JP2011092552A - Artificial nipple, and feeding bottle using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an artificial nipple, and a feeding bottle, in which outside air can be securely introduced into the feeding bottle even without deforming the artificial nipple. <P>SOLUTION: The device includes a base part 21, an areola part 22, and a nipple part 23. The base part includes a swollen part bellow the areola part to be swollen diametrically outward, and a flange part facing its lower surface through a throttle part. A cap is installed in such a way that an inward flange part of the cap that is hard is inserted to the throttle part. The flange part 41 has the check valve, and the depth of the throttle part is set on the depth side of an inner end of the inward flange part to form a gap between the throttle part 51 and the cap. The check valve is provided at such a position as to be continuous with the gap. On the swollen part at a position right above the check valve 44, a through-hole 46 is formed to be continuous with the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of an artificial nipple applied to a sucker and to a sucker provided with an improved artificial nipple.

Artificial nipples that are attached to bottles that contain milk or pre-milked breast milk have been widely used.
In particular, when feeding from a baby, it is characterized by extending in the mouth of the infant to reach the tip of the artificial nipple in the nursing cavity, which is a depression of the upper palate that can only be seen in infants during the lactation period An extension-type artificial nipple has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
The artificial nipple described in this document is not only characterized by the fact that the nipple itself extends when breastfeeding, but also includes a ventilation means 150 on the attachment means 110 on the flange as shown in FIG.

JP 2006-6809 A

However, in such an artificial nipple, there is no gap between the cap for attaching the artificial nipple to the bottle and the artificial nipple, and in order to guide the outside air into the bottle, the base of the artificial nipple is forced into the bottle. It is necessary to create a gap, which is inconvenient in practice.
Further, when the base of the artificial nipple is deformed, there is a risk that the beverage contained in the bottle leaks out.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an artificial nipple including a check valve that can reliably guide external air into a bottle without deforming the artificial nipple, and a baby bottle using the artificial nipple. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a molded article made of an elastic material such as a soft resin, which is formed into a substantially conical hollow body as a whole, and has a base that is expanded in diameter corresponding to the object to be attached, and the base Are formed continuously, and are provided with an areola portion that is gradually reduced in diameter and extended from the areola portion, and a nipple portion that is further reduced in diameter than the areola portion, A base portion is integrally formed below the areola portion, and is opposed to a bulging portion that bulges radially outward and an overhang portion that is an overhanging lower surface of the bulging portion via a constricted portion. An inward flange portion of a hard cap that is attached to a beverage containing bottle, and the cap portion is attached to the constricted portion. Has a vent hole, and the inward By setting the depth of the constricted part to the back side from the inner end of the part, a gap is formed between the constricted part and the cap, and the vent hole is provided at a position communicating with the gap. In addition, the overhang portion located at the upper portion of the vent hole is provided with a spacer slightly protruding downward.

  According to the above configuration, a gap can be created by interposing the spacer between the constricted portion and the cap, and the outside air passes through the gap and passes through the vent hole communicating with the gap. Even if the artificial nipple is not pushed and deformed by hand as in the prior art, the outside air can be reliably introduced into the bottle and the pressure in the bottle can be adjusted.

Preferably, a through hole communicating with the outside is formed in the bulging portion at a position immediately above the vent hole.
According to the above configuration, since the outside air passes through the vent hole through the through hole from the gap between the constricted portion and the cap, the outside air can be reliably guided into the bottle.

Preferably, the spacer is provided at positions on both sides of the through hole.
According to the above configuration, the overhang portion, which is the lower surface of the overhang portion of the bulge portion, has a slight protrusion in the vertical direction on both sides of the through hole. Even if the position where the infant holds the artificial nipple 20 changes during breastfeeding and the lip closes the through-hole of the bulging portion, the outside air is released from the gap created by the presence of the spacer. It is possible to effectively prevent the inner pressure of the bottle from being lowered because of entering.

Preferably, the vent hole is a check valve formed so as to be completely within the thickness dimension of the flange portion.
According to the above configuration, since the valve body of the check valve as the vent hole is completely accommodated within the thickness of the flange portion, it is hardly considered that something hits the valve body from the outside. In particular, an excessive force is not applied to the valve body even during cleaning, and damage to the valve body is effectively prevented.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a nursing bottle comprising an artificial nipple and a bottle to which the artificial nipple is attached, wherein the artificial nipple is entirely conical with an elastic material such as a soft resin. A hollow body having a diameter expanded corresponding to the object to be attached, an areola formed continuously with the base, and gradually reduced in diameter and extended, and the milk A nipple portion extending from the annulus and having a diameter reduced further than that of the areola, and the base is integrally formed below the annulus and bulges outward in the radial direction. A bulging portion, an overhang-like lower surface of the bulging portion, and a flange portion facing through the constricted portion, and the constricted portion of the hard cap to be attached to the beverage containing bottle The cap is attached so that the inward flange is inserted. The flange portion is formed with a vent hole, and the depth of the constricted portion is set on the back side of the inner end of the inward flange portion, so that the constricted portion and the cap A gap is formed therebetween, and the vent hole is provided at a position communicating with the gap, and a spacer that slightly protrudes downward is provided at the overhang portion located above the vent hole. This is a sucker characterized by that.

  As described above, it is possible to provide an artificial nipple including a check valve that can reliably guide external air into the bottle without deforming the artificial nipple, and a baby bottle using the artificial nipple.

The schematic front view which shows the whole nursing container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The top view of the teat part of the sucker of FIG. The figure which shows an example of the cap used in the sucker of FIG. 1 to connect a bottle and an artificial nipple. The DD sectional schematic sectional drawing of FIG. The enlarged view of the nipple part of FIG. FIG. 6 is an end view taken along line E-E in FIG. 5. The schematic front view of the artificial nipple of this embodiment. The AA line schematic sectional drawing of FIG. The partial expanded sectional view of FIG. The partial expanded sectional view of the junction part of an artificial nipple and a cap. FF schematic sectional drawing of FIG. The figure showing the shape of the junction part of the valve body of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the direction of the slit and flange of the valve body of FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiment described below is a preferred specific example of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these forms.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of a sucker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a bottle used for a baby bottle or the like, which is an example of a beverage container.
A male screw (not shown) is formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the bottle 1 so that it can be screwed with the female screw on the inner surface of the cap 3.
The cap 3 is fitted with the lower end base portion of the artificial nipple 20 as will be described later. In this state, the cap 3 is assembled by screwing onto the upper end of the bottle 1.

2 is a schematic plan view of the artificial nipple 20 of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the nipple portion of the artificial nipple of FIG. -E is a cut end view.
As shown in FIG. 4, the artificial nipple 20 is integrally formed of an elastic material such as a soft synthetic resin. As such a material, silicone rubber, isoprene rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, or natural rubber having a hardness of 10 to 40 (according to A-type durometer in JIS-K6235 (ISO7619)) is used. In this embodiment, silicone rubber is selected, and those having a hardness of 15 to 35 (according to an A-type durometer in JIS-K6235 (ISO7619)) can be used.
The dimension setting of the nipple portion of the artificial nipple will be described later.

FIG. 3 shows an attachment cap (hereinafter referred to as “cap”) for attaching the artificial nipple 20 to the bottle 1. FIG. 3 (a) is a schematic perspective view of the cap 3, FIG. b) is a half sectional view of the cap 3.
The cap 3 is a molded product of a hard synthetic resin as a whole and is a flat cylindrical body. The opening 31 of the flat cylindrical body has a smaller opening diameter than the lower opening 32, and a female screw portion 33 is formed on the inner side surface of the flat cylindrical body. An inward flange portion 34 that forms a downward stepped portion is formed adjacent to the upper opening 31 at the top of the cap 3.

The artificial nipple 20 is a molded product made of the above-described material and made into a substantially conical hollow body.
The artificial nipple is an attachment target, for example, a base 21 that is expanded in diameter corresponding to the opening of the bottle 1 in FIG. 1, and a milk that is continuously formed on the base 21 and is gradually reduced in diameter and extends. The ring portion 22 extends from the areola portion and gradually decreases in diameter little by little at a diameter reduction rate smaller than the diameter reduction rate of the areola portion without enlarging the diameter until reaching the tip. And a nipple portion 23 that extends. In the figure of the nipple portion, an opening 25 for ejecting a beverage is formed at the upper end. Depending on the cut shape of the opening 25, an appropriate shape such as a round hole, a Y shape, a cross shape, or a slit shape in one direction is selected.

As shown in FIG. 4, the areola portion 22 is configured to have a larger wall thickness than the nipple portion 23.
At the boundary between the areola portion 22 and the nipple portion 23, the thickness is thinner than the areola portion 22, and the thickness is made thicker than the nipple portion 23, thereby forming a belt shape along the circumference of the portion. The fragile part 24 is provided.
As shown in the drawing, the fragile portion 24 is configured so that the thickness gradually changes so that the thickness is thick in the vicinity of the areola portion 22 and the thinnest in the vicinity of the nipple portion 23. ing.
As a result, the fragile part has high rigidity in the vicinity of the areola part 22, and the rigidity becomes low when approaching the nipple part 23, and deformation (bending) is likely to occur. However, since the wall thickness is sufficiently thick near the areola 22, the structure is not completely crushed when it is broken.
In addition, although the thickness of the areola part 22 and the nipple part 23 is appropriately adjusted depending on the hardness of the material used, the thickness of the nipple part 23 is 1.0 mm to 2.5 mm, and the thickness of the areola part 22 is It is desirable to make it 1.5 times or more.
In the present embodiment, the thickness of the nipple portion 23 is 1.5 mm to 2.0 mm, and the thickness of the areola portion is 3.0 mm.

5 and 6, ribs extending along the vertical direction are provided on the inner surface of the nipple portion 23.
In this embodiment, a plurality of ribs 26 are formed. Each rib extends in the vertical direction at the same height, and the lower end overlaps with the upper portion of the fragile portion 24. As shown in FIG. Are formed at three equal intervals along.
As a result, when the nipple portion 23 is crushed by the pressure of the peristaltic movement under the tongue of the infant during the suckling exercise, the rib 26 is interposed between the inner wall of the nipple portion 23 and a gap is formed. Does not obstruct the passage.
Further, the rib 26 is provided on the inner surface of the nipple portion 23, so that deformation (bending) at the nipple portion 23 can be prevented, and deformation (bending) of the fragile portion 24 can be ensured.
Note that the height of the rib 26 (inward projecting dimension) is lower in the upper part of FIG. Even if the rigidity of the weakest region of the portion is increased and the fragile portion 24 is broken and crushed, the beverage passage is not completely blocked.

In addition, the dimension L2 in the length direction of the nipple portion 23 in FIG. 4 is the sucking cavity in the oral cavity of the infant during breastfeeding (hereinafter also referred to as “at the time of breastfeeding”). It is set to be a sufficient length to reach the nipple portion 23.
The mammal's fossa is usually in a position where it enters the oral cavity about 10 to 15 mm from the lips of the infant.
Therefore, if the dimension L2 in the length direction of the nipple part 23 is 15 mm or more, the tip of the nipple part 23 can reliably reach the infant's sucking cavity.
In this embodiment, the dimension L2 in the length direction of the nipple part 23 is 15 mm, and the dimension L1 from the lower end of the base part 21 to the tip of the nipple part 23 is 38 mm.
In addition, the radial width W1 of the base 21 is 35 mm or more so that even when the infant opens the lips greatly during feeding, the areola part 22 does not enter the infant's mouth and is firmly held by the infant's lips. Preferably there is.
In this embodiment, the radial width W1 of the base 21 is 45 mm.

Please refer to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of the artificial nipple 20. In the figure, the area of the areola portion 22 indicated by shading is processed with fine irregularities.
That is, the surface is a fine rough surface.
Thereby, at the time of the infant's nursing exercise | movement, the areola part is firmly hold | maintained at the baby's lip, it is hard to slip, and it can prevent effectively removing from a mouth.
Such uneven processing can be obtained, for example, by forming a mold inner surface to be formed into a rough surface by sandblasting in advance and then forming it. Alternatively, after molding the entire artificial nipple, the nipple portion may be masked and processed by sandblasting or the like.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the areola portion 22 that is formed continuously with the base portion 21 and is gradually reduced in diameter and extends from the areola portion 22 to reach the tip. And a nipple portion 23 that extends while gradually decreasing in diameter at a smaller diameter reduction rate than the diameter reduction rate of the areola portion 22. Moreover, since the nipple portion 23 is set to have a length sufficient to reach the sucking cavity in the infant's oral cavity at the time of breastfeeding, a conventional peristalsis-like movement in the sucking movement in the infant's oral cavity, It is possible to prevent the phenomenon that the enlarged nipple tip portion is pushed back, which is an inconvenience occurring in the artificial nipple, and even if the nipple portion 23 is not extended, the tip of the nipple portion 23 can reach the sucking cavity without fail. Moreover, since the nipple portion 23 is thin, it can be fed in the same manner as breastfeeding from the mother's nipple by being crushed in a state of reaching the sucking cavity.
Further, by providing the weakened portion 24, the nipple portion 23 can be turned into the sucking cavity by being bent (not crushed) there, and the region to be crushed when subjected to the peristaltic movement is the nipple. It is limited to the part 23 and can be prevented from reaching the areolae part 22. As a result, the areola part is slightly deformed with the movement of the lips of the infant, but is not crushed and can be firmly held on the lip part.

The base 21 of the artificial nipple 20 of FIG. 4 will be described.
The base 21 includes a bulging portion 42 that bulges radially outward over the entire circumference at a lower portion of the areola portion 22, an overhang portion 47 formed on the lower surface of the bulging portion, Opposite to the overhang portion 47, the lower end of the artificial nipple 20 is provided with a flange portion 41 having a predetermined thickness that bulges outward in a ring shape, for example, over the entire circumference.

A characteristic configuration is provided in the region of the base 21.
8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing an enlarged area indicated by reference numeral P in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a view of FIG. It is an expanded partial sectional view of a part.
8, 9, and 10, the bulging portion 42 is provided so as to correspond to a portion that greatly expands from the areola portion 22 so as to be continuous with the bulge of the breast.
Between the bulging portion 42 and the flange portion 41, a constricted portion 51 formed of a groove or a slit having a dimension into which the inward flange portion 34 described with reference to FIG.
What is particularly important is that at least a part of the constricted portion 51 is provided so as to penetrate deeply, and as is understood from FIG. 10, the constricted portion 51 is formed to a position deeper than the penetration depth of the flange portion 34 of the cap 3. .
Specifically, when the flange portion 34 of the cap 3 is fitted into the constricted portion 51, the constricted portion 51 is formed deeper by the dimension D2 than the inner end of the flange portion 34 of the cap 3.

On the other hand, in the flange portion 41, when the artificial nipple 20 is attached to the bottle 1 via the cap 3, that is, in the state shown in FIG. A check valve 44 is provided that takes in air from the outside when the pressure drops, and closes when the liquid inside is about to go out.
The check valve 44 is formed within the thickness of the flange 41 so as not to protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the flange 41.
Specifically, for example, a circular formation portion 43 as shown in FIG. 13 is provided in a predetermined region of the flange portion 41. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the base end portion is provided with integral portions 49, 49 with the flange portion 41, and valve bodies 44a, 44b, which are thin movable pieces, are formed obliquely downward from the integral portions 49, 49. Each valve body 44a, 44b is closed at its tip (lower end in FIG. 11) to prevent liquid from leaking, while the air in the direction of arrow A is opened by air pressure and slits. 48 is formed and flows into the bottle 1.
Here, the integral parts 49, 49 are integrally formed with the valve bodies 44a, 44b, which are each movable piece, in a circular arc shape with a root or a crescent as shown by hatching in FIG.
That is, the check valve 44 is configured to form a slit 48 that opens and closes by contacting the distal ends thereof so that the two valve bodies 44a and 44b have a triangular cross-section, and the base end portions ( The integral portion 49) is formed integrally with the flange portion of the base portion in a substantially crescent shape.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the slit 48 which is the opening of the check valve 44 is a linear opening and is formed in a direction orthogonal to the circumferential direction S of the flange portion 41. Thus, when the cap 3 is screwed when the artificial nipple 20 attached to the cap 3 is attached to the bottle 1, the valve bodies 44a and 44b are mutually connected even if a twisting force in the circumferential direction S acts. There is no inconvenience that the front end (the portion of the slit 48) slips sideways and the valve bodies are not overlapped.
Furthermore, through holes having a diameter larger than the gap dimension of the slit are formed at both ends of the slit. Specifically, preferably, circular through holes 48 a and 48 a are provided at both ends of the slit 48. Accordingly, the slits 48 of the valve body are prevented from sticking to each other and becoming difficult to open, and the valve body can be opened and closed more reliably.
Accordingly, the through-hole 48a is circular in the figure, but the shape is not limited as long as it exhibits a similar action such as a triangular one.
As can be understood with reference to FIG. 10, the formation portion 43 of the check valve 44 has an outer edge (inner end) slightly inside (inner side) of the inner end of the attached cap 34. Thus, the gap D1 can be formed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, at the position directly above the check valve 44, the bulging portion 42 is provided with through holes 46 in the vertical direction. The inner end of the through hole 46 is slightly inward (back side) with respect to the inner end of the attached cap 34, so that the gap D3 can be formed.
More preferably, as will be understood with reference to FIGS. 7 and 11, the overhang portion 47 of the bulging portion 42 is slightly adjacent to the check valve 44 at a position sandwiching the through hole 46 from both sides. Spacers 52, 52 formed of convex portions having a sufficient thickness are formed. The spacers 52, 52 constitute a gap G1 in FIG.

The present embodiment is configured as described above, and even if the internal pressure of the bottle 1 decreases during breastfeeding, the outside air passes through the through hole 46 of the bulging portion 42 as shown by the arrow A1 in FIG. 10 and passes through the gap D1. Subsequently, the clearances D1 and D2 are passed through and the check valve 44 is reached. In the check valve 44, the lower ends of the valve bodies 44a and 44b in FIG. 11 open and enter into the bottle 1 from the slit 48 as shown by an arrow A3 in FIG. You can continue breastfeeding without crushing the drop.
In this case, even if the position of the infant holding the artificial nipple 20 changes during breastfeeding and the through-hole 46 is blocked by the lips, the outside air is indicated by the presence of the spacers 52 and 52 as indicated by the arrow A2. Can effectively prevent the inner pressure of the bottle 1 from being lowered.

By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
The individual configurations of the above-described embodiments and modifications may be omitted if necessary, or may be combined with other configurations not described.

  20 ... artificial nipple, 22 ... areola part, 23 ... nipple part, 24 ... weak part, 34 ... (cap) flange part, 41 ... flange part, 42 ... -Swelling part, 44 ... check valve, 48 ... slit, 51 ... constricted part, 52 ... spacer, D1, D2, D3, G1 ... gap

Claims (5)

A molded product made entirely of a conical hollow body made of an elastic material such as a soft resin,
A base that has been expanded to accommodate the mounting target;
An areola part that is formed continuously on the base, and gradually reduces in diameter and extends,
A nipple portion extending from the areola portion and further reduced in diameter than the areola portion,
The base is
A bulging portion integrally formed below the areola portion and bulging radially outward;
An overhang portion that is an overhang-like lower surface of the bulging portion and a flange portion that is opposed to the constricted portion via the constricted portion, and the constricted portion includes a hard cap that is attached to a beverage storage bottle. The cap is attached so that the inward flange portion enters,
The flange portion is formed with a vent hole,
By setting the depth of the constricted portion on the back side from the inner end of the inward flange portion, a gap is formed between the constricted portion and the cap,
The vent hole is provided at a position communicating with the gap, and the overhang portion located above the vent hole is provided with a spacer that slightly protrudes downward. Nipple.   The artificial nipple according to claim 1, wherein a through-hole communicating with the outside is formed in the bulging portion that can be placed immediately above the vent hole.   The artificial nipple according to claim 2, wherein the spacers are provided at positions on both sides of the through hole.   The artificial nipple according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vent hole is a check valve formed so as to completely fit within a thickness dimension of the flange portion. A baby bottle comprising an artificial nipple and a bottle to which the artificial nipple is attached,
The artificial nipple is
A molded product made entirely of a conical hollow body made of an elastic material such as a soft resin,
A base that has been expanded to accommodate the mounting target;
An areola part that is formed continuously on the base, and gradually reduces in diameter and extends,
A nipple portion extending from the areola portion and further reduced in diameter than the areola portion,
The base is
A bulging portion integrally formed below the areola portion and bulging radially outward;
An overhanging lower surface of the bulging portion and a flange portion facing each other via a constricted portion, and an inward flange portion of a hard cap to be attached to a beverage containing bottle are provided on the constricted portion. So that the cap can be attached,
The flange portion is formed with a vent hole,
By setting the depth of the constricted portion on the back side from the inner end of the inward flange portion, a gap is formed between the constricted portion and the cap, and the vent hole communicates with the gap. The overhang portion located at the upper portion of the vent hole is provided with a spacer that slightly protrudes downward.

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