Patent Grant
9839302
The present disclosure relates to child carriers. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems for carrying infants. Even more particularly, the present disclosure relates inserts for transporting infants in a child carrier designed to carry larger children.
Wearable child carriers allow parents to carry children comfortably while maintaining freedom of hand and arm movement. Available carriers carry children in a variety of positions. Depending on the configuration of the child carrier, a parent can position the child in front of the parent, behind the parent or at the side of the parent. Some child carriers can carry children in any of these positions. For example, the ERGObaby baby carrier, allows parents to configure the carrier as a front carrier, a back pack or hip carry position (ERGObaby is a trademark of Ergobaby, Inc. of Pukalani, Hi.).
In general, it is recommended that young children be carried in slings or front carriers. Slings can be uncomfortable for parents as the weight of the child is unevenly distributed across the parent's shoulders. Front carriers hold a child in an upright position with the child's legs hanging down and the base of the child's spine supporting the child's bodyweight. This position may not be optimal for infants. While an adult spine has four curves, a young child's spine only has two curves. A majority of the child's spine will form a C-shape (so-called total kyphosis). Positioning an infant in an upright position may unduly and limit curvature of the spine and puts stress on the infant's sacrum. This can cause the infant's pelvis to tilt backward limiting leg and hip movement, which may impede healthy development of the infant's pelvis.
The current solution to this problem is to either wear the infant in a sling or, for front carriers, to wrap the infant in a blanket or padded sheet and lay the infant at an angle in the child carrier across the parent's torso. The infant will be in a reclined position with both of its feet sticking out of a single leg hole of the child carrier. However, it can be difficult and frustrating to properly position the infant in the child carrier in this manner and some parents find this configuration uncomfortable.
Embodiments described herein provide infant carriers. One embodiment can include an infant insert to carry an infant. The infant insert can include a flexible panel having an inner surface and an outer surface. The panel can have a curved shape that narrows toward the bottom of the panel and can define a front opening to an area for holding an infant. The elongated panel can be sized to provide support along the infant's spine and neck. The infant insert can further comprise a cushion adapted to support the infant forward of the infant's tailbone when in use. The infant insert is sized and configured for placement in a child carrying area of a front wearable child carrier to accommodate an infant in a wearer facing position with the infant's knees raised. In one embodiment, the infant insert can be adapted to support the infant in a position with the infant's femur at an angle of 90-120 degrees from the coronal plane. Additionally, the infant insert can be adapted to support the infant in a position with the infant's knees at 45-60 degrees from the median plane. In particular embodiments, the infant insert can be adapted to promote a spread-squat-position.
Another embodiment of an infant insert can comprise an elongated flexible panel having an inner surface, an outer surface, a first side edge, a second side edge, a top edge, a bottom edge, a first bottom corner and a second bottom corner. The first bottom corner and second bottom corner can be stitched together to form a cushion opening at the bottom of the panel and cause the first side edge and second side edge to converge to form a tapered front opening to an area to hold an infant. The length of the panel from the top edge to the bottom edge can be selected to allow the panel to provide support along the infant's spine and neck and provide a head rest area. The width of the elongated panel can be selected so that the panel provides side padding for the infant when in use. The elongated flexible panel can further include a continuous rail of padding at the first side edge, top edge, and the second side edge and an area of spinal padding disposed about a vertical axis of the panel to provide padding for the infant's spine. The infant insert can further include a cushion disposed in the cushion opening at the bottom of the area to hold the infant. The infant insert can be adapted to fit in a child carrying area of a front wearable child carrier to position the infant in a wearer facing position.
One embodiment of a method can include placing an infant insert in a child carrying area of a child carrier in a front carrying position on a wearer. The infant insert can be positioned so that the infant is facing the wearer of the child carrier and the infant's spine and neck are supported by the panel. The method can further comprise tilting the infant's pelvis forward to eliminate weight directly on the sacrum. The infant is positioned so that the infant's knees are raised at least 90 degrees from the coronal plane.
The infant insert can comprise a flexible panel having an inner surface and an outer surface. The panel can have a curved shape that narrows toward the bottom of the panel and can define a front opening to an area for holding an infant. The panel is sized to provide support along the infant's spine and neck. The infant insert can further comprise a cushion disposed proximate to the bottom of the area for supporting an infant. The cushion can be adapted to support the infant forward of the infant's tailbone when in use.
Embodiments of infant inserts described herein provide several advantages. Compared to previous inserts in which the infant reclined in a sling like position, embodiments described herein allow an infant to be positioned front-to-front with its parent. This can be a more convenient position for the parent and foster closeness. The infant is in a slightly reclined position with the insert supporting infant's spine and legs. The infant's weight is distributed across the infant's bottom, thighs and back so that the sacrum does not bear too much weight and the infant can rest with a more naturally curved spine in a spread-squat-position that is believed to be better for pelvic development.
A more complete understanding of the embodiments and the advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers indicate like features and wherein:
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 the preferred 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).
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 that term or terms. Language designating such non-limiting examples and illustrations includes, but is not limited to: “for example,” “for instance,” “e.g.,” “in one embodiment,” and the like.
Reference is now made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, like numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to like and corresponding parts (elements) of the various drawings.
Embodiments described herein provide devices and methods for carrying infants. Particular embodiments provide an infant insert that fits in a child carrier to hold an infant in a wearer facing position (i.e., front-to-front position relative to the wearer of the child carrier) without placing undue stress on the infant's sacrum and allowing the infant to hold its legs in a more natural position.
In the embodiment shown, panel 102 has a generally rectangular shape with an outer edge having a first side edge 104, a second side edge 106, a top edge 108 and a bottom edge 110 with rounded corners between the top edge and side edges and square corners 105/107 (see
Panel 102 can be made of any suitable material(s). In one embodiment, panel 102 is a padded panel having an outer shell of a flexible breathable material, such as cotton, that is comfortable for an infant. Other fabrics can also be used including, but not limited to, synthetic fabrics, fleece, or other materials. The shell can contain padding for the comfort of the infant.
According to one embodiment, a rail 112 extends around the side and top edge of panel 102. Rail 112 is an area of increased padding positioned to fit under the infant's legs when in use. While shown at the edge of panel 102, rail 112 may be inset from edge of panel 102. Moreover, while rail 112 extends along the sides of panel 102 and around the top of panel 102 in the embodiment shown, rail 112, in other embodiments, can also extend along the bottom edge of panel 102. In yet other embodiments, padding to support an infant's legs may be disposed in separate areas or rails rather than a continuous rail.
According to one embodiment, panel 102 can have a curved shape that narrows toward the bottom end. As an example, panel 102 can be rolled or folded so that the side edges 104 and 106 of panel 102 converge near the bottom of the panel. Consequently, the edges are more proximate to each other closer to the bottom of panel 102 and more distal from each other closer to the top of panel 102. The side edges 104 can thus form a V-shaped or tapered front opening to an area for holding the infant. Edges 104 and 106 can be brought together at a point below which an infant's legs extend out of the front opening if the infant is large enough. This can help ensure that rail 112 passes under the infant's thighs for infants who are large enough to sit with their legs at the parent's sides (see
According to one embodiment, the bottom corners 105 and 107 (see
Insert 100 can include a cushion 122 (illustrated in
According to one embodiment, infant insert 100 can include a closing strap 126 that can be used to close or decrease the size of the front opening so that panel 102 more closely swaddles the infant.
Panel 102, in one embodiment, can include a spinal pad area 132 that is positioned to provide padding for an infant's spine. Spinal pad area 132 can be located about the vertical axis of panel 102. Spinal pad area 132 can include any number of sections having different amounts of padding. In the example shown, spinal pad area 132 has at least three sections 134, 136 and 138. According to one embodiment, the padding progressively increases from section 134 to section 138. Section 138 can be more padded because it is expected that the infant's lower back will more likely rest against section 138. An additional section of padding 140 may be included below section 138. However, section 140 can include little or no padding as it may be covered by cushion 122 (illustrated in
In operation, infant insert 100 or 200 can be used in conjunction with a child carrier. Child carriers typically include a harness and one or more panels for holding a child. The harness provides shoulder straps, waistbands, chest straps or other harnessing so that an adult can wear the child carrier. The carrier panel(s) forms flexible or rigid confines of a child carrying area.
Using an example of a carrier with a flexible fabric panel, the lower portion of the panel attaches at its center to the harness (typically near a waistband) and the upper corners (or other portions) of the panel attach to the harness near the adult's shoulders or chest. The carrier panel and parent's torso cooperate to hold the baby in the correct position. Typically, child carriers are designed so that the legs of the child can dangle out of leg holes. Some child carriers include material between the child and the parent while other child carriers leave the space between the child and parent open. There are a large number of child carriers on the market that may include more components such as hoods, support legs and other options. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that inserts described herein can be adapted for use with a variety of child carriers known or developed in the art.
Infant insert 100 can be disposed in the area of child carrier 500 that holds a child. According to one embodiment the vertical axis of insert 100 can be substantially aligned with that of carrier 500. Infant insert 100 can be long enough, so that a portion of infant insert 100 can extend beyond the child carrying area of the child carrier.
In one embodiment, the infant insert allows the infant to be positioned so that the infant's femur can be at least 90 degrees from the coronal plane of the infant (the plane dividing anterior and posterior sections of the body). In other embodiments the angle can be approximately 110 or 120 degrees. Greater or lesser angles may be achieved based on the range of motion of the infant. Additionally, the infant can be positioned so that its knees are spread apart. According to one embodiment, the infant can be positioned with each knee at least 20 degrees from the median plane (the plane that dividing left and right sections of the body). In some embodiments the infant can be positioned with its knees approximately 45-60 degrees or more (depending on the range of motion of the infant) from the median plane. It should be noted, however, that the infant can be positioned in any comfortable position, emphasizing a support posture rather than a sitting posture.
With a newborn or younger infant, the feet can come together so that the infant is sitting in a position similar to a lotus position. However, as the infant grows older, the legs will naturally open. As this happens, the parent can position the legs in a spread position around the wearer.
When the infant has its knees elevated at the same level as the bellybutton, and the legs are naturally spread (typically with each knee having an angle of about 45-60 degrees from the median plane), the infant is in a “spread-squat-position.” The spread-squat-position correctly positions the femur in the hip joint, or acetabulum, so that all areas of the acetabulum are strained equally. It is believed that this aids in development of the core of the bone. As can be seen in
Embodiments of infant inserts described herein provide several advantages. Compared to previous inserts in which the infant reclined in a sling like position, embodiments described herein allow an infant to be positioned front-to-front with its parent. This can be a more convenient position for the parent and foster closeness. The infant is in a relative upright position with the insert supporting infant's spine, neck and legs. The infant's weight is distributed across the infant's bottom, thighs and back so that the sacrum does not bear too much weight and the infant can rest with a more naturally curved spine in a spread-squat-position that is believed to be better for pelvic and spinal development.
While embodiments described above have been described in terms of a removable infant insert that is placed in an existing carrier, an infant insert, in other embodiments, may be a non-removable component of the child carrier. In other embodiments, the infant insert may be attached to the child carrier with buttons, hook and eye fasteners, clasps or other mechanism. Inserts can be sized as desired. According to one embodiment, an infant insert can be sized to accommodate up to an average six month old child.
In the foregoing specification, the disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, as one skilled in the art can appreciate, embodiments of the inserts disclosed herein can be modified or otherwise implemented in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the manner of making and using embodiments of a carrier. It is to be understood that the forms of the disclosure herein shown and described are to be taken as exemplary 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 is a continuation of, and claims a benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 of the filing date of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/544,093, filed Aug. 19, 2009, by inventor Karin Annette Frost entitled “Infant Carrier”, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference for all purposes.
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| Child | 14940565 | US |
