| Breastfeeding indicator bracelet with time indicator and method of use -> Monitor Keywords |
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Breastfeeding indicator bracelet with time indicator and method of useRelated Patent Categories: Apparel, Body Garments, WristletsBreastfeeding indicator bracelet with time indicator and method of use description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060179542, Breastfeeding indicator bracelet with time indicator and method of use. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This application has a priority based on provisional patent application No. 60/593,629, which was filed on Jan. 31, 2005 and titled Breastfeeding/Nursing Indicator Bracelet or Wristband with Time Measuring Device and Method of Use. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to bracelets and wristbands, to indicators used to monitor breastfeeding and, more particularly, to a bracelets or wristbands which incorporates time indicators used to monitor breastfeeding. [0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art [0005] Breastfeeding experts generally recommend alternating breasts from one feeding to the next. Such a procedure reduces the probability that milk ducts will become clogged and also assists in the development of an adequate milk supply. A number of brassieres and bracelets are available to assist nursing mothers in keeping track of nursing schedules, total feeding time, and the breast from which the infant was last fed. Available brassieres and bracelets may provide one or more of such features. [0006] There are many indicator devices which are designed to be used in connection with a nursing brassiere. U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,734 to Pamela G. Schawel discloses a brassiere having a slidable indicator which can be used to identify from which of the wearer's two breasts two breasts an infant was last fed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,812 to Clarence O. Babcock discloses a brassiere having an automatic nursing sequence indicator that is integral with the bra cups. Each cup has an attached, inwardly disposed flap, which overlaps the flap of the other cup. The flap of the cup opened last for nursing lies so that it at least partially covers the flap of the other cup, and points to the breast to be used for the next feeding session. U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,739 to Michael Dutka, et al. discloses an indicator which may be worn on the brassiere of a nursing mother to indicate which breast was last used to feed an infant. The device includes a cord having one end attached to the brassiere and a second element which can be attached to either a right or left portion of the brassiere. [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,391 to Ronald A. Juve, et al. discloses a resettable electronic breastfeeding timer having a visual display. The display indicates the duration of a nursing session, and also indicates whether the right or left breast was last used to feed an infant. An alarm, which can be programmed to signal the end of a nursing session, is also included. [0008] Several suppliers provide bracelets that can be moved from one wrist to the other to indicate which breast the infant fed from last. These bracelets have no time or hour indicators. [0009] Unique Mums LLC, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based business founded in 2004 by Susan Lazor, Kirsty Ball and Diana Plunkett, manufactures a breastfeeding reminder bracelet which they call The Nursing Bracelet.TM.. The bracelet is fabricated from beads of two colors. Light colored beads are marked with hour markers 1 to 12. Four dark-colored beads made of semi-precious stones are placed between each pair of consecutive hour marker beads and represent 15-minute intervals between the hour markers. According to advertising material published in connection with ads for the product, the bracelet can be used in four ways: (1) By moving the bracelet from wrist to wrist, a mother can keep track of the breast from which an infant was last fed; (2) By reattaching a removable marker charm to a particular time location on the bracelet (represented by the hour and 15-minute beads) the time of a last feeding can be recorded; (3) By attaching the marker charm to a particular time location, the time of the next feeding can be recorded; and (4) By attaching the marker charm to a particular hour marker, the total number of feedings in any single day or night can be recorded. In the latter case, the hour marker beads are being used to represent a count rather than total time. [0010] D.V. Family, Inc. supplies another type of nursing bracelet. Called a Mother's Minder.TM. Bracelet by the supplier, the bracelet has a sliding indicator which can be moved by the wearer to indicate total feeding time for the day. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] At least a portion of a nursing reminder bracelet is reversible to indicate right and left. The right and left indication may be written on each side of the bracelet, or each side thereof may incorporate recognizable, non-linguistic symbols, such as different colors, textures (i.e., smooth or rough), or patterns which change when the bracelet is reversed. A nursing mother may select one side of the bracelet to indicate from which breast her infant either last fed or will next feed. The bracelet may also include a device for logging time nursed from each breast, the time last fed from each breast, the time for the next projected feeding, or some combination of the three. For one embodiment, the device includes a linear scale on both sides of the bracelet and at least one movable marker to indicate either total daily nursing time, finish time of the last nursing session, or start time of the next nursing session. For a particular commercial embodiment being produced and marked by Milk Bands, LLC, one side of the bracelet is marked "RIGHT"; the other side, "LEFT". If the outside indicates "RIGHT", the indication can be changed to "LEFT" simply by flipping the bracelet inside-out, which is accomplished by rolling either edge of the bracelet over the other edge, and then transmitting the new conformation over the entire circumference of the bracelet. It can be returned to indicate "RIGHT" by flipping it again. Each side of the commercial embodiment also includes a pair of parallel curvilinear time scales which span a portion of the circumference of the bracelet: one in minutes, from 0 to 60, in 5-minute increments; the other in hours, from 0 to 12, in 1-hour increments. Each time increment on each scale is provided with its own aperture. Plugs provided with the bracelet can be inserted in appropriate apertures to indicate an accrued time or a time of day or night. The scales on both sides are aligned and positioned back-to-back, so that the scale settings are the same on both sides. On the right-indicating side of the bracelet, the word "RIGHT" and the numbers of the time scales are in relief (i.e., embossed), while on the left-indicating side of the bracelet, the work "LEFT" and the numbers of the time scales are engraved (i.e., inset in the surface). The right and left indicators on the bracelet remind a nursing mother of which breast to use when initiating a feeding session. The embossed and engraved writing on opposite sides of the bracelet enable a wearer who is either in the dark or blind to ascertain which side of the bracelet faces out. The flippable, or reversable nature of the bracelet allows the nursing mother to keep track of this information on a single wrist. As most right-handed individuals typically wear a watch on the left arm, and most left-handed individuals wear one on their right arm, this flippable nursing reminder bracelet can avoid conflicts with other jewelry worn by the mother. The bracelet may be fabricated from a variety of elastomeric compounds, including silicone rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, which is produced from butadiene and styrene monomers, polybutadiene, polychloroprene butyl rubber, which is produced from isobutylene and isoprene, natural rubber, partially vulcanized natural rubber. Alternatively, the bracelet may be fabricated using a spring-loaded metal expansion bracelet, such as the Twist-O-Flex.RTM. expansion band manufactured by the Speidel Corporation under a license granted by Karl Emil Stiegele of U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,450. This patent is hereby incorporated, by reference, in its entirety. The type of metal expansion watch band disclosed in the '450 patent is noted for its ability to be flipped over and turned inside-out, as well as tied in knots. [0012] The time scales of the present invention can be modified to employ other time increments (e.g., 15-minute increments) and a 24-hour scale. For another embodiment of the invention, the bracelet is circumferentially marked with a single linear scale, including hour markings and partial-hour markings between the hour markings. The bracelet is equipped with a slider that can be circumferentially moved about the bracelet to indicate an accrued time or a time of day. For still another embodiment of the invention, the bracelet is marked with one curvilinear row of hour markings and another curvilinear row of minute markings. One circumferentially movable slider indicates hours; another movable slider indicates minutes. For yet another embodiment of the invention, the ends of a flexible metal expansion band are pivotally attached to opposite sides of a mechanical or electronic timer preferably having multiple resettable functions. The pivotal attachment of the expansion band to the timer enables the expansion band to be flipped over without flipping the timer. The timer may incorporate various functions, such as a conventional watch display, a stop watch display for recording total nursing time during a particular day, a counter display for recording the total number of feedings during a particular day, and a settable alarm function for alerting a nursing mother of pending breastfeeding sessions. A penultimate embodiment utilizes a metal expansion band having its ends pivotally attached to opposite sides of a right or left-indicating token, which may be flipped over to indicate right or left sides. For this embodiment, it is not intended that the band be reversed--only the token. In its simplest form, the token can indicate nothing more than right or left. In another form, the token is a double-sided mechanical or electronic timer. Each side of the timer is used for single breast accounting, which may include accrued time nursed on that side, the time of the last or next feeding, and so forth. A variant of this embodiment utilizes a metal expansion band which is secured to a double-sided mechanical or electronic timer in a conventional manner, so that when the band is reversed, the double-sided timer is also. A final embodiment is a dual-function device that utilizes a slidable cursor to indicate right or left side. Movable plugs or one or two slidable cursors can be used to indicate time values. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a first embodiment breastfeeding bracelet, which is a single-function, reversible device that indicates right or left; [0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment breastfeeding bracelet of FIG. 1, as installed on the right wrist of a wearer; [0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment breastfeeding bracelet of FIGS. 1 and 2, shown in the process of being reversed by the wearer; [0016] FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a second embodiment breastfeeding bracelet, which is also a single-function, reversible device that indicates right or left, as determined by the direction the arrows face while being worn on a wearer's wrist; [0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the second embodiment breastfeeding bracelet of FIG. 4, as installed on the left wrist of a wearer; [0018] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a third embodiment breastfeeding bracelet, which is a dual function, reversible device that indicates right or left, as well as an accrued time or a time of day; [0019] FIG. 7 is a plan view of a flat projection of the side labeled "LEFT" of the bracelet of FIG. 6; [0020] FIG. 8 is a plan view of a flat projection of the side labeled "RIGHT" of the bracelet of FIG. 6; [0021] FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the flat projection of FIGS. 7 and 8, with the side labeled "RIGHT" on top; Continue reading about Breastfeeding indicator bracelet with time indicator and method of use... 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