U.S. patent application number 11/072218 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-17 for arm mountable child activity device.
Invention is credited to Gloria McCall Kanahele, Marcus C. Kanahele.
Application Number | 20060183397 11/072218 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46321823 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060183397 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kanahele; Gloria McCall ; et
al. |
August 17, 2006 |
Arm mountable child activity device
Abstract
The present invention is directed towards a portable, activity
center for providing educational and entertaining toys to children;
particularly towards an activity center that is secured against an
adult's appendage such that the free arm of the adult can securely
hold a child while the child is able to safely interact with the
activity center; most particularly an activity center including a
flexible support member mounted to an adult's appendage.
Inventors: |
Kanahele; Gloria McCall; (N.
Palm Beach, FL) ; Kanahele; Marcus C.; (N. Palm
Beach, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCHALE & SLAVIN, P.A.
2855 PGA BLVD
PALM BEACH GARDENS
FL
33410
US
|
Family ID: |
46321823 |
Appl. No.: |
11/072218 |
Filed: |
March 3, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11061489 |
Feb 17, 2005 |
|
|
|
11072218 |
Mar 3, 2005 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H 33/006
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/026 |
International
Class: |
A63H 33/00 20060101
A63H033/00 |
Claims
1. An activity device for amusing and educating a child for
removable attachment to an individual's appendage, said activity
device comprising: a substantially flexible support sized to cover
at least a wrist portion of said appendage, said flexible support
includes at least one toy component attached thereto; wherein said
child is held by the free appendage of said individual and able to
interact with said at least one toy component.
2. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said at least one
toy component further comprises at least one educational toy.
3. The device as set forth in claim 2, wherein said educational toy
is at least one member selected from the group of consisting of
shapes, colors, animals, alphabet characters, sea creatures,
transportation means, vegetables or combinations thereof.
4. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substantially
flexible support comprises a resilient sleeve that surrounds said
appendage.
5. The device as set forth in claim 4, wherein said resilient
sleeve further includes a glove portion for receipt of said
individual's fingers.
6. The device as set forth in claim 5, wherein said glove portion
includes open finger portions for gripping.
7. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substantially
flexible support comprises a resilient portion for attaching at
least one toy component against said appendage, said resilient
portion includes at least two integrally formed coupling means for
attaching said flexible support against said appendage.
8. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said at least one
toy component is permanently attached to said flexible support.
9. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said at least one
toy component is removably attached to said flexible support.
10. The device as set forth in claim 9, wherein at least one toy
component is removably attached to said flexible support by at
least one member selected from the group of consisting of clips,
parachute clips, pins, buttons, snaps, hook and pile or
combinations thereof.
11. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said at least one
toy component comprises a plurality of toy components, wherein a
portion of said toy components are permanently attached to said
flexible support.
12. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said at least one
toy component further comprises at least one electronic toy
component.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S.
application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, the contents of which
are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed towards a portable,
activity center for providing educational and entertaining toys to
children; particularly towards an activity center held adjacent an
adult's appendage such that the free appendage of the adult can
securely hold onto a child while the child is able to safely
interact with the activity center; most particularly an activity
center comprising a flexible support sized to cover at least a
portion of the appendage with at least one toy component attached
thereto.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is generally accepted that exposure to a multitude of
visual, audio and physical stimuli during the early stages of
development can enhance the learning capability of a child
throughout life. Thus, numerous activity centers have been
developed in order to stimulate and sharpen a developing child's
physical and cognitive capacities. Typically these activity centers
provide a variety of toys for visual and physical interaction
specifically designed to hone the child's hand-eye coordination,
range of motion, familiarity with animals, shapes, alphabet
characters, numbers, and the like.
[0004] When not sleeping, small children often become easily bored
or restless during lengthy plane or vehicle rides. Thus, many
activity centers have been made portable and readily attach to
various objects such as strollers, child carriers, car-seats,
cribs, and the like to entertain and/or educate the child during
such instances. However, none of the prior art teaches or suggests
attachment of activity centers to the appendage of the caregiver
such that the child is entertained and learning while being safely
held by, or in close proximity to, an adult. This arrangement can
be especially advantageous in situations where an adult must hold
the child on their lap or in close quarters for extended periods of
time, such as on a plane, automobile car seat, train, boat, in a
restaurant, and the like.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0005] Many patents have been directed toward portable activity
centers having a variety of educational/amusement devices or toys
for removable attachment to various objects.
[0006] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,450 B1 to Norton discloses
an activity belt worn by a cyclist and having amusement devices
attached thereto to entertain a child sitting behind the cyclist.
The belt has clips that allow the toys to be clipped thereto.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,515 to Van Der Sluys teaches an infant
toy assistance device. The device comprises two loops for engaging
a toy, a hand strap connected to both loops and a wrist strap. The
wrist straps keeps the toy positioned near the infant lest it is
dropped so that the infant can readily grip it again.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,031 to Creighton-Young is directed
toward a forearm-supporting device to prop up a baby at the
appropriate angle when nursing. The supporting device has a cavity
formed centrally therein to accommodate a bottle or the like. It
has one or two straps for detachably connecting the device to one's
forearm. Unlike the present invention, this patent does not teach
attaching at least one toy component thereto.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,323 to Wright, Jr. teaches an activity
bib worn on the torso of an adult. The bib includes one or more
activity means for interaction with a child facing the adult. This
patent differs from the present invention in that it is mounted
onto the torso of the caregiver and thus requires the child be
carried by, or otherwise positioned immediately in front of the
adult in order for the child to effectively interact with the
various activity means. Moreover, the arm mounted activity center
of the present invention differs in that can be selectively
presented to the child at the adult's discretion by simply moving,
the adult's arm adjacent to or away from the infant.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,263 to Ruhmann et al teaches the use of
a saddle seat, horse's head and skirt made of a flat flexible
material and elastic strap for securing the toy to an adult's
leg.
[0011] While the foregoing described prior art devices have
advanced the art in variety of ways, there nevertheless remains a
need for a portable and stimulating activity center that provides
amusement to a child while being held in close proximity to a
caregiver.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The instant invention provides a portable activity center
comprising a substantially flexible support sized to cover at least
a portion of an individual's appendage. The flexible support
includes at least one toy component removably and/or permanently
attached thereto such that the child can be held by the free
appendage of the individual while interacting with at least one toy
component.
[0013] Accordingly, the principal objective of the present
invention is to provide an activity center comprising a flexible
support member for supporting and/or supplying toys designed to
entertain and educate a child while being securely held by an
adult.
[0014] It is another objective of the instant invention to teach a
portable activity center that readily attaches to an adult and
allows the adult to grasp and interact with the child.
[0015] An additional objective of the present invention is to teach
an activity center attached to at least one of an adult's
appendages yet allows the adult the use of both hands.
[0016] It is a further objective of the instant invention to teach
an activity center that can be re-configured to present different
educational themes (e.g. animal safari, barn yard animals, sea
animals), images (e.g. shapes, colors, etc), numbers, alphabet and
the like to an infant or child.
[0017] It is yet another objective of the instant invention to
provide an activity center which can attach to any size
appendage.
[0018] It is still a further objective of the instant invention to
teach an activity center that can be selectively presented to the
child by simply moving the appendage of the adult in proximity to
or away from the infant.
[0019] It is another objective of the instant invention to teach a
portable activity center that is washable, either by hand or
machine.
[0020] Other objects and advantages of this invention will become
apparent from the following description, wherein are set forth, by
way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0021] FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the activity
center of the instant invention shown attached to an individual's
appendage;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a plan view of alternative embodiment of the
activity center of the instant invention;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 attached
to an individual's appendage;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a upper perspective view of another embodiment of
the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of the activity
center of the instant invention;
[0026] FIG. 6 is a plan view of another embodiment of the activity
center of the instant invention attached to an individual's
appendage;
[0027] FIG. 7 is an upper perspective view of another embodiment of
the activity center of the instant invention attached to an
individual's appendage illustrating the individual grasping a child
while the child is able to play with the activity center.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] As used herein, the term "infant" and "child" are synonymous
and used interchangeably herein to denote a developmentally
immature person.
[0029] The term "adult" and "caregiver" are used interchangeably
herein to denote any person providing care and assistance to a
child.
[0030] Detailed embodiments of the instant invention are disclosed
herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed
embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, and may be
embodied in various forms. Therefore, the specific functional and
structural details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as
limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a
representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to
Variously employ the present invention in virtually any
appropriately detailed structure.
[0031] Referring now to FIGS. 1-7, wherein like members are
numbered consistently throughout, FIG. 1 shows an example of one
embodiment of an activity center of the instant invention,
generally referenced as 10. The activity center 10 comprises a
substantially flexible support member 12 sized to cover at least a
portion of an adult's appendage 16 with at least one toy component,
generally referred to as 14, attached thereto. This configuration
is particularly advantageous in that it does not require the hands
of the adult to grip the activity center, thus, it permits the
adult use of both hands if necessary, see FIG. 7.
[0032] In the particularly preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1,
the flexible support 12 is a resilient, or elastic, sleeve that
completely surrounds the appendage, with at least one toy component
14 attached thereto. The flexible support 12 can be made of any
suitable resilient material known to provide comfortable, yet firm
contact around various sized appendages. In a particularly
preferred embodiment the flexible support 12 is washable, by hand
and/or machine. In addition, the first 20 and/or second 22 ends of
the flexible support 12 may include a reinforced non-slip material
24, for example silicon elastic, to provide enhanced frictional
engagement with the surface underneath, in order that the flexible
support 12 will remain in place at the desired location on the
appendage 16.
[0033] Moreover, the flexible support 12 can be constructed and
arranged with at least one loop member 18 thereon. The loop member
18 being designed for attachment with the toy components 14. The
loop member 18 can be made from the same, or a different, material
used for the flexible support. In addition, at least one of the
loop members 18 can be filled with a compressible material employed
for stuffed animals, cushions, pillows or the like. Alternatively,
at least one of the loop members 18 can also contain a rigid
material alone or in combination with the compressible material.
Examples of a rigid material include wire, cable, or the like to
provide a substantially inflexible support for attached toy
components, see FIG. 1.
[0034] In an alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the
flexible support 12 comprises a resilient portion 12' for attaching
at least one toy component against said appendage 16. The resilient
portion 12' includes at least two integrally formed coupling means
26 for releasable attachment of the resilient portion 12' against
the appendage. Examples of suitable coupling means 26 include,
albeit not limited to those illustrated in FIG. 2. For instance,
the coupling means 26 can comprise at least two pairs of straps 28
arranged anywhere along the length of the resilient portion 12',
wherein one of the strap pairs 28 can be secured to the appendage
by a length adjusting means, (i.e. buckle) 30 and a corresponding
strap of sufficient size for threading therethrough, shown at the
second portion 22 of the resilient member.
[0035] Alternatively, at least one of the two straps 28 could
comprise hook and pile elements 32 (also known as VELCO.RTM.) shown
at the first side of the resilient portion, or "parachute" clips
(not shown) attached thereto. For parachute clips and buckle
attachments 30 the length adjustment is provided by adjusting the
length of the straps 28 attached to the clips to fit to any size
appendage 16. Hook and pile fasteners 32 can be attached at any
point to provide adjustable, yet firm, contact around various sized
appendages. It is contemplated that other coupling means 26 for
attachment known in the art could be used, i.e. snaps, hooks and
the like.
[0036] As shown in embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, flexible support
12 can include an integrally formed glove portion 34 which fits
snugly over the user's hand for attaching at least one toy
component 14 thereto and configured for receipt of said
individual's fingers. This configuration helps preclude upward
movement of the flexible support 12 on the appendage. In addition,
the glove portion 34 can include open finger apertures 36 through
which a portion of the user's fingers protrudes from the flexible
support material 12. These apertures 36 ensure that one size fits
all and provides enhanced gripping as there is no material that can
reduce friction or sensation of the fingers. Additionally, like the
aforementioned embodiments, the apertures 36 can include a
reinforced non-slip elastic material 24.
[0037] The length of the substantially flexible support member 12,
in any of the aforementioned embodiments, could be formed to cover
at least the wrist portion (FIG. 4) up to the entire length of the
appendage of an average adult (FIG. 6), which provides more surface
area available for attaching the toy components thereto.
[0038] Moreover, it is contemplated that the flexible support
member 12 can be manufactured in at least one color or design as
desired. In addition, the materials utilized for the flexible
support member 12 and/or the toys 14 can employ different textures
(rough, smooth, soft, etc) to stimulate the child's sense of
touch.
[0039] As would be appreciated, any of the abovementioned
embodiments of the flexible support member 12 can include an inner
lining of cushioned support or padding from any material which can
be positioned for immediate contact with the individual's
appendage, for enhanced comfort and/or preclude chafing
thereto.
[0040] FIGS. 1 to 7 illustrate a multitude of different toy
components 14 that can be attached to the flexible support member
12 of the present invention. It is contemplated that some or all of
these toy components may be releasably attached thereto by any
means known in the art, e.g. clips, parachute clips, straps pins,
buttons, snaps, and the like. For instance, as shown in FIG. 1, a
pacifier 40 is releasably attached thereto by removable clip 42 for
easy cleaning. Similarly, at least a portion of the flexible
support member 12 can have integrally formed hook and loop
fasteners for releasable attachment with the toy components. Having
at least of a portion of the toys releasably attached to the
flexible support member 12 permits a variety of different toys to
selected and interchanged by the caregiver. This can help prevent
boredom by keeping the toy components new and fresh to the infant.
Moreover, this allows the adult the ability to remove a portion, or
all, of the toys 14 attached thereto in order to wash the activity
center 10 if desired.
[0041] Alternatively, some or all, of the toy components could be
permanently attached the flexible support member 12 by any suitable
means, such as stitching, sewing, adhesives or the like.
[0042] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a rigid support member 44 like
that disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. ______, to
the present inventions and previously incorporated by reference,
can be attached to the flexible support member 12 of the present
invention by any means of attachment known in the art. Toys 14
could be fabricated such that they remain stationary, slide and/or
spin along a portion of the longitudinal axis of the rigid support
member 44. Examples of suitable toys include, but are not limited
to spinning discs 46 shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, which can be free to
translate and rotate about the longitudinal axis.
[0043] Moreover, any or all of the toy components 14 can include an
electronic component that produces a sensory effect on the infant.
For example at least one of the toy components 14 can include audio
generation component, visual generation component, and motor-driven
component or combinations thereof known in the art. Control over
the electronic components can be enabled upon actuation of sensors
located on the toys 14, such that when the infant touches the toy
it responses accordingly. The electronic components can include a
power supply, such as batteries or other suitable power means known
in the art, securely housed within the toy components 14.
[0044] Referring to FIG. 6, which illustrates an exemplary activity
center 10 with an educational theme that includes toys with
different numbers, shapes, and colors 48, 50, 52, spinning discs
46, and an appealing child-oriented design, shown here as colorful
clown face 54. Other child-oriented designs include, albeit not
limited to, a sun, moon, shatterproof mirror, or other visages for
simulating hand-eye coordination. For instance, the clown face 54
can contain sensors that are able to light up and play at least one
nursery rhyme programmed therein when actuated.
[0045] As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill, an
unlimited number of the themes for use with the activity center 10
are possible. Example of some, albeit not limited to, themes
include: alphabets, farm animals, safari animals, sea creatures,
cartoon characters, vegetables, outer space, holiday designs,
biblical characters, etc.
[0046] It is contemplated herein that any of the aforementioned
activity centers 10 could be placed on-both appendages 16 of the
adult simultaneously. Moreover, due to the resilient elastic
properties of the flexible support member 12, it could be placed
upon one or both of the child's appendages such that the child is
able to interact with the toys 14 attached thereto.
[0047] It is to be understood that while a certain form of the
invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific
form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent
to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made
without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention
is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in
the specification and drawings/figures. One skilled in the art will
readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to
carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages
mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments,
methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently
representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be
exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes
therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which
are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined
by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has
been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments,
it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be
unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various
modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention
which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be
within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *