Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02431633 2003-06-10
VISIBLE INFORMATION CARRIER
FIELD
This invention relates to the combination of a product
and a visible information carrier of instructions for said
product. It is particularly applicable to products where it
is necessary for users to follow instructions for reasons of
safety, such as child safety seats, boosters and other: child
restraints for use in vehicles, and strollers.
RELATED ART
The performance of a child safety seat in a vehicle in
the event of an accident can be adversely affected if the
child seat is not correctly fitted in the vehicle. To obtain
best performance, it is important for a user to follow
precisely the installation instructions supplied with the
seat. It has been found that, when such instructions are
supplied in the form of a separate booklet, such a booklet is
frequently not available when the seat is being installed in
a vehicle either because it has been lost or because the user
has stored it away in a place where it =is not readily
accessible.
To overcome this disadvantage, it has already been
proposed to provide installation instructions on a label that
is permanently secured to the child seat, for example by
adhesive. This arrangement has the disadvantage that
instructions, of necessity, have to be concise so as: to fit
on to such a label. Such conciseness can lead to a reduction
in clarity.
Another attempt to solve this problem has involved
providing a slot or similar formatiori on the seat back of the
child seat in which an instruction booklet can be stored.
This enables comprehensive instructions to be provided but
has the disadvantages that it relies on. the user replacing
the booklet in the storage location after consulting it and
that it may not accessible when the child seat is in place on
a vehicle seat.
CA 02431633 2003-06-10
2
SUM~ZARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, in a combination of a
product and a visible information carrier, the product
comprises a rigid structure and has a recess in said
structure and an anchorage secured to said structure, the
visible information carrier is dimensioned so as to fit
into the recess and a flexible tether connects the visible
information carrier to the anchorage.
With this arrangement, the visible information carrier
can be pulled out of the recess and held at any convenient
angle for easy reading but cannot be separated from the
product.
When the product is child safety seat, the rigid
structure may be a seat body. Alternatively, if the child
seat comprises a seat body mounted on a base, the rigid
structure may be the base.
Preferably, the information carrier comprises a multi
page booklet. Alternatively, it may comprise a scroll or a
single sheet, which may have information printed on both
sides and which may be folded in order to fit into the
recess.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by
way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a child safety
seat in accordance with the invention having a recess for an
instruction booklet, the recess being covered by a closure;
Figure 2 is a scrap exploded perspective view of the
recess of the seat shown in Figure 1 with the closure in an
open position and without a booklet;
Figure 3 is an scrap perspective view showing the
booklet in a position in which can be read; and
Figure 4 is a perspective view similar to Figure 3 but
with the booklet in a stowed position and the closure
CA 02431633 2003-06-10
3
removed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Figure 1 shows a child seat having a seat body 20 which
may be secured in place on a vehicle seat by conventional
means that form no part of the invention and are neither
described nor illustrated. The seat body 10 has a seat
portion 12, a backrest 14 and side wings 16 and 18. Adjacent
to the side wing 18, the seat portion 12 contains a recess 20
that extends to the front wall 32 of the seat body 10 and
which is covered by a closure 24 (see also Figure 2). The
closure 24 may be formed of a slightly resi:Lient material
such as expanded polystyrene and dimensioned so as to' be an
interference fit in the top of the recess 20. Alternatively,
interengaging snap-fittings {not shown) may be formed on the
edges of the closure and the corresponding edges of the
recess.
A threaded stud 26 projects into the recess from one of
its side walls 28 and carries a nut 30. A flexible tether
strap 32 has a hole in one end 33 dimensioned to be a close
fit on the stud 26 so as to be held captive by the nut 30. A
loop 34 is formed at the opposite end of the tether 32.
Figure 3 shows a booklet 35 attached to t:he tether strap
32, opened and located in a position convenient for the
instructions therein to be read. The booklet 36 has holes 38
in each of its pages located adjacent to the top corner
thereof closest to the spine 40 thereof . Before the tether
strap 32 is attached to the stud 26, the loop 34 is passed
through the holes 38 and then the other end 33 of the tether
strap 32 is passed through the loop 34. Vhen the end 33 is
secured on the stud 26, it is impossible to detach the
booklet 36 from the tether 32 without tearing its pages.
As shown in Figure 4, when the booklet 36 is closed it
can be partially folded arid contained entirely within the
recess 20, which can then be enclosed by the closure 24 as
shown in Figure 1.
Although the drawings show an information carrier in the
CA 02431633 2003-06-10
form of a booklet 36, other forms of information carrier can
be used. For example, the information carrier can take the
form of a rolled scroll. It can also take the form of a
single sheet of paper or card that c:an be fitted into the
recess 20, for example by being folded. The recess 20 may be
replaced by a recess located at another position on the: seat.
For example, such a recess may be located in the backrest or
one of the side wings. Alternatively, if the seat has a
separate base on which the seat body is mounted, the recess
may be located in such base,
