| Cover for infant/child seat -> Monitor Keywords |
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Cover for infant/child seatCover for infant/child seat description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070158984, Cover for infant/child seat. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/982,642, filed Nov. 5, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/518,557 filed Nov. 7, 2003 which is incorporated herein in its entirety. FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to covers for infant and/or child seats, and, in one form, to infant/child seats for use in vehicles such as cars, aircraft, and the like. The infant/child seat may be a personal infant/child carrier used in the home, or carried or used with a stroller. However, the cover of the invention for use with the infant/child seats may also be used in many other contexts, including general home use. [0003] Infant/child seats are well known and extensively used by parents of young children, ranging in age from new born infants and toddlers all the way up to older children who may be ten or eleven years of age. A typical infant/child seat may comprise a molded frame, often made of a hard plastic material, configured in the shape of a chair with a seat portion for sitting on and a back portion to support the back. The frame may be designed so as to fit within a vehicle, such as a car or an airplane, in such a way that it can utilize the existing seat belts in the car or airplane whereby the infant/child's seat can be firmly and securely attached to the regular car seat and frame or chassis of the vehicle. For seats for infants and/or younger children, the frame of the seat may itself attach to an intermediate base (typically included with the seat) which fits in, and may be appropriately secured to, the seat or other structure of a car or airplane. When properly installed and fastened in a vehicle, the infant/child seat is therefore securely anchored, which naturally increases the safety of the infant/child in the seat in case of an accident. In many jurisdictions, infant/child seats for children below a certain size and/or weight are mandated by local and/or federal law. [0004] In addition to having connections which enable the infant/child seat to be anchored to the vehicle in which it is mounted, the infant/child seat will typically have its own seat belt configuration so that the infant/child can be strapped in the seat, especially when the seat itself is anchored to the vehicle. In a conventional type of infant/child seat, the seat belt configuration will comprise a pair of lateral shoulder straps over the back portion of the seat and a central seat area strap which is located between the legs of the infant/child in use. The infant/child is strapped into the infant/child seat using a shoulder strap over each of the shoulders of the infant/child, and the shoulder straps fasten to the central seat area strap, preferably with a releasable locking mechanism. The shoulder straps themselves may merge with, or converge toward, each other before locking with the central seat area strap, or they may separately be attached to the locking mechanism which would, therefore, constitute the meeting point for all three straps. This configuration may create a five point safety restraint system. [0005] The typical infant/child seat will also have a cushioning or a mattress which will provide greater comfort to the infant/child. The cushioning will in most cases cover the seat portion as well as the back portion of the infant/child seat, and conventionally comprises a single piece shaped and dimensioned to fit the contours of at least a part of the seat portion and back portion of the infant/child seat frame. The cushioning will typically have a fabric exterior which surrounds and accommodates a soft foam or other material which is present to make the cushioning comfortable. [0006] The cushioning is often a decorated fabric and must be properly installed on the infant/child seat frame. Thus, the cushioning will have slots or holes appropriately located to permit both the shoulder straps as well as the central area strap to pass therethrough for use on the infant/child. The slots must be properly located so that the shoulder straps and the central area strap are not functionally impeded, and the cushioning is also correctly mounted on the seat. Installing the cushioning will thus often involve the dismantling of one or more of the shoulder straps and central area strap with respect to the infant/child seat, positioning the cushioning on the frame seating area, and thereafter rethreading the shoulder and cental area straps through the slots and/or holes both in the infant/child seat as well as in the cushioning for further operation and use. [0007] Installing the cushioning can sometimes prove a time consuming and/or complicated task, since it may involve dismantling the infant/child seat straps and then reassembling though the various slots, anchors, clasps and other types of hardware that the infant/child seat may have. There is also the risk that incorrect installation of the various straps making up the seat belt configuration could occur, compromising the effectiveness of the infant/child seat and its safety, which would of course be undesirable. [0008] Furthermore, the cushioning often becomes dirty and requires frequent washing and cleaning in order to remove food, debris and various stains which may typically develop. As such, one option which is available with respect to infant/child seats to instal a protective or decorative cover over the cushioning of the infant/child seat, which has the effect of shielding the original cushioning. Further, different patterns of covers may be used as desired. [0009] The problem of installation of the cover for the infant/child seat is much the same as that encountered in the installation of the cushioning itself. While slots or apertures are provided in the cover for the infant/child seat, the process of disconnecting the various seat belts and then reinstalling them in the correct manner persists. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0010] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a seat cover for an infant/child seat having a seat portion and a back portion and straps for securing an infant/child within the seat, the seat cover comprising: a cover member for mounting on at least a part of the seat portion and/or back portion of the infant/child seat; at least one aperture formed in the cover member for receiving a strap to allow a part of the strap to pass therethrough; and fastening means on at least one of the apertures for opening and closing at least a portion of the aperture. [0011] Preferably, the cover member is mounted over the seat portion and back portion of the seat, and the cover member comprises an elasticized peripheral edge to facilitate releasable attachment of the cover member to the seat. [0012] In a preferred form of the invention, the cover member has a seat cover portion for covering the seat portion of the seat and a back cover portion for covering the back portion of the seat. [0013] The apertures may comprise a pair of elongate slots in the back cover portion of the cover member, the pair of elongate slots being positioned on the back cover portion so as to correspond approximately to the position of the straps on the back portion of the infant/child seat. Each elongate slot may have a longitudinal edge, and the fastening means is located along at least a portion of or adjacent to the longitudinal edge. [0014] Preferably, each elongate slot comprises an upper region and a lower region, with an intermediate region therebetween, the fastening means being configured so as to fasten the longitudinal edges of the intermediate region to close the elongate slots at the intermediate region, with the upper region and lower region being open. [0015] The fastening means comprises Velcro.RTM. strips, buttons, a zipper, a plurality of hook-and-eye connectors and/or a plurality of fastening studs. [0016] The seat cover may further comprise an aperture in the seat cover portion for receiving a strap from the seat portion of the seat. [0017] In one embodiment, the seat cover further comprises a hood associated therewith, the hood being mountable on the seat in an adjustable manner so as to provide a protective shield or barrier when located in a selected position. [0018] In a preferred embodiment, the seat cover is for a seat where the back portion thereof has two shoulder straps, each shoulder strap extending from a rear of the back portion to a front of the back portion through an upper and lower slot respectively, the aperture on the cover member comprising an elongate slot extending at least from the upper slot to the lower slot for the shoulder straps, the fastening means of the apertures being formed along edges of the apertures between the upper slot and the lower slot. [0019] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of mounting a seat cover on an infant/child seat having a seat portion and a back portion, and straps for securing an infant/child in the seat, the method comprising: forming an elongate aperture in the seat cover, the aperture extending at least between a first point at which a strap crosses from the rear of the seat to the front of the seat, and a second point at which the same strap crosses from the front of the seat to the rear of the seat, and providing a fastening member along at least a portion of the aperture; and either opening the aperture by unfastening the fastening means to enable to seat cover to be removed without interference from the straps, or closing the aperture by fastening the fastening means when the straps have been pulled therethrough so as to leave openings only at or about the first and second points where the straps cross between the front of the seat and the rear of the seat. [0020] According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a cover for an infant/child's seat including a seating area and seat belts for securing an infant/child in the seating area, the cover comprising a shaped fabric to substantially conform to the contours of the seating area, at least one aperture formed in the shaped fabric for receiving at least one of the seat belts, and closure means for at least partially closing the aperture when the seat belt has been passed therethrough. Preferably, there is an aperture for each shoulder strap of the infant/child seat, the aperture having a closure means. [0021] Preferably, the cover can be fairly rapidly installed and removed, and may cover the entire seating area as well as the back area of the seat. Continue reading about Cover for infant/child seat... Full patent description for Cover for infant/child seat Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Cover for infant/child seat patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Cover for infant/child seat or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Impact absorption structure of vehicle seat Next Patent Application: Lift wire lumbar Industry Class: Chairs and seats ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Cover for infant/child seat patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.29124 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Software: Finance , AI , Databases , Development , Document , Navigation , Error 174 |
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