Abstract:
A support belt which includes openings to connect with and attach to the waist support of existing mei tai baby carriers. The support belt further comprises padding within its inner components and vertical stitching to enable the belt to fold to allow it to encircle the waist of a wearer. The support belt can also include attachments such as a child harness, as well as storage and attachment elements for storing and connecting additional items.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/190,235 filed Aug. 27, 2008 and entitled “Baby Carrier”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to the field of child carriers and, more particularly, to a support belt which can be attached to the waist support of existing child carriers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There exists child carriers which permit a wearer to carry an infant while giving the infant freedom of arm and hand movements. While these child carriers may be adequate for newborn babies, they are not well adapted for use with larger babies or toddlers. The weight of these larger children can put undue strain on the body of the wearer, leading to muscle strain, neck and back injuries. This can also lead to the child carrier wearing down more quickly than intended. 
     Therefore there is a need for a device which helps to alleviate the strain placed on a wearer&#39;s body and extends the life of existing child carriers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention generally provide for a support belt which can be securely attached to an existing child carrier such as a straight waist mei tai. The belt can include padded foam support and soft-structured design to help transfer the baby&#39;s weight to the carrier&#39;s hips and lower body. The support belt also aids in weight distribution to the hips and thighs with heavy babies or toddlers. Another advantage of the current invention is that it can also help extend the life of existing carriers when in use with a heavier toddler. 
     The invention is also flexible enough to accommodate for a smaller toddler as well. The support belt can include a child harness attachment which connects to the support belt to secure smaller children. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of the support belt. 
         FIG. 2  is a partial front view of a typical mei tai carrier and support belt separated from each other. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a typical mei tai carrier and support belt combined together. 
         FIG. 4  is a partial back view of a typical mei tai carrier and support belt combined together. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating the belt, which is attached to a carrier, being worn along the waist of a wearer with a child seated in the carrier. 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of the support belt with a harness attachment shown open. 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the support belt with a harness attachment shown closed. 
         FIG. 8  is a front view of the support belt with an alternative harness attachment. 
         FIG. 9  is a back view of the support belt with an alternative harness attachment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     While the present invention is susceptible of embodiments in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described some exemplary and non-limiting exemplification for the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the support belt  1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the support belt  1  is made up of an inner padding component and an outer fabric  3 . In one embodiment, this padding component can be a foam padding material. In yet another embodiment, the outer fabric can be made of a waterproof material. The belt contains three sections, a middle section  2 , left section  4 , and right section  6 , with secure stitching between each section. Stitching between the left  4  and middle  2 , and middle  2  and right sections  6  enable the belt  1  to fold to allow it to encircle the waist of the wearer more comfortably. 
     Further, the left  4  and right  6  sections have a curved shape  5  which allows for a child&#39;s legs to rest comfortably and securely during use.  FIG. 5  shows an illustration of how this curved shape  5  allows for a child&#39;s legs to rest upon the support belt  1  during use. 
     The top of the belt  1  has an opening  8  that leads down into the interior of the belt wherein a fabric channel is formed extending to both the left  4  and right sections  6  from the center. These channels terminate at the far right and far left sides with openings  7 ,  9  through which the waist straps  11 ,  16  of a baby carrier will be threaded. In one embodiment, the belt is shaped such that it is slightly concave at the center to alleviate pressure on the stomach of the wearer. In another embodiment, the support belt  1  includes a fastener which allows additional objects to be secured to the support belt  1 . This fastener can be in the form of hook and eye fasteners, buttons, snaps, hooks, buckles, clasps, clips, latches, ties, closures, or pins. Along with fasteners, storage compartments can also be incorporated into the support belt. Examples of these include pockets, compartments, pouches, or slots. 
     The current invention will work with any mei tai or mei tai-style buckle carrier.  FIG. 2  shows how to use one embodiment of the support belt  1  in combination with a typical mei tai baby carrier  12 . To combine the mei tai carrier  12  with the support belt  1 , a user would lay the belt  1  out flat in front of herself/himself with the fabric channels and openings  7 ,  8 ,  9  facing up. The mei tai carrier  12  would be laid out, interior side  14  up, just above the belt  1 . The wearer would take the left side  11  of the mei tai carrier&#39;s waist strap and thread it first through the top opening  8  of the belt  1  and then through the left opening  7  of the support belt&#39;s fabric channel, until the waist strap exits via that left opening  7 . The process would be repeated with the right waist strap  16  and top  8  and right  9  openings of the fabric channel. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  show front and back views respectively of how the support belt  1  would look with a mei tai carrier  12  inserted into it. 
       FIG. 6  shows an additional embodiment of the support belt  1  with a child harness attachment  20 . The side edges of the child harness  20  are cut into a curved shape to allow for a child&#39;s legs to hang comfortably from the harness  20 . The child harness  20  has two opposing ends and at each of these ends, there are strips of webbing with interlocking connectors  24 ,  26  extending from each side of the ends. 
     The child harness  20  is also made up of an inner padding component and an outer fabric. In one embodiment, this inner padding can be a foam padding material and is placed inside of the outer fabric. In yet another embodiment, the outer fabric can be made of a waterproof material. 
     In  FIG. 6 , the harness  20  is shown attached to the support belt  1  by a hook and eye type fastener  22 . However, other attachment elements, including but not limited to the following may also be used: buttons, snaps, hooks, buckles, clasps, clips, latches, ties, closures, and pins. 
     To use the child harness  20 , a user would attach the support belt  1  to a mei tai or mei tai-style buckle carrier. Then the user would attach the harness  20  to the support belt  1  by the fastener  22 . Next the user would fold up the harness  20  and connect the female end of the buckle  24  with the male end of the buckle  26  to securely hold the child who will be placed within the harness  20 .  FIG. 7  shows a view of the harness  20  with the buckles attached. 
       FIG. 8  shows yet another embodiment of the support belt  1 . In this embodiment, the support belt  1  is attached to a child harness attachment  25 . The child harness  25  has a top end which is wider than the bottom end. The top of the child harness  25  also has strips of webbing which extend from opposing sides of the top end. At the end of these strips of webbing are fastening elements such as buckles, as shown in  FIG. 8 . The bottom end of the child harness  25  is attached to the support belt via fasteners  28  such as heavy metal snaps. While heavy metal snaps are shown in  FIG. 8 , other fastening elements, including but not limited to hook and eye fasteners, buttons, hooks, buckles, clasps, clips, latches, ties, closures, and pins may also be used. 
     The edges from the top end of the harness  25  to the bottom end of the harness define side edges. These side edges of the child harness  25  are cut into a curved shape to allow for a child&#39;s legs to hang comfortably from the harness  25 . 
     The child harness  25  is also attached to a piece of fabric  30 , which extends vertically beyond the support belt. This additional height provided by the fabric extension piece  30  helps cover more of the child and adds support for the child. 
     The fabric extension piece  30  has a top, bottom and opposing sides. There are strips of webbing which extend from opposing sides of the top of the fabric extension piece  30 . At the end of these strips of webbing are fastening elements, such as buckles, as shown in  FIG. 8 . The buckles of the fabric extension piece  30  interlock with the buckles of the child harness to form a secure connection. 
     In one embodiment, the child harness  25  is also made up of an inner padding component and an outer fabric covering. In one embodiment, this inner padding can be a foam padding material is in placed within the outer fabric. In yet another embodiment, the outer fabric can be made of a waterproof material. Similarly, the fabric extension piece  30  can also comprise an inner foam padding material and can be made of a waterproof material. 
     To use the child harness  25  shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , a user would again attach the support belt  1  to a mei tai or mei tai style-buckle carrier. Next, the user would attach the child harness  25  to the support belt  1  using an attachment element such as heavy metal snaps  28 . Then the user would insert the fabric extension piece  30  into the top opening  8  of the support belt  1 . Finally, the user would connect the male and female ends of the buckles between the support belt  1  and fabric extension piece  30  together to hold the child that is to be placed within the harness  25  securely. 
       FIG. 9  shows the rear view of the support belt  1  with harness attachment  20  shown in  FIG. 8 . This view shows that fasteners  32  such as D-ring type clips can be added to the support belt to allow for the attachment of additional items. Examples of other fasteners which can be used include but are not limited to hook and eye fasteners, buttons, snaps, hooks, buckles, clasps, clips, latches, ties, closures, and pins. Along with fasteners, storage compartments can also be incorporated into the support belt. Examples of these include pockets, compartments, pouches, or slots. 
     In yet several other embodiments, additional accessories can be included to provide benefits for the user and/or the baby being supported. It is possible to add a webbing and buckle combination threaded through the belt channels so that it can be used with a carrier that does not have waist straps, such as the traditional Korean carrier called a podegi. Since carriers such as a podegi do not have waist straps to combine with the support belt  1 , the additional webbing and buckle combination will allow the support belt  1  to securely encircle the user and child. 
     Materials can vary depending on the specific application. More or fewer openings may be provided in the support belt  1  to accommodate baby carriers which have a varying number of waist straps. A variety of color schemes and patterns can be used for different embodiments. The support belt  1  can be constructed of any material which complies with the laws and safety requirements of any geographical region in which it will be sold or used. 
     All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. 
     Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. 
     The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments. The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.