Multi-Positionable Child Holder with Integrated Harness Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child carriers, such as strollers and car seats, lack effective restraints to secure infants and small children, posing risks of ejection during vehicle collisions and movement-related falls, necessitating the development of a secure and versatile carrying solution.
Innovation Solution
A flexible blanket device with an interior cavity and elastic sidewalls that surrounds the child's torso and legs, integrated with a restraint pathway for easy engagement with conventional harnesses, ensuring secure positioning in various carriers and preventing the blanket from falling or being kicked off.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a child is positioned in a car seat or stroller without restraints, then the child can move freely and comfortably, but the child can be easily ejected during vehicle collisions or fall from the carrier
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the warmth/comfort function of a blanket with the safety restraint function of a harness system into a single integrated device. The blanket device includes an interior cavity that accommodates the child while elastic biasing material and restraint pathways provide both thermal insulation and safety restraint simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate blanket and harness systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The blanket device serves multiple functions: it provides thermal insulation through its blanket body, secures the child through elastic biasing material and restraint pathways, and enables easy transfer between carriers through standardized anchor strap pathways. This multi-functional design replaces multiple separate devices with a single universal solution.
2Reliability
If a restraint system is added to child carriers, then child safety is improved, but the complexity of the carrier system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses flexible fabric materials for the blanket body and elastic biasing material instead of rigid structural components. The elastic material provides restraint force through its inherent elasticity, eliminating the need for complex mechanical locking mechanisms, motors, or electronic control systems while still achieving reliable child restraint.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic biasing material automatically adjusts to secure the child through its inherent elastic properties, requiring no external power source or complex control mechanism. The restraint system self-regulates based on the child's position and movement, simplifying the overall system while maintaining safety.
3Reliability
If a child is secured with a harness in a car seat or stroller, then the child is protected from injury, but the child cannot easily be transferred between different carriers
Solution Approach 1:
The blanket device incorporates standardized anchor strap pathways that are compatible with multiple carrier types including car seats, strollers, and carriers. This universal design allows the same blanket device to be safely used across different carriers without requiring carrier-specific adjustments or modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic biasing material dynamically adjusts to accommodate different carrier configurations and child positions. The restraint system remains flexible and adaptable while maintaining constant safety restraint, enabling easy transfer between carriers while preserving protective function.
4Temperature
If a blanket is used to wrap a child for warmth, then the child stays warm, but the blanket can fall off or be kicked off during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the blanket's thermal insulation function with a securing mechanism using elastic biasing material. The elastic material is attached to the blanket body and contacts the child to prevent the blanket from sliding off, while the blanket body itself provides the warmth through its insulating layers.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The blanket device provides secure, warm, and versatile child carrying, allowing easy transfer between carriers without removing the child, while preventing ejection and falls, and maintaining the child's safety with integrated harness compatibility.
Implementation Method 1
The first end or top end of the blanket body has an opening positioned therein. This opening communicates through the first end of the body and into the interior cavity. The two sides and second or bottom end of the blanket body are closed. At the opening, at the upper or first end of the blanket body, elastic or a similar biasing material may be attached to the sidewall to surround the opening. This will cause the sidewalls to biasly contact with the torso of the child or infant once they are positioned with their torso and legs located within the interior cavity.
Data Source
AI summary
A child holder having a body defined by a sidewall surrounding an interior cavity is positionable to locate the legs and torso of a child into an interior cavity thereof. The child holder can be maintained engaged in an as-used position on the child when being moved to and between child carriers. The child holder is also maintained in the as-used position when securing and unsecuring a conventional three to five point harness conventionally connected to such child carriers.