GB2516646A

GB2516646A - Pacifier drinking teat

Info

Publication number: GB2516646A
Application number: GB1313434.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nicholas James Bolan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-07-27
Filing date: 2013-07-27
Publication date: 2015-02-04
Also published as: GB201313434D0

Abstract

A child's pacifier includes a removable backing plate 4 which allows the pacifier main body 2 to be attached to the mouth of a bottle by means of an internal screw thread. A collar unit 3 is assembled as a push fit over the removable backing plate 4 and has protrusions which interface with indentations in the backing plate 4 when subject to a sufficient force, enabling the components to be screwed together but allowing the backing plate 4 to rotate freely to prevent accidental removal if insufficient force is made during unscrewing. The pacifier teat 1 features an opening to allow liquid to be consumed through the pacifier when the pacifier main body is attached to a bottle. For hygienic storage, holes in the mouth guard of the pacifier drinking teat seat onto protrusions from the base of a storage case (6, Figure 3) over which a case lid (5) is attached.

Description

Pacifier Drinking Teat This invention relates to a child's pacifier which has the ability to be attached to the mouth of a bottle in order to allow the pacifier teat to assist the child in drinking liquid from the bottle.

Young children lack the ability to safely drink water or other liquids from standard commercially available bottles as the bottle mouths of those products are too wide to allow a child's mouth to create a secure seal with the mouth of the bottle. This ensures that if a young child attempts to drink liquid directly from a bottle, fluid is often spilt around the mouth of the child. In addition the child has no control over how much liquid they can suck from the bottle as the lack of a secure seal ensures that the flow of liquid from the bottle cannot be regulated by the child's natural sucking reflex.

This present invention proposes a child's soothing pacifier which features a lockable removable backing which can be detached from the pacifier main body, allowing the pacifier main body to be temporarily attached to the mouth of a bottle thus allowing a child to drink liquid from the bottle through a hole in the teat of the pacifier.

When not used as a drinking teat the backing of the pacifier can be securely re-attached to the pacifier main body creating an air tight seal, thus allowing the pacifier to be used as a sucking aid to soothe children.

In order to remain clean and well protected when not in use, the pacifier is secured to a protective casing by means of protrusions in the protective casing forming a temporary interference fit with the air holes in the mouth guard of the pacifier main body.

This invention ensures that by allowing a child to drink liquid from a bottle through the teat of the pacifier, the liquid can be consumed in a clean and regulated manner by the child.

The dual functionality of the invention ensures that when it is not being used as a drinking teat it is also able to be used as a pacifier to assist in soothing a child.

The lockable removable backing of the pacifier drinking teat ensures that when this is secured to the main bodyof the pacifier housing, an air tight seal is formed between the backing and teat allowing the invention to be used as a pacifier.

The lockable removable backing ensures that only an adult can detach the backing from the main housing to allow the invention to be used as a drinking teat. This ensures that the air tight seal is not inadvertently broken whilst the invention is being used as a pacifier by a child.

The pacifier teat and backing can detached from the main body of the pacifier allowing the invention to be easily cleaned and sterilised.

An example of the invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawings in which: * Figure 1 shows an exploded view of the main components of the pacifier drinking teat assembly.

* Figure 2 shows the assembled pacifier drinking teat.

* Figure 3 shows the pacifier drinking teat stored in a protective case.

A soft flexible teat 1 is inserted into the pacifier main body 2 so as to allow the teat to protrude away from the mouth guard of the pacifier. The teat includes a small hole at its tip so as to ensure that liquid may flow through the teat when a bottle is fastened to the main body of the pacifier.

A collar unit 3 features an exterior screw thread which mirrors that which is found on the mouth of a commercially available screw top bottle. Additionally the collar unit features a number of small protrusions around its base.

The collar unit is assembled as a push fit over the pacifier backing plate 4. When assembled the small protrusions of the collar unit are located so as to interface with a number of small indentations contained within the base portion of the backing plate. Within this push fit configuration sufficient vertical clearance is allowed between the protrusions at the base of the collar unit and the indentations at the base of the pacifier backing plate to allow the collar unit to freely rotate around the centre of the backing plate. Additionally the pacifier backing plate features a formed ring which may be assembled as a push fit over the pacifier main body so as to ensure that the pacifier backing plate is not entirely detached from the pacifier main body when this is attached to a bottle mouth.

The pacifier main body features a circular cavity which contains an internal screw thread path which mirrors that which is found on the screw top of a beverage containing bottle.

When used as a pacifier, the pacifier backing plate and collar unit assembly are screwed into the pacifier main body cavity, as this is done opposing internal frictional forces cause the small protrusions in the base of the collar unit to mesh with the small indentations in the base of the pacifier backing plate. This interaction ensures that as the pacifier backing plate is rotated, the screw thread contained on the collar unit is forced to travel along the screw thread path presented within the cavity of the main body. This action ensures that as the user continues this screwing motion the pacifier backing plate is drawn into the cavity of the pacifier main body until the point at which the internal lid of the pacifier backing plate meets the base of the teat.

The user continues this screwing action until the point at which the extremes of the screw threads are realised and the base of the teat is compressed by the lid of the pacifier backing plate ensuring that no further rotation is possible. As user pressure on the pacifier backing plate is released, the compressed base of the teat is allowed to fractionally expand causing the pacifier backing plate to move a small distance away from the base of the teat whilst the two components remain in contact. This action allows the previously meshed protrusions of the collar unit to separate from the indentations in the base of the backing plate. The opposing force of the compressed base of the teat against the lid of the pacifier backing plate ensures that in this configuration the pacifier backing plate is free to rotate without causing it to be removed from its housing within the pacifier main body, thus ensuring that these components cannot be inadvertently separated. This is achieved as the superior frictional forces between the screw thread of the collar unit and pacifier main body ensure that any rotation of the pacifier backing plate that is not subject to sufficient force to cause meshing of the collar unit and base of the pacifier backing plate is insufficient to cause the unscrewing of the pacifier backing plate/collar unit assembly from the pacifier main body.

In order to allow the pacifier to be used as drinking teal, the user applies force to the pacifier backing plate causing meshing of the protrusions on the base of the collar unit with the indentations in the base of the backing plate. When this interaction is achieved, the user is able to rotate the pacifier backing plate in the opposite direction from which it was rotated to achieve the pacifier configuration. This action forces the screw threads of the collar unit to ride against the screw threads of the pacifier main body until the point at which the pacifier backing plate/collar unit assembly is detached from the cavity of the pacifier main body. The empty cavity of the pacifier main body unit is now free to screw onto the mouth of a beverage bottle. In this configuration liquid from the bottle is now free to flow through the teat of the pacifier in order to allow a child to drink liquid from the bottle in a safe and clean manner.

In order to ensure safe and hygienic storage of the pacifier drinking teat when not in use, the mouth guard of the main body of the pacifier features a number of holes which can be interfaced with protrusions in the base of a storage case 6 causing a temporary interference fit between the pacifier and a storage case. A storage case lid 5 is able to attach to the base of a storage case by means of a temporary interference fit ensuring that the pacifier drinking teat is afforded secure protection when being stored.

Claims

Claims 1. A child's pacifier which can be used as a drinking teat by means of a removable back section that allows the main body of the pacifier to be attached to the mouth of a bottle.
2. A child's pacifier according to claim 1, in which the tip of the teat of the pacifier features a small hole or slit which allows liquid to flow through the pacifier teat.
3. A child's pacifier according to claim 1, in which the secure housing of the pacifier backing plate within the pacifier main body is achieved through a locking screw mechanism.
4. A child's pacifier according to claim 3, in which a collar unit secured about the pacifier backing plate ensures free rotation of the pacifier backing plate within the pacifier main body when no external force is applied between the two components.
5. A child's pacifier according to claim 4, in which a collar unit secured about the pacifier backing plate enables the pacifier backing plate to be removed from the pacifier main body when opposing force and rotation between the two components is applied.
6. A child's pacifier according to claim 5, in which removal of the pacifier backing plate from the pacifier main body is achieved by means of either protrusions or indentations on the base of the collar interacting with either protrusions or indentations located on the base of the pacifier backing plate.
7. A child's pacifier according to claims 4 and 6, in which the force required to ensure free rotation of the pacifier backing plate within the pacifier main body is achieved by means of the compressed base of the pacifier teat exerting a force on the lid of the pacifier backing plate.
8. A child's pacifier according to claims 3 and 7 in which free rotation of the pacifier backing plate within the pacifier main body is achieved by means of the frictional forces between the screw thread contained on the backing plate collar unit and the screw thread contained within a cavity of the pacifier main body.
9. A child's pacifier according to claim 1 in which the mouth guard of the pacifier features one or more holes which are used to retain the pacifier within a storage container.