GB2384485A

GB2384485A - Feeding bottle teat with regulating air vent

Info

Publication number: GB2384485A
Application number: GB0218249A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Michael Kuester; Nicholas Mark Holmes
Original assignee: Handley Kuester Ltd
Current assignee: Handley Kuester Ltd
Priority date: 2001-08-06
Filing date: 2002-08-06
Publication date: 2003-07-30
Anticipated expiration: 2022-08-06
Also published as: WO2003013418A2; WO2003013418A3; GB0119073D0; GB0218249D0; AU2002319532A1; GB2384485B

Abstract

A feeding bottle has a teat 1 that is clamped to the bottle neck 6 under an annular lip 7 of a collar 5 screwed to the bottle 4. The lip 7 engages in a circumferential groove 11 in the teat bell 10 for pressing the retention flange 2 of the teat 1 onto the rim 3 of the neck 6 in liquid and airtight seal. Air is admitted to the bottle 4 via a flow limiting slit 18 at the end of a passage 14 of lozenge cross section that extends radially through the flange 2 beneath a lug 19. The lip 7 bears on the lug 19 to compress the flange 2 so that adjustment of the tightness of the collar 5 varies constriction of the passage 14 for regulating the air flow into the bottle 4.

Description

Feeding-Bottles 5 This invention relates to feeding-bottles, and to teats

for use therein.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a feedingbottle having a teat, wherein a path lo for air to enter the bottle extends through a portion of the teat spaced from its nipple, and means is provided for selective compression of said portion in regulation of air-flow via said path.

15 Said means of the feeding-bottle may involve a member for retaining the teat attached to the bottle, and in this respect the retaining member may be adjustable to bear on said portion of the teat to a selectivelyvariable extent for regulation of the air-flow. The retaining member may 20 be a collar that is screwed onto a neck of the bottle over an annular flange of the teat for retaining the teat attached to the bottle, compression of said portion being increased by turning the collar to tighten it on the bottle. The collar may have an inturned annular lip that 25 bears on a lug which is upstanding from the flange of the teat, and in these circumstances the air-path may comprise a radial passage within the flange beneath the lug so that the air-path is constricted by tightening of the collar on the bottle.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a teat for a feeding-bottle, wherein a path for air to enter the bottle extends through an annular retention flange of the teat such that compression of the 35 flange constricts the air-path.

The path may comprise a radial passage within the flange so that compression of the flange constricts air-flow through the passage. The passage, which may have a cross-section of lozenge configuration, may extend within 5 the flange beneath a lug that is upstanding from the flange such that force exerted on the lug to compress the flange constricts the air-path.

A slit inside the teat may be included in the air-path to 10 act by resilience of the teat to limit air-flow via the path. The slit may be in a projection from the inner rim of the flange.

A feeding-bottle having a teat in accordance with the IS present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 and 2 are, respectively, a side elevation and a 20 plan of the feeding-bottle of the invention; Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the feeding-bottle taken on the line III-III of Figure 2; 25 Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the feeding- bottle taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 1; Figure 5 shows detail of the feeding-bottle to enlarged scale, the detail being of the area V of Figure 4; Figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of the teat according to the present invention, used in the feeding-

bottle of Figures 1 to 4; 35 Figure 8 is a side elevation of the teat of Figures 6 and 7; and

Figure 9 shows detail of the teat to enlarged scale, the detail being of the area IX of Figure S. The feeding-bottle to be described has an angled teat for 5 helping to reduce the tendency to colic in young babies (for example, up to six months old) when fed from a straight teat. However, the invention and its application are not dependent on the use of an angled teat and the angled teat of the feeding-bottle to be 10 described may in this respect be replaced by a straight teat for young as well as older babies.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, the angled teat 1, which is of silicone rubber, has a peripheral, annular flange 2 15 that is seated on the openend rim 3 of a wide-necked bottle 4. A cylindrical collar 5 is screwed onto the neck 6 of the bottle 4 over the flange 2, and has an in-

turned annular lip 7 which engages a shoulder 8 of the teat 1. More particularly, and as shown more clearly in 20 Figure 5, the underside of the flange 2 has a peripheral groove 9 that seats on the rim 3, and the bell 10 of the teat 1 has a circumferential groove 11 just above the flange 2 that is engaged by the lip 7. The lip 7 engages in the groove 11 when the bell 10 surmounted by the 25 nipple 12, is pushed through the collar 5 in assembly of the feeding-bottle. Screwing down of the collar 5 onto the neck 6 of the bottle 4 pulls the lip 7 down onto the shoulder 8 within the groove 11. This presses the flange 2 hard down onto the rim 3, creating a liquid and 30 airtight seal with it within the groove 9.

When the feeding-bottle is in use, the bottle 4 containing milk (expressed or formula) is tipped up through some sixty degrees so as to fill the teat 1 35 fully; because of the angled form of the teat 1 in this case, its nipple 12 is, however, presented to the baby less steeply. Air is admitted to the bottle 4 to enable

the baby to draw the milk gently (without gulping) through small holes 13 in the nipple 12 as he/she sucks on the teat 1. The air is admitted via a passage 14 (see Figure 5 especially) in the annular flange 2, and the 5 rate with which it can enter, and therefore the rate of milk-flow to the baby, is adjustable simply by turning the collar 5 slightly in the sense to tighten or loosen it on the bottle 4.

10 Referring now also to Figures 6 to 9, the passage 14 has a crosssection of elongate-lozenge configuration (most clearly seen in Figure 9), and extends radially inwards through the flange 2 from its outer rim 15 to terminate within a small projection 16 (see Figure 7) on the inner 15 rim 17 of the flange 2. A fine slit 18 (see Figures 5 and 7), which extends into the projection 16 at right angles to the passage 14, allows air entering the passage 14 from around and under the collar 5, to pass into the bottle 4. The slit 18, because of the resilience of the 20 silicone rubber, acts as an air-flow limiter, but regulation of the flow within this established limit is achieved as indicated above, by turning the collar 5.

In the latter respect, the underside of the lip 7 of the 25 collar 5 abuts a lug 19 that is upstanding from the flange 2 above the passage 14 (see Figures 5, 6 and 9).

Thus, turning the collar 5 to tighten it on the bottle 4 exerts pressure via the lug 19 to compress the flange 2 in the region of the passage 14. The resulting 30 constriction of the passage 14 reduces the possible level of air-flow into the bottle 4, and therefore the flow of milk from the teat 1; in the extreme case where the passage 14 is squeezed closed, the flow may be effectively stopped. Flow can be increased from the 35 reduced level, simply by turning the collar 5 to loosen it slightly on the bottle 4. This allows the flange 2, because of the resilience of the silicone rubber, to

recover from the compression and, depending upon the extent of loosening, return the passage 4 to its full cross-section. 5 The teat 1 used in conjunction with the bottle 4 and collar 5 as described above has the distinct advantage of enabling air to be readily admitted to the bottle 4, but nonetheless in a limited and selectively-regulatable manner. The structure of the teat 1 is such that this 10 advantage is achieved simply, without the use of a special bottle.

Claims

Claims:

1. A feeding-bottle having a teat, wherein a path for air to enter the bottle extends through a portion of the teat spaced from its nipple, and means is provided for selective compression of said portion in regulation of air-flow via said path.

2 A feeding-bottle according to Claim 1 wherein said means involves a member for retention of the teat attached to the bottle, said member being adjustable to bear on said portion of the teat to a selectively-

variable extent for regulation of air-flow as aforesaid.

3. A feeding-bottle according to Claim 2 wherein said member is a collar that is screwed onto a neck of the bottle over an annular flange of the teat for retaining the teat attached to the bottle, compression of said portion being increased by turning the collar to tighten it on the bottle.

4. A feeding-bottle according to Claim 3 wherein a lug is upstanding from the flange of the teat, and the collar has an inturned annular lip that bears on the lug, the air-path comprising a radial passage within the flange beneath the lug so that the air-path is constricted by tightening of the collar on the bottle.

5. A feeding-bottle according to Claim 4 wherein the passage has a crosssection of lozenge configuration.

6. A feeding-bottle according to Claim 4 or Claim 5 wherein the passage opens into the bottle through a slit within the teat, the slit acting by resilience of the

teat, to limit the flow of air into the bottle from the passage.

7. A feeding-bottle according to Claim 6 wherein the slit is in a projection from an inner rim of the flange.

8. A feeding-bottle according to any one of Claims 4 to 7 wherein the interned lip of the collar engages in a circumferential groove of a bell portion of the teat between the nipple and the flange, screwing of the collar onto the neck of the bottle urging the teat downwardly to create a liquid and airtight seal between the flange and the neck of the bottle.

9. A teat for a feeding-bottle, wherein a path for air to enter the bottle extends through an annular retention flange of the teat such that compression of the flange constricts the air-path.

10. A teat according to Claim 9 wherein said path comprises a radial passage within the flange so that compression of the flange constricts air-flow through the passage.

11. A teat according to Claim 10 wherein the passage extends within the flange beneath a lug that is upstanding from the flange such that force exerted on the lug to compress the flange constricts the air-path.

12. A teat according to Claim lo or Claim 11 wherein the passage has a cross-section of lozenge configuration.

13. A teat according to any one of Claims 9 to 12 wherein the air-path includes a slit inside the teat, the slit acting by resilience of the teat to limit air-flow via the path.

14. A teat according to Claim 13 wherein the slit is in a projection from the inner rim of the flange.

15. A teat for a feeding-bottle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 6 to 9 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A feeding-bottle having a teat, wherein the teat is in accordance with any one of Claims 9 to 15.

17. A feeding-bottle having a teat, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.