Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
2003-03-28
2004-08-10
Nguyen, Tuan N. (Department: 3751)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Miscellaneous
C004S902000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06772454
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to toilet training devices, and more particularly to an electronic training device with audible and/or visible feedback means activated when a child hits with a urine stream a sensing means for making toilet training fun and exciting for the child.
2. Description of Related Art
Toilet training children can be quite difficult especially when teaching a male child to urinate. The parent's biggest challenge is to persuade their child to use the toilet when they need to urinate. The next biggest challenge is to teach the child, particularly boys, to sanitarily use the toilet. Therefore, a toilet training apparatus should merge amusement and fin with instructional value into one simple to use device.
Various prior art patents describe targets of various sorts that are used to direct a male in where to urinate. Kreiss, U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,405, teaches a target that is designed to be fixedly attached on a rigid arm, to a urinal or toilet. Lauer, U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,850, teaches a water-dispersible foam polymer target that floats in a toilet or rests in a urinal. Henoch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,703,407, teaches a spinner-target that is attached to a toilet with a rigid mounting structure; and includes a swing arm that supports the target.
In addition to targets, the prior art also discloses the use of electronic fluid detection systems for detecting urination and responding with a musical reward. Examples include Fu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,490 discloses a toilet training device having a non-contact electrical sensor to detect urine and audio and visual rewards; Butts, U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,051 discloses a sound generating toilet training device; and Dean et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,964 discloses a child's toilet with automatic speech and tune producing capability.
Various other devices are described in additional references, including: Bramhall, U.S. Pat. No. 2,361,677 which discloses an elongated member to be secured to a toilet seat with the free end sustained within the toilet bowl and a signal means responsive to the movement of said member to produce an audible signal; and Simonsen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,308 which discloses an appliance for securing to a toilet seat containing a signal device, an actuator extending into the toilet bowl, and weight-responsive means carried by the actuator. These prior art devices have to be secured to a toilet seat, and, due to their presence, limit the normal use of a toilet.
An electronic toilet training device with audible feedback means is disclosed in Minter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,242. Minter teaches an electronic toilet training apparatus that includes a rigid support frame that supports a rotatable target. The rotatable target triggers an audible rewarding system when the child strikes the target. Also the position of these devices cannot be chosen freely but have to be placed on predetermined places on the edge of the toilet bowl and therefore limit the normal use of a toilet with this training device placed on it.
The above-described references are hereby incorporated by reference in full.
The prior art teaches various targets to training children how to urinate, and the prior art also teaches various musical devices that reward urination with music. However, the prior art does not teach a target that is adapted to be operably positioned within a toilet and electronically attached to a musical generator with a flexible insulated wire. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides a toilet training device that can be operably positioned in a toilet for sensing the urination of a person, most commonly a small male child. The toilet training device has a target sensor for sensing an impact of urine, a first suction cup for securing the target sensor to a toilet, a music box for providing a feedback, and an insulated electric wire for connecting the target sensor with the music box. The target sensor can be positioned unobtrusively within the toilet. When a user urinates, the target sensor detects an impact of the urine when hit, and the target sensor triggers music in the music box through the insulated electric wire.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a toilet training device having advantages not taught by the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a toilet training device having, a sensing means for sensing an impact of urine, a feedback means for providing a feedback, and a flexible connecting means that connects the sensing means with the feedback means such that the toilet training device can be operably installed in a toilet bowl or urinal without obstruction the normal use of the toilet or urinal.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toilet training device having a sensor that can easily be mounted on any chosen place on the toilet or urinal, and also easily moved, or removed for cleaning.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2075308 (1937-03-01), Simonsen
patent: 2361677 (1944-10-01), Bramhall
patent: 2703407 (1955-03-01), Henoch et al.
patent: 2766716 (1956-10-01), Mackey
patent: 3020528 (1962-02-01), Swanson, Jr.
patent: 3680151 (1972-08-01), Boardman
patent: 4044405 (1977-08-01), Kreiss
patent: 4162490 (1979-07-01), Fu
patent: 4707870 (1987-11-01), Glassco et al.
patent: 5008964 (1991-04-01), Dean
patent: 2699139 (1995-01-01), Mackey
patent: 5537695 (1996-07-01), Ander
patent: 5560051 (1996-10-01), Butts
patent: 5870015 (1999-02-01), Hinkel
patent: 5890242 (1999-04-01), Minter
patent: 5893178 (1999-04-01), Wosiek
patent: 5894611 (1999-04-01), Toro
patent: 6028520 (2000-02-01), Maehre
patent: 0914793 (1999-12-01), None
patent: 08000502 (1996-01-01), None
patent: WO94/17691 (1994-08-01), None
Barry Gregory Thomas
Barry Thomas Jackson
Karich Eric
Nguyen Tuan N.
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