The present disclosure generally relates to infant carriers, car seats, and baby strollers and, more particularly, relates to wheeled transports adapted to receive and hold infant carriers of any shape and size.
Infant carriers, car seats, and baby strollers have become ubiquitous products in modern day parenting. Not only are they convenient, but current U.S. regulations require children, when traveling in automobiles, to do so within federally approved car seats or child restraint systems up to a certain weight and age. With respect to infants, they are typically transported in infant carriers, portable seats which can lock into a base secured to the seat of the automobile by way of a seat belt. The infant carrier can be teleasably mounted in the base so that if the baby is asleep or otherwise comfortable the baby need not be removed from and disturbed, but the infant carrier itself can simply be disengaged from the base, removed from the vehicle, and carried as appropriate.
It has also become common place for such infant carriers to be manufactured so as to lock into a baby stroller as well. Again, as opposed to removing the child from the seat itself, which can be potentially problematic when the child is asleep or otherwise comfortable, the infant carrier and baby can be entirely removed from the vehicle without disturbing the child and the infant carrier can then be locked into the baby stroller for further transport.
While such systems are effective and quite popular; each manufacturer of such baby products often manufactures its infant carriers and strollers to unique dimensions and shapes and with specific locking geometry unique to each model and brand. Accordingly, if a parent wishes to remove an infant carrier from an automobile and mount the infant carrier into the stroller, the stroller typically has to be manufactured by the same entity as the infant carrier. Again, while this is effective, there are certainly times when it would be desirable for the infant carrier to be mounted in strollers which are not manufactured by the same entity. For example, this situation may apply when on vacation, when in a hurry, when in a store, or any other time when the parent does not have access to the stroller to which the infant carrier is uniquely fitted, or, most commonly, when the infant seat has been purchased without the accompanying stroller.
In light of this, attempts have been made to manufacture strollers which can accommodate infant carrier or car seats of many sizes. With such designs, regardless of the size or shape of the infant carrier or car seat, the stroller is purportedly manufactured to hold the car seat, infant carrier in place. For example, Worth, U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,412, discloses a folding stroller which purportedly allows for a car seat to be locked in place across a range of widths, lengths and other dimensions. However, it is also not truly universal in that it requires the particular car seat to mate with a cross bar of the folding stroller. More specifically, the car seat must include at least one indent adapted to mate with at least one tab extending from a cross bar of the stroller. In addition to the mating between the cross bar and the car seat, a flexible seat belt is also provided on the stroller which wraps around the car seat and is secured in place with first and second notches.
Another example is Wood, U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,164, which discloses a stroller or infant seat holder which purportedly is able to hold car seats or infant carriers of a wide range of dimensions. However, it too uses a combination of a rigid bar and a flexible strap or belt. More particularly, it uses what is referred to as a bumper bar across a back side of the infant carrier and a seat belt across the front portion of the infant carrier.
While such structures are effective, they are not necessarily convenient or easy to use. It would accordingly be an improvement in the art to provide a universal infant carrier transport adapted to hold an infant carrier of virtually any realistic dimension and size in a stroller with ease, simplicity, and safety.
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, universal infant carrier transport is disclosed which comprises a wheeled cart, a platform, and a toll bar. The platform extends from the wheeled cart and includes a central aperture adapted to receive a bottom surface of an infant carrier. The roll bar extends from the wheeled cart and is movable between the locked and unlocked positions. The roll bar holds the infant carrier between the platform and the roll bar when in the locked position.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a universal infant carrier transport is disclosed which comprises a wheeled cart, a platform, an infant carrier, and a roll bar. The platform extends from the wheeled cart as does the roll bar. The infant carrier nests within the platform and includes a handle by which the infant carrier is carried. The infant carrier further includes a bottom by which the infant carrier can be latched into a base strapped into an automobile seat. The roll bars are adapted to clamp the infant carrier between the platform and the roll bar. The roll bar is lockable into a plurality of positions relative to the platform.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a universal infant carrier transport is disclosed which comprises a wheeled cant, a platform, a roll bar, and a release mechanism. The wheeled cart includes a frame to which at least one wheel is mounted, while the platform extends from the frame and includes an aperture sized to receive the bottom of an infant carrier. The roll bar is rotatably mounted to the frame above the platform with a ratchet mechanism. The roll bar is freely movable between an upper unlocked position and a lower locked position. The ratchet mechanism prevents movement of the roll bar from the lower, locked position to the upper; unlocked position. The release mechanism is adapted to allow movement of the roll bat from the lower, locked position to the upper, unlocked position.
These and other aspects and features of the disclosure will become more readily apparent upon reading the following detailed description when taken into conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the disclosure to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
Referring now to the drawings and with specific reference to
Referring again to
In order to securely hold the infant carrier 22 into the transport, a combination of elements are employed. The elements to hold the infant carrier 22 to the transport 20 are designed so as to accommodate a wide variety of infant carrier sizes and shapes, and in all practicality, thereby receive practically all currently manufactured infant carriers 22. One of the elements used to the hold the infant carrier 22 is platform 24. As shown best in
The second element used to secure the infant carrier 22 into the transport 20 is a toll bar 40. As will be noted best in a comparison between
In older to also allow for a variety of shapes and sizes for infant carrier 22, the roll bat 40 is pivotally mounted to a frame 32 by way of a ratchet mechanism 44 (see
With respect to the shape of the roll bar 40, as shown best in
With respect to the frame 32 of the universal infant carrier transport 20, it is depicted as a tripod arrangement very reminiscent of carts used to transport golf clubs about a golf course or the like. In addition, the frame 32 is configured so as to be easily folded into a much smaller configuration for easy storage in a closet or transport within an automobile trunk for example.
Referring again to
Extending upwardly from the T-joint 70 is a spine 74. As will be readily noted, it is from the spine 74 that the platform 24 and roll bar 40 specifically extend. A coupling 76 is mounted on the spine 74 with a neck 78 being pivotally mounted to the coupling 76. As shown best in
Referring again to
Turning now to
With specific attention to
The ratchet mechanism 44 further includes a central housing 110 having a mounting disc 112 from which a roll bar grip 114 extends. As is also shown best in
To complete the ratchet mechanism 44, it can be seen that first and second ratchet wheels 118 and 120 are provided along with first and second coil springs 122 and 124. One of the coil springs 122 and 124 is mounted between each ratchet wheel 118 and 120 and the mounting disc 112. With respect to each ratchet wheel 120, it can be seen that each includes a central band 126 from one side of which extend a plurality of appendages 128 and from an opposite side of which extend a plurality of ratchet gear teeth 130. The mounting disc 112 is provided with a corresponding number of apertures 132 to receive the appendages 128 of each ratchet wheel 130. Accordingly, when the roll bar is rotated, not only is the mounting disc 112 also rotated, but so are each of the ratchet wheels 118 and 120.
The springs 122 and 124 are provided to bias each of the ratchet wheels 118 and 120 outwardly away from the mounting disc 112 and into engagement with the plurality of pawl teeth 104 provided on each of the clam shell halves 92 and 94. It is important to also note that the pawl teeth 104 and ratchet teeth 118 do not extend at light angles but lather are provided at acute angles. In so doing, the ratchet mechanism acts as a one-way clutch. More specifically, again referring to
An added benefit of angling the ratchet teeth 130 in such a fashion is that when the roll bar 40 is attempted to be rotated in a direction opposite to the arrow 134, ledges 136 of the ratchet teeth 130 engage shoulders 138 of the pawl teeth 104 and prevent such rotation. It is only when the release mechanism 90 is engaged that the upward rotation is allowed. More specifically, the release mechanism 90 is provided in the form of first and second release buttons 140, 142 from which the legs 108 extend. When a user, such as a parent, inwardly depresses both release buttons 140 and 142, such motion causes the legs 108 to push against the ratchet wheels 118 and 120. If sufficient inward pressure is applied, this causes the ratchet wheels 118 and 120 to compress the springs 122 and 124 against the mounting disc 112 thereby causes the ratchet wheel teeth 130 to disengage from the pawl teeth 104. Once disengaged, the ratchet wheels 118 and 120 as well as the mounting disc 112 and most importantly the roll bar 40 can be rotated in the direction of arrow 144 thus allowing the roll bar 40 to be moved from a locked to an unlocked position. Once in the upward, locked position, the infant carrier 22 can be fixedly removed from the transport 20.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that the disclosure provides an easy, safe, and reliable system for transporting infant carriers of all sizes and shapes. As opposed to strollers which have to be specifically manufactured to receive the infant carrier of a specific manufacturer, the disclosed structure allows for practically any currently available infant carrier to be received and safely transported on a wheeled device. Moreover, using a ratcheting roll bar not only allows for safe and reliable retention of a variety of differently sized and shaped infant carriers, but also allows for quick and easy removal of the infant carrier from the transport.