Child's knapsack harness and method of use therefor

Abstract

A modular child's harness and knapsack is disclosed having a waist belt, two shoulder straps, and gear that attaches to the waist belt and shoulder straps. The lower ends of the shoulder straps are foldable so that they may be folded up for use by a smaller child, and later unfolded as the child grows taller.

What is claimed as the invention is:  
     
         1 . A frameless knapsack harness for a child comprising: 
 a waist belt for encircling a child's waist;    two shoulder straps each having a distal end, a proximal end portion, and a middle portion therebetween, the distal end being connected to the proximal end portion such that the shoulder strap forms a circular loop for loosely encircling one of a child's shoulders;    two waist belt loops, each loop located on the proximal end portion of one of the shoulder straps for slidably receiving the waist belt to adjustably attach the shoulder strap to the waist belt at a rearward position thereof; and    two hinge portions, each hinge portion located across one of the shoulder straps between the proximal end portion and an adjacent intermediate portion, the hinge portion permitting the proximal end portion to be folded up and secured against the adjacent intermediate portion in a retracted position such that the waist belt and waist belt loop reside higher on the shoulder strap than when not in the retracted position, thereby allowing a single knapsack harness to properly fit a smaller child with the proximal end portion in the retracted position and continue to properly fit when the child grows and the proximal end portion is extended into a nonretracted position.    
     
     
         2 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 1  wherein the proximal end portions and the adjacent intermediate portions of the shoulder straps are padded.  
     
     
         3 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 1  wherein each of the two shoulder straps further comprises a main strap and a connecting strap adjustably connected end to end, the main strap having the proximal end portion, the waist band loop, the hinge portion, the adjacent intermediate portion, and the middle portion, the connecting strap having the distal end, the main strap being padded along substantially its entire length.  
     
     
         4 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 1  further comprising a third and fourth waist belt loop each located on one of the distal ends of the shoulder straps for receiving the waist belt therethrough.  
     
     
         5 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 1  wherein the proximal end portion of each shoulder strap has the waist band loop facing away from the child and a predetermined amount of padding between the waist band loop and the child when the proximal end portion is in the non-retracted position.  
     
     
         6 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 5  wherein the proximal end portion of each shoulder strap has the waist band loop facing the child and the same predetermined amount of padding between the waist band loop and the child when the proximal end portion is in the retracted position.  
     
     
         7 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 1  wherein the proximal end portion of each shoulder strap folds outward and upward against the adjacent intermediate portion.  
     
     
         8 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of attachment fittings located along the shoulder straps for attaching gear onto the harness such that the gear releasably spans between the two shoulder straps.  
     
     
         9 . A method of enlarging a knapsack harness for a child comprising the steps of: 
 releasing a J-shaped folded rear lower end on two shoulder straps, the lower ends carrying a waist belt spanning therebetween; and    pivoting the rearward lower ends down so that they extend straight, thereby lowering the height of the waist belt relative to the shoulder straps.    
     
     
         10 . A frameless knapsack harness for a child comprising: 
 a waist belt for encircling a child's waist;    two shoulder straps each having a distal end, a proximal end portion, and a middle portion therebetween, the distal end being connected to the proximal end portion such that the shoulder strap forms a circular loop for loosely encircling one of a child's shoulders;    two waist belt loops, each loop located on the proximal end portion of one of the shoulder straps for slidably receiving the waist belt to adjustably attach the shoulder strap to the waist belt at a rearward position thereof;    a plurality of attachment fittings located along an outer rear portion of each of the shoulder straps for attaching gear onto the harness such that the gear releasably spans between the two shoulder straps with nothing permanently spanning therebetween and such that any rigidity that the knapsack harness has is provided by the attached gear, thereby providing a lightweight knapsack and allowing the amount of gear attached to the harness to increase as the child grows.    
     
     
         11 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of attachment fittings are oblong plastic rings for receiving straps to secure the gear.  
     
     
         12 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 10 , further comprising a bag for spanning between the two shoulder straps and removably attaching to four of the attachment fittings.  
     
     
         13 . A frameless knapsack harness according to  claim 12 , wherein the bag includes a removable carry strap for use when the bag is removed from the harness.  
     
     
         14 . A knapsack for a child comprising: 
 a pack bag for containing belongings of the child, the pack bag having a top surface, a front surface, and two opposite lateral surfaces;    a handle permanently attached to the top surface for carrying the pack bag;    two shoulder strap connectors each located on an opposite lateral surface;    a removable shoulder strap having two ends each for attaching to one of the shoulder strap connectors, the shoulder strap for alternately carrying the pack bag;    two knapsack harness connectors located on the front surface of the pack bag for attaching to a child's knapsack harness, thereby allowing the pack bag to be alternately carried by the handle, the shoulder strap, or a knapsack harness.    
     
     
         15 . A knapsack according to  claim 14  comprising exactly four knapsack harness connectors each located adjacent to a corner of the front surface.  
     
     
         16 . A knapsack for a child comprising: 
 two shoulder straps each having a distal end, a proximal end portion, and a middle portion therebetween, the distal end being connected to the proximal end portion such that the shoulder strap forms a circular loop for loosely encircling one of a child's shoulders;    a pack bag removably attached to and spanning between the middle portions of the shoulder straps; and    two hinge portions, each hinge portion located across one of the shoulder straps between the proximal end portion and an adjacent intermediate portion, the hinge portion permitting the proximal end portion to be folded up and secured against the adjacent intermediate portion in a retracted position to shorten the shoulder strap, thereby allowing a single knapsack harness to properly fit a smaller child with the proximal end portion in the retracted position and continue to properly fit when the child grows and the proximal end portion is extended into a non-retracted position.    
     
     
         17 . A knapsack according to  claim 16  further comprising a plurality of attachment fittings longitudinally spaced along the middle portions of the shoulder straps for removably attaching the pack bag, the plurality of attachment fittings allowing the pack bag to be alternately attached to the shoulders straps in a plurality of positions.