Adjustable Child Carrier Structure for Ergonomic Infant-to-Toddler Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Soft structured child carriers often limit leg and arm movement, restrict the child to a single position, and fail to accommodate a range of child ages and sizes, leading to potential ergonomic issues and the need for separate infant inserts that can be cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
A soft-structured child carrier with adjustable shoulder strap attachment panels and a body panel that can be configured to change width and height, reducing tension on the body panel edges and allowing for ergonomic support across various child sizes and positions, eliminating the need for separate inserts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If soft structured carriers use stitching and fabrics to provide structure, then the wearer gains freedom of hand and arm movement, but the child's leg and arm movement is unduly limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the shoulder strap attachment panels movable rather than fixed. The panels can pivot and adjust their position, allowing the carrier structure to adapt dynamically to the child's movements while maintaining support. This resolves the contradiction by enabling both wearer comfort and child mobility through dynamic adjustment capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier is segmented into distinct functional components: the body panel, movable shoulder strap attachment panels, and shoulder straps. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently - the body panel provides structure, while the movable attachment panels enable adjustment - thereby resolving the contradiction between structural support and movement freedom.
2Reliability
If soft structured carriers are designed for a limited age and size range, then the carrier can be optimized for specific children, but the carrier cannot accommodate children as they grow
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable shoulder strap attachment panels provide dynamic reconfigurability, allowing the carrier to adapt to children of different ages and sizes. The panels can be repositioned to change the carrier's geometry, maintaining ergonomic support as the child grows without requiring a new carrier.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier achieves universality by incorporating adjustable components that allow a single carrier design to serve multiple functions across different child sizes and ages. The movable attachment panels enable the same carrier to properly support both infants and older children, eliminating the need for multiple carriers or inserts.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a separate infant insert is used to accommodate smaller children, then the carrier can support infants, but the device complexity increases and the insert can be easily lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the function of separate infant inserts into the main carrier structure through integrally attached movable shoulder strap attachment panels. This eliminates the need for separate components while maintaining the ability to accommodate infants, thereby reducing device complexity and preventing loss of accessories.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier achieves multi-functionality by incorporating adjustable components that can accommodate both infants and older children within a single unified structure. The movable attachment panels provide the necessary adaptability for different age groups without requiring separate inserts, simplifying the overall device.
4Device complexity
If the body panel is designed with fixed width and height, then the carrier structure is simple, but the carrier cannot provide ergonomic support for various child sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier achieves ergonomic adaptability through dynamic, movable shoulder strap attachment panels rather than fixed dimensions. The panels can be repositioned to adjust the carrier's effective width and height, providing ergonomic support for various child sizes while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A soft-structured child carrier includes a body panel having a bottom end attached to a bottom portion of the waistband, a first shoulder strap, a second shoulder strap, a first shoulder strap attachment panel attached to the interior side of the body panel away from the side edges of the body panel and a second shoulder strap attachment panel attached to the interior side of the body panel and away from the side edges of the body panel. The first shoulder strap attachment panel provides a first flap that is movable away from the interior surface of the body panel and includes a first lower attachment point for the first shoulder strap. The second shoulder strap attachment panel provides a second flap that is movable away from the interior surface of the body panel and includes a second lower attachment point for the second shoulder strap.