US20150115003A1

US20150115003A1 - Small child and baby carrier

Info

Publication number: US20150115003A1
Application number: US14/459,723
Authority: US
Inventors: Lewon Schaarschmidt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-10-28
Filing date: 2014-08-14
Publication date: 2015-04-30
Also published as: EP2865297A1; ES2646163T3; DE202013009461U1; EP2865297B1

Abstract

A small child and baby carrier includes a waist strap, and a carry bag with a lower end that is fixedly connected to the waist strap and extends to an upper end. A bottom section is adjacent to the lower end and an upper body section extends from the bottom section to the upper end. At least one shoulder strap extends from an upper end or an upper end region of the carry bag. A baby carry insert extends from a first end to a second end. The second end or an end region adjacent to the second end can be connected detachably to the upper body section. The first end is permanently connected to the waist strap and a pocket arranged on or in the waist strap. The pocket accommodates the baby carrier insert either partially or completely when it is not in use.

Description

The invention relates to a baby and small child carrier, as defined in the preamble to claim 1.
Generic baby and small child carriers have long been known and essentially consist of a waist strap, a carry bag that is connected to the waist strap, and at least two shoulder straps by means of which the upper end of the carry bag is connected to or can be connected to a lower/center region of the carry bag or with the waist strap. When in use, the waist strap extends around the waist of the carrying person and the small child or baby sits inside the carry bag, wherein the bottom of the small child or baby comes in contact with the bottom section of the carry bag and (depending on the orientation) the child rests with its back or the stomach/chest area against an upper body section of the carry bag.
Small child and baby carriers of this type should, of course, be usable for a certain age interval of the child. In general, this results in the problem that the small child and baby carriers are unsuitable for small babies if no additional measures are taken.
To solve this problem, so-called baby carrier inserts are known which, if needed, are arranged so as to bridge at least in some sections the bottom section of the carry bag in order to provide the baby with a raised seating position and, if applicable, to reduce the depth of the small child and baby carrier (meaning the distance between upper body section and chest/belly region of the carrying person).
The prior art document DE 20 2012 104 318 proposes in this connection to embody the baby carrier insert as a completely separate element which, if needed, is connected to the carry bag. The disadvantage of this invention is that the baby carrier insert can be lost when not in use and that a connecting element, in particular a zipper half, must be arranged at the bottom section.
Starting therefrom, it is the object of the present invention to further modify a generic small child and baby carrier in such a way that the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art are avoided.
This object is solved with a small child and baby carrier having the features as disclosed in claim 1.
According to the invention, the first end of the baby carrier insert is permanently connected to the waist strap and a pocket is arranged on or in the waist strap which accommodates the baby carrier insert at least partially when it is not in use, wherein the baby carrier insert preferably can be folded into the pocket.
A small child and baby carrier is thus made available which is suitable for small children and babies of different sizes, for which the baby carrier insert cannot be lost, and which offers high comfort for small children as well as babies.
Preferred embodiments follow from the dependent claims as well as the exemplary embodiment explained further below with the aid of the Figures.

The invention is explained in the following with the aid of an example and with reference to be Figures which shown in:

FIG. 1A small child and baby carrier in the spread-out state;

FIG. 2A perspective view of the baby and child carrier of FIG. 1 in a use state;

FIG. 3A schematic section through a lower region of the baby and child carrier shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 The baby and child carrier of FIG. 3 when the baby carrier insert is in use.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the small child and baby carrier according to the invention in the folded-out state while FIG. 2 shows the baby carrier from FIG. 1 in a first use state in which the baby carrier insert is not in use.
The small child and baby carrier comprises a waist strap 10 that extends from its first end 12 to a second end 14. The two ends 12, 14 can be joined, for example with the aid of a plastic buckle, such as is known from backpacks (not shown herein). Extending from the lower end of the waist strap 10 is a carry bag 20, for which the lower end 22 is connected to the waist strap 10. Adjoining the lower end 22 of the carry bag 20 is the bottom section 26 which is embodied tapered and is adjoined by the upper body section 28 that ends at the upper end 24 of the carry bag 20. Two shoulder straps 30, 30 extend from the upper end 24 (or adjacent thereto) of the carry bag. The ends of said straps which are far from the upper end of the carry bag are connected to or can be connected to the waist strap (as shown in FIG. 2) or (not shown) to a center or lower region of the carry bag. Additional elements, in particular in the form of straps or the like can be provided which give the baby/small child some support on the side. However, this is not shown herein.
A first end 42 of the baby carry insert 40 is furthermore permanently connected to the waist strap 10, in particular sewn to it. This baby carry insert 40 extends from its first end 42 to a second end 44, wherein it becomes wider toward the second end 44, meaning there is a wider end region 44 a. A pocket 16 is arranged on or in the waist strap 10 between the first end 42 of the baby carrier insert 40 and the lower end 22 of the carry bag 20. For the embodiment shown, this pocket 16 is fitted onto the waist strap 10. It is advantageous if the baby carrier insert 40 can be folded—preferably completely—into this pocket, as will be shown later on with reference to FIG. 3. In the state where the baby carrier insert 40 is folded into the pocket, the pocket can be closed. For the example shown, it can be closed with a flap 18, wherein a Velcro fastener can be provided between the flap and the pocket. In place of a flap, a zipper could also be provided.
To be able to connect the second end region 44 a of the baby carrier insert 40 to the upper body section 28 of the carry bag 20, holding elements are provided in the end region 44 a and complementary counter holding elements are provided on the upper body section 28, so that each holding element and counter holding element forms a pair. For the embodiment shown, the holding elements are snaps 46 and the counter holding elements are counter snaps 29. The effective surfaces of the holding elements (here the snaps) are located on the same side as the pocket in the unfolded state shown in FIG. 1 (point in FIG. 1 toward the top) while the effective surfaces of the counter holding elements (here the counter snaps) in the unfolded state shown in FIG. 1 are located on the opposite side (point downward in FIG. 1 and are therefore shown with dashed lines in FIG. 1).
FIG. 3 shows a schematic section through a lower region of the representation shown in FIG. 2. It is easy to see the baby carrier insert 40 folded into the pocket 16, as well as the counter holding elements (counter snaps 29) which are arranged pointing outward on the upper body section 28. Owing to this arrangement (pointing outward and/or arranged completely on the outside) the counter holding elements do not hinder the comfort of the small child/baby. In the same way, the pocket 16 with the baby carrier insert 44 folded into the pocket also does not hinder the comfort of the small child being carried, in particular it does not affect the bottom section of the carry bag 20.
If a very small child (baby) to be carried, the pocket is opened, the baby carry insert is folded out and the holding elements are connected to the counter holding elements. The end region 44 a here encompasses the two side edges of the upper body section 28, so that the snaps 46 can be pressed from the outside against the counter snaps 29 (FIG. 4). A corresponding geometry, meaning an encompassing of the upper body section 28 by the end region 44 a of the baby carrier insert 40, is also possible when using other pairs of holding elements/counter holding elements; see in particular claim 6. In this state, the baby carrier insert oilers a raised sitting position as compared to the bottom section 26 since a section of the baby carrier insert 40 bridges the bottom section 26. Depending on the concrete geometric embodiment, connecting the second end 44 (or the second end region 44 a) of the baby carrier insert 40 with the upper body section 28 can also result in a reduction of the depth of the small child and baby carrier, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
Even if it is preferred (as shown) that the pocket be dimensioned so that the baby carrier insert can be folded completely into it, embodiments are also conceivable where the baby carrier insert fits only partially into the pocket.
The waist strap and the carry bag preferably consist of the flexible materials generally used for this purpose; the baby carrier insert is advantageously made from a fabric woven from natural or synthetic fibers.

REFERENCE NUMBER LIST

10 waist strap
12 first end of the waist strap
14 second end of the waist strap
16 pocket
18 flap
20 carry bag
22 lower end
24 upper end
26 bottom section
28 upper body section
29 counter snap
30, 30′ shoulder strap
40 baby carry insert
42 first end of the baby carry insert
44 second end of the baby carry insert
44 a end region
46 snap

Claims

1. A small child and baby carrier, comprising:

a waist strap;

a carry bag with a lower end that is fixedly connected to the waist strap and extends to an upper end, with a bottom section adjacent to the lower end and an upper body section that extends from the bottom section to the upper end at least one shoulder strap extending from an upper end or an upper end region of the carry bag and a baby carry insert that extends from a first end to a second end, wherein the second end or an end region adjacent to the second end can be connected detachably to the upper body section;

characterized in that the first end is permanently connected to the waist strap and that a pocket is arranged on or in the waist strap, which pocket accommodates the baby carrier insert either partially or completely when it is not in use.

2. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the pocket can be closed.

3. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that the pocket can be closed with a zipper.

4. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that a flap is provided by means of which the pocket can be closed.

5. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that holding elements are provided in the end region of the baby carrier insert and counter holding elements are provided at the upper body section, wherein one holding element and one counter holding element form a pair.

6. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 5, characterized in that the pairs are formed by snaps and counter snaps, and/or hooks and eyelets, and/or buttons and button holes, and/or Velcro elements and counter elements, and/or zipper halves, and/or tapes and loops.

7. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 5, characterized in that the counter holding elements are arranged on the outside of the upper body section.

8. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the baby carrier insert expands toward the second end, so that it encompasses in some sections the upper body section of the carry bag when in the use state.

9. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that holding elements are provided in the end region of the baby carrier insert and counter holding elements are provided at the upper body section, wherein one holding element and one counter holding element form a pair.

10. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 3, characterized in that holding elements are provided in the end region of the baby carrier insert and counter holding elements are provided at the upper body section, wherein one holding element and one counter holding element form a pair.

11. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 4, characterized in that holding elements are provided in the end region of the baby carrier insert and counter holding elements are provided at the upper body section, wherein one holding element and one counter holding element form a pair.

12. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 6, characterized in that the counter holding elements are arranged on the outside of the upper body section.

13. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that the baby carrier insert expands toward the second end, so that it encompasses in some sections the upper body section of the carry bag when in the use state.

14. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 3, characterized in that the baby carrier insert expands toward the second end, so that it encompasses in some sections the upper body section of the carry bag when in the use state.

15. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 4, characterized in that the baby carrier insert expands toward the second end, so that it encompasses in some sections the upper body section of the carry bag when in the use state.

16. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 5, characterized in that the baby carrier insert expands toward the second end, so that it encompasses in some sections the upper body section of the carry bag when in the use state.

17. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 6, characterized in that the baby carrier insert expands toward the second end, so that it encompasses in some sections the upper body section of the carry bag when in the use state.

18. The small child and baby carrier according to claim 7, characterized in that the baby carrier insert expands toward the second end, so that it encompasses in some sections the upper body section of the carry bag when in the use state.