Patent ID: 7845726

Claim:
A compactible juvenile vehicle seat comprising a seat base adapted to set on a vehicle seat and formed to include a seat bottom adapted to support a juvenile in a seated position and a pivot rod associated with the seat bottom, a foldable backrest mounted on the pivot rod for folding movement between an upright use position arranged to extend upwardly away from the seat bottom and adapted to support a juvenile in the seated position on the seat bottom and a compact folded storage position arranged to extend along the seat bottom and lie in confronting relation to the seat bottom, a backrest lock configured to provide means for retaining the foldable backrest in the upright use position and for releasing the foldable backrest to free the foldable backrest so that, once freed, the foldable backrest can be pivoted about a pivot axis established by the pivot rod to assume the compact folded storage position, wherein the backrest lock includes a latch actuator and a latch, the latch actuator is mounted to the foldable backrest for movement relative to the foldable backrest, the latch is coupled to the foldable backrest to move therewith and to engage the seat base to assume an engaged position in response to downward movement of the latch actuator, the latch is coupled to the foldable backrest to move therewith and to disengage the seat base to assume a disengaged position in response to upward movement of the latch actuator, and latch actuator means for moving the latch from the engaged position to the disengaged position so that the foldable backrest can be released and moved to the compact folded storage position, and wherein the foldable backrest includes a front surface adapted to face toward a juvenile resting in the seated position on the seat bottom and an oppositely facing rear surface, the front surface is arranged to lie in confronting relation to the seat bottom upon movement of the foldable backrest to the compact folded storage position, and the backrest lock is arranged to lie between the front surface and the oppositely facing rear surface.