GB2190596A

GB2190596A - Feeding bottle regulator

Info

Publication number: GB2190596A
Application number: GB08612316A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Ma
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-05-21
Filing date: 1986-05-21
Publication date: 1987-11-25
Also published as: GB8612316D0

Abstract

The regulator comprises a valve plate 7 having passages 72 therethrough, a slidable valve member 6 and a bypass passage 5 which connects with a tube 4. The regulator allows a child to feed when the bottle is in an upright or "bottom-up" position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Feeding boffle wih regulator This invention relatesto a regulator for a feeding bottle.

The conventional feeding bottle, when used to feed a baby, has to be kept bottom-uporinclined at certain anglesothatthe baby can suckthe rrtFik into its mouth.

The baby can onlysuckairifthe bottle iskeptupright or less inclined which maycausethebabytobecome angry or even refuse; moreover when air collects in the stomach, the baby may have the hiccups, or regurgitate, not only making nursing harderwork, but also wasting money, and affecting the health and generalcomfortofthe baby.

The invention, after thorough study and improvements, is to provide a regulatorforthe easy suction of milk no matter how the bottle is held. All the difficulties such as introduction of air into stomach, regurgitation of milk, the hiccups, etc. can be totally avoided making nursing workeasyand enjoyable.

The regulator is to be provided inside the teat of a feeding bottle. Using a teat, milk can be sucked easily by the baby into the mouth no matter what position the bottle is held even at its very upright position. The regulating device regulates the flow of milk when the bottle is bottom-up or at any downward angle. The baby can enjoy feeding without the risk of letting-in air.

According to the present invention there is provided a regulatorfora fluidfeeding bottle having ateatand a cap for securing the teat to the bottle, the regulator comprising a valve plate having passages therethorough, a movablevalvememberforopeningand closing the said passages, bypass passage means for interconnecting opposite sides ofthevalve member and a suction tube arranged to communicate with the bypass passage and extendtowardsthe bottom of a bottle, wherein in use with a feeding bottle in an upright position with the teat uppermost a baby sucks fluid throughthe suction tube, bypass passage and teat, and with the feeding bottle with its bottom uppermostthe baby sucks through the passages in the valve plate, movable valve member and teat.

An embodiment ofthe present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. lisa cross-sectional view of a teat and regulator ofthe invention on a feeding bottle, and Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the teat and regulator according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown.ih Fig. 1 a conventional feeding or nursing bottle corrriprising bottle 1, a teat 2 and a nipple 3. The invention is to fix additionally a sucking tube 4, sucker joint-5, flow directing piston 6, and flow-directionallcontrol valve 7.

By assembling alitheparts..asmentioned above, the baby can suck milk, without air, atarryi position at whic-Ittke bottle: is held The flow-directional control valve 7 mentioned above is a valve body of drum type, there is an annular st WZ matching perfectly with an annular rib ring 3-1 insidetheteat 3 so thatthe flow-directional control valve 7 can fit tightly inside the teat 3.

As shown in Figure 2, the outside peripheral circular surface of a flow directing piston 6 is designed with a tapered or cone surface 6-3 matching with an inner conical surface 7-3 offlow-directional control valve when the at the bottom ofthe valve, there are passage holes 7-2 connecting flow passages 6-2 ofthe flow directing piston 6; the passage holes 7-2 have protrusions 7-4 directed toward piston 6, by which the parts 6 and 7 are spaced in the axial direction ofthe sucker joint 5.

The flow directing piston 6 is of innoxious plastics with a centering hole 6-1 alignablewith positioning flange5-1 ofthe suckerjoint; the circumferential surface ofthe disk is designed with the passage 6-2, with the number of passages 6-2 being the same as the number of circular passages 7-2 ofthe flow-directional control valve 7 with their position shifted in order to avoid creating an airtight situation.

Atthe central position of flow-directional control valve 7, there is a suckerjoint, which is circular in form at bottom end and is designed forthe junction of sucking tube 4which is arranged to extend straightto the bottom of the bottle body 1 with only a slight clearanceforthe suction of milk. The upper end of the joint5 is designed with two orthree positioning splines 5-1 forthefitting and positioning offlow directing piston 6.

When the bottle body 1 is at its up-rightor approximate to the up-right position, theflow directing piston 6, due to its own weight, maintains engagement with the protrusions 7-4 preventing milk passing through apertures 7-2 and keeps the outside conical surface 7-3 ofthe control valve7. Whenthe baby is sucking, the milk in the bottle can be sucked through the sucking tube and teatto the mouth. When the bottle is held at an inclined, or bottom-up position, the milk passes well through passage holes 7-2 and passages 6-2, lifting the directing piston 6 by flowing ofthe milkthrough passage holes 7-2 of control valve 7, to the mouth ofthe babythrough the usual teat opening.

1. A regulatorfor a fluid feeding bottle having a teat and a cap for secu ring the teat to the bottle, the regulatorcomprising a valve plate having passages therethrough, a movable valve memberfor opening and closing the said passages, bypass passage means for interconnecting opposite sides ofthe valve mem- ber and a suction tube arranged to communicate with the bypass passage and extend towards the bottom of a bottle, wherein in use with a feeding bottle in an upright position with the teat uppermost a baby sucks fluid th rough the suction tube, bypass passage and teat, and with the feeding bottle with its bottom uppermost the baby sucks through the passages in the valve plate, movable valve member and teat.

2. A regulator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bypass passage means comprises a hole in the valve plate and a tube extending from either side thereof.

3. Aregulatoras claimed in claim 2,whereinthe valve member is maintained in a fixed orientation relative to the valve plate.

4. A regulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the movable valve member has an aperture therein through which protrudes one of the tubes extending

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Feeding boffle wih regulator This invention relatesto a regulator for a feeding bottle. The conventional feeding bottle, when used to feed a baby, has to be kept bottom-uporinclined at certain anglesothatthe baby can suckthe rrtFik into its mouth. The baby can onlysuckairifthe bottle iskeptupright or less inclined which maycausethebabytobecome angry or even refuse; moreover when air collects in the stomach, the baby may have the hiccups, or regurgitate, not only making nursing harderwork, but also wasting money, and affecting the health and generalcomfortofthe baby. The invention, after thorough study and improvements, is to provide a regulatorforthe easy suction of milk no matter how the bottle is held. All the difficulties such as introduction of air into stomach, regurgitation of milk, the hiccups, etc. can be totally avoided making nursing workeasyand enjoyable. The regulator is to be provided inside the teat of a feeding bottle. Using a teat, milk can be sucked easily by the baby into the mouth no matter what position the bottle is held even at its very upright position. The regulating device regulates the flow of milk when the bottle is bottom-up or at any downward angle. The baby can enjoy feeding without the risk of letting-in air. According to the present invention there is provided a regulatorfora fluidfeeding bottle having ateatand a cap for securing the teat to the bottle, the regulator comprising a valve plate having passages therethorough, a movablevalvememberforopeningand closing the said passages, bypass passage means for interconnecting opposite sides ofthevalve member and a suction tube arranged to communicate with the bypass passage and extendtowardsthe bottom of a bottle, wherein in use with a feeding bottle in an upright position with the teat uppermost a baby sucks fluid throughthe suction tube, bypass passage and teat, and with the feeding bottle with its bottom uppermostthe baby sucks through the passages in the valve plate, movable valve member and teat. An embodiment ofthe present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. lisa cross-sectional view of a teat and regulator ofthe invention on a feeding bottle, and Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the teat and regulator according to the present invention. Referring to the drawings, there is shown.ih Fig. 1 a conventional feeding or nursing bottle corrriprising bottle 1, a teat 2 and a nipple 3. The invention is to fix additionally a sucking tube 4, sucker joint-5, flow directing piston 6, and flow-directionallcontrol valve 7. By assembling alitheparts..asmentioned above, the baby can suck milk, without air, atarryi position at whic-Ittke bottle: is held The flow-directional control valve 7 mentioned above is a valve body of drum type, there is an annular st WZ matching perfectly with an annular rib ring 3-1 insidetheteat 3 so thatthe flow-directional control valve 7 can fit tightly inside the teat 3. As shown in Figure 2, the outside peripheral circular surface of a flow directing piston 6 is designed with a tapered or cone surface 6-3 matching with an inner conical surface 7-3 offlow-directional control valve when the at the bottom ofthe valve, there are passage holes 7-2 connecting flow passages 6-2 ofthe flow directing piston 6; the passage holes 7-2 have protrusions 7-4 directed toward piston 6, by which the parts 6 and 7 are spaced in the axial direction ofthe sucker joint 5. The flow directing piston 6 is of innoxious plastics with a centering hole 6-1 alignablewith positioning flange5-1 ofthe suckerjoint; the circumferential surface ofthe disk is designed with the passage 6-2, with the number of passages 6-2 being the same as the number of circular passages 7-2 ofthe flow-directional control valve 7 with their position shifted in order to avoid creating an airtight situation. Atthe central position of flow-directional control valve 7, there is a suckerjoint, which is circular in form at bottom end and is designed forthe junction of sucking tube 4which is arranged to extend straightto the bottom of the bottle body 1 with only a slight clearanceforthe suction of milk. The upper end of the joint5 is designed with two orthree positioning splines 5-1 forthefitting and positioning offlow directing piston 6. When the bottle body 1 is at its up-rightor approximate to the up-right position, theflow directing piston 6, due to its own weight, maintains engagement with the protrusions 7-4 preventing milk passing through apertures 7-2 and keeps the outside conical surface 7-3 ofthe control valve7. Whenthe baby is sucking, the milk in the bottle can be sucked through the sucking tube and teatto the mouth. When the bottle is held at an inclined, or bottom-up position, the milk passes well through passage holes 7-2 and passages 6-2, lifting the directing piston 6 by flowing ofthe milkthrough passage holes 7-2 of control valve 7, to the mouth ofthe babythrough the usual teat opening. CLAIMS

4. A regulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the movable valve member has an aperture therein through which protrudes one of the tubes extending from the bypass passage.

5. A regulator as claimed in claim 4, wherein the said one ofthetubes is splined and is received in a recess in the periphery of the aperture in the valve member.

6. A regulator as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the valve plate is fixed to an annular collarthe inner surface of which istapered inwardly towardsthe valve plate, and the outer peripheral edge surface ofthe valve plate has a tapered surface matched to that of the inner surface of the annular collarfor providing a seal therebetween when the valve member closes the passage in the valve plate.

7. A regulator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the valve member includes slots in the periphery thereof to allowtheflow offluid to theteatwhen the valve plate is spaced from the passages in the valve plate to open said passages.

8. A regulator as claimed in any one ofthe preceding claims, wherein the passages in the valve plate include protrusions extending outwardlyfrom the valve plate towards the valve member.

9. A regulatorfor a nursing bottle, the regulating comprising: one flow directing piston, one sucker joint, and one sucking tube, of which, at the central position of bottom part ofthe flow directing valve, as mentioned above, there is a suckerjointwhich jointing the sucking tube,the outside circumferential surface ofthe control piston matches perfectly with the conical surface ofthe inner wall offlow directing valve, the center ofthe above-mentioned flow directing piston is designed with a hole with a keyslotfor positioning the protruding splines on joint.

10. A regulator as claimed in claim 9, wherein the outside surface ofthe circumference of directing piston of the regulating device has passagesforthe flow of milk and there are passage holes atthe flow directing piston with protruding ridge which is designed for keeping apart the piston at an appropriate distance.

11. A regulatorasciaimed in claim 9, including a ring slot on the circumference of the drum type flow directing valve which can slide into the rib ring inside the teat.

12. A reguiatorsubstantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.