Amusement devices: toys – Convertible from – or serving as diverse article – Including figure toy
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-09
2001-10-09
Sykes, Angela D. (Department: 3731)
Amusement devices: toys
Convertible from, or serving as diverse article
Including figure toy
C606S234000, C446S227000, C446S385000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06299501
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to a unique, wand-type holder or tool for securely supporting an infant's pacifier in use, while at the same time providing an easy to grasp extension wand as part of the holder for enabling the infant to reinforce his/her grasping skills. My pacifier holder further provides a consistent perioral stimulation, and enhances the infant's ability to control and keep the pacifier in his/her mouth for independent sucking. More particularly, my unique invention holds the pacifier near one end of the wand, and enables the infant to grasp, manipulate, and cuddle the wand along its extended length. Thus, my invention permits the infant to safely hold and manipulate the pacifier within his/her mouth by grasping and manipulating the extension wand. Moreover, by grasping and manipulating the extension wand, the infant is able to reinsert the pacifier should it fall from his/her mouth. Therefore, my invention facilitates the infant's non-nutritive sucking skills, while at the same time exercising and enhancing the infant's grasping skills. Accordingly, my invention also satisfies the infant's need for physiologic stability.
As compared with the prior art, my invention performs all of these functions with a safe, hygienic, simple, low cost, and one-piece construction.
My invention is also unique because it enhances the non-nutritive sucking of medically compromised infants who often experience oral-motor difficulties. Because conventional pacifiers easily fall from such an infant's mouth, and are difficult or impossible to retrieve by the infant, their use by medically compromised infants is often difficult. Thus, conventional pacifiers increase the medically compromised infant's frustration, rather than satisfying his/her physiological needs which is supposed to be the function of a pacifier.
My invention is further novel because it also benefits healthy infants and young children, even after the need for a pacifier is no longer required. This is so because it has the shape of an adorable and engaging animal toy, along with its ability to securely hold the pacifier. Moreover, after the infant has matured to the point where the need for a pacifier has passed, my unique overlapping tab-flap holder for the pacifier becomes the loosely flapping arms or flippers for the animal toy.
The unique overlapping tab-flap pacifier holder also functions to hold a variety of different sizes and shapes of pacifiers. Therefore, my invention is not limited to a single type of pacifier as is the prior art. Moreover, my invention facilitates the easy interchanging of pacifiers, so that a fresh and hygienically clean pacifier can always be made available to the infant. This is especially important in a hospital environment where infection control and safety are of utmost importance.
The overlapping tab-flap construction of my invention securely holds the pacifier near one end of the extended wand so that neither the pacifier nor the tab-flap construction itself can be easily worked loose by the infant in use. Thus, my holder replaces the crude, jerry built prior art pacifier holders which usually rely on medical or Scotch® tape to hold the pacifier to the holder. The use of tape to hold the pacifier in place is not only crude, it is also unsanitary and it can easily pull loose to represent a choking hazard. My device, on the other hand, is not only effective, it is hygienic and will not easily pull apart to form a choking hazard.
Further, my invention is of a simple one-piece construction so that its cost of manufacture is greatly reduced as compared with other commercial, multi-piece versions of the prior art.
My invention is manufactured from a non-allergenic, non-toxic, elastomeric material which has a soft texture, and it is flexible, long-wearing, scuff resistant, heat resistant and inexpensive. As such, my invention is also easily cleaned and sanitized by any number of techniques. For example, my invention can be sterilized in boiling water, it can be manually washed with conventional soap and water, or it can be washed with any kitchen or laundry detergent. Moreover, my invention can also be easily cleaned automatically in a dishwasher. Alternatively, my invention can be cleaned in a laundry washing machine. Therefore, my invention can be cleaned and sanitized either with the dishes or with the laundry. Finally, my invention can also be cleaned and sterilized in many of the sterilizing machines typically used in hospital environments.
2. Discussion of the Background of the Invention
For many years the use of pacifiers has been commonplace to soothe restless infants, and to satisfy their non-nutritive sucking needs. Pacifiers take several general shapes and constructions. Thus, commercial pacifiers may include different sizes and shapes for the nipple, they may have a multi-part construction, they may be of one-piece construction, they may come with or without a handle, or they may have several different types of handles.
Whether or not to use a pacifier has been at times a problem for caregivers. For example, over the years pacifiers were sometimes frowned upon by the medical and dental professions who thought that they may be harmful to the developing infant. In fact, some medical professionals who are strong advocates of breast feeding, consider pacifiers to be an “abomination.” See, Reisser et al. (Reisser), “
COMPLETE BOOK OF BABY @ CHILD CARE,
” Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Ill., 1997, page 138. Another baby book states: “Some doctors think that constant use of a pacifier can affect a child's ability to make sounds and talk.” “Many doctors recommend orthodontic-type pacifiers to minimize possible tooth-alignment problems in the future.” See,
“AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION COMPLETE GUIDE TO YOUR CHILDREN'S HEALTH
,” Traisman et al. (Traisman), Random House, New York, N.Y., 1992, pages 40-41. Other doctors maintain that putting a baby to bed with a pacifier should be minimized. They assert: “A pacifier may interfere with your child's ability to develop his or her own self-comforting techniques and the child could wake up when the pacifier falls out of his or her mouth.” See, Traisman, supra, page 57.
These professionals apparently assume that only nutritive sucking is healthy for the proper perioral and physiological development of infants. Thus, they assert that non-nutritive sucking devices are not only unnecessary, but may even cause problems for the developing infant. However, most of the medical profession, parents and caregivers have now found pacifiers to be invaluable in practice. This is because the non-nutritive sucking needs of an infant have proven to be very important to the developing infant who needs the consistent perioral stimulation and the physiological satisfaction that is provided by pacifiers. Therefore, pacifiers have proven to be very beneficial in the proper oral development of the infant. Accordingly, the use of pacifiers has expanded in the past several years.
Despite their benefits, for very young infants or medically compromised infants, pacifiers are often difficult to use in practice because, as noted by Traisman, supra, page 57, they may fall out of the very young or medically compromised infant's mouth and are not easily retrieved by the infant. This is because the grasping skills of such infants have not advanced fully. Thus, for example, when such an infant yawns or doses off, the pacifier may fall out of his/her mouth. Once the pacifier falls out of the infant's mouth, he/she may awaken with a start and become frustrated and fussy until the pacifier is reinserted by the parent or caregiver. Since the time of parents and caregivers may be limited, the constant reinserting of the pacifier into the infant's mouth has proven to be a difficult problem. Thus, over the years, there have been several proposed solutions to this problem. Many of these proposed solutions seem unworkable, but some worthwhile solutio
Droesch Kristen
Lynch Thomas E.
Sykes Angela D.
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