EN 16120 Child Use and Care Products - Chair Mounted Seat

A European standard, "EN 16120 Children's products for use and care - Chair-mounted seats", describes the safety requirements and test methods for chair-mounted seats intended to be placed in an adult chair to raise the seating position of a child aged 36 months or weighing a maximum of 15 kg. This standard does not apply to cushions, pads and products intended to merely hold the child in the chair without raising the seating position of the child.

For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply:

• Chair attachment system refers to the system designed to connect the chair-mounted seat to the adult chair.
• The restraint system is the system for keeping the child in the seat mounted on the chair.
• A lumbar restraint is a device used to hold a child in place around the waist.
• A groin restraint is a device placed between a child's legs.
• A locking device is a mechanical component that secures a part of a product (e.g. latches, hooks, over-center lock) when erected in the use position and can be activated or deactivated by actions on the operating device.
• The actuating device is that part of the locking mechanism designed to be activated by one or more positive actions by the caregiver.
• A locking mechanism is a combination of components consisting of one or more locking devices and one or more operating devices.

Before starting the test, all fabrics used should be double-cleaned or washed and dried in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

The tests shall be carried out at a temperature of 20 degrees plus/minus 5 degrees. The tests are designed to be applied to chair-mounted seats that are fully assembled and ready for use in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. If the chair-mounted seat can be assembled or adjusted in different ways, the heaviest combination shall be used for each test.

Forces in static load tests shall be applied slowly enough to ensure that negligible dynamic force is applied. Unless otherwise stated, tolerances for forces, masses, dimensions, angles, positioning of loading pads and duration of forces are given in the standard.

The tests are described in terms of the application of forces. However, a 10 kg mass may be used for a force of 1 N. Unless otherwise stated, the test forces may be applied with any suitable device that does not adversely affect the results. Unless otherwise stated, the requirements of this standard are evaluated on the seat mounted on the same chair in the order listed in this standard.

In terms of chemical hazards, the migration of certain elements from materials on external surfaces must not exceed the limits listed in the standard. Materials behind the backrest and below seat level are excluded from these requirements. The method described in the standard “EN 71-3 Safety of toys - Part 3: Migration of certain elements” must be used when performing the test. A separate sample can be used for these tests.

When the requirements for thermal hazards are tested in accordance with this standard, there shall be no surface flash. A separate conditioned sample may be used for these tests. The test method is to apply the test flame defined in the standard “EN 71-2 Safety of toys - Part 2: Flammability” to the seat mounted on the chair at different locations likely to cause surface flash for 3 seconds plus/minus 0,5 seconds.

In terms of mechanical hazards (hazards arising from the height adjustment or folding of the product), chair-mounted seats with adjustable seat height shall have a locking mechanism in accordance with this standard to hold the chair-mounted seat in the normal use position. Chair-mounted seats with a foldable base for storage purposes shall have a locking mechanism in accordance with this standard to hold the chair-mounted seat in the normal use position. Chair attachment systems shall not be considered as locking mechanisms for the height adjustment of the seat area. Inflatable systems shall be equipped with non-return valves.

To prevent hazards arising from unintentional release of locking mechanisms, one of the following conditions shall be fulfilled before and after testing in accordance with this standard:

• At least one working device requires an operating force greater than 15 N measured with and without a 50 kg mass on the seat.
• At least one locking mechanism is released using a tool.
• At least one working device requires at least two sequential actions, the first of which must be maintained while the second is performed.
• At least one locking mechanism is released when two independent working devices are operated simultaneously.

Inflatable systems are excluded from the requirements of this clause. Products which must be removed from the adult chair in order to adjust the height in each position of use or to fold the base for storage are excluded from the requirements of this standard. This applies to products which, regardless of what the instructions for use state, must be removed from the adult chair only to adjust the height or fold the base (for example, to disassemble the product and reassemble it in another configuration). The mere requirement to remove the child from the product to adjust the height or fold the base is not sufficient to apply the exclusion.

Our organization, which has been trying to support businesses from every sector with its wide range of testing, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies for years, has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. In this context, testing services in accordance with the "EN 16120 Child use and care products - Seat mounted on a chair" standard are also provided to businesses.