U.S. patent application number 10/532759 was filed with the patent office on 2006-07-27 for child seat.
This patent application is currently assigned to DaimlerChrysler AG. Invention is credited to Karl-Heinz Baumann, Michael Fehring, Peter Horn, Rainer Justen.
Application Number | 20060163923 10/532759 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32115115 |
Filed Date | 2006-07-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060163923 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Baumann; Karl-Heinz ; et
al. |
July 27, 2006 |
Child seat
Abstract
The invention relates to a child seat (1) which can be fastened
to a vehicle seat of a motor vehicle by means of a three-point seat
belt (14). It is also possible for the child seat also to be
connected to the supporting structure of the vehicle via an ISOFIX
fastening system (17). The three-point seat belt (14) is equipped
with a tightening device. The child seat (1) has its own belt
system for securing a child sitting on the child seat. According to
the invention, it is proposed that the three-point seat belt (14)
be coupled to the belt system of the child seat (1). This coupling
makes it possible, during a preventative or crash-active tightening
of the three-point seat belt (14), for the belt system of the child
seat (1) also to be tightened without a separate tightening device
being necessary.
Inventors: |
Baumann; Karl-Heinz;
(Bondorf, DE) ; Fehring; Michael; (Neuhausen,
DE) ; Horn; Peter; (Sindelfingen, DE) ;
Justen; Rainer; (Altdorf, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CROWELL & MORING LLP;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP
P.O. BOX 14300
WASHINGTON
DC
20044-4300
US
|
Assignee: |
DaimlerChrysler AG
Eppelstrasse 225
Stuttgart
DE
DE
|
Family ID: |
32115115 |
Appl. No.: |
10/532759 |
Filed: |
October 2, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
October 2, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP03/10914 |
371 Date: |
November 14, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/254 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N 2/2806 20130101;
B60R 22/1951 20130101; B60N 2/2812 20130101; B60N 2/286 20130101;
B60N 2/2887 20130101; B60N 2/2884 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/254 |
International
Class: |
A47D 1/10 20060101
A47D001/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 2, 2002 |
DE |
102 51 040 27 |
Claims
1-16. (canceled)
17. A child seat for a vehicle seat having a three-point seat belt
with a tightening device, the child seat comprising a belt system
for securing a child sitting on the child seat, wherein the
three-point seat belt is coupled to the belt system.
18. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a
coupling element which is connected to the belt system, wherein a
tightening of the three-point seat belt activates the coupling
element, causing a tightening of the belt system.
19. The child seat as claimed in claim 18, wherein the coupling
element is a belt strap, a first free end of the belt strap being
connected to the three-point seat belt, and a second free end of
the belt strap being connected to the belt system.
20. The child seat as claimed in claim 19, further comprising upper
and lower belt deflections, wherein the three-point seat belt is
guided about the upper and lower belt deflections, the lower belt
deflection being activated when the three-point seat belt is
tightened.
21. The child seat as claimed in claim 20, further comprising a
lower transverse strut, wherein the lower belt deflection is
designed as a clip which is mounted on the lower transverse
strut.
22. The child seat as claimed in claim 20, wherein the upper belt
deflection is designed as an upper transverse strut.
23. The child seat as claimed in claim 22, further comprising two
side cheeks, wherein the upper transverse strut is connected to the
lower transverse strut by the two side cheeks.
24. The child seat as claimed in claim 23, wherein the first end of
the belt strap is fastened to the clip.
25. The child seat as claimed in claim 24, further comprising a
back rest, wherein the belt system comprises a harness belt having
a Y-distributor provided in the back rest.
26. The child seat as claimed in claim 25, wherein the second end
of the belt strap is fastened to the Y-distributor.
27. The child seat as claimed in claim 26, wherein the belt strap
is guided via deflecting bars.
28. The child seat as claimed in claim 27, wherein the belt strap
is guided via a tensioning pulley which is held displaceably in a
linear guide.
29. The child seat as claimed in claim 28, wherein the tensioning
pulley is connected to a latching device of the belt system via a
second belt strap.
30. The child seat as claimed in claim 29, further comprising a
force-limiting system for limiting a belt force.
31. The child seat as claimed in claim 30, wherein the
force-limiting threshold for the belt force is dependent on the
belt length or belt position set.
32. The child seat as claimed in claim 31, wherein a fastening
system is provided with which the child seat is fastened to the
supporting structure of the vehicle.
33. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, further comprising upper
and lower belt deflections, wherein the three-point seat belt is
guided about the upper and lower belt deflections, the lower belt
deflection being activated when the three-point seat belt is
tightened.
34. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a
lower transverse strut, wherein the lower belt deflection is
designed as a clip which is mounted on the lower transverse
strut.
35. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, wherein the upper belt
deflection is designed as an upper transverse strut.
36. The child seat as claimed in claim 18, further comprising two
side cheeks, wherein the upper transverse strut is connected to the
lower transverse strut by the two side cheeks.
37. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first end of
the belt strap is fastened to the clip.
38. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a
back rest, wherein the belt system comprises a harness belt having
a Y-distributor provided in the back rest.
39. The child seat as claimed in claim 22, wherein the second end
of the belt strap is fastened to the Y-distributor.
40. The child seat as claimed in claim 23, wherein the belt strap
is guided via deflecting bars.
41. The child seat as claimed in claim 24, wherein the belt strap
is guided via a tensioning pulley which is held displaceably in a
linear guide.
42. The child seat as claimed in claim 25, wherein the tensioning
pulley is connected to a latching device of the belt system via a
second belt strap.
43. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a
force-limiting system for limiting a belt force.
44. The child seat as claimed in claim 27, wherein the
force-limiting threshold for the belt force is dependent on the
belt length or belt position set.
45. The child seat as claimed in claim 17, wherein a fastening
system is provided with which the child seat is fastened to the
supporting structure of the vehicle.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a child seat for a vehicle seat of
a motor vehicle.
[0002] Solutions are already known from the prior art for securely
fastening child seats to a vehicle seat.
[0003] There is, for example, the "ISOFIX system", in which two
connectors fastened to the child seat engage with snap fasteners
around two anchorages which are fastened to the vehicle floor
between the seat back and seat surface.
[0004] DE 197 22 096 A1 discloses a child seat which has its own
belt system and which can be fastened to a vehicle seat of a motor
vehicle by means of a three-point seat belt on the vehicle seat
side. The child seat is equipped with a tightening device into
which a shoulder belt part of the three-point seat belt of the
motor vehicle is inserted. In the event of an impact, the
tightening device, which is integrated in the child seat, is
activated, so that, during a deceleration of the vehicle body, the
child seat can immediately respond.
[0005] However, a prerequisite for an optimum restraining action of
the child in the child seat is that any belt slack of the belt
system integrated into the child seat is minimized.
[0006] It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a
child seat, the belt system of which can be tightened
preventatively and/or crash-actively.
[0007] According to the invention, a child seat can be fastened to
a vehicle seat by a three-point seat belt. The three-point seat
belt is equipped as standard with a tightening device which can be
accommodated, for example, in the belt retractor or in the belt
buckle. The three-point seat belt is coupled to the belt system of
the child seat, so that a shortening of the three-point seat belt
during an impact causes the belt system of the child seat to be
tightened. The three-point seat belt is fastened to the child seat
in such a manner that, in the event of a head-on impact, a possible
tendency of the child seat to rotate about an ISOFIX fastening,
resulting from the connection below the center of gravity of the
child seat, can be reduced or completely eliminated. With the
coupling of the three-point seat belt to the belt system of the
child seat, the crash-active or preventative belt tightening of the
three-point seat belt, which belt tightening is generally provided
in any case, is transmitted to the belt system of the child seat
without a separate belt-tightening unit having to be installed for
the child seat.
[0008] In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the
three-point seat belt is connected to the belt system of the child
seat via a coupling element. In this case, the coupling element is
designed in such a manner that the tensile forces introduced by the
three-point seat belt are reinforced.
[0009] The coupling element may be a belt strap, the first free end
of which is connected to the three-point seat belt. The second free
end of the belt strap is connected to the belt system of the child
seat, thus ensuring that force will be transmitted by the
three-point seat belt to the belt system of the child seat.
[0010] The three-point seat belt can be guided about an upper and a
lower belt deflection on the child seat. The lower belt deflection
is designed in such a manner that, when the three-point seat belt
is tightened, the belt loop guided about the upper and lower belt
deflection is shortened and a tensile force can therefore be passed
on to the belt strap.
[0011] The lower belt deflection can advantageously be designed as
a clip which is mounted movably on a lower transverse strut. The
upper belt deflection may be designed as an upper transverse strut
for deflecting and supporting the three-point seat belt, with it
being possible for the belt force applied by a belt-tightening
device to be harmonized via the friction on the upper transverse
strut.
[0012] A stable construction of a child seat can be achieved by the
upper transverse strut being connected to the lower transverse
strut by two side cheeks.
[0013] The installation of the child seat therefore turns out to be
very simple: first of all, the buckle latch of the three-point seat
belt is inserted into the belt buckle of the vehicle. The shoulder
belt part of the three-point seat belt is then guided over the
upper transverse strut and threaded into the clip of the lower
transverse strut. When the belt is threaded in, the child seat can
be anchored by its ISOFIX connectors on the ISOFIX anchorages on
the vehicle.
[0014] One end of the belt strap may be fastened to the clip, so
that, when a belt force acts on the clip, the belt strap is
likewise acted upon, so that a shortening of the child seat belt
system, which is connected to the belt strap, can therefore take
place.
[0015] The belt system of the child seat may comprise a harness
belt, with it being possible for a Y-distributor for the harness
belt to be provided in the back rest. The second end of the belt
strap can be fastened to this Y-distributor.
[0016] Optimum introduction of force into the belt system of the
child seat is ensured by guiding the belt strap via deflecting
bars. Care should be taken in the guidance of the belt strap to
ensure that a low-friction arrangement of the deflecting bars is
selected in order to keep frictional losses of the belt strap
minimal.
[0017] In addition, a tensioning pulley can be provided through
which the belt strap is guided, and which can be held displaceably
in a linear guide. As a result, more belt material can be
deflected, and the belt can therefore be shortened manually for the
purpose of adjusting it to the child.
[0018] In one preferred embodiment, the tensioning pulley is
connected to a manually operable belt strap of the belt system. As
a result, when the tensioning pulley is displaced manually, the
manually operable belt strap and subsequent latching enable the
belt supplying the belt system of the child seat to be adjusted and
matched to the child in a simple manner.
[0019] In addition to the tightening device, the child seat can
have a force-limiting system which has means for limiting the
maximum belt force. A force-limiting system of this type is
described in DE 101 07 874 A1. The full contents of the disclosure
in DE 101 07 874 A1 are hereby incorporated into the disclosure of
the patent application.
[0020] The force-limiting threshold of the maximum belt force can
advantageously be dependent on the belt length or belt position
set, since children's weight depends on their height.
[0021] As already mentioned, the child seat can additionally be
fastened to the supporting structure of the vehicle via a fastening
system, for example the ISOFIX system. The threading of the
three-point seat belt through the upper and lower struts together
with the ISOFIX system constitutes a particularly user-friendly
solution.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] One advantageous embodiment of the invention will be
explained below with reference to the drawing, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 shows a child seat in a perspective view from the
rear,
[0024] FIG. 2 shows a child seat according to FIG. 1 with a
three-point seat belt,
[0025] FIG. 3 shows a child seat according to FIG. 1 in a
perspective view from the front,
[0026] FIG. 4 shows a guide of the belt strap according to FIG. 3
in a view obliquely from above,
[0027] FIG. 5 shows a guide of the belt strap according to FIG. 4
in a view from the rear, and
[0028] FIG. 6 shows a guide of the belt strap according to FIG. 4
in a view from the side.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates a child seat 1 with a seat shell 2. From
the seat shell 2 part of a back rest 3, into which an upper
transverse strut 4 and a lower transverse strut 5 are introduced,
is visible. The two transverse struts 4 and 5 are connected to each
other by two side cheeks 6 and 7.
[0030] Accommodated in the back rest 3 is a Y-distributor 8, to
which harness belts (not illustrated) are fastened and are guided
through openings 9 onto the front side of the back rest 3. The
Y-distributor 8 is of U-shaped design and has, at its lower end 10,
a slot 11 through which a belt strap 12, which is designed as a
coupling element, is guided.
[0031] A clip 13 which is connected to the belt strap 12 is mounted
on the lower transverse strut 5. The clip 13 is of U-shaped design
and introduces a belt force into the belt strap 12 when the loop of
the three-point seat belt 14 between the upper transverse strut 4
and clip 13 is shortened in the arrow direction A. In this case,
the belt force with the clip 13 increases to twice the amount
because the three-point seat belt 14 in conjunction with the clip
13 constitutes a block-and-tackle principle with the transmission
ratio 1:2. That is to say, when the three-point seat belt 14 is
retracted by the distance x with the force y, the distance x/2 is
deployed with the force 2y at the clip 13.
[0032] As is apparent from FIG. 2, a three-point seat belt 14 on
the vehicle seat can be fitted into the clip 13, so that the
three-point seat belt 14 is deflected about the upper transverse
strut 4. The three-point seat belt 14 therefore runs from its upper
connecting point 14a (not illustrated) between the upper transverse
strut 4 and the back rest 3 to the clip 13, from there back to the
transverse strut 4 and then to its lower connecting point 14b. A
means of securing against the three-point seat belt 14 slipping out
may additionally be provided on the clip 13.
[0033] In the illustrated position of the three-point seat belt 14,
the buckle latch 15 thereof is inserted into a belt buckle 16
arranged next to the vehicle seat. The lap belt extending from the
buckle latch 15 is not specifically illustrated and extends
approximately from level with the bottom of the child seat to that
side of the child seat 1 which lies opposite the belt buckle 16. In
the lower region of the child seat 1, connectors 17 are provided
for fastening it to the ISOFIX anchorages on the vehicle.
[0034] The illustration in FIG. 3 shows the child seat 1 in a
perspective view from the front, with the belt strap 12 being
guided via a deflecting device 18 arranged in the lower region of
the child seat 1.
[0035] In FIG. 4, the guiding of the belt strap 12 in the
deflecting device 18 is explained in more detail. The deflecting
device 18 comprises two runners 19 and 20 which are arranged in a
mirror-inverted manner with respect to each other and are connected
to each other by deflecting bars 21a to 21e. In addition, a
tensioning pulley 22 is provided and is held in a linear guide 23
in a manner such that it can be displaced manually parallel to the
longitudinal axis L of the child seat 1. Buckles 24 and 25, which
are connected to each other by a strut 26, are coupled on both
sides of the tensioning pulley 22. A belt strap 27 belonging to the
belt system of the child seat 1 is fastened to the strut, is guided
via the deflecting bar 21e onto the seat side of the child seat 1
where it keeps the tensioning pulley 22 in the designated position
by a standard latching device.
[0036] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show the guiding of the belt strap 12
according to FIG. 4, with the deflection of the belt strap 12 by
the clip 13 (not illustrated) via the tensioning pulley 22 as far
as the Y-distributor 8 (likewise not illustrated) being apparent.
The tensioning pulley 22 can be moved to and fro in the linear
guide 23 in accordance with the arrow direction B. The manual
matching of the belt system of the child seat 1 to the individual
requirements of the child with regard to belt slack after the child
has been placed in is realized via the displacement of the
tensioning pulley 22 by the belt strap 27 and the standard latching
device (not illustrated). The further forward the tensioning pulley
22 is positioned in the linear guide 23, the tighter will the belt
of the child seat bear against the child.
[0037] The force transmission of a preventative or crash-active
tightening by the three-point seat belt 14 on the vehicle takes
place via the activation of the clip 13, for example by the
shoulder belt being tightened (for example preventatively), or the
belt buckle is being tightened (for example crash-actively). In
both cases, the belt is retracted. This results in a shortening of
the belt loop between the upper transverse strut 4 and the clip 13.
In this case, the belt force at the clip 13 doubles. The clip 13
passes on the belt force F via deflecting bars 21a to 21e and the
tensioning pulley 22 to the Y-distributor 8 and therefore to the
harness belt of the belt system, which belt is tightened as a
result. Furthermore, the tightening of the three-point seat belt 14
results in a retaining function of the child seat 1 at the force
application point of the upper transverse strut 4. This retaining
function reduces or prevents the tendency of the child seat to
rotate about the lower ISOFIX connection to the connectors 17.
[0038] The force-limiting mechanism can be shifted in a simple
manner within the child seat 1 by, for example, a bending plate
being integrated between the belt strap 27 and the tensioning
pulley 22 or a similarly mounted, plastically deformable
deformation element being integrated in the belt strap 12. In
addition, a level of force appropriate for a child can be set by
integration of the force-limiting device which has already been
mentioned and is disclosed in DE 101 07 874 A1.
[0039] The child seat 1 can be used both in the case of vehicles
with or without an ISOFIX fastening system.
[0040] Without an ISOFIX fastening system, the child seat 1 is only
fixed on the vehicle seat by the fastening by the three-point seat
belt 14. If a transmission of the belt force acting from the
three-point seat belt 14 to the belt system of the child seat 1 is
to take place at the same time, additional belt guides are
necessary in the child seat, but these will not be described in
greater detail here.
[0041] By means of the ISOFIX fastening system, the child seat is
additionally coupled to the vehicle seat by the three-point seat
belt 14.
[0042] If the three-point seat belt on the vehicle has a
pyrotechnic belt tightener, the belt system of the child seat is
tightened in the event of a crash.
[0043] If, in addition, a preventative protective system is
provided for the three-point seat belt on the vehicle, the belt
system of the child seat can be tightened crash-actively and
preventatively.
[0044] In both cases, the belt loop on the upper transverse strut 4
enables the child seat 1 to be supported against the tendency of
the child seat to rotate about the ISOFIX connection, which is also
referred to as top tether fastening.
* * * * *