Patent Publication Number: US-2005126013-A1

Title: Child&#39;s scissors with simulated vehicle attachment

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to scissors and, more particularly, to a pair of child&#39;s scissors designed to take advantage of contemporary theories and practices in the field of early childhood development by incorporating an element of play into learning to properly use a pair of scissors.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      The use of scissors is an essential skill that is typically learned in preschool and first grade. In addition to promoting fine motor coordination, it is necessary to complete many of the activities associated with preschool and first grade, such as art projects where pieces of paper are sectioned, rearranged and glued together. Yet, for many young children the use of scissors can be intimidating and difficult. Some children are confused as to which grip loop is for the thumb and which is for the fingers. Others are unable to focus when attempting to cut in a straight line, and some have difficulty understanding that the scissors must be moved forward into the paper being cut. Consequently, to many children, the use of scissors is a task viewed as work rather than play.  
      Contemporary theories and practices in the field of early childhood development, such as those derived from the works of Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, suggest that “play is a child&#39;s work” and that children acquire new skills and knowledge more readily when those skills and knowledge build on previous experiences. Specifically, the doctrines of Constructivism and Assimilation hold that children assimilate new skills and knowledge by reflecting on their past experiences to “construct” new understandings. Accordingly, children will grasp a new skill more readily when learning the skill is associated with a past play experience or with a toy with which the child is familiar. Therefore, as applied to learning to use a pair of scissors, contemporary theories and practices suggest that scissors having an attachment resembling a toy with which children are familiar would be beneficial.  
      U.S. Design Pat. No. 301,348, issued May 30, 1989 to W. L. Li et al., shows a pair of toy scissors with the blades formed to resemble the head of an elephant. U.S. Design Pat. No. 367,415, issued Feb. 27, 1996 to Y. S. Wu. shows a pair of child scissors shaped to resemble a reptile.  
      U.S. Design Pat. No. 303,919, issued Oct. 10, 1989 to L. Pate, and U.S. Design Pat. No. 407,527, issued Mar. 30, 1999 to E. Bellisario, shows combinations of a pair of scissors and a comb for use by a hairstylist.  
      U.S. Design Pat. No. 399,971, issued Oct. 20, 1998 to R. C. Scherer, shows a pair of surgical scissors with a shield to protect its user from a spray of blood. U.S. Pat. No. 2,557,553, issued Jun. 19, 1951 to M. I. Metzger, teaches a pair of play scissors with a safety guard.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 2,591,740, issued Apr. 8, 1952 to W. M. Stilwell et al., teaches a pair of child&#39;s safety scissors that incorporates a narrow slot into which a sheet of paper is positioned for cutting.  
      None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a pair of child&#39;s scissors with a simulated vehicle attachment solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The child&#39;s scissors with simulated vehicle attachment is a pair of child&#39;s scissors that has a simulated car or other forward-moving vehicle extending vertically from the upper cutting blade. The vehicle attachment is designed to instruct a child in the use of scissors by suggesting that the scissors are fun and non-threatening. Additionally, the vehicle attachment intimates to a child that forward movement of the scissors is necessary for proper use, and encourages the child to cut in a straight line by “driving the vehicle” across the page being cut. The vehicle attachment also helps a child hold the scissors correctly by providing a visual marker that should be positioned on top of the scissors when held properly.  
      Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a pair of child scissors that invites children to engage in the use of scissors.  
      It is another object of the invention to provide a pair of child scissors that helps a child hold the scissors correctly.  
      It is a further object of the invention to provide a pair of child scissors that intimates to a child that forward movement of the scissors is necessary for proper use.  
      Still another object of the invention is to provide a pair of child&#39;s scissors that encourages a child to cut in a straight line.  
      It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.  
      These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a child&#39;s scissors with vehicle attachment according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a child&#39;s scissors with vehicle attachment according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the child&#39;s scissors of  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a child&#39;s scissors with vehicle attachment according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  shows a simulated vehicle adapted for attachment to a pair of child&#39;s scissors according to the present invention. 
    
    
      Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention is a pair of child&#39;s scissors with a vehicle attachment, designated generally as  10  in the drawings. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the scissors  10  include a top member  20  and a bottom member  50  pivotally coupled together by a screw  60  that passes through a non-threaded aperture  22  in the top member  20  and engages with a threaded aperture  52  in the bottom member  50 .  
      The top member  20  is constructed of a piece of metal formed into an elongated blade portion  24 , a finger grip portion  26  and a simulated vehicle  28 . The elongated portion  24  is substantially flat with a proximal end  36 , a distal end  34 , an outside surface  38 , an inside surface opposite the outside surface  38 , a top surface  30  and a bottom surface  32  opposite the top surface  30 . Each of the top and bottom surfaces  30  and  32  extends from the proximal end  36  to the distal end  34  and has an inner edge and an outer edge. The outer edge of the bottom surface  32  and the inner and outer edges of top surface  30  are rounded and dull. The inner edge of the bottom surface  32  is squared and sharp, and functions as the cutting edge of the elongated portion  24 .  
      The finger grip portion  26  of the top member  20  forms an elongated loop  44  adapted to receive the fingers of a child&#39;s hand, and has a proximal end  36 , a distal end  40  and a fitted plastic covering  42  to protect the fingers of a child using the scissors  10 . The proximal ends  36  of the finger grip portion  26  and the elongated portion  24  are contiguous.  
      The simulated vehicle  28  is substantially flat with a left side, a right side  46 , a forward end  48  and a rear end  49 . From either of its sides, the simulated vehicle  28  resembles the profile of an automobile. The simulated vehicle  28  extends from the elongated portion  24  with the wheels  47  being contiguous with the top surface  30  of the elongated portion  24 , and with its forward end  48  oriented toward the distal end  34  of the elongated portion  24 . The simulated vehicle  28  may be made in one piece with the top blade  24  by casting, forging, or other metal forming processes, or made separately and attached to the blade  20  by adhesive, welding, or other joinery processes.  
      The bottom member  50  is constructed of a piece of metal formed into an elongated blade portion  54  and a thumb grip portion  56 . The elongated portion  54  is substantially flat with a proximal end  72 , a distal end  58 , an inside surface  60 , an outside surface opposite the inside surface  60 , a top surface  62  and a bottom surface  64  opposite the top surface  62 . Each of the top and bottom surfaces  62  and  64  extends from the proximal end  72  to the distal end  58  and has an inner edge and an outer edge. The outer edge of the top surface  62  and the inner and outer edges of bottom surface  64  are rounded and dull. The inner edge of the bottom surface  64  is squared and sharp, and functions as the cutting edge of this elongated blade portion  54 .  
      The thumb grip portion  56  of the bottom member  50  forms an elongated loop  66  adapted to receive a child&#39;s thumb, and has a proximal end  72 , a distal end  68  and a fitted plastic covering  70  to protect the child&#39;s thumb. The proximal ends  72  of the thumb grip portion  56  and the elongated portion  54  are contiguous.  
      Each of the top member  20  and the bottom member  50  is between one-sixteenth and one-eighth of an inch in thickness. The top and bottom members  20  and  50  are pivotally coupled such that when the thumb grip portion  56  and finger grip portion  26  are moved together, apart and back together, the cutting edges of the two elongated blade portions  24  and  54  scrape past each other and thereby cut any paper between the two blades  24  and  54 . Thus, a child would operate the invention  10  by inserting his or her thumb into the thumb grip portion  56  and fingers into finger grip portion  26  and moving his or her thumb and fingers together, apart and back together.  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , the invention  100  can be altered by simply varying the type of vehicle used as the simulated vehicle. In  FIG. 4 , the simulated vehicle extending from the elongated portion of the top member simulates an airplane instead of an automobile. Furthermore, although not shown, the simulated vehicle could be any vehicle capable of forward motion including, but not limited to, a truck, a boat, a skateboard, a roller skate, a scooter, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a snowmobile, a stroller, a shopping cart, a wagon, a doll carriage, a wave runner, a sled, a sleigh, a horse drawn carriage, a train or a go-cart.  
      In other embodiments, the top and bottom members could be constructed of a combination of molded plastic and metal or could be pivotally coupled by a nut and bolt assembly or a bolt and cod pin assembly.  
      As shown in  FIG. 5 , the present invention may also be realized by providing a simulated vehicle  200  that can be provided as an aftermarket attachment to a blade of a pair of child&#39;s scissors S, the simulated vehicle  200  being joined to the scissors by adhesive, welding, or other joinery methods.  
      It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.