US20090255965A1

US20090255965A1 - Child-carrying device

Info

Publication number: US20090255965A1
Application number: US12/385,320
Authority: US
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: 2009-04-03
Publication date: 2009-10-15
Also published as: WO2008041912A1; AU2007302844A1; EP2068679A1; CA2665201A1; SE0602099L; CA2665200A1; NO20091023L; US20100065594A1; SE530396C2; NO20091100L; SE530395C2; JP2010505509A; EP2068680A1; KR20090068324A; KR20090068325A; AU2007302845A1; JP2010505508A; SE0602098L; WO2008041913A1

Abstract

A child-carrying device has a waist belt and a support element that is carried by and that extends upward from the waist belt. The support element has a front piece, which via a lower central part is connected to the support element in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket. The front piece has laterally spaced-apart attaching elements which are detachably connected to appurtenant adjacent attaching elements that are laterally spaced-apart on the support element. A shoulder strap extends between the respective upper corner areas of the support element in order to extend over one shoulder of the wearer and under the arm on an opposite side of the upper body. This enables the carrying device to be rotated around the upper body part for shifting of the carrying pocket between the front side and back side of the wearer, while the shoulder strap extends over the shoulder.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This continuation-in-part application claims the benefit of priority to PCT/SE2007/000882 filed Oct. 4, 2007, and published in English.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a child-carrying device that can be worn on either the chest-side or on the back-side of a wearer. The invention relates more specifically to a child-carrying device that can be easily rotated from the chest-side to the back-side of a wearer, or vice versa, without removing the device from the wearer.
Thus, the invention relates to a child-carrying device having a waist belt, an upstanding support element that is carried by the waist belt and that extends upward next to the upper body part of the wearer, the support element carrying, on the outside thereof, a front piece, which via a lower central part is connected to the support element in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket, wherein, in upper laterally spaced-apart positions, the front piece is connected to the support element.
2. Description of the Prior Art
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 each shoulder of the wearer, and are connected to the waist belt by the other ends thereof. Thus, when the carrying structure is situated 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 prefers that the carrying device 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.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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 aforementioned objects are entirely or partly attained by the various embodiments of the present invention as described herein.
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 positioned 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 position 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 child-carrying device.
The inner surface of the waist belt may be formed to have a low friction in relation to the 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 favorable 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 providing a stabilizing strap, which is connected to the intermediate 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 the shoulder strap to move upward over the chest of the user and toward the neck of the user is counteracted.
These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like reference numbers refer to like parts throughout. The accompanying drawings are intended to illustrate the invention, but are not necessarily to scale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front schematic view of a wearer who wears a child-carrying device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view from behind the wearer having the child-carrying device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the carrying device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view taken in the direction of the arrow IV in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial view taken along line V-V in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a schematic section taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a sectioned view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged depiction of the slide fitting of the stabilizing strap feature of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic section taken along line X-X in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a schematic section taken along line XI-XI in FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a child-carrying device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, and shows the child-carrying device being worn on the back of a wearer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Although preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention is to be limited in its scope to the details of constructions, and arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, in describing the preferred embodiments, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. It is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. Where possible, components of the drawings that are alike are identified by the same reference numbers.
A child-carrying device in accordance with the present invention includes generally a waist belt and an upstanding support element that is carried by the waist belt. The support element can be configured as, for example, a rigid sheet or plate or a substantially U-shaped frame. The support element extends upward from the waist belt, and carries, on an outer side of the support element, a front piece, which via a lower central part is centrally connected to the support element in order to form the bottom of a carrying pocket for the child. The front piece has laterally spaced-apart attaching elements, which are detachably connected to adjacent attaching elements that are laterally spaced apart on the support element. The child-carrying device includes a shoulder strap that extends between respective upper corner areas of the support element in order to extend over one shoulder of the wearer and under the wearer's arm on the opposite side of the upper body.
The above-described configuration enables the child-carrying device to be rotated, while the shoulder strap remains extended over the shoulder of the wearer, around the upper body of the wearer to shift the carrying pocket between the chest-side and the back-side of the wearer. By virtue of this configuration, the child-carrying device can be easily rotated from the chest-side to the back-side of the wearer, or vice versa, without removing the device from the wearer.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a child-carrying device in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention as the carrier is worn on the upper body part of the wearer. According to the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the carrying device includes a waist belt 1, which carries a stiff (i.e., rigid) sheet 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 sheet 2, at an upper part of the sheet 2, and there the same are detachably connected to the sheet 2 by means of the coupling fittings 31. The front piece 3 has a lower central band-shaped part that is turned up against the sheet 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 fittings 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 36, 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 35 of the front piece 3 can, when the coupling fittings 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 FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be understood that a guide rail (i.e., a slide guide) 50 extends along each upper corner edge area of the sheet 2. Furthermore, a shoulder strap 52 is shown, which with one end 53 thereof is carried by the left guide rail 50 in FIG. 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 another end of the strap 52 is slidably connected to the right guide rail 50 in FIG. 2.
In FIG. 1, it can be seen that a stabilizing strap 60 is connected to the shoulder strap approximately in the middle of the chest side with one end of the stabilizing strap 60. From there, the strap 60 extends obliquely downward around the left side of the wearer and connects to the left guide rail 50 in FIG. 2 with the other end 62 of the strap 60, which is displaceable along the guide 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 FIGS. 1 and 2, the user can disconnect the stabilizing strap 60 from the shoulder strap 52 and then open the buckle 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 FIG. 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 52.
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 FIG. 4, it can be seen that the lateral end portion 36 of the upper border part 35 is elongate and at the ends has the ring-shaped coupling fitting 51, which is received on a part of the fitting 54 formed as a post 55 (FIG. 6). The fitting 51 is shown to have two external diametrically opposed keys, which upon depression allows retraction of the lock wedge 61, which is shown to engage in a waist notch 57 in the respective post 55. 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 (FIG. 7) that abuts against the appurtenant surface 83 around the bottom part of the post 55 (FIG. 8). The surface 71 has a plurality of radially directed grooves 72 spaced-apart around the post. The surface 83 around the post 55 has one or more radial ridges 85 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 rotationally 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 FIG. 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 flexural 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 end portions 36 can be moved along the corresponding circular arcs that are centered to the fittings 51. Then, the bent-over areas 37, 37 can be moved in a plane parallel to the sheet 2 and thus 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 FIG. 5.
In FIGS. 9 and 10, it can be seen that the shoulder strap 52 on the lower border thereof has an edge bulge 81 that is received in an undercut channel 82 in a slide fitting 84 connected to the end 61 of the stabilizing strap 60 via an L-shaped connection element 91 (FIG. 11), which is detachably received in an appurtenant recess 92 in the fitting 84.
From FIG. 11, it is seen that the fitting 84 includes a pivotally mounted lever 86, one arm 87 of which forms a movable part of the undercut channel 82, and the other arm 88 of which is supported by the foot 33 of the L-shaped connection element 91. The arm 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 FIG. 9, it is seen that the opening 92 opens 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 84. If the tensile force in the stabilizing strap 60 aims to pull the fitting 84 in the upward direction along the edge bulge 81, the L-shaped connection element 91 is displaced upward along the elongate slot 95, and the fitting foot 33 will pivot the lever 86 so that the lever 86 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, 83 according to FIGS. 7 and 8, the associated fittings 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 guide rails 50 extend as a continuous arch between the two vertical side edges and horizontal upper edge of the sheet 2, the end 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 belt 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 FIG. 3, the straps 52, 60 have, for the sake of lucidity, been omitted.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, instead of having the fully rigid sheet 2 described above, the child-carrying device includes a partially rigid sheet. That is, the partially rigid sheet is rigid in an upper portion extending upward from the front piece attaching elements (i.e., coupling fittings) 31 to and including an upper edge of the sheet, and is flexible in a lower portion extending downward from the front piece attaching elements 31 to the waist belt 1.
The reason for the lower portion being flexible is to provide enhanced comfort for the wearer. That is, when then the child-carrying device is placed on the front side of the wearer, and the wearer bends down, especially a small wearer, typically a woman, the lower portion is able to compress. This flexibility ensures that the upper portion of the partially rigid sheet will not come in contact with the throat or face of the wearer, or in any other way result in discomfort for the wearer when bending down.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 12, the child-carrying device 100 includes a rigid substantially U-shaped frame 102. That is, in this embodiment of the child-carrying device 100, the rigid sheet 2 or the partially rigid sheet is replaced by a rigid substantially U-shaped frame 102. The frame 102 is open within the outline of the U, i.e., between opposed frame legs 103, and thus may be likened to a backpack or a rucksack frame. The frame 102 can be, for example, of tubular construction.
According to one embodiment of the U-shaped frame 102, each frame leg 103 includes a hinged connection for reasons analogous to those described above in conjunction with the partially rigid sheet embodiment. That is, by providing a hinged connection in each frame leg 103, when the child-carrying device is worn at the front and the wearer bends down, the lower portion of the frame 102 can fold away from the upper portion of the frame.
And, in the same way as described above in conjunction with the sheet 2 embodiment of the support element, the frame 102 can be provided with a guide rail 50 extending along each upper corner edge area of the substantially U-shaped frame (guide rail not shown in FIG. 12).
In still another embodiment of the frame 102, instead of including the guide rails 50, the ends 53, 54 of the shoulder strap 52 can be thread around the frame legs 103 along each upper corner edge area. Each frame leg 103 is provided with a suitable structure to limit the displacement of the ends 53, 54 of the shoulder strap 52 along the frame 102 in the same way as the above-described guide rails 50.
According to a preferred embodiment of the U-shaped frame 102, a fabric or another flexible material is provided to extend between the legs 103 of the frame, i.e., across the open inside area of the U-shaped frame. This fabric may cover the entire area between the legs 103 or may be configured as one or more straps extending between the legs 103. The fittings 31 of the front piece 3 are suitably connected on each of the legs 103, and the lower central part of the front piece 3 is attached to the fabric or other flexible material extending between legs 103. Thus, in the U-shaped frame 102 embodiment, the attachment of the front piece 3 to the frame is made in the same way as with the sheet 2 embodiment of the of the child-carrying device.
It is not intended that the present invention be limited to the specific embodiments described herein. The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention.
Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and, accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A child-carrying device comprising:

a waist belt, a stiff sheet that is carried by the waist belt and that extends upward from the waist belt, the sheet, on an outside thereof, carrying a front piece, which via a lower central part is centrally connected to the sheet in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket, the front piece having laterally spaced-apart attaching elements which are detachably connected to appurtenant adjacent attaching elements that are laterally spaced apart on the sheet; and

a shoulder strap extending between respective upper corner areas of the sheet in order to extend over one shoulder of a wearer and under an arm of the wearer on an opposite side of an upper body part, in order to allow the child-carrying device to be rotated around the upper body part of the wearer for shifting of the carrying pocket between a chest side and a back side of the wearer, while the shoulder strap extends over the shoulder of the wearer.

2. The child-carrying device according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder strap is pre-formed to extend, as substantially planely abutting against the chest side of the wearer, in a downwardly convex path.

3. The child-carrying device according to claim 1, wherein a first end part of the shoulder strap is slidably connected to a guide rail that extends along an adjacent part of the upper corner area of the sheet, the guide rail including an essentially vertical part along an upper portion of a side edge of the sheet, a substantially horizontal part along an upper edge of the sheet, and a smoothly curved part connecting the essentially vertical part and the substantially horizontal part.

4. The child-carrying device according to claim 3, wherein a second end part of the shoulder strap is slidably connected to a guide rail that is arranged along an upper corner part of the sheet, the guide rail including a substantially vertical part along an adjacent side edge of the sheet, a substantially horizontal part along an upper edge of the sheet, and a smoothly curved part connecting the substantially vertical part and the substantially horizontal part.

5. The child-carrying device according to claim 4, wherein the guide rail is reciprocally substantially mirror-symmetrical in a plane parallel to the sheet in relation to a central vertical line along the sheet.

6. The child-carrying device according to claim 1, further comprising a stabilizing strap having a first end connected to one side edge area of the sheet to which a first end of the shoulder strap connects, and extending under an adjacent arm of the wearer and completely to the chest side of the wearer where a second end of the stabilizing strap connects to the shoulder strap in a direction that generally forms a right angle with a longitudinal direction of the shoulder strap on the chest side, when the carrying pocket is situated on the back side of the wearer.

7. The child-carrying device according to claim 6, wherein the second end of the stabilizing strap connects to a slide fitting that is slidably received on a guide rail edge bulge along the shoulder strap on the chest side of the wearer when the carrying pocket is situated on the back side of the wearer.

8. The child-carrying device according to claim 7, wherein the slide fitting has a locking device that is regulated by a tensile force in the stabilizing strap and that locks the slide fitting to the guide rail of the chest strap 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 guide rail.

9. The child-carrying device according to claim 8, wherein the second end of the stabilizing strap is a connection lug that is detachably received in the slide fitting and is displaceable along an elongate slot in the slide fitting in order to, by a foot of the connection lug, activate a clamp device for locking of the slide fitting to the guide rail.

10. The child-carrying device according to claim 7, wherein the slide fitting is slidably received on the guide rail edge bulge at a lower border of the shoulder strap.

11. A child-carrying device comprising:

a waist belt, a rigid substantially U-shaped frame that is supported by the waist belt and that extends upward from the waist belt, the frame, on an outside thereof, carrying a front piece, which via a lower central part is centrally connected to the frame in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket, the front piece having laterally spaced-apart attaching elements which are detachably connected to appurtenant adjacent attaching elements that are laterally spaced apart on the frame; and

a shoulder strap extending between respective upper corner areas of the frame in order to extend over one shoulder of a wearer and under an arm of the wearer on an opposite side of an upper body part, in order to allow the child-carrying device to be rotated around the upper body part of the wearer for shifting of the carrying pocket between a chest side and a back side of the wearer, while the shoulder strap extends over the shoulder of the wearer.

12. The child-carrying device according to claim 11, wherein the frame is of tubular construction.

13. A child-carrying device comprising:

a waist belt, an upstanding support element that is supported by the waist belt, extends upward from the waist belt, and is at least partially rigid in an upper portion thereof, the support element, on an outside thereof, carrying a front piece, which via a lower central part is centrally connected to the support element in order to form a bottom of a carrying pocket, the front piece having laterally spaced-apart attaching elements which are detachably connected to appurtenant adjacent attaching elements that are laterally spaced apart on the support element; and

a shoulder strap extending between respective upper corner areas of the support element in order to extend over one shoulder of a wearer and under an arm of the wearer on an opposite side of an upper body part, in order to allow the child-carrying device to be rotated around the upper body part of the wearer for shifting of the carrying pocket between a chest side and a back side of the wearer, while the shoulder strap extends over the shoulder of the wearer.

14. The child-carrying device according to claim 13, wherein the support element is a rigid sheet.

15. The child-carrying device according to claim 13, wherein the support element is a partially rigid sheet.

16. The child-carrying device according to claim 15, wherein the partially rigid sheet is rigid in an upper portion extending upward from the front piece attaching elements to and including an upper edge of the sheet, and is flexible in a lower portion extending downward from the front piece attaching elements to the waist belt.

17. The child-carrying device according to claim 13, wherein the support element is rigid and is substantially U-shaped.

18. The child-carrying device according to claim 17, wherein the support element is of tubular construction.

19. The child-carrying device according to claim 17, wherein the support element includes opposed support element legs each having a hinged connection that enable the support element to fold as the wearer bends.

20. The child-carrying device according to claim 17, further comprising a flexible material that extends between opposed legs of the U-shaped support element.