GB2192341A

GB2192341A - Infant's dummy

Info

Publication number: GB2192341A
Application number: GB08616908A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Daniel Mcardle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-07-11
Filing date: 1986-07-11
Publication date: 1988-01-13
Also published as: GB8616908D0

Abstract

An infant's dummy has a base portion and a teat portion extending therefrom. The dummy is constructed so that if dropped or thrown, it assumes an orientation in which the base portion is below the teat and the teat does therefore not come into contact with the ground. Also, when placed on a horizontal surface, the dummy orientates itself so that the teat portion projects upwardly, away from the surface.

Description

SPECIFICATION Infant's dummy The present invention relates to infants' dummies.

When an infant is given a dummy to suck, the infant often removes the dummy from his or her mouth and throws or drops the dummy onto the floor. Very occasionally the dummy lands with the teat not touching the ground, but more often the dummy ends up with the teat in contact with the ground. Obviously, in the interests of hygiene, it is necessary to clean the teat before the dummy can be given back to the infant. Cleaning the teat may be a repetitive and time consuming process, if the infant drops or throws the dummy onto the ground frequently, and may also be inconvenient if the infant is out-of-doors and therefore away from a fresh water supply and/or cleaning materials.

Moreover, even if water and/or materials are to hand, it is not always possible to clean the teat absolutely thoroughly, and this may result in tho transfer of infection to the infant.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dummy which when dropped or thrown will always land with its teat uppermost.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an infant's dummy comprising a base portion and a teat extending from the base portion, the weight distribution of the dummy being such that, when the dummy is dropped or thrown, it will assume an orientation in which the base portion is below the teat.

In this way, when an infant throws or drops the dummy, the dummy will land base first, and the teat will not touch the ground.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an infant's dummy comprising a base portion and a teat portion extending from the base portion, the centre of gravity of the dummy being located within the base portion.

Preferably, the centre of gravity is located adjacent to the bottom of the base portion.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an infant's dummy comprising a base portion and a teat portion extending from the base portion, the configuration of the dummy being such that, whenever the dummy is placed on a horizontal surface it orientates itself so that the teat portion projects upwardly.

In a preferred embodiment, the base is substantially lenticular or saucer-shaped, and may have a smoothly curved portion to enable the dummy to move onto a preferred portion of the undersurface of the base, e.g. into a position of stable equilibrium. The undersurface of the base may be partially flattened.

There may also be a facility for allowing the child to grip the dummy, which in one embodiment takes the form of a plurality of recessed portions in the base, and which in another embodiment takes the form of a ring hingedly attached to the base. The ring may be adapted to be received and secured in a correspondingly shaped portion of the base.

By way of example only, specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view from above, partly cut away, of a first embodiment of dummy in accordance with the present invention, in a first configuration; Fig. 2 is a perspective view from below of the dummy illustrated in Fig. 1, in a second configuration; Fig. 3 is a perspective view from below of a second embodiment of dummy in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 4 is a perspective view from above ofthe dummy illustrated in Fig. 3, partly cut away; and Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the dummy illustrated in Fig. 3.

Referring firstly to Figs. 1 and 2, the dummy comprises a plastics base portion 10 and a rubber teat 12. The base portion 10 comprises a plastics shell 14 in the form of an inverted dome with a flat apex 16, and an upper enclosing portion 18 in the form of a shallow dome. The teat 12 is secured to, and extends vertically from, the centre of the enclosing portion 18.

A plastics ring 20 is hingedly secured to the upper rim of the base 10 by means of a short plastics web 22. The upper rim of the base 10 is provided with a groove 24 which is shaped to receive the ring 20 in a press-fit manner, and in this configuration the dummy assumes the position illustrated in Fig. 2. In this way, the dummy may be used with a ring which an infant may hold, or the ring may be stored away when the dummy is not in use. The ring is flexibly attached to the base 10, which feature will be shown to be important hereinafter.

As seen in Fig. 1, a metal disc 26 is secured to the inner surface of the flat bottom 26 of the base portion 10. The metal disc 26 is much heavier than the light plastics base portion 10 and hollow rubber teat portion 12, and so when the dummy is positioned with the flat bottom 16 on the horizontal surface, the dummy will be in stable equilibrium with the teat orientated vertically upwards.

Moreover, if the dummy is dropped or thrown, the dummy will tend to assume the orientation shown in Fig. 1, with the teat 12 projecting vertically upwards and the flat bottom 16 parallel to the ground, because the centre of gravity of the dummy is within the base portion, a short distance above the bottom of the base. When the dummy hits the ground, it will have assumed the orientation shown in Fig. 1 and will contact the ground base first. Thus, the teat 12 will not come into contact with the ground. The curved portions of the shell 14 ensure that if the dummy contacts the ground at a point other than the flat bottom 16, the dummy will be urged into the orientation shown in Fig. 1 with the bottom 16 in contact with the ground.Thus, it can be seen that if an infant th rows or drops the dummy, the teat 12 will not come into contact with the ground and will remain clean and will not require cleaning. As mentioned previously, the ring 20 is flexibly attached to the base 10, so that it is easily moved out of the way anl will not prevent the base 10 from coming into contact with the ground.

A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 3 to 5. This is generally similar to that of the first embodiment, and comprises a base portion 10 in the form of an inverted holiow plastics shell 14, and a shallow domed enclosing portion 18, out of which the teat extends, the base also being provided with a flat bottom 16. Also, as in the first embodiment, a metal disc 26 is secured to the inner surface of the flat bottom 16, to give the same effect as that in the first embodiment.

However, in contrast to the first embodiment, the holding ring 20 and the corresponding peripheral groove 24 on the base portion 10 have been dispensed with, and have been replaced with four recessed portions 28, in the domed portion 14 of the base portion 10. These are designed to receive an infant's fingers so that the dummy may be gripped if desired.

As in the first embodiment, if the dummy is dropped or thrown, it will tend to assume the upright position shown in Fig. 4, with the base beneath the teat, due to the weight of the relatively heavy metal disc 26 and the light plastics and rubber construction of the rest of the dummy, and it will contact the ground base first.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments.

Claims

1. An infant's dummy comprising a base portion and a teat extending from the base portion, the weight distribution of the dummy being such that, when the dummy is dropped or thrown, it will assume an orientation in which the base portion is below the teat.

2. An infant's dummy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the centre of gravity is located within the base portion.

d An infanXls dummy as cia;med In ciam 0, wherein the centre of gravity is located adjacent to the bottom of the base portion.

4. An infant's dummy comprising a base portion and a teat portion extending from the base portion, the configuration of the dummy being such that, whenever the dummy is placed on a horizontal surface, it orientates itself so that the teat portion projects upwardly.

5. An infant's dummy as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the base is substantially lenticular or saucer-shaped.

6. An infant's dummy as claimed in claim 5, wherein the base is provided with a smoothly curved portion to enable the dummy to move onto a preferred portion of the undersurface of the base.

7. An infant's dummy as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the undersurface of the base is partially flattened.

8. An infant's dummy as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a facility for allowing a child to grip the dummy.

9. An infant's dummy as claimed in claim 8, wherein the grip facility comprises a plurality of recessed portions in the base.

10. An infant's dummy as claimed in claim 8, wherein the grip facility comprises a ring hingedly attached to the base.

11. An infant's dummy as claimed in claim 10, wherein the hinged attachment comprises a flexibie medium.

12. An infant's dummy as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the ring is adapted to be received and secured in a correspondingly shaped portion of the base.

13. An infant's dummy as claimed in claim 13, comprising a peripheral groove on the base.

14. An infant's dummy substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 or Figs. 3 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.