Solid Shaft Pacifier Teat Preventing Frontally-Open Bite
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pacifiers with hollow-body teat elements often cause a frontally-open bite in infants due to the inability to fully close the teeth rows, as the teat design results in a mal-position of the teeth during use.
Innovation Solution
A pacifier design featuring a solid-walled shaft with a convex, annular or closed-walled teat body that mimics the contour of a hollow-body teat, providing a thin wall thickness for comfortable jaw contact and elasticity, along with massage and cleaning elements like knob-shaped pins, and a ventilation channel for pressure equalization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a hollow-body teat element is used, then a suction feeling is achieved, but the teeth rows cannot be fully closed causing a frontally-open bite
Solution Approach 1:
The teat element is divided into two distinct parts: a solid shaft portion that contacts the teeth and jaw to enable proper bite closure, and a hollow teat body portion that provides the suction feeling. This segmentation allows each part to fulfill its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the teat element have different structural properties: the shaft region is solid to provide structural support and enable teeth closure, while the teat body is hollow to provide elasticity and suction feeling. This local differentiation of quality resolves the contradiction between these opposing requirements.
2Shape
If a solid-walled shaft is used, then the wall thickness can be reduced for comfortable jaw contact, but the suction feeling is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The teat element is segmented into a solid shaft portion and a hollow teat body portion, allowing the shaft to have minimal wall thickness for comfortable jaw contact while the hollow teat body maintains the suction feeling through its elastic deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft region is designed with solid construction and reduced wall thickness for comfort and anatomical fit, while the teat body region maintains hollow construction to provide the necessary elasticity and suction sensation locally where needed.
3Strength
If a hollow-body teat with double-wall design is used, then structural strength is achieved, but the wall thickness is limited downwards in the contact region
Solution Approach 1:
The teat element is segmented into a solid shaft and hollow teat body, eliminating the need for a double-wall design in the shaft region. This allows the shaft to achieve sufficient strength with minimal wall thickness, as it does not need to withstand suction forces like a hollow structure would.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a hollow double-wall design throughout the entire teat element, the invention inverts the approach by using a solid single-wall shaft where structural support is needed, and reserves the hollow design only for the teat body where elasticity and suction feeling are required.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design prevents a frontally-open bite while maintaining a suction feeling similar to hollow-body teats, ensuring proper bite alignment and providing effective massage and cleaning for the infant's teeth.
Implementation Method 1
the convex teat body (9) forms a cavity (10) which, when a suction is being applied by the child, deforms elastically
Implementation Method 2
a ventilation channel is provided which extends from the cavity of the closed-walled teat body across the shaft to the outer side of the shield
Data Source
AI summary
A pacifier with a shield and a teat element. The teat element includes a shaft adjacent to the shield and solid in cross-section in the region of contact with the jaw and/or the teeth. A teat member adjoins the shaft in its end section which faces away from the shield so that the contour of the teat element, starting from the shaft, has a club-shape which corresponds substantially to known hollow-body teats. A convex hollow teat body is provided as a teat member which is substantially annular. The longitudinal axis of the annular teat body runs substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinally extending axis of the teat element or the hollow teat body is designed to be substantially closed-walled so as to form a cavity.