WO2013182520A2

WO2013182520A2 - Improvements in bottle warmers

Info

Publication number: WO2013182520A2
Application number: PCT/EP2013/061383
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joshua MIHILL
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-06-07
Filing date: 2013-06-03
Publication date: 2013-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 2014-12-07
Also published as: GB2517364A; GB2502794B; GB2502794A; GB201210022D0; WO2013182520A3; GB201421751D0

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLE WARMERS

The present invention provides a container and a warming system for the container. In particular the invention provides an infant feeding bottle and a means for readily warming the contents of the bottle to feeding temperature.

The feeding of infants, particularly babies presents several challenges. The feed must be provided from a sterile safe environment, it must be provided at the desired temperature and it must be capable of being provided at any location and at any time. Portable baby bottles and warmers are well known but there remains a need to improve the security and ease of use of the bottle, the warmer and its contents. The present invention addresses these issues.

The present invention therefore provides an open mouthed container and a detachable heating cap which may be securely attached to the open mouth to close the mouth and form a seal.

The invention further provides a bottle warmer which is designed to mate with the heating cap whereby the heating cap may be placed on the bottle warmer and the warmer activated so as to heat the contents of the container by heating the heating cap.

In a further embodiment additionally a teat system is provided which can be secured to the open mouth of the container upon removal of the detachable heating cap. Alternatively, the container may be provided with two apertures, the heating cap may be attached to one aperture and the teat system may be attached to the other aperture.

The invention is particularly directed at systems for infant feeding where the container is a baby bottle. The container of the present invention may be any container whose contents are to be heated, however the invention is particularly useful for the warming of the contents of a baby bottle in which case the container is the baby bottle. Where the container is a baby bottle it is preferred that the open mouth where the teat is to be applied is relatively wide. This allows easy introduction of the required amount of the contents such as powder and water and reduces the likelihood of spillages, additionally it facilitates cleaning of the inside of the bottle and enables the use of a heating cap of a large surface area so speeding up the warming of the contents of the bottle. The use of a wider aperture with an appropriately shaped teat also enables feeding that better imitates breast feeding. An opening comprising a circular aperture of diameter between 75 and 100 mm particularly between 80 and 90 mm has been found to be particularly useful. The container and teat may be designed so that the test is sealed against a lower section of the inner surface of the container to funnel liquid contents, such as milk, more easily into the teat so reducing the likelihood of air being sucked into the contents during use in which can cause colic to a baby being fed.

The container may be made of any suitable material providing it is sterile and sterilizable and can be shaped to receive both the heating cap and the teat system in a manner that forms a fluid tight seal. It is preferred that the container is provided with means at its open mouthed end for attachment of the heating cap onto the open mouth to form a fluid tight seal. The attachment may be a snap fit and one or more rings may be provided on the outer surface of the mouth of the container or a screw thread may be provided although this is less preferred. Rigid and semi rigid plastics such as food and medical grade polypropylene, polycarbonate and polyester are particularly useful materials from which to make the container.

The container is preferably transparent and is provided with markings to indicate the level of material within the container. The markings may be graduated or a single line showing the desired level of the contents for a feed.

The heating cap may also be made of any suitable material providing it can be securely attached to the container and has good thermal conductivity. It is preferred that the cap is designed to have good thermal contact when placed on the warmer. The cap should be retained by the warmer and should not slide thereon. The cap may therefore be provided with a roughed surface or a series of projections such as concentric rings designed to fit within corresponding concentric grooves formed in the surface of the warmer.

Additionally, the presence of projections such as concentric rings increases the surface area between the warmer and the heating cap which improves thermal contact between them and speeds up the warming.

The heating cap is preferably provided with a skirt on the side remote from the side to contact the warmer and the skirt is provided with attachment means to hold it onto the exterior surface of the open mouth of the container to form a fluid tight seal. The heating cap is preferably provided with handling means such as a protruding tab or tabs which can be used to apply it and remove it from the container and additionally ensures that the operator will not need to touch the heated surface. The heating cap is preferably circular and is preferably of a diameter of from 4 to 10 millimetres greater than the diameter of the open mouth of the container. At the edge the cap is preferably of a thickness between 7 and 20 millimetres although the area through which heat is transferred may be thinner such as from 2 to 5 millimeters.

The heating cap is preferably made from a material that has a high thermal conductivity and also has a low thermal expansion and will therefore retain the fluid tight seal with the container during the warming operation. Silicone rubber is particularly suitable since silicone rubber grades have approvals for use in medical and food applications and are therefore suitable in the systems of the present invention. Silicone rubber grades are non-toxic and have very low levels of volatile organic compounds and are therefore a particularly useful material from which to make the heating cap. The cap is preferably provided with a thicker outer rim of material to prevent the outside becoming too hot and risking burning the bottle user. The ring may be a thickened ring of the silicone rubber which, due to its increased thickness will not heat up significantly during the relatively short warm up times.

Where the container is a baby bottle the delivery system is a teat system. The teat system may replace the heating cap to be positioned on and fill the open mouth of the container. Alternatively, the teat system may be applied to a second opening in the container in which case the heating cap can form the base of the bottle during use and can be removed simply to allow the container to be emptied, cleaned and refilled.

The teat system preferably comprises a separate teat ring and teat to enable disposal of the teat whilst avoiding the need to dispose of the teat ring. The teat ring preferably comprises a head with an aperture through which the teat can pass and a skirt projecting downwardly from the head. The skirt may be provided with a thread on its outer surface so that it may be screwed into the mouth of the container to secure the teat in position. Where the container is provided with a single orifice the teat ring with the teat passing through may be screwed into a mating thread provided on the internal surface of the mouth of the container. In this instance the mouth of the container is provided with attachment means for receipt of the heating cap such as external rings for a snap fit and threaded internally for receipt of the teat ring.

The warmer that is employed in this invention is electrically powered and can be mains or battery operated so that it can be used both in and out of the home. The warmer is preferably light weight and consists of a casing, power supply, a heating plate, a control panel and a protective lid. The heating cap is preferably shaped to optimise the surface contact with the heating cap. For example, it may be designed to contact projections formed on the heating cap, in particular it may provide a series of concentric grooves designed to receive concentric rings formed in the surface of the heating plate.

The heating cap may also be applied to the bottle when the teat system is in place, compressing the teat and keeping the teat sterile. The heating cap and teat may then be removed for filling and the heating cap replaced for warming and subsequently replaced with the teat for feeding.

The system of the present invention will typically be supplied as a kit comprising the bottle, the heating cap, the warmer and the teat system.

A typical infant feeding process employing the present invention therefore comprises the following steps: i) introduction of the feed material, typically powder and water into the container; ii) provision of the heating cap onto and over the mouth of the container to form a fluid tight seal; iii) inversion of the capped, filled container; iv) placement of the heating cap (attached to the filled container) on the warmer; v) activation of the warmer until the contents are at the desired temperature; vi) removal from the warmer; vii) shake as required; viii) remove the heating cap; ix) provide the teat assembly onto and over the mouth of the container; x) feed.

The warmer is mains or battery operated (preferably rechargeable batteries) and can therefore be used under any conditions such as regular daytime feeding, night time feeding, whilst away from home such as during walks, flights, restaurant visits, train and car journeys. The use of the heating cap and the corresponding surface of the warmer allows rapid heating which may be required since long heating times can be undesirable. Additionally, the provision of the heating cap to the bottle can prevent leakages such as can occur during transportation. Where the wide aperture bottle is employed it has the additional benefits of ease of filling, emptying and cleaning.

The present invention is illustrated but in no way limited to the accompanying Figures in which:

Figure 1 shows a container according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a heating cap for use with a container illustrated in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 shows a warmer for use with the container of Figure 1 provided with the heating cap shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows the container provided with the heating cap placed upon the warmer shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a teat ring that can be used with the container shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 shows a teat to be used in connection with the teat ring shown in Figure 5; Figure 7 shows the separate components of the invention including a bottle, assembled and ready for feeding.

Figure 1 a shows a container (1 ) provided with an open mouth (2) at one end and provided with external ring (3) and an internal screw thread (4). Figure 1 b is a cross section of the container shown in Figure 1 b.

Figure 2a shows a heating cap of the present invention comprising a heatable surface (5) comprising a series of concentric ribs (6) together and a peripheral insulating ring (7) provided with a tab (8) to ease handling. Figure 2b is a cross section through the heating cap shown in Figure 2a showing the rings (9) and (10) which provide the snap fit with the ring(3) on the container shown in Figure 1 a. Figure 3a is a plan view of a warmer (11 ) for use in the invention showing the concentric grooves (12 to 16) for receipt of the ribs (6) of the heating cap shown in Figure 2. The warmer (11 ) is provided with an electric power supply (17). Figures 4a and 4b show the provision of the heating cap (5) onto and over the mouth of the container (1 ) and the provision of the inverted container onto the warmer (1 1 ).

Figure 5a shows a teat ring (18) provided with an orifice (19) through which the teat can pass. Figure 5b shows the skirt of the teat ring (19) and the thread (20 and 21 ) provided thereon to enable the teat to be screwed into the threads (4) provided on the inner surface of the container as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 6 shows a teat (22) the upper section of which (23) can pass through the opening (19) of the teat ring, the lower section (24) of which will be held securely against the inner surface of the container (1 ) when the ring (18) is screwed into the mouth (2) of the container (1 ) shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 7 shows the three components of the system as they maybe obtained as a kit showing the warmer (1 1 ), the heating cap (5), the container (1 ) with upper section of the teat (23) in position for feeding.

Claims

1. A combination comprising an open mouthed container and a detachable heating cap which may be securely attached to the open mouth to close the mouth and form a seal.

2. A combination according to Claim 1 wherein the container is provided with internal threads at the mouth of the container.

3. A combination according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the container is provided with means to attach the heating cap.

4. A container according to claim 3 in which the attachment means comprise one or more rings that enable a snap fit with the heating cap.

5. A combination according to any of the preceding claims further comprising a warmer which is designed to mate with the heating cap whereby the heating cap may be placed on the warmer and the warmer activated to heat the contents of the container.

6. A combination according to any of the preceding claims further comprising a teat system which can be secured to the open mouth of the container.

7. A combination according to any of the preceding claims in which the container is provided with two apertures whereby the heating cap may be attached to one aperture and the teat system may be attached to the other aperture.

8. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the container is a baby feeding bottle.

9. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the open mouth of the container is a circular aperture of diameter between 75 and 100 more particularly between 80 and 90 mm.

10. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the container is transparent and is provided with markings to indicate the level of material within the container.

1 1. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the heating cap is provided with a series of projections designed to fit within the surface of the warmer.

12. A combination according to Claim 1 1 in which the projections are concentric rings.

13. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the heating cap is provided with a skirt on the side remote from the side to contact the warmer and the skirt is provided on its inner surface with means to attach to the container.

14. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the heating cap is provided with handling means which can be used to apply it and remove it from the container.

15. A combination according to Claim 13 in which the handling means comprise protruding tab or tabs.

16. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the heating cap is circular and is of a diameter of from 4 to 10 millimetres greater than the diameter of the open mouth of the container.

17. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the heating cap is of a thickness between 7 and 20 millimetres at its edge.

18. A combination according to any of the preceding claims wherein the container is a baby bottle and the delivery system is a teat system comprising a teat ring and a teat and the teat ring is provided with a skirt that carries a thread on its outer surface for engagement with a thread on the inner surface of the mouth of the container.

19. A combination comprising a container, a heating cap, a warmer and a teat system according to any of the preceding claims.