Abstract:
The Nursing Monitor is a device used by mothers to monitor their nursing patterns during the first six to eight weeks of breasffeeding an infant. By depressing either the right push button or the left push button depending on which breast is being utilized, the Nursing Monitor retains a record of the length of each nursing session. The respective push button is pressed at the start of the feeding and then the same button is again pressed again after the feeding has ended. A memory (NVRAM) in an electrical circuit then stores this information for up to fourteen sessions per day and for a seven day period. By depressing a menu or center push button, it is possible to select an option which will display a log of the daily feedings showing the number of feedings each day, at what time those feedings occurred and on which breast. It is also possible to review the average length of each feeding on a daily and weekly basis.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This patent application claims the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 USC 119(e) of a Provisional Patent Application, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Aug. 11, 2003, and entitled NURSING PENDANT, and being Provisional Patent Application No. 60/494,261. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to breastfeeding babies, and more particularly, to an apparatus for monitoring the progress and past history of breastfeeding sessions to allow an optimum use of a woman&#39;s breast-feeding capacity for a child&#39;s nourishment.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     When breastfeeding, especially in the first two months, tracking how long the infant is nursing is a key factor to ensuring a good milk supply as well as the appropriate level of nutrition for the infant. Being able to monitor which breast the infant last nursed from is also important to maintaining the overall comfort of the mother and avoiding engorgement.  
         [0006]     Many mothers track how long they are nursing by looking at their watches or checking a clock in the home. They track which breast was nursed from last by tying a ribbon on their right or left arm or moving a safety pin from side to side on their shirt.  
         [0007]     The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding as the optimal form of nutrition for an infant in their first twelve months and each year more and more women are choosing to breast-feed. There are reams of information that support the benefits of breast-feeding. Some of the clear benefits relate to the health of the infant. Breast milk contains a unique combinations of vitamins, minerals and fats which cannot be duplicated by any supplement. This unique combination specifically promotes brain and body growth for an infant. Also several studies have been conducted which show that the nurturing touch of the mother during breast-feeding assists in the development of the infant as well as helps to promote a comforting environment for the transition from the womb.  
         [0008]     Currently, there are no such products that exist which fill this need. There are several nursing pillows on the market that assist mothers in supporting their infants while they are nursing. None of these products contain any type of device to monitor the length of the session or which breast is being nursed on.  
         [0009]     No device is available that is suitable for monitoring the history and time for breast feeding from a woman&#39;s two breasts. A device which monitors the history and time for breast-feeding is clearly useful and valuable.  
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The objects of this invention are as follows:  
         [0011]     1. To provide an electronic device to track and store information related to nursing sessions.  
         [0012]     2. To help track nursing patterns of infants.  
         [0013]     3. To reduce anxiety surrounding the need manually to track the number of nusing sessions and the length of time of each session.  
         [0014]     4. To provide a portable, durable and easily operated device.  
         [0015]     5. To provide a device which will retain the-nursing data even if the battery power fails.  
         [0016]     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specifications and drawings.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     The Nursing Monitor is for storing and displaying nursing patterns of breast feeding on the left breast and the right breast. The Nursing Monitor has an enclosure with a plurality of push buttons on the enclosure. There is also a display screen. An electrical circuit is connected to the plurality of push buttons and to the display screen for storing and displaying nursing patterns including the breast utilized, the time of occurrence of nursing and the time of duration of nursing. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the front panel of the Nursing Monitor showing the display and push buttons used to activate the Nursing Monitor.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the back panel of the Nursing Monitor showing the desk stand and the restart switch.  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view from the front of the Nursing Monitor showing the components of the Nursing Monitor including the push buttons, front panel, electrical circuit, display opening, display screen and inside of the back panel.  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the back of the Nursing Monitor also showing the separate components of the invention including the push buttons, inside of the front panel, electrical circuit, and the outside of the rear panel.  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of the electrical circuit of the Nursing Monitor. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERALS  
       [0023]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 NUMERAL 
                 DESCRIPTION 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 11 
                 Three Push Buttons 
               
               
                 13 
                 Right Push Button 
               
               
                 15 
                 Center Push Button 
               
               
                 17 
                 Left Push Button 
               
               
                 19 
                 Top 
               
               
                 21 
                 Front Panel 
               
               
                 23 
                 Display Opening 
               
               
                 24 
                 Display Cover 
               
               
                 25 
                 Pendant Holder 
               
               
                 27 
                 Bottom 
               
               
                 29 
                 Top 
               
               
                 31 
                 Top Section 
               
               
                 33 
                 Soft Rubber Covering 
               
               
                 35 
                 Bottom Section 
               
               
                 37 
                 Back Panel 
               
               
                 38 
                 Desk Stand 
               
               
                 39 
                 Assembly Screws 
               
               
                 41 
                 Threaded Members 
               
               
                 43 
                 Inside Surface 
               
               
                 45 
                 Outside Surface 
               
               
                 47 
                 Center Panel or Electrical Board 
               
               
                 49 
                 Display Screen 
               
               
                 51 
                 Battery Compartment 
               
               
                 53 
                 Memory-NVRAM 
               
               
                 55 
                 Microcontroller 
               
               
                 57 
                 Operational or Electrical Circuit 
               
               
                 59 
                 Real Time Clock 
               
               
                 61 
                 Input-Output Ports 
               
               
                 63 
                 Conditioning Circuit 
               
               
                 65 
                 First Interrupt Line 
               
               
                 66 
                 Second Interrupt Line 
               
               
                 67 
                 Restart Switch 
               
               
                 69 
                 DC/DC Converter 
               
               
                 71 
                 Batteries 
               
               
                 73 
                 Grounds 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]     This Nursing Monitor assists mothers in tracking their nursing patterns. The Nursing Monitor times the nursing session and will also store the time and duration of the session as well as which breast was used for that session. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing an infant eight to twelve times a day and there is currently no electronic device to assist mothers in monitoring the number of times a day they are nursing. In addition, ensuring that each breast gets equal amounts of stimulation is important to maintaining a good milk supply and avoiding engorgement.  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the Nursing Monitor has three push buttons  11 , namely a right push button  13 , a center push button  15 , and left push button  17 . The left push button  17  is labeled and provides Left/Yes/Down. The center push button is labeled and provides Menu/Enter,  15  and the right push button  13  is labeled and provides Right/No/Yes. The three push buttons  11 , are located at the top  19  of the Nursing Monitor and on a front panel  21 . Directly below the three push buttons  11 , there is a display opening  23 . The display opening  23  is covered by a display cover  24  which is transparent. A pendant holder  25  is located at the bottom  27  of the front panel  21 , where the three push buttons  11 , are located on the front panel  21 . A top section  31  of the front panel  21  is preferably covered by of a soft rubber covering  33 , as are the three push buttons  11 . A bottom section  35  of the front panel  21  is preferably plastic beneath the soft rubber covering  33 .  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the back panel  37  of the Nursing Monitor as shown. The front panel  21  and the back panel  27 are held together with assembly screws  39 . The assembly screws  39  mate with threaded members  41  mounted on the inside surface  43  of the front panel  21 . The three push buttons  11 , are located on the front panel  21  only. A desk stand  38  is attached to the outside surface  45  of the back panel  37 .  
         [0027]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , an electrical board  47 , or center panel  47  is shown. The center board  47  is located between the front panel  21  and the back panel  37  and is also held in place by the assembly screws  39 . The display screen  49  is located toward the top of the control panel  47  and is viewed through the display opening  23  in the front panel  21 . In  FIG. 4  at the rear of the center panel  47  with the battery compartments  51  and the non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM)  53  for memory storage.  
         [0028]     The operational circuit  57  of the Nursing Monitor is shown in  FIG. 5 . The Nursing Monitor is based on a microcontroller  55  which is a low power, low voltage chip within an operational circuit  57  or electrical circuit  57 . A non volatile random access memory (NVRAM)  57  is connected to and is a part of the microcontroller  55 . The microcontroller  55 , also includes a real time clock (RTC)  59 , the NVRAM  53 , and interrupt structures such as the RTC  59 . The operational circuit  57  also includes input/output ports  61  which supply the microcontroller  55 . The microcontroller  55  includes the ability to enter a power-down mode.  
         [0029]     Connected to the microcontroller  55  through conditioning circuits  63  are the three push buttons  11 . These three push buttons  11 , provide input to the Nursing Monitor and includes the right push button  13 , the center push button  15  and the left push button  17 . Operation of the three push buttons  13 ,  15 ,  17 , is in conjunction with the display screen  49 . A first interrupt line  65  from the conditioning circuits  63  generates an interrupt to the microcontroller  55  so that the push button  11 , can be used to activate the microcontroller  55  from power down and to respond to the push buttons  11 , on an interrupt basis. A second interrupt line  66  is located between the real time clock  59  and the microcontroller  55 . A restart switch  67 , located on the back panel  37  restarts the Nursing Monitor after it has been shut down.  
         [0030]     A DC/DC converter  69  located within the operation circuit  57  transforms the voltage of batteries  71  located in the battery compartment  51  into a level useable by the operational circuit  57 . This Nursing Monitor conserves power by going into a sleep mode or power down mode most of the time. During one-second interrupt pulses from the RTC, the microcontroller  55  wakes up, updates the display and then powers down. Depressing the push buttons  13 ,  15 ,  17  will also generate an interrupt wake up. As a consequence, the microcontroller  55  spends most of it&#39;s time in power-saving mode thus minimizing the power requirements. The firmware programs, which are memory programs, stored in and part of the NVRAM  53  of the microprocessor  55  are responsible for driving all the operations.  
         [0000]     Operations  
         [0031]     When the Nursing Monitor is activated, thereby starting the operation, the Nursing Monitor will run through an initialization process where it configures the display screen  49 , checks the microcontroller  55  for previously stored data. If erroneously stored data is detected it will clear the microcontroller  55 . The real time clock  59  will be set with the time and date the last time the Nursing Monitor was turned off, when the last session ran. The display area will show the following: 
        NURSING MONITOR     PENDANT        
 
         [0034]     Then, the following message is displayed for a second: 
        MODEL SERIAL #100        
 
         [0036]     If the initializing process for the Nursing Monitor is successful, then the display area will display for a second. 
        POWER ON     DIAGNOSTICS     PASSED        
 
         [0040]     Thereafter, the display screen  49  shows the date and the time in the lower portion of the display screen  49 . It is also possible to display the start time and duration of the last session either in the top right corner of the display screen  49  and to display the number of the session. If nothing was stored in the microcontroller  55  then there will be nothing to display on the display screen  49 .  
         [0041]     As previously stated, three push buttons  11 , are labeled from left to right: 
        “Left/Yes/Down”, Menu Enter”, “Right/No/Up”.        
 
         [0043]     When the left push button  17 , is pressed the display screen  49  will show the Start time in the middle of the display screen  49  and the real time clock  59  in the microcontroller  55  will indicate the time in increments of seconds. Also the Nursing Monitor will display the message: 
        Feeding From Left Breast        
 
         [0045]     When the left push button  17  is again pressed after at least one minute into a session, then the Nursing Monitor will store in the microcontroller  55 , the session number, the start time, the duration and that the left breast was used during that session. The accumulated time of that session for the left breast for that day and the date, if it was different from the previous date will also be stored. Next, the display screen  49  will show the start time and duration at the top left corner of the display screen  49  of the just run session.  
         [0046]     When the right push button  13  is pressed the Nursing Monitor will display the start time in the middle of the screen and in the microcontroller  55  will indicate every second. Also the Nursing Monitor will display the message: 
        “Feeding from Right Breast”       
 
         [0048]     When you press the right push button  13  again after at least one minute into the session, then the Nursing Monitor will store in the NVRAM  53 , the session number, the start time, the duration, that the right breast was used during that session and also the accumulated time of that session for that day and date, if it was different from a previous stored date. Then, the Nursing Monitor will display the start time and duration at the top right corner of the screen of the session that immediately occurred. Within a thirty second period of pressing either the left push button  17  or the right push button  13 , the opposite push button can be pressed. After that, it is only necessary to press the same push button to stop the session. The push button  15  can also be pressed when running the session. The minimum time for a session is one minute and maximum is forty five minutes. After forty five minutes of starting the session, should the session not be stopped, then the microcontroller  55  will terminate the session and store forty five minutes as the duration of the session. It is possible to store fourteen sessions a day for a total of seven days. After the seventh day of operation, the program will overwrite the sessions stored on the first day and so on in a circular fashion. After the fifteenth session, the Nursing Monitor will display the following message: 
        REACHED LIMIT OF 14 LOGS PER DAY     DELETE LAST LOG?    PRESS ‘YES OR ‘NO’       
 
         [0052]     This permits the deletion of the fourteenth session from memory in the microcontroller  55  so that the fifteenth session can be stored.  
         [0053]     If the ‘NO’ push button is pressed, then the following message will appear at the display: 
        THIS SESSION     WILL NOT BE SAVED        
 
         [0056]     Any key is then pressed to exit the menu. If it is desired not to delete the previous sessions after reaching the limit of fourteen, then the date should be changed using the “Set Date” menu selection with the center push button  15  before running the fifteenth session. This will mandate that the microcontroller  55  will start saving new sessions in the NVRAM  57 . When the center push button  15  is pressed the display screen  49  will show a list of menu choices as follows: 
        DISPLAY LOG     DELETE LAST LOG     SET TIME     SET DATE     DELETE ALL LOGS     TURN UNIT OFF     EXIT MENU        
 
         [0064]     To scroll through the menu selection, the left push button  17  is used to go down, or the right push button  13  is used to go up, and a selection is made by pressing the center push button  15 . The selected menu will be highlighted. Exiting from the menu screen select exit menu and press the center push button  15 , enter. This returns the display screen  49  to the main screen. The center push button  15  for menu can be pressed either when a session is up in operation or in-between sessions. The display log choice selection on the menu is for checking the session times and session statistics. The first line displays the session number of the day. The maximum number is fourteen. The second line shows the starting time when the breast feeding started. The third line shows the duration feeding time in minutes. The second and third lines are displayed either at the left corner or at the right corner of the display screen  49  depending on whether the left breast or the right breast was used. The fourth line shows the date of the sessions. The fifth line shows the total number of sessions for the date displayed. The sixth line shows the accumulated time for both left and right breasts for the date displayed. The display is in hours and minutes format. The seventh line shows the daily average session time in minutes. The microcontroller  55  takes the value of the accumulated time for both the left breast and the right breast for that date and divides it by the total number of sessions for that date being displayed. The eighth line shows the total average of the daily averages in minutes. It takes the value of the daily averages of session times and divides it by total number of days that a session occurred and was stored in memory.  
         [0065]     When the display log, by pressing the center push button  15 , is selected the Nursing Monitor will start with the date of the statistics of the current session. As the left push button  17  is pressed, the Nursing Monitor will scroll through the logged session times, starting with the first session of that day and until the last session up to fourteen sessions per day. After the last session of a current day, by pressing the right push button  13 , the microcontroller  55  will display that statistic of the sessions which were stored for the first six days before the current day, then five days before the current day and so on until the current day providing sessions were run for that long. If there is only one day of sessions stored, then it will show on the display screen  49  only that one day. Therefore, by pressing the right push  13  button or a the left push button  17  the Nursing Monitor will return to the starting point. To exit from the menu press the center push button  15 . The delete last log menu selection is for deleting the last run session from the memory of the microcontroller  55 . There are various possible reasons for deleting, for example, if either the left push button  17  or the right push button  13  was pressed accidentally and the Nursing Monitor started running a session or if a session was interrupted for some time and there is no desire that such a session be stored in memory, or if a maximum limit of fourteen sessions per day has been reached and it is desired to store the most recent session. By pressing the delete last log menu selection on the menu the Nursing Monitor will delete the last session and subtract it&#39;s duration from the total accumulated time of sessions for that day. By pressing the left push button  17  when prompted by the display screen  49 , the last session will be deleted. Should it be desired not to delete the last session, the right push button  13  is pressed.  
         [0066]     The firm program in the microcontroller  55  is not programed to delete more than one session in sequence. If two sessions have occurred and one session has been deleted and it is desired to delete another session, it is necessary to run the second session again before it can be deleted. Also, after the power is turned on, if there is a last session, time displayed, it cannot be deleted. If upon returning to the previously run session it is displayed and the session number for it will be decreased by one. The set time menu selection is for editing new time. When the Nursing Monitor is again to set the real time clock  59 . When set time is selected, then the time of the real time clock  59  is displayed. The real time clock  59  will continuously update the display screen  49  with a current time if the center push button is not pressed. If the center push button  15  is pressed, then the left most digit of the hour will start blinking. As for example, if the time is displayed as on, 12:45, then the “1” digit will start blinking. This digit can be increased with the right push button  13 . To edit the other three time digits and “AM/PM” press the right  13  down push  13  button again and then the left button  17  to change it. To complete editing the time, press the enter push button and the time will be updated in the real time clock  59 . If a new time was edited, then the display screen  49  will blink the new time three times and return to the menu. It is important to be certain that the time set on the Nursing Monitor on the display screen  49  is correct before running the sessions. After the batteries  71  have been replaced, the current time must be entered to update the real time clock  59 , since it is shut down when the batteries  71  are out of the Nursing Monitor.  
         [0067]     The set date menu selection is for editing a new date in the real time clock  59 . When set date is selected, then the date of the real time clock  59  will be displayed. The first digit of the month which is usually a zero, will start blinking. This digit can be incremented with the right push button  13 . To edit the other five date digits, press the left push button  17  and the updated date will be changed in the real time clock. If a new date has been edited, then the display screen  49  will blink the new date three times and then return to the menu. After the batteries  71  have been replaced the current date must be entered to update the real time clock  59 , if the last stored date does not match the current date.  
         [0068]     The delete all logs, the menu selection is for deleting all sessions and all dates from the memory of the microcontroller  55 . The memory will be cleared, leaving zeroes written in every location of the NVRAM  53 . It takes about two to three seconds to clear all the memory from the Nursing Monitor to the menu. To delete all sessions press the left push button  17  when so prompted.  
         [0069]     Should it be desired not to delete all sessions, press the right push button  13 . When the turn unit off selection is selected, the batteries will turn into power sleep mode. Only the real time clock  59  will remain updating the time and date. To turn the Nursing Monitor on press the restart button switch  67  on the back panel  37  of the Nursing Monitor. Also, when it is time to replace old batteries, it is recommended to use the turn unit off selection before removing batteries.  
         [0070]     While a preferred embodiment is shown and described herein, it should be understood that the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations in the described Nursing Monitor and it&#39;s uses are possible within the scope of this disclosure without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention.