Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to an infant car seat, and in particular to an infant car seat having a manually adjustable headrest, removable arm rests, and a removable, foldable cup holder. 
   SUMMARY 
   The present invention provides an infant car seat having a headrest that can be manually adjusted to accommodate infants of different heights. The headrest has a lever with a prong that engages a series of pockets in the seat body, allowing the headrest to be fixed in several different positions. The car seat can have removable armrests that slide into openings in the sides of the seat body and lock in place. The car seat can have a foldable cup holder that clips onto the side of the seat body. 
   Accordingly, it is a first aspect of the present invention to provide an infant car seat having: (a) a seat body having a plurality of pockets for receiving a prong; (b) a headrest contoured for supporting the head of an infant, the headrest joined to the seat body and adapted for sliding with respect to the seat body; and (c) a lever joined to the headrest and having a prong adapted for engaging any one of the plurality of pockets, whereby the headrest can be positioned in any one of a plurality of discrete positions with respect to the seat body, the plurality of discrete positions corresponding to the plurality of pockets in the seat body. In detailed embodiments, the pockets can be semicylindrical in shape and oriented parallel to each other, and the pockets can be integrally molded into the seat body. 
   In an alternate detailed embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the lever is pivotally joined to the headrest. In a more detailed embodiment, the lever includes a surface adapted for receiving a force applied by a user, whereby the user can actuate the lever. In an even more detailed embodiment, the infant car seat includes at least one spring located between the headrest and the lever for restoring the lever to its original position after being actuated by the user. In an even more detailed embodiment, the lever is originally positioned such that its prong is engaged with one of the plurality of pockets in the seat body to prevent the headrest from sliding with respect to the seat body; and, upon actuation of the lever by the user, the lever becomes positioned such that its prong is disengaged from the pockets in the seat body, whereby the user can slide the headrest with respect to the seat body. 
   It is a second aspect of the present invention to provide an infant car seat including: (a) a seat body having an opening for accepting a removable armrest; and (b) an armrest having an arm portion and a mounting portion, the mounting portion having: (i) an attachment fairing adapted for sliding into the opening on the seat body, and (ii) a locking tab having a flange adapted for holding the mounting portion in place within the opening. In a detailed embodiment, the seat body includes a release lever located inside the opening; and, upon sliding the attachment fairing into the opening, the locking tab slides between the release lever and the top edge of the opening such that the flange on the locking tab is held in place against the top edge of the opening, whereby the attachment fairing is locked in place within the opening. In a more detailed embodiment, upon depression of the release lever and locking tab by a user, the flange on the locking tab becomes disengaged from the top edge of the opening, allowing the mounting fairing to slide out of the opening, whereby the armrest may be removed from the seat body. 
   It is a third aspect of the present invention to provide an infant car sear including: (a) a seat body; and (b) a foldable cup holder having a clip adapted for being joined to the seat body. In a more detailed embodiment, the foldable cup holder includes: (a) a body having a clip for attaching the foldable cup holder to the seat body; (b) a cover pivotally joined to the body and capable of rotating downward into a horizontal position perpendicular to the body, and incapable of rotating beyond such horizontal position, whereby the cover can support the weight of a cup placed thereon; and (c) a ring pivotally joined to the body and capable of rotating upward into a horizontal position perpendicular to the body, and having a flange that engages the body to hold the ring in such horizontal position, whereby the ring can apply horizontal restoring forces to a cup placed within the ring in order to prevent the cup from tipping. 
   Any of these aspects of the present invention, or embodiments thereof, can be practiced together. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a front perspective view of the car seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows the headrest of the car seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  shows the headrest in the retracted (down) position according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  shows a top view illustrating the interaction of the flanges on the headrest with the tracks on the seat body, allowing the headrest to slide vertically with respect to the seat body, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  shows the headrest in the extended (up) position according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a close-up view showing the armrest removed from the body of the car seat, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  shows the armrest rotated upward into a raised position, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a close-up view showing the armrest joined to the body of the car seat, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 9  shows the cup holder removed from the car seat, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  shows the cup holder attached to the car seat, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 11  shows the cup holder in the unfolded configuration, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  shows a front perspective view illustrating the main components of a car seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. The car seat  10  includes a main body  12  having an approximately horizontal seat portion  14  joined to an approximately vertical back portion  16 . A headrest  18  is joined to the back portion  16  of the body  12  and can be adjusted, as explained below. Armrests  20  can be removably affixed to the back portion  16  of the body  12 . A cupholder  22  can be removably affixed to the seat portion  14  of the body  12 . The car seat  10  can be covered with padding to provide cushioning, as depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
   The headrest  18  can be manually adjusted by the user to accommodate infants of different heights.  FIG. 2  shows a close-up view of the headrest  18 . The headrest  18  includes a headrest panel  24  contoured for supporting the head of an infant, and a lever  26 . The lever  26  has a prong  28  that engages the seat body  12 , as explained below. The lever  26  is joined to the headrest panel  24  at two pivot points  30  such that the lever  26  can rotate about an axis defined by the pivot points. Tabs  34  on the headrest panel  24  hold the lever  26  in place, allowing a narrow range of rotation. Spring  36 , which is located between the headrest panel  24  and the lever  26 , provides restoring force to bias the lever such that its prong  28  is normally in the extended position. 
     FIG. 3  shows the headrest  18  joined to the seat body  12 . The headrest  18  is held in place by flanges  38  (shown on the headrest in  FIG. 2 ), allow the headrest to slide in a vertical direction relative to the seat body  12 . The top view of  FIG. 4  illustrates how these flanges  38  on the headrest  18  fit into tracks  41  in the seat body. The flanges  38  are held into these tracks  41  by flanges  39  on the seat body  12 . The headrest  18  is therefore joined to the seat body  18  and cannot move horizontally (i.e. perpendicular to the flanges  38  and the flanges  39 ) with respect to the seat body  12 , but the headrest  18  can slide vertically (i.e. parallel to the flanges  38  and the flanges  39 ) with respect to the seat body  12 . 
   Returning to  FIG. 3 , the headrest can be adjusted by the user to assume one of a plurality of different height positions. The seat body  12  contains a plurality of semicylindrical pockets  42 ,  43 ,  44 , and  45  for engaging the prong  28  of the lever  26 , locking the headrest  18  in place. The headrest  18  can be adjusted to different positions (i.e. a different height above the seat portion  14  of the car seat  10 ) depending on which pocket the ridge  28  is engaged with. These possible positions for the headrest, which are determined by the number and spacing of the pockets, can be referred to as the “discrete positions.” 
   In  FIG. 3 , the headrest is shown in the retracted (down) position. The prong  28  on the lever  26  is engaged with the bottom pocket  45  on the seat body  12 . In order to adjust the headrest and put it into another one of the discrete positions, the user actuates the handle  40  on the lever  26  by squeezing the handle  40  and the headrest  18  together. This action forces the lever to rotate about the axis defined by its attachment points  30 , and the handle  40  on the lever  26  moves closer to the headrest panel  24  as the angle between the plane defined by the lever  26  and the plane defined by the headrest panel  24  becomes smaller. This rotation of the lever  26  causes the prong  28  to become disengaged with the pockets, allowing the headrest  18  to slide vertically with respect to the seat body  12 . The user can then slide the headrest to the desired position. When the headrest is positioned such that the prong  28  is over one of the pockets, the user can release the handle  40  on the lever  26 . The spring  36  will restore the lever to its normal position, and the prong  28  will engage with the pocket, thus locking the headrest  18  into position.  FIG. 5  shows the headrest in the extended (up) position, with the prong  28  engaged with the top pocket  42  on the seat body  12 . 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, the car seat can include removable armrests.  FIGS. 6 and 7  show an armrest  20 , which can be joined to the seat body  12  at opening  50 . The armrest  20  includes an arm portion  52  and a mounting portion  54 . The arm portion  52  can be rotated about the mounting portion  54  above the horizontal plane, so that the arm portion can be raised as shown in  FIG. 7 . The mounting portion  54  has an attachment fairing  56  that fits into the opening  50  on the seat body  12 . The attachment fairing  56  includes a locking tab  58  with a flange  60  that locks the armrest in place when joined to the seat body. When the attachment fairing  56  is inserted into the opening  50 , the flange  60  will fit between the top edge  59  of the opening  50  and the release lever  61 , both of which hold the locking tab  58  in place. 
     FIG. 8  shows the armrest  20  joined to the seat body  12 . The attachment fairing  56  has been inserted into the opening  50  in the seat body  12 , and the flange  60  on the locking tab  58  is engaged with the top edge  59  of the opening  50  such that the armrest in locked in place. The user can remove the armrest by pressing downward on the release lever  61  and the locking tab  58  so that the flange  60  is no longer engaged with the top edge  59  of the opening  50 , thus permitting the attachment fairing  56  to slide out of the opening  50 . 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, the car seat can include a removable folding cup holder.  FIG. 9  shows a removable cupholder  22  that can be attached to the car seat  10 . The cup holder  22  has a clip  62  that can fit into slot  64  on the seat body  12 , thus allowing the cup holder to be attached to the seat body, as shown in  FIG. 10 . The cup holder can be unfolded, allowing it to accept a cup, as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
   The cup holder  22  includes a body  66 , a cover  68 , and a ring  70 . The cover  68  is joined to the body  66  at points  72 . The cover  68  can rotate about the axis formed by points  72 , allowing it to rotate from the closed position depicted in  FIGS. 9 and 10  and the open position depicted in  FIG. 11 , where the cover is horizontal. A nub  74  on the cover  68  near each attachment point  72  prevents the cover from rotating below the horizontal plane. The ring  70  is joined to the body  66  at points  76 , allowing it to rotate upward from the vertical stowed position to the horizontal position depicted in  FIG. 11 . Upon reaching the horizontal position, tabs  78  on the ring  70  are engaged by flanges  80  on the body  66 , thus holding the ring in the horizontal position. The flanges  80  are molded on flexible tabs so that they can allow tabs  78  to become disengaged if the user applies sufficient downward force to the ring  70 , thus allowing the ring to be restored to its vertical stowed position by the user. 
   Having described the invention with reference to embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the claims, and it is not intended that any limitations or elements describing the embodiments set forth herein are to be incorporated into the meanings of the claims unless such limitations or elements are explicitly listed in the claims. Likewise, it is to be understood that it is not necessary to meet any or all of the identified advantages or objects of the invention disclosed herein in order to fall within the scope of any claims, since the invention is defined by the claims and since inherent and/or unforeseen advantages of the present invention may exist even though they may not have been explicitly discussed herein.

Technology Category: 7