Australian Patents Act 1990 - Regulation 3.2 Original Complete Specification Standard Patent Invention Title: ANCHOR SYSTEM FOR A CHILD SAFETY SEAT The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing known to me: complete ANCHOR SYSTEM FOR A ChIU) SAFETY SEAT CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2008900795 filed on 20 February 2008, the contents of which is incorporated herein s by reference. FIELD OF INVENTION The present application relates to an anchor system for a child safety seat, and in particular, to an arrangement for anchoring a child safety seat and a restraint harness to a common vehicle anchorage point. 10 BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Due to their size and body shape, infants and young children travelling in vehicles are typically unable to safely use standard vehicle restraint systems, such as seat belts and the like. For this reason, child safety seats have been developed to assist in the safe transport of infants and children. 15 Child safety seats come in a variety of styles and sizes depending on the age and/or size of the child to be transported. Capsulc-type safety seats are typically employed to transport infants, whilst more conventional forward facing and upright seats are employed to transport toddlers and young children. In most cases, the safety seat is 20 typically mounted to standard vehicle seating using the standard vehicle seat belt and is further anchored to a dedicated anchor point on the vehicle by way of a tether strap, to provide stability to the safety seat. Restraints/harnesses arc typically employed with existing child safety seats to restrain 25 the child in a seated position within the seat. A variety of different types and styles of restraints have been developed for this purpose, ranging from standard three-point harnesses to five point harnesses. Typically, such restraints/harnesses are anchored to a shell of the safety seat. One problem with such an arrangement is that, in the event of a vehicle accident, the safety seat and/or the restraint/harness can be subject to significant so forces. As such, any imperfections in the shell of the safety seat can result in the restraint/harness failing to perform its function, thereby placing the child in danger of injury. In some instances, particularly in safety seats suitable for larger children, often referred 35 to as 'booster' seats, the safety seats may be configured to utilise the existing scat belt system of the vehicle to restrain the child in position. In such instances, the vehicle seat rnpiete belt may be incorrectly fitted about the child and may fail to restrain the child in the event of an accident. Another problem with incorrectly fitted seat bolts is that in the event of an accident, the seat belt may apply excessive forces against the child. Should these forces be applied to a region of the child's body adjacent their vital organs, s damage to such organs is possible. To address these and other problems a variety of dedicated restraint/harness systems that are anchored directly to the vehicle have been proposed. Such anchor systems are configured to fit children of various ages and sizes in a safe and effective manner and 1o are directly anchored to the dedicated anchor point of the vehicle. They may be used either alone, or in combination with a child safety seat, to safely restrain the child in position with respect to the vehicle. In instances where the restraint/harness systems are to be used in combination with a child safety seat, two separate anchor points are typically required to anchor both the tether strap of the safety seat and the harness to the is vehicle. A variety of vehicle anchor point attachments have been proposed to achieve this. Such proposals typically include additional bolts and fittings attachable to the vehicle to provide multiple attachment points at a single designated vehicle anchor point. A 20 problem with such proposed solutions is that they require a number of additional parts and accessories to be bolted to the vehicle which, in turn, requires additional time and expertise to assemble the system prior to use. Alternative proposals, such as those disclosed in Intenational Patent Application No. 25 PCT/AU2005/000820, have been directed at providing an additional connection strap that is carried by the safety seat tether strap to facilitate connection with a restraint harness, such that both the restraint harness and the tether strap of the safety seat are anchored to a conimon anchorage point of the vehicle. In this arrangement, the tether strap of the safety seat is directly anchored to the designated vehicle anchorage point, 30 and the restraint harness is indirectly anchored to the vehicle anchorage point by way of a con nection strap carried by the tether strap of the safety seat. The connection strap is in the form of a length of strapping or webbing having a buckle stitched thereto to receive a hook member associated with the restraint harness. A problem with this arrangement is that as the harness typically experiences a greater load than that 35 experienced by the tether strap of the safety seat during use, there is a large reliance on the integrity of the stitching holding the connection strap together. Hence, should the stitching of the connection strap fail under such a load, the harness is no longer anchored to the vehicle, and the child is no longer restrained within the safety seat. Further, as the length of the connection strap is predetermined and formed as part of the child safety scat tether strap, there is a lack of interchangeability between straps of various seating systems and a lack of ability to retrofit existing safety seats with such a connection strap. 5 International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2005/000820 also proposes a system whereby a tether hook anchoring the tether strap of the safety seat to the vehicle anchorage point has an elongate body that receives a hook associated with the harness such that the harness and the safety seat tether strap are corrected to a single vehicle anchorage location. A. problem with such a tether hook arrangement is that the tether 10 hook must have a length sufficient to provide such a dual connection to the safety seat tether strap and the harness. In many vehicle arrangements there is limited space available to acconnnodate such a length of a tether hook. Further, as the tether hook must also be rigid, such as system is dillicult to manoeuvre to facilitate connection of the harness thereto, particularly when the tether strap of the child safety seat already 1s secured in position. As such, significant effort is required to assemble the various components of the system. As such, there is a need to provide for an anchorage system for attaching a tether strap of a safety scat and a harness of a safety seat to a single attachment point of a vehicle 20 which is both relatively easy to use and is relatively safe and secure. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of 25 these matters form part of the prior art base or were corn mon general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION so According to a first aspect, there is provided a child safety seat for a motor vehicle including: a seat for seating a child therein comprising a seat portion and a backrest portion wherein a seat belt of the motor vehicle extends across a waist of the child; a harness configured to secure the child with respect to the safety seat and 35 comprising a pair of shoulder straps that are each connected at a first end to the vehicle seat belt adjacent the child's waist and at a second end to an anchorage point on the vehicle; a connector member carried by or with respect to the harness; and 3 a tether strap, secured with respect to the seat and adapted to be connected to the connector member. In one embodiment, the harness is connected to the anchorage point on the vehicle at the 5 second end by way of a hook member. The connector member may be a buckle member configured to pivotally engage with the hook member. The buckle member may have a first eye formed therethrough lor connection with the tether strap. The tether strap may comprise a tether hook for facilitating connection with the first eve of the buckle member. .10 According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a system for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to an anchor point of a vehicle including: a book member attachable to the anchor point; and a buckle member configured to pivotally engage with the hook member, the 15 buckle member having a first eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection with a tether strap of the child safety seat and second eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection with the harness, such that the child safety seat and the harness are anchored to the anchor of the vehicle. 20 In one embodiment of this aspect, the buckle member is inserted into an eye of the hook member to engage therewith. A pin may be provided through the buckle member to securely engage the buckle member within the eye of the hook member. According to a third aspect, the present invention provides a buckle for anchoring a 25 child safety seat aid a harness to a vehicle comprising: a body configured to engage with an eye of a hook member, the hook member being engageable with an anchorage point on a vehicle, said body further comprising at least one eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection of the body to one or more of a tether strap of the child safety seat and/or the harness. 30 According to a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a tether strap arrangement Ior connection of a child safety seat to an anchorage point of a vehicle, including: a tether strap secured with respect to the child safety seat so as to extend from the child safety seat to be secured with respect to the anchorage point by way of a hook 3 member; and a buckle member configured to pivotally engage with an eye of the hook member, the buckle member having at least one hole formed therethrough for facilitating connection with a harness used with the child safety seat such that the harness is anchored to the anchorage point of the vehicle. 4 According to a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a system for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: an anchor fixed to the vehicle; 5 a hook member attachable to the anchor; and a buckle having a body with an end configured to engage with an eye of the hook member to secure the buckle to the hook member, the body further having a first cye formed therethrough for facilitating connection with a tether strap of the child safety seat and second eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection with the harmess io such that the child safety seat and the harness are anchored to the anchor of the vehicle, In one embodiment, the end of the body is a C-shaped clip that is inserted into the eye of the hook member to engage therewith. A pin may be provided in the body to close the C-shaped clip to provide secure engagement between the buckle and the hook member. is The first eye may be a slot formed in the body and the width of the slot may be substantially equivalent to the width of the tether strap. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bLcklc for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: 20 a body having an end configured to engage with an eye of a hook member engageable with an anchorage point on a vehicle, said body further comprising a first eye fonned therethrough for facilitating connection of the body to a tether strap of the child safety seat and a second eye formed therethrough for facilitating connection of the body to the harness such that the child safety seat and the harness arc anchored to the 25 anchorage point of the vehicle. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for anchoring a child safety seat and a harness to a vehicle comprising: an anchor fixed to the vehicle; 30 a hook member attachable to the anchor; and a buckle having a body adapted to extend through an eye provided in the hook member and a flange extending from said body and configured to engage with the eye of the hook member to secure the buckle in position, .'wherein, the buckle has a first eye for facilitating connection with a tether strap of 3s the child safety scat and second eye for facilitating connection with the harness such that the child safety seat and the harness are anchored to the anchor of the vehicle. In one embodiment, the buckle is made from a metal. The flange may extend from the body at an acute angle to an underside of the body. The flange may have a width 5 npiete greater than the body such that the flange is preventing from passing through the eye of the hook member. The tether strap may comprise a loop of material threaded through the first eye to a facilitate connection with the child safety seat, and the harness comprises a hook member that is received within the second eye to facilitate connection with the harness Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or 10 step, or group of elcmonts, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS By way of example only, the invention is now described with reference to the is accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of a clip member according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 shows a side view of the clip member of FI. 1; FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a prior art anchoring system; 20 FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention; FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention; FIG. 6 shows a front peispective view of a buckle member according to an 25 alternative embodiment of the present invention; FT. 7 shows a top view of the buckle member of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 shows a side view of the buckle member of FIG. 6; FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention employing the buckle member of FIGS. 6 -8: 30 FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of yet another alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention employing the buckle member of FIGS. 6 8; FIG. 11 shows a prior art tether arrangement employing the prior art anchoring system of FIG. 3; and 35 FIG. 12 shows an alternative view of the anchorage system of FIG. 10. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA WINGS 6 Referring to FIG. 3, a prior art anchorage system 50 is shown. The anchorage system 50 comprises an anchor 12 which is secured to the vehicle by way of a bolt or the like (not shown), to define a vehicle anchorage point. The anchor 12 has an eyelet 11 for receiving an anchor hook 14 of the safety seat tether strap 15. The tether strap 15, is s typically a woven strap connected at its ends to the safety seat (not shown) so as to extend in a loop from the safety seat and through the eyelet 13 formed in the anchor hook 14. In this arrangement, attachment of the anchor hook 14 to the anchor 12 secures the safety seat (not shown) to the vehicle. 1c A connection strap 52 also extends from the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. The connection strap 52 is in the form of a short loop of woven material having a connector 54 provided at a distal end thereof. 'The connector 54 has a first eye 53 through which the connection strap 52 is received, and a second eye 55 for receiving a harness hook 17 of the harness system 16. The harness system 16 comprises a looped strap connecting 1s the shoulder straps (not shown) of the harness system, which passes through eye 18 provided in harness hook 17. in the prior art arrangement as shown in FIG. 3, the tether strap 15 is directly anchored to the vehicle by way of anchor clip 14. The harness system 16 is indirectly anchored to .2o the vehicle by way of harness clip 17 that connects with connector 54, which in turn is connected to anchor clip 14 by way of connection strap 52. Such an arrangement provides multiple connection of the safety seat and the harness to one vehicle anchorage point. 25 It will be appreciated that, in the prior art system 50, the connection strap 52 is permanently fixed to anchor clip 14 by way of stitching 19. As such, in order to connect a harness system 16 to a vehicle, the tether strap 15 of a safety seat must be of a type having a connection strap 52. Other tether strap arrangements will not provide such a harness connection. Hence, the various parts of the system 50 are not interchangeable 30 with other anchorage systems of alternative seat arrangements.. Further, the connection strap 52 comprises a stitched woven material, with the integrity of the system relying upon the strength of the. material and the stitching to ensure that the harness system 16 is secured to the vehicle. As the connection strap 52 is subject to significant load during use, particularly during connection of the harness system 16 and tightening of the as harness system 16, should the connection strap 52 fail under load, the harness system 16 will fail to perform its restraining function. 7 mpiele One embodiment of the anchorage system 10 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 4. For ease of understanding, the same reference nurnerals will be used to refer to the same/similar features of the prior art system 50 of FTG. 3. s As shown, the anchor hook 14 is received within the eye 11 of the anchor 12 to anchor the system 10 to the vehicle. A buckle 20, made from a suitable metal such as steel, is received within the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14 and extends therefrom. The buckle 20 has a first or tether eye 22 formed therein for receiving the tether strap 15, and a second or harness eye 24 for receiving the hook 17 of the harness system 16. In this io arrangement, both the tether strap 15 and the harness 16 are connected to the anchorage point of the vehicle at a single point, namely the buckle 20. Referring to FIGS. I and 2, the buckle 20 is shown in isolation. The buckle 20 comprises an elongate body 21 which is shaped to extend through. and project from the is eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. The body 21 is a substantially flat and thin strip of metal, such as steel, with the tether eye 22 and the harness eye 24 formed therethrough. A flange 23 extends from the body 21 at an acute angle to the underside of the body 21. The flange 21 has a width greater than the width of the body 21 in this arrangement, whilst the body 21 has a width that enables it to be inserted through the eyelet 13 of the 20 anchor hook 14, the flange 21 has a width that prevents passage through the eyelet 13, thereby engaging with the hook 14. Tn this position, thetether strap 15 and the harness book 17 can be attached to the eyes 22 kind 24 respectively such that both the harness 16 and the tether strap 15 are secured to the anchor 12 by way of anchor hook 14. It will be appreciated that the position of the eyes 22, 24 may assume a variety of orientations, and 25 in one form they may be oppositely orientated such that eye 24 is located proximal the flange 23 arid eye 22 is located distal the flange 23. A pin 25 is provided within a hole formed in the body 21 of the buckle 20. The pin 25 is located at an end of the body adjacent the flange 23 and is extendible so as to project 30 from the body 21 in the manner as shown in FIG. 2. The pin 25 may be in the form of a grub screw, self-tapping screw, or the like, that is received within a threaded recess in the body 21. Prior to insertion of the body 21 through the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14, the pin 25 is located within the body 21 such that the ends of the pin 25 arc substantially flush with the surface of the body 21. This enables the body to be inserted 35 through the eyelet 13 of the hook 14. Following insertion of the body 21 through the eyelet 13, the pin 25 is caused to extend or project from the surface of the body 21, by a screwing or similar motion. The pin 25 then prevents withdrawal of the body 21 back through the eyelet 13 of the hook 14, by increasing the thickness of the body 21 in the region proximal the flange 23, thereby retaining the buckle 20 in position.
The buckle 20 of the present invention can be readily used with tether straps 15 of existing safety seats by merely threading the buckle 20 onto the tether strap 15 such that the loop of the tether strap 15 passes through the tether eye 22. As the forces applied to s the buckle 20 by the tether strap 15 and the harness 16 during use are in the direction of arrow A (FIG. 4), the buckle is in constant engagement with the hook 14. Further, as the buckle 20 is made from a metal, it has sufficient strength to withstand considerable force without failing. 10 An alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5 as reference numeral 40. The anchorage system 40 is similar to that shown in FIG. 4, and as such the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar Features. 1s In anchorage system 40, the tether strap 15 is received within the eyelet 13 of the tether hook 14. Buckle 26 is also inserted through the eyelet 13 of the tether hook 14 in the same manner as described above in relation to FIG. 4. The buckle 26 may be inserted through the eyelet 13 such that it is received over the tether strap 15. as shown. Alternatively, the buckle 26 may be inserted through the eyelet 13 such that it is 20 received under the strap 15. Buckle 26 has a single recess or eye 24 for receiving the harness hook 17 of the harness system 16. A pin 25 is provided through the buckle 26 adjacent the flange 23 to lock the buckle in engagement with the hook 14, in the manner as described above. 25 Whilst buckle 26 employs flange 23 to engage with the tether hook 14, it will be appreciated that instead of flange 23, a hook flange arrangement may also be employed, such as that which is referred to as reference numeral 34 in FIGS. 6 - 9. In the anchorage systern 40, the buckle 26 can be fitted to a variety of existing tether 30 arrangements by merely inserting the buckle through the existing tether hook 14. The harness hook can then be attached to the recess 24 of the buckle 26 to facilitate secure anchorage of the harness 16 to the vehicle. As the buckle 26 is made from a rigid metal, such as steel or any other variety of hardened metals, the harness 16 is securely retained in position. 35 An alternative embodiment of the anchorage system of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 and is referred to by relerenoe numeral 45. 9 Referring to FIG. 9, the system 45 comprises a buckle 30 which is configured to connect to eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14 so as to anchor the system to a vehicle anchorage point (not shown). The buckle 30 has an elongate body 31 that extends from the eyelet 13 in the manner as shown. The body 31 is movable with respect to the cyclet 13 so as 5 to provide manoeuvrability to ficilitate ease of use and. assembly of the system 45. 'The body 31 has a slot 32 formed therein for receiving the tether strap 15 of child safety seat. The body 31 also has a hole 33 located at a distal end thereof for receiving a hook 17 associated with a harness system 16 in the manner as shown. As such, the tether strap 15 and the harness 16 are anchored to the vehicle anchorage point at a single 10 location, namely the buckle 30. The buckle 30 is shown in isolation in FIGS. 6 - 8. As for the buckle 20 shown and described in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, the buckle 30 is made from a suitable metal, such as steel. The body 31 is a substantially flat aid thin strip of metal having the slot 32 and is the hole 33 formed therethrough by way of punching or machining. A proximal end 31a of the body 31 is shaped to perform as a clip to be received into the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. Tn this regard, the proximal end 31 comprises a flange 34 folded under the body 31 so as to form a C-shaped end thereof. It will be 20 appreciated that the end of the body 31 could be configured to form a U-shape, V-shape or a variety of such shapes so as to function as a clip. A pin 35, such as a rivet, can then be passed through the body 31 and the flange 34 to close the C-shaped end so as to secure the buckle 30 to the hook 14 as shown in FIG. 9. It will be appreciated that the pin 35 can provide permanent connection of the buckle 30 to the hook 14, through the 25 use of a rivet or the like, however, other pin arrangements are also envisaged which may provide a detachable connection between the buckle 30 and the hook 14. As shown in FIG. 7, the shape of the body 31 of the buckle 30 differs between proximal end 31a and distal end 31b. The proximal ond.3 la of the body 31 has a narrow width so 3o as to facilitate insertion into the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14. The width of the body 31 increases in the region proximal the slot 32 to accommodate slots 32 capable of receiving tether straps 15 of varying widths. In a preferred embodiment, the slot 32 is sufficiently wide enough to accommodate webbing or straps 15 of 38mm, which is a standard strap width for most vehicle applications. However, it will be envisaged that 35 the width of the slot 32 could vary according to the specific applications of the present invention. As is shown, the width of the body 31 narrows as it approaches the distal end 31 b that accommodates hole 35. In this regard, the width of the distal end 3 1b need only be wide enough to accommodate hole 35, hence the shape of the body 31 in this region may vary. It will be appreciated that with buckle 30, the body 31 is not 10 configured to be inserted through the eyelet 13 of the anchor hook 14, as is the case with buckle 20 of FT1. 4. As such, there is more variation in the width of the body 31a so as to accommodate variable width tether straps 15 and the like. s it will also be appreciated that the buckle 30 provides a secure single point attachment means for securing/anchoring a tether strap of a child safety seat and a harness to the vehicle anchorage point. Such a single point of attachmcnt 30 is sufficiently strong and robust so as to cater for a variety of forces as expected during use without failing. As the buckle 30 is pivotable, it also provides a relatively simple multiple attachment point 10 that can be easily manoeuvred and installed with a variety of existing anchorage systems, without significant renodification required. In Fig. 11, the conventional prior art arrangement of FIG. 3 is shown to secure a child safety seat 50, such as a child booster seat, to a vehicle. The child safety seat 50 has a 15 seat portion and a backrest portion such that the motor vehicle seat belt is extendible across the waist of a child situated therein, and the safety seat is secured to an anchorage point 12 of a vehicle by way of tether strap 15 and anchor hook 14. A connection strap 52 extends from the anchor hook 14 and has a connector.buckle 54 provided at its distal end. The connector buckle 54 receives the harness hook 17 and provides a means for 20 connecting the harness 16 indirectly to the vehicle anchorage point. 12. An adjustor 60 is provided with the harness 16 to provide adjustment of the length of the harness 16 as desired. As will be appreciated in FIG. 11, in situations where the vehicle anchorage point 12 is 25 located in close proximity to the headrest of the child safety seat 50, the connection strap 52 extends to the top of safety scat 50. As such, the harness is attached to the connector buckle 54 at the top of the tether strap resulting in the adjustor 60 be in positioned within the head region of the safety seat 50. In such a situation, in the event of an accident and the child's head being thrown back against the safety scat 50, there is 3 an increased likelihood of the child's head contacting the adjustor 60 with significant force. Such a situation may cause serious damage to the child's head, which in some instances, may be fatal. This potentially dangerous situation can be avoided by employing the arrangement as 35 shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 12. In this arrangement, buckle 30 is configured to connect to cyclet of the hook 17 associated with the harness 16, such that the harness 16 is directly connected to the vehicle anchorage point 12. The anchor hook 14 is then connected to the buckle 30 by.way of hole 33 to facilitate anchorage of the tether strap 15 of the child safety seat 65 to the vehicle anchorage point. I1 The arrangement as. shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 ensures that the harness 16 is always extended to the vehicle anchorage point 12 to avoid the likelihood of the adjustor 60, or other components of the harness 16 being positioned adjacent the back of the head of 5 the child. It will also be. appreciated that the arrangement as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 ensures greater load distribution of the system during use. In particular, the harness 16. which typically takes a greater load during use, is directly secured to the vehicle anchorage 1a point, whilst the tether strap 15, which typically takes a lesser load than the.harness 16, is indirectly secured to the vehicle anchorage point by way of bucde 30. As the vehicle anchorage point 12 is provided to handle such loads, there is less likelihood of the system failing during use. 1s Tt will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in each of the embodiments of the invention described above, the harness 16 and the tether strap 15 may be interchangeably secured either directly or indirectly to the vehicle anchorage point. It will also be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or 20 modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. 12