Child object support system

A child object support system for use within a vehicle to support a child's toys, bottles and other items within the child's reach during travel thereby reducing the chance of the child losing an item during travel. The inventive device includes a support member of a flexible material, a cup holder within the support member, a plurality of loops attached to the support member, a pocket attached to the support member, a front strap having a buckle attached to a front end of the support member, and a first rear strap, a second rear strap and a third rear strap having a pair of buckles attached to a rear end of the support member. The front strap is removable attachable about a head rest or a front seat of the vehicle. The first rear strap and the third rear strap are removable attachable to a car seat or a rear seat of the vehicle by the second rear strap. The support member is preferably angled downwardly toward the child within the car seat so as to retain the child's items within reach. The cup holder retains the child's bottle or cup. The plurality of loops and pocket retain miscellaneous objects and toys that the child plays with. A sheath is preferably included for assisting the user in positioning the second rear strap within the seat belt passageway of the car seat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates generally to tray devices and more
 specifically it relates to a child object support system for use within a
 vehicle to support a child's toys, bottles and other items within the
 child's reach during travel thereby reducing the chance of the child
 losing an item during travel.
 When a parent travels with their children, typically the children will be
 restrained within a car seat specially designed for their smaller size.
 The car seat is typically positioned in the rear seat for safety concerns
 and air bags that are common in the front seats of vehicles. Before the
 parent begins to operate the vehicle, typically they will give the child a
 cup, bottle and/or toy(s) to keep the child occupied during travel.
 However, often times the child will drop the cup, bottle and/or toy(s)
 during travel thereby making them unhappy and prone to cry. Sometimes the
 parent will attempt to reach back to pick up the lost item during travel
 that can be extremely dangerous for the parent and the child. If the
 parent cannot reach the lost item, or does not desire to take the risk of
 reaching rearwardly, the parent will sometimes continue to travel with the
 child unhappy and possibly attempting to get out of their car seat.
 2. Description of the Prior Art
 Tray devices have been in use for years. Typically, the tray will be
 positioned about the child or attached to the rear portion of the front
 seat. The trays that attach to the rear portion of the front seat will
 often have a pivotally attached tray that extends downwardly. The problem
 with these devices is that often times the items retained within them are
 out of reach of smaller children whose arms cannot reach them. The devices
 that attach around the child as an "apron" are undesirable since they
 limit the child's movements during travel.
 Examples of tray and apron devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,605 to
 Bowen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,659 to Carpentier et al; U.S. Pat. No.
 5,457,820 to Yielding; U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,450 to Hagestad et al; U.S.
 Pat. No. 3,986,649 to Heimstra; U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,208 to Ozmar which are
 all illustrative of such prior art.
 Bowen (U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,605) discloses an auto bib with integral tray
 portion. Bowen teaches a foldable and reusable bib that has a relatively
 flat stiff sheet with a fold portion. The problem with Bowen is that the
 stiff tray portion is uncomfortable for a child to have positioned about
 them. In addition, items on the tray portion can easily be bumped or
 rolled off out of reach of the child, thereby requiring the parent to
 reach back and retrieve the lost item.
 Carpentier et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,659) discloses a seat back mounted
 tray holder. Carpenteir et al teaches a folding tray holder that is
 removably attachable to a rear portion of a seat by a pair of opposing
 hook members. The problem with Carpentier et al is that the position of
 the items on the tray is completely dependent upon the position of the
 seat thereby still requiring the parent to reach back to assist the child
 in retrieving a specific item.
 While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which
 they address, they are not as suitable for use within a vehicle to support
 a child's toys, bottles and other items within the child's reach during
 travel thereby reducing the chance of the child losing an item during
 travel. Conventional tray devices can be uncomfortable for a child during
 travel. Also, conventional tray devices that are attached to a rear
 portion of a seat are positionally dependent upon the position of the seat
 they are attached to.
 In these respects, the child object support system according to the present
 invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs
 of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily
 developed for the purpose of supporting a child's toys, bottles and other
 items within the child's reach during travel thereby reducing the chance
 of the child losing an item during travel.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of tray
 devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new
 child object support system construction wherein the same can be utilized
 for supporting a child's toys, bottles and other items within the child's
 reach during travel thereby reducing the chance of the child losing an
 item during travel.
 The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described
 subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new child object support
 system that has many of the advantages of the tray devices mentioned
 heretofore and many novel features that result in a new child object
 support system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or
 even implied by any of the prior art tray devices, either alone or in any
 combination thereof.
 To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a support member
 of a flexible material, a cup holder within the support member, a
 plurality of loops attached to the support member, a pocket attached to
 the support member, a front strap having a buckle attached to a front end
 of the support member, and a first rear strap, a second rear strap and a
 third rear strap having a pair of buckles attached to a rear end of the
 support member. The front strap is removable attachable about a head rest
 or a front seat of the vehicle. The first rear strap and the third rear
 strap are removable attachable to a car seat or a rear seat of the vehicle
 by the second rear strap. The support member is preferably angled
 downwardly toward the child within the car seat so as to retain the
 child's items within reach. The cup holder retains the child's bottle or
 cup. The plurality of loops and pocket retain miscellaneous objects and
 toys that the child plays with. A sheath is preferably included for
 assisting the user in positioning the second rear strap within the seat
 belt passageway of the car seat.
 There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features
 of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be
 better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art
 may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention
 that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter
 of the claims appended hereto.
 In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention
 in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
 application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the
 components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the
 drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being
 practices and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood
 that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose
 of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
 A primary object of the present invention is to provide a child object
 support system that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art
 devices.
 Another object is to provide a child object support system that supports a
 child's items during vehicle travel within their reach.
 An additional object is to provide a child object support system that is
 not dependent upon the position of the front or rear seats.
 A further object is to provide a child object support system that reduces
 the chance of the items rolling away from the child.
 Another object is to provide a child object support system that can also be
 utilized to store the child's items during non-travel.
 Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious
 to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are
 within the scope of the present invention.
 To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may
 be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
 attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are
 illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific
 construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended
 claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference
 characters denote similar elements throughout the several view, FIGS. 1
 through 4 illustrate a child object support system 10, which comprises a
 support member 20 of a flexible material, a cup holder 30 within the
 support member 20, a plurality of loops 32 attached to the support member
 20, a pocket 34 attached to the support member 20, a front strap 40 having
 a buckle 70 attached to a front end 26 of the support member 20, and a
 first rear strap 50, a second rear strap 52 and a third rear strap 54
 having a pair of buckles 70 attached to a rear end 24 of the support
 member 20. The front strap 40 is removable attachable about a head rest 14
 or a front seat 12 of the vehicle. The first rear strap 50 and the third
 rear strap 54 are removable attachable to a car seat 16 or a rear seat 13
 of the vehicle by the second rear strap 52. The support member 20 is
 preferably angled downwardly toward the child 19 within the car seat 16 so
 as to retain the child's items within reach. The cup holder 30 retains the
 child's bottle 15 or cup. The plurality of loops 32 and pocket 34 retain
 miscellaneous objects and toys 18 that the child 19 plays with. A sheath
 60 is preferably included for assisting the user in positioning the second
 rear strap 52 within the seat belt passageway of the car seat 16.
 As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the figures, the support member 20 is
 preferably of an elongate rectangular shape. However, it can be
 appreciated that various other shapes may be utilized for the support
 member 20. The support member 20 supports the items within reach of the
 child 19 in a car seat 16 such as a bottle 15, toy 18 or other
 miscellaneous items. The support member 20 is preferably comprised of a
 flexible material. The support member 20 is preferably impermeable to
 liquids, however it can be appreciated that semi-permeable and permeable
 material may be utilized. The support member 20 is preferably comprised of
 a cloth like material, however it can be appreciated by one skilled in the
 art that various other materials may be utilized such as tarp, netting or
 plastic. The support member 20 may also be comprised of an elastic
 material or non-elastic material. The support member 20 has a rear end 24
 and a front end 26 as best shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings.
 As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, the support member 20
 includes an aperture 22 near the rear end 24 for removably receiving a
 bottle 15 or a cup. A cup holder 30 is attached about the aperture 22 to
 the bottom surface of the support member 20 for removably capturing the
 bottle 15 or cup as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The cup
 is preferably comprised of a netting material to prevent accumulation of
 spills, however various other materials may be utilized as can be
 appreciated.
 As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, a plurality of loops 32 are
 attached to a central portion of the support member 20 for retaining
 miscellaneous objects. The loops 32 are preferably constructed of an
 elastic material to allow reception of various sizes of objects. As
 further shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, at least one pocket 34 is
 attached to the top surface of the support member 20 for retaining other
 objects and toys 18 for the child 19. The pocket 34 preferably faces the
 front end 26 of the support member 20. The pocket 34 and loops 32 may be
 attached to the support member 20 by conventional attaching means such as
 sewing, riveting or gluing.
 As best shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 of the drawings, a front strap 40 is
 preferably attached along the front end 26 of the support member 20. A
 buckle 70 is attached to the front strap 40 for allowing the user to
 removably attach the front strap 40 about the head rest 14 or a front seat
 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. As can be appreciated, the
 front strap 40 is adjustably attached to the buckle 70 for allowing
 adjustment for various sizes of head rests 14 and front seats 12. It can
 also be appreciated that more than one strap may be utilized to comprise
 the front strap 40.
 Because the front strap 40 is attached to the front end 26 of the support
 member 20, the front strap 40 extends outwardly from the support member 20
 traversely to a longitudinal axis of the support member 20 as best shown
 in FIG. 3 of the drawings. This allows the user to roll the front end 26
 of the support member 20 to shorten the overall length of the support
 member 20 if the front seat 12 should be positioned relatively close to
 the car seat 16.
 As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, a first rear strap 50 and a
 second rear strap 52 are preferably attached to opposing sides of the rear
 end 24 of the support member 20. A pair of buckles 70 are adjustably
 attached to the first rear strap 50 and the second rear strap 52. A third
 rear strap 54 is positionable behind the car seat 16 or the rear seat 13
 of the vehicle and is then removably attachable to the first rear strap 50
 and the second rear strap 52 as best shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The
 third rear strap 54 is preferably positioned within the channel of the car
 seat 16 for the seat belt. As shown in FIG. 1, a sheath 60 is preferably
 provided for inserting the third rear strap 54 through the channel within
 the car seat 16 by simply inserting the third rear strap 54 into the
 sheath 60 and then inserting the sheath 60 through the channel of the car
 seat 16. It can also be appreciated by one skilled in the art that less or
 more straps may be utilized to attach to the rear end 24 of the support
 member 20.
 In use, the user positions the front strap 40 about the head rest 14 of the
 front seat 12 and connects the buckle 70. The user then positions the
 child 19 within the car seat 16 and attaches the necessary seat belt
 restraints. The third strap is then positioned through the channel of the
 car seat 16 by utilizing the sheath 60 or other method. The user then
 grasps the support member 20 to position the rear end 24 of the support
 member 20 near the child 19 and the car seat 16 as shown in FIG. 3 of the
 drawings. The pair of buckles 70 are then locked from the first rear strap
 50 and the second rear strap 52 to the opposing ends of the third rear
 strap 54. The support member 20 is now tensioned between the front seat 12
 and the car seat 16 so as to position the support member 20 in front of
 the child 19. The rear end 24 of the support member 20 will form an
 arcuate shape about the child 19 to provide support along the sides of the
 child 19 as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The support member 20 slopes
 downwardly towards the child 19 as shown in FIG. 2 to retain the objects
 near the child's 19 reach. The parent then places the toys 18 and bottles
 15 in the appropriate locations about the child 19 on top of the support
 member 20. During travel, the items are easily within the child's 19 reach
 and if an item should be dropped by the child 19, the item will be
 captured and retained by the support member 20. If the child 19 rolls the
 object toward the front seat 12, the incline of the support member 20 will
 roll the object back towards the child 19. The support member 20 also will
 have a naturally bow or U-shaped cross-section to it thereby preventing
 objects from rolling off the side portions of the support member 20. When
 the user desires to retrieve the child 19 from the car seat 16, one of the
 buckles 70 are released that are attached to the third rear strap 54. The
 user then is able to removably attached the third rear strap 54 about the
 head rest 14 of the front seat 12 to position the invention in a storage
 position as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. The toys 18 and other items
 are stored within the folded support member 20 as shown in FIG. 4 until
 the user begins traveling again with the child 19.
 As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the
 present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description.
 Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and
 operation will be provided.
 With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the
 optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to
 include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of
 operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to
 one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those
 illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are
 intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
 Therefore, 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.