BABY CARRIER

Abstract

A wraparound carrier device for babies or toddlers includes a carrier part. An inner side of the carrier part can be brought into contact with a back or stomach of a baby or toddler being carried. A waist belt is attached to at least a central region of a lower edge of the carrier part, and is guided with an inner side in a waist or hip region of a carrying person around their stomach and back. Two shoulder straps are provided, one end of each of which is attached to the carrier part at an upper edge thereof. An anchor point of a second end of each shoulder strap is attachable to the waist belt or to a side edge of the carrier part The position of the anchor point on the waist belt or the side edge of the carrier part is adjustable.

Claims

1. A wraparound carrier device for babies or toddlers comprising: a wraparound carrier part having an inner side and an outer side, wherein the inner side can be brought into contact with a back or stomach of a baby or toddler being carried, a waist belt, which is attached to the wraparound carrier part at least at a central region of an edge of the wraparound carrier part defined as a lower edge, and which is provided to be guided with an inner side in a waist or hip region of a carrying person around their stomach and back, two shoulder straps, one end of each of which is attached to the wraparound carrier part at an edge of the wraparound carrier part defined as the upper edge, wherein an anchor point of a second end of each shoulder strap is designed to be attachable to the waist belt or to an edge of the wraparound carrier part defined as a side edge on the wraparound carrier part, and the position of the anchor point on the waist belt or the side edge of the wraparound carrier part is infinitely adjustable.

2. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 1, wherein the anchor point is in the form of a flat hook-and-loop fastener patch, which is provided on at least one side with a hook-and-loop fastener portion of hooks or loops.

3. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 2, wherein the waist belt is provided with a flap, which is foldable towards the inner side of the waist belt, on an edge directed away from the lower edge of the wraparound carrier part, wherein the flap is equipped with a hook-and-loop fastener portion of hooks or loops on a side which can be brought into contact with the inner side of the waist belt, and/or the waist belt is provided with a hook-and-loop fastener portion of hooks or loops in a region that can be covered by the folded flap.

4. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of flaps extending over the entire length of the waist belt are provided.

5. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 2, wherein a side edge flap, which can be folded towards the inner side of the wraparound carrier part, is provided on each side edge of the wraparound carrier part, wherein the side edge flap is equipped with a hook-and-loop fastener portion of hooks or loops on a side which can be brought into contact with the inner side of the wraparound carrier part, and/or the wraparound carrier part is equipped with a hook-and-loop fastener portion of hooks or loops along the side edge in a region that can be covered by the folded side edge flap.

6. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 3, wherein on the lower edge of the wraparound carrier part, side regions are provided which can be folded independently of the waist belt in the direction of the center of the wraparound carrier part, on which a tail extending the side edge is provided, which is equipped on at least one side with a hook-and-loop fastener portion of hooks or loops in a region overlapping the waist belt.

7. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 2, wherein the shoulder straps are designed to be connected to the hook-and-loop fastener patch at their second ends via click fasteners.

8. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 1, wherein markings are provided on the waist belt and/or the side edges.

9. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 8, wherein each of the markings is equipped with a hook-and-loop fastener portion of hooks or loops and is attachable to the hook-and-loop fastener portion of the waist belt or the hook-and-loop fastener portion of the wraparound carrier part at any position.

10. The wraparound carrier device according to claim 8, wherein the markings are provided in pairs, and a color is assigned to each pair of the markings, in which at least one region pointing away from the wraparound carrier part is colored.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Further advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the Figures, which show a currently preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0026] The Figures show the following:

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a view of a wraparound carrier device with a view of the inner side thereof, including hook-and-loop fastener patches and headrest/hood.

[0028] FIGS. 2a to 2c show views illustrating an adjustment to the hip of a baby or toddler being carried.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a view illustrating a first way of carrying the wraparound carrier device.

[0030] FIGS. 4a to 4c show views illustrating adjustment options when applying the first way of carrying.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a view illustrating a second way of carrying the wraparound carrier device.

[0032] FIGS. 6a to 6c show views illustrating adjustment options when applying the second way of carrying.

[0033] FIG. 7 shows a view illustrating a third way of carrying the wraparound carrier device.

[0034] The Figures show a currently preferred embodiment of the invention. It should be noted here that, for reasons of clarity, not all reference signs are always provided in each Figure, but particularly the reference signs of the components relevant based on the Figure described.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] FIG. 1 shows a wraparound carrier device according to the embodiment in a laid-out state with a view of an inner side. When worn, the inner side is directed to the baby or toddler (hereinafter also referred to as child) and to the person using the carrier device.

[0036] The wraparound carrier device has a carrier part 1 to which other elements are attached. In particular, these elements are shoulder straps 3 and 5, which are attached to an upper edge of the carrier part 1. A waist belt 7 is located on a lower edge 13 of the wraparound carrier device. The waist belt is only attached to the carrier part 1 at a central region of the lower edge 13, while lateral regions of the carrier part 1 are not connected to the waist belt 7, but are merely in contact therewith.

[0037] The shoulder straps have webbing straps 31 and 51 with second ends, which are equipped with male elements 32 and 52 of a click fastener. These male elements 32 and 52 are each provided to snap in female elements 41, 41 of the click fastener in the known manner. The female elements 41, 41 are each attached to a hook-and-loop fastener patch 4. This creates a detachable connection between the shoulder straps 3 and 5 having the webbing straps 31 and 51 and the hook-and-loop fastener patches 4, 4.

[0038] The hook-and-loop fastener patch 4 is a plane piece of fabric made of any material, which is equipped on one side with a hook-and-loop fastener material of loops and on the other side with a hook-and-loop fastener material of hooks (hereinafter also referred to as loops or hooks) as a hook-and-loop fastener portion 42.

[0039] With regard to the hook-and-loop fastener material, it is defined for the further description that each pairing of hook-and-loop fastener material has a part with loops and a part with hooks. Therefore, the following description does not clearly define whether an individual part is provided with loops or hooks, as a skilled person will assume that the described pairings comprise both types of hook-and-loop fastener material.

[0040] A headrest 9 has two buttonholes 93a, 93b on one edge by which it can be connected to the carrier part 1 via buttons provided on the upper edge of the carrier part 1. The headrest 9 is removable as it is no longer needed for larger children. The headrest 9 can also be used as a hood to protect the child in bad weather or also strong sunshine.

[0041] The lower edge of the waist belt 7, i.e. the edge pointing away from the lower edge of the carrier part 13, has a plurality of flaps 72a to 72e that can be folded towards the inner side of the waist belt 7.

[0042] As can be seen in FIG. 2a, for example, the flaps 72a to 72e have hook-and-loop fastener portions 74a to 74e on the side that is to be brought into contact with the inner side of the waist belt 7, said portions coming into contact with a hook-and-loop fastener portion 73 on the waist belt 7 by folding the flaps and connecting the flaps 72a to 72e to the waist belt. The flaps 72a to 72e are provided in particular to receive therebetween the two hook-and-loop fastener patches 4, 4 to be connected to the shoulder straps 3 and 5 via the click fasteners described above.

[0043] The hook-and-loop fastener portions 42, 42 of the hook-and-loop fastener patches 4, 4 engage on one side with the respective hook-and-loop fastener portions 74a to 74e of the flaps 72a to 72e. On the other side, the hook-and-loop fastener portions 42, 42 of the hook-and-loop fastener patches engage with the hook-and-loop fastener portion 73 of the waist belt. This ensures a reliable connection of the shoulder straps 3, 5 and the waist belt 7 after closing the click fastener 32, 41 and 52, 41. The waist belt 7 itself also has a click fastener 71a, 71b for closing the waist belt 7 by guiding the waist belt 7 around the body of the carrying person in the waist or hip region after the wraparound carrier device has been put on.

[0044] At an upper region, parallel to the side edges 17a, 17b of the carrier part 1, there are also side edge flaps 14a, 14b equipped with hook-and-loop fastener portions 15a, 15b which, by folding them over, come into engagement with hook-and-loop fastener portions 16a, 16b on an upper lateral region of the carrier part 1. On these side flaps 14a, 14b, there is also the possibility to reliably fix the hook-and-loop fastener patch 4 between the side flaps and the carrier part 1.

[0045] FIGS. 2a to 2c now describe one way of adjusting the wraparound carrier device to a hip of a child being carried.

[0046] As described above, the waist belt 7 is only attached to the carrier part 1 in a central region of the lower edge 13, e.g. sewn thereto, while the lateral regions are loose. In these lateral regions, the carrier part 1 is extended along its side edges 17a, 17b in the form of tail portions 11a and 11b, which are equipped with hook-and-loop fastener portions 12a, 12b on both sides. By displacing the tail portions 11a, 11b of the carrier part, which are not attached to the waist belt 7, and by fixing the hook-and-loop fastener portions 12a, 12b at a suitable position on the hook-and-loop fastener portion 73 of the waist belt 7, the width of the carrier part 1 in the hip region of the child being carried can be adjusted to the hips of the child, as shown in FIG. 2b. This prevents excessive or too little spread of the legs of the child. An ideal spread-squat position can be achieved.

[0047] After positioning the tail portions 11a, 11b, the corresponding ones of the flaps 72a to 72e are closed for reliable fixation, as shown in FIG. 2c.

[0048] FIG. 3 shows a way of carrying in front of the chest that is more suitable for very small children and FIGS. 4a to 4c describe adjustment options for this way of carrying.

[0049] To be able to carry very small children comfortably, it is ideal if they are positioned higher on the body of the carrying person. For this purpose, after adjusting the width in the hip region of the child as described above, the hook-and-loop fastener patches 4, 4, which serve as anchor points for the shoulder straps 3, 5, are positioned in the preferred position of the waist belt 7 in the manner described above, as shown in FIG. 4b as an example. The waist belt 7, which has been adjusted to the ideal length in advance, is then guided around the body of the carrying person and closed with the click fastener 71a, 71b. Then, the child is lifted up, temporarily supported with the chest area, and then the carrier part 1 is taken to the back of the child.

[0050] The shoulder straps 3, 5 are then placed over the shoulders of the carrying person, crossed over at the back, and the male elements 32, 52 of the shoulder straps 3, 5 are inserted into the associated female elements 41, 41 of the hook-and-loop fastener patches 4, 4. This results in the way of carrying shown in FIG. 3.

[0051] While carrying the child, it is impossible to accidentally open the hook-and-loop fasteners, as they are secured by the corresponding ones of the folded flaps 72a to 72e. Furthermore, after folding down, the flaps 72a to 72e are not accessible from outside but are located on the inner side of the waist belt 7 directed to the carrying person.

[0052] FIG. 5 and FIGS. 6a to 6c show a way of carrying in front of the chest for larger children and adjustment options therefor.

[0053] In the way of carrying as shown in FIG. 5, the hook-and-loop fastener patches 4 are attached to the hook-and-loop fastener portions 16a, 16b in the upper lateral regions of the carrier part, as can be seen in FIG. 6b, and are secured by folding over the side edge flaps 14a, 14b, as can be seen in FIG. 6c. This way of carrying makes it possible to guide the shoulder straps 3, 5 to the side edges 17a, 17b of the carrier part and to infinitely adjust the height of the anchor points. In addition, it is also possible, as in the way of carrying described above, to adjust a guide angle of the shoulder straps 3, 5 by twisting the hook-and-loop fastener patches.

[0054] FIG. 7 shows a way of carrying on the back of the carrying person. Since in this case the upper lateral regions of the carrier part are difficult to access for the carrying person by himself/herself, an adjustment of the anchor points on the waist belt is preferred for this way of carrying, as described on the basis of FIGS. 4a to 4c.

[0055] It should also be noted that the description of the embodiment and the illustration in the Figures do not in any way constitute a limitation of the scope of protection. The scope of protection is defined by the appended claims.

[0056] Modifications of the embodiment are possible. For example, the hook-and-loop fastener patches 4 are shown in the Figures as being basically rectangular. However, any other shape, such as circles, hearts, stars or animal figures, can be chosen, as long as the load-bearing capacity of the hook-and-loop fastener connection is guaranteed.

[0057] If there are several users, differently shaped or colored hook-and-loop fastener patches can also be used in different positions so that it is not necessary to adjust the anchor points before use. Each individual user can then simply connect the shoulder straps to his/her hook-and-loop fastener patches. Hook-and-loop fastener patches that are not currently used by the carrying person can be used to temporarily attach other items such as a drinking bottle, cell phone holder, pacifier chain, etc.

[0058] Position markings can also be provided in the form of markings that allow a user to quickly find a convenient anchor point position that has already been determined. The markings can be permanently attached to the wraparound carrier device, or they can also be designed as small hook-and-loop fastener patches that can be attached individually.

[0059] Instead of click fasteners, other types of fasteners can also be used, such as belt buckles with a pin, magnetic fasteners or form-fit fasteners.

[0060] A textile organic material is preferably selected as the material for the wraparound carrier device, but other materials such as fabrics made of synthetic fibers or (plastic) sheets can also be used.

[0061] In addition to the way of carrying shown in FIG. 7, the shoulder straps 3, 5 can also be guided straight down to the waist belt without being crossed.

[0062] While very small children in particular are carried with the back to the carrier part 1, the wraparound carrier device according to the invention also makes it possible that a child carried in front of the chest can be carried with the stomach facing the carrier part 1, i.e. the child looks in the same direction as the carrying person.