Patent Document:

fig1 sets forth a perspective view of a baby pacifier constructed in accordance with the present invention . the view in fig1 sets forth the present invention baby pacifier in the closed position in which the nipple member is protected within the pacifier . accordingly , the present invention pacifier generally referenced by numeral 10 includes a concave top member 12 formed of a resilient elastic material and defining a generally domed or spherical portion 16 which in turn defines an elongated longitudinal slot 12 . top 11 further defines a downwardly extending collapsalbe side wall 13 . in accordance with an important aspect of the present invention , side wall 13 further defines a plurality of circular side ribs 15 which , as set forth below in greater detail , form a collapsable accordion structure . side walls 13 terminate in a downwardly facing edge 14 and further define a trio of equally spaced slots 25 , 26 and 27 ( slot 27 better seen in fig2 ). a generally convex base member 20 defines a domed - shaped member 19 which terminates in a circular edge 21 . a pair of handle sections 30 and 31 extend through base member 20 and by means shown below , attach to the interior of spherical portion 16 . handle sections 30 and 31 further define a pair of finger ring members 32 and 33 respectively . ring members 32 and 33 are joined at seam 34 . fig2 sets forth a top view of the present invention baby pacifier in the closed position shown in fig1 . as can be seen , top 11 forms a generally circular dome - shaped member having an elongated slot 12 extending laterally across its center portion . a trio of outwardly extending tabs 22 , 23 and 24 are equally spaced about the perimeter of base member 20 ( seen in fig1 ) and extend beyond top 11 . as is set forth below in greater detail , top 11 further defines a corresponding plurality of slots 26 , 25 and 27 through which tabs 22 , 23 and 24 respectively extend through . as can also be seen in fig2 and as is set forth below in greater detail , a nipple member 50 is positioned directly beneath slot 12 in the closed position shown in fig1 and 2 . in accordance with an important aspect of the present invention and as is shown below in fig4 nipple member 50 extends through slot 12 when the present invention baby pacifier is configured in the open position shown in fig4 and described below in greater detail . fig3 sets forth a section view of the present invention baby pacifier taken along section lines 3 -- 3 in fig1 . as set forth above , the present invention baby pacifier is shown in fig1 and 3 in the closed position . with respect to fig3 top member 11 defines a generally domed or spherical portion 16 which further defines an elongated slot 12 . a downwardly extending side wall 13 terminates in an edge 14 and as set forth above , defines a plurality of slots 25 through 27 . ( slots 26 and 27 seen in fig2 ). base member 20 defines a domed member 19 terminating in an upper edge 21 and defining a pair of slots 40 and 41 . a nipple member 50 is formed of a resilient material and comprises a generally rounded nipple end 51 and a generally cylindrical nipple stem 52 . in accordance with the invention , nipple stem 52 is joined to the interior of base 20 and extends upwardly therefrom . in further accordance with the present invention nipple member 50 is positioned beneath the center of elongated slot 12 . a pair of handle sections 30 and 31 define respective generally annular finger rings 32 and 33 . in accordance with an important aspect of the present invention , finger ring 33 defines a recessed snap well 43 while finger ring 32 defines an inwardly extending generally cylindrical snap projection 42 . snap projection 42 is sized and configured to fit tightly within snap well 43 and provide a snap attachment between finger rings 32 and 33 . handle 30 defines a pair of arms 53 and 55 which extend upwardly from finger ring 32 . arm 55 extends through slot 40 and is attached or joined to the interior of domed portion 16 . correspondingly , handle section 31 defines a pair of arms 54 and 56 which extend upwardly from finger ring 33 . arm 56 extends through slot 41 in base 20 and is joined or attached to the interior of domed member 16 . in the configuration shown , top member 11 is secured to base member 20 by the cooperation of tabs 22 , 23 and 24 and slots 26 , 25 and 27 respectively . in accordance with an important aspect of the present invention , top 11 may be collapsed and drawn downwardly against base member 20 by drawing handle sections 30 and 31 downwardly through slots 40 and 41 to the position shown in fig4 . with the downward motion of handle sections 30 and 31 , spherical portion 16 is drawn downwardly against base member 20 . as spherical member 16 is drawn downwardly , nipple member 50 is forced through slot 12 which in turn causes slot 12 to deform and permit nipple member 50 to pass through slot 12 and emerge beyond top 11 . with continued downward drawing of the handle sections 30 and 31 , side walls 13 of top 11 collapse and spherical portion 16 conforms to the interior surface of base member 20 . fig4 sets forth the present invention baby pacifier configured in the open position in which spherical portion 16 of top 11 has been drawn downwardly against base member 20 . in the position shown , handle sections 32 and 33 have been drawn through base 20 . as described above , side wall 13 has been compressed by the drawing of handle sections 32 and 33 and nipple member 50 extends through slot 12 in spherical portion 16 and extends beyond top 11 . as can be seen in fig4 the exposure of nipple member 50 permits the infant to utilize the present invention pacifier in its normal manner . in addition , the present invention pacifier in the open position of fig4 may be handled by the convenient handle formed by the snapped assembly of handle sections 32 and 33 . as a result of forcing handle sections 32 and 33 upwardly , spherical section 16 is forced upwardly and slot 12 therein is passed about nipple stem 52 and rounded end 51 of nipple member 50 . the continued upward motion of handle sections 32 and 33 reconfigures the present invention baby pacifier in the closed position shown in fig1 and slot 12 due to the resilience of top 11 , returns to the elongated slot configuration shown in fig1 . as a result , the present invention pacifier completely encloses nipple member 50 in a protective environment which maintains the sanitation thereof . the present invention pacifier may be returned from the open position shown in fig4 to the closed position shown in fig1 by reversing the above - described process and forcing handle sections 32 and 33 upwardly with respect to base 20 . fig5 sets forth a detail partial section view of tab 23 and slot 25 . it should be understood that the structure of tab 22 and slot 26 as well as tab 24 and slot 27 are identical to tab 23 and slot 25 . as can be seen in fig5 tab 23 in base member 20 extends through slot 25 and captivates top 11 with respect to base member 20 . in accordance with an important aspect of the present invention , top 11 may be completely removed from base 20 by pasisng slots 24 , 25 and 26 over their respective tabs whereby top 11 may be completely removed from the present invention pacifier by unsnapping handle sections 32 and 33 and drawing them through slots 40 and 41 . as a result , the entire pacifier may be disassembled for easy cleaning and reassembled using the reverse of the above - described disassembly procedure . fig6 sets forth a bottom perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention baby pacifier . a pair of handle sections 71 and 72 are constructed in accordance with and identical to handle sections 31 and 32 of the embodiment shown in fig1 through 5 . in further similarity to the embodiment of fig1 through 5 , the embodiment of fig6 defines a domed base member 70 and a spherical top portion 73 . top portion 73 is identical to spherical portion 16 in the prior embodiment and accordingly defines an accordian wall section 74 which extends to and meets base member 70 in further similarity to the above - described embodiment . it should be understood that the embodiment of fig6 defines the same internal construction having a nipple member ( not shown ) identical to nipple member 50 which cooperates with a similar slot ( not shown ) to slot 12 in the prior embodiment . it should be further understood that in similarity to the above embodiment , the structure shown in fig6 is operative by drawing handle sections 71 and 72 downwardly to cause the nipple member therein to extend upwardly through top 73 in the same operation as set forth above for the embodiment of fig1 through 5 . examination of base member discloses the sole operative difference between the alternate embodiment shown in fig6 and the embodiment shown in fig1 through 5 in that base member 70 defines a trio of post recesses 63 , 64 and 65 which extend downwardly therethrough and which receive a corresponding trio of catch posts 60 through 62 respectively . as is set forth below in fig7 catch posts 60 through 62 cooperate with post recesses 63 through 65 respectively to replace and perform the closing functions of the tab and slot arrangements shown in the prior embodiment . accordingly and with reference to fig7 which shows a section view of catch post 62 within post recess 65 , top 73 is shown in preparation for mating to and attachment to base member 70 . as can be seen , base 70 defines an inwardly extending boss 85 which in turn defines a post recess 65 . an inwardly extending projection 80 is formed in the wall portion of post recess 65 . catch post 62 defines a lip 75 . as can be seen , lip 75 is positioned and configured to cooperate with projection 80 to secure catch post 72 within post recess 65 . top 73 further defines a nesting rim 82 and an accordian wall 74 . base 70 defines a nesting recess 83 positioned and configured to receive nesting rim 82 such that the combination of catch post 62 and nesting rim 82 are received respectively within post recess 65 and nesting recess 83 to properly position top 73 with respect to base 70 . in the position shown , accordian wall 74 is in contact with edge 81 of base 70 and thus completes closure of the cavity formed by top 73 and base 70 . in addition , the position of top 73 and base 70 shown in fig7 comprises the position resulting prior to the locking of post 62 within post recess 65 to complete the assembly of top 73 to base 70 . the assembly is completed by forcing top 73 downwardly against base 70 and thereby causing catch post 62 to move downwardly within post recess 65 until lip 75 passes across and is brought into contact with projection 80 . when so positioned , lip 75 and projection 80 cooperate to secure catch post 62 within recess 65 . in addition , the nesting of nesting rim 82 within nesting recess 83 further assists in the positive positioning of top 73 with respect to base 70 . it should be understood that while fig7 shows the structure of catch post 62 and post recess 65 in detail , they are also exemplary of the structures formed by catch posts 60 and 61 and post recesses 63 and 64 respectively . what has been shown is an improved baby pacifier which provides for configuration in a closed position in which the nipple member is completely protected and thereby remains free of contamination . the inventive pacifier shown is alternatively configured into an open position in which the pacifiers nipple member is exposed for use by the baby in the normal manner . while particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects . therefore , the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .

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