Adjustable Child Carrier
Patent No. US11786055 (titled "Adjustable Child Carrier") was filed by The Ergo Baby Carrier Inc on Apr 20, 2023.
What is this patent about?
’055 is related to the field of child carriers, specifically those designed to be worn by a user to support a child. The background acknowledges the limitations of existing carriers, which often fail to provide adequate ergonomic support for children as they grow, necessitating the purchase of multiple carriers or the use of cumbersome infant inserts. Soft structured carriers are popular but may not properly support a young child's spine or accommodate a range of ages effectively.
The underlying idea behind ’055 is to create a single, adjustable child carrier that can adapt to a baby's changing size and provide consistent ergonomic support throughout a wide range of ages and sizes. This is achieved through an adjustable bucket seat that can be configured to different depths and widths, ensuring the child is always supported in a spread-squat position, also known as the "M" position, which is considered optimal for hip and spine development.
The claims of ’055 focus on an adjustable child carrier featuring a body that forms a bucket seat for the child's legs, a neck support with attachments to shoulder straps for an upward supporting position, and thigh supports with at least one adjuster. The key aspect is the thigh support adjuster , which allows the carrier to be set to different positions, thereby adjusting the body's length (from the bucket seat bottom to the body's top) to accommodate children of various sizes as they age.
In practice, the carrier's adjustability allows it to support infants without needing separate inserts, and to adapt as the child grows into toddlerhood. The thigh support adjuster is crucial, enabling the user to modify the carrier's length and the bucket seat's configuration to maintain the child's ergonomic positioning. The neck support further enhances adaptability, offering additional head and neck support for infants or extending the carrier's back support for older children.
This design differentiates itself from prior art by providing a seamless adjustment mechanism that doesn't require adding or removing components like infant inserts or extra panels. The adjustable bucket seat depth and width, coupled with the neck support, allow for a customized fit that supports the child's natural spinal curvature and hip development at every stage. This eliminates the need for multiple carriers and simplifies the process of ensuring proper ergonomic support as the child grows.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the mid-2010s when ’055 was filed, soft structured child carriers were becoming increasingly popular at a time when such carriers typically relied on padding, stitching, and fabrics rather than rigid frames to provide structure. At that time, ergonomic designs were known, but hardware or software constraints made it non-trivial to provide adjustability to accommodate a growing child without requiring separate infant inserts or additional panels.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. ,979, filed Feb. 13, 2023; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. ,821 filed Jun. 16, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,583,104 issued Feb. 21, 2023; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. ,286 filed Aug. 26, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,051,634 issued Jul. 6, 2021; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. ,813 filed Oct. 28, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,426,275 issued Oct. 9, 2019; which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. ,745 filed Oct. 30, 2015. In a non-final office action, claims 2-21 were rejected for nonstatutory double patenting over U.S. Patent Nos. 10,426,275; 11,051,634; and 11,583,104. The prosecution record does not describe the technical reasoning or specific claim changes that led to allowance.
Claims
This patent contains 30 claims, with claims 1, 6, and 11 being independent. The independent claims are directed to an adjustable child carrier with a body, neck support, shoulder straps, and a thigh support adjuster for accommodating different child sizes. The dependent claims generally elaborate on the features, settings, and positions of the thigh support adjuster and their effect on the child carrier's configuration and suitability for different child heights.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
Patent Family
File Wrapper
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Date
Description
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US11786055
- Application Number
- US18136979
- Filing Date
- Apr 20, 2023
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Oct 28, 2036
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents