Patent Application
20160296034
The disclosure relates to child carriers. More particularly, the disclosure relates to systems for tethering a child in a carrier. Still more particularly, the disclosure relates to a device for tethering a child in a carrier in a manner that does not deleteriously affect the comfort of the child or the wearer, the functionality of the carrier, or the position of the child being carried.
There are currently a number of wearable child carriers on the market which afford the wearer freedom of hand and arm movement while transporting a child that is secured in the carrier. These child carriers generally do not provide features for specifically tethering a child in a carrier. In some jurisdictions, standards have been enacted requiring tethering features to be provided for use with (or as a part of) child carriers. What is needed, therefore, are devices and systems for tethering a child to a child carrier in a manner that does not deleteriously affect the comfort of the child or wearer of the carrier, does not impede the functionality of the carrier and does not impact the position of the child being carried.
To those ends, among others, embodiments disclosed herein provide a harness for tethering a child to a child carrier. The harness includes a running line for encircling a child's torso. A loop is disposed at one end of the running line. The opposite end of the running line may be fed through this loop to create a child tethering area for encircling a child's torso. The end of the running line opposite the loop is joined to the child carrier. The child tethering area can therefore tether the child (e.g., to the child carrier and thus the wearer) without encumbering the child's shoulders, arms, or legs or affecting the child's position within the child carrier. Additionally, adjustment of the running line allows the harness to fit a wide range of child sizes.
When a child is displaced from the child carrier the weight of the child (e.g., a portion of the child's weight unsupported by the carrier) acts to tighten the child tethering area around the child's torso. In particular, the weight of the child acting on the running line serves to move the running line through the loop, reducing the diameter of the child tethering area encircling the child. The child tethering area thus cinches around the child, tethering the child by limiting the point of maximum displacement of the child away from the wearer of the child carrier. In this manner, a child may be tethered by a harness placed only around the child's torso, leaving the child's arms, shoulders, or legs free of restraint and reducing or eliminating any interference with the positioning of the child within the carrier
In one embodiment, the end of the running line opposite the loop may include a harness attachment point for coupling to a corresponding carrier attachment point on the child carrier. The carrier attachment point may be a feature of the child carrier specifically designed as such an attachment point or may utilize an existing feature of the child carrier. In a particular embodiment for example, the carrier attachment point may be a waistbelt of the child carrier. By utilizing an existing feature of a child carrier, such as the waistbelt, as a carrier attachment point embodiments of such a harness may be easily utilized with a wide variety of carriers, including those that did not originally include such a harness and even child carriers not originally designed for use with such a harness.
Specifically, embodiments of a harness system include an anchor portion that may be attached to a carrier to provide a carrier attachment point for attaching the harness attachment point of the harness. The anchor portion may be made of a length of flexible material and may include the carrier attachment point corresponding to the harness attachment point of the harness. In one embodiment, for example, a harness system may include a waist belt anchor portion. The waist belt anchor portion may be coupled to the waist belt of the child carrier. For example, in one embodiment the waist belt anchor portion may be configured to encircle a waist belt of a child carrier and contain corresponding fasteners that when fastened together allow the waist belt anchor portion to form a loop around the waist belt of the child carrier.
In one particular embodiment, to accommodate child carriers with different size waist belts the waist belt anchor portion may include multiple sets of corresponding fasteners, allowing the loop formed by the waist belt anchor portion to be made larger or smaller as the need arises.
Embodiments of the waist belt anchor portion may also provide the carrier attachment point for coupling to the harness attachment point of the harness. In particular, in one embodiment, each of the waist belt anchor portion and harness attachment point may include corresponding fasteners such that they may be coupled and decoupled from one another. This arrangement allows the harness to be placed on child and the child situated in the carrier at any point before or after the harness is coupled to the waist belt anchor portion. Accordingly, the ingress and egress of the child into both the carrier and the harness may be facilitated. In one embodiment, the harness may have a sleeve covering at least a portion of the running line to, for example, provide added comfort for the child, protect the running line, or to facilitate the movement of the running line through the loop of the harness. The sleeve may be made out of ripstop nylon and/or may include a padded material. The sleeve may be attached to a portion of the running line and may include a cinching portion near the harness attachment point where the cinching portion is not attached to the running line. This cinching portion may thus facilitate the passing of the running line through the loop without interfering with the tightening of the harness as a child moves away from the wearer.
Accordingly, embodiments of harness systems as disclosed herein may have many advantages. For example, embodiments of such a harness system may have a small profile and thus may not be intrusive to either the child or the wearer of the carrier. Additionally, these harness systems may be less restrictive such that a child's movement may not be restricted while the child is within the carrier. Yet a further advantage of a harness system as disclosed herein is that the harness may be simpler and easier to use than other devices currently available. In particular, embodiments of such a harness system may allow a child to be placed in the harness either before or after the child is placed in the child carrier. Moreover, the child may be placed in the harness either before or after the harness is coupled to the carrier itself. Such versatility allows a wide variety of options for situating the child in the harness system and the child carrier. As an additional advantage, use of embodiments of the harness system does not impede the operation or use of the child carrier itself. In particular, the use of such harness systems does not impact the positioning of the child within the carrier. Thus, when used with child carriers that are designed to place the child in an ergonomic position (e.g., such as a spread-squat position) the use of such a harness does not impact the ergonomic positioning of the child. Yet another advantage is that the harness acts based on the weight of the child and only tightens when the child moves away from the carrier, increasing comfort for the child while in the carrier. Still another advantage is that harness systems as disclosed do not require numerous adjustments for a proper fit and may also easily accommodate a wide range of child sizes.
The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification are included to illustrate certain embodiments. A clearer impression of disclosed embodiments, and of various components and operation of devices and systems provided with the embodiments, will become more apparent by referring to embodiments shown in the drawings, wherein identical reference numerals indicate the same components throughout. Note that features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.
The disclosure and various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of known starting materials and processes may be omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the disclosure in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating preferred exemplary embodiments, are given by way of illustration only and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.
As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, product, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, product, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).
As used herein, the terms “fastener,” “fastening,” and contextual equivalents or variants thereof, may refer to any type of securing mechanism, such as, for example: buttons, snaps, d-rings, clips, hooks, patches of hook and loop material (e.g., Velcro or the like), or any other securing mechanism, whether now known or hereafter described in the art.
Additionally, any examples or illustrations given herein are not to be regarded in any way as restrictions on, limits to, or express definitions of, any term or terms with which they are utilized. Instead these examples or illustrations are to be regarded as being described with respect to one particular embodiment and as illustrative only. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any term or terms with which these examples or illustrations are utilized encompass other embodiments, as well as implementations and adaptations thereof which may or may not be given therewith or elsewhere in the specification, and all such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. Language designating such non-limiting examples and illustrations includes, but is not limited to: “for example,” “for instance,” “e.g.,” “in one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” and the like.
Conventional child carriers do not provide a means for specifically tethering a child in a child carrier. Some recent standards have required that manufacturers provide such a tether; however, currently available devices may be cumbersome to use and may inhibit the movement of the child's arms and shoulders, as well as cause discomfort and prevent the child from attaining an ergonomically advantageous position when used with carriers that promote such a position. Additionally, current devices may inhibit the functionality of the carrier or may only fit a small range of child sizes, therefore requiring multiple devices as the child grows.
Embodiments disclosed herein provide a child carrier harness that is adjustable to fit a wide range of child sizes yet is easy to use and comfortable for both the child and the wearer. The harness includes a running line for encircling a child's torso. One end of the running line may have a loop for passing the other end of the running line through, creating an area for encircling the child. The end of the running line opposite the loop may be attached to a child carrier, thereby restraining the child.
Examples of child carriers that may utilize a harness system such as the one disclosed herein may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/937,193, filed Sep. 9, 2004, entitled “BABY CARRIER” by Frost, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,498; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/209,580, filed Mar. 13, 2014, entitled “CHILD CARRIER” by Telford et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 9,185,993; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/544,093, filed Aug. 19, 2009, entitled “INFANT CARRIER” by Frost, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,220,352, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Referring now to
In one embodiment, harness 120 comprises a harness loop 122, which defines an area 130 for encircling a child's waist or torso. Harness loop 122 may comprise running line 126 at least partially covered by sleeve 127. Running line 126 may comprise a first end which may be secured to a child carrier and a second end having a reciprocating loop 124. Running line 126 feeds through reciprocating loop 124, creating area 130 for encircling a child's torso. Harness 120 may then be tethered to any suitable point using any means. Harness 120 may be attached to a carrier (or wearer) directly or through the use of intermediate parts, such as waist belt anchor portion 160.
Waist belt anchor portion 160 may be adapted or otherwise suitably configured for attachment to the waist belt of a child carrier (depicted, for example, in
In one embodiment, when a child tethered in harness 120 moves away from the wearer of the child carrier, running line 126 moves out of reciprocating loop 124 toward waist belt anchor portion 160. As running line 126 moves out of reciprocating loop 124, cinching portion 128 is compressed to facilitate travel of reciprocating loop 124 along a length of running line 126 while reducing the diameter of the area 130 for encircling the child's waist/torso. This tethers the child and limits the point of maximum displacement of the carried child away from the wearer of the child carrier. As the child is moved closer to the wearer of the carrier, running line 126 moves into reciprocating loop 124; cinching portion is extended to facilitate travel of reciprocating loop 124 along a length of running line 126 while increasing the diameter of the area 130 for encircling the child's waist/torso, thereby providing more room in area 130 when the child is closer to the wearer.
In some situations, harness 120 may hold the full weight of the child. The weight of the child acts to tighten area 130 around the child's torso. Harness loop 122 may catch at the child's hips, legs, or pelvis, especially if the child is wearing a diaper, and may hold the child in the harness. Area 130 need not reduce to the size of the child's torso to hold the child and may form a “teardrop” shape.
Waist belt anchor portion 160 comprises anchor tongues 162 for wrapping around, for example, the waistband of a child carrier. As anchor tongues 162 are wrapped around the waistband of the carrier, anchor tongue press-fit snaps 164 may be engaged with lower anchor press-fit snaps 166, or in the case of the wearer of the child carrier having a longer torso or a larger/smaller width waistband, with upper anchor press-fit snaps 168. While the embodiment depicted in
Upper anchor press-fit snaps 170 are generally not intended for securing waist belt anchor portion 160 to the waistband of a child carrier. In the embodiments disclosed herein, the function of upper anchor press-fit snaps 170 will be more fully described below with reference to
Anchor tongues 162 may further comprise patches of hook-and-loop material 180 intended for engagement with corresponding patches of loop-and-hook material 182 and 184 along the length of anchor flap 190, depending on, for example, the wearer's torso length. That is to say that the wearer may select lower anchor loop-and-hook patches 182 or upper anchor loop-and-hook patches 184 when the wearer attaches waist belt anchor portion 160 to the waistband or waist belt of the child carrier.
As shown, anchor flap 190 may comprise a point of attachment 175 (e.g., a stitched patch or other fastening means) for securing an anchor flap webbing or line (for example, on the opposite side of anchor flap 190 of
Referring now to
Running line 126 may provide minimal longitudinal elasticity yet be transversely flexible so as to comfortably encircle a child's torso. Running line 126 may be made of any suitable material or combination of materials. In one embodiment, running line 126 may be made of polyester webbing.
As shown in
Running line 126 may be adjustable so as to change area 130. Adjustment may be useful for allowing harness loop 122 to fit a wide range of child sizes. Adjustment may also be useful for ease of placing the harness on or removing the harness from the child.
Adjustment of the length of running line 126 may be facilitated by a feature of harness attachment 200. In one embodiment, running line 126 may feed through harness attachment 200 such that pulling on the free end of running line 126 reduces the length of the running line between harness attachment 200 and reciprocating loop 126.
In one embodiment, harness loop 122 further comprises sleeve 127. Sleeve 127 may cover at least a portion of running line 126 and may comprise a padded material to provide additional comfort for the child or the wearer. In one embodiment, sleeve 127 comprises a 3-D mesh. Padding may also be placed between sleeve 127 and running line 126. In one embodiment, padding between sleeve 127 and running line 126 comprises a 3-D mesh.
Sleeve 127 may be attached to running line 126, such as by sewing sleeve 127 to running line 126. A portion of sleeve 127 may not be attached to running line 126. For example, a portion of sleeve 127 distal from reciprocating loop 124 may not be attached to running line 126 and may be referred to as cinching portion 128.
Cinching portion 128 may comprise a portion of sleeve 127 that may be longitudinally extended or compressed along the length of running line 126 (for example, a length of strap or webbing). Cinching portion 128 may provide additional comfort for the child by preventing running line 126 from directly contacting the child. Because cinching portion 126 is not attached to running line 126, cinching portion 128 may interfere minimally, if at all, with the movement of reciprocating loop 124 along running line 126.
Reciprocating loop 124 may be sized to allow running line 126 to slide easily through and may be formed from running line 126 and/or sleeve 127. Reciprocating loop 124 may also be formed as a separate portion that is attached to running line 126. In one embodiment, reciprocating loop 124 may be sewn on to running line 126. Any suitable material may be used to form reciprocating loop 124; however, it is preferred to use a material having a low coefficient of friction with the material used for running line 126 so as to facilitate cinching of the harness loop around the child's torso.
In one embodiment, harness 120 may attach to anchor flap attachment 210. Anchor flap attachment 210 may comprise a portion of a side release buckle. Anchor flap attachment 210 may be attached to any point suitable for holding a child. For example, anchor flap attachment 210 may be attached to a carrier directly or may be attached to a carrier using an intermediate portion such as waist belt anchor portion 160.
As shown in
Anchor flap attachment 210 may be fastened to anchor flap 190 by webbing or any other fastening mechanism now known or hereafter described in the art.
Once infant 300 is encircled by harness loop 122, running line 126 may be adjusted to fit infant 300. Running line 126 need not be adjusted to the same size as the child's torso and may only need to be adjusted to prevent an overly loose fit. Readjustment of running line 126 may be performed as needed while the child is in the carrier.
To prevent anchor flap 190 from sliding down between the wearer and the waistband of the carrier (e.g., when the anchor flap is not attached to a harness), wedge 440 may be attached to anchor flap 190. In one embodiment, wedge 440 may have a triangular profile. Wedge 440 may comprise any suitable material, such as a foam material.
As shown in
As can be seen in
While
In the foregoing specification, the disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, as one skilled in the art will appreciate, various embodiments disclosed herein can be modified or otherwise implemented in various other ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, this description is to be considered as illustrative and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the manner of making and using various embodiments of a child carrier harness. It is to be understood that the forms of disclosure herein shown and described are to be taken as embodiments. Equivalent elements or materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein. Moreover, certain features of the disclosure may be utilized independently of the use of other features, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/145,703, filed Apr. 10, 2015, entitled “CHILD CARRIER HARNESS DEVICE AND SYSTEM” by Telford, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62145703 | Apr 2015 | US |
