EP1240886A1

EP1240886A1 - Soother

Info

Publication number: EP1240886A1
Application number: EP01106645A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Meya Louis-Philippe Lerible Yamada
Original assignee: Robert Schmitz AB
Current assignee: Robert Schmitz AB
Priority date: 2001-03-16
Filing date: 2001-03-16
Publication date: 2002-09-18

Abstract

The present invention relates to a soother comprising a shield (3), a teat (2) projecting from the first side of the shield (3), and a handle (7) arranged at the second side of the shield (3), said handle being pivotable about at least one axis (A). The soother is characterized in that said handle (7) comprises at least two extending portions, each extending radially away from said axis, so that the handle is pivotable between a first position, in which a first of said extending portions is in contact with the shield (3), and a second of said extending portions is separated from the shield (3), and a second position, in which the second extending portion is in contact with the shield (3), and the first extending portion is separated from the shield (3).

The handle according to the invention is thus arranged so that at least a part of it always is separated from the shield, making it more difficult for a child to insert the soother wrongfully into the mouth.

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a soother comprising a shield having a first and a second side, a nipple/teat projecting from the first side of the shield, and a handle arranged at the second side of the shield, said handle being pivotable about at least one axis.

Technical background

A problem with soothers, also known as pacifiers or babies dummies, is the potential risk of the child intentionally or by accident inserting the soother into the mouth wrongfully, i.e. lengthwise with the shield sideways. When this happens, the shield looses its important function of hindering the soother from entering the mouth completely, and in the worst scenario, the soother my become stuck in the mouth of the child.
Although not a great problem historically speaking, the risk has become more accentuated as the soothers now are more streamlined and the shield is often convex, thereby conforming to the mouth of the child. Especially soothers with an oval shape, intended to be oriented across the mouth of the child and formed according to the cheek, are more easily inserted into the mouth lengthwise.
Measures have been taken in order to prevent any harm to come from this type of incident. For example, soothers must today be provided with through holes of a specified size in the shield, to ensure that a child can breathe even if a soother is stuck in the mouth.
An important feature of the soother in this context is the handle attached to the shield. One reason for providing a soother with such a handle is to enable an adult to get hold of a soother stuck in the mouth of a child. The handle is normally in the form of a ring, and its size is carefully adapted to provide as good gripability as possible, without being excessively large, as this can cause other problems.
Conventional ring handles are arranged on the shield, and can be folded around an axis crossing the shield. In its folded position, the ring normally lies essentially in the plane of the shield, and protrudes outside the rim of the shield, in order to provide a good grip. However, if a soother is stuck in the mouth of a child, it is not certain that the ring is folded outwards, but can just as likely be folded inwards, facing towards the throat. In this case, the ring provides no advantage, and the soother must be gripped by the shield.

Summary of the invention

An object of the invention is therefore to overcome the above problems, and to provide a soother which reduces the risk of becoming stuck in the mouth.
According to the invention, this and other objects are achieved with a soother of the type mentioned by way of introduction, wherein said handle comprises at least two extending portions, each at least partially extend radially away from the axis, so that the handle is pivotable between a first position, in which a first of said extending portions is lowered towards the shield, and a second of said extending portions is raised away from the shield, and a second position, in which the second extending portion is lowered towards the shield, and the first extending portion is raised away from the shield.
The handle according to the invention is thus arranged so that at least a part of it always is separated a distance from the shield. This is contrary to a conventional ring handle, which is pivotable between two end positions, both in which the ring is completely folded against the shield.
The handle according to the invention, on the other hand, functions much like a seesaw, pivoting around an axis connected to a central portion of the handle. The handle thus extends on both sides of the axis, transversely away from it, so that if one of the ends is pressed towards the shield, the other is forced away from it.
This handle makes it more difficult for a child to insert the soother wrongfully into the mouth, as the handle always extends out of the plane of the shield. A child trying to wrongfully insert the soother into the mouth will experience great difficulties, as at least one of the extending portions will abut against the mouth. If the extending portion directed towards the mouth is separated from the shield, the cross area of the soother in this end will be too great to insert the soother into the mouth. If, on the other hand, the extending portion directed towards the mouth is in contact with the shield, the soother can only be inserted a short distance, before the other extending portion abuts against the mouth. In this position, the pivoting motion of the handle is restricted, as the first extending portion is inserted into the mouth and abuts against the roof of the mouth.
On the other hand, the extending portion of the handle will, thanks to the pivoting arrangement, fold away if a child rests his/her head against i.e. a pillow while sucking on the soother.
The extending portions are preferably curved away from the shield, giving the handle a convex shape. This further increases the distance between the shield and the protruding extending portion of the handle. Even if the soother is inserted into the mouth, to a position where the extending portions abut against the roof of the mouth, the shield is thus separated from the roof of the mouth, thereby ensuring a free way of passage for air.
According to a preferred embodiment, the shield portion has an elongate shape, and the pivoting axis extends across the narrow section of this shape. In this case, the shield shape itself limits the possible ways to insert the soother into the mouth, and the pivoting handle is arranged to eliminate the remaining possibilities. Also, the shape of the shield may in itself invite the child to insert the soother wrongfully, thus making the handle according to the invention even more advantageous in this case.
The handle can have the shape of an ellipsoidal, not necessarily circular, loop, wherein said axis connects two opposite points along said loop, and wherein said extending portions are formed by sections of said ellipsoidal loop on either side of said axis. The handle hereby forms two half rings, with one of the half ring shapes always extending out from the shield surface making it easy to grip.
The handle can be pivotably connected to a projection on the second side of the shield. This is a simple way to design the soother.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the handle comprises at least two parts, each forming one of the extending portions. This gives the handle further flexibility, and enables a design where the two parts interact to perform the desired motion. For instance, movement of one part may result in a greater movement of the other.
According to yet another embodiment, the handle is pivotable about two axis, substantially perpendicular to each other. The handle can be connected along one axis, which is turnable between different positions, or the handle can be attached at just one point, giving it full freedom to pivot in all directions.

Brief description of the drawings

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the preferred embodiments more clearly described with reference to the appended drawings.
Fig 1-2 are perspective views of a soother according to a first embodiment of the invention.
Fig 3a-c are side views of the soother in fig 1 in three different positions.
Fig 4 is a perspective view of a soother according to a second embodiment of the invention.
Fig 5 is a perspective view of a soother according to a third embodiment of the invention.
Fig 6 is a side view of a soother according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.
Fig 7 is a perspective view of a soother according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

In fig 1-2, a soother according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention is showed. The soother 1 in fig 1 has a rubber teat 2 projecting out of one side of a hard plastic shield 3. The teat 2 has a slightly flattened shape that gives it a preferred orientation in the mouth of an infant using the soother. The shield 3 has a shape adapted to the form of the face of the infant, more specifically by having a slightly elongate, almost ellipsoidal shape, intended to be oriented across the mouth of an infant using the soother. The shield 3 is also curved, in order to more closely rest against the lips and mouth of the infant. The combination of teat and shield shape results in the soother almost always aligning itself in the desired way in the mouth of the infant. The shield 3 is also provided with a plurality of elongate holes 4, in a manner known per se. The shield 3 is also provided with elongated depressions 4a to decrease the contact area against the face of the child and thereby help to prevent skin irritation.
On the other side of the shield 3, opposite of the teat 2, an essentially cylindrical protrusion 5 is formed, having two basic functions. First, the protrusion 5 acts as a fastening means for the teat 2, securing it to the shield 3. Secondly, the protrusion 5 is provided with means 6 for connecting a handle 7 to the shield 3, and allowing the handle 7 to pivot around an axis A. In the showed example, where the shield 3 is elongate, the axis A is oriented across the narrow part of the shield 3, making the handle pivotable in the longitudinal direction of the shield.
In a preferred embodiment, the connecting means 6 comprise recesses in opposite sides of the protrusion 5, cooperating with protrusions in the handle 7, but this relationship could easily be the opposite. Also other connecting means are possible, including of course a bore penetrating the entire protrusion.
The handle 7 is shaped with two extending portions 7a, 7b, extending radially from the pivoting axis in different directions. These directions can, as is the case shown here, be oriented essentially 180 degrees apart, i.e. the part of the handle 7 closest to the pivoting axis A lies in essentially one plane (referred to as P in figs 3a-c). This is however not necessary, and good results may be achieved with differently shaped extending portions 7a, 7b forming other angles with each other.
Further, the handle 7 is ring-shaped and slightly ellipsoidal, with the pivoting axis A dividing the ring into two equal portions. Further, as is clear from fig 3, each half ellipse 7a, 7b is curved away from the shield, giving the ring a convex shape. As mentioned above, the shield 3 is curved in the opposite way, enhancing the convex relationship between the two.
Fig 3 shows the soother in figs 1-2 with the handle in three different positions. In fig 3a, the portion 7a is in contact with the shield 3, while the portion 7b is separated from the shield 3. In fig 3b, the handle is pivoted to an intermediate position, with both portions 7a and 7b at equal distance from the shield 3. The plane P is thus essentially tangential to the shield 3 below the axis A. In fig 3c, finally, the handle is further pivoted, so that portion 7b is in contact with the shield 3, and portion 7a is separated from the shield 3.
Several modifications of the above described embodiment are possible, and other preferred embodiments are shown in figs 4-7.
The soother in fig 4 has a twisted "eight-shaped" handle 17, pivotable around the axis A. Just as the handle 7 in figs 1-2, the handle 17 has two extending portions 17a, 17b which alternately can contact the shield 3 or be separated from the shield 3. In this case, however, the extending portions 17a, 17b are joined by a third portion 17c, passing above the protrusion 5. The portion 17c makes it even more difficult to insert the soother wrongfully into the mouth.
The soother in fig 5 has a "spider-shaped" handle 27, where each extending portion 27a, 27b is in the form of four "legs".
The soother in fig 6 has a two-part handle 37, each extending portion 37a, 37b being a separate element, pivotable about a separate axis A', A''. The elements cooperate with means of a link element 38 attached to one of the extending portions 37a, so that when this extending portion 37a is forced towards the shield 3, the link element 38 pushes the other extending portion 37b away from the shield.
The soother in fig 7 has a handle 47 with four extending portions 47a-d, and the handle is arranged to be pivotable about at least two axis A, B. Alternatively, the handle 47 is turnable, so that it can be pivoted in any direction. The basic principle is however the same as above: when one portion of the handle is forced against the shield, another is forced from it, making the soother difficult to insert into the mouth.

Claims

A soother comprising a shield (3) having a first and a second side, a teat (2) projecting from the first side of the shield (3), and a handle (7, 17, 27, 37, 47) arranged at the second side of the shield (3), said handle being pivotable about at least one axis (A), characterized in that said handle (7, 17, 27, 37, 47) comprises at least two extending portions (7a, 7b; 17a, 17b; 27a, 27b; 37a, 37b; 47a-d), each extending at least partially radially away from said axis, so that the handle is pivotable between a first position (fig 3a), in which a first of said extending portions (7a; 17a; 27a; 37a; 47a) is lowered towards the shield (3), and a second of said extending portions (7b; 17b; 27b; 37b; 47b) is raised away from the shield (3), and a second position (fig 3c), in which the second extending portion (7b; 17b; 27b; 37b; 47b) is lowered towards the shield (3), and the first extending portion (7a; 17a; 27a; 37a; 47a) is raised away from the shield (3).
A soother according to claim 1, wherein said extending portions (7a, 7b; 17a, 17b; 27a, 27b; 37a, 37b; 47a-d) are curved away from the shield (3), giving the handle a convex shape.
A soother according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shield portion (3) has an elongate shape, and wherein said axis (A) extends across the narrow section of said shape.
A soother according to claim 1 - 3, wherein the handle (7) has the shape of an ellipsoidal loop, wherein said axis (A) connects two opposite points along said loop, so that said extending portions (7a, 7b) are formed by sections of said ellipsoidal loop on either side of said axis.
A soother according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a protrusion (5) on the second side of the shield (3), to which protrusion the handle (7, 17, 27, 37, 47) is pivotably connected.
A soother according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle (37) comprises at least two parts (37a, 37b), each forming one of said extending portions.
A soother according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said extending portions (17a, 17b) are joined by a third portion (17c) passing above the axis (A).