Infant Pacifier Holder with Integrated Teether and Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current teething devices and pacifiers are easily lost due to their small size and discrete nature, causing distress for infants when parents or caregivers cannot quickly locate them.
Innovation Solution
A teether and pacifier holder with an elongate body, rounded lobes, and protruding teething elements, combined with a plush toy attachment that includes an internal storage pocket for a spare pacifier, allowing secure retention and easy location of both teether and pacifier.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If teething devices and pacifiers are made as separate discrete items, then they can be designed with specific functional features, but they are easily lost and difficult to locate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a teething device and a pacifier into a single integrated unit. The pacifier is attached to the teething device through a retention structure that includes a retainer portion with a front face, a back surface, and side edges. The pacifier shield is held in place by abutment against the back face and lateral edges, while the handle is retained by a latch mechanism. This merging ensures both items remain together and cannot be easily lost.
2Volume of moving object
If teething devices and pacifiers are made small for infant use, then they are suitable for the child's mouth and handling, but they become easily lost under furniture and bedding
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the small teething device and pacifier into one integrated unit with a retention structure, the patent prevents the small items from being separated and lost. The retention structure includes a retainer portion that holds the pacifier shield and handle, ensuring the small components remain together as a single unit that is less likely to be misplaced.
Solution Approach 2:
The pacifier components (shield and handle) are nested within or attached to the teething device structure. The shield is abutted against the back face and lateral edges of the retainer portion, while the handle is retained by the latch mechanism extending into the aperture. This nesting arrangement keeps the small pacifier components secured within the larger teething device framework.
3Adaptability or versatility
If teething devices and pacifiers are kept separate, then each can be optimized for its specific function, but parents must track and locate multiple items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the teething device and pacifier into a single integrated unit, allowing each component to maintain its optimized functional design while eliminating the need to track separate items. The teething lobes with protruding elements provide teething functionality, while the attached pacifier with shield and handle provides soothing functionality, all as one locatable unit.
4Reliability
If a retention structure is added to combine teether and pacifier, then loss prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retention structure is integrated into the teething device itself rather than being a separate component. The retainer portion forms part of the teething device body, with the aperture, latch, and abutment surfaces built into the structure. This integration minimizes additional complexity while achieving reliable retention of the pacifier components.
Data Source
AI summary
A teething device that is configured to retain a pacifier in a central aperture of the teething device. The teething device has a plurality of lobes at a first end, with the lobes having a plurality of nubs for teething. The aperture and latch are configured to universally retain the edges of a pacifier shield or handle such that the nipple of the pacifier may be presented to a child utilizing the device. The device may also include a plush toy attached to an attachment ledge of the teething device. The plush toy includes an internal pocket for storing a pacifier.