US3433407A - Weight control aid - Google Patents

Description

March 18, 1969 w. L. CARTER 3,433,407

WEIGHT CONTROL AID Filed Match 19. 1968 FIG. I

w| LUAM 1.. CARTER INVENTOR.

W. L. CARTER WEIGHT CONTROL AID March 18, 1969 :FMZ' SIPNYIS "I" 4cm. :GRM! [24 L 124 126 126m FIG.6

Filed March 19, 1968 FIG. 7

WILLIAM L. CARTER INVENTOR.

i A caNf March 18, 1969 w. L. CARTER 3,433,407

WEIGHT CONTROL AID I IN FiledMaLrch 19, 1968 Sheet 3 of 5 FIG. 9

WILLIAM L. CARTER INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,433,407 WEIGHT CONTROL AID William L. Carter, 2801 S. Air Depot, Midwest City, Okla. 73110 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 544,949, Apr. 25, 1966. This application Mar. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 714,314 US. Cl. 235128 5 Claims Int. Cl. G07g 3/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rectangular housing journals interconnected pairs of axles having an elongated flexible strip with data printed thereon connected with and windable from one axle to the other by means of control wheels projecting through a partition wall in the housing. Openings in the wall visibly expose data on the sheets as the latter is moved. A battery operated lamp is periodically lighted to expose other data on one sheet. Manually movable serrated wheels, journaled by the partition wall record quantities of daily allowable foods consumed by the user.

Background of the invention The present invention is a continuation-in-part of an ap plication filed by me in the US. Patent Office on Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 544,949 for Calorie-Gram Indicator and Alarm.

The present invention is an improvement over the above referred to application in that it provides flexible strips of material having data printed thereon which is wound around one shaft and progressively wound around a parallel shaft thus providing a longer strip of material and, therefore, more space for data than is possible in the above application which features endless bands having data printed thereon and entrained around pairs of drums. Furthermore, this invention is an improvement over the above referred to application and my Calorie and Gram Indicator patents, Nos. 3,323,720, issued June 6, 1967, and 3,- 337,129, issued Aug. 22, 1967 for the same reason and further, the device of this invention, includes a plurality of dials for graphing the daily allowable quantities of different classes of foods consumed by the user, such as milk, milk products, fruits, vegetables, fish and meats or fat, sodium and protein.

The present invention is intended as an aid for individuals who are weight watchers and are interested in controlling their weight for better health. This device provides a psychological and emotional conditioning control or appeal in the form of phrases to stimulate the users eating reflex and for accurately recording the intake of calories or grams of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to insure the correct quantities for a balanced diet.

A United States Department of Agriculture survey shows one household in very five, or 20 percent, eats a nutritionally poor combination of foods by the Departments standards. Only 15 percent were in this category in 1955 when the last survey was made.

Only half of the households sampled were found to be eating enough of the right foods to give a nutritionally good diet. The previous survey showed 60 percent of households ate a nutritionally good overall diet.

The downturn in nutritional value was attributed largely to a national turn away from milk and milk products, fruits and vegetables.

This device provides a simple record and guide for the user to follow and insure the eating of a balanced diet.

Summary of the invention A rectangular box-like housing is provided with a hingedly connected door for opening and closing to the side of the housing forming the front. Pillow blocks within the housing journal two pairs of shafts in parallel aligned relation. An elongated sheet of flexible material, having numerals printed thereon, is connected at its respective ends to each pair of shafts and windable therearound as the shafts are rotated. Pulleys, connected with one end of each shaft and having a belt entrained therearound, rotate the shafts for winding and unwinding the sheet material by means of a serrated control wheel mounted on one shaft of each pair of shafts. A partition wall, forming a false front inwardly of the door, is provided with openings exposing the control wheels and numerals on the sheet material. Batteries, within the housing connected to a lamp through a switch closed through spaced openings in one sheet, illuminates diet inhibiting suggestions printed on one sheet as the latter is moved by one control wheel. A flashlight-type bulb and electrical resistance element, mounted in respective end portions of the housing and connected with the batteries, form a flashlight and cigarette lighter. Serrated dials, journaled by the partition, are manually moved to block off portions of daily allowable quantities of foods as they are consumed. This encourges the user to eat only a required quantity and basic variety of good quality food to insure a balanced diet.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide a device of relatively small size which serves as an aid to: facilitate quality control of the diet by providing dials having pictures of foods, classified and divided into portions which must be consumed for a balanced diet; control of foods by means for indicating the totals of calories and grams of carbohydrates consumed, each meal and for the day, which may be recorded on the device to obtain a total for a selected number of days and as an incentive toward following a prescribed diet; specifically control the intake in a diet of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and sodium by using dials to register a daily count; provide an accurate graphic record of statusof the users diet with respect to quality and quantity at any selected time during the day; and, to provide a record extending over a selected period of time for analyzing the diet and its results.

Brief description of the drawings iFLIGURlE 1 is a perspective view of the front of the device;

FIGURE 2 is a similar perspective view illustrating, by solid lines, the door in open position, and, illustrating, by dotted lines, a folded supporting position of the door;

FIGURE 3 is a right end elevational view of the device and door in the solid line position of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a right end elevational view of the device with the door in the dotted line position of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 5 is a left end elevational view of the device with the door in the dotted line position of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of the device. to a larger scale, with the door removed;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 with a partition wall removed to expose the relationship of components used;

FIGURE 8 is a rear elevational view, with parts broken away and sectioned, of FIG. 6 and having its battery containing compartment cover removed;

FIGURES 9 and 10 are vertical cross-sectional views taken substantially along the lines 9-9 and 1010, respectively, of FIG. 6; and,

:FIGURE 11 is a wiring diagram.

Description of the preferred embodiment Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 15 indicates the device, as a whole, comprising a substantially rectangular housing 16 having a top 1 8, a bottom 20 and end walls 22 and 24 joined to a back side wall 26. The front of the housing 16 is open and is provided with a door or cover 28, having an Opening handle or knob 29 on its forward surface, hingedly connected between the depending end portions of the end walls 22 and 24 for vertical pivoting movement toward and away from the housing about a horizontal axis. The inside surface of the door 28 is provided with a plurality of ruled or grid lines 30 for recording data, such as total grams, calories or weight figures, not shown. The depending side edge of the door is provided with a longitudinal ridge 32 extending inwardly of the plane of the door perpendicular to its inward surface having the lines 30 ruled thereon.

The respective end walls 22 and 24 are characterized, at their depending ends, by converging surfaces 34 and 36 so that the end wall surface 34 will support the housing 16 on an incline, as shown in FIG. 3, with the door 28 opened forwardly of the housing. The purpose of the door ridge portion 32 is for supporting the housing in an upright manner, as shown by FIG. 4, wherein this free edge of the ridge 32 contacts a supporting surface 38 when the door is pivoted to extend horizontally rearward of the housing wherein the opening handle 29 similarly contacts the supporting surface 38 while a portion of the door 28 is in face to face contact with the depending surface of the housing bottom 20 (FIG. 4).

The door handle 29 projects through the door and is provided on its inner surface with a pair of metallic bars, indicated by the lines 40 (FIG. 2), for magnetic attraction by a permanent magnet 42 secured to a partition wall 44 removably positioned within the housing 16 inwardly of the door 28.

Two pairs of pillow blocks 46, 48 and 50, 52 are connected to the back wall in vertical spaced relation adjacent the respective housing end walls 22 and 24 in the upper portion of the housing. Similarly a pair of intermediate pillow blocks 54 and 56 are connected to the back wall 26 between and aligned with the respective upper and lower pillow blocks. The partition wall 44 contacts the forward surface of the uppermost pillow blocks 46, 50 and 54. A first pair of axles 58 and 60 are horizontally journaled by the pillow blocks 46, 54 and 48, 56, respectively. Similarly a second pair of axles 62 and 64 are journaled by the pillow blocks 50, 54 and 52, 56 in aligned relation with respect to the first pair of axles 58 and 60. An elongated sheet of preferably transparent or translucent plastic material such as film 66 extends between and is connected by its respective end portions to the first pair of axles 58 and 60. The film 66 is wound around the axles so that an outer or forward surface of the film is disposed toward the inner surface of the partition wall 44. The end portions of the first pair of axles 58 and 60, projecting toward the housing end wall 22, are provided with a pair of pulleys 68 and 70 having a belt 72 entrained therearound for rotating the axles. A disk-like control wheel 74, having a serrated periphery, is interposed between the pillow block 46 and the adjacent edge of the film 66 and coaxially connected with the axle 58. Diametrically the control wheel 74 is preferably of such size that a portion of its periphery projects forwardly beyond the front or outer surface 76 of the partition wall 44 through an aperture 78 formed therein. A second sheet of elongated flexible sheet material 79, similar to the sheet material 66, extends between and is connected at its respective ends to the second pair of axles 62, 64 and is wound therearound with its outer surface disposed adjacent the inner surface of the partition wall 44. Similarly another pair of pulleys 80 and 82 are 4 connected to the end portions of the axles 62 and 64, respectively, adjacent the housing end wall 24 with a belt 84 entrained around these pulleys. A second similar control wheel 86 is interposed between the pillow block 50 and adjacent side edge of the film 79 and coaxially connected with the axle 62 with a peripheral portion of the control wheel 86 projecting forwardly through an aperture 88 formed in the partition wall 44.

The film 66 has printed thereon a longitudinally extending series of numerals progresively indicating by tens the total calories consumed by the user. These figures are individually visible through an aperture 90 formed in the partition wall 44. Similarly the film 79 has a series of longitudinally extending numerals printed thereon which are progressively visible through an aperture 92 formed in the partition wall 44 to indicate total carbohydrates or grams consumed by the user. The film 66 is also provided with a longitudinally spaced series of words transversely printed on its surface adjacent the partition wall 44 which may be seen through an aperture 94 formed in the upper central portion of the wall 44. The words printed on the film are intended as a psychological aid for the user to remain on his diet. A design, preferably indicating a heart shape and preferably colored red, as indicated at 96, is printed on the forward surface of the wall 44 and is intersected by the aperture 94.

A selected one of the words or phrases is illuminated as the film is rotated or moved across the opening 94. To accomplish this a battery compartment comprising a longitudinally extending recess 98 projects inwardly of the rear wall 26 between the respective vertical pairs of pillow blocks and contains batteries 100. The batteries are interconnected by wires 102 to a bulb 104 positioned between battery contacting spring arms 105 within the recess 98 adjacent an aperture in its wall covered by a glass 106 underlying the position of the partition wall aperture 94. The glass 106 is prefer-ably colored to match the design 96 and illuminate the phrase positioned within the aperture. A switch comprising a pair of spring metal contacts 108 and 110, respectively, is connected with a base terminal of one battery and to the wiring 102 with the contacts 108 and 110 disposed on and hearing at their free end portions against opposing surfaces of the film 66 which normally maintains the contacts open. Longitudinally spaced apertures 112, formed in the film 66 and arranged in a path of travel across the juncture of the contacts 108 and 110, permit these contacts to close when one of the apertures intersects the free end portions of the contacts. These apertures 112 are preferably spacedapart a distance equal to 350 calories or 20 grams of carbohydrates indicated by the numerals appearing in the aperture 90.

The back wall 26 is further provided, in its depending portion, with a series of openings 114 defining a plurality of wells 116 projecting into the housing which are closed by caps 118 for receiving diet pills or the like, not shown.

The partition wall 44 has secured thereto in overlying relation along its depending edge portion a panel 120 having a series of semicircular apertures 122. A like plurality of dial wheels 124, each having a notched or toothed periphery, as at 126, are interposed between the forward surface of the wall 44 and the panel 120. Stub shafts 128, extending coaxially through the dial wheels 124 and through the wall and panel, journal the wheels for manual rotation. Each of the wheels 124 are provided with a cooperating substantially semicircular opening for mating with the semicircular openings 122 and concealing food pictures printed on the wall 44 Visible through the openings 122. One of these dial wheels 124 is provided for each of a selected different class of foods forming a balanced diet such as for fruit and vegetables; meat, poultry, fish and eggs; milk and diary products; and bread and cereals.

Obviously the dial wheels may be used for indicating the quantity of fat, sodium or protein consumed by the user and indicated by indicia or marks printed on the forward surface of the panel 120 which register with an edge of the dial wheel semicircular openings 130 as the latter is rotated to obstruct a portion of the food pictures appearing on the panel 44 within the respective semicircular opening.

A flashlight-like bulb holding refiectorized socket 132, containing a bulb. 134, is positioned within a suitable opening in the housing end wall 22 with the socket opening outward. The socket 132 forms one end of the battery compartment for contact by one end of the battery 100 with the bulb 134. A flashlight on-off switch 136 is positioned on the housing top 18 adjacent the end wall 22. As shown in FIG. 11, the flashlight bulb 134 is connected with the battery 100 through the switch 136 by wires 102 and 138.

For the convenience of the user of this device, a cigarette lighter, indicated generally at 140, is connected to the housing other end wall '24. The lighter 140 comprises a receptable 142 secured to the inner surface of the end wall 24 around an opening 144 therein. An electrical resistance element 146 is supported by the receptacle 142. A shield, indicated generally at 148, overlies the outer wall surface of the end wall 24 and is vertically slidable therealong being guided by a groove 150 formed in the housing wall 24. The shield 148 is provided with an opening 152 which registers with the wall opening 144 when the shield is manually pulled downwardly from its solid line position (FIG. 8) by means of a lug 154 formed on the depending end of the shield. A prong 156, connected with the shield and disposed within the housing, contacts a switch arm 158 to complete an electrical circuit through the batteries 100 and resistor 146 for heating the latter when the shield opening 152 is in register with the wall opening 144. A spring 160, secured to the prong 156 and inner wall surface of the housing top 18, retracts the shield 148 to its solid line position of FIG. 8, when released, to interrupt the electrical circuit.

Operation.

At the beginning of each day the films 66 and 79 are initially positioned with the first numeral, zero, appearing in the respective apertures 90 and 92 and the dial wheels 124 exposing food products printed on the wall 44. As each meal is consumed the user rotates the control wheels 74 and 86 so that the respective quantity of calories or carbohydrates-grams appear in the aperture 90 or 92 and the respective dial wheel 124 is rotated to indicate the respective proportions of food indicated thereby which have been consumed. During the rotation of the control wheel 74 and movement of the film 66 different phrases printed on the film appear through the aperture 94 with selected ones of these words or phrases, such as Fat Is Fatal being illuminated by the lamp 104 as described hereinabove. At the end of each day the total calories and grams consumed are recorded in the spaces provided by the lines 30 on the inner surface of the door. In this manner the user may keep a record of his food intake for a selected period of time, such as a week, as an aid in controlling weight.

I claim:

1. A weight control and comprising: a housing having a top, bottom and end walls joined to aback wall defining an open front; a partition wall in said housing inwardly of the plane defining said open front; cover means attached to the front of said housing; a plurality of pairs of pillow blocks fixed within said housing in spaced parallel relation; a pair of axles in parallel relation with respect to said top wall and journaled in said pillow blocks; means for simultaneously rotating said axles; an elongated sheet of flexible material having weight control indicia thereon and wound around and connected at its respective ends to said axles; said partition wall having an aperture therein for exposing said data on said sheet as the latter is moved across the same; and lamp means adjacent said aperture for periodically illuminating data printed on said sheet and appearing in said aperture.

2. Structure as specified in claim 5 in which the first mentioned means comprises: a pulley on one end of each axle; a belt entrained around said pulleys; and a control wheel coaxially mounted on one said axles and having an arc of its periphery projecting through said partition wall.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2 wherein said lamp means is positioned on that side of said flexible sheet opposite said partition wall and wherein said lamp means comprises: a battery; a switch having a pair of arms forming contacts disposed on respective opposing sides of said flexible sheet and normally held open by the latter; and wiring connecting said lamp with said battery through said switch, said flexible sheet having a series of spaced apertures for closing said contacts thereby exciting said lamp as said sheet is moved by the rotation of said axles.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3 and further including dial means attached to said partition wall, said dial means comprising, a panel overlying a portion of said partition wall, said panel having a substantially semicircular opening, a serrated Wheel interposed between said panel and said partition wall, and a stub shaft journaling said serrated wheel, said serrated wheel having a substantially semicircular opening mating and mismating with the opening in said panel as the serrated wheel is rotated whereby additional weight control data is obtained by manually rotating the dial as the food is consumed.

5. Structure as specified in claim 3 and further including another pair of pillow blocks; a second pair of axles journaled in parallel spaced relation by the other pair of pillow blocks; and a second elongated sheet of flexible material having weight control data printed thereon and wound around and connected at its respective ends to said second axles; means for simultaneously rotating said second axles including a second pair of pulleys, each mounted on one end of each of said second axles, a belt entrained around said second pair of pulleys; and a control wheel coaxially secured to one of said second pair of axles and having an arc of its periphery projecting through said partition wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,137,427 4/1915 Schaff 58-149 1,518,476 12/1924 Ball 235-425 1,953,630 4/1934 Phillips 235- 2,482,615 9/ 1949 Fowler 5 8-149 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner. S. A. WAL, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 4086; 116-435

Images