Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61J—CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE
  • A61J17/00—Baby-comforters; Teething rings
  • A61J17/10—Details; Accessories therefor
  • A61J17/101—Emitting means, e.g. for emitting sound, light, scents or flavours
  • A61J17/1011—Emitting sound, e.g. having rattles or music boxes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61J—CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE
  • A61J17/00—Baby-comforters; Teething rings
  • A61J17/001—Baby-comforters

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a child's musical dummy of the kind set forth in the preamble of claim 1.
• EP-A1-0,185,614 and GB-A-2,231,274 disclose musical dum ⁇ mies or comforters, in which the electro-acoustic means adapted to play a suitable tune are activated by chewing action and changes in the level of ambient light, respec ⁇ tively.
• the tune-playing means are controlled - more or less consciously - by the child alone, whilst in the latter case, the operative condition of the tune-playing means depends on the level of ambient light, so that they may easily be started inadvertently, when the dummy is placed somewhere with a lower level of illumination or in total darkness, such as in a handbag.
• the object of the present invention to provide a child's musical dummy of the kind referred to initially exhibiting improved control facilities, and this object is achieved with a child's musical dummy of said kind, which according to the present invention also comprises the features set forth in the characterizing clause of claim 1.
• the operation of the tune-playing means may be controlled by simply moving the holding ring towards and away from the music position, an action that can easily be carried out by any person caring for the child, and also by the child, provided that the child's motory functions are developed to a sufficient degree.
• the present invention also relates to a method of manu ⁇ facturing a child's musical dummy according to the in ⁇ vention, and this method comprises the steps set forth in the characterizing clause of claim 5.
• Figure 1 is a side view showing the dummy in the as-muld state ready for use
• Figure 2 is an exploded view of the dummy shown in
• Figure 1 the holding ring being turned 90° to show its shape
• Figure 3 at an enlarged scale shows the music panel used in the dummy of Figure 1 prior to encap ⁇ sulation
• Figures 4-6 show various stages in the process of manu ⁇ facturing the dummy according to Figure 1.
• the child's musical dummy shown in the drawings comprises the following parts, known per se; - a shield 1 of moulded plastic material, a hollow teat 2 of rubber or rubber-like material, a holding ring 3 of moulded plastic material, and a connecting piece 4, in the assembled state shown in Figure 1 interconnecting the previously mentioned parts, so that the parts 1, 2 and 4 are rigidly interconnected, while the holding ring 3 is hinged to the connecting piece 4 so as to be movable between three positions A, B and C.
• position B may be termed a pulling position and the positions A and C rest positions - depending, of course, on the orien ⁇ tation of the dummy in the child's mouth.
• position A may be termed a music position, as in this position, it activates an electronic music-producing circuit supplying sound power to a tiny loudspeaker, to be described below.
• Position C may be termed a silent rest position, while position B as before is a pulling position.
• Embedded in the part of the holding ring 3 most distant from the connecting piece 4 is a permanent magnet 5 adapt ⁇ ed to influence the music-producing circuit, when the holding ring 3 is in the music position A shown in Figure 1.
• the music-producing circuit is part of a music panel 6 that can be seen in Figures 2-6, but not in Figure 1, as in the assembled state of the dummy shown in Figure 1, it is completely embedded in the shield 1.
• the music panel 6 shown in Figure 3 consists of a flat carrier panel 7, to which the following components are secured and interconnected by conductors drawn in heavy and thin black lines: - a battery 8 secured to the carrier panel 7 by a battery holder 9, a magnetically operable reed contact 10, a music chip 11 in the form of an integrated circuit capable of storing musical signals and, when ac- tivated by the battery 8 through the reed contact 10, to deliver these signals to a loudspeaker 12, preferably in the form of a cir ⁇ cular piezo-electric resonant disc inserted in a circular resonant chamber of the same diameter and having a narrow recess, in which the disc rests, forming an air chamber on both sides allowing the disc to vibrate and emit sound.
• the carrier panel 7 has a central hole 13 for the con- necting piece 4. Additional holes (not shown) co-operating with ventilating holes (likewise not shown) in the shield 1 may be provided to reduce the danger of choking, if the child were to get the dummy in the throat.
• the holding ring 3 is placed in the music position A - this may be done before or after in- serting the teat 2 in the child's mouth.
• the reed contact 10 Due to the mag ⁇ netic attraction from the magnet 5, the reed contact 10 will close, thus supplying power from the battery 8 to the music chip 11, the latter delivering the music through the loudspeaker 12, preferably for a period limited by suitable circuitry in the music chip 11, so that renewed activation is necessary, if more music is desired.
• the said magnetic attraction will exert a retaining force in the holding ring 3, but it is ad ⁇ visable to place the dummy in such an orientation that the holding ring 3 extends downwardly from the connecting piece 4, so that the force of gravity will contribute to holding the ring 3 in the music position A.
• Another pos ⁇ sibility is to arrange the pivot joint between the holding ring 3 and the connecting piece 4 to have a limited degree of friction, so that the holding ring 3 will remain in any set position.
• the music facility may be omitted by simply turning the holding ring 3 and the connecting piece 4 about the letter's axis relative to the shield 1, so that the magnet 5 is prevented from activating the reed contact 10.
• FIGS 4-6 illustrate the process of making the music panel 6.
• Figure 4 shows the "naked" carrier panel 7 with conductors and the requisite holes for the battery 8 and the battery holder 9,
• Figure 5 shows the components in place and inter ⁇ connected as shown in Figure 3
• Figure 6 shows the finished music panel 6 with the components 8, 10, 11 and 12 embedded in corresponding encapsulations 18, 20, 21 and 22, respectively, of which 18, 20 and 22 are also visible in Figure 2.
• the finished music panel 6 is incorporated in the shield 1, such as by placing the panel in the mould, in which the shield is cast or moulded.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Pediatric Medicine (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Toys (AREA)
• Confectionery (AREA)
• Stringed Musical Instruments (AREA)
• Seasonings (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For Music (AREA)
• Magnetic Treatment Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=8101371

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1994
  • 1994-09-30 DK DK113194A patent/DK171358B1/da not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1995
  • 1995-09-01 WO PCT/DK1995/000352 patent/WO1996010384A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1995-09-01 ES ES95930400T patent/ES2130640T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1995-09-01 AT AT95930400T patent/ATE176148T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1995-09-01 AU AU33798/95A patent/AU3379895A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1995-09-01 DE DE69507625T patent/DE69507625T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1995-09-01 EP EP95930400A patent/EP0783291B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1999
  • 1999-04-26 GR GR990401149T patent/GR3030064T3/el unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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