WO2004089275A1

WO2004089275A1 - Feeding device

Info

Publication number: WO2004089275A1
Application number: PCT/GB2004/001541
Authority: WO
Inventors: Craig Noble
Original assignee: Huhtamaki (Uk) Limited
Priority date: 2003-04-14
Filing date: 2004-04-06
Publication date: 2004-10-21
Also published as: GB2418193A; GB0308593D0; GB2400837A; GB0523197D0

Abstract

A feeding device comprises a squeezable container containing food that is connected to a spoon or spatula in a manner so that on squeezing the container the food is directed to a food-receiving surface of the spoon or spatula.

Description

FEEDING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a feeding device and, in particular, to a device for feeding infants.

Infants have different dietary needs from adults. Special foods have therefore been developed for feeding infants. These are often provided in semi-solid form. They may for example be in the form of a puree, gel, or paste. Such foods frequently contain carefully balanced amounts of nutrients, vitamins and minerals, so as to be adapted to the needs of the infant. They may also be flavoured so as to appeal to the palate of an infant. For example, they may avoid bitter or spicy flavours, which are commonly found in adult foodstuffs.

The food may be packaged in containers in relatively small amounts (compared with containers for adult food). Typically the containers will have a volume (when filled) of less than 250 ml, e.g. less than 100 ml. The calorific content of the food can be specifically determined so as to be suitable for an infant meal rather than for an adult meal.

In order to feed an infant it is usual for an adult to open the container and to feed the infant with a spoon, either directly or after placing the contents of the container onto a dish.

However, an adult who is feeding an infant frequently also needs to hold the infant at the same time (e.g. to comfort the infant). This can make it difficult to feed the infant without spilling the food, dropping the spoon, etc. This can be particularly difficult if the infant is boisterous and can also be stressful for the adult and/or for the infant.

There is therefore a need to provide an easier way of feeding an infant. (For the purposes of the present invention infants are preferably less than 5 years old. The term "infant" therefore includes young children and babies). One possibility is to place the food in a bottle and to allow the infant to feed from the bottle though a teat. However this does not work well with viscous food, or with food that is lumpy in nature, because the infant is not always able to suck the food through the bottle. Furthermore, the infant will often drop the bottle, or be generally uncooperative.

Another method is to place the food in a cup having a top that is secured onto the cup (e.g. by screwing) and that has one or more apertures. However this suffers from similar disadvantages to feeding by bottle, especially if viscous/lumpy food is used.

The present invention aims to overcome or alleviate the above disadvantages of known feeding devices.

According to the present invention there is provided a feeding device comprising deformable container containing a food, wherein the container is connected to a spoon or spatula in a manner so that on deforming the container the food is delivered to the spoon or spatula.

This device is radically different from known devices for feeding infants. The spoon or spatula is, in service, integral with the container dispensing the food and therefore an adult feeding an infant therewith does not need one hand to hold the container and another hand to hold the spoon or spatula. Furthermore, a single hand can be used to operate the device. Thus, whilst holding the device, it can be squeezed with the same hand that is holding it to deliver the food to the spoon or spatula and the same hand can also be used to guide the spoon or spatula towards the mouth of the infant that is being fed. This leaves the other hand free to hold the infant.

The device of the present invention is also advantageous in minimising waste. This is because only a relatively small amount of food is delivered to the spoon or spatula. This is unlikely to be spilled, because the adult has good control over the device. Even if the infant is not hungry, only the small amount of food present on the spoon or spatula will be lost (e.g. it can be washed off the surface of the spoon or spatula). The remainder of the food will remain in the container, which can then be stored for later use (e.g. in a refrigerator)

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that a device of the present invention is particularly useful in feeding infants. Thus the container may contain a food that is specially adapted for feeding infants and may be labelled accordingly. The container may also be of a size adapted for infants (e.g. less than 250 ml, preferably from 10 to 200 ml, more preferably from 20 to 150 ml).

A container of the present invention is not however limited to being used to deliver food to infants. It may, for example, be used for delivering food to adults, e.g. to the elderly or infirm.

Alternatively it may be used for delivering food to animals - e.g. it may be used for pets, for farm animals, for zoo animals, or for racing animals. It is particularly useful for feeding young animals.

As indicated above, the device may comprise a spoon or spatula.

The term "spatula" is used herein to indicate a device having a head with a generally planar surface for receiving a quantity of food (preferably in semi-solid form), the head being shaped so as to fit easily into an individual's mouth.

The capacity of the spoon or spatula for receiving a semi-solid food may for example be from 1 ml to 25 ml (e.g. about 5 ml or about 10 ml).

The term "spoon" is used to indicate a device having a generally concave surface for receiving a quantity of foodstuff, the surface being shaped so as to fit easily into an individual's mouth. The spoon or spatula will preferably have a shaft, although this need not be as long as that of standard spoons or spatulas (e.g. it may be less than 8 cm or less than 5 cm long).

Preferably the head of the spoon or spatula (which includes the food-receiving surface) is generally round or elliptical in plan. It will normally be of greater width than the shaft of the spoon or spatula (e.g. at least twice or at least three times the width).

A spatula is preferred for use in the present invention. The present invention provides a spatula comprising a conduit for directing material from an inlet to an outlet so as to deliver said material to a generally flat food receiving surface of the spatula.

Desirably the spatula comprises connecting means for fluidly connecting the spatula to a deformable container, as discussed above. It may also comprise seal puncturing means for puncturing a seal of the deformable container.

Unlike a spoon, the spatula does not have a concave food receiving surface. It is advantageous to use a spatula, because infants can find it difficult to eat all of the material held by a spoon, given that their co-ordination is often not well developed. This frequently results in material at the bottom of a spoon being wasted. In contrast, an infant can much more easily eat all of the food presented on a flat spatula surface.

A further advantage of using a spatula is that both upper and lower surfaces of the head of a spatula may be flat and therefore both surfaces may be used to deliver food.

As indicated previously, the food is preferably in semi-solid form. The term "semi-solid" is used herein to indicate that, when the deformable container is deformed (e.g. squeezed), the food contained therein can flow through the conduit and can be retained on a flat spatula surface for sufficient time to feed an individual, without first trickling off said surface.

A device of the present invention differs from devices used to administer carefully controlled dosages of pharmaceuticals, such as the device described in EP-A-061 659. A device of the present invention comprises food rather than a pharmaceutical and is therefore not designed to deliver precise unit/multiple dosages of pharmaceuticals. This allows greater flexibility in design. For example it allows a spatula to be used, rather than a spoon.

Whether a spoon or a spatula is used, it is preferred that it comprises a conduit through which food can be delivered from the tube to a food receiving surface present on the head of the spoon or spatula. Desirably the conduit is part of (or all of) the shaft of the spoon or spatula.

The conduit may be provided with a one-way valve to prevent food re-entering the container after passing through the valve. This is advantageous in keeping food in the container sterile.

If desired, the spoon or spatula may be provided with seal puncturing means so that a frangible seal initially present on the tube can be pierced to allow food to travel down the conduit. Seal puncturing means are well known in the art. For example the seal puncturing means may be in the form of a conical protrusion.

The container may be provided initially in a form separate from the spoon or spatula and may be connected with the spoon or spatula later on via appropriate connection means. For example, connection may be via a screw thread or a via a snap-fit or press-fit arrangement.

The container may be microwavable or heat resistant, so that it can be microwaved or placed in hot water for cooking or in order to ensure sterility. It may be provided with a marker to indicate when the food has been heated to a desired degree on to a desired temperature. The marker may be thermo-chromic - i.e. it may provide a colour change once a desired degree of heating or a desired temperature has been attained.

The device of the present invention may be provided in fully assembled form or may be provided in kit form.

The present invention therefore provides a kit comprising a deformable container containing food and a spoon or spatula that is adapted to be connected to the deformable container, the spoon or spatula comprising a conduit through which the food can be delivered from the deformable container.

The kit may optionally include instructions for use (e.g. in assembling the kit or in using the assembled device to feed an infant).

A further aspect of the present invention is a method of feeding an individual, comprising providing a device of the present invention, deforming the deformable container until the food is delivered to the spoon or spatula and either placing the spoon or spatula in the individual's mouth or allowing the individual to eat from the spoon or spatula.

The present invention will now be described without limitation thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a top perspective view of a feeding device of the present invention in the form of a spatula attached to a deformable tube.

Figure 2 shows a front perspective view (in partial cutaway section) of the feeding device shown in Figure 1 . Figure 3 shows a side perspective view (in partial cutaway section) of a spatula of the present invention being attached to a deformable tube in order to form the device shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 shows a front perspective view of a container of the present invention held in an upright position by a stand.

Referring now to Figure 1 , a feeding device 100 of the present invention is shown. The device 100 comprises a spatula 105 attached to a squeezable tube 1 10 containing a pureed baby food. The spatula 105 is provided with a conduit 1 15 having an inlet (not shown) and an outlet 120. When the tube 100 is squeezed to deform it, baby food is forced out through the nozzle of the tube (shown as 140 in Figure 3), through the conduit 1 15 and onto a food-receiving surface 130 of the head 135 of the spatula 105. Thus the conduit 1 15 directs the food from the tube 1 10 towards the food-receiving surface 130. The head of the spatula 135 is wider than the rest of the spatula. Although it has some straight edges, it is generally elliptical in shape. It is shaped to fit into the mouth of an infant and is generally flat so that an infant can easily swallow food placed upon it, without leaving food in a concave recess.

The outlet 120 of conduit 1 15 can be seen more clearly in Figure 2. It is defined by a generally semi-circular wall. It does not extend across the full width of the spatula 105 but discharges food onto the centre of the food receiving surface 130, thereby minimising the risk of spillage.

As indicated above, the nozzle 140 of tube 1 10 is shown in Figure 3. It is provided with circumferential ridges 141 and 142. These are formed of resiliently deformable material, which allows a tight fit to be obtained when the nozzle is pressed into the conduit in the direction of arrow 143. This is achieved because the ridges 141 and 142 resiliently engage an inner wall of the conduit 1 15, allowing the tube 1 10 to be held in position during use. When it is desired to remove the tube 1 10 from the conduit 1 15, it can be disengaged from the conduit 1 15 by pulling it in the opposite direction to arrow 143.

As an alternative means of attaching the tube 1 10 to the conduit 1 15, a screw thread could be provided on the nozzle 140 so as to engage a corresponding recess cut into the inner wall of the conduit 1 15 (or vice-versa). As a further alternative, a snap-fit arrangement could be used.

As indicated above, the device 100 may be provided initially in kit form wherein the spoon or spatula 105 is separate from the container 1 10. The container 1 10 may also be provided with a stand. Figure 4 shows the container 105 located in the stand 145, which has a flat base 146. If desired, the stand 145 may also function as a cap for the nozzle 140 of the container 1 10 (e.g. it may be a screw cap) or, alternatively, a separate cap may be provided. The container 1 10 is shown in an upright position where it is held by the stand 145. This is advantageous in that gravity causes food to accumulate close to the nozzle 140. Thus, later on, when the container 1 10 is attached to the spoon or spatula 105, the food is already positioned so that it can easily pass through the nozzle 140 onto the food receiving surface 130.

Claims

1. A feeding device comprising a deformable container containing food, wherein the container is connected to a spoon or spatula in a manner so that on deforming the container the food is delivered to the spoon or spatula

2. A device according to Claim 1 , wherein the food is adapted for infants.

3. A device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the deformable container containing the food is connected to a spatula.

4. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the food is in semi-solid form.

5. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the container is releasably attached to the spoon or spatula.

6. A device according to any preceding claim comprising a conduit through which food can be delivered from the container to a food receiving surface of the spoon or spatula.

7. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the container is microwavable

8. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the container includes means for indicating that the food has reached a given temperature.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein said means comprises a marker that changes in colour when the given temperature has been reached.

10. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the spoon or spatula comprising seal puncturing means.

1 1 . A spatula comprising a conduit for directing material from an inlet to an outlet so as to deliver said material to a generally flat receiving surface of the spatula.

12. A spatula according to Claim 1 1 comprising connecting means for connecting the spatula to a deformable container.

13. A spatula according to Claims 1 1 or 12, further comprising seal-puncturing means for puncturing a seal of the deformable container.

14. A spatula according to any of Claims 10 to 13, further comprising a oneway valve.

15. A method of feeding an individual, comprising providing a device according to any of Claims 1 to 9, deforming the deformable container until food is delivered to the spoon or spatula and either placing the spoon or spatula in the individual's mouth or allowing the individual to eat from the spoon or spatula.

16. A method according to Claim 15 wherein the individual is an infant.

17. A kit comprising a deformable container containing food and a spoon or spatula that is adapted to be connected with the deformable container, the spoon or spatula comprising a nozzle through which the food can be delivered from the deformable container.

18. The kit according to Claim 17, comprising a cap for the deformable container.

19. A kit according to Claim 18 wherein the cap allows the deformable container to be stood in an upright position.

20. The invention substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings and/or examples.