Patent Publication Number: US-2022212710-A1

Title: Shoulder belt assembly and baby carrier

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is based on and claims the benefit of and priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202120037845.3, filed on Jan. 7, 2021, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a shoulder belt assembly, and in particular to a shoulder belt assembly for a baby carrier. The present disclosure also relates to a baby carrier. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A baby carrier is a vehicle for carrying a baby or infant. The baby carrier usually has wheels and a seat. The wheels enable the baby carrier to be conveniently pushed to move. The seat is usually provided with a safety belt to restrain the baby when the baby carrier is moved, so as to ensure his/her safety. The safety belt may include a shoulder belt, a waist belt, an abdominal belt, or the like, so as to restrain different parts of the baby&#39;s body. 
     In the prior art, although the shoulder belt may be adjusted, it is usually only adjustable in length. For a growing baby, when the shoulder of the baby is higher than a fixed point of the shoulder belt, an adjustment of the shoulder belt could not well satisfy the requirements of restraining the shoulder of the baby. 
     Therefore, it is necessary to provide a shoulder belt assembly that may be adjusted in other ways. 
     SUMMARY 
     An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a shoulder belt assembly and a baby carrier, which can alleviate or eliminate at least one of the above-mentioned issues. 
     In order to achieve the above objective, in one aspect, the present disclosure provides a shoulder belt assembly for a seat of a baby carrier, which includes: a fixing belt with both ends fixed to the seat; an adjusting component slidably arranged on the fixing belt; and an adjusting belt connected to the adjusting component in such a way that a length thereof is adjustable. 
     In one embodiment, one of both ends of the fixing belt is detachably fixed to the seat. 
     In one embodiment, the fixing belt is vertically positioned on a backrest of the seat, and an upper end of the fixing belt is detachably fixed to the seat. 
     In one embodiment, the shoulder belt assembly further includes a bearing portion transversely fixed on the backrest of the seat, and both ends of the fixing belt are fixed to the seat by being fixed to the bearing portion. 
     In one embodiment, the bearing portion is formed into two woven belts. 
     In one embodiment, the adjusting belt passes through the adjusting component to form a free end, and the shoulder belt assembly further includes a constraint ring sleeved on the adjusting belt and may restrain the free end. 
     In one embodiment, a fastener is formed on one end of the fixing belt, and a snap ring is formed on the bearing portion, and the fastener can be detachably fixed to the snap ring. 
     In one embodiment, both ends of the fixing belt are fixed to the seat by sewing. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a baby carrier, which includes: a shoulder belt assembly as described above; a frame; a seat arranged on the frame; and an auxiliary cushion connected to the seat. 
     In one embodiment, the auxiliary cushion has an upper opening and partially covers the shoulder belt assembly, and the adjusting belt extends out of the auxiliary cushion through the upper opening. 
     In one embodiment, the baby carrier further includes a waist belt assembly, an abdominal belt assembly and a central locking member, wherein the auxiliary cushion has a lower opening. The waist belt assembly is fixed to a backrest of the seat. The abdominal belt assembly is fixed to a seat cushion of the seat. The central locking member is connected to a free end of the abdominal belt assembly. The waist belt assembly passes through the auxiliary cushion via the lower opening so as to be partially covered by the auxiliary cushion. The adjusting belt and the waist belt assembly are detachably fixed to the central locking member. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure can adjust the shoulder belt assembly more flexibly, so as to adapt to a baby with growing height. Furthermore, the shoulder belt assembly of the present disclosure has simple structure and good reliability, and is convenient to operate. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various objectives, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent when considering the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are only exemplary illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings, the same reference numbers always refer to the same or similar parts. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a frame of a baby carrier according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a rear portion of an auxiliary cushion of the baby carrier according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial schematic view of the baby carrier according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic side view of a shoulder belt assembly according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial schematic view of the baby carrier according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic side view of the shoulder belt assembly according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     Reference numbers in the drawings are shown as follows:
           10 —safety belt assembly
             100 —shoulder belt assembly
                 110 —fixing belt     120 —adjusting belt
                     121 —free end   
                     130 —adjusting component     140 —snap ring     150 —fastener     160 —bearing portion     170 —restraint ring  170     
                 300 —waist belt assembly     400 —abdominal belt assembly     500 —central locking member   
             20 —auxiliary cushion
             210 —upper opening     220 —lower opening     230 —engaging sheet
                 231 —engaging part   
               
             30 —frame     40 —seat       

     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In order to further explain the principle and structure of the present disclosure, the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments are only for illustration and explanation, and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure. 
     The terminology used in the present disclosure is only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms “a/an”, “said” and “the” used in the present disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include multiple forms, unless clearly indicated as other meanings. It should also be understood that the word “and/or” as used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a frame of a baby carrier according to the present disclosure, and  FIG. 2  is a schematic view of an auxiliary cushion of the baby carrier according to the present disclosure. 
     The baby carrier of the present disclosure may have a frame  30  as shown in  FIG. 1 . Optionally, the baby carrier of the present disclosure has other styles of frames. The frame  30  may have a seat  40  thereon (see  FIG. 3 ). The seat  40  is a component for carrying a baby or an infant, and may include a seat cushion for receiving legs and buttocks of the baby and a backrest for supporting the back and head of the baby. 
       FIG. 3  is a partial schematic view of the baby carrier according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 4  is a schematic side view of a shoulder belt assembly according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 4  shows various components only in a modular manner, without illustrating a specific winding manner of the fixing belt and the adjusting belt. 
     The first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. 
     The seat  40  may be provided with a safety belt assembly  10  for restraining the baby, so as to prevent the baby from accidentally falling off the baby carrier when the baby carrier is moving. 
     The safety belt assembly  10  includes a shoulder belt assembly  100 , a waist belt assembly  300 , an abdominal belt assembly  400  and a central locking member  500 . The shoulder belt assembly  100  and the waist belt assembly  300  may be fixed to the backrest of the seat  40 , and the abdominal belt assembly  400  may be fixed to the seat cushion of the seat  40 . An end (i.e., free end) of the abdominal belt assembly  400  away from the seat cushion may be fixed with the central locking member  500 . The shoulder belt assembly  100  and the waist belt assembly  300  are detachably fixed to the central locking member  500 , so that the safety belt assembly  10  is in a use state. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the shoulder belt assembly  100  and the waist belt assembly  300  may be symmetrically arranged at both sides of the seat  40 . In the following description, only the shoulder belt assembly  100  and the waist belt assembly  300  on one side will be described. It can be understood that the description of the shoulder belt assembly  100  and the waist belt assembly  300  on the one side may also be applied to the shoulder belt assembly  100  and the waist belt assembly  300  on the other side. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the auxiliary cushion  20  is a separate cushion which may be arranged on the backrest of the seat  40 . The auxiliary cushion  20  may have an upper opening  210  and a lower opening  220 . Both the upper opening  210  and the lower opening  220  may be arranged symmetrically in a left-right direction as shown. The auxiliary cushion  20  may cover parts of the shoulder belt assembly  100  and the waist belt assembly  300 , so that the back of the baby may lean on a flat surface and improve the use comfort. The shoulder belt assembly  100  may pass through the auxiliary cushion  20  through the upper opening  210 . The waist belt assembly  300  may pass through the auxiliary cushion  20  via the lower opening  220 . 
     The back of the auxiliary cushion  20  may be provided with an engaging sheet  230 . An upper side of the engaging sheet  230  may be fixed to an upper side of the auxiliary cushion  20 .  FIG. 2  shows a state in which the engaging sheet  230  is upturned. An engaging part  231  may be provided on the engaging sheet  230  to be combined with a body of the baby carrier. Each of two sides of the engaging sheet  230  may be provided with one engaging part  231 . Optionally, the engaging sheet  230  may have other numbers of engaging parts  231 , for example, one engaging part, three engaging parts, or the like. The engaging part  231  may be, for example, a snap-fastener, a buckle, a hook and loop fastener, etc. 
     The shoulder belt assembly  100  may include: a fixing belt  110 , both ends of which are fixed to the seat  40 ; an adjusting component  130  slidably provided on the fixing belt  110 ; an adjusting belt  120  connected to the adjusting component  130  in such a way that a length thereof may be adjusted. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , one end (e.g., an upper end) of the fixing belt  110  is detachably fixed to the seat  40 . The shoulder belt assembly  100  may further include a bearing portion  160 . The bearing portion  160  may be formed as a transverse woven belt and may be fixed to the backrest of the seat  40 . The bearing portion  160  may be formed into two transverse woven belts which are spaced apart from each other by a certain distance. The bearing portion  160  may also be integrally formed. A fastener  150  may be fixed on the upper end of the fixing belt  110 , and a snap ring  140  may be formed on the bearing portion  160 . The fastener  150  may be detachably fixed to the bearing portion  160  through the snap ring  140 , and finally the fixing belt  110  may be detachably fixed to the backrest of the seat  40 . After the fastener  150  passes through the snap ring  140 , the fastener  150  cannot pass through the snap ring  140  in an opposite direction by pulling the fixing belt  110 . When it is necessary to enable the fastener  150  to pass through the snap ring  140 , the fastener  150  is required to pass through the snap ring  140  at a specific angle or in a specific route. A lower end of the fixing belt  110  may be directly sewn to the backrest of the seat  40  or the woven belt of the lower portion of the bearing portion  160 . 
     Optionally, the upper end of the fixing belt  110  is non-detachably fixed, while the lower end of the fixing belt  110  is detachably fixed to the seat  40  or the bearing portion  160 . Optionally, both ends of the fixing belt  110  are detachably fixed to the seat  40  or the bearing portion  160 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the vertical direction in the present disclosure is an up-down direction in  FIG. 3 , while the transverse direction in the present disclosure is the left-right direction in  FIG. 3 . It should be noted, since the shoulder belt assembly  100  has a plurality of flexible components, the vertical and transverse directions are approximate directions, but not precise directions. 
     The fixing belt  110  is slidably provided with an adjusting component  130 . The adjusting component  130  may be formed as a frame having a crossbar in the middle. The fixing belt  110  may pass through the adjusting component  130  from one side of a crossbar, bypass the crossbar, and reversely pass through the adjusting component  130  again from the other side of the crossbar. The adjusting component  130  may also be slidably fixed to the fixing belt  110  in other ways. 
     The adjusting belt  120  may pass through the adjusting component  130  and reversely extend to form a free end  121 . The adjusting belt  120  may pass through the adjusting component  130  from one side of the other crossbar of the adjusting component  130 , bypass the other crossbar, and reversely pass through the adjusting component  130  again from the other side of the other crossbar. An end of the adjusting belt  120  away from the free end  121  may be formed with a component that cooperates with the central locking member  500  to be locked. The shoulder belt assembly  100  may further include a restraint ring  170 , and the restraint ring  170  is sleeved on the adjusting belt  120  and may restrain the free end  121 . The restraint ring  170  may be slid on the adjusting belt  120 . Depending on the length of the free end  121 , the restraint ring  170  may move to a position close to a tail of the free end  121  and bind the free end  121  onto the adjusting belt  120 . In this way, the adjusting belt  120  may have a neater posture without being scattered. The adjusting belt  120  may also be slidably fixed to the fixing belt  110  by other means. The fixing belt  110  may be tensioned between its two ends, that is, a distance between positions where the two ends of the fixing belt  110  are fixed is substantially equal to a length of the fixing belt  110 . The fixing belt  110  may also be slightly inclined, for example, formed in an inverted “ ” (i.e., a Chinese character of “eight”) shape as shown in  FIG. 3 . Generally, a baby with a higher shoulder may have a relatively larger shoulder width, so that a slightly inclined arrangement may adapt to a baby with a larger size. 
     The length of the adjusting belt  120  may be shortened by pulling the free end  121  (thereby shortening the overall length of the shoulder belt assembly  100 ), while the length of the adjusting belt  120  may be increased by pulling the adjusting belt  120 . 
     The length of the shoulder belt assembly  100  may be changed by sliding the adjusting component  130  on the fixing belt  110 , and the fixing position of the adjusting belt  120  may also be changed at the same time. Since the fixing belt  110  is covered by the auxiliary cushion  20 , when the shoulder belt assembly  100  is used, the shoulder of the baby only contacts with the adjusting belt  120 . The fixing position of the adjusting belt  120  may be changed by sliding the adjusting component  130  on the fixing belt  110 , so as to adapt to the baby with different shoulder heights, such that the shoulder belt assembly  100  only applies a binding force towards the backrest of the seat  40 , rather than a downward pressure onto the baby. 
       FIG. 5  is a partial schematic view of the baby carrier according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 6  is a schematic side view of the shoulder belt assembly according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     The second embodiment of the present disclosure is similar to the first embodiment, and the difference therebetween will be described below. 
     Both ends of the fixing belt  110  are non-detachably fixed (for example, by sewing) to the bearing portion  160 , however, when there is no bearing portion  160 , the ends may also be fixed to the backrest of the seat  40 . That is, the fastener  150  is not provided at the end of the fixing belt, and also the snap ring  140  is not formed on the bearing portion  160 . 
     Those skilled in the art will easily conceive of other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the present disclosure disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, purposes or adaptations of the present disclosure, which conform to the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The true scope and spirit of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims of the present disclosure. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to typical examples, the terminology used is illustrative and exemplary rather than limiting. Since the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit and essence of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are not limited to any of the foregoing details, but should be interpreted as the broadest possible way within the scope defined by the claims, and therefore all changes that fall within the scope of the claims or their equivalents should be covered by the claims.