Booster seat

Abstract

A booster seat having a body including a seat back and a seat pan for supporting an occupant thereon and an adjustable thigh support coupled to the seat pan and being movable closer to or further away from the seat pan. The booster seat further includes a pair of adjustable arm rests coupled to the body, each arm rest being located on opposed sides of the body and being pivotable about an axis that extends generally transverse to the body. The booster seat includes a pair of head rests coupled to the seat back, each head rest being located on opposed sides of the seat back and being pivotable about an axis that extends generally along the height of the body.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A booster seat for being coupled to a vehicle seat and supporting a child occupant thereon comprising: 
 a body including a seat back and a seat pan for supporting an occupant thereon;    a seat belt guide coupled to said body for receiving a vehicle belt therethrough and guiding said vehicle belt over an occupant located on said body;    an adjustable thigh support coupled to said seat pan and being movable closer to or further away from said seat pan;    a pair of adjustable arm rests coupled to said body, each arm rest being located on opposed sides of said body and being pivotable about an axis that extends generally transverse to said body; and    a pair of head rests coupled to said seat back, each head rest being located on opposed sides of said seat back and being pivotable about an axis that extends generally along the height of said body.    
     
     
         2 . The booster seat of  claim 1  wherein said thigh support is movable between a retracted position wherein said thigh support is located adjacent to said seat pan and an extended position wherein said thigh support is spaced apart from said seat pan.  
     
     
         3 . The booster seat of  claim 1  wherein one of said thigh support or said seat pan includes a rod having a plurality of circumferential grooves formed therein, and wherein the other of said thigh support or seat pan includes a gripping portion having an opening which slidably receives said rod therethrough.  
     
     
         4 . The booster seat of  claim 3  wherein said gripping portion includes a pair of opposed cantilevered tabs which receive said rod therebetween, said tabs being located to be simultaneously received in one of said grooves to lock said thigh support in place relative to said seat pan.  
     
     
         5 . The booster seat of  claim 4  wherein said seat pan includes at least one protection panel fixedly coupled to and extending generally outwardly from said seat pan, said protection panel being located generally below said thigh support.  
     
     
         6 . The booster seat of  claim 1  wherein said body includes a pair of brackets, each bracket having a bracket opening, and wherein each arm rest includes a stub received in an associated bracket opening to pivotally couple the associated arm rest to the associated bracket.  
     
     
         7 . The booster seat of  claim 6  wherein each bracket opening is generally circular and each stub is generally cylindrical.  
     
     
         8 . The booster seat of  claim 7  wherein each bracket includes a protrusion and wherein each arm rest includes an arm rest opening shaped to receive one of said protrusions therein to pivotally couple the associated arm rest to the associated bracket.  
     
     
         9 . The booster seat of  claim 8  wherein each protrusion includes at least part of one of said bracket openings.  
     
     
         10 . The booster seat of  claim 9  wherein each arm rest includes a cantilevered flange, and wherein each flange includes one of said arm rest openings.  
     
     
         11 . The booster seat of  claim 10  wherein each arm rest includes a stop surface which is shaped to engage an associated bracket to limit the pivoting motion of said arm rest.  
     
     
         12 . The booster seat of  claim 6  wherein each stub includes a tapered portion to guide each stub into an associated bracket opening.  
     
     
         13 . The booster seat of  claim 1  wherein each head rest includes a generally downwardly extending rod that is received in said seat back to pivotally couple each head rest to said body.  
     
     
         14 . The booster seat of  claim 13  wherein each rod includes a generally transversely extending pin, and wherein seat back includes a pair of guide recesses, each guide recess receiving one of said pins therein, and wherein each pin and the associated guide recess cooperate such that each head rest can be maintained in a retracted position, wherein said head rest is generally flush with said seat back, and an extended position wherein said head rest forms an angle with said head rest.  
     
     
         15 . The booster seat of  claim 14  wherein each guide recess includes a ramp, and wherein each pin rides up and over an associated ramp when the associated head rest is moved from the retracted position to the extended position.  
     
     
         16 . A booster seat for being coupled to a vehicle seat and supporting a child occupant thereon comprising: 
 a body including a seat back and a seat pan for supporting an occupant thereon;    a seat belt guide coupled to said body for receiving a vehicle belt therethrough and guiding said vehicle belt over an occupant located on said body; and    an adjustable thigh support coupled to said seat pan and being movable closer to or further away from said seat pan, said thigh support being movable between a retracted position wherein said thigh support is located adjacent to said seat pan and an extended position wherein said thigh support is spaced apart from said seat pan, wherein one of said thigh support or said seat pan includes a support member having a plurality of grooves formed therein, and wherein the other of said thigh support or seat pan includes a gripping portion having an opening which slidably receives said support member therethrough.    
     
     
         17 . The booster seat of  claim 16  wherein said gripping portion includes a pair of opposed cantilevered tabs which receive said support member therebetween, said tabs being located to be simultaneously received in one of said grooves to lock said thigh support in place relative to said seat pan.  
     
     
         18 . The booster seat of  claim 17  wherein each support member has a generally circular cross section and each groove extends generally circumferentially around said support member, and wherein gripping portion is located on a front end of said seat pan.  
     
     
         19 . The booster seat of  claim 16  wherein at least one of said thigh support or said seat pan includes an auxiliary support member having a plurality of grooves formed therein, and wherein the other of said thigh support or seat pan includes an auxiliary gripping portion having an auxiliary opening which slidably receives said auxiliary support member therethrough.  
     
     
         20 . The booster seat of  claim 19  wherein said support member and said auxiliary support member are coupled to said thigh support and said opening and auxiliary opening are located on said seat pan.  
     
     
         21 . The booster seat of  claim 16  wherein said seat pan includes at least one protection panel fixedly coupled to and extending generally outwardly from said seat pan, said protection panel being located generally below said thigh support.  
     
     
         22 . A booster seat for being coupled to a vehicle seat and supporting a child occupant thereon comprising: 
 a body including a seat back, a seat pan for supporting an occupant thereon, and a pair of brackets located on opposed sides of said body, each bracket having a bracket opening;    a seat belt guide coupled to said body for receiving a vehicle belt therethrough and guiding said vehicle belt over an occupant located on said body; and    a pair of adjustable arm rests coupled to said body, each arm rest being located on opposed sides of said body and having a stub received in one of said bracket openings to pivotally couple each arm rest to said body such that each arm rest is pivotable about an axis that extends generally transverse across said body.    
     
     
         23 . The booster seat of  claim 22  wherein each bracket opening is generally circular and each stub is generally cylindrical.  
     
     
         24 . The booster seat of  claim 22  wherein each bracket includes a protrusion and wherein each arm rest includes an arm rest opening shaped to receive one of said protrusions therein to pivotally couple the associated arm rest to the associated bracket.  
     
     
         25 . The booster seat of  claim 24  wherein each protrusion includes at least part of one of said bracket openings.  
     
     
         26 . The booster seat of  claim 24  wherein each arm rest includes a cantilevered flange, and wherein each flange includes one of said arm rest openings located therein.  
     
     
         27 . The booster seat of  claim 22  wherein each arm rest includes a cantilevered stub flange, and wherein each stub is located on one of said stub flanges.  
     
     
         28 . The booster seat of  claim 22  wherein each bracket includes a stop surface shaped to engage an associated arm rest to limit the pivoting motion of said arm rest.  
     
     
         29 . The booster seat of  claim 22  wherein each stub includes a tapered portion to guide each stub into an associated bracket opening.  
     
     
         30 . The booster seat of  claim 22  wherein each arm rest is movable between an extended position wherein said arm rest is generally parallel to said seat pan and a retracted position wherein said arm rest is generally not parallel to said seat pan, and wherein each arm extends at least slightly forwardly from said seat back when said arm rest is in its retracted position.  
     
     
         31 . A booster seat for being coupled to a vehicle seat and supporting a child occupant thereon comprising: 
 a body including a seat back and a seat pan for supporting an occupant thereon;    a seat belt guide coupled to said body for receiving a vehicle belt therethrough and guiding said vehicle belt over an occupant located on said body; and    a pair of head rests coupled to said seat back, each head rest being located on opposed sides of said seat back and being pivotable about an axis that extends generally along the height of said body, each head rest including a retaining mechanism that can maintain each head rest in a retracted position wherein said head rest is generally flush with said seat back and an extended position wherein said head rest forms an angle with said seat back.    
     
     
         32 . The booster seat of  claim 31  wherein each head rest includes a generally downwardly extending rod that is received in said seat back to pivotally couple each head rest to said body.  
     
     
         33 . The booster seat of  claim 32  wherein each retaining mechanism includes a generally transversely extending pin coupled to said rod, and wherein seat back includes a pair of guide recesses, each guide recess receiving one of said pins therein.  
     
     
         34 . The booster seat of  claim 33  wherein each guide recess includes a ramp, and wherein each pin rides up and over an associated ramp when the associated head rest is moved from its retracted position to its extended position.  
     
     
         35 . The booster seat of  claim 34  wherein said body engages each rod and pulls each rod generally downwardly such that each pin is pulled against the associated ramp as each head rest moves from its retracted position to its extended position.  
     
     
         36 . The booster seat of  claim 35  wherein each guide recess includes a pair of plateau portions located on either side of each ramp, and wherein each pin in located on a first one of said plateau portions when the associated head rest is in said retracted position, and wherein each pin is located on a second one of said plateau portion when the associated head rest is in said extended position.  
     
     
         37 . The booster seat of  claim 36  wherein said second plateau portion is located generally above said first plateau portion.