Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Carr;cr for children, for securing in cars.
The present invention relates to a device for securing a carrier, specially
for children, in a
car, according to the preamble of patent claim t .
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Background
Today, most baby carria$cs have a carry cot which can be removed from the
carriage,
and it is becoming more and more common for children to stay in the cot when
being trans-
poned in a car. This is because it is convenient for parents and compottable
for ehilrilren, as
the chi d can lie down and be free to move. During a drive, children often
fall asleep, and if
they fall asleep in a carry cot, they can be moved without chan~in~ the
position of the bode,
which avoids that at least the older children, wake up.
A well-known way to secure carry cots, is to use a safety-net. This net is
fastened around
the cot, and to seat belts that are already in the rear seat of most cars.
However, this is a
rather bothersome system, because f rst the net has to be fastened to the tar.
then the cot
must be positioned con:ectly, and. ifinally, the net must be pulled over.
There are no harness
around the child in the cot, meaning khat in a collision, the child will be
catapulted towards
the sides of the cot.
US 1,263,497, from 1918, shorws a carrier v~rhich is to be secured to the roof
and floor of
24 a car with reins, and to the back side of the front seat with hooks. The
bottom of the carrier
is hanging in the air. US l ,363.507 from 1920, shows another carrier hanging
in the air. It is
secured with reins to the upper back part of both the rear seat and the front
seat, and also to
the floor. Hoth carriers are bothersome to install, and require installation
of extra equipment
in the car, and besides, they are nor suited for the cars and speeds of today.
EP 363,556 shows a two-part carrier, where the back may be manipulated, and
the carrier
transformed into a car seat. This carxier is secured to the car, by threading
the seat belt
through recesses in the upper pan of the carrier, and under the bottom to
finally be secured
in the locking mechanism. The recesses represent a possible squeecing danger
for the child,
and the carrier itself is bothersome to install, because the belt has to be
thread under the
carrier itself
?oday there ase no approved solutions for securing a carry cot in a oar. If
children arc to
be transported in an approved way, they have to sit in a child scat. This is a
troublesanne
situation for both parents and children, because the child will have limited
movability, and
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therefore be more impatient. 1t is also ergonomically undesirable 'for new-
born babies to
have to sit upright for a long period of time.
tDb j est
The main object of the invention is to provide a box- or basket shaped carver
for securing
in a car. Another object is that it should be easy to use, and not demand
installation of extra
equipment in the car.
Lavehtion
l0 The object is fulfilled with a device aCCOrdins to the characteristic pan
of claim 1.
l:utzher advantageous .features are given in the dependent claims.
The device according to the present invention is particulately useful for
securing a box-
or basket shaped carrier; having bands with fastening devices that can be
aocurCd in the
fastening mechanisms that are already in the rear seat of a car. Different
cars often have
ld different locking meehaxtism.s, r~,nd it will therefore be neecssazy to
chan?c the fastening
devices on the bands. This can be dome in several ways, e.g_ the mhole band be
may
changed, or it can be provided with an adapter. Then the carrier may simply be
clipped
tightly after it is lifted into position. This is subscaittially easier than
the installation of the
aforementioned safety nets.
?0 The device according to the present invention preferably also includes
harness for
securing the child in else carrier, so that the child will not be thrown
cowards or owcr a side
wall. in the event of a collision, and the child can not get up. A.ny known
type of harness
may be used, e.g. two- three- o:' five-point. However, it is an advantage to
use as many
points as possible. because in a collision, there will be more paints to
distribute the pressure
25 to. With a simple two..points harness, the whole pressure will be in the
stomach region of
the child. and this may be dangerous.
Example
The invention will be described hereinafter with refesence to the figures,
where
30 Figure 1 is a plan view of a carrier for children, without a martxess, with
bands for
secun.ng m a car,
Figure 2 is an end elevation view of the carrier in Fiy re 1, installed in the
rear seat of a
car, and
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Figure 3 is a plan view of the c.a~rrier in Figure 1, with a double mattress
and. five-points
harness for securing the child.
Figure 1 shows a carrier 1 for children according to the present invention,
tn~ith two bands
S ~ eXtend.ing from each long side of the cattier 1. T'he carrier t , shown as
a cony cot, may
also have bands 3 along just one side. It is also possible that the carry cot
has on9y two
bands 2 provided, going all the way across the carrier 1, dais possibility is
shown dotted in
detail, in Figure 1, arid the bands 2 are thread through the floor 3 of the
carrier I. The bands
2 leave fastening dt;viees 4 so that they can be secured in two or three
receiving locking
mechanisms 5 that are already in the car, and tighteners 6 so that the crinier
1 will be lying
steady towards the back of the rear seat 7. The hands 2 may also be thread
through the same
side. so that when the carrier is mounted, only one band 3 will be used, as
both ends $, 9 are
secured in one locking mechanism 5 each.
In the case where the bands are going all the way through the carrier, it is
necessary to
13 tighten th.e bands ?, and to stop or lock then, so that they are not
displaced after
installation. This may be solved simply by e.g. installing a stopper on the
bands 2, so that
when one end 8 is pulled. the stopper will be pressed against the carrier 1.
and prevent the
other end 9 of the band being pulled in. On the other side, there must then be
a tightener 6,
preventing band 2 firm becoming slack. It is also possible that the tightener
and the stopper
are preformed in one piece.
Figure 2 shows the carrier in Figure l from the short end, installed in a rear
seat 7., with
bands 2 on both sides, the carrier 1, and thus the child, may be turned, so
chat the head can
point cowards both transversal directions of the car. Xxa the etx~,bodiment
shown in Figure 3,
the carrier 1 is provided with a double mattress, vu~hare the upper 1 D is
divided lengthwise,
and shown in upraised position. The carrier may also be provided with a double
floor. or
with one mattress and one floor, where the harness 11 for securing the child
is positioned
between the mattress and the floor 3. The carrier illustrated has a five-point
harness 11. Itz
the embodiment corrtprising one floor and one mattress, the floor may have
recesses
wherein the htimess 11 can lie when they are not in use. The harness 11 m.ay
upon use,
simply be brought out through slots 12 in the mattress.
Hoth the harness 11 and the bands 2 are provided with tighteners 6, so that
the carrier i
will be lying steady towards the rear seat 7 of the car, and the harness 1 Z
around the child is
tightened. so that the child can not rcinovc the harrtcss itself.
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Because the bands 2 and harness 11 must be fastened. safely to the c~rTicr, ii
is an
advantage if the carrier is made of a hard. and constant material, e.g.
plastic. the band .~. can
be fastened to the carrier with uny known method, but the fastening must be so
strung that it
does not unfasten vuhen subjected to the force that may occur during a
collision.
In the embodiment with two mattresses, the child is normally lying on the
upper matacss
1d, N~hcn the carrier 1 i.s fastened to the rest o:f a carriage. When the
child is to be trans-
ported in a car, the upper mattress is removed, and the harness 11 become
visible. The
mattress may be formed so that it can just be dung apart, e.g. by being
divided lengthwise.
Parts of the mattress may then protrude above the sidewalt of the carrier 1,
and partly
prevent anything Falling down into the carrier. If desirable, the child can be
secured to the
carrier at all times, even when the carrier is fastened to the can-iage. This
will then replace
the ypes of harness 11 beinb on the tx~,arlcet today, which prevem children
from eztting up
in the carnage.
,As mcmioncd, the harness 11 for securing the child to the carrier are either
between the
mattresses, or between the mattrass and the floor 3, in such a wsy thst they
are not visible
upon normal use with a carriage. In till cases, the mattress, on which the
child shall rest
when secured to the harness 11, must have recesses/holes 12 in order to bring
up the
harness l 1. It is often an ad~rattta~t that the mattress has several recesses
1? for each part of
the harness, so that the harness 11. may be adjusted according to the sine of
the child.
30 The carrier may be provided with pocketslslits on the outside, to hide the
bands 2 when
they are not used. It is also possible to make small holes in the carrier, in
order to pull the
bands inside. In this last cast, srtzall flaps may ~e made, in order eo pull
over the holes so
that these are not visible. There are several ways to do this, and it is not a
part of the
invention, but merely a detail concerning appearance.
