Patent ID: 7926874

Claim:
A seat base for a child restraint adapted to receive a juvenile seat, the seat base comprising a seat support adapted to receive the juvenile seat, a seat-base belt including a first anchor belt having a first free end adapted to mate with a first stationary fixture associated with a vehicle seat of a vehicle when the first anchor belt is in a use position, and a second anchor belt having a second free end adapted to mate with a second stationary fixture associated with the vehicle seat when the second anchor belt is in a use position, such that the seat-base belt is adapted to couple the seat support to the vehicle seat when the first and second anchor belts are in the use position, belt anchor means for anchoring the seat-base belt to the seat support when the first free end of the first anchor belt is coupled to the first stationary fixture and the second free end of the second anchor belt is coupled to the second stationary fixture when the first and second anchor belts are in the use position, for enabling rearrangement of the first and second anchor belts to a stored position when the first and second free ends of the first and second anchor belts are detached from the first and second stationary fixtures, and for anchoring a vehicle belt of the vehicle to the seat support when the first and second anchor belts are in the stored position, wherein the belt anchor means comprises a pincher plate having a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side, and wherein the first end is pivotably attached to the seat support to cause the pincher plate to pivot between an open position and a closed position about a pivot axis, the second end of the pincher plate is located to lie adjacent the seat support when the pincher plate is in the closed position, the pincher plate is configured to form a transverse anchor belt passageway with the seat support when the pincher plate is in the closed position, the anchor belt passageway is arranged to extend from the first side to the second side of the pincher plate, and the seat-base belt is arranged to extend through the anchor belt passageway when the first and second anchor belts are in the use position, and wherein the pincher plate includes a first paddle having a proximal end and a distal end and a second paddle having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal ends of the first and second paddles are pivotably attached to the seat support, the distal end of the first paddle includes a first belt retainer extending downwardly from a bottom of the first paddle, the distal end of the second paddle includes a second belt retainer extending downwardly from a bottom of the second paddle, the first belt retainer is arranged to block the seat-base belt from moving outwardly beyond the distal end of the first paddle and the second belt retainer is arranged to block the seat-base belt from moving outwardly beyond the distal end of the second paddle when the pincher plate is in the closed position and the first and second anchor belts are in the use position.