Patent Application
20180108262
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Child education begins as soon as a child starts observing his or her surroundings. Children's minds are very receptive during the early years of their life; it is always preferred to allow their learning to be a natural and playful process. Numerous teaching aids are available in the marketplace which advertise themselves as enhancing the development of a child's ability to understand the basics of disciplines such as language, math, and science. But yet, we see a deficiency in products which support the learning of individuals with unique learning circumstances, such as individuals suffering from neuro-degenerative diseases. The current invention discloses an innovative pliable teaching aid that is equipped accordingly to facilitate the learning of disciplines, such as sign language, English, art, science, social studies, and math.
As is common with instructional tools, they do not incorporate the improvement of motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and social interaction into the more traditional forms of teaching such as the learning of letters, numbers, shapes, symbols, and the like. Additionally, they do not combine intellectual and manipulative exercises in a manner which would reinforce both the mental and physical aspects of learning. Additionally, these tools provide little or no versatility. Thus a teaching aid that facilitates the learning of shapes generally could not also be used to teach letters, numbers, hand-eye coordination, motor control, and social interaction.
Hence there existed a long felt need for a new improved teaching aid convenient for use in teaching individuals, including those with unique learning needs, as a main teaching or supplementary tool to reinforce concepts.
The current invention disclosure discloses a hand like teaching aid that functions as an improved teaching aid for reinforcement of information in individuals, the teaching aid disclosed herein is flexible and is capable of depicting various types of symbols and signs, the human hand-like structure is incorporated by wires which supports tactile and kinesthetic learning methodologies.
The primary object of the current invention is to provide a teaching aid for individuals of different learning styles and abilities.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a versatile and colorful teaching aid well suited for arts integration into the curriculum.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a teaching aid that is capable of improving visual and memory perceptions.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a teaching aid that is compact, effective, and easy to use.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a teaching aid beneficial for occupational and educational therapists, physical therapists, teachers serving individuals of all types, including those with special needs.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art throughout the specification as hereinafter related.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
To further clarify various aspects of some contemplated embodiments of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that the drawings depict only illustrated embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using the terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.
In some preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a teaching aid beneficial for occupational and educational therapists, physical therapists, teachers, and individuals with unique learning needs. Embodiments of the invention reinforce learning of information, such as the learning of any language with a manual sign language alphabet, math, science, or art. Further, embodiments of the invention promote learning information through tactile and kinesthetic learning methodologies.
In one embodiment, the disclosed teaching aid is a representation of a human hand that is flexible and can be positioned into various types of symbols and signs used in a manual sign language alphabet. The invention contains a posing material, such as flexible wire which is enclosed in a medium representing the palm and the digits of the hand in order to allow movement of the digits and to pose, or bend, them into a desired arrangement in order to mimic an intended symbol or sign. Once posed, the digits stay in their bent configuration until changed by a user. Further, digits may be bent in any direction, both natural to a real human hand and un-natural. It is contemplated the hand may appear more abstract or simplistic than an actual human hand but will contain same five digits, that is four fingers and a thumb, as well as a range of movement of the digits substantially similar as that of a human hand.
With reference now to the drawings,
It is contemplated the apparatus 100 could be any desired color. A coloring agent such as urethane tint could be mixed completely into the castable flexible material during manufacturing. One such coloring material that could be used is known under the trademark, So-Strong®. It is further contemplated additional materials could be added to the castable material to induce a desired texture, such as sand or rocks, or characteristic such as glow-in-the-dark properties.
Further, as shown in
Further a method is disclosed for creating apparatus 100 by first creating a two-piece mold of the desired hand shape comprising four fingers, a thumb, a palm, and a wrist, using metal, wood, silicon, or other common molding materials known in the art. The two-piece mold may be comprised of silicone rubber or other desired material composition. Next a first support structure configured for posing the first, second, and third fingers; and a second support structure is configured for posing the fourth finger, thumb, and palm. The first finger may be a ring finger, the second finger may be a middle finger, the third finger may be an index finger, and the fourth finger may be a pinky finger. Both support structures are located equidistant from the top and bottom surface of the hand shape, and set centrally transverse along the length of the mold. The support structures are secured into place by any commonly known means, such as metal pins, which are subsequently removed after molding is completed. Next, the 2-piece mold is secured together ideally with clamps, a heavy weight, or clips, and an effective amount of castable material is prepared and poured into the mold. The temperature of the castable material is then maintained at a specific level for an amount of time to cure the castable material. In one case the material is kept at 73 degrees Fahrenheit for a time period of 2 hours. After the castable material has been cast, the mold is removed and any imperfections are sanded or cut down. Removal of the apparatus from the mold is done slowly and with care to reduce the changes of damage to the apparatus. Last, a securing material may be permanently or removably attached to the bottom wrist portion of the apparatus in order to anchor the apparatus to a surface, thereby allowing the apparatus to stand upright. Such contemplated securing materials are Velcro or double sided tape.
As may now be appreciated from the above description and reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention provides a teaching aid which may be utilized to reinforce the learning in students and differently-abled individuals for improving visual and memory perceptions.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-discussed embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
Provisional application No. 62/409,990, filed on Oct. 19, 2016
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62409990 | Oct 2016 | US |
