WO2007091877A1 - Device for a feeding bottle, which prevents the lid from being misplaced and improves the hygienic liquid dispensing conditions - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to additions and improvements to an article of the type used to feed nursing animals or humans, such as a feeding bottle. The invention consists of a device which can be added to a standard feeding bottle or integrated during production. The device consists of two elastic elements which are fixed at diametrically-opposing points to a standard lid at one end and to the outer surface of the body of the feeding bottle close to the base thereof, such that the lid is always close to the bottle. The lid can be placed on and removed from the cover and the teat by stretching the elastic elements. In addition, the lid can be held in place on an alternative support means coupled to the outer wall of the feeding bottle while the teat is in use, thereby preventing the lid from being misplaced and the inside thereof being contaminated by the environment.

Description

 BIBERON DEVICE THAT AVOID THE REMOVAL OF THE PLUG AND IMPROVES THE CONDITIONS! LIQUID DISPENSED HYGIENICS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to liquid containers for human or animal consumption, of the type used to feed infants, commonly known as bottles, and specifically, with devices to prevent contamination by external agents of the liquid dispensing means, called mamilas, and more specifically, with means that prevent the loss of said devices and allow to improve the hygiene conditions in the transport and dispensing of the liquid to the infant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A problem that occurs frequently during the use of containers with removable lids is that the lid can be easily lost when it is removed from its use position on the container in order to have access to the contents. There are many examples in the field of containers in general that are aimed at solving this problem, proposing various alternatives to keep the lid close to the container and even to hold it while the lid is not in use.

The problem described is aggravated when the container in question is one intended to conserve materials intended for human or animal consumption. It is well known by people who have fed infants by means of bottles, that it is easy to misplace the cap that covers the bottle cap with a bottle, either by inadvertent expulsion of the cap during transport, or by the loss in the time to remove it to access the breast and feed the infant, and for the duration of the feeding, at which time the cap is normally placed away from the infant to avoid causing any damage. The loss of the cap makes it impossible to cover the bottle again, either to protect the contents not used for later use, or for transport and future use. The only way to replace the cap is by buying a spare.

Another problem, especially serious, is that the area of the plug that has to be in contact or proximity with the breast (which has to be sucked directly by the infant), is exposed to contamination, for example by dust, insects or any other source; In the solutions proposed so far, the plug when removed from the lid with mamila is open to contact with the environment and therefore the infant is able to acquire some contaminant (bacteria, fungi, etc.) through the breast that has made contact with the cap.

Some examples of the proposed alternatives to solve the problems raised, are set out below.

In the field of containers in general, there are some interesting applications especially for garbage containers.

United States Patent No. 3,363,924 (Reraig, 1968) presents a typical garbage container, in which the lid is held by two diametrically opposite elastic elements that run from the vertical posts of the lid handle to the handles located diametrically opposite on the body of the container; to aid coupling, the elastic elements are attached to the handle of the lid and attached to the handles of the container by means of hooks,

US Patent No. 6,041,960 (Leal, 2000) is an alternative modality that takes advantage of the configuration of the container with handles near the mouth of the container and the concavity of the lid to use as a fastener to a semi-flexible strip that is held firmly to the middle, highest point of the lid; it bends down and the ends of the strip will hold the handles on the body of the container; in this way the strip itself exerts a downward pressure on the lid, to keep it closed. To release the lid, only one of the ends of the strip is released, which is removed by sliding upwards and then hanging from the other handle.

In US Patent No. 5,156,292 (Ross, 1992) the lid of a container is held from two diametrically opposed ends by a pair of elastic bands that are attached to a common hook in the bottom of the container; The hook is attached to a groove or groove in the lower end of the container. The lid is held in place by ^'the pressure in the downward direction exerted by clastic bands.

US Patent No. 5,090,583 (Hoffman et. Al., 1992) describes a cap for a container, which is held close to said container by means of two flexible arms that hold the container body by means of a ring, and which are located at two diametrically opposite points of said stopper; . To open the container, it is necessary to break one of the arms so that the cap moves longitudinally out of the tip of the container when flexing the second arm. - * "O"

In the field of bottle-type containers, U.S. Patent No. 5,361,918 (Mason, 1994) describes a cap that is attached to the bottle cap of a bottle and also has the function of keeping inside from your body, a certain amount of a material such as powder from a food formulation; The device is attached to the bottle cap with a bottle, and can be separated from it to allow access to the bottle as well as the contents of the bottle and the device itself.

U.S. Patent No. 5,653,353 (Otto et al,

1997) describes a bottle cap, which is fastened by means of a removable strap to the lid that holds the bottle to the bottle; As can be seen, this simple device solves the problem of keeping the cap attached to the body of the bottle, in order to avoid the loss of the bottle, however the problem of contamination of the inside of the cap and therefore of the bottle is still maintained when the cap is repositioned on it.

US Patent No. 6,302,286 (Whiterspoσn, 2001) describes a bottle in which the cap of the bottle is kept close to the bottle when it is not being used to cover the bottle, by means of an arm that is held in one end to the cap and at the other end to a ring that is arranged around the neck of the bottle body and is held in that place by the coupling of the lid with the bottle, which is screwed into the upper part of the body of the bottle. The ring can rotate freely and can also move along the neck of the bottle; The arm is flexible enough so that the cap can be adjusted on the lid with the bottle to protect it from contaminants, as well as to allow the bottle to be released for use by the infant. The cap, when not in its position of use, protecting the mammoth, rotates freely around the body of the bottle leaving its inner surface exposed to the weather, with the consequent risk of contamination.

A different approach to the problems of handling the components of a bottle is presented by United States Patent No. 6,123,210 (Kim, 2000), where to prevent the loss of the bottle cap when it is in use by the infant , the cap is coupled to a second site designed for this purpose in the body of the bottle; The position of this second location allows the bottle and cap assembly to be used to correctly position the bottle for proper suction by the infant (avoid sucking air bubbles when the infant is lying on his back). OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

In the light of the limitations and problems presented by the developments so far proposed in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for keeping the caps of the bottles available and nearby, while the bottle is being used by the infant, so that they do not extract and allow to maintain an adequate degree of hygiene in the handling of such bottles once the infant has stopped using it.

It is another object of the present invention, to provide a device that allows the bottle cap to be kept in a fixed location and close to the bottle for application on the means of dispensing the fluid once its use by the infant is concluded.

It is another object of the present invention, to provide a device that, in addition to allowing the bottle cap to be kept close to it, so as to keep the inside of said lid free of contact with contaminants from the environment, such as dust or insects . It is yet another object of the invention, that said device has elements that allow easy and quick use by a user in charge of feeding the infant.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the light of the description that follows, which is accompanied by a series of figures for the preferred embodiments of the invention, which are to be understood as elaborated for illustrative and non-limiting purposes. of the teachings of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

For a better understanding of the advantages of the device of the invention, a series of drawings and figures are now presented which are intended to illustratively show the characteristics of the device and how to use it, without pretending to be limiting.

Figure 1 is a side plan view of a bottle with the device of the invention in a first position of use.

Figure 2 is a side plan view of a bottle with the device of the invention in a second position of use. Figure 3a is a side plan view of a bottle cap with a bottle in its position of use.

Figure 3b is a top plan view of a bottle cap with a bottle in its position of use.

Figure 4a is a side plan view of a conventional bottle cap.

Figure 4b is a top plan view of a conventional bottle cap.

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of the placement of a conventional bottle cap on a bottle cap with a bottle in its use position.

Figure 6a is a side view of a conventional bottle cap without mamila.

Figure 6b is a top view of a conventional bottle cap without mamila.

Figure 7a is a side view of a seal disc adaptable to a conventional bottle cap. Figure 7b is a top view of a seal disc adaptable to a conventional bottle cap.

Figure 8 is a schematic representation of the placement of a seal disc to a conventional bottle cap.

Figure 9 is a schematic representation of the placement of the cap and seal assembly of Figure 8 on a vertical face of the body of a conventional bottle.

Figure 10 is a schematic representation of the cap and seal assembly of Figure 8 placed on a face of the body of a conventional bottle, in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 11 is a schematic representation of the placement in a conventional bottle cap of two elastic elements in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 12 is a schematic representation of the placement of a free end of one of the elastic elements attached to the conventional bottle cap, on a vertical face of the modified conventional bottle body in accordance with the present invention. Figure 13 is a front view of a conventional baby bottle modified with the device of the present invention in a second position of use, as shown in Figure 2.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description will refer to the accompanying drawings described above, which. They must be understood. as illustrative of the invention, and not limiting the scope thereof. The common elements in the figures have the same numerical references in all of them.

In order to avoid confusion regarding the use of certain terms, it is agreed in the following meanings:

"Mamila" means the blister of elastic material, usually latex or soft plastic, which flows the liquid from the container to the outside by the sucking action of the infant; by "cover" refers to the normally internally threaded ring that holds the "mamila" and retains it against the mouth of the container; "Bottle" means the container assembly, "lid" and "mamila" described above; finally, the references to the term "plug" must be understood to be made towards a truncated cone-shaped device and whose base is a low-rise cylinder, which serves to cover and protect the cap-mamila pair, and that this pair is normally clamped by pressure along the annular zone of the cover which corresponds to the respective lower cylindrical (annular) zone of the cap, to which it fits; Conventionally, the contact surfaces of the cap and the cap have roughness or textures that improve the fit between them and prevent, although not totally, the inadvertent detachment of the cap from the bottle assembly.

The present invention involves modifications to a conventional bottle, such that it is allowed to keep the cap close to the body of the bottle at all times and in a manner that minimizes the chances of contamination of its areas of possible contact with the bottle. Figure 1 is a side view of the modified bottle (100) in accordance with the present invention, which consists of a container open at an end _r of essentially cylindrical body (110), or having flat sections (115) forming a body shaped like a straight polygonal prism; This last body shape (110) is preferred in the present invention as will be described later.

At the "upper" end of the open cylindrical body (110), a cover (120) can be coupled generally in a threadable relationship between them; the lid (120) in turn, supports a Mamila (130) and the lid assembly (120) and Mamila (130) can be covered by the cap (140) to prevent contamination.

The modification proposed in the present invention is to provide the cap (140) with a pair of elastic elements (170) located diametrically opposite each other at points on the outer surface and close to the bottom edge of said cap (140), and where the other end of said elastic elements is firmly attached to the outer face of the body (110) of the bottle, so that said elastic elements (170) exert a "down" pressure on said cap, to secure it firmly in its use position protecting the set of cover (120) and mamila (130) threadedly placed in the mouth of the body (110) of the bottle. It can be seen in this Figure 1, that there is an additional cover (150) attached to the outer face of the body (110) of the bottle (100), preferably on one of the flat sections (115) if available, and said cover (150 ) As will be described below, it lacks a mamila and instead has a seal disc (160) that completely closes the hole or hole of said lid (150).

Figure 2, a side view of the same bottle (100) of Figure 1, shows how it is possible to move the cap (140) from its use position of Figure 1 to a non-use position in which it fits the lid (150) attached to the face of the body (110) of the bottle (100), where the elastic elements (170) still exert slight pressure on the cap (140) so that it remains attached to the cap (150) _r preventing said cap (140) from being lost, and better still, preventing prolonged exposure of the inner face of said plug (140) to the environment and thus preventing its contamination.

Note that in this position, the bottle (130) is accessible so that the infant can suck the contents of the bottle (100). Some details of the constituent elements of the invention and its mode of use according to the present invention are given below.

Figure 3a is a front view (or side view, due to symmetry) of a conventional bottle cap (120), which normally has a circular bottom edge (122) and a cylindrical body (124) that can be smooth or present, as in the case of the commercially available bottle body, a polygonal prism shape with rounded edges, as illustrated in Figure 3a; The cover (120) generally has inside threading elements (not illustrated) for adjustment in the threaded neck of the open end of a conventional bottle, and a concentric hollow (126) of circular shape through which a mammoth is passed (130) of latex or other plastic material in a manner that facilitates the suction action by an infant. The mammals usually fit in the hollow of the lid (120) under pressure. Figure 3b shows a top plan view of the assembly. Also ^" conventionally, commercially available bottles and bottles are accompanied by a hollow cap (140) which is schematically represented in Figures 4a and 4b and which in most conventional embodiments includes approximately the same elements: A base (142 ) essentially cylindrical of low height whose inner diameter is designed to fit under pressure around the outer periphery of the cover (120) to which it is intended; on this base (142) ^• a hollow conical structure (144) is raised and open at its lower end where it joins with the base (142) in an annular area (146); the height of the section (144) is such that it allows the mammoth (130) supported in a interior to be accommodated excessively Conventional lid (120), the frustoconical body (144) is delimited in its upper part by a generally concave surface (148) that completely closes the "dome", then forming the cap (140) flared It is illustrated.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the plug (140) is used to isolate the cover assembly (120) and mammoth (130) when it is slid over them in the manner illustrated by the arrow "A" in Figure 5 , lowering it until the corresponding cylindrical sections of the cover (120) and the plug (140) (areas designated as (124) and (142) respectively in the previous Figures) fit together, achieving the desired effect of preserving the mamila (130) from contact with air and other means of contamination.

On the other hand, commercially available bottles and bottles are offered with some additional attachments, such as the seal disc (160) illustrated in Figures 7a and 7b, which is circular in shape, and whose main body (162) It has a diameter such that it allows its introduction into a spare cover (150) (identical to the cover (120) referred to above, although different references are used to designate both and avoid confusion) so that a relief (164) also in shape circular can fill the gap (156) (see Figures 6a and 6b) of a conventional bottle cap (150) when said disc (160) is inserted in the proper direction in said cap (150) as represented by the arrow " B "in Figure 8. The disc (160) is complemented by a small handle (166) that projects on the opposite side to that occupied by the relief (164), for easy handling of the disc (160).

For the purposes of the present invention, one of these discs (160) is permanently fixed inside a spare cover (150) so that the hole (156) thereof is clenched, as shown in Figure 8 , and subsequently the assembly is also permanently fixed to the "vertical" face of the body (110) of a conventional bottle (100), and preferably one of the flat faces (115) if available, as illustrated by the arrow "C" in Figure 9, thus forming alternate support means for the cap (140), finally remaining as illustrated in Figure 10 .

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the set of elements described in the previous paragraph can be formed into a single piece that is part of the body (110), formed from the moment of manufacture of the bottle (100), being careful to preserve the smoothness of the inner face of the inside of the body

(110) for easy cleaning.

Another part of the invention relates to additions in the cap (140), which are illustrated in Figures 11 and 12. To a conventional cap (140) as described above with reference to Figures 4a and 4b, they are fastened in points. diametrically opposed (175) and (175 ') of the outer surface of its lower cylindrical zone (142) and close to its "lower" edge, indicated by the arrows "D" and "E" in Figure 11, the free ends of two elastic elements (170) and (170 '), which can be bands or strips of elastomeric (plastic), textile or metallic material / these elastic elements (170) and (170') are fastened using any of the commonly known techniques in the technical field, such as by the action of an adhesive or by heat sealing. The free opposite ends of both elastic elements (170) and (170 ') are attached to points (180) (indicated by the arrow ^ΛΛ F "in Figure 12) and (180') on the outer surface of the face

"vertical" of the body (110) of the modified bottle (100) of the invention; said points are diametrically opposite each other, at 90 degrees in each direction with respect to the vertical average line of the cover assembly (150) and seal disc

(160) attached to the face of the body (110) of the bottle as explained above in reference to Figures 8 to 10, the distance from the base of the body (110) of the bottle is recommended to be limited to the lower half in order to allow the infant to hold a bottle (100) when it is in use; the length of the elastic elements (170) and (170 ') is then determined and before the free ends are secured, such that the plug (140) being placed in its second position on the alternate support means, as shown in Figure 2, the elastic elements exert a slight attraction of the plug (140) towards the lid (150), and also allow the stretching of said elastic elements (170) and (170 ') so that the plug (140 ) can be raised above the cover assembly (120) and mammoth (130) placed in its position of use adjusted to the mouth of the body (110) of the bottle (100), and its subsequent placement in the first position of use, protecting

-to the mamila of contact with contaminating media. Figure 13 illustrates the arrangement of the elements in the second position of the plug (140). While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described where the device is applied to a conventional bottle after its manufacture as a user-made addition, it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art of bottle making that Modifications and additions to the structure of a conventional bottle can be made at the time of manufacture, as mentioned during the description. It will also be evident that it is possible to make modifications to the elements described and illustrated with reference to the preferred embodiment, which, however, should not be considered to go beyond the scope of the present invention, which instead should be understood from the claims that follow.

Claims

CLAIMS Once the invention has been described, what is considered novel and therefore its ownership is claimed, is: 1. A device for keeping the cap of a bottle, close, available and with a high degree of hygiene while the bottle is being used by the infant; the bottle is an essentially cylindrical body container, or preferably in the form of a straight polygonal prism; a screw cap is attached to the open end of the bottle; the lid in turn supports a mammoth and the assembly can be covered by a plug to prevent contamination; The device consists of: a. a pair of elastic elements, b. a conventional bottle cap, C- fastening means for attaching the elongated elements to the external walls of the bottle body, d. fastening means for attaching the elongated elements to the cap, and e. alternate support means for the cap disposed in the bottle body; said device characterized in that the ends of said elastic elements are held in close points to the lower edge of said cap, diametrically opposed to each other; the other end of said elastic elements is firmly attached to the outer face of the bottle body, so that said elastic elements exert pressure on said cap, to secure it firmly in its position of use on the lid and mammoth assembly / to allow the Using the bottle by the infant, the cap moves from its position on the lid assembly and slams to another • location where alternate support means are located on which it can be adjusted and maintained until it is required to reposition it to its position of use. 2. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 1, characterized in that the points of attachment of the elastic elements to the cap are located at the bottom edge of said conventional cap, on its' outer surface, diametrically opposed and close. 3. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 2, characterized in that the elastic elements are attached to said conventional cap by means that do not alter the inner surface of the cap, such as contact adhesion or thermoadhesion. 4. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 1, characterized in that the attachment points of the elastic elements to the outer wall of the bottle body are diametrically opposed between Yes and confined to the lower half of the bottle. 5. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 4, characterized in that the elastic elements are attached to the walls of the bottle body by means that do not alter the inner surface of the bottle. bottle, such as contact adhesion or thermoadhesion. 6. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 1, characterized in that in order to remove said conventional cap from its position of use covering the cap and mamila assembly, the elastic elements, allowing the mamila to pass under said cap to leave it free for use by the infant. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic elements prevent the loss of said cap when it is located in its position of use on the assembly of lid and mamila or is removed from said position of use, and keep it close for use. 8. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 1, characterized in that when said cap is not in its use position covering the cap and mammoth assembly, said cap can be placed on said alternate support means. 9. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 8, characterized in that said alternate support means are located on the outer wall of the bottle body in a midpoint between the attachment points of the elastic elements and said bottle wall, and in the upper half of the bottle. 10. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 9, characterized in that the configuration of said alternate support means is that of a conventional cap without mammoth with the recess for Mamila being sealed. 11. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 10, characterized in that said alternate support means fit inside the lower section of the cap, to prevent the entry of air or dust when said plug fits said alternate support means. 12. The alternate support means according to claim 11, characterized in that said alternate means of support of the cap are composed of a conventional cap without mammoth and a conventional seal disc, which seals the gap in said conventional cap intended to support a Mamila 13. The alternate support means according to claim 12, wherein said conventional seal disc is permanently attached inside said conventional cover. 14. The alternate support means according to claim 13, characterized in that once said seal disc is permanently attached to said conventional cover, the assembly in turn is permanently attached in its location on the outer face of the bottle. 15. The alternate support means according to claim 14, characterized in that the permanent fastening is done by any technique known in the art that does not affect the inner surface of the bottle, such as contact adhesion or heat sealing. 16. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 11, characterized in that said alternate support means are formed at the time of manufacture of the bottle. 17. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the bottle infant according to claim 1, characterized in that when the cap is adjusted to the alternate support means, said cap is held in that position by effect of adjusting said cap to the contour of said alternate support means and by the effect of pressure exerted by the elastic elements. 18. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle - while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic elements are formed of textile material. 19. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by <3l infant according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic elements are formed of a plastic resin. 20. The device for supporting the cap of a bottle while the bottle is being used by the infant according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic elements are formed of metallic material.