FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a child restraint system for an aircraft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Aircraft seats are typically provided with a simple lap belt designed to restrain an adult sitting in the seat. However, most airlines do not provide adequate means for restraining a child or infant passenger. For very young children, for example below the age of two, it is known to provide a belt attachable to the lap belt of a parent to restrain a child sat on the parent’s lap. Various crash tests have demonstrated that this arrangement is not safe for children and may result in serious injuries to the child in the event of severe turbulence, an emergency landing or a crash. Furthermore, restraining a young child or infant on the parent’s lap facing the back of the seat in front of the child is neither a comfortable nor pleasant experience for the child, which can lead to behavioural problems during a flight.

Larger children are expected to sit in their own seat, typically using the provided lap belt designed for an adult, which may not be appropriate for the child’s size, weight and age.

Some airlines allow parent’s to bring and use their own child car seats onto the aircraft. While this may be safer than relying on the standard equipment lap belt of the aircraft seat, such car seats are not designed for use with aircraft seats and are typically heavy and bulky and therefore difficult to carry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a child restraint system for an aircraft comprising a mounting portion adapted to be fitted to at least an upper portion of a backrest an aircraft seat and a harness portion coupled to the mounting portion and adapted to support a child therein, said restraint system being adapted to be used in a first mode of use, wherein the child is supported in the harness portion with their back against a rear side of the backrest of the aircraft seat facing a parent sat on the seat immediately behind the aircraft seat to which the mounting portion is attached and in a second mode of use, wherein the child is supported in the harness portion with their back against a front side of the backrest of the aircraft seat such that the child may sit in the seat.

Preferably said mounting portion is adapted to fit over an upper portion of the backrest of an aircraft seat with the harness portion suspended therefrom.

The mounting portion may comprise an open bottomed sleeve and/or an array of straps dimensioned or adapted to fit over at least an upper portion of the backrest of the aircraft seat. Preferably means are provided for adjusting the sleeve or straps to facilitate fitting of the mounting portion to seats of differing width.

In one embodiment said mounting portion may comprise a sleeve and at least a portion of said sleeve is formed from an elastic material to permit adjustment of the width of the sleeve. The sleeve may be defined by a front panel, a rear panel and side panels extending between peripheral sides of said front and rear panels, at least a portion of said side panels being formed from an elastic material. One or more adjustable straps may extend between and interconnect said front and rear panels of the sleeve to facilitate fitment of the sleeve over the backrest of an aircraft seat.

In another embodiment the mounting portion may comprise an array of straps, one or more of said straps being adjustable in length to facilitate fitment of the sleeve over the backrest of an aircraft seat.

In one embodiment the harness portion may be releasably coupled to said mounting portion. Alternatively the harness portion may be permanently attached to the mounting portion or integrally formed therewith.

The harness portion may comprise a pouch adapted to fit around at least a portion of a child’s torso to support the child therein. In one embodiment the pouch comprises a rear panel shaped engage the child’s back, side panels extending from side region of the rear to wrap around the child’s torso and engage one another and a bottom panel extending from a lower end of the rear panel, said bottom panel being adapted to extend between the child’s legs to be coupled to the side panels in front of the child.

The rear panel of the pouch may incorporate attachment means for attachment to cooperating attachment means on the mounting portion.

The side panels of the pouch may include apertures for insertion of the child’s arms therethrough.

Preferably the harness portion incorporates straps for retaining a child in the harness portion. The straps may define a three or five point harness, including shoulder straps, optional waist straps and a crotch strap, and a releasable coupling for joining said straps together to retain a child in the pouch. The releasable coupling may comprise a crotch buckle mounted at a distal end of the crotch strap releasably engageable with respective buckle portions provided on the shoulder and/or waist straps on either side of the harness portion.

In the second mode of use, the system may be configured such that, with the mounting portion attached to a chair back and the harness portion suspended from the mounting portion, the child is supported in the harness portion with their back against a front side of the backrest of the aircraft seat such that the child may sit in the seat while being restrained therein by the restraint system.

Preferably the harness portion is adapted to be coupled to the lap belt of the seat when the system in configured in its second mode of use. The bottom panel of the pouch may incorporate a sleeve through which the lap belt of the seat may be passed to secure the pouch to the lap belt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A child restraint system for an aircraft in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a front view of a child restraint system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention attached to a seat and supporting a child in a first mode of use;

Figure 2 is a side view of the system of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a detailed view of the harness portion of the system of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the harness portion of the system of Figure 1 in an opened configuration;

Figure 5 is a detailed view of the mounting portion of the system of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is a detailed view of the mounting portion the system of Figure 1 mounted on a chair;

Figure 7 is a side view of the system of Figure 1 mounted on a chair in a first mode of use;

Figure 8 is a front view of the system of Figure 1 mounted on a chair in its first mode of use; and

Figure 9 illustrates the system of Figure 1 in a second mode of use.

Figure 10 illustrates a child restraint system in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A child restraint system for an aircraft in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in Figures 1 to 9, comprising a mounting portion 2 adapted to be fitted to the seatback of an aircraft seat and a harness portion 4 adapted to hold and support a child 6, the harness portion 4 being arranged to be to be suspended therefrom, in a first mode of use as illustrated in Figures 1 , 2, 7 and 8, with the child’s back against a rear face of the aircraft seat to which the mounting portion 2 is attached, such that the child faces an adult (i.e. the parent or guardian of the child) sat in an aircraft seat immediately behind the seat to which the mounting portion 2 is attached, allowing eye to eye contact between the adult and the child and allowing the child and adult to be in physical contact with one another to provide comfort and feeding.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 9, the mounting portion 2 is in the form of a fabric sleeve 10 dimensioned to be slid over an upper portion of an aircraft seatback, the sleeve 10 comprising front and rear panels 12,14 linked by peripheral side panels 16 extending therebetween to form an inverted pocket. At least the side panels 16 of the sleeve 10 may be formed from an elasticated material to allow the sleeve 10 to be stretched to fit seatbacks of differing dimensions. One or more adjustable straps 18 may be provided between the front and rear panels 12,14 of the sleeve 10 or around the entire sleeve to enable the size of the sleeve 10 to be adjusted and to facilitate securing of the sleeve 10 to the seatback of an aircraft seat to which the sleeve 10 is attached. Said one or more adjustable straps may be provided with releaseable fastenings, such as buckles, for securing said one or more straps around the seatback.

In one embodiment zipper fasteners or other suitable fastening means may be provided on at least one of the front and rear panels 12,14 of the sleeve 10 for releasably attaching the harness portion 4 to the sleeve 10 of the mounting portion 2. In the embodiment shown a two vertically spaced zipper fasteners 20,22 are provided on the front panel 12 of the sleeve 10 to permit attachment of the harness portion 4 to the sleeve 10 at different heights to suit different modes of use of the child restraint system and/or different sizes/ages of child. Alternatively the harness portion may be permanently attached to the mounting portion. The harness portion 4 preferably comprises a fabric pouch adapted to fit around the torso of a child 6 to support the child 6 therein. As best shown in Figures 3 and 4, the harness portion 4 comprises a rear panel 30 shaped engage the child’s back, side panels 32,34 extending from respective sides of the rear panel 30 to wrap around the child’s torso and engage one another in front of the child 6, and a bottom panel 36 extending from a lower end of the rear panel 30, said bottom panel 36 being adapted to extend between the child’s legs to be coupled to the side panels 32,34 in front of the child. The side panels 32,34 of the pouch preferably include apertures 38 for insertion of the child’s arms therethrough. The side panels 32,34 may be secured to the bottom panel 36 when the pouch is fitted around a child, by means of releasable fasteners, such as hooks and loop fasteners 40 of the type sold under the Registered Trade Mark“VELCRO”.

The harness portion 4 preferably incorporates a strap arrangement preferably defining between them a three or five point harness for securing a child 6 within the pouch of the harness portion 4, the strap arrangement including shoulder straps

42.44, optional waist straps 46,48 (which may be defined, at least in part, by the side panels 32,34 of the pouch) and a crotch strap 50, the straps being linked together to retain the child in the harness portion by a releasable buckle 52 having a first part 52A mounted at a distal end of the crotch strap 50 releasably engageable with respective second and third parts 52B,52C provided on the shoulder straps

42.44. The shoulder straps 42,44, and/or the waist straps 46,48 and/or the crotch strap 50 may be incorporated into the pouch formed by the rear, side and bottom panels, for example by being stitched to the respective panels and/or passing through sleeves formed therein or attached thereto. Preferably the shoulder straps 42,44 are adjustable in length to enable the harness portion 4 to fit children of different sizes.

In one embodiment at least one releasable fastener, such as a zipper fastener, may be provided on an upper portion of the rear panel 36 of the pouch of the harness portion 4 for attaching the harness portion 4 to the mounting portion 2. In the embodiment shown two vertically spaced zipper fasteners are provided at spaced locations on an extension of the rear panel 36 to facilitate attachment of the harness portion 4 to the mounting portion 2 with the child 6 supported at different heights with respect to the mounting portion 2.

As shown in Figure 4, a belt sleeve 54 is defined on a portion of the bottom panel 36 of the harness portion 4 through which may be inserted a lap belt of an aircraft seat when the child restraint system is configured for a second mode of use, as described below. In the second mode of use, the sleeve 10 defining the mounting portion 2 is attached to the seatback of an aircraft seat with the front panel 12 of the sleeve 10 and its zipper fasteners 20,22 on the front face of the seatback. The harness portion 4 is then attached to the mounting portion 2 such that the harness portion 4 is located on the front of the seatback. In the second mode of use the harness portion 4 may be attached to the mounting portion 2 or adjusted with respect to the mounting portion to rest at a height permitting a child to be supported within the pouch defined by the harness portion 4 while the child is sat in a normal forward facing seated position in the seat to which the mounting portion 2 is attached. The lap belt of the seat is inserted through the belt sleeve 54 in the bottom panel 36 of the pouch of the harness portion 4. The panels and associated straps of the harness portion can be fastened around the child and the lap belt fastened normally such that the harness portion 4 is attached to the lap belt and both the harness portion 4 of the child restraint system and the lap belt retain the child in the seat. The bottom panel 36 and crotch strap 50 of the harness portion 4 prevent the child from sliding out from under the lap belt of the seat in the event of an emergency.

When not in use, the harness portion 4 of the child restraint system may be stored within the sleeve 10 of the mounting portion 2. Fastening means may be provided for closing the open side of the sleeve 10 to retain the harness portion 4 within the sleeve.

When secured to a seatback of an aircraft seat in its first mode of use, the restraint system supports the child independent of the adult (seated in the seat behind that to which the mounting portion is attached), with the child supported on the seatback via the mounting portion 2. This leaves the adult free to read, use any device, or take refreshment, while facilitating interaction between the child and the adult and allowing the child to make eye contact with the adult. Amusement of the child may be further enhanced by the embellishment of the pouch of the harness portion 4 with accessories of audio and/or tactile nature.

In a further embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 10, the mounting portion 102, comprising a fabric sleeve 110 adapted to fit over an upper portion of a seatback of an aircraft seat, may be permanently attached to or integrally formed with, a harness portion 104 adapted to hold and support a child. As with the previous embodiment, the harness portion 104 comprises a rear panel 130 shaped engage the child’s back, side panels 132,134 extending from respective sides of the rear panel 130 to wrap around the child’s torso and engage one another in front of the child, and a bottom panel 136 extending from a lower end of the rear panel 130, said bottom panel 136 being adapted to extend between the child’s legs to be coupled to the side panels 132,134 in front of the child. The side panels 132,134 of the pouch preferably include apertures 138 for insertion of the child’s arms therethrough.

Again, as with the first embodiment, a strap arrangement is incorporated into the harness portion 104 preferably defining between them a three or five point harness for securing a child within the pouch of the harness portion 104, the strap arrangement including shoulder straps 142,144, optional waist straps (not shown) (which may be defined, at least in part, by the side panels 132,134 of the pouch) and a crotch strap (hidden from view in Figure 10 by the bottom panel 136), the straps being linked together to retain the child in the harness portion by a releasable buckle 152. The shoulder straps 142,144 are adjustable in length to enable the harness portion 104 to fit children of different sizes.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the mounting portion 102 may included a strap or belt 160 adapted to extend around the seatback of an aircraft seat to secure the mounting portion 102 to the seatback and to provide additional support to the harness portion 104 suspended therefrom. The strap or belt 160 may be adjustable in length and may include a fastener, such as a buckle, for securing the strap or belt 160 around the seatback. As shown in Figure 10, the shoulder straps 142,144 of the harness portion 104 may be attached to the strap or belt 160 of the mounting portion 102.

As with the first embodiment, the harness portion 104 includes one or more belt sleeves 154, which may be defined on a portion of the bottom panel 136 of the harness portion 104, through which may be inserted a lap belt 162 of an aircraft seat when the child restraint system is configured for a second mode of use.

The child restrain system in accordance with the present invention may be configured in its second mode of use, satisfying the need to secure a child to its own aircraft seat during take-off and landing. This may allow the restraint system to conform the ESEA ESTO-100c/c as an Aviation Child Restraint Device while providing enhanced child safety over the use of the standard lap belt alone. While the child restrain system in accordance with the present invention has been described for use on an aircraft seat, it is envisaged that the system may also be used to restrain a child to a seat in many other applications, for example in buses, coaches, ferries or any other vehicle or on a chair or seat in a building or an other environment.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but can be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.