Patent Publication Number: US-2010108727-A1

Title: Carrying harness for small children

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the US National Phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/SE2008/000099 filed Feb. 6, 2007, which, in turn, claims priority to Swedish App. No. 0700386-6 filed Feb. 9, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a carrying harness, primarily designed for carrying a small child against the carrier&#39;s chest and stomach. 
     SUMMARY 
     The purpose of the present invention is to show an improved carrying harness for small children. Depending on how the harness is employed, improvements may be achieved with regard to the management of the harness upon putting it on and placing the child in it as well as with regard to both the carrier and the child&#39;s comfort. 
     A carrying harness according to the invention comprises a fastening harness that is strapped fast to a carrier as well as a front piece that is fixed to the fastening harness. The fastening harness and the front piece each have a strap system that are also jointly referred to as the strap system. The front piece with strap system that supports and holds up the carried child, is fixed to the fastening harness at several points by means of separate clasps or similar items that can easily be released individually. This facilitates the use of the carrying harness both with regard to putting the carrying harness on and upon putting the child in the carrying harness. The bearing pressure on the carrying harness is borne entirely by the harness by means of this strap system. A further advantage of the arrangement according to the invention is that the size of the front piece is controllable through the strap system being adjustable and the fact that a tab projecting from the front piece can lie against the carrier&#39;s chest, between the carrier and the child. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention shall be described in detail below in connection with the example of a preferred form of the carrying harness as shown in the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows in diagram form a person wearing a carrying harness; 
         FIG. 2  shows the fastening harness; 
         FIG. 3  shows a lumbar plate or back piece of the fastening harness; 
         FIG. 4  shows a front piece of the carrying harness; and 
         FIG. 5  shows a back plate and straps of the front piece. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The fastening harness comprises a waist strap with a right and left part  1 A,  1 B, two shoulder straps  2 ,  3  as well as a back piece or lumbar plate  4 . On the shoulder straps there are the fastenings  5 ,  6  which engage a middle part of the front piece  23  and fastenings  7 ,  8  which engage a head support part of the front piece  23 . The shape of the front piece  23  is shown in greater detail in  FIG. 4  which shows the front piece&#39;s head support part  25  and the fastening arrangements comprising parts  35 ,  36  of the head support clasp. The lock and clasp are so formed that they can be simply fastened and released by one hand. The front piece&#39;s lower part  24  rests on a tightening strap  37  and a seat strap  38  that, in turn, is connected with a clasp  9 . It is thereby possible for the user to take hold of the clasp  9  without this being made difficult or prevented by the front piece  23 . The front piece  23  can be fastened to and released from the clasp  9  to the required extent in order to make the use of the carrying harness as simple as possible even when a child is to be put in, or taken out, of the carrying harness. 
     The carrying harness also comprises two plates of stiff material, preferably a plastic material. One of the plates, designated a lumbar plate, is positioned on the carrier&#39;s back and the other plate, designated the back plate, is placed in the front piece  23  behind the carried child&#39;s back. Both of the plates are wholly or partly covered by textile material when the carrying harness is being used. 
     The back part or lumbar plate  4  is primarily formed as an upside down T, as seen in  FIG. 3 . In the outer end of each of the two lower legs there are holes  19 ,  20  or other suitable means arranged in order to fasten the two waist strap parts  1 A,  1 B, possibly with a means of adjustment, to the lumbar plate  4 . In a similar manner holes  21 ,  22  or corresponding means are arranged at the lumbar plate&#39;s upper part in through which the shoulders straps  2 ,  3  extend can be kept freely adjustable. In other executions the lumbar plate can be divided up into an upper and a lower part that are separate or connected to each other in a suitable manner. 
     The fastening harness has, preferably, a large number of adjustment possibilities as will be seen from the following. The harness&#39;s waist strap has two parts,  1 A and  1 B that are fastened to the lower part of the lumbar plate  4 . Each part of the waist strap possesses a clasp  10 ,  11  or similar adjustment means for adjusting the length of the waist strap whereby each strap part can be further divided into two parts at the adjustment position. The length adjustment can also be arranged at the fitting on the lumbar plate. The shoulder straps  2 ,  3  are fixed on the waist strap&#39;s forward part close to the protruding strap parts  14 ,  15 . From here the shoulder straps extend to the upper part of the lumbar plate  4  where they are passed through their respective holes  21 ,  22 , (or one joint corresponding hole) of the lumbar plate. The holes  21 ,  22  are somewhat diagonal in relation to the lumbar plate&#39;s vertical middle axis, and allow for the shoulder straps to be freely adjusted. The shoulder straps are then bent back to the side from which they came out and are fastened to the same respective waist strap part. This can be seen in  FIG. 3  with arrows  2 A,  2 B and  3 A,  3 B which correspond to the respective shoulder straps. The shoulder straps can also have adjustment means  12 ,  13  for adjustment of their length. These adjustment means  12 ,  13  are the same as the waist strap&#39;s adjustment means and can also be placed at the straps&#39; end-points. The fastening is preferably formed at this so that it can be tightened up, i.e. the straps&#39; length can be reduced through pulling in the strap or tie parts at the adjustment means. Through both ends of each of the shoulder straps being fastened to the same waist strap and thereby on the same side of the carrier, the effect of the tightening is not transferred to the one side or the other side, as is the case with crossing straps. The lumbar plate  4  thus provides an advantageous distribution of the load and a simple adjustment of the fastening harness. 
     The front piece  23  ( FIG. 4 ) has a lower part  24  that rests on the seat strap  38  and the forward tightening strap  37 . The seat strap  38  is firmly connected with the clasp  9  or a similar part in relation to this that can be secured and released. The front piece also has side parts  28 ,  29  as well as a head support part  25  with fastening strap  26 ,  27  that can constitute integral parts of the head support part and connect to the outer clasps  35 ,  36 . In the front piece there is also a back plate  30  that is connected to the side clasps  33 ,  34  while two straps  31 ,  32  that extend in an outwards direction towards the side parts  28 ,  29  and, via the clasps  33 ,  34 , are fixed to the fastening harness&#39;s clasp  5 ,  6 . These straps are also fitted with clasps or other means of length adjustment whereby the size of the space intended for the carried child can be adjusted. A similar adjustment opportunity is also to be found at the head support in the connection to/from this protruding strap (not shown on the drawings). Yet another possibility for adapting the carrying harness to the child that is to be carried is that the seat strap  38 , that the front piece&#39;s lower part  24  rests on, is connected to the back plate  30  by means of a strap  37  or the like, the length of which can be adjusted. The entire load factor from the carried child is absorbed by the strap system, in which the lumbar plate  4  and the back plate  30  are also included, so that the textile material, especially in the front part  23 , is left devoid of any load. This gives rise to a more exact positioning of the carrying harness as the effect of the elasticity and flexibility of the textile material is largely devoid of impact on this situation. The textile material&#39;s function of making the carrying harness comfortable for the child and carrier is thereby improved. 
     Within the framework of the invention concept other variations of the carrying harness are also possible. The strap in the head support can form part of the harness system and be connected with the seat strap. The back plate can also be reduced in size and be possibly replaced by the seat strap, alternatively via the tightening strap, being directly connected with the laterally-directed tightening straps. 
     COMPONENT LIST 
     
         
           1  Waist strap 
           2 ,  3  Shoulder strap 
           4  Lumbar plate 
           5 , 6 , 7 , 8  Clasp 
           9  Clasp 
           10 ,  11  Adjustment 
           12 ,  13  Adjustment 
           14 ,  15  Strap ends with fastening parts 
           16  Middle part of lumbar plate 
           17  Lower part 
           18  Upper part 
           19 , 20  Hole 
           21 , 22  Hole 
           23  Front part 
           24  Lower part of front piece 
           25  Head support part 
           26 , 27  Strap 
           28 ,  29  Side part 
           30  Back plate 
           31 , 32  Tightening strap 
           33 , 34  Clasp 
           35 , 36  Clasp 
           37  Tightening strap 
           38  Seat strap