Portable Safety Strap for Holding Children in Wooden Restaurant Style Highchairs

Abstract

An apparatus and method is proposed for providing restraint for a child in a wooden highchair widely used in eating establishments. The proposed apparatus and method requires no tools and does not damage the wooden highchair. It is portable, washable, and addresses many of the common issues found in widely used wooden highchairs in eating establishments.

1 . A one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment comprising:
 a. two safety strap subassemblies comprising:
 i. a first shorter strap subassembly with a sewn loop on one end for attaching a first custom spring loaded carabiner and a sewn loop on the other end for attaching a strap length adjuster; and 
 ii. a second longer strap subassembly with a sewn loop on one end for a second custom spring loaded carabiner and a sewn loop on the other end for a pull ring; 
   b. wherein the second longer strap subassembly passes completely through the strap length adjuster, completing the one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap.   
     
     
         2 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 1  wherein the strap length adjuster on the shorter strap subassembly is permanently attached to the shorter strap subassembly. 
     
     
         3 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 1  wherein the pull ring on the longer strap subassembly is permanently attached to the longer strap subassembly. 
     
     
         4 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 1  wherein the two custom carabiners on each of the strap subassemblies can be easily removed by threading the open end of the customer carabiner through the sewn loops. 
     
     
         5 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 1  wherein the pull ring is a d-ring. 
     
     
         6 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 1  where the safety strap is produced from a durable material. 
     
     
         7 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 6  wherein the durable material is a nylon. 
     
     
         8 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 6  wherein the durable material is a polypropylene. 
     
     
         9 . The one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap for use in providing a clean and safe restraint for a child in a highchair in an eating establishment of  claim 1  wherein the strap length adjuster is a combination strap length adjuster and side release buckle in which the female side of the side release buckle comprises the strap length adjuster through which the second longer strap assembly passes and the first shorter strap subassembly is attached to a male side of the snap buckle. 
     
     
         10 . A method for restraining a child in an eating establishment highchair using a portable and adjustable safety strap having two straps with attached custom carabiners and a strap with a pull ring comprising:
 a. placing the child in the eating establishment highchair;   b. placing the elongated portable and adjustable safety strap across the child below the waist line;   c. deploying each of the spring loader carabiners attached to each end of the one piece elongated portable and adjustable strap device outside and under the seat structure and attaching each custom carabiner across the back thickness of the seat of the highchair; and   d. adjusting the length of the portable and adjustable strap using the pull ring to secure the child firmly in place.   
     
     
         11 . The method for restraining a child in an eating establishment highchair using a portable and adjustable safety strap having two straps with attached custom carabiners and a strap with a pull ring of  claim 10  wherein the portable and adjustable safety strap is made up of two safety strap subassemblies; the two safety strap subassemblies comprising:
 a. a first shorter strap subassembly with a sewn loop on one end for attaching a first custom spring loaded carabiner and a sewn loop on the other end for attaching a strap length adjuster; and 
 b. a second longer strap subassembly with a sewn loop on one end for a second custom spring loaded carabiner and a sewn loop on the other end for a pull ring; 
 c. wherein the second longer strap subassembly passes completely through the strap length adjuster, completing the one piece elongated portable and adjustable safety strap. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method for restraining a child in an eating establishment highchair using a portable and adjustable safety strap having two straps with attached custom carabiners and a strap with a pull ring of  claim 11  wherein the strap length adjuster on the shorter strap subassembly is permanently attached to the shorter strap subassembly. 
     
     
         13 . The method for restraining a child in an eating establishment highchair using a portable and adjustable safety strap having two straps with attached custom carabiners and a strap with a pull ring of  claim 11  wherein the pull ring on the longer strap subassembly is permanently attached to the longer strap subassembly. 
     
     
         14 . The method for restraining a child in an eating establishment highchair using a portable and adjustable safety strap having two straps with attached custom carabiners and a strap with a pull ring of  claim 11  wherein the strap length adjuster is a combination strap length adjuster and side release buckle in which the female side of the side release buckle comprises the strap length adjuster through which the second longer strap assembly passes and the first shorter strap subassembly is attached to a male side of the snap buckle. 
     
     
         15 . The method for restraining a child in an eating establishment highchair using a portable and adjustable safety strap having two straps with attached custom carabiners and a strap with a pull ring of  claim 14  wherein the portable and adjustable safety strap is removed after use by separating the male and female sides of the side release buckle.