Abstract:
A child or pet carrier characterized by an over-the-shoulder sling of sufficient width and strength to support the weight of an infant, young child, or small pet which connects to an increased width of fabric or joined panels of fabric designed and constructed to form a holding portion that allows the child to rest in a sitting or reclined posture when held against the side, hip, or torso area of a carrying adult and that is further enhanced by an integrated drawstring, adjustable strap, or rubberized compression cord that runs along one transverse side of the holding portion that can be adjusted in such a manner as to create a more stable back and/or side support for the child or pet held therein.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to devices for carrying items, and more particularly to devices for carrying children or small pets.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    The use of a shoulder sling to carry a child dates back to prehistoric times. The simple task of toting a baby securely requires little more than a basic loop of fabric—technique used by caregivers in virtually every culture at some point in its history. Improvements to the basic sling have included adding a solid shelf support for the hip (U.S. Pat. No. 781,033); making the length-adjustment buckle more secure (U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,598); adding adjustable bumpers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,887); refining the pouch (U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,925); incorporating pillows and cushions (U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,960); designing the sling to accept a car seat (U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,156); incorporating the sling with a stabilizing hip belt (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,544,088; 4,724,987; and 4,436,233); and numerous other refinements.  
           [0003]    Child carrying devices fall into three basic categories: simple slings, two-shoulder carriers, and hip carriers. These categories can be further broken into combinations and subsets such as inward-facing versus outward-facing, front-pack versus back-pack, prone versus seated, leg separation, lap and shoulder restraints, and other defining embodiments, each of which is well represented in the art. The claimed invention derives from the simple sling configuration.  
           [0004]    The basic, over-the-shoulder sling is recommended by various pediatric books and publications (Sears, Ch. 14, Parenting Magazine, April, 2001, pp. 153-159). A significant advantage to the basic sling is that the child has numerous options as to seating and/or lying position depending on the configuration of the sling on the parent&#39;s shoulder and the child&#39;s position within it. However, in order to safely accommodate numerous permutations of child size and carrying position, these hammock-like slings must incorporate a considerable area of fabric, which by careful alignment of the folds, seams, and integrated bumpers, can be adjusted to accommodate the child in various seating and lying positions. Although simple in design, these slings tend to be quite bulky and cumbersome to wear.  
           [0005]    This bulkiness is problematic for several reasons. It renders the sling heavy and difficult to pack and/or store. It requires more material to manufacture. It tends to add visual “weight” to the wearer. This visual weight is particularly undesirable in that women, especially women who have recently given birth, are particularly sensitive about any clothing or accessory that might make them appear heavier than they are.  
           [0006]    The most basic support elements of a sling are a shoulder strap and a side/back rest. There are several examples of devices which focus on these basic elements (U.S. Pat. Nos. 522,018 and 2,468,588), but they all tend to forfeit safety and comfort to achieve simplicity. For instance, the “boson&#39;s chair” approach, a semi-rigid seat, tends to lack flexibility and comfort (U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,864).  
           [0007]    Other sling variations incorporate a drawstring to configure the protective bumpers or edge gunwales of hammock-like devices (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,950,887 and D332,865). 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    Various embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of an embodiment in use with the stabilizing cord and its adjustment knot extending through a single aperture.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is an environmental view of the same embodiment as seen from the side-rear of the user.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3. is a view of the inside of an embodiment of the sling with a cutaway portion showing the aperture through which the stabilizing cord extends for adjustment.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4. is a view of the outside of another embodiment with a center-anchored stabilizing cord and apertures located on the transverse extremes of the backrest panel. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]    Various embodiments disclosed herein overcome the problems in the existing art described above by providing a sling with a stabilizing cord configured to increase the security and flexibility of the sling. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. The following description and the accompanying drawings provide examples for the purposes of illustration. However, these examples should not be construed in a limiting sense as they are merely intended to provide exemplary embodiments rather than to provide an exhaustive list of all possible implementations.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is an environmental, front perspective view of an embodiment of the device in use. A sling  10  is shown which has a shoulder strap portion comprised of a front shoulder strap  12  and a rear shoulder strap  14 . Although the embodiment shown has a two-piece shoulder strap portion, it is contemplated to have either the shoulder strap portion or the entire device comprised of one piece of fabric. Continuing on, the front shoulder strap  12  and the rear shoulder strap  14  can be made of fabric or any material suitable for use as a sling for carrying a child. The embodiment shown also has a holding portion  16  fabricated from panels of fabric sewn together using stitching  18  of sufficient strength to hold a child or small pet weighing from approximately seven to over thirty pounds while still allowing the child to shift sitting positions while in the device. The holding portion  16  includes a bottom portion  20  proximal to the user&#39;s body and a side portion  22  distal to the user&#39;s body, the side portion  22  being positioned higher than the bottom portion  20 .  
         [0015]    A stabilizing cord  24  is located across the transverse area of the side portion  22 . In an embodiment, the stabilizing cord  24  is adjustable to provide additional support and comfort for the child or small pet being held. The stabilizing cord  24  is anchored to both the front shoulder strap  12  (shown at location  26 ) and the rear shoulder strap  14  (shown at location  28  in FIG. 2) in such a manner as to provide maximum comfort and support. It is worth noting that the stabilizing cord  24  can be made of rope, elastic material, rubberized compression cord, nylon webbing, ribbon, or the like. As such, the stabilizing cord provides the device a wide range of secure seating and holding configurations while adding very little bulk or material weight. Also, the entire device can be folded or stuffed into a relatively small container.  
         [0016]    The tension of the stabilizing cord  24  can be readily adjusted to suit the needs of the user based on the child&#39;s size and the position in which the user desires to hold the child (e.g. sitting upright, prone, reclining, etc.). Notably, the adjustments may be readily accomplished while the device is in use without removing the child. In an embodiment, the tension may be adjusted and secured by any suitable means. For example, the means for adjusting the stabilizing cord can include a knot in the stabilizing cord  24 , a buckle, a clamp, a cord lock, or the like. As such, the user may adjust the tension of the stabilizing cord either before putting on the device or while wearing the device with the child or small pet in the device. Thus, the stabilizing cord adds great flexibility to the ease and manner of use.  
         [0017]    In various embodiments, the stabilizing cord  24  is maintained in position by a guide channel  32  defined by the holding portion  16  and/or loops disposed on the holding portion  16 . For example, FIG. 1 shows a guide channel  32  defined by the holding portion  16  in which the stabilizing cord  24  is disposed. Note that the guide channel  32  is distal to the user&#39;s body in this embodiment.  
         [0018]    One advantage of locating the stabilizing cord symmetrically across the back of the holding portion with the stabilizing cord anchored to both front and back shoulder straps  12  and  14  is that the tension on the stabilizing cord can be varied in either direction. This allows the child to sit securely against the hip, belly or torso of a carrying adult in either a right-handed or left-handed configuration.  
         [0019]    Also in an embodiment, a further adjustment can be made to raise or lower the child in the device by means for adjusting the shoulder strap portion in order to raise or lower the holding portion  16 . For instance, the means for adjusting the shoulder strap portion can include a knot, a buckle, a clasp, a clip, a cinch, a hook-and-loop fastener, a hook-and-eye fastener, or the like. Furthermore, the means for adjusting can be disposed on an inner side of the shoulder strap portion or hidden in another suitable manner. For example, FIG. 1 includes a concealed buckle  30  to adjust the shoulder strap portion. In the hidden buckle embodiment, the length of strap shortened by the buckle may also serve as a pad to cushion the contact point between the buckle and a user&#39;s shoulder. Similar to the stabilizing cord adjustment means, the means for adjusting the shoulder strap may also be adjusted either before putting on the device or while wearing the device, which adds greater flexibility to the manner of using the device.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is an environmental view of the device of FIG. 1 as seen from the side-rear of the user. The relationship between the rear shoulder strap  14  and the holding portion  16  is evident as well as the continuation of the stabilizing cord  24  in the guide channel  32 . This perspective also further demonstrates how the child can be held securely and close yet with a fuller range of motion than afforded by use of a more bulky sling.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a view of the inside of an embodiment which has the front shoulder strap  12  and the rear shoulder strap  14  laid open. The holding portion  16  of this embodiment consists of a seat panel  34 , a leg support panel  36 , and a backrest panel  38 . The backrest panel  38  also contains an additional band of material  40  that defines the guide channel  42  through which the stabilizing cord  44  is threaded. Each end of the stabilizing cord  44  is permanently anchored to the backrest panel  38 . For instance, a first end is anchored near the seam  46  with the front shoulder strap  12 , and the second end is anchored near the seam  48  with the rear shoulder strap  14 . Although the embodiment shown describes the stabilizing cord anchored to the backrest panel, it is contemplated to have the stabilizing cord anchored to either the backrest panel or the shoulder straps.  
         [0022]    With both ends anchored, a bight (e.g. loop or bend) of the stabilizing cord  44  can extend through an aperture (shown in the cutaway portion of FIG. 3) to the outside of the backrest panel  38  for adjustment. In addition, a grommet may be disposed within the aperture to strengthen the aperture. In various embodiments, the inside of the device will be lined for added comfort, but such a lining is not essential.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 shows the outside of an alternative configuration in which an intermediate portion of the stabilizing cord  50  is anchored to a central region  52  of the backrest panel  38  and disposed in guide channel  54 . As such, the two ends of the stabilizing cord  50  can extend out through two apertures  56  located on the transverse extremes of the backrest panel  38  where each end can be individually adjusted and secured in place by any of the adjustment means described above. In another embodiment, the stabilizing cord  50  can be comprised of two cords, each having a first and second end, with the first end of each cord anchored to the central region  52  of the backrest panel  38 . Thus, the second end of each cord can extend through an aperture  56  for adjustment.  
         [0024]    Alternatively, stabilizing cord  50  could be comprised of two separate cords each having a first and a second end, with the first end of each cord anchored to the shoulder strap portion and the second end of each cord free to extend through an aperture located in an intermediate section of the holding portion for adjustment. While these are more complex arrangements to manufacture, they do allow for a more precise adjustment with respect to front- or rear-facing alignment and, thus, might prove more suitable embodiments for certain caregivers&#39; needs.  
         [0025]    It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the various embodiments, this disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially matters of structure and management of parts, without departing from the scope of the various embodiments as expressed by the broad general meaning of the terms of the appended claims.