GB2397008A

GB2397008A - Child safety device

Info

Publication number: GB2397008A
Application number: GB0300603A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Hetherington
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-01-10
Filing date: 2003-01-10
Publication date: 2004-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2023-01-10
Also published as: GB0300603D0; GB2397008B

Abstract

A child safety device 1 which may be attached to a wheeled child carrier (13) pushable by an individual comprises a handle 2 which may be held by a child. In use, the child is encouraged to hold the handle 2 so that they walk along with the wheeled child carrier (13) and are therefore kept safe. The handle 2 is attached to the wheeled child carrier (13) by a flexible strap 8 in the form of a coiled elongate element of resilient material which provides a degree of movement between the handle 2 and the wheeled child carrier (13). Fixed to the handle is a representation of a character or an object which serves to encourage the child to hold the handle 2. The handle 2 also has an electrical circuit including a microswitch 15 to detect whether the handle is being held or released and a loudspeaker 17 which is caused to output audible sound in response to the handle 2 being held or released.

Description

CHILD SAFETY DEVICE

The present invention relates to a device for increasing the safety of a child when walking with a parent or other responsible adult.

For a period of several years after learning to walk, a child can often be very independent and/or disobedient, whilst at the same time having little sense of danger.

As a result, when a child and responsible adult are outside the home walking, it can be very difficult to control the child and keep the child safe from danger. As a result, the child can put themselves at risk. For example, the child might run into the path of a moving vehicle, or particularly if walking in a crowded area, the child might become lost with the consequent fear and risk of abduction. This is a particular problem when the responsible adult is also pushing a pram or a pushchair, because this generally requires both hands of the adult and so does not leave a hand free to control the child. Thus, it is difficult to hold the child's hand continuously or to restrain the child in a sudden emergency for example the child moves towards a danger such as a moving vehicle.

A known form of device for controlling a walking child is a set of reins which has a harness worn by the child. However, reins suffer from several disadvantages.

The reins must still be held by the parent, so they are inconvenient when pushing a pram or pushchair. The child may be resistant to wearing the reins. Furthermore, some parents are reluctant to make their child wear reins, because the parent sees them as restricting the child's freedom.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a child safety device comprising a handle for a child to hold fixed to an attachment means for attaching the child safety device to a wheeled child carrier pushable by an individual.

The attachment means allows the child safety device to be attached to a wheeled child carrier pushable by an individual. The wheeled child carrier may be any wheeled apparatus capable of carrying a child and being pushed by an individual, for example a pram or a pushchair such as a lightweight "baby buggy". Once attached, the child safety device then provides a handle fixed to the wheeled child carrier for a child to hold. When walking with a child, the child may be encouraged to hold the handle. As long as the child is so holding the handle, the child moves with the wheeled child carrier and the parent or other responsible adult knows that the child is safe. The child safety device is particularly effective because the child may be encouraged to hold the handle without need for the parent to physically control or restrain the child. Thus the responsible adult has both hands free to push the wheeled child carrier. Control over the child, and hence safety of the child, may be maintained without the need to physically restrain the child, for example as occurs with reins.

The child safety device in accordance with the present invention may be manufactured and sold separately from the wheeled child carrier to be attached to the wheeled child carrier after purchase. However, as an alternative, the wheeled child carrier may be sold having the child safety device attached thereto. In this case, the child safety device may be integral with the wheeled child carrier. Therefore, in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheeled child carrier having pushing handles for pushing of the wheeled child carrier by an individual, the wheeled child carrier having attached thereto a child safety device comprising a handle for a child to hold separate from the pushing handles.

The child safety device preferably has the following features to improve its effectiveness.

Desirably, the child safety device has, fixed to the handle, a representation of a character or an object.

The character or object can be used by the responsible adult to encourage the child to hold the handle. The character or object is chosen to be something that a child can relate to. It might be a character of which children are already aware, or a newly designed character. Alternatively, it might be an object in which children have particular interest, for example a train, tractor or other vehicle in the case of a boy or a baby doll or flower in the case of a girl. This can improve the willingness of the child to hold the handle.

The representation may be formed in any convenient manner. For simplicity, the representation is preferably an image on a panel, but this is not essential. For example, the representation could alternatively be a threedimensional formation, possibly formed by moulding.

Advantageously, the child safety device further comprises: a sensor mounted in the handle to detect whether the handle is being held or released; a loudspeaker for outputting audible sound; and an electrical circuit arranged to operate the loudspeaker in response to the output of the sensor.

Such an arrangement outputs audible sound from the loudspeaker in response to whether or not the handle is being held or released, as detected by the sensor. This may be used to indicate to the responsible adult whether or not the child is holding the handle, both for reassurance and to warn then when the handle is released. For example, the electrical circuit may be arranged to output a sound in response to the sensor detecting that the handle is initially released. In this case, the sound acts as a warning to the responsible adult who can then ensure that the child holds the handle once again.

In addition, the output sound may be used to directly encourage the child to hold the handle. For example, the electrical circuit may be arranged to output a sound in response to the sensor detecting that the handle is initially held. In this case, the sound acts as a reward for the child holding the handle and thus increases their willingness to hold the handle.

In the case that the loudspeaker is provided in combination with a representation of the character or an object fixed to the handle, the sound output from the loudspeaker may be related to the character or object. For example, in the case of a character, the sound might be the voice of the character. This can be used to increase the desire of the child to hold the handle by the use of appropriate sounds.

Advantageously, the handle is fixed to the attachment means by a flexible strap.

Use of a flexible strap is advantageous because it gives a degree of movement between the wheeled child carrier and the handle. This allows the child to move along with the wheeled child carrier without having always to move at exactly the same pace. Such a degree of freedom actually reduces the desire of the child to release the handle.

Preferably, at least part of the flexible strap is made of resilient material.

Use of resilicut material in the flexible strap allows the strap to expand, thereby increasing the degree of movement between the handle and the wheeled child carrier for a strap of a given size. This allows a compact flexible strap to provide a relatively large degree of relative movement.

Most preferably, at least part of the flexible strap is a coiled elongate element made of resilient material.

The use of a coiled elongate element is a particularly effective way of giving a large degree of resilient expansion of the flexible strap for a given unexpanded size.

However, the use of a flexible strap is not essential. As an alternative, the handle may be rigidly fixed to the attachment means, whereby the handle will be rigidly attached to the wheeled child carrier in use.

Preferably, the handle is rigid.

Although the handle may alternatively be flexible, for example formed by a strip of flexible material shaped into a loop, a rigid handle is preferred because a rigid handle is easier for the child to grab hold of. A rigid handle is also advantageous because it may be formed with a surface shaped to conform with a child's fingers. This makes the handle more comfortable to hold which increases the child's willingness to hold it.

To allow better understanding, a description of embodiments of the invention will now be given by way of non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. I is a perspective view of a first device in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a wheeled child carrier having the device of Fig. I attached thereto; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the handle of Fig. 1, the cross-section being taken along line III-III in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram of the electric circuit of the device of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a wheeled child carrier having a second child safety device attached thereto in an integral manner.

A first child safety device 1 is illustrated in Fig. l. The first child safety device 1 has a handle 2 which is rigid and of a suitable size for a child to hold. The handle 2 is formed as a closed loop of rigid material having a central aperture 3 through which the child may insert their fingers to hold the handle 2. A surface 4 of the handle 2 facing into the aperture 3 is shaped to conform with the fingers of a child. The handle 2 is formed from moulded plastic, although any other suitable material could be used.

The handle 2 has a panel 5 and therefore fixed to the handle 2. The handle 2 and panel 5 are integral. The panel 5 bears an image 6 which is a representation of a character or an object. Any character or object may be depicted, preferably one to which a child relates.

The child safety device I further comprises an attachment strip 7 fixed to the handle 5 by a flexible strap 8. In particular, the flexible strap 8 is fixed at one end 9 to the attachment strip 7 and at the other end 10 to the handle 2, in particular by being fixed to the panel 5 on the opposite side from the aperture 3 formed in the handle 2.

The attachment strip 7 is formed as a flat strip of material, for example a plastic. The attachment strip 7 has a slot 11 extending along the attachment strip 7.

The attachment strip 7 is necked to form an enlarged head at the end of the attachment strip 7 opposite from the flexible strap 8. The slot 11 is sufficiently wide for the enlarged head 12 to be inserted there through so that the attachment strip 7 forms a loop. The enlarged head 12 then engages the slot 11 so that it is not easily removed. In use, the attachment strip 7 is used to attach the child safety device I to a wheeled child carrier by looping the attachment strip 7 around a fixed part of the wheeled child carrier before inserting the enlarged head 12 through the slot 11.

Alternatively, the attachment strip 7 may be replaced by any other forn of attachment means which allows the child safety device l to be attached to a wheeled child carrier. The simplest form of attachment means would be a simple flexible tie which could be tied around a part of the wheeled child carrier 13, but this would have the disadvantage of requiring the user to make the tie secure. Other possible attachment means are a clip shaped to clip to a specific part of a wheeled child carrier 13 or a clip designed to be attached back to the flexible strap 8 after wrapping the flexible strap 8 around a part of the wheeled child carrier 13.

Fig. 2 illustrates the child safety device l attached to a wheeled child carrier 13 having a pair of pushing handles 14 allowing the wheeled child carrier 13 to be pushed by an individual. In particular, the child safety device 1 is attached by attaching the attachment strip 7 to the wheeled child carrier 13 below one of the pushing handles 14. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the child safety device 2 provides the handle 2 of the child safety device l in a convenient location for a child to hold it without the child obstructing an adult pushing the wheeled child carrier 13.

The flexible strap 8 is formed as a coiled elongate element made of resilient material. The resilient material may be any suitable polymer. The flexibility of the flexible strap 8 provides a degree of movement between the handle 2 of the child safety device I and the wheeled child carrier 13. In addition, the resilient nature of the resilient material forming the flexible strap 8, as well as the coiled shape allows the flexible strap 8 to expand. This increases the degree of relative movement between the handle 2 of the child safety device 1 and the wheeled child carrier 13.

This degree of relative movement allows a child holding the handle 2 of the child safety device I to move at their own pace as the wheeled child carrier 13 is pushed along. However, as long as the child holds the handle 2 of the child safety device I the child is effectively under control as the child safety device l limits their movement away from the wheeled child carrier 13.

Alternatively, the flexible strap 8 could be replaced by any other form a flexible strap, for example a woven or non-woven cord or strip of any suitable man made or natural material.

Formed in the handle 2, the first child safety device 1 includes an electrical circuit arranged to output audible sound in response to the handle being held or released by a child. In particular, the electrical circuit is arranged as follows.

As shown in Fig. I and the cross-sectional view of Fig. 3, the handle 2 has a microswitch 15 mounted in the portion of the handle 2 adjacent the shaped surface 4.

The microswitch 15 protrudes slightly from the handle 2. Thus, the microswitch 15 is switched on when the child holds the handle 2 and therefore acts as a sensor which detects whether or not the handle 2 is being held or released. The microswitch 15 could be replaced by any other form of sensor which detects whether or not the handle is being held or released by a child.

The remaining components of the electrical circuit are arranged inside the handle 2. Therefore, the position of these elements is illustrated in dotted outline in Fig. I and Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram of the electrical circuit.

The electrical circuit has a sound generator chip 16 and a piezoeleetrie loudspeaker 17 mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) 18 which is mounted inside the panel 5 of the handle 2. The sound generator chip 16 may be a CMOS large scale integrated circuit chip. Currently available off-the-shelf components may be used for both the sound generator chip 16 and the loudspeaker 17. The loudspeaker 17 is capable of outputting audible sound. The panel 5 has a number of apertures 19 formed therein to allow the sound to be heard externally of the handle 2. The electrical circuit is powered by two 1.5V batteries 20 mounted inside the panel 5 connected to the sound generator chip 16.

The sound generator chip 16 is connected to the mieroswitch 15 by wires 21 extending from the PCB 18 around the handle 2.

The sound generator chip 16 operates the loudspeaker 17 by providing appropriate signals in response to switching of the mieroswiteh 15.

In response to the mieroswiteh 15 initially being closed, corresponding to the handle initially being held, the sound generator chip 16 outputs a signal to the loudspeaker 17 to output a first sound. This first sound is intended to reward the child for holding the handle 2 to encourage holding of the handle and the first sound is chosen accordingly.

In response to the microswitch 15 initially being opened, corresponding to the handle initially being released, the sound generator chip 16 outputs a signal to the loudspeaker 17 to output a second sound different from the first sound. This second sound is intended to act as a warning to the responsible adult accompanying the child and the second sound is chosen accordingly. The second sound may also be used to encourage the child to hold the handle again.

The first and second sounds may be a tune or voice, and may be chosen to be a noise or voice corresponding to the object or character whose image 6 is on the panel 5.

Fig. 5 illustrates a second attachment device 22 which is attached in an integral manner to a wheeled child carrier 23 having pushing handles 24. In particular, the second child safety device 22 is identical to the first child safety device 1 of Fig. I except that in place of the attachment strip 7, the second child safety device 22 is fixed to an attachment portion 22 which is an integral part of wheeled child carrier 23. The attachment portion 25 is fixed to a flexible strap 8 which is itself fixed to a handle 2, the flexible strap 8 and the handle 2 being identical to the handle 2 and the flexible strap 8 ofthe first child safety device 1, as described above.

Claims

Claims 1. A child safety device comprising a handle for a child to hold

fixed to an attachment means for attaching the child safety device to a wheeled child carrier pushable by an individual.
2. A child safety device according to claim 1, wherein the child safety device has, fixed to the handle, a representation of a character or an object.
3. A child safety device according to claim 2, wherein the representation is an image on a panel.
4. A child safety device according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a sensor mounted in the handle to detect whether the handle is being held or released; a loudspeaker for outputting audible sound; and an electrical circuit arranged to operate the loudspeaker in response to the output of the sensor.
5. A child safety device according to claim 4, wherein the electrical circuit is arranged to output a sound in response to the sensor detecting that the handle is initially released.
6. A child safety device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the electrical circuit is arranged to output a sound in response to the sensor detecting that the handle is initially held.
7. A child safety device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle is fiend to the attachment means by a flexible strap.
8. A child safety device according to claim 7, wherein at least part of the flexible strap is made of resilient material.
9. A child safety device according to claim 7, wherein at least part of the flexible strap is a coiled elongate element made of resilient material.
10. A child safety device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle is rigid.
11. A child safety device according to claim 10, wherein the handle has a surface shaped to conform with a child's fingers.
12. A wheeled child carrier pushable by an individual and having a child safety device according to any one of the preceding claims attached to the wheeled child l 5 carrier.
13. A wheeled child carrier having pushing handles for pushing of the wheeled child carrier by an individual, the wheeled child carrier having attached thereto a child safety device comprising a handle for a child to hold separate from the pushing handles.
14. A wheeled child carrier according to claim 13, wherein the child safety device has, fixed to the handle for a child, a representation of a character or an object.
15. A wheeled child carrier according to claim 14, wherein the representation is an image on a panel.
16. A wheeled child carrier according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the child safety device further comprises: a sensor mounted in the handle to detect whether the handle is being held or released; a loudspeaker for outputting audible sound; and an electrical circuit arranged to operate the loudspeaker in response to the output of the sensor.
17. A wheeled child carrier according to claim 16, wherein the electrical circuit is arranged to output a sound in response to the sensor detecting that the handle is initially released.
18. A wheeled child carrier according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the electrical circuit is arranged to output a sound in response to the sensor detecting that the handle is initially held.
19. A wheeled child carrier according to any one of claims 13 to 1 8, wherein the handle for a child is attached to the wheeled child carrier by a flexible strap.
20. A wheeled child carrier according to claim 19, wherein at least part of the flexible strap is made of resilient material.
21. A wheeled child carrier according to claim 19, wherein at least part of the flexible strap is a coiled elongate element made of resilient material.
22. A wheeled child carrier according to any one of claims 13 to 21, wherein the handle is rigid.
23. A wheeled child carrier according to claim 22, wherein the handle has a surface shaped to conform with a child's fingers.
24. A child safety device constructed substantially as hereinbefore described.
25. A wheeled child carrier having attached thereto a child safety device constructed substantially as hercinbefore described.