EP2068679A1

EP2068679A1 - A child- carrying device

Info

Publication number: EP2068679A1
Application number: EP07835084A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Joakim Liljedahl; Filip Sauer; Jens O. Johansson; Fredrik Hallander
Original assignee: Babybjorn AB
Current assignee: Babybjorn AB
Priority date: 2006-10-05
Filing date: 2007-10-04
Publication date: 2009-06-17
Also published as: AU2007302845A1; US20100065594A1; JP2010505508A; JP2010505509A; NO20091023L; CA2665201A1; CA2665200A1; SE530396C2; SE0602099L; WO2008041912A1; SE0602098L; EP2068680A1; WO2008041913A1; AU2007302844A1; NO20091100L; SE530395C2; US20090255965A1; KR20090068324A; KR20090068325A

Abstract

A child-carrying device comprising a waist belt (1), a stiff sheet (2) that is carried by the waist belt (1) and that extends upward from the same, the sheet (2), on the outside thereof, carrying a front piece (3), which via a lower central part is centrally connected to the sheet (2) in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket (4), the front piece (3) having laterally spaced-apart first attaching elements (31), which are detachably connected to the appurtenant adjacent attaching elements that are laterally spaced-apart on the sheet (2). A shoulder strap (52) extends between the respective upper corner areas of the sheet in order to extend over one shoulder of the wearer and under the arm of the wearer on opposite side of the upper body part, in order to allow the carrying device to be rotated around the upper body part of the user for shifting of the carrying pocket (4) between the front side and back side of the wearer, while the shoulder strap extends over the shoulder of the wearer.

Description

A child-carrying device I

The invention relates to a child-carrying device of the kind that is defined in the preamble of claim 1.

Thus, the invention relates to a carrying device comprising a waist belt, a stiff sheet-shaped structure that is carried by the waist belt and extends upward next to the upper body part of the wearer, the structure carrying, on the outside thereof, a front piece, which via a lower central part is connected to the sheet in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket, wherein, in upper laterally spaced-apart positions, the front piece is connected to the carrying structure .

Child-carrying devices of this kind are normally provided with shoulder straps that connect to laterally spaced-apart upper points of the carrying structure and extend over a shoulder each of the wearer, and are connected to the waist belt by the other ends thereof. Thus, when the carrying structure is situ- ated on the chest side of the wearer, the strap parts extend parallel to each other on the chest side as well as on the back side.

A drawback of such a previously known type of child-carrying device is that small children aged, for instance, more than one year, begin to get a considerable weight. The wearer of the carrying device often want that the carrying device should have the child-carrying pocket situated on the chest side of the wearer, for care and supervision, but for carrying the child in the carrying device it is, on the other hand, often considerably more comfortable for the wearer to have the carrying pocket placed on the back side of the wearer.

It would be feasible, per se, to form a baby carrier so that it can be worn either on the front side of the wearer or on the back side of the wearer, but for a change-over between the child being carried in the carrying pocket when the same is situated on the chest side, to the situation that the child is carried in the carrying pocket as placed on the back side of the wearer, it is then required that the baby carrier together with the child sitting in the carrying pocket is taken off from the upper body part and then, with the child still sitting in the carrying pocket, the carrying device is put on onto the back side of the wearer as a rucksack. However, such an operation would be risky for the child, and if the child calls for attention, the carrying device has to be taken off again for the wearer to get the possibility of closer contact with the child.

Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a child- carrying device, which as put on and worn on the upper body part of the wearer conveniently can be rotated so that the child-carrying pocket in an effective carrying state and with good carrying safety can be moved between the back side and front side of the wearer. An additional object is to provide strap constructions that offer an enhanced comfort for the wearer, particularly when the carrying pocket is situated on the back side of the wearer.

The objects are entirely or partly attained by the invention.

The invention is defined in the appended independent claim.

Embodiments of the invention are defined in the appended dependent claims.

In a presently particularly preferred embodiment, the child- carrying device has a shoulder strap that, when the carrying structure including the carrying pocket is situated on the back side of the wearer, extends from an upper laterally posi- tioned corner area of the structure, up over the adjacent shoulder, and from there, obliquely downward diagonally over the chest of the user, and further under the arm back to the back side of the wearer where the end of the shoulder strap connects to an upper laterally positioned area of the structure. Provided that the waist belt can be rotated around the waist region of the wearer, the structure including the carrying pocket can be rotated around the upper body part of the user, in under the arm, and all the way to a position on the chest side of the wearer, the shoulder strap, which thereby slides over the shoulder of the wearer, maintaining the carrying-safety of the child-carrying pocket.

The waist belt may have a buckle, which in a first end posi- tion urges the waist belt stably around the waist and hips of the user to afford a carrying function, and which in the second end position thereof increases the free inner circumference of the closed waist belt so that the waist belt easily can be rotated around the wearer. Naturally, the waist belt has also a fitting that allows the belt to be opened, for putting on and taking off the baby carrier.

The inner surface of the waist belt may be formed to have a low friction in relation to said rotation. In one embodiment, on either side, the structure may have a guide rail that extends around an upper corner area of the structure, the guide rail affording a slidable closure for a respective end part of the shoulder strap connecting thereto. In this way, the shoulder strap can be connected to favourable positions that are optimal to wearers of different size and physiognomy. When the child-carrying pocket is situated on the back side of the user, there is a risk of the shoulder strap under the impact of the load moving upward on the chest side of the user, and up along the shoulder toward the neck. By then pro- viding a stabilizing strap, which is connected to the interme- diate portion of the shoulder strap on the chest side of the wearer and extends around the side of the wearer under the arm and is attached to the adjacent part of the structure, the tendency of said shoulder strap to move upward over the chest of the user and toward the neck of the user is counteracted.

The invention will now be described by way of examples, reference being made to the appended drawing.

Figure 1 shows a front view of a wearer who wears a child-carrying device .

Figure 2 shows from behind the wearer having a child-carrying device.

Figure 3 shows a side view of the carrying device. Figure 4 shows a partial perspective view taken in the direction of the arrow IV in Figure 3.

Figure 5 shows a partial view taken along line V-V in Figure

3.

Figure 6 shows a schematic section taken along line VI-VI in Figure 5.

Figure 7 shows a schematic view taken along line VII-VII in

Figure 6.

Figure 8 shows a sectioned view taken along line VIII-VIII in

Figure 6. Figure 9 shows an enlarged depiction of the slide fitting of the stabilizing strap.

Figure 10 shows a schematic section taken along line X-X in

Figure 9.

Figure 11 shows a schematic section taken along line XI-XI in Figure 9.

Figures 1 and 2 show a child-carrying device such as worn on the upper body part of a wearer. The carrying device comprises a waist belt 1, which carries a stiff plate 2 that extends upward from the waist belt 1 and is shown situated on the back side of the wearer. A front piece 3 has side edge portions that are situated in the vicinity of the respective side edge of the plate, at an upper part of the plate 2, and there the same are detachably connected to the plate 2 by means of the coupling 31. The front piece 3 has a lower central band-shaped part that is turned up against the plate 2 and attached to the same in a transversally central position by means of a coupling 40 that preferably has a plurality of vertically spaced- apart alternative fasteners on the sheet 2, for raising and lowering, respectively, the bottom of the folded over front piece 3. The side edges of the front piece 3 are spaced-apart from the side edges of the sheet 2 in the area under the coupling devices 31 for the formation of leg openings for a child sitting in the carrying pocket formed of the front piece 3. The front piece 3 has an upper border part 35 in the area above the level of the fittings 31, and the border part 35 has laterally projecting end portions, each of which at the end has a first coupling fitting 51 that can be detachably coupled to a coupling fitting 54 at the upper border of the sheet 2. When the coupling fittings 51, 54 are connected to each other, the upper border part 35 of the front piece 3 forms a headrest for the child. The side edges of the border part 35 are shown recessed in the area between the fittings 31, 54 for the formation of holes for the arms of the child. The upper border part 3 of the front piece 3 can, when the fitting parts 51 are disconnected, be folded down against the lower part of the front piece 3, around a folding line that lies on the level of the fittings 31. From Figures 1 and 2, it can be understood that a guide rail 50 extends along each upper corner edge area of the plate 2. Furthermore, a shoulder strap 52 is shown, which with one end 53 thereof is carried by the left guide rail 50 in Figure 2 so that the end 53 can slide along the same under the impact of external forces. From the end 53, the strap 52 extends up on the back side of the user and over the left shoulder of the user, and from there, obliquely downward over the chest side of the wearer, and around the right side of the wearer under the right arm, and in over the back side of the wearer where the strap 52 with the other end 54 thereof is slidably connected to the right slide rail 50 in Figure 2.

In Figure 1, it can be seen that a stabilizing strap 60, with one end 60 thereof, is connected to the shoulder strap approximately in the middle of the chest side. From there, the strap 60 extends obliquely downward around the left side of the wearer and connects to the left slide rail 50 in Figure 2 with the other end 62 thereof, which is displaceable along the rail 50. The strap 60 can be extended/shortened using a fitting 65 therefor, so that the shoulder strap 52 generally can be displaced in parallel downward on the chest side of the wearer, and so that the strap 52 is brought away from the neck of the user, in particular in the shoulder area.

Based on the state according to Figures 1 and 2 , the user can disconnect the stabilizing strap 60 from the shoulder strap 2 and then open the fitting 10 of the waist belt 1 so that the waist belt 1 does not abut against the waist region of the user, but can be rotated around the waist of the user. In that connection, the shoulder strap 52 runs upward in the longitudinal direction thereof in Figure 1, so that the sheet 2 including the front piece 3 and the carrying pocket formed thereof circles around the upper body part of the user, underneath his/her right arm, all the way to a position in the middle of the chest side of the user, the carrying pocket during this entire rotation operation being stably suspended on the shoulder strap 2.

In the new placement of the carrying pocket 4 , the user can again urge the buckle 10 so that the load from the child is carried against the hips via the sheet 2 and the waist belt 1. The child-carrying device may naturally also be provided with the shoulder strap 52 arranged in the opposite diagonal direction.

In Figure 4, it can be seen that the lateral end portion 36 of the border part 35 is elongate and at the ends has a ring- shaped coupling fitting 51, which is received on a part of the fitting 54 formed as a post 55. The fitting part 51 is shown to have two external diametrically opposed keys, which upon depression allows retraction of the lock wedge 61, which are shown to engage in a waist notch 57 in the respective post 54. The wedges 61 can be retracted from the shown position by depression of the two keys. In the locked position, the fitting 51 has a ring-shaped surface 71 (Figure 7) that abuts against the appurtenant surface 81 around the bottom part of the post 54 (Figure .8) . The surface 71 has a plurality of radially directed grooves 72 spaced-apart around the post. The surface 81 around the post 54 has one or more radial ridges receivable in grooves 72 mating thereto. Then, the grooves 72 can receive the ridges 85 on the surface 81 in a plurality of different rotary positions of the fitting part 51 and rota- tionally secure the fitting part 51 in many different rotary positions. The end portions 36 have a certain degree of resilient elasticity and are fixedly connected to the respective fitting 51. The end portions 36 have a greater width than the thickness of the front piece 3, and in Figure 4 it is shown that the elongate end portions 36 planely are bent over against each other in a bent-over area 37 at a certain distance from the fitting 51. Preferably, this distance amounts to somewhat less than 10 cm, by suitable choice of the flex- ural rigidity and elasticity of the lateral end portions 36. Thus, the end-portion part 38 closest to the respective fitting 51 will pivot in the normal plane of the axis of rotation of the fitting part 51, so that the bent-over areas 37 of the portions 36 can be moved along the corresponding circular arcs that are centred to the fittings 51. Then, the bent-over areas 37, 37 can be moved in a plane parallel to the sheet 2 and in that connection form support cushions for, for instance, the cheek bone areas of the child sitting in the carrying pocket 4. In this way, and by accurately selecting the horizontal length of the upper border part 35, it is possible to adjust the upper border part 35 as a headrest, which makes it possible to support the head of the child in an upright position, with the nose of the child between the fittings 51 and with the cheek bone areas of the child resting against the bent- over portions 37, such as is illustrated in Figure 5.

In Figures 9 and 10, it can be seen that the shoulder strap 52 on the lower border thereof has an edge bulge 81 that is comprised of an undercut channel 82 in a slide fitting 84 con- nected to the end 61 of the stabilizing strap via an L-shaped connection element 91, which is detachably received in an appurtenant recess 92 in the fitting 84.

From Figure 9, it is seen that the fitting 84 comprises a piv- otally mounted lever part 86, one arm 87 of which forms a movable part of the groove 82, and the other arm 88 of which is supported by the foot 93 of the fitting part 91. The arm part 88 is shown to have an oblique wedging surface in contact with the foot 33, which in turn rests on a plastic sliding surface in the fitting 84. From Figure 9, it is seen that the opening 92 mouths on the upperside of the fitting 84 and is in the form of an elongate slot 95 that approaches the pivot of the lever 86 toward the upper edge part 89 of the fitting. If the tensile force in the stabilizing strap 60 aims to pull the fitting 84 in the upward direction along the bulge 81, the fitting element 91 is displaced upward along the guide groove 95, and the fitting foot 33 will pivot the lever 86 so that the same stably seizes the edge bulge 81 and prevents further displacement of the fitting 84 in the upward direction along the shoulder strap 52. With the exception of the co-operation surfaces 71, 81 according to Figures 7 and 8, the associated fitting parts 51, 54 may be of the design described in more detail of the fitting parts 70, 80 in WO 03/003880.

By the fact that the slide rails 50 extend as a continuous arch between the two vertical side edges and horizontal upper edge of the sheet, the portion 53 of the shoulder strap 52 can be displaced into an optimal position that is regulated by the body dimensions of the user and the load in question.

The waist strap 1 has, of course, adjustment fittings that allow selectable adjustment of the circumference of the waist belt 1 and that allow opening of the waist belt.

In Figure 3, the straps 52, 60 have, for the sake of lucidity, been omitted.

Claims

1. A child-carrying device comprising a waist belt (1), a stiff sheet (2) that is carried by the waist belt (1) and that extends upward from the same, the sheet (2) , on the outside thereof, carrying a front piece (3) , which via a lower central part is centrally connected to the sheet (2) in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket (4) , the front piece (3) having laterally spaced-apart first attaching elements (31) , which are detachably connected to the appurtenant adjacent attaching elements that are laterally spaced-apart on the sheet (2) , characterized in that a shoulder strap (52) extends between the respective upper corner areas of the sheet in order to extend over one shoulder of the wearer and under the arm of the wearer on opposite side of the upper body part, in order to allow the carrying device to be rotated around the upper body part of the user for shifting of the carrying pocket (4) between the front side and back side of the wearer, while the shoulder strap extends over the shoulder of the wearer .

2. Carrying device according to claim 1, characterized in that the shoulder strap (2) is pre-formed to extend, as substantially planely abutting against the chest side of the wearer, in a downwardly convex path.

3. Carrying device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one, first end part (53) of the shoulder strap (52) is slidably connected to a slide guide (50) that extends along an adjacent part of the upper corner area of the sheet, the slide guide (50) comprising an essentially vertical part along the upper portion of the side edge of the sheet (2) , a substantially horizontal part along the upper edge of the sheet (2) , and a smoothly curved part connecting therebetween.

4. Carrying device according to claim 3, characterized in that the second end part (54) of the shoulder strap (52) is slidably connected to a slide fitting (50) that is arranged along an upper corner part of the sheet (2) , the slide guide (50) comprising a substantially vertical part along the adjacent side edge of the sheet, a substantially horizontal part along the upper edge of the sheet (2) , and a smoothly curved part connecting therebetween.

5. Carrying device according to claim 4, characterized in that the slide guide (50) is reciprocally substantially mirror-symmetrical in a plane parallel to the sheet (2) in relation to a central vertical line along the sheet (2) .

6. Carrying device according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that a stabilizing strap (60) has one first end (62) thereof connected to the one side edge area of the sheet to which the first end (53) of the shoulder strap (52) connects, and extends under the adjacent arm of the wearer and all the way to the chest side of the wearer where it with the second end (61) thereof connects to the shoulder strap in a direction that generally forms a right angle with the longitudinal direction of the shoulder strap on the chest side, when the carrying pocket is situated on the back side of the wearer .

7. Carrying device according to claim 6, characterized in that the second end (61) of the stabilizing strap connects to a slide fitting (84) that is slidably received on a slide- guide edge bulge (81) along the shoulder strap (52) , preferably at the lower border of the shoulder strap (52) on the chest side of the user, when the carrying pocket is situated on the back side of the user.

8. Carrying device according to claim 7, characterized in that the slide fitting has a locking device that is regulated by the tensile force in the stabilizing strap (60) and locks the slide fitting to the slide guide of the chest strap (52) when the tensile force in the stabilizing strap exceeds a preselected value and the stabilizing strap forms an acute angle with the longitudinal direction of the slide guide (81) .

9. Carrying device according to claim 8, characterized in that the second end (61) of the stabilizing strap is an connection lug (91) that is detachably received in the slide fitting (84) and displaceable along a guide slot (95) in the fitting (84) in order to, by the foot (33) thereof, activate a clamp device (86) for locking of the fitting (84) to the slide guide (81) .