WO1992018088A1

WO1992018088A1 - Bottle having a feeding teat

Info

Publication number: WO1992018088A1
Application number: PCT/BE1992/000010
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernard Adrien Marie Louis Charles Dael
Original assignee: Dael Bernard Adrien Marie Loui
Priority date: 1991-04-11
Filing date: 1992-04-10
Publication date: 1992-10-29
Also published as: AU1531692A; BE1004721A5

Abstract

A bottle (2) provided with an extractable feeding teat (1) having an air inlet (10) and including an attachment lip (7) joined to a skirt (9) which includes a first weakening line (6) provided substantially at the join between the attachment lip (7) and the skirt (9). Said air inlet (10) consists of microscopic openings provided substantially in said first weakening line (6) which, when the teat (1) is withdrawn into the neck of the bottle (2), is held against an upper inside edge of the neck.

Description

BOTTLE PROVIDED WITH A FEEDING BOTTLE

The invention relates to a bottle provided with an extractable feeding nipple, said nipple being provided with an air inlet and comprising a fixing lip and a skirt which meet, said skirt comprising a first weakening line located substantially at the height where the fixing lip and the skirt meet.

Such a bottle is known from US-A-2956702. The known teat is fixed thanks to its fixing lip and to a stopper at the upper edge of the neck of the bottle which is made of glass. The skirt of the teat is housed under an airtight closure capsule placed on the neck of the bottle. The capsule comprises an upper panel covering the skirt folded in itself of the nipple as well as the fixing lip. The cap is tightened in a fixing groove provided on the outer peripheral periphery of the neck, thus closing the bottle.

In order to facilitate the extraction of the cap from the nipple when the latter is housed inside the neck and also to facilitate the accommodation of the nipple inside the neck, the nipple is provided with a weakening line .

A disadvantage of the known bottle is that the closure of the air inlet, when the bottle is closed, is only achieved by the cap closing the bottle. This implies great preci¬ sion during the manufacture of the capsule and the teat 'to ensure the tightness of the teat. In addition, once opened, care must always be taken to properly place the cap on the bottle and check that the latter is properly closed so as not to deteriorate the content due to air which could infiltrate via the air inlet. The object of the invention is to produce a bottle provided with a nipple whose tightness is better guaranteed, without imposing great precision on manufacturing.

To this end, a teat according to the invention is characterized in that said air inlet is formed by microscopic openings disposed at the height of said first weakening line, which, in the folded position of the teat at the inside of a neck of the bottle, is housed against an inner upper edge of the neck. By locating the air intake, formed by microscopic openings, at the height of the first weakening line, we take advantage of the fact that thanks to the presence of the weakening line, the material of which the teat is made, is more flexible in this place. In fact, when the teat is housed inside the neck, the first weakening line is folded back on itself and housed against the inner upper edge of the neck. This fold, facilitated by the fact that the nipple is more flexible up to the first weakening line will cause the obturation of the microscopic openings. This closure will be further ensured by the fact that said first strip is housed against said edge. Indeed, the weakening line makes the material more flexible in this place and thus allows to better fit the shape of the neck in this place thus ensuring the tightness.

The invention is therefore based on the notion that by applying a weakening line at the indicated location, one simultaneously obtains ease in the movement of the teat as well as adequate sealing. A first preferred embodiment of a bottle according to the invention is characterized in that the skirt comprises a second weakening line situated substantially at the level of a passage between a flared lower part of the skirt and the nipple cap. The presence of the second weakening line makes it possible to fold the teat further in on itself and thus to reduce the volume of the latter when it is in the folded-back position. Preferably, the teat has a positioning indicator placed around said air inlet. The person who holds a bottle with such a teat in his hand will immediately notice how to orient the bottle to ensure its use.

A second preferred embodiment of a bottle according to the invention is characterized in that the bottle is made of flexible material, the nipple is connected by gluing to the upper edge of said neck or by welding of the lip fixing to said edge. Bonding or welding ensures a perfect seal without having to use expensive techniques. In addition, the flexible material allows by application of pressure on the bottle to impose said movement on the teat.

In another embodiment of a bottle according to the invention, the nipple is connected to the neck of the bottle by a crimping wire placed at the level of said fixing lip. The crimping wire allows easy and inexpensive mounting while ensuring 1 • tightness.

The invention also relates to a feeding nipple intended for a bottle according to the invention. The invention will be explained below in more detail using drawings illustrating some examples of embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:

- Figure 1 shows a section on an enlarged scale of a disposable bottle provided with a teat and whose teat is in the folded position inside the neck;

- Figure 2 shows a section of a nipple mounted around a neck; - Figure 3 illustrates a section of the neck of a disposable bottle provided with a teat and whose teat is in the feeding position;

- Figure 4 illustrates a teat mounted around a neck using a crimping wire; - Figure 5 illustrates a vertical section of the teat in the rolled position;

- Figure 6 illustrates the microscopic openings with which the teat is fitted.

In the drawings, the same reference is assigned to the same element or to an analogous element.

The bottle illustrated in FIG. 1 is provided with a nipple 1 and is made of flexible material such as for example P.E.T. or polycarbonate allows both the pressure action on the sides of the latter in order to create a momentary overpressure inside the bottle. The bottle is preferably a disposable bottle which avoids having to clean it after use.

In the following text, the bottle-nipple assembly will be called a bottle. However, it should be noted that such a bottle can be used for purposes other than breastfeeding infants. Thus it can be used for feeding any edible liquid product to people with disabilities or having undergone an operation or even for feeding young animals. The teat 1 is made of a soft elastic material such as for example an injected silicone or natural rubber, which materials are perfectly compatible with the foods which are inside the bottle and which are authorized by the legislator. public health. An example of the silicone injected is Silopren LSR 2040 manufactured by the company Bayer AG Preferably the teat is sterilized which significantly reduces the danger of contamination by the teat of the food in the bottle. The use of a soft elastic material also makes it possible to fold the teat on itself, as illustrated in FIG. 1 or 5 and to unwind the teat from this folded position. By folding the teat on itself, it is possible either to pack the teat in an envelope 22 as illustrated in Figure 5 or to house it inside the neck 19 of the bottle while taking up a minimum of space .

Apart from soft elastic materials, the teat can also be made of other material such as for example aluminum foil.

In order to ensure the hygiene of the teat and the conservation of the contents of the bottle, the latter is preferably provided with a stopper or a capsule 4 provided with a guarantee ring 3. The stopper is preferably aimed at a screw pitch 16 arranged on the neck. As the hygiene of the pacifier is thus ensured, the pacifier will not cause food deterioration and therefore the expiration date of the food should not be changed. The nipple according to the invention comprises a fixing lip 7 and a skirt 9 which meet, the lip 7 and the skirt 9 are delimited by a first weakening line 6 which is intended inter alia to make the unwinding movement easier pacifier. An air inlet 10 is located at the height of the first weakening line as illustrated in FIG. 6. This air inlet is preferably formed by microscopic openings which, thanks to their size, prevent the liquid from entering. inside the bottle to escape while letting in the air necessary for the use of the bottle and avoiding the depression of the bottle during its use. The number of microscopic openings is related to the dimensions of the perforation 8 of the nipple.

The microscopic openings are preferably aligned on the same part of the circumference of the skirt as shown in FIG. 6.

The teat also includes a positioning indicator 5 placed around said air inlet. This indicator thus makes it possible to indicate the place where the air inlet is located and therefore to indicate the correct feeding position in which the bottle must be held during its use. Preferably, this positioning indicator is formed by a protuberance made of the same material as that of which the teat itself is made. The latter solution allows inexpensive manufacturing of such an indicator. But it goes without saying that other solutions, such as a colored line, are also possible.

A second weakening line 12 is situated substantially at the height of a passage between a flared lower part of the skirt and the cap 11.

This second weakening stripe will advantageously improve the fold of the skirt on itself.

When the teat is incorporated into the bottle, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the connection between the teat and the bottle 2 made of flexible material is carried out by welding or bonding of the fixing lip 7 to the upper surface 15 of the neck. Welding or Bonding are inexpensive manufacturing processes which nevertheless ensure excellent sealing between the teat and the bottle. In addition, since the fixing lip 7 is already not very thick and since neither welding nor gluing requires a thick connection, this solution offers the advantage of not hindering the plug 4 excessively. by means of an adhesion promoter based on silanes or of adhesive based on polysiloxane mono-component hardening at room temperature. Thus the stopper can be a standard stopper normally used for bottles, such as, for example, water or milk bottles made from flexible plastic. Bonding or welding is applied to a negligible surface of the teat and of the bottle as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 thus not also interfering with the stopper.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the teat is connected to the neck of the bottle by a crimping wire 21, which preferably is received at the level of a groove 23 provided on the outside face of the neck. This solution is an alternative to bonding or welding for baby bottles whose teat is integral with the neck. The crimp wire allows a tight connection while being an inexpensive solution. Another embodiment, bottles sold with a teat delivered separately, for example in a separate envelope applied to the bottle.

When the pacifier is housed inside the neck, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the presence of the first weakening line 6 makes it possible to fold the skirt of the pacifier completely against this inner edge at this height. of the neck by closing at the same time the air inlet 10. The closing of this air inlet is also supported by the extension of the skirt 11 towards the inside of the neck. By folding the skirt in this way, the leakage of the liquid through the air inlet is prevented during handling of the bottle. In addition, due to the presence of the first weakening line 6, the material of which the teat is made is more flexible at this location where the microscopic openings are also arranged 10. The greater flexibility of the material at this location will also favor the correct closing of this air inlet. The choice of placing the air intake at the height of the first weakening line therefore makes it possible to combine the favorable effects, mentioned above, which cooperate in the proper closing of this air intake in the bottle's rest position. . The presence of the second weakening line makes it possible to fold the cap of the teat upwards when the teat is in the folded position inside the neck. In addition by folding the cap upwards, the nipple 8 comes to touch the inside of the plug 4 and is thus closed. Aside from the space saving obtained by folding the teat, there is therefore also a shutter effect. Preferably, the stopper is provided with a slight protuberance at the point where it comes into contact with the nipple, thus further ensuring sealing.

By folding the teat inside the neck, as shown in Figure 1, pockets 13 are created or due to the structure and position of the teat, the liquid contained in the bottle can not enter. This avoids loss of liquid during the outward movement of the teat.

The amount of air present in the bottle under the nipple is greater than the amount of air néces¬ sary when setting the feeding position of the nipple. The movement of the pacifier from the rest position to that of the food is easily realized by simple pressure on the sides of the bottle. The flexibility of the latter as well as the structure of the teat 1 ensure this movement. Indeed, the presence of the weakening lines will allow the teat to be easily deployed using the pressure created on the latter by pressing on the sides of the bottle. The vertical dimensions of the cap 11, from its top to the second weakening line 10, are greater than the dimensions of the first line at the base of the skirt, so that the nipple is pushed back by the bottom of the capsule 4 down.

The connection between the flexible bottle and the independent teat, accompanying the bottle, is achieved by manually placing the fixing lip around the neck. This wide lip, being elastic, circumferentially circumvents the neck and by its elasticity, protects the bottle from any leakage.

Preferably, the nipple according to the invention has a thickness of approximately 1 mm, while at the height of the weakening lines, the thickness is reduced to 0.8 or 0.7 mm. The microscopic holes have a diameter of 0.1 to 0.2 mm.

Claims

1. Bottle provided with an extractable feeding nipple, said nipple being provided with an air inlet and comprises a fixing lip and a skirt which meet, said skirt comprising a first weakening line located substantially at the height where the fixing lip and the skirt rejoi¬ gnent, characterized in that said air inlet is formed by microscopic openings disposed at the height of said first weakening line, which, in the folded position of the teat to the inside of a neck of the bottle, is housed against an inner upper edge of the neck.

2. Bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that said skirt comprises a second weakening line situated substantially at the height of a passage between a flared lower part of the skirt and the cap.

3. Bottle according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the nipple has a positioning indicator placed around said air inlet.

4. Bottle according to claim 3, characterized in that said indicator is formed by a protuberance.

5. Bottle according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is made of flexible material, the nipple being connected by gluing to the upper edge of said neck.

6. Bottle according to one of claims

1 to 4, characterized in that it is made of flexible material, the nipple being connected to the upper edge of the bottle by welding the fixing lip to said edge.

7. Bottle according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is made of flexible material, the teat is connected to the neck of the bottle by a crimping wire placed at the height of said fixing lip.

8. Feeding nipple intended for a bottle according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said air inlet is formed by microscopic openings disposed at the height of said first weakening line.