Abstract:
The present invention provides an infant teething gel applicator for the application of anesthetic gel, having a teething portion to administer a regulated and minimal dosage of medication, and a collar to fit inside a standard baby bottle. The collar extends radially in a first plane and the teething portion extends laterally from the collar and is aligned longitudinally in a direction generally orthogonal to the collar. The teething portion has an outer engaging surface with a plurality of protrusions extending outward therefrom. Each individual protrusion contains a single minute pore configured to harbor medication, which is dispersed upon an infant chewing the device.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a bottle fitted infant teething gel applicator that slowly delivers a regulated amount of medication to an infant&#39;s gums. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The process of teething is a natural occurrence that is encountered by infants in their first two to three years of life. Through the eruption of teeth through the gums, infants often experience pain and discomfort that is typically addressed through the use of chewable objects or certain types of medications. More specifically, topical anesthetics, such as benzocaine, are often applied to areas of the infant&#39;s gums that are irritated. 
   The primary problem with the use of such topical anesthetics is the application of a proper dosage of the medication, over time, to areas that are specifically irritated. For example, caregivers may dispense a proscribed amount of topical anesthetic onto their finger or other object for rubbing onto the infants gums. This method is problematic for a number of reasons. First, the infant usually is too young to communicate which specific gum areas are in discomfort. Therefore, medicine is needlessly wasted by applying it over all the gum areas. Second, if a dosage of anesthetic is applied all at one time, discomfort may resume within a short period of time as the medicine wears off. As most anesthetics can only be applied so often to avoid the risk of overdosing, the caregiver may not be able to quickly reapply the anesthetic. 
   Thus, what is desired is an infant teething gel applicator arrangement that manages the distribution of topical anesthetics over long periods of time, so as to minimize medicinal intake; directs the infant to chew only on medicated portions of said device; improves cleanliness with minimized contact of the engaging surfaces and the floor; and allows an infant to self administer the analgesic gel to the precise areas of the gums where the pain occurs. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides an infant teething gel applicator, comprising a resilient chewing portion and a collar. The chewing portion is an elongated structure having a proximal end attached to a hemispherically-shaped shoulder, a free distal end, and opposing outer engaging surfaces. The said chewing portion contains an array of protrusions that are each capable of entrapping analgesic gel within tiny pores located atop each protrusion. The said analgesic gel is dispersed upon an infant chewing the said protrusions. The collar has a ring-shaped base with the said hemispherically-shaped shoulder extending from the base. This arrangement allows the device to fit within a standard baby bottle for usage. With the device being attached to a baby bottle, an infant may self-administer the medication, and the potential for compromise of the device&#39;s hygiene, through the contact of the engaging surfaces and the floor, is minimized, as the bottle&#39;s larger periphery rests on the floor due to its weight, and the engaging surfaces are suspended in the air. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the infant teething gel applicator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the infant teething gel applicator of FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line  2 — 2 ; and  FIG. 7  is a magnified representation of the pore shape, included within the circle on FIG.  3 . 
       FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the infant teething gel applicator of FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a front elevational view of the infant teething gel applicator of FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 6  is a rear elevational view of the infant teething gel applicator of FIG.  1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The infant teething device of the present invention is shown generally at  10  in FIG.  1 . The device  10  comprises a collar section  12  and a teething or chewing portion  14  extending from the collar and having an array of protrusions  16  that are each capable of entrapping analgesic gel within tiny pores located atop each protrusion. In this arrangement, when an infant chews on the teething portion  14  with their teeth and/or gums, such teething portion is compressed towards a conduit  18  therein, best seen in FIG.  3 . This compression causes flexure in the protrusions  16 , which reduces the volume of pores  20  into which topical anesthetic is placed, thereby expelling the anesthetic onto the infant&#39;s gums for relief of pain and discomfort. The infant teething gel applicator is preferably made of a compressible, rubber-like material that can be molded as a one piece unit. Such materials may include natural rubber or silicone, and should be safe enough for an infant to insert into their mouth. 
   The collar section  12  has a base section or guard  22  that is preferably ring-shaped and a hemispherically-shaped shoulder  24 , as seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 . Opposing first and second planar surfaces  26 ,  28  are formed on guard  22  and the shoulder  24  extends from the first planar surface.  FIGS. 3 and 6  show the conduit  18  formed in the collar section  12  and extending generally laterally inward from the second planar surface  28  into teething portion  14 . The section of the conduit  18  within the collar section  12  preferably begins with a disk shape and transitions into a hemispherical shape to mimic the overall shape of the collar and reduce material usage during manufacturing. Preferably, the collar section  12  is sized and configured to allow the device  10  to be placed within the neck of a baby bottle for usage, with the guard  22  having a diameter of about 1{{fraction (7/16)}} inches, so the device will fit onto standard sized baby bottles. In this way, device  10  is secured much like a standard nipple on a bottle. Also, the shoulder  24  preferably has a diameter of about {{fraction (15/16)}} of an inch where the shoulder intersects the first planar surface  26 , as seen in  FIG. 5 , to allow an infant to rest their lips thereon while using the teething portion  14 . 
   The teething portion  14  extends laterally outward generally from a central region  30  of the hemispherically-shaped shoulder  24  at a proximal end  32  thereof, and terminates at a free distal end  34 , as seen in  FIGS. 1-4 . The teething portion  14  is generally rectangular in shape, and conduit  18  extends longitudinally therethrough and terminates near distal end  34 . The conduit  18  section within the teething portion  14  has a shape that generally mimics that of the teething portion, as seen in  FIGS. 3 and 6 . The conduit  18  should be sized such that the device  10  has the right amount of resilience for chewing by an infant to compress the teething portion  14  and distort volume of pores  20  to expel medication. An outer engaging surface  36  is provided with a plurality of protrusions  16  extending therefrom. The protrusions  16  are located on at least one of upper and lower exterior surfaces  40 ,  42  of the teething portion, and preferably on both surfaces such that an infant can simultaneously chew on the device  10  with both upper and lower sets of gums and/or teeth. A smooth exterior side surface  44  extends around a perimeter edge of the teething portion  14 . To allow for ease in insertion of the teething portion  14  into the infant&#39;s mouth, beveled edges  46  may be provided between the exterior side surface  44  and the upper and lower exterior surfaces  40 ,  42  having protrusions  16 . Ideally, the teething portion  14  has a length of about 1⅛ inches a width of about ¾ inches. 
   Each protrusion  16  extends outwardly from the outer engaging surface  36  and preferably tapers in width from a base section  48  to a tip  50 . Each pore  20 , preferably cylindrical in shape, is disposed within each protrusion  16  to store a proscribed amount of medication dosage. The protrusions  16  can be of a variety of shapes, such as conical, and preferably are pyramidal with a 4-sided base  48  and a sectioned flat upper surface or tip  50 . In the pyramidal arrangement, the protrusions ideally have a width of about ⅛ of an inch at the base section  48 , a width of about {fraction (1/16)} of an inch at the tip  50 , and a height of about {fraction (1/16)} of an inch. This configuration allows the protrusions  16  to form a set of rows and columns defining a plurality of transverse and longitudinally aligned, interspaced grooves  52 . These grooves  52  facilitate the cleaning and removal of excess topical anesthetic and other debris from the outer engaging surface  36 . 
   Ideally, each pore  20  in a protrusion  16  has a hemispherical bottom  20   a  and is sized with a specific volume, such that the combined pore volume does not exceed the volume dosage of medication recommended for an infant&#39;s topical anesthetics, such as (0.002 cc) of 7 percent concentration of benzocaine. Thus, when medication is applied in the proper dosage to the pores  20  of the protrusions  16 , and the excess is removed from the grooves  52  of the outer engaging surface  36 , a small amount of the actual dosage is available for contact with the soft tissues of the mouth. The depth of the pore  20  should be at least twice but no more than 4 times as deep as the pore diameter, so as to moderate the gel dispersion rate, while not hindering the cleaning of the hemispherical bottom  20   a . Ideally, the pore depth is about 0.05 inches and the pore diameter is about 0.02 inches, but no deeper than the protrusion tips rise above its base, as compression of the underlying mass would provoke generalized pore deformation. In an exemplary configuration, 45 pores on each surface may be used (9 rows by 5 columns of protrusions  16 ), but any number may be chosen so long as the total pore volume dosage for holding medication does not exceed that recommended for an infant&#39;s topical anesthetics. 
   Because the protrusions  16  extend outward from the outer engaging surface  36 , the pores  20  are well positioned to administer medication directly onto irritated areas of the infant&#39;s gum as the device  10  is being used. The tapering of the protrusions  16  in width from the base section  48  to the tip  50  provides the protrusions with the proper amount of rigidity; the protrusions are narrow enough at the tip  50  to provide some flex for expelling medicine from the pores  20 , but wide enough at the base  48  as to avoid buckling and excessive distortion by the infant&#39;s gums which would expel excessive medicine quickly. Also, the protrusions  16  are shaped to aid in the eruption of underlying teeth in the infant&#39;s gums. 
   By way of use, a recommended dosage of topical anesthetic is disperse from a medicine container and rubbed onto the protrusions  16  of the device  10 , with a finger in a circular motion, to work the medicine into the pores  20 . Because of the transverse and longitudinally aligned grooves  52 , excess medication that passes into the grooves can be easily removed, for example with a cotton swab. The teething portion  14  can then be placed in an infant&#39;s mouth. As the infant uses their teeth and/or gums to compress the teething portion  14 , the protrusions  16 , more specifically the pores  20 , are compressed laterally and vertically to reduce the pore volume and expel traces of gel to soothe areas of gum irritation. Also as a result of the chewing action by the infant, saliva will aid in lifting the deposits of gel deep inside the pores  20  to fully use up the dosage of medication. 
   While certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.