2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Parents are often plagued by the problem of keeping their child safe and entertained while seated in a high chair. The need exists for a high chair that combines safety, comfort and entertainment in order to keep the child in the high chair, with minimal effort from parents. Examples of several devices attempting to attain these goals follow.

U. S. Patent No. 5,582,462 which issued to Shea on December 10, 1996 discloses a safety high chair including a Y-shaped shoulder harness for holding a child securely in the chair. The high chair may further be provided with a rigid foot rest on a support rail between the front legs of the high chair. The chair is also adapted for receiving a removable tray.

U. S. Patent No. 3,345,105 which issued to Levy, et al. on March 3,1966 discloses a foldable high chair. This chair is also provided with a tray and an adjustable foot rest. This high chair is adapted to be lowered to the floor and folded for carrying or storage.

Food trays for use in conjunction with a high chair have been the subject of previous patents. For example, U. S. Patent No.

5,294,172 which issued on March 15,1994 to Dubus discloses a food tray provided with an activity chamber below a transparent top which is sealed against access by the child but includes an exterior control mechanism for operating the activity chamber.

Other devices are designed to entertain a child in a child safety seat or car seat. Among these are U. S. Patent No. 5,482,352 which issued to Leal et al. on January 9,1996 for a child seat with audio. The child's seat includes a compartment for carrying an audio source and has speakers placed in the child seat near where the child's ears would be. The speakers are connected to the audio source via conductive wire and a jack in the compartment housing the audio source. British Application No. 7827/77 published October 17,1979 discloses a child safety seat with a detachable table, in yet another attempt to keep young children occupied and happy while strapped safely in a seat.

Other devices employ various techniques and designs to keep children, or adults for that matter, comfortable, safe, and ! entertained, often employing an audio source. Examples include U. S. Patent No. 5, 071,149 (go-cart for children) issued December 10,1991 to Perego; U. S. Patent No. 5,490,711 (musical rocking chair) issued February 13,1996 to Pollock; U. S. Patent No.

3,127,215 (infant's seat and bed) issued March 31,1964 to Hubbard ; U. S. Patent No. 5, 143,055 (somatic acoustic chair) issued September 1, 1992 to Eakin; Australian Patent Specification (improvements in or relating to combination furniture seats) published March 27, 1952; and British Patent Specification 787,768 (improvements in or relating to rocking chairs or the like) published December 18, 1957.

Despite previous efforts, the need still exists for a high chair that keeps the child seated through use of both audible entertainment and safety precautions.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a high chair that will hold the child securely in place.

It is another object of the invention to provide head and neck support for a child seated in the high chair.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a food tray with audible entertainment that may be initiated by a child.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

In accordance with the above listed objects, the present invention is a high chair with an interactive audio food tray. A chair portion, having a seat and a seat back which are coupled to each other at a right angle, is supported by four legs, each leg being attached to and extending downward from the seat. The chair portion is further provided with a pair of arms on either side of the chair. For extra comfort and support, a head rest is provided on the seat back. An adjustable foot rest also provided, attached to the seat. An over-the-shoulder harness emerges from and is secured to the seat back. A single buckle secures the harness to the seat.

Attached to the arms of the chair portion is a tray to be used as a table for a child in the high chair. The tray includes a rigid planar base, having a lower surface defining a hidden housing chamber. Within the housing chamber is an electronic component which produces a plurality of audio programs. A plurality of buttons, dimensioned and configured for ease of use by infants and toddlers, is provided on the upper surface of the tray base. Each button is electrically coupled to a corresponding switch and the electronic audio component, such that when one of the buttons is depressed, the corresponding switch completes a circuit causing the playback of a prerecorded audio program. A transparent protective waterproof top covers the base and the buttons, thereby protectina the underlying electronics while providing a flat central plane for holding a plate and cup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the high chair and tray of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial section plan view of the tray of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a front sectional view of the tray of the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the figures by numerals of reference, a high chair and food tray are shown, wherein the high chair includes generally, a chair portion, with harness 30 and legs 22, as well as a food tray 50. The chair portion has a seat 12 and a seat back 14 coupled at nearly a right angle. A head rest 16 is provided on the upper portion of the seat back 14 for neck and head support. To lend support and prevent a child from sliding out of the side of the chair, a pair of arms 18 are provided on either side of the chair.

For further protection, an over-the-shoulder harness 30, having a pair of straps emerging from and secured to the seat back 14, is used to prevent the child from standing in the chair. The straps create a V-shape as they converge to a single buckle 32 that secures to a corresponding buckle and strap assembly 34 located on the seat 12. Additionally, an adjustable lap belt (not shown), also securing with a buckle, may be added to go around the child's waist, ensuring the child will not defeat the purposes of the harness. An adjustable foot rest 20, attached to the seat 12, allows for comfortable placement of the child's feet.

The chair portion is elevated to a suitable dining height by four legs 22, each having an upper end attached to the seat. Each leg extends downward to a lower end which may have a rubber boot (not shown) to help prevent the chair from slipping on the floor surface.

A food tray 50 for dining at the high chair is also provided.

The tray may be permanently affixed or removably coupled to the arms 18 of the high chair. The tray 50 is made from a rigid planar base 52. The base 52 defines a housing chamber 64 on its under side, hidden from view. The upper surface 66 of the base 52 has a plurality of buttons 62 dimensioned and configured for ease-of use by infants and toddlers. Some or all of the buttons 62 may be in the shape of various animals or other figures. A sample box 56, or other audio source, and speaker 58 for producing a plurality of audio programs is secured within the housing chamber 64 of the base 52. An audio program is activated when one of the buttons 62 is pressed. When each button 62 is depressed, a switch 60 is activated thereby completing a circuit causing the playback of a prerecorded audio program. Some suggested audio programs include children's songs such as"Skip to My Lou,""On Top of Old Smokey, ll and"Pop Goes the Weasel."Other possibilities include counting the numbers one through ten, or even reciting the alphabet.

In order to protect the electronic components 56,58 housed within the base 52, a transparent protective waterproof top 54 covers the base 52 and plurality of buttons 62 while forming a flat central plane for holding a plate and cup. Decorative and educational artwork 70, such as pictures of fruit along with their written names may also be placed on the base, protected by the transparent cover, but still easily viewable by the child.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.