Pacifier useable with a liquid dispensing syringe

A liquid dispensing infant pacifier has a mouth guard with a hollow tubular connector portion on its rear side over an opening extending through the mouth guard from its rear side to its front side. The connector has a configuration similar to that of a catheter hub and is selectively and removably connectable to either the interiorly threaded discharge end of a conventional liquid dispensing syringe or a closure cap portion of the pacifier which serves to block fluid flow through the connector portion. Projecting outwardly from the front side of the mouth guard, over the opening therein, is a specially designed double-walled tubular nipple which is formed from a partially everted pliable material tube and has a large interior flow space extending outwardly through the open front end of the nipple body. Due to the nipple construction, when the syringe is attached to the mouth guard, liquid discharged from the syringe easily flows through the nipple into an infant's mouth without any sucking force being exerted on the nipple by the infant. When the syringe is replaced with the closure cap the mouth guard connector is blocked to preclude undesirable inward air flow through the mouth guard connector as an infant sucks on the nipple.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to infant pacifiers and, in a 
preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly relates to a pacifier 
adapted to deliver a liquid into an infant's mouth using a conventional 
syringe removably connected to the pacifier in place of a closure cap 
portion thereof. 
An infant pacifier is a relatively simple device used to appease crying 
children or to discourage thumb-sucking or other idiosyncrasies, and is 
typically provided with a generally nipple-shaped projection which is 
placed in the infant's mouth. Various attempts have previously been made 
to incorporate a liquid delivery structure into a pacifier so that, for 
example, medicinal or nutritional liquids can be administered to the 
infant while he or she sucks on the pacifier. 
One common approach, representatively illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 
5,078,734 to Noble, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,705 to Noble, U.S. Pat. 5,512,047 
to Dvorak, and U.S. Design Pat. No. D391,642 to Fountain, has been to fill 
the flexible nipple portion of the pacifier, through an open back end 
portion thereof, with the selected liquid to be administered, then close 
off the back end of the nipple with a replaceable cap, place the nipple in 
the infant's mouth, and then let the infant suck the liquid out of the 
nipple through a small orifice in its front end. A drawback to this 
previously proposed approach to administering liquid to an infant through 
a pacifier device is that the liquid is delivered to the infant only if 
the infant is actually sucking on the pacifier. If the infant will not 
suck on the pacifier, the liquid remains in the pacifier and does not 
benefit the infant. 
Another previously proposed approach to this liquid delivery problem is 
illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,680 to Jones in which a 
device for orally administering liquid to infants includes an elongated 
liquid container having a generally pacifier-shaped front end portion and 
an open back end. After the desired type and quantity of liquid is placed 
in the container, a plunger device is sealingly inserted into the open 
back end of the container. The pacifier-shaped front end of the container 
is then placed in the infant's mouth, and the plunger is depressed to 
force the liquid out of the container into the infant's mouth via a small 
diameter orifice in the front end of the container. While this approach 
permits the liquid to be administered to the infant without any sucking 
force being applied to the device, the device is too long and unwieldy to 
be suitable in a pure pacifier function-i.e., left for periods of time in 
the infant's mouth without adult or other external support of the back end 
of the device. 
As can be readily be seen from the foregoing, a need exists for a pacifier 
device which can function satisfactorily as a pacifier as well as a liquid 
delivery device which is operable in the absence of an infant sucking 
force exerted thereon. It is to this need that the present invention is 
directed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In carrying out principles of the present invention, in accordance with a 
preferred embodiment thereof, a liquid dispensing pacifier is provided 
which includes a body member, representatively in the form of a mouth 
guard, a nipple, and a closure cap. The mouth guard has front and rear 
sides between which an opening extends, and a hollow connector member 
projecting outwardly from its rear side and having an internal flow 
passage communicated with the mouth guard opening. Illustratively, the 
mouth guard is of a molded plastic material, and the connector member is 
molded integrally with the balance of the mouth guard. The nipple is 
connected to and projects outwardly from the front mouth guard side and 
has an interior flow passage communicating with the mouth guard opening. 
According to one aspect of the invention, the mouth guard connector is 
configured to be threadingly and removably connected to either the 
discharge end of a conventional liquid dispensing syringe, or to the 
removable closure cap. Preferably, the connector has a configuration 
similar to that of a catheter hub shaped to thread into the internally 
threaded attachment collar of the syringe, with the closure cap having an 
internally threaded portion similar to that of the syringe. 
With the discharge end of the syringe coupled to the mouth guard connector, 
and the nipple in an infant's mouth, a selected liquid within the syringe 
body may be orally administered by simply depressing the syringe plunger 
to force the liquid into the nipple to permit the liquid to flow 
therethrough into the infant's mouth. After the liquid is administered, 
the syringe may be quickly removed from the mouth guard connector and 
replaced with the closure cap which serves to block fluid flow through the 
connector to prevent undesirable inflow of air into the connector as the 
infant sucks on the nipple. 
According to another aspect of the invention, the nipple which projects 
outwardly from the front side of the mouth guard has a unique 
double-walled tubular configuration and is formed from a pliable material 
tube having a first outer end secured to the front side of the mouth guard 
over the opening therein, and a longitudinally intermediate portion spaced 
forwardly apart from the front side of the mouth guard. The tube 
additionally has a second outer end, and a second end portion extending 
from the longitudinally intermediate portion to the second outer end of 
the tube. The second end portion of the tube is everted and coaxially 
extends rearwardly and outwardly along the first end portion of the tube, 
with the second outer end of the tube being secured to the front side of 
the mouth guard. 
Preferably, the second end portion of the tube is radially larger than its 
first end portion in a manner such that an annular air space is formed 
between the coaxially telescoped first and second end portions of the 
tube. Due to the unrestricted, relatively large diameter flow passage 
within the tubular nipple, oral delivery of a liquid to an infant using a 
conventional syringe coupled to the mouth guard is not dependent on any 
sucking force exerted on the nipple by he infant. The liquid discharged 
from the syringe may simply be flowed by gravity into the infant's mouth 
if he or she will not suck on the nipple. The use of this double-walled 
tubular nipple construction also gives added structural strength to the 
nipple while at the same time automatically forming a smooth, edge-free 
annular outer discharge end portion of the nipple. The annular air space 
between the two nipple side layers also gives the nipple a desirable 
lateral softness.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The present invention provides a specially designed liquid dispensing 
infant pacifier 10 which is shown in partially exploded form in FIG. 1 and 
includes a body 12, a nipple 14 placeable in an infant's mouth, and a 
closure cap 16 removably securable to the body 12. As will be later 
described herein, a conventional syringe 18 may be removably secured to 
the body 12, in place of the closure cap 16, and used to inject a liquid, 
such as a medicinal liquid or a nutritional liquid, through the body 12 
and the nipple 14 into an infant's mouth. 
Body 12 is representatively of a molded plastic, one-piece construction 
and, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, includes a curved, horizontally elongated, 
plate-shaped mouth guard portion 20 having left and right ends 22 and 24, 
a concave front side 26, a convex rear side 28, and concave upper and 
lower side edges 30 and 32. Projecting outwardly from a central portion of 
the rear side 28 of the mouth guard 20 is a hollow tubular syringe/cap 
connector portion 34 which has a diametrically opposite pair of tabs 36 
projecting radially outwardly from its outer or rear end. Connector 
portion 34 is shaped similarly to a catheter hub configured to be 
threadingly connected to the discharge end of the syringe 18 and has a 
circularly cross-sectioned flow passage 38 extending axially therethrough. 
As later described herein, with the syringe 18 removed therefrom the 
connector portion 34 is also threadingly connectable to the closure cap 
16. 
The axial passage 38 within the interior of the connector portion 34 
extends forwardly through the mouth guard 20, as cross-sectionally 
illustrated in FIG. 4A, and then through the interior of a hollow tubular 
nipple connector projection 40 formed on the front side 26 of the mouth 
guard 20 and having an open front end 42. This tubular projection 40 is 
outwardly circumscribed by a somewhat shorter annular projection 44 also 
molded on the front side 26 of the mouth guard 20. 
Like the pacifier body portion 12 just described, the nipple 14 is of a 
unique configuration that facilitates the oral delivery of a liquid to an 
infant. With reference now to FIG. 4A, the nipple 14 is defined by an 
elongated, generally tubular member formed from a pliable material such 
as, by way of example, a suitable vinyl, latex, rubber or rubberized 
plastic material. The tubular member has first and second opposite ends 46 
and 48, a thickened longitudinally intermediate portion 50, a first end 
portion 52 extending between the end 46 and the longitudinally 
intermediate portion 50, and a second end portion 54 extending between the 
end 48 and the longitudinally intermediate portion 50. The outer diameter 
of the second end portion 54 is somewhat greater than the outer diameter 
of the first end portion 52, with the longitudinally intermediate portion 
50 defining an appropriately shaped sloped transition between these 
different diameter longitudinal portions of the unitary nipple tube. 
Nipple 14 is secured to the front side 26 of the mouth guard 20 by forcing 
an outer end portion of the tube section 52 coaxially over the nipple 
connector projection 40, radially inwardly of the annular projection 44 
(see FIG. 4A) and suitably anchoring this tube end portion in place, for 
example by using a suitable nontoxic adhesive material. The larger 
diameter tube section 54 is everted (i.e., turned inside out) and 
longitudinally folded rearwardly and outwardly over the tube section 52, 
with the tube end 48 being forced outwardly over and anchored to the 
annular projection 44 using, for example, a suitable nontoxic adhesive 
material. 
As can be seen in FIG. 4A, along its length the in-place nipple 14 has a 
sizable circularly cross-sectioned interior flow passage 56 that 
communicates with and defines a forward extension of the flow passage 38 
within the nipple connector projection 40, the flow passage 56 opening 
outwardly through the front end of the nipple 14. As can also be seen in 
FIG. 4A, an annular air space 58 is defined between the telescoped 
longitudinal sections 52,54 of the unitary nipple tube. 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 1A, the syringe 18, as previously mentioned, 
is of a conventional construction and includes a hollow tubular body 60 
having an open rear or left end 62 and a transverse wall 64 at its 
opposite front or right discharge end. Projecting forwardly from the end 
wall 64 is a reduced diameter hollow tubular fluid discharge portion 66 
having an open front end 68, the interior passage within the discharge 
portion 66 extending rearwardly through the body end wall 64 and 
communicating with the interior of the body 60. An annular attachment 
collar 70 is formed on the discharge end of the body 60, outwardly 
circumscribes a rear section of the tubular fluid discharge portion 66, 
and is provided with interior connection threads 72. 
An elongated plunger 74 is coaxially receivable in the body 60, through its 
open rear end 62, and is provided at its front end with an elastomeric 
seal structure 76 which slidingly and sealingly engages the inner side 
surface of the hollow body 60. In a conventional manner, a liquid 78 
disposed within the body 60 forwardly of the plunger seal structure 76 may 
be selectively forced outwardly through the tubular fluid discharge 
portion 66 in response to a forcible forward movement of the plunger 74 
forwardly or rightwardly through the interior of the body 60. 
As will be recalled, the syringe/cap connector structure 34 projecting 
outwardly from the rear side 28 of the mouth guard 10 has a shape similar 
to that of a catheter hub configured to be threadingly connected to the 
discharge end of the syringe 18. Accordingly, with the closure cap 16 
removed from the mouth guard 20, the syringe 18 may be quickly and easily 
connected to the mouth guard portion 20 of the pacifier body 12 by simply 
inserting the syringe/cap connector portion 34 coaxially into the 
discharge end or the syringe 18, between the tubular syringe discharge 
portion 66 and the annular collar 70, and then rotating the syringe body 
60 about its longitudinal axis to lockingly engage the collar threads 72 
and the connector tabs 36 as cross-sectionally illustrated in FIG. 4A. 
Thus, to orally administer the liquid 78 to an infant in a convenient and 
reliable manner, the liquid is drawn into the interior of the syringe body 
60, the syringe 18 is connected to the mouth guard 20 as just described, 
the specially designed nipple 14 is placed in the infant's mouth, and the 
plunger 74 is depressed to discharge the liquid 78 from the syringe 18 
sequentially through its tubular discharge portion 66, the mouth guard and 
nipple flow passages 38 and 56, and into the infant's mouth as indicated 
by the arrow 78a in FIG. 4A. 
Importantly, due to the relatively large diameter flow passage 56 within 
the specially designed nipple 14, oral delivery of the liquid 78 to the 
infant is not dependent on any sucking force exerted on the nipple 14 by 
the infant --the liquid 78 may simply be flowed by gravity into the 
infant's mouth if he or she will not suck on the nipple 14. The use of 
this unique double-walled nipple construction also gives added structural 
strength to the nipple while at the same time automatically forming a 
smooth, edge-free annular outer end portion of the nipple. The illustrated 
annular air space between the nipple layers also gives the nipple a 
desirable lateral softness. 
Another advantage of the pacifier 10 of the present invention is that after 
it has been used as a device for orally administering a selected liquid to 
an infant it can be used purely as a pacifier simply by removing the 
syringe 18 from the mouth guard 20 and replacing the removed syringe 18 
with the specially configured closure cap 16 which will now be described 
with reference to FIGS. 1, 1B and 4B. 
Closure cap 16 has a generally disc-shaped body 80 with opposite front and 
rear sides 82 and 84. Coaxially projecting outwardly from the front side 
82 are a solid cylindrical portion 66a and a somewhat shorter annular 
attachment collar 70a which outwardly circumscribes the cylindrical 
portion 66a and is provided with internal threads 72a. As can be seen by 
comparing FIGS. 1A and 1B, the front side elements 66a,70a and 72a on the 
closure cap 16 (see FIG. 1B) respectively have configurations identical to 
the front end elements 66,70 and 72 on the syringe 18 (see FIG. 1A), with 
the exception that the cylindrical portion 66a of the cap 16 is solid 
instead of being hollow like the syringe element 66. 
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4B, with the syringe 18 removed from the 
mouth guard 20, the closure cap 16 may simply be removably screwed into 
place on the syringe/cap connector portion 34 of the mouth guard 20. This 
conveniently permits the pacifier 10 to be used purely as a pacifier, with 
the removably installed closure cap 16 serving to block a rear end portion 
of the pacifier passage 38 so that the infant may suck on the comfortable 
nipple 14 without undesirably drawing air inwardly through the nipple 14 
via the syringe/cap connector portion 34 of the pacifier. 
AS can be seen, the pacifier 10 is of a simple, easy to manufacture 
construction and may be used as either a conventional pacifier or as an 
oral liquid administering device for an infant which is useable without a 
sucking force being exerted on its specially configured nipple portion. 
The foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as being 
given by way of illustration and example only, the spirit and scope of the 
present invention being limited solely by the appended claims.