Child safety seat

Abstract

The infant safety seat of the present invention provides improved occupant protection in all vehicles, especially in the front seat of vehicles equipped with a passenger-side airbag. The infant safety seat includes an air bag deflecting canopy, and dampening mechanisms to protect against the shock of airbag deployment and an impact. The safety seat comprises a base, adapted to be secured to a seat of the vehicle by a seat belt passed through an opening in the base and a cradle having a back portion and seat portion having sides and a handle attached across said sides. A latching mechanism incorporated in the base removably secures the cradle to the base by grasping an attachment element between the handle and sides. The cradle of the safety seat is removable utilizing a single-handed release mechanism to unlock the cradle from the base. In another aspect of the invention the infant cradle has a curvature at the top head portion of the cradle to captivate the infant's head to prevent extreme tensile loads to the neck while under front deceleration loading.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A rear-facing safety seat for a infant to be used in a vehicle, the safety seat comprising: 
 a base, adapted to be secured to a seat of the vehicle by a seat belt passed through an opening in said base;    a cradle having a back portion, seat portion, sides to said back and seat portions and a handle attached across said sides; wherein a latching mechanism incorporated in said base removably secures said cradle to said base by grasping a structural element between said handle and said sides;    the cradle having a curved top head portion configured to captivate the head of an infant seated in the cradle.    
     
     
         2 . The rear-facing safety seat according to  claim 1  wherein said base further comprises a canopy and a foundation integrally joined and a dissipating panel attached to said canopy.  
     
     
         3 . The rear-facing safety seat according to  claim 2  wherein said dissipating panel comprises: 
 a foam panel formed to conform to said canopy in size and shape; and  
 a fascia panel fastened to said canopy with said foam panel sandwiched therebetween.  
 
     
     
         4 . The rear-facing safety seat according to  claim 2  wherein said foundation comprises: 
 a frame providing a set of sides and a bottom for said base; and  
 a suspension assembly comprising a set of shock absorbers suspending a holder between said set of sides, said holder supporting a set of paws of said latching mechanism.  
 
     
     
         5 . The rear-facing safety seat according to  claim 4  wherein said latching mechanism further includes a pair of knobs each disposed on one side of said base, each knob incorporating a releasing mechanism to open said set of paws to release said cradle.  
     
     
         6 . The rear-facing safety seat according to  claim 1  wherein the cradle has stiffening ribs on the back portion and an energy absorbent layer on the back portion.  
     
     
         7 . The rear-facing safety seat according to  claim 6  wherein the energy absorbent layer is composed of closed cell foam material.  
     
     
         8 . For use in a rear-facing safety seat for an infant to be used in a vehicle and having a base adapted to be secured to a seat of the vehicle by a seat belt, a cradle latchably attachable to the base, said cradle comprising; 
 a back portion having a curved top head portion configured to captivate the head of an infant seated in the cradle and having an energy absorbent layer;    a seat portion;    sides to said back and seat portions; and    a handle attached across the sides.    
     
     
         9 . The invention of  claim 8  wherein the energy absorbent layer is a closed cell foam material.  
     
     
         10 . The invention of  claim 9  wherein the back portion of the cradle is stiffened by a plurality of ribs on the surface of the back portion opposite to the energy absorbent layer.