Child Holder

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to holders for children, and more particularly, to such holders that are intended to be removably mounted on an individual.

2. Description of the Related Art

Carrying babies and children in a person's arms could be a stressful proposition after several hours. Parents and others carrying children are constantly changing positions in order to fight their tired muscles. Many devices have been designed to alleviate this problem with a great variety of approaches. Some of these designs involve a compromise on the comfort of the child with respect to that of the person carrying him or her.

It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide a holder for children that is ergonometrically suited for the use by an individual while at the same time providing the child with maximum comfort.

It is another object of this present invention to provide such a holder that is light and durable.

It is yet another object of this present invention to provide such a device that is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain while retaining its effectiveness.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.

With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a user carrying a child with the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of one of the preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a representation of a top view of the holder shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIG. 1, where the present invention is generally referred to with numeral 10, it can be observed that it basically includes a saddle seat member 30 having a downwardly extending leg 35 and two arm members 40 and 50, substantially perpendicularly disposed with respect to leg member 35. Also, member 30 includes a flat seating area 32 suitable to support seated children on it. Arm members 40 and 50 embrace the user's upper hip area. Belt member 60 is rigidly mounted to the ends of arm members 40 and 50 and provides the means for removably mounting holder 10 to the user. A strap member 70 is preferably rigidly mounted to the back portion of saddle seat member 30 and it has sufficiently large dimensions to extend around the user's shoulder and neck area opposite to the side where holder 10 is mounted.

Arm members 40 and 50 are ergonometrically designed to embrace the user's upper hip area. Arm member 40 is less curved than member 50 since member 40 is intended to conform to the user's lower back area while arm member 50 conforms to the front and lower abdominal area. Since users' anatomical dimensions vary greatly, holders 10 will have different dimensions. Preferably, saddle seat member 30 is made out of a light plastic material with some degree of flexibility, specially with respect to the separation of arms 40 and 50 so that the gripping effect of these arms over the user's hip area can be firmly and comfortably achieved. Rubber can also be used to make the seat member 30, if it is molded, in such a way that is not too heavy. The prototypes made by the inventor out of light wood have worked well and they are not heavy. However, these are probably not suitable for production in large quantities. It is also possible to make seat member 30 out of an inflatable flexible material if the proper structural backing members are incorporated, specially along the downwardly extending leg 35.

Another feature that has been added to the present invention is an inwardly extending flange member 80 that is intended to partially rest over the user's hip bones. Again, anatomical considerations may require different dimensions of flange member 80 for women and men since the former have a more pronounced waist curvature. Here also a material of certain flexibility is desirable so that it would comfortably conform to the anatomy of the user.

Belt member 60 can be implemented with any of a variety of conventional belts and associated buckles for releasably mounting holder 10 to the user's hip area. Strap member 70 can also be implemented with any one of conventionally existing adjustable straps for easy positioning around the user's neck and shoulder opposite to the side where the holder is mounted.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objects and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.