Convertible car seat

Safety considerations and legislation have made the use of infant car seats for infants and toddlers more prevalent. Such car seats are secured in either a rearward facing or forward facing position in the automobile depending on the size of the infant. When a baby is taken by car to a destination it is frequently desirable to then place the baby in a stroller for further transportation. To do so, the baby must be lifted from the car seat and placed in the stroller. During transport of small children, accessory furniture must conventionally be transported therealong to provide the various functions necessary in the transport of children. Typically a child’s car safety seat is secured to an automotive seat to enable safe securement of a child thereto whereas additionally in the event of a younger child or infant, a stroller apparatus must also be transported creating in many instances inconvenient and burdensome transport problems to users. A typical car seat includes a main body usually in the form of a molded plastic shell providing the seating area, and a base, which is either integrally molded with the main body or a separate member detachably secured to the main body. The car seat is typically installed in a vehicle by placing the base on the automobile seat cushion and back and securing the baby car seat to the automobile seat using appropriate fasteners, such as an automobile safety belt. Nonconvertible car seats designed to support an infant or toddler are presently available. If a parent is taking the child along on a shopping trip, for example, the child is placed in the conventional child’s car seat until the car arrives at the shopping center. Typically a separate stroller is opened up, and the child is physically transferred from the car seat to the stroller.

Baby furniture, such as car seats and strollers, is relatively expensive. Furthermore, the necessity of having both a car seat and stroller requires the occupation of valuable space within an automobile. Therefore, there is a need for an infant seat which is easily converted from a car seat into a stroller. Baby car seats are especially designed to carry an infant or toddler in a vehicle. Child car seats serve two primary purposes. First, the child car seat retrains and prevents injury to the child in the event of an accident. Secondly, the child car seat holds the child in a comfortable manner so that the child does not move about the car while it is being driven. Today’s parents or caregivers tend to be more mobile, keeping infants with them more often for longer periods of time. Carrying the combined weight of the infant and the carrier may fatigue the caregiver. Thus, there is a need for an infant car seat with a carrier that facilitates carrying of the carrier and that more effectively distributes the combined weight of the carrier and the infant across the caregiver’s body. Baby strollers are especially useful for transporting babies while shopping or taking walks when it would be inconvenient or uncomfortable to carry a baby. Recently, multifunctional car seat/stroller products have also been gaining popularity. In an attempt to eliminate the amount of equipment necessary to operate a baby car seat/stroller unit, stroller functionality is incorporated into the car seat itself. Integration of stroller parts into a car seat eliminates the need for two pieces of equipment, the car seat and a stroller housing. The singular unit simplifies the process of transporting an infant or child. These convertible car seats typically have a retractable wheel assembly comprising four wheels which can be retracted so that the stroller converts into a car seat which can be secured to the fixed car seats of an automobile.

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May 31, 2008 | Filed Under Baby carrier