Patent Application
20080121191
The present invention relates primarily to a child walking safety product.
Today, older first-time parents are very common. Many women have their first child after 40 years of age. About 25% of all women in California have their first birth at an age over 35. This trend is seen all over the world. Many men at the age of 50-65 are having new babies. Many elderly people, such as grandparents, are childcare givers to their grandchildren. As soon as a small baby becomes mobile, such as crawling, standing, cruising and walking, the parents or attendants can expect a lot of work. Very often a small baby will trip and fall while learning to stand or walk. At those times, an older parent will have a very difficult time bending over, as many have by then experienced back injuries, back pain, or knee pain before having a child. Back pain and tiredness are common complaints by parents during the period when their children learn to walk.
Normal infants learn to walk as early as 6-7 months and as late as 14-16 months. During this period of time, a caregiver spends between 30 min per day to 3-4 hours per day assisting the baby with walking. Due to the significant height difference between a small child and his or her attendant, it is natural for the attendant to bend forward the upper-body to reach a small child with both arms and hands. Thus, this small child's arms or under arms are held by the attendant's hands. In other words, to be able to reach a small child, the attendant bends her/his back to hold the small child's arms when the child stands or walks. This is an extremely difficult position for many people, especially for an older person, a tall person or a person who has back problems. More importantly, when the child's arms are held by the attendant, the infant's arms and hands cannot move freely and naturally, so that the child is not able to touch, grasp, or play with objects as he or she desires. Also, the attendant's both hands are not free in this back bending position. Accidentally, many small children's arms or shoulders have been injured or twisted from sudden lifting or pulling because their attendants could not coordinate with the baby's movement.
Therefore, keeping a baby's hands free during walking exercise is very important in many ways: 1) it allows the baby to have good coordination between the body and hands, so that the baby can be in a natural physical position as much as possible during practicing walk; 2) most important, it helps to stimulate small babies brain development because it provides a great opportunity for a baby to receive information through hands. As we know, the learning process at this age relies mostly on hand touching. During the first three years of an infant's development, the brain develops most significantly in mass and in establishing synapses. It would be a great opportunity to receive a large amount of stimulations if a baby can go any place where a grown-up goes, such as walking into elevators, climbing up stairs, and walking on grass, pavement, shores of lakes or rivers, or anywhere. The more information a baby obtains, the more synapses can be developed, and the more intelligent a baby can become, and the earlier a baby can become independent. Learning how to step as well as obtaining information through this process will stimulate the child's brain development, which benefits both motor functions as well as intellectual development. Generally, due to safety concerns, most parents will not bring their babies to many places until their children reach a certain age. This present invention will provide a useful device to help save a lot of physical effort, avoid emotional stress and ease the burden of parenting. It helps stimulate small babies during the early development stage and explore the world safely.
The earliest infant-walking aid invention was made as early as 1916. However, effective baby walking aids for training a small baby to walk are still lacking in the market. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,193,374 granted in 1916, discloses a walking harness. This harness uses two parallel straps to surrounding the wearer's upper body. The hand-holding straps are narrowed straps that form a loop structure by connecting the ends. The harness is attached to the center back of the wearer. This design is very similar to most baby walking safety harnesses on the market today. The harness is normally operated by a single hand. The harness may be useful for keeping a toddler or older child nearby, but it is not a proper device to train a small baby to walk. When a baby is lifted at the center of the back, the baby can easily become out of balance and falls.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,749,999 helps an adult assist a small baby to learn how to walk. It was developed as a garment-like apparatus that is worn by a baby. Two straps extend from the back of the shoulder to be held by a caregiver's hands. There are many disadvantages in this prior art device: the hand straps are very narrow straps that provide no protection to the wearer. When the straps are pulled, the front anterior part of the apparatus could be pulled up toward the wearer's neck, and may become a choking hazard. No buckles were available at that time, and it seems difficult to put on or take off this apparatus. The wearer can become very hot when used during the summer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,287 discloses a system in which two solid wood bars are provided for the caregiver and the baby to hold onto. The baby has to use its hands to hold onto the wooden bars, and therefore does not get its hands free. This prior art reference discloses a strap system used to hold on the baby's bottom, which does not seem to be convenient for a small baby when a baby starts to walk. It is always important for a baby that there is no obstacle below the waist and no other obstacle stretching between the legs. In addition, the solid rigid bar system is not as convenient as foldable clothes for storage and transportation.
The most recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,902, discloses a design similar to the design described in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,749,999, but adding a seat part for holding the wearer's bottom. The tensions at the baby's bottom and legs create an unnatural force by the infant when the harness is in use. Plus, this suit-liked garment limits the time that it can be used. It may work for smaller or younger babies, and definitely not good for a larger or older babies. The hand leashes are thin, offer no protection and provide less control to the wearers. A baby wearing such a harness is like a baby in a suit or in a net. It may be too hot for a baby to use during summer and is not easy to put on or remove.
Baby walkers help a baby learn to walk. A baby walker has a seat and wheels that allow a baby to sit inside surrounded by a frame. The wheels allow a baby to walk around. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,052 shows a wheeled support structure. After baby walkers become popular several years ago, many babies fell from the stairs in these walkers and became seriously injured. Now, these wheeled walkers are considered dangerous for infants and have been taken off the market. In addition, even before they are able to walk independently, many small babies have strong desire to walk and play in the playground like the big kids do. They also desire to experience with their attendants in going into elevators, on stairs, through doors, and on pavement or grass. However, all of these wheeled devices for assisting a baby walk cannot fulfill these needs.
Currently, here are many types of baby safety walking harnesses in the market, which are intended for toddlers who are able to walk already. They are used as restraining devices for keeping the kids nearby and to avoid being lost in the crowd or on the street. Most of the walking harnesses are made from webbing saps and have a long leash attached on the center back; some are designed to attach to the both sides of under-arms. They are not designed or cannot be used to assist an infant to learn how to walk.
This present invention provides a baby safety walking apparatus which is carried by a baby and held by an attendant. It is designed to secure and support activities of infants during their early stages of development, such as crawling, standing, or walking. It prevents trip and falls and gives confidence to the infants. It is mostly designed to help the attendant to release back strain and reduce the physical and emotional stresses when giving care to a small child. This baby walking safety belt apparatus comprises a major body part and four additional strap systems:
With these designs, this baby walking safety apparatus has a fashionable appearance, and is simple and versatile. The functions of this present invention include the following:
Before an infant is able to stand or walk on its own, the posture of an infant walking looks like an ox pulling a wagon. The babies' weights are mostly on their bodies. They tend to use their upper bodies to pull the legs because their legs are not strong enough to support their bodies in an upright position. Therefore, the small baby can fall out of the balance very easily. As we can see, infants normally keep a semi-vertical position while walking by slightly bending their upper bodies forward. To help an infant maintain his or her balance, the effective supporting area is at the upper front torso. Because adults and small babies have significantly different heights, the adult human's arms are not long enough to reach a baby's arms without bending the back or bending the knees. Naturally, every childcare attendant has to bend his or her upper body to grasp the baby's arm or hands when a small child is learning to stand or walk. As soon as a human bending the body forwardly, a pressure or strain is generated on the human's back. It is extremely painful to the people who have back injuries. It is painful and unpleasant for everyone because it is not a natural relaxing human physical posture. Thus, to help adults assist small children to stand/walk safely and comfortably, a novel device is made here that can meet all of these challenges. This present invention is a significant improvement over the prior arts.
This apparatus is a symmetrical structure, preferably made from any kind of fabrics or other material with soft, durable and flexible natures, such as leather or plastic as the exterior portion. The padding-materials are preferably polyesters, but should not exclude any other soft, durable and flexible materials. The soft flexible feature of these materials offers this apparatus for holding, carrying and lifting the baby from any direction or angle. This apparatus has multiple usages, such as holding a baby onto a chair, or any other seat structures. The wideness and padded feature makes this apparatus strong, secure and easy to be used for pulling, lifting, and swinging a child without causing any discomforts.
The major body part of this apparatus comprises a center portion named as the front bib. It translates from the front to just behind the armpits of the wearer, and functions as the supporting element for the upper torso. This center portion comprises a first surface and a second surface, with the first surface having an exterior surface and an interior surface. Similarly, the second surface has an exterior surface and an interior surface. The first surface interior surface is opposite to the second surface interior surface, with padding materials inserted between the opposite surfaces. The best description of its shape is an inverted top portion of a hand-fan with narrowing ends. The important features of this front bib are: i) a wide and big middle portion; ii) gradually curving up ends from the center, the top edge being less curved and the bottom edge being more curved, and also iii) gradually narrowing down ends from the center, terminating with narrower ends. Since the attendant is significantly taller than the wearer, the pulling force comes from up from a slight vertical position, which is neither horizontal nor vertical. The shape of the center portion allows the connection with the arm-extensions in a perfect position to meet this consideration. The features above are essential to allow a) the center portion fit naturally with the infant upper torso curve; and b) the pressure to be evenly diffused over a large area of the body without having any discomfort. The prior art baby walking safety harnesses use webbing straps. Even though some products used the padded feature, they are still too narrow to secure an infant when carrying or lifting an infant with 20-30 pounds of body weight. Plus, the body weight lands on the infant's front chest are not diffused in an efficient area and can cause extremely discomfort for a small child.
Two elements that extend the attendant's arms are designed as a pair of wings. They are referred to as arm-extensions. The arm-extensions attach to a center portion in a symmetrical position at both ends, giving this major body part of baby walking safety belt apparatus a semicircular shape. Similar to the center portion, each arm-extension comprises a first surface (outer side) and a second surface (inner side) where each surface has an exterior surface and an interior surface. A padding material is inserted between these interior portions. The shape of the arm-extension looks like a dragon-fly's wing. The fixed end has the same width as the front bib's ends. The anterior edge is preferably straight, and the posterior is curved, gradually widening up from the fixed end to the distal end, forming a wing shape like a dragon-fly's. When it is pulled, the arm-extensions naturally slide up-right toward the attendant's front body from the wearer's back, like two human arms. They are wide and well-padded, providing good protection and a strong lift to the wearer, controlling the balance of the child when s/he is in any motion. In contrast, the prior art baby walking harnesses use webbing straps as a leash held by the attendant hands, providing no protection to the wearers. Thus, the body portion of the apparatus of the present invention assists infant to walk and extends the attendant's arms.
Two shoulder straps can be carried on the wearer's shoulder separately. They are used to secure the apparatus on the wearer's body. Each shoulder strap has two ends. The first end is preferably affixed on the center top of the front bib. The second end preferably passes through a D-ring which is affixed permanently on the arm extension second surface (inner side) exterior surface adjacent to the center portion. The left and right straps are attached with a latching portion of a quick released center buckle on the second ends. When it is in use, two straps are connected with each other from opposite direction and form a closed circle that translates from front to the back of the shoulder. Each latching part of the center buckle is designed to slide on the strap it is attached to, so that each shoulder strap is adjustable.
A body-strap is a single long strap with a first end and a second end that encircles a wearer's body by a fastening assembly. It is used to secure the apparatus on the wearer's body. The first end is separated from the second end by passing through a tunnel structure, which is designed as a body-strap holder patching on the inner side of the front bib. This tunnel structure has an exterior surface and interior surface. The interior surface is opposite to the exterior surface of the second surface of the front bib. It is a long narrowed rectangular shape with a width that a body strap can pass through without any difficulty. The length is always shorter than that of the front bib. This way, it can secure better to a smaller child. The ends of the body strap float out from each left or right opening and each connects to a center buckle latching portion. When the body strap is in use, the center buckle is latched on the wearer's back so that the center front portion is securely attached on the wearer's body like a garment. The body strap can also secure a baby on a chair or a seat structure serves as a safety belt. By using a center buckle, the body strap is adjustable at both ends.
A hand grasp area is provided at the distal end of the arm-extension that allows the attendant's hands to hold onto the apparatus. A loop structure designed as a hand-holder provides a means of securing the attendant's hand without loosening grip on the apparatus. When the apparatus is in use, the attendant's hands passes through the loop and allow the loop to rest on the attendant's wrist, so that the attendant can grasp the arm-extensions fully.
An additional structure connecting the hand-holder's loop structure is a tail-like locking strap. These two elements are generated from a single strap by simply folding one end facing down toward the middle point and leaving the other end free like a tail. The middle point is attached on the outer side of the arm extension. Either element can be positioned on the distal end of the arm-extension. These two elements extend to opposite directions along the center line that parallel the arm-extension. Each tail-like locking strap is attached with a fastening portion of a center buckle. With a fastening assembly, the locking-straps from each arm-extension provide a means of connecting the distal ends of the arm-extensions. It allows the arm-extension to form a closed circle, when this apparatus secures a baby on a chair, is held by a hand or rests on the attendant's shoulder.
When this apparatus is in use, both the shoulder straps and the body strap are latched together on the wearer's back. These two strap systems provide a double securing system that protects the wearer's back when the arm-extensions are pulled from the wearer's front. With using these two strap securing systems, this apparatus is a garment-like structure that securely surrounds the wearer's upper torso. In addition, holding the shoulder strap by the D-rings, the shoulder strap is not loose from the wearer's shoulder. Thus, this garment structure is able to withstand the force from any direction without becoming loose. While carrying, lifting, swing, or pulling the wearer, this apparatus provides a strong support and a secure area between the wearer and the attendant. The apparatus can function as a lifting carrier for easily moving a baby from one spot to the other spot.
When it is not in use, the apparatus can be kept on the wearer's back when babies are crawling, standing, walking or sitting. Its appearance looks like a decorative costume for a small child. The floating ends of the arm-extensions can be lifted up and folded over and crossed on the wearer's back; they are secured by the connecting shoulder straps. These two arm-extensions look like a pair of butterfly wings or a pair of angle wings freely floating on the back.
The advantages of this present invention over all other prior art are as following:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,190,374, August 1916, V. B. Gilliam
U.S. Pat. No. 1,749,999, Mar. 11, 1930, Edna L. Croker,
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U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,939, Mar. 1, 1966, William M. Oliver
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U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,902, April 2005, Alejandra G. Marquez
This invention provides a portable device for use by one holding an infant in any motion without back bending. It is used to train an infant walk. Referring now to the drawings, wherein similar parts of the invention are identified by like reference numerals. The baby walker/walking safety belt apparatus (17) as seen from the front side view in
1. An apparatus of the present invention may be constructed mainly by six pieces of fabric, three pieces for the first surface of the apparatus, see
2. The front bib has two surfaces, the first surface (1A) and the second surface (1B), as shown in
3. A body-strap holder (3) is on the exterior side of the second surface (1B) of the front bib. It is rectangular, being 28 cm long and 3 cm wide (see
4. The two shoulder straps (4) are in a symmetrical position attached at (11) on the top of the center portion (1). Each shoulder strap is 40 cm long, having a fixed end and a free end. The second step of constructing the apparatus is to attached 1A and 1B together at its top edge aa′ by sewing from the internal surface of each surface. During this process, each end of the body strap is inserted and affixed at position (11), see
5. The arm-extensions (2) each preferably have a first surface (2A) and a second surface (2B). But, in most cases, these two surfaces are cut into a single piece of fabric and fold on the center, as shown in
The shape of the arm-extension is designed as a dragonfly's wing, as shown in
6. Two D-ring (or triangle ring) structures (10) are then attached on the inner side (2A) of each arm-extension at (19) in a symmetrical position. Each D-ring (10) is affixed by a holder (9) made by a short strap, see
7. The body-strap (5) is a free single strap that is 80 cm long. The first end passes through the tunnel structure (3), and come out of the other end of tunnel. Thus, these two ends are separated from each other at 3A and 3A′. Each end is immediately attached to a latching portion of a center buckle (12A, 12B). Since the structure (3) that provides a means of securing and strengthening the body strap is not physically attached to the apparatus, it is removable and replaceable. The advantages of this design are: a) it makes the apparatus strong and secure; b) it allows this apparatus to fit all sizes of babies; and c) it gives multiple functions to the apparatus.
8. Each extension-arm is constructed with a hand-holder (6) and a locking strap (7) near the distal end, see
9. In addition, extra padding can be provided in the armpit area to provide extra comfort when a strong lift occurs.
10. The present apparatus is preferably made of fabric. Since the fabric is soft and flexible, it does not need to be taken off while baby is in crawling, sitting, and eating positions. To avoid the arm-extensions (2) from touching the floor, they can be simply lifted by crossing over each other and folded back on the wearer's back. When held by the latched shoulder-straps (4, 12), these two arm-extensions form a pair of butterfly-like wings behind the wearer's shoulder, see
11. In
