GB2240723A - Baby pacifier - Google Patents

Abstract

A baby pacifier comprises a nipple N, flange F and handle H which is pivotally adjoined to a housing D. The nipple is "enclosed" or "exposed" when it is rotated about the pivot system situated diametrically on the flange and the rim of a substantially semi-spherical housing means (dome D in this example). A lug and socket "latching" and "unlatching" system is used to keep the pacifier stable in the two desired positions i.e. "ready to use" position or "stored" position. The gripping means (handle H in this example) can be various configurations. <IMAGE>

Description

MULTIPURPOSE BABY PACIFIER AND CASE COFEINATION This invention relates to a multipurpose baby pacifier with casing keeping hygiene and convinience in mind.

Through the years, a number of pacifier devices have been used and r Id Out of the wide variety of designs the most popular is of the type having a nipple of rubber or rubber like material projecting in one direction perpendicular from a guard flange and a handle (of various designs)in the other direction at normally 1800 to the "nipple". The nipple's size and shape is adapted to be received comfortably in the infant's mouth and upon sucking this resilient nipple the baby acquires a soothing feeling thus pacifying the baby.The size of the flange is large encugh to prevent the baby swallowing the device and small enough for the baby to be comfortable while utilising the "pacifier"or "soother"(or baby's dumny as known in Great Britain.) By the sheer nature of it's use the pacifier becomes moistened, sometimes sticky and thus is susceptible to gathering dirt,dust,fluff and other contaminations. In normal use the pacifier is removed from infant's mouth and returned for continued pacification after a short period of time. Likewise, undesirable contaminations may be introduced into the infant's mouth. Thus, a means of isolating these undesirables from the pacifierwhen not in usewould vital. In many instances, those caring for delicate infants may need to remove the pacifier from the intant's mouth for a prolonged period of time.

for example during travel,whilst the infant is asleep,and during other outings,etc This problem of cleanliness and sanitation for the pacifier when not in use has been tackled by various practitioners and inventors using different shielding devices. Amongst these are: Russell J.W U.S.Patent No. 4,819,641 (1987) Ryan K.A U.S.Patent No. 4,417,613 (1982) Roundtree J U.S.Patent No. 3,129709 (1964) Hoover F. U.S.Patent No. 2,860,639 (1958) While such prior art structures provide effective shields in many forms for SIICII a ,aci.ier, they remain however, lacking in meeting the need of the infant

and the motheThe mother looks for convenience in the hectic life of baby minding and the chid looks for a colouful toy to play with.It is the object of the present invention to provide a protective and sanitary case for the pacifier which will enclose the nipple(N) completelyand. can also act as a toy during non-use. The shield or the case(called the dome (D) in the present invention)can be Kept attatched to the pacifier even during pacification, hence avoiding the inconvenience of looking for it if misplaced,The dome (D) and the pacifier can easily be seperated from each other if desired, e.g for washing or if the baby finds it heavy or uncomfortable. The present invention is designed to be free of any hazardous features enabling safe baby use in every mode of use.The design is also made as simple as possible for it to be fabricated economically in large titnibers. It is pointed out that various details of design and construction may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of this present invention.

TECHNICAL FEATURES The present invention comprises of the flange(F) of the pacifier pivoted onto a hemispherical dome (D).The radius of the dome (D) is only slightly larger than the radius of the flange(F) so that the flange (F) is pivoted into the edges of the dome(D) diametrically. Hence, the axis of rotation also runs al ong this diameter. The flange(F)rotates freely around this axis of rotation as illustrated in figure 2.

As shown in figure 1 when the nipple is at 90' to the axis of rotation it is: a) completely outside the dome(D) see fig 1(A) i.e exposed fully in the "ready to use" state.

or b) completely shielded inside the dome (D) see fig 1 (d), i.e enclosed fully in the "non-use" state.

The pivot is a simple state of the art design using modern plastic moulding technique. At these two axial points that acts as the pivot the flange protrudes slightly (pl,p2)which fits in perfectly into the compatibly designed socket in the plastic dome (D) as shown in fig 4.

When the pacifier is in the "ready to use" state (see fig 1 (a) it is desired that this state is kept stable during the pacificationi.e the flange(F) is desired to be free of any rotation. Semilarly in the" non-use" state it is desired that the flange (F) is free of any rotation during this state (see fig 1 (d). The design requires that the flange(F) and the dome (D) stay locked into the desired position during these two states.

Presently, only a few ways of-acheiving this are presented for illustration.

The present invention will be fully and cor..pletely understood with it's objectives and advantages made apparent from the accompanying drawings which are "self explanatory". Their detailed description will make clear the versatile utilization of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Fig.l Schematic representation of the principle of the present invention.

The following apply: N- Nipple H- Handle B- Ball S1- Slot 1 F- Flange D- Dome CC- Angle of rotation P- Pivot Note: i) The line of sight (eye position) is on the axis of rotation which runs through pivot(P).

ii) The slashed lines represent the components of the pacifier inside the enclosure of the dome (D). The solid lines represent the fully exposed components.

iii) S1 and-S2 are not visible in tYs drawing.

Fig.lxa) The nipple(N) fully exposed i.e "ready for use"state. The ball(B) on the flange (F) is securely "snapped into"the slot(Sl).

Fig.l(b) The ball (B) has been "snapped out" of slot(Sl)and the flange (F) bas gone through a rotation of angle (clockwise) about the pivot (P).

Fig.l(c) The angle of rotation is 90 Fig.l (d) The angle of rotation is 180. The nipple (N) is fully enclosed in the dome (D). i.e "non-use" state. The ball(B) is securely "snapped into" the slot(s2). In this position the nipple (N) is enclosed and isolated,hence cannot be used. Only the handle (H) is exposed.

Fig.2 The pacifier with a long handle (H) in "ready to use" state.

The following apply: H- Handle D-Dome B-Ball Pl,P2 - Pivots PN - Plastic Nut N - Nipple S -Slot OC- Angle of rotation FT - Flange Thickness SC - Screws for PN Z - direction of movement of PN during screwing and unscrewing SD - Slit in dome for the handle (H) to slide in and out of the dome (D) about axis of rotation.

ID - Inside of dome (D) that is visible VF - The only visible part of flange (F) Note: i) All features are rounded to avoid hazardous protrusions or sharp edges.

ii) The handle (H) is longer than the radius of the dome (D) iii) A simple "click in" design can also be employed instead of PN acheiving this same result i.e stabil zation of this "ready to use" state.

iv) This "ready to use" state is achieved by sliding the handle (H) through SD into this desired position and then stabilized by screwing PN along "Z" so that it nests in the trough (T) securely. This process has to be reversed to take the pacifier out of this "ready to use" state.

Fig. 3 Basic features of the flange (F) used as example in this invention The following apply: NH -Place where nipple(N) and handle (H) are affixed to flange (F) B - Ball for slots S1 and S2 P1 and P2 - protrusions out of the flange (F) for pivot system.

Fig. 4 Cross-sectional view along the flange (F) illustrating the pivot-system The following apply: DW - Dome wall S - Spacing cA - Angle of rotation F - Flange P1,P2 - Pivot system Note: The protrusion (P1 and P2) out of the flange (F) lock into the sockets designed in the dome wall to form the illustrated pivot system (P1 and P2).

Fig.5 Schematic representation of the ball (B) "snapping in" into the slot (S) The following apply; F - Flange DW - Dome wall oC - Angle of rotation P - Pivot system B - Ball S - Slot Note: The line of sight ( eye of observer) is co-linear to the axis of rotation which nines through P.

Fig 5 a) The flange (F) approaching the dome walltDW) Fig 5 b! With the force applied towards the dane (D) the state of the art ensures that the ball (B) pushes the dome wall (tW) outwards making space for the flange (F) to slide through comfortably.

fig 5 c) The ball (B) "snaps in " into the Slot (S) and nests perfectly in it.

With a bit extra force in the opposite direction to the force shown, the process can easily be reversed.

Fig.6 The ball-like structure achieved using long-handle pacifier (for toys) The following applies: N,H,B,F, same as previously PN - Plastic nut Pl,P2 - pivot system SC - Screws for PN D1 - Dome D2 - Additional dome to complete the spherical structure.

Z - direction of movement of PN SD - slit in the domes (Dl and D2) for the handle (H) to slide into and out of about it's axis of rotation (shown) ID - Inside of the domes (Dl and D2) that Is visible.

VF - The only visible part of flange (F) FT - flange(F) thickness EJ - Equitorial line that joins the two domes (D1 and D2) T - Trough Note:(f)The protrusions (P1 and P2 ) and the sockets that form the pivot system (Pl and P2 ) > as shown in fig. 4,keep. the flange (F) intact to Dl.

(ii) The plastic nut (PN) once nested in the trough (T) of D2 keeps D2 intact to Dl thus forming the spherical structure.

Fig. 7 Small handle pacifier in "ready to use" state.

The following apply: N,H,&alpha;, Pl1 P2,S1,S2, same as earlier B1 - ball on the flange(F)

B2 - Additional ballyat the other end of the flange (F) from Bl.

Note: i) Nipple (N.) is fully exposed e "ready to use" state.

ii) The state is made stable by virtue of the two balls (B1 and B2 ) being snapped in into the slots Sl and S2 respectively.

Fig. 8: The ball like structure achieved using small handle pacifier (for toys) The following applies: N,H,&alpha;,P1,P2,S1,S2- same as earlier Bl - ball on the flange (F) as before B2 - Additional ball diametrically at the other end o; the flange (F) fromB1 D2 - Added dome to complete the spherical structure.

SM - "Snap in" mechanism to secure hold the handle (H) RM - Release mechanism for releasing the handle (H) from SM.

Note: i) Te handle (H) is now turned by 18 about the axis of rotation from fig.7 The nipple is fully enclosed i.e "non use state" ii) The state is made stable by virtue of the two balls (Bl and B2) being "snapped in" into the slots S2 and S1 respectively.

iii) By virtue of the design of the small handle it locks into the "snap in" mechanism(SM) and is thus held tightly secured. This keeps the added dome (D2) intact to D1, thus forming the spherical structure.

iv) The release mechanism (RM) can be designed to be inconspiciously hidden in D2 and upon activation would release SM. A schematic representation is shown in fig. 8. A number of designs to achieve this "hold" and "release" mechanism for the small handle (H) are possible.

Now that the basic principle of the invention is understood let us consider the versatility of the design and the different configurations of it's uses.

i. When the dome(D) is detached: This can be easily accomplished by pulling the two protrusions of the flange (F) out of their respective sockets of the pivot system (pl and P2 ), see fig.3 & The spacing S (fig.4), the natural property of "elasticity" of the plastic material of the dome (D) and the state of art accounts for the dome(D) becoming detached from the flange (F) without any permanent damage. Like so, the device can be used as a "conventional pacifier." Care must be taken that all features are designed harzard free. See figure 3.

The flange (F) can have holes designed in it for optimising the following benefits: a) reduces the weight of pacifier b)uses less plastic hence it will be cheaper to manufacture.

c) it can be easily cleaned and sterilized.

d) baby can breathe easily e) easy pacification for babies with deformed face structures.

2. When the dome (D) is attached: As in figure.2 in the "ready to use" state of the pacifier it can be used for baby pacification. When in the "non-use" state it can be used as a toy.

A few obvious examples are: a) When designed to accairnodate beads in the dome(D) area or in the handle(H) or in the flange(F) it becomes a rattle. The hankie (H)should be designed for easy and appropriate hold.

b) When something is drawn,painted or glued on the outer surface area of the dome(D) the device is given the appearance of being something that is roundish in the shape of e.g a face,an orange etc.

3. When another matching hemisphere of the domes) is added on; This is also acheived easily as illustrated in figure 6.28This gives the device the shape of a complete spherical ball-like structllre.-This adds a completely new dimension to the type of toys possible.For example complete face,football, be a This ball-like structure may A part of a much larger toy .e.g the pacifier can be enclosed inside the face(ball-like structure)which is attatched to the larger body via a thin neck. Thus, the doll can easily include arms and legs without interfering with the stored pacifier.

N.B It is pointed out that if the pacifier is to be brought back into the "ready to use"statethis added matching hemisphere of the dome(D)has to be removed first.

4) Different design configurations of the handle(H): The handle (H) -as shown in figure 1, can be designed for different purposes as: a) long han'le: to be used as a rattle and other toys as explained in section 2V b) small handle: for the device to have less weight

c' ring: for the baby to grab easily

d) a small bottle: for when the baby requires liquid intakes of very small quantities e.g medicines, vitamins etc- especially over a long period of time.

e9 musical box housing: for pacifying the baby with sweet music f) light source housing: for pacifying the baby if the baby demonstrates a likeness to it. Sometimes preferred sincedue to the light the device can easily be located in the dark during the night.

g) waving a hanging source at it's end: for hanging the pacifier during "non use" and in certain cases the pacifier is hung(or attached) in specific manner during pacification.

5) Design of the flange(F) and the dome(D) As pointed out in section 1 the flange (F) and the dome (D) can be designed to have holes of different shapes to assist in: a cleaning adn sterilization the pacifier b)reducing the weight of the pacifier c)using less plastic material hence reducing the cost of production di breathing during pacification e) accomodating the needs of the babies with special requirements due to runny nose,bleeding gums and other facial abnormalities. The flange(F) can also be designed to be a chin rest.

N.B What happens if the nipple(N) is longer than the radius of the dome (D)? In this case the nipple(N) willlhave to bend in order to enter the dome enclosure. It is advised that the nipple(N) is made from a very resilient rubber like substanve which on undergoing a physical change such as bending would easily return to it's initial position and physical condition without any permermanent deformation once the force responsible for this bending is removed. A track can be easily designed in the interior of the done(D)to assist the nipple (N) to bend and slide in and out without difficulty.

Claims (1)

1.A pacifier comprises of a nipple, a flange a housing means and a gripping means in which the flange is pivotly secured to the housing means. The flange also has a latching means to be latched or unlatched into the desired positions.

2.As in claim 1 the housing mean is of a general semi-spherical form.

3.s in claim 1 and claim 2 pivots are diametrically positioned in the flange and the housing means,for flange rotation.

4.As previously claimed the flange and housing means include latching means.

5.As in claim 4 the latching means comprises of a lug and socket combination.

6.As in claim 5 the lug in the latching means is substantially round.

7.s previously claimed the housing means is made from a resilent material that is plasic in nature.

8.The gripping means , as in claim 1, comprises of a handle of various shapes.

9.As in claim 8, the gripping means is grips designed in the housing means and not only a handle connected to flange.

10.As in claim 2 the nipple is rotated about the pivots in order to be completely exposed from the housing means or completely enclosed in the housing means.

1 s in claim 4, claim 5, claim 6 the latching means locks into the desired positions and unlocks out of the desired positions without any permanent deformation.

12.As in claim 11 the desired positions maybe when nipple is completely exposed for ready to use" position and when nipple is completely enclosed inside the housing means for ZstoredZ position.

13.As in claim 11 the latching means is made from a resilient material.

14.As in claim 12 the invention maybe used as a toy when in "stored* position. The gripping means is attached onto the flange and the toy component is built onto the housing means.

15.As previously claimed the other substantially semi-spherical structure is connected on to achieve a complete sphere-like object.

16.As in claim 15 the sphere-like object is the basic building block of a toy, thus enabling the hidden pacifier and the housing means being used by the baby to play.

17.As previously claimed various details of design and construction may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention