Shoulder strap retainer for car seat
According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure an apparatus for retaining a shoulder strap in an infant car seat is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a shell configured to retain a shoulder strap on at least three sides including a first side, a second side, and a third side, the first and second sides being opposite each other; a securing mechanism rotatably coupled to the first side and configured to extend between the first side and the second side in a first position; and a first housing coupled to the first side and configured to accommodate at least a portion of the securing mechanism in a second position.
1 . An apparatus for retaining a shoulder strap in an infant car seat comprising:
a shell configured to retain a shoulder strap on at least three sides including a first side, a second side, and a third side, the first and second sides being opposite each other, and the first side, second side, and third side define an aperture for the shoulder strap;
a securing mechanism rotatably coupled to the first side and configured to extend between the first side and the second side in a first position to form a fourth side of the aperture;
a first housing coupled to the first side and configured to surround the securing mechanism, in a second position, on at least three sides; and
a second housing coupled to the second side, the second housing having:
a fourth side;
a fifth side, the fourth side terminating at the fifth side and including a taper tapering away from the fifth side; and
a sixth side terminating at the fifth side and including a taper tapering away from the fifth side, the taper of the sixth side and taper of the fourth side being isomorphic.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the securing mechanism nests within the first housing in the second position such that the shoulder strap may be moved in and out of the shell.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first side and second side are opposite each other and the third side is at least partially orthogonal to the first side and the second side and coupled between the first side and the second side.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least of portion of the securing mechanism nests within the second housing in the first position such that the shoulder strap may not be moved out of the shell.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the second housing prevents the securing mechanism from rotating in at least one direction in the first position.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a dimension of the securing mechanism is configured such that the securing mechanism extends between the first side and the second side to nest in the second housing in the first position.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the securing mechanism is as long or longer than a distance between the first side and the second side.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a spring biases the securing mechanism in the first position.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a biasing force of a spring must be overcome to move the securing mechanism out of the first position.
10 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the securing mechanism comprises a body portion and a hinge, the hinge being coupled to the first housing.
11 . The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the securing mechanism is configured to pivot between the first position and the second position around a longitudinal axis of the hinge.
12 . The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the securing mechanism further comprises a tab portion configured to allow a user to manipulate a position of the securing mechanism.
13 . The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a biasing element to bias the securing mechanism into a position.
14 . The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the biasing element is a spring.
15 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a length of the first housing is greater than or equal to a distance between the first side and the second side.
16 . An apparatus comprising:
a shell having a first side rigidly coupled to a second side, and a third side rigidly coupled to the second side, the first side, second side, and third side defining an aperture configured to accommodate a shoulder strap;
a securing mechanism coupled to the shell and configured, in a first position, to selectively enclose the aperture on a fourth side;
a first housing coupled to the first side and configured to surround the securing mechanism, in a second position, on at least three sides;
a biasing mechanism configured to bias the securing mechanism into the first position; and
a second housing coupled to the second side, the second housing having:
a respective first side;
a respective second side, the respective first side terminating at the respective second side and including a taper tapering away from the respective second side; and
a respective third side terminating at the respective second side and including a taper tapering away from the respective second side, the taper of the respective third side and taper of the respective first side being isomorphic.
17 . The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the first position corresponds to a position in which the securing mechanism encloses the aperture on the fourth side.
18 . The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a hinge coupled between the shell and the securing mechanism.
19 . The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the hinge allows the securing mechanism to rotate between the first position and a second position different than the first position.
20 . The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the hinge is fixedly coupled to the securing mechanism and pivotably coupled to the shell.
21 . A car seat comprising:
a headrest;
a seat coupled to the headrest;
at least one retainer configured to retain a shoulder strap, the at least one retainer including a shell configured to retain the shoulder strap on at least three sides, at least two opposite sides of the at least three sides having a fixed spatial relationship relative to each other;
a securing mechanism, the securing mechanism being configured to selectively retain the shoulder strap on a fourth side different from the at least three sides, and being further configured to be surrounded on at least three sides by at least a portion of the shell when positioned to permit the shoulder strap to be removed from the retainer; and
a hinge coupled between the securing mechanism and the shell and configured to allow the securing mechanism to pivot between the first position and the second position,
wherein the hinge is fixedly coupled to the securing mechanism and pivotably coupled to the shell.
22 . The car seat of claim 21 wherein the securing mechanism in the first position prevents movement of the shoulder strap in a first direction, and the securing mechanism in the second position allows movement of the shoulder strap in the first direction.
23 . The car seat of claim 21 wherein the securing mechanism is biased into the first position, such that a force exceeding a threshold force must be applied to the securing mechanism to move the securing mechanism out of the first position.