Amusement devices: toys – Figure toy or accessory therefor – Having means for simulating personal toilet or medical...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-24
2003-08-12
Ackun, Jacob K. (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices: toys
Figure toy or accessory therefor
Having means for simulating personal toilet or medical...
C446S297000, C434S238000, C434S266000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06604980
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention broadly relates to the field of simulated parenting. More specifically, the invention relates to infant simulators used in educational programs for educating prospective parents about the realities of parenthood and assisting in the education and training of personnel in the child-care field.
BACKGROUND
Teen-age pregnancy is an ever increasing problem. Teen-age parents, surveyed as to why they elected to have a baby, gave such reasons as “babies are so cute,” “I wanted attention,” and “I needed someone to love and love me back.” Such romantic feelings toward having a baby almost never include an understanding of the responsibilities imposed by a baby, including loss of sleep, loss of freedom, the need for constant attention, etc. Attempts to educate teen-agers about the trials and tribulations of caring for an infant and raising a child, using the traditional educational methods of lectures and readings, are rarely successful.
Some resourceful educators, realizing that traditional educational methods are inadequate, have attempted to demonstrate the care requirements of an infant by requiring students to carry a sack of flour, an egg or a plant for several days. While somewhat exemplary of the care requirements of an infant, such programs do not fairly represent the care requirements of an actual infant and have proven to be of limited success.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,190,038 issued to Kardon, U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,170 issued to Wolf, U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,899 issued to Bonanno et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,948 issued to Burks and U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,644 issued to Kelley describe dolls that will wet a diaper after being fed from a bottle. The dolls described in Kardon and Wolf each include electrical circuitry capable of initiating crying when a diaper on the doll is sufficiently wetted after being fed from a bottle, and terminating such crying upon removal of the wetted diaper. Similarly, the doll described in Bonanno et al. further includes electrical circuitry capable of initiating crying when the doll is diapered and a bottle is removed from the mouth of the doll, and terminating such crying by removing the diaper from the doll. Such dolls are not useful for educating students about the trials and tribulations of caring for an infant as the feeding and wetting cycle, with or without crying, is under control of the user. The student, unless under constant supervision by an educator, can feed and change the doll on a schedule selected by the student.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,338 issued to Wexler discloses a doll which emits a crying sound when a manually operated switch is actuated. The user must then determine which of several switches, labeled with such actions as feeding, diaper changing or back patting, will turn off the crying sound. While interesting as a plaything, this doll suffers from the same drawback as the “feed and wet” dolls in that activation of crying is under control of the user. The student, unless under constant supervision by an educator, can activate crying on a schedule selected by the student.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,911 issued to Klose et al. discloses a doll which can operate in two different modes. In a first mode, the doll emits different sounds based upon which of several switches, located at various positions on the body of the doll, is actuated (e.g., actuation of the mouth switch produces “yum-yum,” while actuation of the back switch produces “aahh”). In a second mode the doll emits a sound and the user must then determine which of the switches will turn off the crying sound and produce a satisfaction signal, such as “mommy.” The user can deactivate the doll by pressing a specified switch on the doll or simply failing to activate the proper switch within a given time period. Again, while interesting as a plaything, this doll suffers from the same drawback as the “feed and wet” dolls in that activation and deactivation of the doll is under control of the user. The student, unless under constant supervision by an educator, can activate and deactivate the doll on a schedule selected by the student.
A particularly useful infant simulator system for use in educating students about the care requirements of an infant is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,388 issued to Jurmain et al. and assigned to the assignee of this application. The patent discloses an infant simulator capable of crying at intervals, with the crying continuing until a care key is inserted into the infant simulator and continuously held in position against a biasing means for a defined time period. The crying schedule may be changed to simulate a healthy, sick or ideal infant. A tremblor may be included to cause the infant to shake at intervals for purposes of simulating a drug-affected infant. The infant simulator can also include indicators showing rough handling, improper positioning and the detection of a loud sound. The care key may include a means for securing the key to an assigned individual.
While the infant simulator described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,388 and sold under the trademark BABY THINK IT OVER® has proven extremely useful as an educational tool, a continuing need exists for an improved infant simulator capable of realistically demonstrating the variety of needs and care requirements of an infant, as well as the positive aspects of caring for and loving an infant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The infant simulator includes a variety of features designed to emulate the care requirements of an infant. The infant simulator can be designed and programmed with any combination of the described features, including the ability to selectively activate and deactivate individual features for each assignment period. The infant simulator is equipped to record and report the quality of care and responsiveness of a person caring for the infant simulator and/or signal the person caring for the infant simulator when care is required.
The features can be conveniently grouped into the categories of (i) environmental events, (ii) demand events, and (iii) ancillary features.
Environmental Events
Indirectly Induced
Temperature Sensor
Infants should not be exposed to temperature extremes. The infant simulator can be equipped with a temperature sensor capable of sensing the environmental temperatures to which the infant simulator is exposed.
In a first embodiment, the infant simulator is further equipped with a system for recording and reporting the sensed temperature. In a second embodiment, the infant simulator is further equipped with a system for generating a perceptible thermal exposure signal when the sensed temperature falls above or below a defined acceptable temperature range. A preferred embodiment combines both the recording/reporting and signaling systems so that the person caring for the infant simulator is advised when the environmental temperature has reached an unacceptable level, and the recorded information can be reviewed by a program administrator upon completion of the assignment.
Smoke Detector
Infants should not be exposed to smoke. The infant simulator can be equipped with a smoke detector capable of sensing environmental smoke from such sources as a bonfire, fireplace, cigarette, cigar, or pipe.
In a first embodiment, the infant simulator is equipped with a system for recording and reporting instances of detected exposures to smoke. In a second embodiment, the infant simulator is equipped with a system for generating a perceptible smoke exposure signal when smoke is detected. A preferred embodiment combines both the recording/reporting and signaling systems so that the student caring for the infant simulator is advised when smoke is detected and the recorded information can be reviewed by a program administrator upon completion of the assignment.
Sunlight Sensor
Infants should not be exposed to direct sunlight. The eyes of an infant cannot accommodate the intensity of direct sunlight, nor can the skin of an infant withstand any significant exposure to the sun without irritating the skin. The infant simulator can be equipped with a light sensor capable of s
Blackledge Larry P.
Jones Douglas B.
Jurmain Mary M.
Jurmain Richard N.
Oium Sheila Rae
Ackun Jacob K.
Realityworks, Inc.
Sherrill Law Offices PLLC
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