Device for encouraging children to brush their teeth regularly

• US 4,878,845 A
• Filed: 03/14/1988
• Issued: 11/07/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tom E. Lindsay
• Original Assignee: Tom E. Lindsay
• Inventors: Smith, James C., Lindsay, Tom E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coven, Edward M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Szczepanik, V.
• Application Number:
  US07/167,395
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 434/238, 434/403, 40/111, 40/503, 211/79, 273/155, 235/110
• US Class Current: 434/238
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 1/20 and bearing the symbols on a surface parallel to the axis of rotation
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0084 Dental hygiene

Abstract

A device for aiding and encouraging a child to brush his or her teeth regularly. The device is provided with a pair of nonrotatable shafts each of which mounts seven rotatable blocks shaped like a molar tooth, each block representing either the morning or night of a particularly day during which a child should brush his teeth. The front surface faces of the blocks form a frowning mouth with dirty teeth, while the rear surface faces form a pattern of a smiling mouth with white teeth after all of the blocks have been rotated 180 degrees. Each block is rotated to expose a portion of the smile and to remove a portion of the frown after each tooth brushing in the morning and evening of each day.

Claims

1. A device for aiding and encouraging a child to brush his teeth, comprising;

a mounting frame;

a pair of shafts nonrotatably mounted by said mounting frame;

a plurality of independently and individually rotatable, spaced-apart blocks each mounted for independent and separate rotation about a respective one of said pair of shafts;

each said shaft being mounted horizontally by said mounting frame, said shafts being mounted parallel to each other and vertically spaced apart;

each said shaft mounting a plurality of said blocks for said independent and individual rotation in spaced-apart relationship;

said blocks thus defining a first row and a second row, said rows being positioned very close to each other; and

each said block comprising an upper concave exterior surface and a lower concave exterior surface, so that the first row of blocks may be positioned very close to said second row of blocks and allow for the independent and separate rotation of each block with respect to the juxtapositioned block in the other row;

each said block having a front surface face and a rear surface face;

each said front surface face comprising a printed design forming a portion of a frowning mouth; and

each said rear surface comprising a printed design forming a portion of a smiling mouth.

2. A device for aiding and encouraging a child to brush his teeth, comprising:

end column means;

a pair of shaft means nonrotatably mounted by said end column means;

a plurality of indepently and individually rotatable, a spaced-apart block means each mounted for independent and separate rotation about a respective one of said pair of shafts means;

each said shafts means being mounted horizontally by said end column means, said shafts means being mounted parallel to each other and vertically spaced apart;

each said shaft means mounting a plurality of said blocks means for said independent and individual rotation in spaced-apart relationship;

each said shaft means comprising a central longitudinal section, and a plurality of pairs of circular disc means spaced apart along said central section, each said disc means having a diameter greater than diametric extension of said central longtudinal section;

each said pair of disc means positioning therebetween at least a portion of a respective said block means to prevent movement of said respective said block means therepast, each said pair of disc means retaining the respective said block means in spaced relationship from an adjoining said block means;

each said block means further comprising a hollow interior in which is received a respective said pair of disc means.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein each said block means comprises a front surface face and a rear surface face;

each front surface face comprising a portion of a mouth design forming a frown, and each said rear surface face comprising a portion of a mouth design forming a smile after said block means have been rotated 180 degrees, said front surface faces of all of said block means together forming said frown design when said front surface faces all lie in approximately the same plane, and said rear surface faces of all of said block means together forming said smile design when said rear faces all lie in approximately the same plane and after said block means have been rotated 180 degrees.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein said hollow interior comprises a plurality of inner wall surfaces, said respective pair of disc means being juxtapositioned within said hollow interior opposite portions of said inner wall surfaces by which said block means is rotated relative to said pair of disc of disc means.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein at least one of said inner wall surfaces comprises rib means, and each said disc means of each said pair of disc means comprises a pair of cooperating notches for recieving therein respective said rib means, said pair of notches being arcuately spaced apart 180 degree and both said notches lying substantially in the same vertical plane, whereby each said block means may be rotated between two stable states in each of which the respective said rib means engages a respective said notch to hold said block means in place in said state.

6. The device according to claim 2, wherein said central section comprises a plurality of wall vanes emanating from a common longitudinal center line, said center line being coextensive with the center of said plurality of disc means.

7. The device according to claim 2 wherein each said hollow interior is defined by interior wall surfaces, at least one interior wall surface having a solid member protruding inwardly toward the opposite interior wall surface in order to serve as a stop to the removal of the respective said block means from between a respective said pair of disc means.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein each said disc means comprises at least one chamfered surface, and each said solid member also comprising a similar chamfered surface for cooperating with a respective said chamfered surface of one said disc means during assembly, so that each said block means may be mounted about said shaft means after having cleared at least one said disc means by said chamfered surfaces causing bending to the associated contacting parts.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the distance between two oppositely-disposed solid members of each said block means is less than the diameter of at least some of said disc means, whereby said chamfered surfaces allow for the assembly whereby of said block means on said shaft means after having cleared said disc means by forcing said block means therepast.

10. The device according to claim 2, wherein each said front face of the lower block means comprises matter to indicate the day of the week, said lower shaft mounting seven said block means, and said upper shaft mounting seven said block means;

each said rear face of each of said lower block means having similar matter but inverted so that when the respective block means is rotated, the inverted matter is situated upright.

11. The method of encouraging and aiding a child to brush his teeth, in which there is provided a device having a plurality of independently rotatable block members with each block member defining a front surface face and a rear surface face, each front surface face having formed thereon a portion of a mouth design shaped as a frown, or the like, and each rear surface face having formed thereon a portion of a mouth design shaped as a smile, or the like, wherein said method comprises:

arranging all of the front surface faces in approximately the same vertical plane so that the frown design is completed and visible from the front;

rotating an end-most one of the block members after a child brushes his teeth at the beginning of a brushing cycle to replace a portion of the frown design with a portion of the smile design;

rotating another block member next to the endmost block member after the same child has brushed his teeth at the end of the first interval of said brushing cycle;

rotating the next-to-be-rotated block member after the same child has brushed his teeth at the end of the second interval of said brushing cycle to replace still another portion of the frown design with the smile design; and

rotataing each remaining block member after the same child has brushed his teeth at the end of each subsequent time interval, respectively, in progression, until, at the end of said brushing cycle, all of the rear surfaces having the smile design now face frontward to display a complete smile.