The present invention relates generally to harnesses, and more particularly, to a toy carrying harness assembly which is suitable for deployment on a child to secure and carry at least one toy in such a manner that the risk of loss or misplacement of the toy while being carried is prevented or minimized.
Toddlers and small children require large periods of time and intensive attention. Toys are therefore a useful and productive way to engage the attention of a child for long periods of time. Toys also are indispensable to the mental, emotional and educational development of a child.
Toddlers and small children frequently play with various types of toys, which take many different forms. For example, some types of toys may enable children to learn different sizes, shapes, and textures. Other types of toys, particularly for older children, may resemble cars, trucks, houses, boats, airplanes, and the like to familiarize children with adult activities. Girls may play with dolls to become familiar with the child rearing process, whereas boys may play with simulated hammers, screwdrivers, saws and other tools to familiarize them with construction projects and the like.
Stuffed toys are popular with toddlers and small children. A stuffed toy includes an outer fabric material which forms a cover filled with a flexible stuffing material. The cover is typically shaped in the form of a bear, snake or other animal. Stuffed toys may be otherwise known as plush toys or stuffed animals. Fabric materials which form the cover may include plain cloth, terrycloth or other soft material. The flexible stuffing material may include synthetic fiber, batting, cotton, straw, wool or plastic pellets, beans or beads.
Stuffed toys may resemble animals, legendary creatures, cartoon characters or objects such as balloons or airplanes. They are often used to comfort children and may be collected or given as gifts.
After a prolonged period of playing, children frequently become attached to one or more of their toys. This is particularly common in the case of stuffed toys. Children may not only sleep with a favorite stuffed toy but also insist on carrying the toy when the parent or caregiver takes the child to preschool or on errands. In such cases, the toy may be carried by the child or caregiver or in a purse, bag, sack or other container which the caregiver carries.
One of the limitations of conventional methods of carrying stuffed toys or other types of toys away from home is that the toys may inadvertently be left at a location at which the child played with the toy. Alternatively, the toy may be dropped by the child or may fall from the purse, bag, sack or other container in which the toy is carried.
Accordingly, there is need for a solution to one or more of the aforementioned shortcomings in the art.
The present invention is directed to a toy carrying harness assembly which is suitable to be worn by a child to secure and carry a toy in such a manner that the risk of loss or misplacement of the toy while being carried is prevented or minimized. The toy carrying harness assembly may include a chest panel which is positional over the chest and a back panel which is positional over the back on the torso of the child. At least one base strap may extend and attach the chest panel to the back panel. At least one panel strap may extend from the chest panel. A pair of shoulder straps may extend from the panel strap to the back panel. The shoulder straps may be securable over the respective shoulders of the child. At least one toy securing strap may be provided on the chest panel. The at least one toy securing strap may be selectively fastenable around the toy to secure the toy to the chest panel.
In one embodiment of the invention, a toy carrying harness assembly may include a chest panel which is positional over the chest of the child. The chest panel may be configured to secure at least one toy to be carried. A back panel may be positional over the back of the child. At least one base strap may attach the chest panel to the back panel. A pair of shoulder straps may extend from the back panel. The shoulder straps may be attached to a panel strap which extends from the chest panel. At least one toy securing strap may extend from the chest panel. The toy securing strap may be selectively securable around the toy to be carried to secure the toy against the front panel.
The toy carrying harness assembly may be donned by the child for use by placing the shoulder straps over the respective shoulders of the child. The base strap may be extended around the torso of the child and fastened. The tightness of the shoulder straps may be selectively adjusted to achieve a snug fit of the toy carrying harness assembly on the child. The toy may be secured to the chest panel by extending the toy securing straps around the toy and securing the toy securing straps. The toy securing straps may be tightened to achieve a secure fit of the toy against the chest panel.
In a second aspect, the at least one base strap may include at least one base strap buckle to facilitate selective fastening and unfastening of the base strap.
In another aspect, the at least one panel strap may include at least one panel strap buckle to facilitate selective fastening and unfastening of the panel strap.
In another aspect, the at least one base strap buckle and the at least one panel strap buckle may include a quick-disconnect connector.
In another aspect, each shoulder strap may include at least one shoulder strap adjuster to facilitate adjustment in the length of each shoulder strap.
In another aspect, the at least one toy securing strap may include at least one toy strap adjuster to facilitate adjustment of the tightness of the toy securing strap against the toy and the toy against the chest panel.
In another aspect, the at least one toy securing strap may include a plurality of toy securing straps.
In another aspect, the chest panel may have a pair of chest panel side edges, a chest panel bottom edge, a chest panel top edge, a chest panel front surface and a chest panel rear surface.
In another aspect, the at least one toy securing strap may be configured to secure the toy to the chest panel front surface of the chest panel.
In another aspect, the back panel may have a pair of back panel side edges, a back panel bottom edge, a back panel top edge, a back panel front surface and a back panel rear surface.
In another aspect, the at least one base strap may extend from the respective back panel side edges of the back panel.
In another aspect, at least one logo may be provided on the back panel rear surface of the back panel.
In another aspect, the base strap may include a tab strap segment and a receptacle strap segment which extend from the back panel and a base strap buckle having a buckle tab on the tab strap segment and a buckle receptacle on the receptacle strap segment, and the buckle tab may be inserted in the buckle receptacle of the base strap buckle to detachably secure the tab strap segment and the buckle strap segment to each other.
In another aspect, the panel strap may include a tab strap segment and a receptacle strap segment which extend from opposite sides of the chest panel and a panel strap buckle having a buckle tab on the tab strap segment and a buckle receptacle on the receptacle strap segment, and the buckle tab may be inserted in the buckle receptacle of the base strap buckle to detachably secure the tab strap segment and the buckle strap segment to each other.
In another aspect, the chest panel and the back panel may be waterproof or water-resistant.
In another aspect, the toy carrying harness assembly may be mildew resistant.
In another aspect, the components of the toy carrying harness assembly may be fabricated in various sizes to accommodate children of different sizes and ages.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements, and in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
Shown throughout the figures, the present invention is directed to a toy carrying harness assembly which is dimensioned to be worn by a child and to secure and carry a toy in such a manner that the risk of loss or misplacement of the toy is prevented or minimized.
Referring to the figures, a toy carrying harness assembly, hereinafter assembly 100, is illustrated in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. As shown for instance in
In at least one embodiment, the assembly 100 is deployed on a wearer 190, such as a toddler or small child, to securely retain at least one toy 168 thereto. Accordingly, the shoulder straps 150 may be placed over the respective shoulders 192 of the wearer 190 with the chest panel 102 disposed over the chest 196 and the back panel 172 disposed over the back 198 on the torso 194 of the wearer 190. The panel strap 134 may be fastened to secure the shoulder straps 150 in place. The toy 168 may be secured to the chest panel 102 by extending the toy securing strap or straps 160 around the toy 168 and securing or tightening the toy securing straps 160. The toy 168 may thus be securely fastened to the chest panel 102 and carried on the person of the wearer 190 to prevent or minimize the possibility that the toy 168 will be lost or misplaced.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In one embodiment, the base strap 114 may include a base strap buckle 126. The base strap buckle 126 may facilitate fastening of the base strap 114 around the torso 194 of the wearer 190. The base strap 114 may have a tab strap segment 116 and a receptacle strap segment 122. As illustrated in
In one further embodiment, the base strap buckle 126 may comprise a quick-disconnect type buckle. Accordingly, the buckle tab 130 may be releasably inserted in the buckle receptacle 128 of the base strap buckle 126 to removably fasten the base strap 114. In some embodiments, the receptacle strap segment 122 may be selectively slidable with respect to the buckle receptacle 128 to facilitate adjustment in the length of the base strap 114.
In yet another embodiment, the panel strap 134 may include a panel strap buckle 144. The panel strap buckle 144 may facilitate fastening of the panel strap 134 to secure the shoulder straps 150 to each other as the assembly 100 is fastened on the wearer 190. The panel strap 134 may have a tab strap segment 136 and a receptacle strap segment 140. In some embodiments, the tab strap segment 136 and the receptacle strap segment 140 may extend from the respective chest panel side edges 104 of the chest panel 102. As illustrated in
Each shoulder strap 150 may have a rear panel attachment end 152, as shown in
As illustrated in
In some embodiments, each toy securing strap 160 may be selectively length-adjustable. Accordingly, a toy strap adjuster 166 may be provided in the toy securing strap 160. The toy strap adjuster 166 may facilitate length adjustment of the toy securing strap 160 to achieve a snug fit of the toy 168 against the chest panel 102. Each toy strap adjuster 166 may be standard or conventional, with each toy securing strap 160 typically having a fixed strap end 162 attached to the toy strap adjuster 166 and a free strap end 164 threaded through the strap adjuster 166, as shown in
In one application, the assembly 100 may be donned by a wearer 190 such as a toddler or small child to securely hold at least one toy 168 such as a stuffed toy, for example and without limitation, as illustrated in
The toy 168 may be secured to the chest panel 102 by initially placing the toy 168 against the chest panel front surface 110 of the chest panel 102. The toy securing straps 160 may be extended around the toy 168 and threaded through the respective toy strap adjusters 166. The toy securing straps 160 may continue to be slid through the toy strap adjusters 166 in the tightening direction until a snug fit of the toy securing straps 160 against the toy 168 and the toy 168 against the chest panel 102 is achieved.
In the event that the wearer 190 desires to play with the toy 168, the toy securing straps 160 may be loosened, such as by pulling the toy securing straps 160 in the loosening direction through the respective toy strap adjusters 166. The toy 168 can then be removed from between the loosened toy securing straps 160 and the chest panel 102. After the child has finished playing with the toy 168, the toy 168 can again be secured on the chest panel 102, as was heretofore described.
After use, the toy 168 can be removed from the chest panel 102 by loosening the shoulder straps 150, as was heretofore described. The assembly 100 can be removed from the wearer 190 by loosening the shoulder straps 150 via the respective shoulder strap adjusters 156. The panel strap 134 may be unfastened by releasing the panel strap buckle 144. The base strap 114 may be unfastened by releasing the base strap buckle 126. The unfastened assembly 100 can then be removed from the wearer 190 for later use.
It will be appreciated that the assembly 100 is useful for securely holding and carrying toys of various types, including but not limited to stuffed toys, on the person of a toddler, small child or other wearer. The assembly 100 prevents or minimizes the risk or likelihood that the toy will inadvertently become lost or misplaced, particularly when the wearer leaves home. The assembly 100 can be constructed in various sizes and colors for different sizes and ages of wearers. The chest panel 102, back panel 172, base strap 114, panel strap 134, shoulder straps 150, toy securing straps 160 and other components of the assembly 100 can be fabricated of nylon, polyester, cotton, fabric blends and/or other washable materials. In some embodiments, the chest panel 102 and the back panel 172 may be rendered waterproof or water-resistant and may be mildew resistant.
Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/037,045, filed on Jun. 10, 2020, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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