AU2009100591A4 - Educational countdown calendar - Google Patents

Description

P/00/012 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: "EDUCATIONAL COUNTDOWN CALENDAR" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 1 EDUCATIONAL COUNTDOWN CALENDAR FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an educational countdown calendar. In particular, 5 although not exclusively, the invention relates to an educational countdown calendar which counts down to the birth of a baby. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION During any transitional time in a family, children can become anxious, 10 concerned and even fearful. This is even more so for a sibling, during his/her mother's pregnancy. In order to assist the sibling it is important to educate the sibling on pregnancy and the stages thereof. It would be helpful if an early bond can be formed between the sibling and the unborn child during pregnancy. 15 OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least alleviate one or more of the above problems and/or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice. It is a further object of the invention to provide an interactive tool to educate a sibling on his/her mother's pregnancy and which can help to 20 form an early bond between the sibling and the unborn child. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In one form, although it need not be the only or indeed the broadest form, the invention resides in an educational countdown calendar including:- 2 a substrate having a sequence of illustrations thereon which are each indicative of a stage in the human gestation period; and a cover portion overlaying each illustration, which cover portions each have an indicium on an outside thereof which indicates the point in time in the gestation period of the illustration covered by that cover portion, and wherein the cover portions are peelable so as to reveal the illustrations. Preferably, the educational countdown calendar includes a cover layer which overlays the substrate, the cover layer having a number of windows defined therein which are each in register with a different illustration and through which the illustrations can be viewed, the cover layer further including the cover 5 portions which are each located in a different window. Preferably, the stages of the human gestation period illustrated are stages in weekly intervals and similarly the indicia on the outside of the cover portions indicate weekly intervals. Preferably, the stages of the human gestation period are stages of the last 10 trimester of the gestation period. Preferably, a last cover portion which covers the last illustration in the sequence of illustrations, is marked with an indicium indicating the day of birth. Preferably, the window covered by the last cover portion may be dimensioned and configured for a photograph to be received therein. 15 More particularly, the cover portions are marked with indicia indicating weeks in sequence from week 28 to week 1 and the day of birth. Preferably, the indicia are numerals. Preferably, the illustrations are two-dimensional illustrations but may also be three-dimensional illustrations.

3 Preferably, the illustrations are of the various stages of fetal growth in the womb. Preferably, the illustrations include captions. More particularly, the captions may be that of the weight of the infant, the length of the infant, or a 5 description of a physiological feature of the infant for the different stages being illustrated. The captions may be anecdotal and written in the first person, which advantageously helps in creating a bond between the sibling and the unborn child. Preferably, the cover portions are hinged tabs which can be peeled 10 outwardly to reveal the windows and thus the illustrations. In another form, the invention resides in a portable computer having a display screen on which indicia indicative of a stage in the human gestation period is illustrated and which is operable to, when one of the indicia is selected, illustrate on the display screen an image or animation which is indicative of that 15 stage in the human gestation period. Preferably, the indicia are set out in a manner similar to an advent-type calendar. In yet another form, the invention resides in a method of educating a sibling on the gestation period of his expecting mother, the method including: 20 providing an advent-type calendar in which the stages of the gestation period are illustrated; and revealing the illustrations during the course of the gestation period to the sibling, thereby to educate the sibling. Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the 25 following detailed description.

4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To assist in understanding the invention and to enable a person skilled in the art to put the invention into practical effect, a preferred embodiment of the 5 invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 shows a schematic front view of one embodiment of an educational countdown calendar in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the countdown calendar 10 of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a schematic front view of the countdown calendar of Figure 1 with a cover portion of week 28 of the countdown calendar removed and the cover portion of week 27 partially peeled away; Figure 4 shows a schematic front view of the countdown calendar of 15 Figure 1 with all of the cover portions removed; Figure 5 shows a schematic front view of the substrate of the countdown calendar of Figure 1; Figure 6 shows a schematic front view of a blank cover layer of the countdown calendar of Figure 1 excluding markings on the cover layer; and 20 Figure 7 shows a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of an educational countdown calendar in accordance with the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, an educational 25 countdown calendar in accordance with the invention is designated generally by 5 reference numeral 10. The calendar 10 is an advent-type calendar in which the stages of the last trimester of the human gestation period are illustrated. The calendar 10 has been specifically developed to educate a sibling on the stages of his/her mother's pregnancy and to form an early bond between the sibling and 5 the unborn child. The calendar 10 comprises a substrate 12 and a cover layer 14 which overlays the substrate 12. The substrate 12 is a flat rectangular sheet of cardboard or paper. The substrate 12 has a sequence of twenty-eight illustrations 16 printed thereon in a seven row by four column grid 18. The substrate 12 further includes an 10 illustration 20 spaced below the grid 18 of illustrations 16. The illustrations 16 are each indicative of a stage in the human gestation period in weekly intervals. For example, the illustration 16.1 at the top left corner of the grid 18, which is the first illustration in the sequence of illustrations in the grid 18, illustrates the unborn child in the womb at twenty-eight weeks before 15 birth. Twenty-eight weeks before birth is the beginning of the last trimester of the gestation period. The illustration 16.2, which is the last illustration in the sequence of illustrations in the grid 18, shows the unborn child (fetus) in the last week before birth. The illustration 20 shows the newly born child cradled in the arm of his mother with the hands of the father and sibling touching the child. 20 The illustrations 16 include captions 22.1, 22.1 and 22.3 at the top left corner, top right corner and at the bottom of each illustration, respectively. The caption 22.1 at the top left corner sets out the length of the unborn child in centimeters. The caption 22.2 at the top right corner sets out the weight of the unborn child in grams. For example, the caption 22.1 of the illustration 16.1 25 states the length of the unborn child at twenty-eight weeks as seven centimeters 6 and the caption 22.2 of the illustration 16.1 states the weight of the unborn child at twenty-eight weeks as thirty grams. Similarly, the caption 22.1 of the illustration 16.2 states the length of the unborn child at one week before birth as fifty centimeters and the caption 22.2 of the illustration 16.2 states the weight of 5 the unborn child at one week as 3500 grams. The captions 22.3 at the bottom of the illustrations 16 are a description of the physiological features of the infant shown in the illustration or may be anecdotal. The captions 22.3 are specifically aimed at education of the sibling of the unborn child to educate the sibling to understand his mother's pregnancy. For example, the caption 22.3 of the 10 illustration 16.1 reads "Heart and tummy are awake. What's to eat". Similarly, the caption 22.3 of the illustration 16.2 reads "Here I come... Ready or Not!" The cover layer 14 is a flat rectangular sheet of cardboard or paper with the same dimensions as that of the substrate 12. The cover layer 14 is fixed on top of the substrate 12. Twenty-eight windows 30 are defined in the cover layer 15 14, which are each in register with a different illustration 16. A further window 32 is defined in the cover layer 14, which is in register with the illustration 20. The windows 30, 32 are in the form of rectangular apertures. The illustrations 16, 20 are viewable through the windows 30, 32. The window 32 is dimensioned so that a photograph of the born child can 20 be inserted into the window. The cover layer 14 further includes cover portions in the form of tabs 34 which are each located in a different window 30 and two tabs 36 which are located in the window 32. The tabs 34 are rectangular. One side of each of the tabs 34 are hingedly connected to an associated window border along fold lines 25 38 and the remainder of the sides of the tabs are connected to the remainder of 7 the window border along perforation lines 40. The fold lines 38 and perforation lines 40 are more explicitly shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. In Figure 6, the cover layer 14 is shown without any applied markings. The fold lines 38 are indicated by broken lines, and the perforation lines 40 are indicated by solid 5 lines. A side of each tab 34 opposite its fold line 38 has a semicircular cutaway 39 for receiving a person's nail to peel the tab 38. The tabs are openable by peeling to reveal the illustrations 16. The tabs 36 are hingedly openable in a barn door fashion to reveal the illustration 20 viewable through the window 32. 10 The tabs 34 have indicia in the form of numerals 42 marked on their outside. The numerals 42 each indicate the week in the gestation period which is illustrated by the illustration 16 which the tab 34 covers. For example, the tab 34.1 which covers the illustration 16.1 is marked with numeral "28". Similarly, the tab 34.2 which covers the illustration 16.2 is marked with numeral "1". The 15 cover layer 14 has seven differently coloured egg shapes 35 printed below each tab 34. The egg shapes are indicative of the seven days of each week indicated by the numerals 42. The tabs 36 are marked with numeral "0" and has the writing "D-day" or "Delivery Day" marked thereon. 20 In use, the countdown calendar 10 is used in the same manner as an advent calendar. A sibling is encouraged to peel away a tab 34 for each week of his/her mother's pregnancy as the weeks count down to the day of birth. As the sibling peels each tab 34 the consecutive illustrations educating him on the gestation period is displayed. This has the positive effect of forming a bond 25 between the sibling and the unborn child even before the date of birth. The 8 sibling's mother or father can read the captions of the illustrations to the sibling to further educate the sibling and strengthen the bond. The captions are specifically written in the first person to create a sense of dialogue between the sibling and the fetus to establish a bond. Once the child is born, a photo of the 5 child is placed in the window 32 and the baby's name, date of birth, weight at birth and length at birth is recorded on the calendar 10. The calendar 10 can also be kept as a great memento. With reference to Figure 7 of the drawings, another embodiment of an educational countdown calendar, in accordance with the invention, is designated 10 generally by reference numeral 100. The countdown calendar 100 is similar to the countdown calendar 10, with the only difference being that the features of the countdown calendar 10 are electronically incorporated in the countdown calendar 100. The countdown calendar 100 comprises a portable flat panel computer 15 102, having a touch sensitive screen 104 and a wand 106. Images 108, which display the same numerals 112 as marked on the tabs 34 and 36, are displayed on the screen 104 in a grid arrangement 110 similar to the grid 18. The computer 102 is configured so that upon one of the images 108 being touched by the wand 106, the image 108 dissolves and a viewer of the screen 20 104 is presented with an image or animation of the fetus in the stage of the human gestation indicated by the numeral 112. The image/animation may be displayed on the whole of the screen 104 before it is minimized to fit in the grid 110. The computer 102 includes a memory in which the images/animations are stored and specifically the animations may be that of a fetus taken during a scan 25 (ultrasound, MRI or otherwise).

9 The Applicant envisages that the countdown calendar 100 may further include an audio system that plays the captions or other educational material to the sibling upon activation of one of the images 108. Throughout the specification, the aim has been to describe the invention 5 without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize variations from the specific embodiments that will nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention. For example, the illustrations 16, 20 may be three-dimensional models. It will be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be 10 made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. An educational countdown calendar including: a substrate having a sequence of illustrations thereon which are each indicative of a stage in the human gestation period; and a cover portion overlaying each illustration, which cover portions each have an indicium on an outside thereof which indicates the point in time in the gestation period of the illustration covered by that cover portion, and wherein the cover portions are peelable so as to reveal the illustrations.

2. The educational countdown calendar of claim 1, which further includes a cover layer which overlays the substrate, the cover layer having a number of windows defined therein which are each in register with a different illustration and through which the illustrations can be viewed, the cover layer further including the cover portions located in the windows.

3. The educational countdown calendar of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the stages of the human gestation period illustrated are stages of fetal growth in weekly intervals and similarly the indicia on the outside of the cover portions indicate weekly intervals.

4. The educational countdown calendar of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the illustrations include captions of one or more of the weight of the infant, the length of the infant, or a description of a physiological feature of the infant for the different stages being illustrated. 11

5. An educational countdown calendar as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.