Two-stage protective car seat cover for child and infant safety chairs

Abstract

There is provided a seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat. The seat cover comprises a lower protective member which is disposable upon a seating portion of the seat. This lower member can accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction to prevent it from permanently compressing the seating portion. The seat cover further comprises an upper protective member that is disposable against a seat-back portion of the seat. This upper member is selectively attachable with and detachable from the lower member. By doing so, the upper member can further prevent the chair from permanently compressing the seat-back portion when it is repositioned in a forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith.

1 - 50 . (Cancelled).  
     
     
         51 . A seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat having seating and seat-back portions, the seat cover comprising: 
 a lower protective member disposable upon the seating portion of the seat and defining a lower peripheral edge formed by a lower forward edge, a lower rear edge and a pair of opposed lower side edges interconnecting the lower forward edge and the lower rear edge, the lower peripheral edge forming a ridge substantially therearound, the lower protective member being configured to accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction for preventing the chair from permanently compressing the seating portion; and    an upper protective member disposable against the seat-back portion of the seat and defining an upper peripheral edge formed by an upper top edge, an upper bottom edge and a pair of upper side edges interconnecting the upper top edge and the upper bottom edge, the upper protective member being selectively attachable to and detachable from the lower protective member so as to be configured to prevent the chair from permanently compressing the seat-back portion when the chair is repositioned in a forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith, wherein the lower protective member includes at least one folding line extending between the lower side edges and oriented generally parallel to and disposed between the lower forward edge and the lower rear edge, the upper protective member including at least one folding line extending between the upper side edges and oriented generally parallel to and disposed between the upper top edge and the upper bottom edge, each of the folding lines being configured to allow respective ones of the lower and upper protective members to be folded so as to accommodate curvature of the seating and seat-back portions, a V-shaped notch being formed in the ridge at each of the lower side edges adjacent to the folding line in the lower protective member.    
     
     
         52 . The seat cover of  claim 51  wherein the seat is a vehicular seat.  
     
     
         53 . The seat cover of  claim 51  wherein the lower and upper protective members are each fabricated from a material sized and configured to provide cushioning to the child safety chair.  
     
     
         54 . The seat cover of  claim 53  wherein the lower and upper protective members each comprise a protective cover which encapsulates the cushioning material.  
     
     
         55 . A seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat having seating and seat-back portions, the seat cover comprising: 
 a lower protective member disposable upon the seating portion of the seat, the lower protective member being configured to accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction for preventing the chair from permanently compressing the seating portion; and    an upper protective member disposable against the seat-back portion of the seat and defining an upper peripheral edge formed by an upper top edge, an upper bottom edge and a pair of upper side edges interconnecting the upper top edge and the upper bottom edge, the upper protective member being releasibly attachable to the lower protective member so as to be configured to prevent the chair from permanently compressing the seat-back portion when the chair is repositioned in a forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith, the upper protective member including at least one folding line oriented generally parallel to and disposed between the upper top edge and the upper bottom edge, the folding line extending between the upper side edges and being configured to allow the upper protective member to be folded so as to accommodate curvature of the seat-back portion.    
     
     
         56 . The seat cover of  claim 55  wherein the seat is a vehicular seat.  
     
     
         57 . The seat cover of  claim 55  wherein the lower and upper protective members are each fabricated from a material sized and configured to provide cushioning to the child safety chair.  
     
     
         58 . The seat cover of  claim 57  wherein the lower and upper protective members each comprise a protective cover which encapsulates the cushioning material.  
     
     
         59 . (Currently Amended) A seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat having seating and seat-back portions, the seat cover comprising: 
 a lower protective member disposable upon the seating portion of the seat, the lower protective member being configured to accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction for preventing the chair from permanently compressing the seating portion; and    an upper protective member disposable against the seat-back portion of the seat, the upper protective member being selectively attachable to and detachable from the lower protective member so as to be configured to prevent the chair from permanently compressing the seat-back portion when the chair is repositioned in a forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith, wherein the lower and upper protective members are each fabricated from a material having a tactile property configured to frictionally grip the child safety chair.    
     
     
         60 . The seat cover of  claim 59  wherein the seat is a vehicular seat.  
     
     
         61 . The seat cover of  claim 59  wherein the lower and upper protective members are each fabricated from rubber.  
     
     
         62 . The seat cover of  claim 61  wherein the rubber is foam rubber.  
     
     
         63 . The seat cover of  claim 59  wherein the lower and upper protective members are each fabricated from polymer.  
     
     
         64 . The seat cover of  claim 63  wherein the polymer is foamed polymer.  
     
     
         65 . A seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat having seating and seat-back portions, the seat cover comprising: 
 a lower protective member disposable upon the seating portion of the seat and being configured to accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction for preventing the chair from permanently compressing the seating portion.    
     
     
         66 . The seat cover of  claim 65  wherein the seat is a vehicular seat.  
     
     
         67 . The seat cover of  claim 65  wherein the lower protective member is fabricated from a material sized and configured to provide cushioning to the child safety chair.  
     
     
         68 . The seat cover of  claim 67  wherein the lower protective member comprises a protective cover which encapsulates the cushioning material.  
     
     
         69 . The seat cover of  claim 65  wherein the lower protective member defines a lower peripheral edge formed by a lower forward edge, a lower rear edge and a pair of opposed lower side edges interconnecting the lower forward edge and the lower rear edge, the lower peripheral edge forming a ridge substantially therearound for containing spills therewithin.  
     
     
         70 . The seat cover of  claim 69  wherein the lower protective member includes at least one folding line extending between the lower side edges and oriented generally parallel to and disposed between the lower forward edge and the lower rear edge, the ridge having a V-shaped notch formed at each one of the lower side edges adjacent to the folding line to allow the lower protective member to be folded therealong so as to accommodate curvature of the seating portion.  
     
     
         71 . The seat cover of  claim 70  wherein the folding line is positioned generally midway between the lower forward edge and the lower rear edge.