Patent Application
20200352828
This invention relates to an apparatus for easing irritation resulting from teething and providing the comfort of nursing for an infant.
Being an infant can be a very difficult assignment. It is well known that teething relieves the irritation that infants experience when their teeth are making their way through the infant's gumline. It is also well known that nursing (i.e., suckling) will comfort the infant when the infant is feeling unease.
There have been several prior attempts to alleviate the irritation of the infant gums. For example, traditional pacifiers such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,195,118, (the “'118 patent”), titled “Pacifier”, issued Feb. 5, 2019, to Eerden, may be inserted into the infant's mouth. When inserted into the mouth, the infant may repeatedly clamp the infant's gums onto the pacifier, thereby relieving the irritation. Unfortunately, pacifiers, such as described in the '118 patent suffer from the problem that they are easily misplaced when separated from the infant or the parent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,919, (the “'919 patent”) issued Oct. 21, 2003 to Gordon, et al., is another attempt to provide a pacifier for an infant to use during teething. The '919 patent teaches placing a pacifier in a child's toy, wherein the toy is shaped like an animal and the pacifier serves as the animal's nose. Although, placing the pacifier in a toy may increase the chances the pacifier won't get lost because the infant, or parent is more likely to remember a toy than a pacifier, the toy-pacifier suffers from the problem that it still may be lost because of the infant's lack of manual endurance. That is, after only a short period of time, the infant's hand will relax. Consequently, the invention of the '919 patent is prone to be lost, in similar manner as was described with the '118 patent above.
There have been several attempts to solve the problem of losing pacifiers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,608, (the “'608 patent”) issued Feb. 19, 1952 to Bryson, teaches a “Teething Mitten for Babies.” However, the '608 patent is complicated in design as it teaches a covering for an infant hand that includes a sheath having an outer pocket in which a filler is inserted to provide a predetermined shape to the sheath. The '608 patent is inconvenient in that the filler must be inserted prior to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,573, (the “'573 patent”) issued Jan. 13, 1995 to Wright, is another attempt to solve the problem of losing pacifiers. Accordingly, the '573 patent teaches a mitten for an infant's hand, wherein the mitten includes the upper torso of a puppet. The upper torso of the puppet serves as an infant teether. The teether includes a handle end located inside the mitten to be used for the infant to grab and hold during teething. The '573 patent attempts to solve the problem of losing pacifiers by including a wrap around the lower mitten that secures the mitten to the infant wrist. However, the '573 patent suffers from the problem that it relies on the dexterity of the infant's hand to maintain the puppet in an upright position for teething. It is well known, that an infant's hand lacks the dexterity and endurance owed to an adult hand. That is, as noted above, the infant's hand will release after a period. When the infant release the handle, the puppet will fall to the side, which makes it inconvenient to use as a teether.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0222621 A1 (the “'621 application”) to Duwellius, et al, now abandoned, teaches yet another method of providing a teether that attempts to solve the problem of losing pacifiers. The '621 application teaches an article of manufacture for biting by teething infants. The '621 application teaches a teething device constructed to affix to a mitten. The mitten is constructed to fit over the infant's hand. The mitten is then secured to the infant's hand using, for example, a strap, such as a hook and loop strap, like Velcro®.
The '621 application solves the problem of losing the pacifier because the hook and loop strap secures the mitten to the infant's hand. The hook and loop strap ensures that the mitten stays in place on the infant's hand, with little movement about the hand. Moreover, because the mitten stays in place with little movement, the teething device stays in place for easy access by the infant.
However, the '621 application is deficient in that it merely addresses teething. The '621 Application does not address the nursing problem. That is, the apparatus taught in the '621 application is not useful for comforting an infant needing to nurse or suckle. Additionally, the apparatus does not accommodate the natural location of the infant's thumb taken when the infant sucks his thumb. That is, the mitten disclosed in the '621 application forces the infant to keep the infant's hand in a cramped first position during teething. In general, when not nursing, the infant may suckle his thumb for comfort. A suitable apparatus would take into account the natural position of the infant's the thumb, such as when the infant sucks its thumb. Further still, while the '621 application addresses the issue of losing the teether as discussed above, the application does not provide a means for comforting an infant needing to suckle for comfort. In fact, the '621 application is emblematic of prior art having a teething and mitten combination. That is, these prior arts do not teach a means for the child to nurse. Moreover, the aforementioned patents, applications and similar prior art inventions do not suggest an apparatus having a teether and pacifier means in combination.
One prior art that teaches a teether and pacifier combination is taught by U.S. Patent Application No. 20070288056 (the “'056 application”) to Goldwire, now abandoned. The '056 application improves on the teachings of the '621 Application in that it teaches a mitten that combines a teether and pacifier. The '056 application teaches that a mitten is worn on the hand to facilitate the teething process. The '056 application additionally teaches the mitten includes a compartment on either side of the central axis of the mitten in which the thumb may be inserted. The mitten is secured to the hand using Velcro®, ties, straps, or elastic. In various embodiments of the '056 application, the teether may be placed on either side or the top of the mitten. To facilitate a pacifier, the user may turn the mitten inside out using the opposite side of the teether as a pacifier.
While the '056 application addresses many problems associated with the prior art, the teachings of the '056 application are deficient in that the they do not provide a teether and pacifier combination that takes into account the natural placement of the infant's thumb, such as during suckling (i.e., sucking his thumb). According to the '056 application, it teaches that a compartment may be used to accommodate the thumb. However, the compartment is on either side of the central axis of the mitten. The '056 application does not provide a mitten that takes into account the infants thumb. That is, the invention of the '056 application is not ergonomically sound in that the compartment is an open compartment on either side, which may accommodate the thumb. The '056 application does not teach or suggest the existence of a portion of the mitten specifically designed for fitting the infant's thumb. What is needed in a teething and pacifying apparatus including a portion that offers increased stability of the teething or pacifying apparatus, using for example, the thumb. Such an apparatus may include using the thumb as a stabilizing anchor in that the thumb would stabilize movement of the mitten. Such needed apparatus may be ergonomically designed to accommodate the infant's thumb.
The '056 application is further deficient in that the device must be removed from the infant's hand, and the device turned around or inside-out, to access the pacifier option of the invention. The invention of the '056 application is inconvenient in that it requires an adult's intervention to switch between teething and suckling. This requires effort and time during which the infant is experiencing discomfort. What is needed is a teething and suckling apparatus that does not require user intervention, and that will allow the infant to seamlessly switch between teething and suckling.
In addition to the above deficiencies, the prior art teething devices using a mitten are also deficient in that they do not allow for the infant's saliva to be drawn away from the teething portions of the mitten. Such a teething or suckling device would allow room for new deposits of saliva, thereby ensuring that the teething or suckling device does not become unduly moist.
What is needed is a device that combines the irritation relieving properties of a teether, with the comforting properties of a pacifier, but that also accommodates the natural position of an infant's thumb during suckling, relieves the moister build-up of the teething and suckling apparatus, and that solves the problem of losing the device.
The present invention teaches improvements not found in the prior art. It is an object of the invention to provide a device that is suitable for both comforting an infant during suckling and relieving an infant's irritation during teething. In one aspect, the present invention teaches a device that combines a teether and a sucking portion in one apparatus for use by an infant. The present invention teaches a more convenient teething and suckling apparatus, in that the apparatus taught herein includes a teething portion and a suckling portion which are simultaneously accessible by the infant.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a teething and suckling apparatus that is ergonomic in that it takes into account the natural position of an infant's thumb during suckling. It is well known, that an infant will suck its thumb to comfort itself when it is not nursing. The present invention teaches a teething and suckling device that takes advantage of this position to provide further comfort to the infant during suckling.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a teething and sucking apparatus that is secured against misplacing it. As such, in one aspect, the invention, teaches a teething and sucking apparatus that is secured to the infant's wrist to prevent losing it. In this way, the invention teaches means to ensure the apparatus so that the apparatus remains with the infant until removed by an adult.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a teething and suckling apparatus that regulates the amount of moister able to be contained on the teething and suckling apparatus. In yet another aspect, the invention teaches a teething and suckling apparatus containing a channel for releasing excess moister deposited on the outer surface of the teething and suckling apparatus.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the various embodiments of the invention described in the detailed descriptions and drawings and figures in which like numerals denote like elements, and in which:
The brief description of exemplary embodiments of the invention herein refers to the accompanying drawings, which show the exemplary embodiments by way of illustration and its best mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in enough detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized, and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, for the sake of brevity, conventional techniques of determining dimensional sizes of human body-parts, such as used when making prosthesis, will not be described herein in detail. Thus, the description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation.
With reference to
Teething and suckling apparatus 100 may include a fabric mitten 102. Teething and sucking device 104 may be affixed to a first end of fabric mitten 102. An elongated strap 126 is affixed to the fabric mitten 102 in proximity to a second end of fabric mitten 102. As described more fully below, elongated strap 126 is useful for cinching the second end of fabric mitten 102 around an infant's wrists. The cinched elongated strap 126 may be held securely around the infant's wrist using a fastener, such as, a clasp, button, hook and loop material, or other similar conventional fastener.
In one exemplary embodiment, teething and suckling device 104 may include a teething section 108. Teething section 108 may be located in proximity to a first section, A, of teething device 104. In one exemplary embodiment, first section A is located on one half of teething and suckling apparatus 100. Teething section 108 may included raised material, such as bumps 111. During use, an infant may use teething bumps 111, which the infant may use to relieve irritation of the gums.
In one exemplary embodiment, teething and suckling device 104 may include a suckling section 110. Suckling section 110 may be located in proximity to a second section, B of teething device 104. Section B may be on one half of teething and suckling apparatus 100. Suckling section 110 may include material configured to be shaped like a nipple. In one exemplary embodiment, suckling section 110 may be shaped like a human nipple. During use, an infant may use the nipple of section 111 to comfort himself. For example, the infant may suckle on the nipple until he is calmed.
Teething section 108 and suckling section 110 may be placed adjacent one to the other. That is, section A of teething and suckling apparatus 104 may be adjacent to section B of teething and suckling apparatus 104. Further still, teething section 108 and suckling section 110 are preferably on the outer surface of teething and suckling apparatus 104.
Further still, fabric mitten 102 includes a first cavity 120 for receiving human fingers therein. That is, fabric mitten first cavity 120 maybe formed to enclose the human fingers except the human thumb. Even further, fabric mitten 102 may include a second cavity 122 that is formed for receiving the human thumb. In a preferred embodiment, second cavity 122 is substantially thumb-shaped. That is, second cavity 122 is ergonomically designed to accept the human thumb. That is, second cavity 122 may be dimensionally optimized to accept the average size infant thumb. By dimensionally optimized, what may be meant is that second cavity 122 configured to accept the average human thumb.
During operation, wherein teething and suckling device 104 and fabric mitten 102 are used in combination, fabric mitten first cavity outer surface 116 may be placed into substantial abutment with a surface 109 of teething and suckling device 104 underlying teething section 108. Similarly, fabric mitten second cavity outer surface 118 may be placed in substantial abutment with a surface 113 of teething and suckling device 104 underlying suckling section 110. In this way, an infant's thumb, which has been placed into fabric mitten second cavity, is further placed into teething and suckling device second cavity 114. As noted, suckling section 110 may be nipple-shaped. Further, teething and suckling device second cavity 114 is ergonomically shaped to accept the infant's thumb. Moreover, since an infant is accustomed to sucking his thumb in lieu of the nipple, the infant will readily suckle the thumb inserted in the nipple-shaped portion of the invention.
As previously noted, and depicted in
To ensure that the elongated strap 106 remains in place, elongated strap 106 may be affixed at a first location 136 on fabric mitten 102, and temporarily affixed to a second location 139 on fabric mitten 102. In a typical example, elongated strap first location 136 is distant from elongated strap second location 139. In one exemplary embodiment, depicted in
For example, with reference to
It should be noted, that teething and suckling device 104 may be affixed to fabric mitten 102 using various conventional means. For example, teething and suckling device 104 may be affixed to fabric mitten 102 using an adhesive. Alternative, teething and suckling device 104 may be sewed to fabric mitten 102. Further still, teething and suckling device 104 may be affixed to fabric mitten 102 using snaps 114, as shown in
It is also well known that infants produce excess saliva when either teething or suckling. In such an instance, the excess saliva will build up on the outer surface of teething and suckling device 104. As shown in
During operation, material projection 152 may be used to prevent excess saliva from remaining on teething and suckling device 104 outer surface. As shown in
As shown in
It should noted, that in some instances, it may be necessary to modify the present invention, but remain within the scope of what is being taught. For example, it may be necessary for the teething and suckling apparatus 100 to be formed of a single unit. Teething and suckling apparatus 100 may be comprised substantially of the same material composition. For example, teething and suckling apparatus 100 may be an article of manufacture. Mitten 102 may be constructed of a suitable textile for making a conventional mitten or a portion thereof.
It should be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the present invention teaches a teething and suckling apparatus that allows an infant to alternately teeth and suckle without the need to remove the device from the infant's hand. The invention further teaches a more ergonomic fabric mitten that takes into account the natural position of the infant's thumb. The invention further provides means for relieving excess saliva being deposited on the teething and suckling device.
Indeed, the foregoing description has been directed to specific embodiments of this invention. However, although the invention is described having the embodiments depicted, it will be appreciated that other variations and modifications may be made to the described embodiments, with the attainment of some or all of the advantages contained therein. Therefore, it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
