Device for Carrying a Child
A child carrier includes a main body in which the child is carried and supported, a shoulder strap with a cushioning element for placement over the shoulder of a parent or other caregiver, a lumbar support for placement against the lower hack of the caregiver. a detachable hooded cape to cover the child, and a newborn head support attachment. The child carrier Can also include easily accessible storage areas.
This application is claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/812,361, filed on Jun. 9, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis disclosure relates generally to devices for carrying a child, and more particularly to a child carrier supported by a shoulder strap and an ergonomic waist strap.
BACKGROUNDFrequently, a parent or other caregiver must perform various activities while caring for a child. This becomes problematic if the caregiver needs to hold the child while the activities are performed, since holding the child leaves the caregiver with a decreased range of movement and, at most, one free hand to safely and effectively perform the other activities.
Devices for carrying a child, or child carriers, have been developed in an attempt to allow a caregiver to safely carry a child while maintaining some use of his or her hands and some range of motion. However, some existing child carriers can result in uncomfortable or debilitating back strain, especially if the child weighs more than 15 pounds.
In addition, eye contact has been shown to be fundamental to healthy bonding between a parent or other caregiver.
SUMMARYIn one general aspect, a child carrier includes a main body including a seat portion and a torso portion, a shoulder strap coupled to the main body near an upper edge of the torso portion, a waist strap coupled to the main body near a lower edge of the seat portion, a lumbar support coupled to the waist strap.
Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, the lumbar support may include an ergonomically contoured pad to reduce back strain, and a foam element and semi-rigid vertical reinforcement elements to provide lower back support.
The seat portion may include a relatively narrow vertical region substantially forming the seat portion and a generally horizontal region substantially forming the torso portion. The main body may define an upper opening to accommodate a child's shoulders, arms and head, and side openings to accommodate the child's legs.
Opposing ends of the shoulder strap may be coupled to the main body near two lateral extremes of the torso portion. The shoulder strap may include a cushion, such as a honeycomb-type silicone gel.
The waist strap may pass through a generally horizontal passage across a lower region of the seat portion.
One or more of the main body, the shoulder strap and the waist strap may include a storage compartment. The child carrier also may include one or more of a detachable bottle holder, a removable hooded cape that wraps around the main body and attaches to the ends of the shoulder strap and not to the child, a head support that attaches to an upper region of the torso portion and extends upward to provide support for a child's head, and a safety belt coupled to the main body and positioned to secure a child in the child carrier.
The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONReferring initially to
The child carrier 10 may be classified as a soft carrier, as opposed to some other devices for carrying children, such as frame carriers, which include a rigid frame that enables a wearer to support a child on the wearer's back. Still other devices for carrying children include front- or rear-facing soft carriers supported on or by the wearer's chest, as well as those in which the child faces and is supported by the back of the wearer.
Torso carriers that are front-, rear-, or back-facing may not allow or may substantially inhibit eye contact between the wearer and the child being carried. Furthermore, some side-facing torso carriers may leave wearers comparatively more prone to suffer from back pain, shoulder discomfort, and poor body alignment, especially if the child being carried is over 15 pounds.
Referring to
In use, the child 14 is held between the main body 16 and the caregiver 12, with the interior surface 20 of the torso portion 22 positioned against the back of the child 14 and the seat portion 24 supporting the perineum and buttocks of the child 14 (see
The seat portion 24 is shaped to fit comfortably between and around the legs of the child 14 to support much of the weight of the child 14. The seat portion 24 is formed from a durable, flexible material such as nylon, leather, heavy fabric, or the like. In some implementations, the material from which the seat portion 24 is formed can be substantially waterproof, or the seat portion 24 can be covered by or treated with a substantially waterproof material to guard the caregiver 12 from moisture. In addition, in some implementations, the seat portion 24 can include a decorative pattern or color, so as to render the child carrier 10 more visually appealing. Other portions of the main body 16 (especially those on the exterior surface 18 thereof) also can include a decorative, patterned, and/or colored appearance.
As shown in
For example, the exterior surface 18 can include an easily accessible storage compartment 48. The storage compoartment 48 is shown in
The provision of storage areas may provide an advantage in that a wearer may be able to avoid carrying separate storage devices, such as a diaper bag or a purse. Such additional storage devices may limit the range of movement of the wearer and may lead to injury or discomfort due to the added weight of the additional devices.
Because the child carrier 10 is designed to safely carry children of various sizes and weights, from newborns to toddlers up to about 3 years of age, the child carrier 10 is configured to be size adjustable. As shown in
In this manner, the caregiver 12 can use the same child carrier 10 as the child 14 grows, or interchangeably carry children of different sizes. However, the child carrier 10 has a maximum weight limit, and children weighing more then the limit should not be carried in the child carrier 10. For example, one implementation has a maximum weight limit of about 35 lbs.
Referring again to
As shown in
The cushioning insert 72 is formed from a resiliently compressible material, such as a foam or gel. For example, one implementaion includes a cushioning insert 72 made of rubber padding. In another implementation, the cushioning insert 72 is formed from a honeycomb-type of polyurethane gel, which is a lightweight, highly resilient material that provides comparatively better comfort and increased protection from pain and injury to the caregiver 12 than that provided by a foam-based insert. Other implementations may include multiple cushioning inserts, which can be formed of the same material or of different materials. In addition, the shoulder cushion 70 can include a zipper, flap or other like means for gaining access to the cushioning area in order to reposition or replace the cushioning insert 72.
As shown in
The outer member 76, shown in
In an alternative configuration, shown in
In addition, one or more hooks, latches, or other attachment aids can be defined on or extend from the inner member 74, from the outer member 76, or from the shoulder strap 62. The attachment aids can be used to carry one or more items related to care of the child or items for the caregiver 12. Furthermore, the shoulder strap 62 can be adapted to store items (e.g., within flaps) or to have items attached thereto (e.g., through use of hook-and-loop fasteners).
Referring again to
The lumbar support 90 is ergonomically designed to distribute the weight of the child 14 away from the shoulders to reduce back strain and fatigue that can lead to back injury. Referring to
The inner side 92 of the lumbar support 90 can include a reinforced shaped area 100 to be located over the lumbar region of the lower back of the caregiver 12. The shaped area 100 includes a plurality of built-in flexible or semi-rigid support elements 101 to provide firm, targeted support to the lumbar region of the caregiver 12 to deter back pain and to prevent poor body alignment, which can cause muscle strain. In one implementation, the support elements 101 can include plastic rods that flex forward and backward. The support elements 101 are covered by a layer of padded material 102 to provide comfort to the caregiver 12. For example, the padded material 102 can be formed of ultrasuede to provide comfort. The ultrasuede can be covered by a breathable material, such as a polyester mesh material, to provide cooling. It should be noted that although the shaped area 100 shown has a substantially elliptical shape, the shaped area may include other shapes, such as substantially circular or substantially rectangular.
The outer side 94 of the lumbar support 90 generally includes a plurality of storage or attachment areas. For example, two flaps 104A, 104B arc shown in
Additionally, one or more storage areas can be defined on or within the outer side 94 of the lumbar support 90. For example, the lumbar support 90 includes a compartment 108 that is accessible by a flap secured by a zipper 109. This compartment 108 is the largest storage area of the child carrier 10, enabling the caregiver 12 to store additional items of the types mentioned above or larger items that do not fit within the other storage areas. For example, the compartment 108 can store items such as diapers, a diaper changing mat, baby wipes, creams and/or ointments. In one implementation, the compartment 108 has room for up to three diapers and ointment. Thus, the compartment 108 can substitute for a diaper bag or double as a “fanny pack”-style storage bag.
The outer side 94 of the lumbar support also can include a bottom portion 110, which is shown as open in
Referring to
Referring now to
A cushion 162 inside the upper portion of the head support attachment 146 provides proper support for the head and neck of the child 14. In one implementation, the cushion also unfolds to create a small hood to protect the child 14 from the sun or inclement weather, or in some cases to allow the caregiver 12 to nurse the child 14 with privacy.
In one implementation, the child carrier 10 also includes a carrying device such as a drawstring tote bag or other device suitable to store or transport the carrier. Thus, when not in use, the entire child carrier 10 folds into the tote bag which otherwise may be stored in the carrier's lumbar compartment 108. The carrying device can have a decorative pattern or color that matches other portions of the child carrier 10, so as to render the carrier and its carrying device more collectively visually appealing.
In sum, the child carrier depicted and described herein can be worn on either hip or side of a caregiver with confidence that it will provide a simple yet safe means to comfortably carry a child while maintaining eye contact between the caregiver and the child. Moreover, while using the child carrier, a caregiver has a free range of movement and full use of her hands. The caregiver has easy access to various storage areas and attachment aids to store sufficient supplies that the caregiver need not carry other storage devices (e.g., a purse, a diaper bag) in tandem with the carrier. The risk of the caregiver developing pain or injury in areas such as the neck, shoulders and back is reduced by the presence of a cushioned shoulder element and a lumbar support. The child carrier carrier also provides comfort for the child, including a detachable hooded cape or a newborn head support attachment. Various implementations of the child carrier 10 can include any, some or all of the shoulder shoulder strap, the shoulder cushion, the lumbar support, one or more bottle holders, the hooded cape or the newborn head support attachment.
While the child carrier has been described with reference to specific implementations, it will nevertheless he understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. For example, useful results still could be achieved if components in the disclosed devices were combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other suitable components. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A child carrier, comprising:
- a main body including a seat portion and a torso portion;
- a shoulder strap coupled to the main body near an upper edge of the torso portion;
- a waist strap coupled to the main body near a lower edge of the seat portion; and
- a lumbar support coupled to the waist strap.
2. The child carrier of claim 1, wherein the lumbar support further comprises an ergonomically contoured pad.
3. The child carrier of claim 1, further comprising a foam element in the lumbar support to provide lower back support.
4. The child carrier of claim 1, further comprising semi-rigid vertical reinforcement elements in the lumbar support.
5. The child carrier of claim 1, wherein the seat portion further comprises a relatively narrow vertical region substantially forming the seat portion and a generally horizontal region substantially forming the torso portion.
6. The child carrier of claim 1, wherein the main body defines an upper opening to accommodate a child's shoulders, arms and head, and side openings to accommodate the child's legs.
7. The child carrier of claim 1, wherein opposing ends of the shoulder strap are coupled to the main body near two lateral extremes of the torso portion.
8. The child carrier of claim 1, wherein the waist strap passes through a generally horizontal passage across a lower region of the seat portion.
9. The child carrier of claim 1, further comprising a cushion coupled to the shoulder strap.
10. The child carrier of claim 9, wherein the cushion includes a honeycomb-type silicone gel.
11. The child carrier of claim 1, wherein one or more of the main body, the shoulder strap and the waist strap includes a storage compartment.
12. The child carrier of claim 1, further comprising a detachable bottle holder.
13. The child carrier of claim 1, further comprising a removable hooded cape that wraps around the main body and attaches to the ends of the shoulder strap and not to the child.
14. The child carrier of claim 1, further comprising a head support that attaches to an upper region of the torso portion and extends upward to provide support for a child's head.
15. The child carrier of claim 1, further comprising a safety belt coupled to the main body and positioned to secure a child in the child carrier.
16. A child carrier, comprising:
- means for maintaining a torso of a child in an upright orientation;
- means for seating the child;
- means for suspending the maintaining means from a shoulder of a caregiver;
- means for holding the seating means against a waist of the caregiver; and
- means for a supporting a lumbar region of the caregiver, the supporting means being coupled to the holding means.
17. The child carrier of claim 15, further comprising an ergonomically contoured pad in the supporting means.
18. The child carrier of claim 15, wherein the supporting means further comprises semi-rigid vertical reinforcement elements to provide lower hack support.
19. The child carrier of claim 15, further comprising means for cushioning coupled to the suspending means to reduce localized strain in the caregiver's shoulder.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 11, 2007
Publication Date: Jun 24, 2010
Inventors: Robin Stein (New York, NY), Jennifer Gilbert (New York, NY)
Application Number: 12/304,000
International Classification: A45F 5/00 (20060101); A47D 13/02 (20060101);