SE539460C2

SE539460C2 - A baby carrier

Info

Publication number: SE539460C2
Application number: SE1551152A
Authority: SE
Inventors: JACOBSSON WARFAA Sofia; HEDÉN EDLUND Emelie
Original assignee: BabyBjörn AB
Priority date: 2015-09-09
Filing date: 2015-09-09
Publication date: 2017-09-26
Also published as: SE1551152A1

Description

A BABY CARRIER Field of the invention The present invention relates to a baby carrier of the kind defined in the preamble of the accompanying claim 1.

Background of the invention A certain type of known baby carriers comprises a harness having at least chest straps arranged to extend around both shoulder regions of the wearer and a front piece which is carried by the harness and which forms a baby-carrying pouch or at least a part of said baby-carrying pouch.

At least the upper lateral corner portions of the front piece are preferably detachably connected to corresponding nearby connecting points of the harness. Also other part/parts of the front piece may be detachably connected to corresponding nearby connecting points of the harness either directly or via strap means, for instance.

A baby carrier having a front piece of the above-mentioned type is disclosed in Applicant's US patent No. 8,627,988, for instance, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The front piece is flexible and therefore shapes itself to at least some extent under the influence of the weight of the baby carried in the baby-carrying pouch.

Moreover, the front piece is provided at an upper portion with an adjustable head support.

It is desirably to be able to fold the head support to a turn-down position, i.e. the head support may be folded downwardly along the front piece, depending upon the position of the child carried by the baby carrier, i.e. when the child is carried in a face forward position the head support will be situated in front of the face of the child carried, and thus should preferably be fold to a turn-down position for the convenience of the child.

However, due to the inherent construction and flexibility of the front piece and its head support, the normal position of the head support is its upright position. This means that the head support will strive to reach its upright position once it has been folded to its turn-down position.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a baby carrier having a front piece with a head support which can be folded to at least a turn-down position, in which position the head support is restricted from by itself returning to its upright position.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a baby carrier comprising a harness and a harness-carried front piece which forms at least a part of a baby-carrying pouch, the front piece being provided with a head support and the head support being foldable between at least two main positions, one upright position and one turn-down position, in which turn-down position the head support is folded downwardly along the front piece,characterized in thatthe folding of the head support to the turn-down position is achieved by at least one means in the form of a strap adjustable in its longitudinal direction and in the longitudinal direction of the front piece, one end of said strap is attached to the front piece and the other end of which is adjustable connected via a buckle to the head support or vice versa, and that said strap being continuously adjustable.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying dependent claims.

Brief description of drawings The invention will now be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which - Fig. 1 is a view obliquely from the side of a baby carrier with a front piece having a head support with an adjustment means according to the invention and with the head support shown in an upright position, - Fig. 2 is a view similar to the one in Fig. 1 but with the head support shown in a partly turn-down position, - Fig. 3 is a view similar to the one in Fig. 2 but with the head support shown in a further partly turn-down position, and - Fig. 4 is a view obliquely from the side of the baby carrier in which the head support of the front piece is shown in its fully turn-down position.

Description of preferred embodiments In the description and claims below expressions such as upper, downwardly etc. are to be understood in connection with the normal use of the baby carrier as carried by a wearer.

It should be noted that the expression baby and child is interchangeable with each other throughout the description and claims.

Figs. 1 to 4 show a baby carrier 1 according to the invention comprising a harness 2 having adjustable chest straps 3, which are arranged to extend around the shoulder regions of a wearer. The chest straps 3 are preferably, on a backside of the wearer, connected to each other by a single piece connecting strap or fitting 4 which is adjustable along the length of the chest straps 3. A baby-carrying pouch 5 is formed between at least the chest straps 3 and a front piece 6 carried by the harness 2. A leg opening is formed at each side and at a lower end of the front piece. The front piece 6 is at an upper region 8 detachably connected to respective chest strap 3 by a detachable connecting device 9, whereby the upper edge region 8 can be folded downwardly.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4 the front piece 6 of the baby carrier 1 is provided with an adjustable head support 7, and more particular the head support 7 is foldable between at least two main positions, one upright position 20 (Fig. 1) and one turn-down position 21 (Fig. 4). The folding of the head support 7 to the turn-down position 21 is achieved by at least one means 30.

More particularly, in a preferred embodiment said at one means 30 is formed by an adjustable strap 30, one end 31 of which is attached to the front piece 6 and the other end 32 of which is adjustable connected via a buckle 33 to the head support 7 or vice versa. The adjustable strap 30 is arranged adjustable in its longitudinal direction.

In a preferred embodiment said adjustable strap 30 is continuously adjustable, which means that the head support can obtain any position between its two main positions, i.e. its upright position 20 and its turn-down position 21. See Figs. 1 to 4. In the last-mentioned position 21 the direction of head support 7 is substantially parallel with the direction of propagation of the front piece 6.

As is obvious for the man skilled in the art, instead of said at least one means 30 being an adjustable strap, it may be a press stud, a clasp and eye, Velcro® fastening or any other suitable means so as to maintain the head support 7 in its turn-down position.

In a preferred embodiment the head support 7 is provided with a stiffening means (not shown). Said stiffening means is arranged between an upper border edge 7a of the head support 7 and an imaginary line 40 shown as a dashed line in Fig. 1 and as a continuous line in Fig. 2. Said imaginary line will act as a folding line and is formed between side edges 7b of the head support 7, preferably above upper stitch lines 6a at lateral corner portions 6b of the front piece 6 for attaching the detachable connecting device 9 to the front piece 6. The detachable connecting device 9 are arranged for detachably connecting said lateral corner portions 6b to corresponding nearby connecting points of the harness 2. Said imaginary line has preferably the shape of a catenary extending between said side edged 7a.

The buckle 33 of the adjustable strap 30 is preferably fastened to the fabric of the head support 7 at some distance above said imaginary line 40.

Furthermore, said stiffening means (not shown) is arranged between at least two layers of fabrics forming said head support 7. Said stiffening means may be provided with means (not shown) so as to increase its permeability to air, and said means for increasing the permeability to air may consist of through holes formed in said stiffening means. Preferably, the head support 7 has also some type of padding.

Furthermore, the baby carrier 1 may be provided with an adjustable waist belt 11, and a lower portion 15 of the front piece 6 is connected to said waist belt 11 and forms a seat support.

In the case the baby carrier 1 is provided with the adjustable waist belt 11, a first end 3a of respective chest strap 3 is attached to the waist belt 11, while a second end 3b preferably is detachably connected by a detachable connecting device 17 to at least one edge portion/back portion of the front piece 6 situated in the vertical direction, as seen when the baby carrier is worn, somewhat below the centre of the height of the front piece. Thus, at least a part of the baby-carrying pouch 5 is formed between the front piece 6 and the first end 3a of respective chest strap 3.

Regarding the expression that the chest straps 3 are arranged to extend around both shoulder regions of the wearer it is to be understood that the chest straps either can be crossed or may stretch parallel to each other on the back side of the wearer, whereby in both cases the chest straps are connected to each other by a fitting, such as single piece connecting strap 4 or other suitable arrangement, which is movable along the length of the straps.

Claims

1. A baby carrier (1) comprising a harness (2) and a harness-carried front piece (6) which forms at least a part of a baby-carrying pouch (5), the front piece (6) being provided with a head support (7) and the head support (7) being foldable between at least two main positions (20, 21), one upright position (20) and one turn-down position (21), in which turn-down position the head support (7) is folded downwardly along the front piece (6), characterized in that the folding of the head support (7) to the turn-down position is achieved by at least one means (30) in the form of a strap (30) adjustable in its longitudinal direction and in the longitudinal direction of the front piece (6), one end (31) of said strap (30) is attached to the front piece (6) and the other end (32) of which is adjustable connected via a buckle (33) to the head support (7) or vice versa, and that said strap (30) being continuously adj ustable.

2. The baby carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that said head support (7) is provided with a stiffening means.

3. The baby carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that said stiffening means is arranged between an upper border edge (7a) of the head support (7) and an imaginary line (40) formed between upper lateral corner portions (6a) of the front piece (6) detachably connected to corresponding nearby connecting points of the harness (2) by a detachable connecting device (9).

4. The baby carrier according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said stiffening means is arranged between at least two layers of fabrics.

5. The baby carrier according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said stiffening means is provided with means so as to increase its permeability to air.

6. The baby carrier according to claim 5, characterized in that the means for increasing the permeability to air of the stiffening means consist of through holes formed in said stiffening means.