer front end of the base <NUM>, and the switch <NUM> is electrically connected to the control device <NUM> and the alarm device <NUM> via wires. A power source is disposed in the control device <NUM>. The related description for the control device <NUM> and the alarm device <NUM> is omitted since it is commonly seen in the prior art. Furthermore, after an alarm time of the alarm device <NUM> reaches to a predetermined value, the control device <NUM> controls the alarm device <NUM> to stop sending out the alarm. For example, the predetermined value could be set as two, three, or four seconds, but not limited thereto. In such a manner, when the seat <NUM> rotates to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM> and the driving member <NUM> triggers the switch <NUM> to close for conducting the alarm circuit, the control device <NUM> controls the alarm device <NUM> to send out the alarm. After the alarm time of the alarm device <NUM> reaches to the predetermined value, the control device <NUM> controls the alarm device <NUM> to stop sending out the alarm until next time that the driving member <NUM> triggers the switch <NUM> again.

The detailed description for the operations of the seat misuse alarm device <NUM> is provided as follows according to <FIG>.

When the seat <NUM> is located at the rearward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the first hole <NUM> is misaligned with the second hole <NUM>, and the side wall of the base <NUM> presses the driving member <NUM> into the second hole <NUM> to make the elastic returning member <NUM> compressed by the driving member <NUM>. At this time, the switch <NUM> is in an open state, and the alarm device <NUM> does not send out the alarm. When the seat <NUM> rotates to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the first hole <NUM> is aligned with the second hole <NUM>, and the elastic force of the elastic returning member <NUM> drives the end of the driving member <NUM> to be ejected out of the second hole <NUM> and then extend into the first hole <NUM> of the base <NUM> since the driving member <NUM> is no longer pressed by the side wall of the base <NUM>, so that the driving member <NUM> can trigger the switch <NUM> to close for conducting the alarm circuit. At this time, the control device <NUM> controls the alarm device <NUM> to send out the alarm for reminding the user not to put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat <NUM> located at the forward facing position. After the alarm time of the alarm device <NUM> reaches to the predetermined value, the control device <NUM> controls the alarm device to stop sending out the alarm until next time that the driving member <NUM> triggers the switch <NUM> again.

In summary, the present invention adopts the design that the alarm device <NUM> is disposed on one of the base <NUM> and the seat <NUM> and the switch triggering device <NUM> is disposed on the other of the base <NUM> and the seat <NUM>. With rotation of the seat <NUM> to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the switch triggering device <NUM> rotates to be aligned with the switch <NUM> of the alarm mechanism <NUM>, and then triggers the switch <NUM> to close for making the alarm mechanism <NUM> send out the alarm, so as to remind the user not to put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat <NUM> located at the forward facing position. In such a manner, the present invention improves operational safety in use of a child safety seat.

Furthermore, please refer to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>. <FIG> is a diagram of a headrest <NUM> of the seat misuse alarm device <NUM> sliding upward to a higher position. <FIG> is a diagram of the headrest <NUM> of the seat misuse alarm device <NUM> sliding downward to a lower position. <FIG> is a back view of the seat misuse alarm device <NUM> in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, the seat misuse alarm device <NUM> could further include a headrest mechanism <NUM>. The headrest mechanism <NUM> is movably disposed on the seat <NUM> and electrically connected to the alarm mechanism <NUM>. Accordingly, when the seat <NUM> is located at the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM> for triggering the switch <NUM> to close, a height of the headrest mechanism <NUM> relative to the seat <NUM> can determine whether to conduct the alarm mechanism <NUM> for making the alarm mechanism <NUM> selectively send out the alarm or not. For example, the headrest mechanism <NUM> could include the headrest <NUM>, a headrest fixing base <NUM>, and a headrest triggering switch <NUM>, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The headrest <NUM> is slidably disposed on a front side F of the seat <NUM> to be slidable between the higher position as shown in <FIG> and the lower position as shown in <FIG> relative to the seat <NUM>, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The headrest <NUM> passes through the seat <NUM> to be connected to the headrest fixing base <NUM> located at a back side B of the seat <NUM>, so that the headrest fixing base <NUM> can slide together with the headrest <NUM> relative to the seat <NUM>. The headrest triggering switch <NUM> is disposed on the back side B of the seat <NUM> and is electrically connected to the alarm mechanism <NUM>. To be more specific, as shown in <FIG>, which is a circuit diagram of the headrest triggering switch <NUM> in <FIG>, the switch <NUM>, the control device <NUM>, and the alarm device <NUM>, the headrest triggering switch <NUM> can form an alarm circuit <NUM> cooperatively with the switch <NUM>, the control device <NUM>, and the alarm device <NUM>. In addition, please refer to <FIG>, which is a diagram of the headrest fixing base <NUM> in <FIG> sliding downward to the lower position. In practical application, as shown in <FIG>, the headrest fixing base <NUM> has a driving rib <NUM> protruding therefrom corresponding to the headrest triggering switch <NUM> for pressing the headrest triggering switch <NUM> to close, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

As mentioned above, when the seat <NUM> rotates to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM>, the elastic returning member <NUM> drives the driving member <NUM> to be ejected out of the second hole <NUM> and then extend into the first hole <NUM> of the base <NUM> for triggering the switch <NUM> to close. At this time, via the aforesaid circuit design, if the user further slides the headrest <NUM> downward to the lower position (corresponding to a headrest position of a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months, which means the user has an intention to put the child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat <NUM> at the forward facing position) as shown in <FIG> relative to the seat <NUM>, the headrest fixing base <NUM> can slide synchronously to a position where the driving rib <NUM> presses the headrest triggering switch <NUM> to close (as shown in <FIG>). In such a manner, via the two-stage conduction design that the driving member <NUM> presses the switch <NUM> to close and the headrest fixing base <NUM> presses the headrest triggering switch <NUM> to close, the alarm circuit <NUM> can be in a closed state such that the control device <NUM> can control the alarm device <NUM> to send out the alarm (e.g. light or sound). Accordingly, the seat misuse alarm device <NUM> can more precisely remind a user not to put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat <NUM> located at the forward facing position.

On the other hand, if the seat <NUM> rotates to the forward facing position relative to the base <NUM> and the headrest <NUM> slides away from the lower position (e.g. sliding upward to the higher position (corresponding to a headrest position of a child above <NUM> months) as shown in <FIG>, which means the user has no intention to put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat <NUM> at the forward facing position), the alarm circuit <NUM> is in an open state since the headrest fixing base <NUM> is away from the headrest triggering switch <NUM> and fails to trigger the headrest triggering switch <NUM> to close. Therefore, the alarm device <NUM> does not send out the alarm.

Moreover, the present invention could adopt the circuit breaking design. To be brief, in this design, the headrest mechanism <NUM> could only include the headrest <NUM>. The headrest <NUM> is electrically connected to the alarm mechanism <NUM> for cooperatively forming an alarm circuit, and the headrest <NUM> can break the alarm circuit (the related description for the circuit breaking design is commonly seen in the prior art and omitted herein) accordingly when the headrest <NUM> slides to the higher position (corresponding to a headrest position of a child above <NUM> months, which means the user has no intention to put a child from <NUM> to <NUM> months on the seat <NUM> at the forward facing position). In such a manner, no matter the seat <NUM> is located at the forward facing position or the rearward facing position, the alarm mechanism <NUM> does not send out the alarm, so as to prevent the user from unnecessary trouble in operating the seat <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A seat misuse alarm device (<NUM>) comprising:
a base (<NUM>);
a seat (<NUM>) having a forward facing position and a rearward facing position relative the base (<NUM>); characterized by:
an alarm mechanism (<NUM>) having a switch (<NUM>); and
a switch triggering device (<NUM>) triggering the switch (<NUM>) to close for making the alarm mechanism (<NUM>) send out an alarm when the seat (<NUM>) is located at the forward facing position relative to the base (<NUM>)
characterized in that a first hole (<NUM>) is formed at a side of the base (<NUM>), the switch (<NUM>) is located in the first hole (<NUM>), a second hole (<NUM>) is formed at a side of the seat (<NUM>), the switch triggering device (<NUM>) is disposed through the second hole (<NUM>), and with rotation of the seat (<NUM>) to the forward facing position relative to the base (<NUM>), the first hole (<NUM>) is aligned with the second hole (<NUM>) to make an end of the switch triggering device (<NUM>) extend into the first hole (<NUM>) and then trigger the switch (<NUM>) to close.