Personal carrier harness

Abstract

A personal weight-bearing harness that is worn over at least one shoulder of a wearer and that comprises at least one handle attached to the front of a strap of the harness provides an improved means of carrying an infant or other item in at least one arm of the wearer. The hand of the arm carrying the infant or item can grasp the handle, which results in at least some of the weight of the carried item(s) being transferred to the shoulder and/or back of the wearer. The harness is worn over, under, or incorporated into an outer garment, such as a coat, jacket, vest, shirt, sweatshirt, and the like; in the latter two cases, a handle is accessed through an opening in the outer garment disposed over the handle.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 215,878, filed May 11, 2009, and titled “Personal Carrier Harness.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a personal weight-bearing harness which facilitates the wearer in carrying items in the wearer's arms, and in particular to outer garments such as coats, jackets, blazers, vests, shirts, sweatshirts, and the like, worn with or incorporating the harness which assists the wearer in carrying children such as infants and toddlers, or other items, in the wearer's arms.[0003]Many methods are used to carry infants and toddlers by their caregiver. One popular type of device is a baby carrier; these carriers are fashioned to be worn over a caregivers clothing, and support a baby either at the caregiver's front or back, with the baby facing inward or outward. However, while useful in many situations, these types of carriers are cumbersome to use...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The weight-bearing harness worn under or incorporated into an outer garment allows the wearer to maintain a fashionable look when the harness is not in use, and to still appear quite fashionable when the harness is in use for carrying at least one item in at least one arm of the wearer. As part of an outer garment, the weight-bearing harness is easy to use, easily accessible, and always available. It allows the wearer to carry items such as babies, toddlers, books, bags, tools and the like closer to the wearer's center of gravity. And it avoids or decreases arm muscle fatigue when carrying such items “by hand” for any other than short periods of time.

Problems solved by technology

However, while useful in many situations, these types of carriers are cumbersome to use, in that the carrier must first be donned by the caregiver, adjusted for proper fit, and then fastened securely to the caregiver's body; next, the baby must be carefully and securely placed into the carrier.

Also, these carriers are typically limited to use with a baby of a particular size or small size range, with front carriers generally limited to use with younger babies, and rear or back-pack carriers for use with older babies or toddlers.

However, this method is limited for any other than short term carrying, due to eventual fatigue of the caregiver's arms.

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