U.S. patent application number 10/818759 was filed with the patent office on 2004-09-30 for two-stage protective car seat cover for child and infant safety chairs.
Invention is credited to Henley, Michael E., McConnell, Thomas E..
Application Number | 20040189067 10/818759 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22473142 |
Filed Date | 2004-09-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040189067 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McConnell, Thomas E. ; et
al. |
September 30, 2004 |
Two-stage protective car seat cover for child and infant safety
chairs
Abstract
There is provided a seat cover for accommodating a child safety
chair upon a seat. The seat cover comprises a lower protective
member which is disposable upon a seating portion of the seat. This
lower member can accommodate the child safety chair when positioned
in a rearward-facing direction to prevent it from permanently
compressing the seating portion. The seat cover further comprises
an upper protective member that is disposable against a seat-back
portion of the seat. This upper member is selectively attachable
with and detachable from the lower member. By doing so, the upper
member can further prevent the chair from permanently compressing
the seat-back portion when it is repositioned in a forward-facing
direction and placed in contact therewith.
Inventors: |
McConnell, Thomas E.; (Santa
Ynez, CA) ; Henley, Michael E.; (Santa Ynez,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Kit M. Stetina, Esq.
STETINA BRUNDA GARRED & BRUCKER
Suite 250
75 Enterprise
Aliso Viejo
CA
92656
US
|
Family ID: |
22473142 |
Appl. No.: |
10/818759 |
Filed: |
April 6, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10818759 |
Apr 6, 2004 |
|
|
|
10136507 |
May 1, 2002 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/219.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N 2/60 20130101; B60N
2/28 20130101; Y10T 29/481 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/219.1 |
International
Class: |
A47C 031/00 |
Claims
1-50. (Cancelled).
51. A seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat
having seating and seat-back portions, the seat cover comprising: a
lower protective member disposable upon the seating portion of the
seat and defining a lower peripheral edge formed by a lower forward
edge, a lower rear edge and a pair of opposed lower side edges
interconnecting the lower forward edge and the lower rear edge, the
lower peripheral edge forming a ridge substantially therearound,
the lower protective member being configured to accommodate the
child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction
for preventing the chair from permanently compressing the seating
portion; and an upper protective member disposable against the
seat-back portion of the seat and defining an upper peripheral edge
formed by an upper top edge, an upper bottom edge and a pair of
upper side edges interconnecting the upper top edge and the upper
bottom edge, the upper protective member being selectively
attachable to and detachable from the lower protective member so as
to be configured to prevent the chair from permanently compressing
the seat-back portion when the chair is repositioned in a
forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith, wherein
the lower protective member includes at least one folding line
extending between the lower side edges and oriented generally
parallel to and disposed between the lower forward edge and the
lower rear edge, the upper protective member including at least one
folding line extending between the upper side edges and oriented
generally parallel to and disposed between the upper top edge and
the upper bottom edge, each of the folding lines being configured
to allow respective ones of the lower and upper protective members
to be folded so as to accommodate curvature of the seating and
seat-back portions, a V-shaped notch being formed in the ridge at
each of the lower side edges adjacent to the folding line in the
lower protective member.
52. The seat cover of claim 51 wherein the seat is a vehicular
seat.
53. The seat cover of claim 51 wherein the lower and upper
protective members are each fabricated from a material sized and
configured to provide cushioning to the child safety chair.
54. The seat cover of claim 53 wherein the lower and upper
protective members each comprise a protective cover which
encapsulates the cushioning material.
55. A seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat
having seating and seat-back portions, the seat cover comprising: a
lower protective member disposable upon the seating portion of the
seat, the lower protective member being configured to accommodate
the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing
direction for preventing the chair from permanently compressing the
seating portion; and an upper protective member disposable against
the seat-back portion of the seat and defining an upper peripheral
edge formed by an upper top edge, an upper bottom edge and a pair
of upper side edges interconnecting the upper top edge and the
upper bottom edge, the upper protective member being releasibly
attachable to the lower protective member so as to be configured to
prevent the chair from permanently compressing the seat-back
portion when the chair is repositioned in a forward-facing
direction and placed in contact therewith, the upper protective
member including at least one folding line oriented generally
parallel to and disposed between the upper top edge and the upper
bottom edge, the folding line extending between the upper side
edges and being configured to allow the upper protective member to
be folded so as to accommodate curvature of the seat-back
portion.
56. The seat cover of claim 55 wherein the seat is a vehicular
seat.
57. The seat cover of claim 55 wherein the lower and upper
protective members are each fabricated from a material sized and
configured to provide cushioning to the child safety chair.
58. The seat cover of claim 57 wherein the lower and upper
protective members each comprise a protective cover which
encapsulates the cushioning material.
59. (Currently Amended) A seat cover for accommodating a child
safety chair upon a seat having seating and seat-back portions, the
seat cover comprising: a lower protective member disposable upon
the seating portion of the seat, the lower protective member being
configured to accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in
a rearward-facing direction for preventing the chair from
permanently compressing the seating portion; and an upper
protective member disposable against the seat-back portion of the
seat, the upper protective member being selectively attachable to
and detachable from the lower protective member so as to be
configured to prevent the chair from permanently compressing the
seat-back portion when the chair is repositioned in a
forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith, wherein
the lower and upper protective members are each fabricated from a
material having a tactile property configured to frictionally grip
the child safety chair.
60. The seat cover of claim 59 wherein the seat is a vehicular
seat.
61. The seat cover of claim 59 wherein the lower and upper
protective members are each fabricated from rubber.
62. The seat cover of claim 61 wherein the rubber is foam
rubber.
63. The seat cover of claim 59 wherein the lower and upper
protective members are each fabricated from polymer.
64. The seat cover of claim 63 wherein the polymer is foamed
polymer.
65. A seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat
having seating and seat-back portions, the seat cover comprising: a
lower protective member disposable upon the seating portion of the
seat and being configured to accommodate the child safety chair
when positioned in a rearward-facing direction for preventing the
chair from permanently compressing the seating portion.
66. The seat cover of claim 65 wherein the seat is a vehicular
seat.
67. The seat cover of claim 65 wherein the lower protective member
is fabricated from a material sized and configured to provide
cushioning to the child safety chair.
68. The seat cover of claim 67 wherein the lower protective member
comprises a protective cover which encapsulates the cushioning
material.
69. The seat cover of claim 65 wherein the lower protective member
defines a lower peripheral edge formed by a lower forward edge, a
lower rear edge and a pair of opposed lower side edges
interconnecting the lower forward edge and the lower rear edge, the
lower peripheral edge forming a ridge substantially therearound for
containing spills therewithin.
70. The seat cover of claim 69 wherein the lower protective member
includes at least one folding line extending between the lower side
edges and oriented generally parallel to and disposed between the
lower forward edge and the lower rear edge, the ridge having a
V-shaped notch formed at each one of the lower side edges adjacent
to the folding line to allow the lower protective member to be
folded therealong so as to accommodate curvature of the seating
portion.
71. The seat cover of claim 70 wherein the folding line is
positioned generally midway between the lower forward edge and the
lower rear edge.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] (Not Applicable)
STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
[0002] (Not Applicable)
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates generally to seat covers, and
more particularly to an improved, two-stage seat cover which
transitions from a one-piece system for accommodating a rear-facing
child safety chair to a two-piece system for accommodating a
forward-facing one to prevent a seat from being soiled and
permanently compressed thereby.
[0004] Child safety chairs have been marketed throughout the world
for many years. It is now mandatory within the United States for
parents to employ child safety chairs when traveling in vehicles so
that their children are safe in case an unfortunate event such as a
car accident should occur.
[0005] Child safety chairs on seats are typically positioned in two
directions depending upon the age and/or weight of the child using
it. The safety chair is typically placed to face toward the
vehicle's rear when it is used upon a small infant generally up to
six months of age. As the infant matures in age and weight (i.e.,
six months up to eight years or eighty pounds in weight), the child
safety chair is usually turned around so that it faces toward the
front of the vehicle.
[0006] Existing safety restraints such as lap and shoulder belts
are typically utilized to harness the child safety chairs to the
vehicular seats. However, a significant problem exists in that the
weight of these chairs are continuously applied upon the vehicular
seats, thereby often causing permanent compression damages thereto.
The degree of permanent compression damage can drastically increase
given the fact that the weight of infant or child has to be
accounted for in addition to the safety chair's weight. Most
parents have found such damage to be simply unacceptable as they
permanently deforms the seats of their vehicles.
[0007] Further marring to the vehicular seats can occur when
infants or children using the child safety chairs inadvertently
soil the seats, for example, by diaper leaks on accidental spilling
of their drinks and/or food.
[0008] To alleviate these problems, many parents resort to using
seat coverings such as plastic sheets, rubber mats and foam padded
blankets between the vehicular seats and the child safety chairs.
Though these seat coverings generally achieve their primary
objective of protecting vehicular seats, they possess certain
deficiencies which detract for their overall utility.
[0009] Perhaps the greatest deficiency of such coverings is their
inability to protect the entirety of the vehicular seats.
Specifically, plastic sheets, rubber mats and padded blankets are
essentially tailored to cover only the seating portions of the
vehicular seats and may be useful when accommodating a
rearward-facing safety chair as it distributes weight solely on the
seating portion of the vehicular seat. However, when the chair is
repositioned to be forward-facing, these coverings typically cannot
prevent the chair from further contacting the exposed seat-back
portion of the vehicular seat thereby inevitably dispersing its
weight thereto. Although multiple layers of plastic sheets, rubber
mats or padded blankets may theoretically be spread over the seats,
such arrangement will be aesthetically unpleasing, not to mention
being awkward and difficult to maintain as they are not designed
for such use.
[0010] In view of the above-described shortcomings of conventional
vehicular seat coverings, there exists a need in the art for a
vehicular seat cover that can optimally accommodate both rearward
and forward facing child safety chairs, the directions of which are
critical at various stages of a child's growth. More specifically,
there exists a need for a vehicular seat cover which can prevent
vehicular seats from becoming soiled and permanently compressed
irrespective of the orientations that the child safety chairs
take.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates
the above-referenced deficiencies associated with the use of the
seat coverings of the prior art. More particularly, the present
invention is an improved, two-stage seat cover which may easily
alternate between one-piece and two-piece configurations so as to
accommodate both rear and forward facing child safety chairs. As
will be demonstrated below, the present seat cover's adaptability
to transition between such configurations allows an infant and/or
child to be safely carried within a vehicle, while preventing the
vehicular seats from being damaged by accidental soiling or
permanent compressions caused by the weight-bearing-child safety
chairs.
[0012] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, there is provided a two-stage seat cover for preventing
a vehicular seat from being soiled or permanently deformed by a
child safety chair which continuously applies its weight thereupon.
The seat cover of the present invention comprises a lower
rigid/semi-rigid protective member which is disposable upon a
seating portion of the vehicular seat. The lower protective member
is specifically designed for accommodating a rearward-facing safety
chair as it is solely the chair's base section that contacts and
thus applies weight to the seat at the seating portion. By using
the lower protective member between the safety chair and the
seating portion, the weight of the chair is distributed over the
entire surface area of the protective member to thereby reduce any
force generated by the weight from deforming the seating portion.
Hence, the seating portion is prevented from suffering any
permanent compression deformation.
[0013] The lower protective member additionally includes a lower
peripheral edge which forms a ridge-like configuration
substantially therearound. This ridge may be formed by shaping the
lower peripheral edge in that configuration, or alternatively, by
selectively extending an elongate strip around the lower peripheral
edge. If the latter step is taken, the strip should be fabricated
from a rigid or semi-rigid material (e.g., rubber) so that a
configuration of a ridge is maintained at all times. By providing
the ridge, any spills such as spilled drinks or diaper leaks
originating from the child safety chair are maintained within the
ridge and on the top surface of the protective member to prevent
them from contacting and soiling any part of the seat and/or
vehicular interiors.
[0014] Optionally, at least one pocket may be provided on the lower
forward edge part of the lower protective member. Such pocket(s)
may be any type which can adequately hold various items (e.g., baby
bottles, toys, etc.) therein such as a mesh pocket, for example.
The pocket may be attached to the lower forward edge by multiple
means such as hook-and-loop strips (commonly called the Velcro) or
by simply using permanent fasteners.
[0015] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
seat cover also features an upper protective member which is
selectively attachable to the lower protective member and is
disposable against a seat-back portion of the vehicular seat. The
upper protective member is specifically designed to be used in
combination with the lower protective member for accommodating a
forward-facing safety chair as it further applies its weight to the
seat-back portion of the seat in addition to the seating portion.
By providing the upper protective member when desired, the force
generated by the weight of the forward-facing chair may similarly
be more evenly distributed thereby so as to replace localized
compression forces on the seat-back portion of the vehicle seat.
Thus, the seat-back portion, as well as the seating portion, can be
protected from becoming permanently deformed by the continuous
weight imposed by the child safety chair.
[0016] The upper and lower protective members may be releasibly
attached to each other through one of many known conventional
methods. One of such preferred methods is employing the
hook-and-loop fastening (commonly called Velcro). More
specifically, a hook strip can be formed adjacent the upper bottom
edge of the upper protective member, whereas a loop strip can be
formed adjacent the lower rear edge of the lower protective member.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that an
alternate arrangement may also be possible where the hook strip is
defined adjacent the lower rear edge and the loop strip is defined
adjacent the upper bottom edge. By utilizing this hook-and-loop
arrangement, the upper protective member can easily and
conveniently be attachable and detachable with respect to the lower
protective member.
[0017] In operation, the present two-stage seat cover is used
according to a child's growth progression for the purpose of
accommodating a child safety chair upon a vehicular seat. As
mentioned above, a parent typically utilizes the safety chair in a
rearward-facing direction when his or her child is in the infant
stage (i.e., below six months of age). To accommodate the
rearward-facing safety chair, the parent may solely lay the lower
protective member on the seat's seating portion such that the
rearward-facing safety chair can be accommodated thereupon
substantially within its formed ridge-like configuration. In this
respect, the risk of permanent compression damage to the seating
portion is significantly mitigated as the force generated by the
chair's weight is more uniformly distributed by the lower
protective member. Of course, any spillage originating from the
safety chair will be contained within the vertical barrier formed
by the lower member's ridge configuration.
[0018] When the infant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months
up to eight years or eighty pounds in weight), the child safety
chair must be turned around so that it now faces the front of the
vehicle. In order to further prevent the weight of the
forward-facing chair from being directly applied to the seat's
seat-back portion, the upper protective member is disposed
therebetween. More particularly, the upper member's hook strip can
be abutted to the lower member's loop strip for releasible
attachment between the upper and lower protective members. By doing
so, further weight applied to the seat-back portion by the
forward-facing chair is sufficiently distributed by the upper
protective member so as to protect against permanent compression
damage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] These as well as other features of the present invention
will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings
wherein:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a two-stage seat cover
constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention disposed upon a vehicular seat;
[0021] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower protective member of
the seat cover shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating its placement on
the seat's seating portion to accommodate a rearward-facing child
safety chair thereupon;
[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the seat cover of FIG. 1
formed by attaching an upper protective member to the lower
protective member of FIG. 2 and illustrating a forward-facing child
safety chair which is accommodated thereupon; and
[0023] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the seat cover of
FIG. 1 and illustrating its hook and loop strips for releasibly
attaching the lower and upper protective members together and
attaching an optional storage pocket.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for
purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present
invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1
perspectively illustrates a two-stage seat cover 10 constructed in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As
indicated above, the present seat cover 10 can easily alternate
between one-piece and two-piece configurations for accommodating
both rear and forward facing child safety chairs 12, 14. As will be
come more apparent infra, this ability to transition between such
configurations helps prevent a vehicular seat 16 such as a car seat
from being damaged by accidental soiling or permanent compressions
caused by the weight-bearing child safety chairs 12, 14. It is
recognized herein that the present seat cover 10 may be utilized
with other types of seats other than vehicular seats 16.
[0025] Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4, the seat cover
10 of the present invention is comprised of a lower protective
member 18 and an upper protective member 20. Although those figures
specifically show the lower and upper protective members 18, 20 as
being generally rectangular, it will be recognized by one of
ordinary skill in the art that any shapes, configurations, sizes
and/or geometries that can substantially accommodate the safety
chair 12 or 14 thereupon are contemplated herein. Additionally, the
lower and upper protective member 18, 20 may provide a variety
forms of textures. However, it is preferred that the lower and
upper protective members 18, 20 are each fabricated from a rigid or
semi-rigid material that additionally possesses tactile
frictionally grip properties, and/or provides at least some degree
of cushioning to, the child safety chair 12 or 14. An exemplary
material for this purpose is a polymer, foamed polymer and/or foam
rubber, but other foamed polymer and/or materials are expressly
contemplated herein. Optionally, a washable protective cover 22
such as the one made of a nylon fabric may encapsulate the lower
and upper protective members 18, 20 so as to protect their
materials from being soiled by a spillage for example.
[0026] Referring now to FIG. 2 only, the lower protective member 18
is adapted to be disposed upon a seating portion 24 of the
vehicular seat 16. The lower protective member 18 accommodates a
rearward-facing safety chair 12 by itself as it is only the chair's
base section 26 which contacts and thus applies weight to the
seating portion 24. By being placed between the safety chair 12 and
the seating portion 24, the lower protective member 18 operates to
more uniformly distribute the chair weight and infant weight across
the surface area of the seating portion 24. Hence, the risk of
permanent compression damage to the seating portion 24 is
significantly mitigated.
[0027] The lower protective member 18 preferably includes a lower
peripheral edge 28 which defines the outer boundaries thereof. The
lower peripheral edge 28 is generally formed by a lower forward
edge 30 (disposed away from the upper protective member 20), a
lower rear edge 32 (disposed toward the upper member 20) and two
lower side edges 34 interconnecting them. Although not mandatory,
the lower peripheral edge 28 forms a ridge-like configuration 36
substantially therearound (i.e. except its lower forward edge 30).
However, an alternate configuration forms the ridge 36 around the
entirety of the lower peripheral edge 28.
[0028] The ridge 36 may be integrally having various heights with
the lower protective member 18. Alternatively, an elongate strip 38
may be selectively extended around the lower peripheral edge 28 to
form the desired ridge 36. In this latter embodiment, such strip 38
is preferably constructed from a rigid or semi-rigid material
(e.g., polymer on rubber) so that the configuration of a ridge 36
can be sustained irrespective of various pressures impacting the
same. By providing this ridge 36, any spills such as spilled drinks
or diaper leaks originating from the child safety chair 12 or 14
can be contained within the boundary set thereby to prevent them
from flowing out and soiling any part of the seat 16 and/or
vehicular interior.
[0029] Optionally, the lower protective member 18 may have at least
one storage pocket 40 which may be extended from its lower forward
edge 30. The pocket(s) 40 may be any type of pocket which can
adequately hold various items (e.g., baby bottles, toys, etc.)
therein. One example of such pocket may be a mesh pocket which
defines from one to any number of sufficiently deepened pouches.
The pocket(s) 40 may be remarkably mounted to the lower forward
edge 30 in any conventional manner such as using hook-and-loop or
fasteners and/or snaps or zippers. Furthermore, the lower
protective member 18 may optionally include at least one folding
line 42 which extends between the two lower side edges 34. This
folding line(s) 42 allows the lower protective member 18 to be
folded so as to facilitate carrying thereof when it is not in use
and further better accommodate any curvature the seat portion
24.
[0030] Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the upper protective
member 20 is configured to be disposed against a seat-back portion
44 of the vehicular seat 16. The upper protective member 20 is used
in combination with the lower protective member 18 so that a
forward-facing child safety chair 14 can be accommodated
collectively thereby. The upper protective member 20 is adapted to
be generally contiguous with the surface of the seat-back portion
44. In this regard, when the child safety chair 14 is placed in the
forward-face direction, the chair's top section 46 further contacts
and thus applies its weight thereto in addition to the chair's base
section 26 applying weight to the seating portion 24.
[0031] It is preferred that the upper protective member 20 can be
selectively attachable with and detachable from the lower
protective member 18. By providing the upper protective member 20
when desired, the compressive force generated by the weight of the
forward-facing chair 14 may be more uniformly distributed upon the
entire surface area of the seat portion 44 so as to lessen the
continuous impact of the chair 14 at the seat-back portion 44.
Therefore, the seat-back portion 44 of the vehicular seat 16, as
well as its seating portion 24, can be adequately protected from
becoming permanently deformed by the continuous weight respectively
imposed by the top and base sections 46, 26 of the forward-facing
child safety chair 14.
[0032] The upper protective member 20 has an upper peripheral edge
48 defining the outer boundaries thereof. The upper peripheral edge
48 is characterized by an upper top edge 50 (disposed away from the
lower protective member 18), an upper bottom edge 52 (disposed
toward the lower protective member 18) and two upper side edges 54
interconnecting them. The upper protective member 20 may optionally
have at least one folding line 56 that can extend between the two
upper side edges 54 which allows it to similarly be folded for ease
of carrying and conform to the curvature of the seat portion 44.
Further optional is a trimming 58 which may be extended between the
upper side edges 54 through the upper top edge 50. Although this
trimming 58 may be any type or form, it is preferably a nylon
fabric trimming. Moreover, a person of ordinary skill in the art
will recognize that a variety of indicia such as company names,
designs or logos may be inscribed within the upper peripheral edge
48.
[0033] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the upper and lower protective
members can be releasibly attached to each other by preferably
employing the hook-and-loop strips (commonly called the Velcro)
formed therebetween. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will
realize that such releasible attachment may be accomplished via
other known conventional methods (e.g., releasible pins, buttons,
etc.). In particular, a hook strip 60 is formed adjacent the upper
bottom edge 52 of the upper protective member 20. A loop strip 62
is formed adjacent the lower rear edge 32 of the lower protective
member 18. It is easily contemplated, however, that the positioning
of the hook and loop strips 60, 62 be reversed such that the hook
strip 60 is formed adjacent the lower rear edge 32 and the loop
strip 62 is formed adjacent the upper bottom edge 52. By utilizing
this hook-and-loop arrangement, the upper protective member 20 can
easily and conveniently be attached and detached with respect to
the lower protective member 18.
[0034] In operation, the present two-stage seat cover 10 is used
according to a child's growth progression and accommodates a child
safety chair 12, 14 upon a vehicular seat 16 without inflicting any
damage thereto. Typically, a parent positions the safety chair 12
in a rearward-facing direction when his or her child is in the
infant stage (i.e., below six months of age). In this scenario, the
lower protective member 18 is used without the upper protective
member 20 and is placed upon the seating portion 24. The
rearward-facing child safety chair 12 may then be set upon the
lower protective member 18 substantially within its formed
ridge-like configuration 36. By doing so, the risk of permanent
compression damage to the seating portion 24 is significantly
reduced as the force generated by the chair's weight is more
uniformly distributed by (i.e. disbursed) the lower protective
member 18. Of course, any spillage (i.e., spilled drinks, diaper
leakage) coming from the child safety chair 12 or 14 will be
contained within ridge 36 as it forms a vertical substantially
around the lower peripheral edge 28.
[0035] As the infant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months up
to eight years or eighty pounds in weight), the child safety chair
14 must be turned around so that it now faces the front of the
vehicle. The upper protective member 20 is placed between the
chair's top section 46 and the seat-back portion 44 to alleviate
the weight of the forward-facing chair 14 from being directly
applied to the seat-back portion 44. To accomplish such end, the
upper member's hook strip 60 is releasibly attached to the lower
member's loop strip 62. In this respect, weight applied to the
seat-back portion 44 by the forward-facing chair 14 can be
sufficiently distributed by the upper protective member 20 in order
to protect against permanent compression damages. The upper
protective member 20 is easily detachable for adaptation toward the
rearward-facing chair 12 so that the present seat cover 10 can be
reused for other infants (e.g., younger siblings).
[0036] Additional modifications and improvements of the present
invention may also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
art. Thus, the particular combination of parts described and
illustrated herein is intended to represent only certain
embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to serve
as limitations of alternative devices within the spirit and scope
of the invention.
* * * * *