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Child safety restraint belt

Child safety restraint belt description/claims

1. Field of the Invention

The invention deals with restraint of a child seated in a grocery shopping cart in a manner which will prevent injury.

2. Descriptions of Related Art

Current seat belts for children in shopping carts are secured only at the extremities adjacent to the peripheral boundaries of the cart. A child is thereby enabled to slide laterally providing room for the child to slip from the belt and stand up. This can result in the cart tipping and consequent injuries to the child.

There are a number of warnings related to the safety of children riding in shopping cart seats. As examples, the American Academy of Pediatrics in an August 2006 committee report noted how common shopping cart injuries resulting from carts tipping are. The report also noted how often this resulted in serious head and neck injuries. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has noted the number of shopping cart injuries to children and is launching a safety program to reduce such injuries. The American Academy of Pediatrics in a recent report even recommended that parents consider alternatives to placing children in shopping carts to reduce the potential for injury.

It would be desirable if a seat belt could be configured to make it more difficult for a child to escape from a seat belt and to prevent a belted child from standing up.

The present invention provides a seat belt which is attached to vertical bars at the back of a shopping cart seat and arranged to closely encircle the waist of a seated child. Seat belt length adjustments permit a close encirclement of the child's waist to substantially eliminate the possibility of the child escaping from the seat belt. The seat belt is restrained to move only a predetermined distance upward with respect to the cart to reduce the distance a child can raise himself when restrained by the seat belt. Such a combination greatly minimizes the possibility of a child either being able to escape the belt restraint and stand up and tip the cart over, or being able to rise up sufficiently without escaping the belt, to tip the cart over.

The apparatus includes a first embodiment which employs a seat belt formed from two seat belt straps, each having a length adjustment. A first connector is provided to enable connecting one end of the two seat belt straps together. The first connector is used to attach the seat belt around a child seated in a cart seat, and the seat belt length adjustment permits tightening the belt to effect a secure attachment around the child.

The end of the seat belt straps opposite the first connector are attached near the opposite ends of an attachment strap. A second connector is arranged to connect the opposite ends of the attachment strap together. The attachment strap is sized to fit around spaced apart rods forming the rear of a child's cart seat to secure the attachment strap in place. This also secures the seat belt in place.

One end of a position strap is attached perpendicular to the attachment strap between the seat belt attachment points. The opposite end of the position strap is formed into a loop sized to fit around the outside of the second connector.

The position strap is extended from the attachment strap over the top of the cart seat, and the end loop is placed around the female end of the second connector before the second connector is closed. With the position strap loop around the second connector before it is closed, closing the connector will both connect the attachment strap around the vertical rear seat rods and also secure the position strap over and around the horizontal top of the cart seat. With this arrangement the position strap limits both the vertical translation of the seat belt and a belted child with respect to the cart seat.

Such an apparatus, which can be connected and disconnected easily and rapidly, comprises a first embodiment of the apparatus that can be used at multiple locations.

A second embodiment obtains the same results with a similar apparatus connected together in a similar way as the first embodiment. However, with the second embodiment, the seat belt straps are connected to the attachment strap by means of a pair of grommets which extends through a planar display. The planar display is sized to overlie the area at the rear of the cart seat. The apparatus is arranged to locate the display immediately in front of and aligned with the rear area of the cart seat.

In this embodiment, a ring connector attaches two loops at the ends of the attachment strap and a loop at the end of the position strap. This arrangement also attaches the apparatus to the rear of the cart seat and limits the vertical translation of the seat belt with respect to the cart.

Since the second embodiment is more difficult to connect to a cart because of use of the ring connector, and the inclusion of a display suitable for advertising, this apparatus is more likely to be used by a store because of the permanent attachment.

The objects and features of the present invention will become more manifest to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cart with a child seated in the cart seat and secured by the first embodiment of the apparatus;

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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