GB2563673A

GB2563673A - Detachable baby carrier

Info

Publication number: GB2563673A
Application number: GB1710094.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Wolffe David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-06-23
Filing date: 2017-06-23
Publication date: 2018-12-26
Also published as: GB201710094D0

Abstract

The baby carrier 10 is removably attachable to backpack straps and has a body 20 to support a baby, waist support 30, clips or buckles 32 to connect the waist support 30 to lower parts of straps, and hooks or clamps 56 to connect the carrier body 10 to upper parts of straps. The hooks or clamps 56 may be located on carrier straps 50 attached to the waist support 30. Fasteners may connect body 20 and carrier straps 50. Waist support 30 may be attached to seat panel 40 and may attach to body 20 by Velcro RTM and an adjuster. Waist support 30 may adjustably connect to clips or buckles 32. Also provided is a baby carrier modular system of a baby carrier and backpack, the baby carrier having connectors to attach to the backpack at multiple locations, possibly on the straps. The backpack may be standard and unmodified.

Description

Detachable Baby Carrier

Technical field

The present invention relates to a baby carrier module that can be removably attached to any standard backpack.

Background

While travelling with a baby or young child, a parent may choose to wear a harness with a baby carrier, which securely holds the baby close to the front of the parent’s torso. A typical harness includes a pair of straps worn over the shoulders of the parent, integrated with a baby carrier section shaped to contain a baby. Often such integration allows ergonomic considerations to be taken into account along with security, to ensure comfort and assist correct posture for both the baby and the adult user, for example by redistribution of load (the baby’s weight) between parts of the adult user’s body.

Whilst on the move with the baby, a parent also typically needs to carry various related items such as baby food, clothes and sanitary items. Some parents may prefer to carry these items in a backpack but face the problem of having to overcome the inconvenience (if possible at all) of wearing both a dedicated baby carrier harness and a normal backpack, or having to carry an additional bag by hand. There currently exist products integrating a backpack portion and a baby carrier section into a single harness, in view of the above problem.

However, to new parents who already have a backpack, when circumstances change (e.g. the baby is born), it would be undesirable to have to buy an entire new system for carrying the baby whether it has an integrated backpack module or not. Accordingly, there is a need in the field for a simpler and more flexible manner of transporting a baby on the adult’s body.

Summary of the invention

In accordance with the present invention, a baby carrier is disclosed that does not contain or require its own external support structure to be worn by the user, but can reversibly attach to and detach from the existing infrastructure of any backpack with straps, with great convenience.

The invention allows backpack users to not have to acquire a dedicated baby carrier and harness when the need arises (e.g. the baby is bom), but to continue using existing backpacks by adapting it to include a functional baby carrying module. Conversely, the latter can be removed when it is no longer required (e.g. the baby grows up), reverting the system to being a standard backpack. Since the detachable baby carrier is not associated with any particular harness or backpack, when an old backpack breaks or goes out of fashion, for example, the user can simply attach the baby carrier to a new, better backpack.

In addition to this flexibility, in general, the detachability of the baby carrier module means that it is more convenient and user-friendly to clean and store. In contrast, a standard integrated harness and baby carrier remains in a substantially three-dimensional shape and cannot be flattened to be stowed away easily.

The detachable baby carrier also includes a waist support portion securely fitted around at least the front of the user’s waist or hips region, removably attached to straps of the backpack. This is ergonomically advantageous by virtue of allowing some of the load (the baby’s weight) to be shifted from the user’s shoulders to the around the user’s waist or hips region, improving comfort, stability and ease of use.

In other words, the presently disclosed detachable baby carrier without an integrated harness allows great flexibility and adaptability of usage without sacrificing good ergonomics.

In accordance with the invention, there is disclosed a baby carrier removably attachable to straps of a backpack, said baby carrier comprising a carrier body configurable to support a baby, a waist support portion attached to the carrier body, a plurality of first attachment means for removably attaching the waist support portion to a lower portion of straps of a backpack, and a plurality of second attachment means for removably attaching the carrier body to an upper portion of the straps of the backpack.

Preferably, the plurality of second attachment means are located on a plurality of carrier straps attached to the waist support portion, and the baby further comprises a plurality of third attachment means for removably attaching the carrier body to the plurality of carrier straps. Alternatively, the plurality of second attachment means are located on the carrier body.

Preferably, the waist support portion is attached to a seat panel portion.

Preferably, the waist support portion is adapted to be fitted around a front portion of a user’s waist.

Preferably, each of the plurality of first attachment means is adjustably connected to the waist support portion. In an aspect, each of the plurality of first attachment means is located at an end of the waist support portion and comprises a male or female part of a buckle adjustably connected to the waist support portion by an adjustable length of webbing. This allows the user to tighten the waist support portion around his or her waist, improving ergonomic load redistribution.

In an aspect, an assembly comprising the baby carrier as described, and a corresponding female or male part of said buckle adapted to be attached to the straps of the backpack is disclosed.

In an aspect, the second attachment means comprises a hook, preferably a G hook.

In an alternative aspect, each of the second attachment means comprises a clamp, wherein the clamp comprises an upper jaw and a lower jaw connected by a hinge, at least one of the jaws having teeth, wherein the clamp is adapted to compress and snap shut on the straps of the backpack.

In an aspect, each of the third attachment means comprises a Fidlock™.

Preferably, the waist support portion is adjustably attached to the carrier body by one or more fourth attachment means. In an aspect, the one or more fourth attachment means comprises at least one of an adjuster located on the carrier body adapted to engage with a length of webbing connected to the waist support portion, and a patch of Velcro™ located on the carrier body and a corresponding patch of Velcro™ located on the waist support portion.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is disclosed an assembly comprising the baby carrier as described, and a backpack. In an aspect, the backpack comprises a plurality of webbing loops formed on straps of the backpack.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a baby carrier modular system comprising a baby carrier portion and a backpack, wherein said baby carrier portion comprises means to attach to said backpack at multiple locations. Preferably, said locations include multiple points on the straps of said backpack. In an aspect, the backpack is a regular backpack without bespoke modifications.

In order that the present invention be more readily understood, various aspects of specific embodiments will now be described in conjunction with the attached drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 shows a front view or outer side of the detachable baby carrier according to the current invention.

Fig. 2 shows a back view or inner side of the detachable baby carrier according to the current invention.

Specific embodiments

The present invention relates to a baby carrier attachable to any backpack with straps, but is completely detachable therefrom. It does not require an integrated harness. The baby carrier has a plurality of attachment means, each of which can be removably attached to the straps of a standard backpack.

Various aspects of the invention are described below.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the baby carrier 10 comprises at least a carrier body 20, which is also referred to as a main carrier body, and a waist support portion 30 adjustably attached to the carrier body 20. The baby carrier 10 also comprises a seat panel portion 40, and two carrier straps 50, both attached to the waist support portion 30. The seat panel portion 40 along with the main carrier body 20 hold and support the baby while the baby carrier is in use.

The main carrier body 20 can be considered as a flap, which lies flat when not in use. Its material is soft for the baby’s comfort. Tor example, the material can comprise fabric and foam. The main carrier body 20 has an outer (or front) side, and an inner (or back) side. When in use, the inner side abuts the baby, and the outer side faces outward from the baby and the adult user.

The waist support portion or lower support portion 30 is connected to the seat panel portion 40. In an embodiment, the seat panel portion 40 is fixedly attached to the waist support portion, and is substantially semi-circular in shape and made of the same material as the waist support portion 30. When in use, the seat panel 40 forms a kind of bucket seat on which the bottom of the baby rests. In an alternative embodiment, the seat panel portion is removably attached to the waist support portion.

The waist support portion 40 is also fixedly connected to two carrier straps 50. Each of the left carrier strap and the right carrier strap has an outer side and an inner side.

When not in use, the baby carrier 10, including the main carrier body 20, the waist support portion 30, the seat panel portion 40 and the carrier straps 50, can be laid substantially flat, as illustrated in Tig. 1 and Tig. 2 which show the outer side and the inner side of the components respectively.

In the in-use configuration, the main carrier body 20 is bent into a three-dimensional shape, and connected to the carrier straps 50 via a plurality of attachment means. The latter may comprise any fasteners such as locks, clamps, clips, buckles, hooks, magnets and buttons. In an embodiment, on the outer side of each of the two carrier straps 50, at least one, preferably two, Fidlock™(s) (female part) 52, 54 are formed; these are adapted to fit with corresponding Fidlock™ (s) (male part) 22, 24 formed on the inner side of the main carrier body 20. The plurality of attachment means may comprise other types of fasteners such as locks, buckles, and popper buttons, and do not have to be of the same type or size. When fitted into place, the main carrier body 20 is configured into a three-dimensional shape that forms a space wrapping around the baby, the bottom of said space being the seat panel portion 40 on which the baby sits.

Each of the two carrier straps 50 comprises at least one attachment means, formed on its inner side, for attaching to an over-the-shoulder strap of a backpack (hereafter “backpack strap”). This is preferably located in an upper portion of the carrier strap 50, and is suitable to be attached to an upper portion of the backpack strap near the shoulders or collarbones of the user. For example, this attachment means may be a hook 56, preferably a G hook, formed on the inner side of the carrier strap 50, to be connected to a suitable corresponding webbing loop on the backpack strap when in use. As another example, it may be a clamp or clip provided on or attached to the carrier strap, comprising an upper jaw and a lower jaw connected by a hinge, at least one of the jaws having teeth to allow the clamp to compress and snap shut tightly around a backpack strap, and be locked into a suitable place on the backpack strap, preferably near the shoulders or collarbones of the user. As yet another example, it may comprise a cam buckle, wherein a hinged jaw or lever with teeth is biased to compress upon a strap passing through the cam buckle and hold it tightly in place. As another example, the attachment means may be a male part of a buckle to be connected to a separate corresponding female part which can be fitted to the strap at the allocated location, by attaching a clamp, sewing, tying or otherwise. The attachment means may alternatively or additionally comprise other types of fasteners such as different locks, buckles, popper buttons and Velcro™ patches.

In an alternative embodiment, there are attachment means formed on the main carrier body 20 itself for directly attaching the latter to backpack straps, and the carrier straps may not be present.

In another alternative embodiment, the carrier straps 50 are attached to the seat panel 40.

The waist support portion 30 is in an elongated shape in the horizontal (left-right) direction. In the flat configuration, the waist support portion 30 has a larger width than the main carrier body 20.

When the baby carrier 10 is in use, the waist support portion 30 is adapted to be fitted around at least a front part of the adult user’s body, at the waist or near the waist or hips. The waist support portion 30 comprises a plurality of attachment means 32, 34, preferably two, for attaching to a backpack, preferably at a lower portion of the over-the-shoulder straps of the backpack.

The plurality of attachment means 32 preferably comprise one attachment means extending from the left end of the horizontally elongated waist support portion 30 and another extending from the right end, where each is connected to the waist support portion 30 by a respective element of adjustable length 34. Different types of fasteners can be used as the attachment means, such as clamps, clips, locks, cam buckles and other buckles. In an embodiment, each attachment means 32 comprises a side-release clip (male part) 32 adjustably engaged with a length of webbing belt 34, so that the distance by which the side-release clip 32 extends from the waist support portion 30 can be varied. One end of the webbing belt is fixed (e.g. sewn) to the waist support portion 30 closer to the central portion of the latter. One or more support strap(s) 36 for the length of webbing may also be included.

When in use, the side-release clip (male part) 32 is to be connected with a corresponding side-release clip (female part) (not shown in the figures) on or near the lower portion of the backpack straps. In an aspect, said corresponding side-release clip (female part) may be a separate element to be fitted on the backpack, at or near the lower portion of the backpack straps. This fitting may be done using a clamp (such as a teethed clamp as described previously), buckle (such as a cam buckle as described previously) or any kind of fasteners such as locks, popper buttons and Velcro™ patches. Buckles or ladder locks are sometimes included near the lower portion of the straps of a standard backpack and these can be utilised for the fitting.

In an alternative embodiment, instead of side-release clips as described, clamps attached to the waist support portion 30 may be used as the attachment means for attaching the ends of the waist support portion 30 to the backpack straps directly, such as teethed clamps as described previously.

When in use, after the waist support portion 30 has been securely attached to the backpack, the user can adjust the length of the adjustable webbing belt 34 or adjustment means 34, in order to tighten the waist support portion 30 around the user’s waist or hips region, ensuring that load is ergonomically redistributed; in other words, some of the baby’s weight can be shifted from the user’s shoulders to the waist or around the waist and hips region, improving comfort, stability and ease of movement.

Alternative to the above-described waist support portion 30 being attached on each of the left and right sides to respective backpack straps, it may also, as an example, take the form of a horizontal strap of a longer length that it can wrap around a substantial part of the circumference of the user’s waist, each of the two ends provided respectively with a male and a female buckle connectable to each other, said buckles connected to an adjustment means such as webbing belts so that the waist support portion can be tightened around the waist to achieve the ergonomic load redistribution aims.

The waist support portion 30 is attached to the main carrier body 20. Preferably, they are adjustably attached to each other using suitable adjustable attachment means. This allows the user to adjust the relative position of the main carrier body 20 to the waist support portion 30 in the up-down direction, and hence vary and fine-tune the size of the space encompassing and supporting the baby. The baby carrier 10 is therefore highly adaptable and compatible with infants of different sizes, taking full account of ergonomic considerations and maximising comfort and ease of use of both the infant and adult user.

In an aspect, the adjustable attachment means comprises a length of webbing 42 fixedly attached to and extending from the top of the seat panel portion 40, while an adjuster 26 is formed (e.g. stitched) in a central portion of the outer face of the main carrier body 20. The adjuster is preferably a plastic adjuster. The length of webbing 42 is adjustably engaged with the plastic adjuster 26, through which the user can fine-tune the distance between the top of the seat panel 40 and the plastic adjuster 26.

In another or an additional aspect, a bottom portion of the main carrier body 20 can be adjustably attached to a central portion of the waist support portion 30. For example, the adjustable attachment means comprises a patch of Velcro™ (female) in the bottom portion of the main carrier body 20 and a corresponding patch 39 of Velcro™ (male) in the central portion of the waist support portion 30.

In another aspect, the adjustable attachment means comprises a cam buckle.

In an embodiment, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the seat panel portion 40 is placed to the front of the main carrier body 20. The bottom portion 28 of the main carrier body 20 is in the style of a “tongue” 28, which passes through an open slot 44 between the seat panel portion 40 and the waist support portion 30 to reach the outer face of the waist support portion 30, and goes back behind the waist support portion 30 through a second open slot 38 in the waist support portion 30. This arrangement improves stability and security. The above-mentioned patch of Velcro™ on the main carrier body is located on the outer side of the tongue 28, whereas the corresponding Velcro™ patch is located on the inner face of the waist support portion 30.

The waist support portion 30 is described above as being integral with the main carrier body 20 within the baby carrier 10. In an alternative embodiment, it is instead removably attachable to the main carrier body 20, and may be connected to the straps of any backpack as a standalone module.

As used herein, whenever a male part of a means of attachment is mentioned in relation to a corresponding female part, one skilled in the art would understand that their respective male-female natures are interchangeable without affecting their function of the invention. Therefore the invention should not be limited to said specified male-female natures where appropriate.

The present invention is not to be limited by the above-described aspects and embodiments, and that many variations are within the scope of the appended claims. The various aspects and embodiments may be combined if necessary and appropriate. The drawings serve as exemplary illustrations of the invention only, to aid understanding of the invention.

Claims

1. A baby carrier removably attachable to straps of a backpack, said baby carrier comprising: a carrier body configurable to support a baby; a waist support portion attached to the carrier body; a plurality of first attachment means, for removably attaching the waist support portion to a lower portion of straps of a backpack; and a plurality of second attachment means, for removably attaching the carrier body to an upper portion of the straps of the backpack.

2. The baby carrier of claim 1, wherein the plurality of second attachment means are located on a plurality of carrier straps attached to the waist support portion, and further comprising a plurality of third attachment means for removably attaching the carrier body to the plurality of carrier straps.

3. The baby carrier of claim 1, wherein the plurality of second attachment means are located on the carrier body.

4. The baby carrier of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the waist support portion is attached to a seat panel portion.

5. The baby carrier of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the waist support portion is adapted to be fitted around a front portion of a user’s waist.

6. The baby carrier of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of first attachment means is adjustably connected to the waist support portion.

7. The baby carrier of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of first attachment means is located at an end of the waist support portion and comprises a male or female part of a buckle adjustably connected to the waist support portion by an adjustable length of webbing.

8. The baby carrier of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each of the second attachment means comprises a hook, preferably a G hook.

9. The baby carrier of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each of the second attachment means comprises a clamp, wherein the clamp comprises an upper jaw and a lower jaw connected by a hinge, at least one of the jaws having teeth, wherein the clamp is adapted to compress and snap shut on the straps of the backpack.

10. The baby carrier of claim 2, wherein each of the third attachment means comprises a Fidlock™.

11. The baby carrier of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the waist support portion is adjustably attached to the carrier body by one or more fourth attachment means.

12. The baby carrier of claim 11, wherein the one or more fourth attachment means comprises at least one of: an adjuster located on the carrier body adapted to engage with a length of webbing connected to the waist support portion; and a patch of Velcro™ located on the carrier body and a corresponding patch of Velcro™ located on the waist support portion.

13. An assembly comprising: the baby carrier of claim 7, and a corresponding female or male part of said buckle adapted to be attached to the straps of the backpack.

14. An assembly comprising the baby carrier of any one of claims 1 to 12, and a backpack.

15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the backpack comprises straps and a plurality of webbing loops formed thereon.

16. A baby carrier modular system comprising: a baby carrier portion, and a backpack; wherein said baby carrier portion comprises means to attach to said backpack at multiple locations.

17. The baby carrier module system of claim 16, wherein said locations include multiple points on the straps of said backpack.

18. The baby carrier module system of any of claims 16 to 17, wherein said backpack is a regular backpack without bespoke modifications.