U.S. patent application number 15/333687 was filed with the patent office on 2017-04-27 for bottle teat and cap for a drinking bottle.
This patent application is currently assigned to MAPA GmbH. The applicant listed for this patent is MAPA GmbH. Invention is credited to Sarah-Dimple Dass, Uwe Wagenknecht, Bodo Warden.
Application Number | 20170112720 15/333687 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57211319 |
Filed Date | 2017-04-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170112720 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wagenknecht; Uwe ; et
al. |
April 27, 2017 |
Bottle Teat and Cap for a Drinking Bottle
Abstract
A bottle teat consisting of a soft elastic material for a
drinking bottle, in particular for infants and small children,
having: a teat flange, a hollow teat sleeve that projects upward
from the teat flange and is connected at its bottom end to the teat
flange, a hollow suction part that is connected at its bottom end
to the top end of the hollow teat sleeve and projects upward
therefrom, a dome-shaped palate-contacting region on a side of the
mouthpiece facing the palate, at least one drinking hole in the
palate-contacting region that extends from the outside to the
inside of the mouthpiece, wherein: an elevated surface that bulges
to the outside is on the outside of the palate-contacting region,
and the at least one drinking hole is arranged in the elevated
surface so that the suction part with the elevated surface can be
pressed in a sealing manner against an inwardly bulging sealing
surface on the inside of the cap bottom of a cap to cover the
bottle teat.
Inventors: |
Wagenknecht; Uwe; (Tostedt,
DE) ; Warden; Bodo; (Monchengladbach, DE) ;
Dass; Sarah-Dimple; (Hamburg, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MAPA GmbH |
Zeven |
|
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
MAPA GmbH
Zeven
DE
|
Family ID: |
57211319 |
Appl. No.: |
15/333687 |
Filed: |
October 25, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J 11/0015 20130101;
A61J 11/006 20130101; A61J 11/008 20130101; A61J 11/0085 20130101;
A61J 11/045 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A61J 11/00 20060101
A61J011/00; A61J 11/04 20060101 A61J011/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 26, 2015 |
DE |
10 2015 118 252.1 |
Claims
1. A bottle teat consisting of a soft elastic material for a
drinking bottle, in particular for infants and small children,
having: a teat flange (2) a hollow teat sleeve (7) that projects
upward from the teat flange (2) and is connected at its bottom end
to the teat flange (2), a hollow suction part (10) that is
connected at its bottom end to the top end of the hollow teat
sleeve (7) and projects upward therefrom, a dome-shaped
palate-contacting region (13) on a side of the mouthpiece (10)
facing the palate, at least one drinking hole (17) in the
palate-contacting region (13) that extends from the outside to the
inside of the mouthpiece (10), characterized in that an outwardly
bulging, elevated surface (16) is on the outside of the
palate-contacting region (13), and the at least one drinking hole
(17) is arranged in the elevated surface (16) so that the suction
part (10) with the elevated surface (16) can be pressed in a
sealing manner against a sealing surface (41) that bulges inward on
the inside of the cap bottom (37) of a cap (32) to cover the bottle
teat (1).
2. The drinking teat according to claim 1, wherein the suction part
(10 has a flat, thin region (21) that completely or partially
includes the palate-contacting region (13), wherein the suction
part (10) outside of the thin region (21) has a greater wall
thickness than in the thin region (21).
3. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein the suction
part (10) has a bevel (15) for contacting the tongue on the side
opposite the palate-contacting region (13).
4. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1 that has a waist
(11) in the connecting region between the hollow suction part (10)
and hollow teat sleeve (7).
5. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein the
elevated surface (16) has a contour (18) in the shape of an
ellipse, the main axis of which is aligned perpendicular to the
mid-axis (19) of the bottle teat 7.
6. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein three, six
or nine drinking holes (17) are arranged in the elevated surface
(16).
7. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein the at
least one drinking hole (17) is lasered.
8. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein the thin
region (21) has a circular contour (22).
9. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein on the
inside, the teat sleeve (7) has a plurality of inwardly projecting,
parallel ribs (23) at a distance from each other around the midaxis
(19) of the teat flange (2).
10. The bottle teat according to claim 9, wherein the ribs (23)
have an elliptical contour viewed from above, wherein the main axes
of the ellipses in a midplane pass through the suction part (10),
and the suction part has the palate-contacting region (13) on one
side of the midplane, and the tongue-contacting region (14) on the
other side of the midplane.
11. The bottle teat according to claim 9, wherein the ribs (23)
gradually flatten at opposing ends toward a midplane through the
suction part (30).
12. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein the teat
sleeve (7) has an inwardly projecting cone valve (25) which has a
slit (26) in its inner end.
13. The bottle teat according to one claim 1, wherein the teat
flange (2) has a cross-section in the shape of a T-profile, wherein
the upright (3) of the T-profile is aligned horizontally, and the
two legs (4, 5) of the T-bar (6) are arranged on the outer edge of
the nipple flange (2) and project upward and downward.
14. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1 that has a
peripheral, drawn-in region (8) between the hollow teat sleeve (10)
and teat flange (2).
15. The bottle teat according to one of claim 1, wherein the
drawn-in region (8) is bordered at the top by an approximately
horizontal sleeve edge (9) of the hollow teat sleeve (10).
16. A bottle teat family comprising a plurality of bottle teats (1)
according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of bottle teats (1) have
differently designed drinking holes (17), and the geometries and
dimensions of the teat flange (2) of the bottle teats (1) are
configured to be the same.
17. The bottle teat family according to claim 16, wherein the
elevated surfaces (16) of the bottle teats (1) have the same
arrangement relative to the teat flange (2).
18. The bottle teat family according to claim 16, wherein the
elevated surfaces (16) of the bottle teat have the same
dimensions.
19. A cap for a drinking bottle, in particular for infants and
small children, having: a peripheral cap sidewall (36), at least
one retaining element on the bottom edge of the cap side wall (36)
for releasably retaining the cap (32) on a drinking bottle (30), a
cap bottom (37) connected to the top edge of the cap sidewall (36),
characterized in that the cap bottom (37) has an inwardly bulging
peak region (40) in the center, and an inwardly bulging sealing
surface (41) adjacent to the peak region (40) and surrounding it,
wherein the radii of curvature in the peak region (40) are smaller
or the same size as the radii of curvature in the region of the
sealing surface (41) such that a bottle teat (1) with a suction
part (10) with an elevated surface (16) bulging to the outside and
having at least one drinking hole (17) can be positioned on the
sealing surface (41) to seal a dome-shaped palate-contacting region
(13).
20. The cap according to claim 19, the cap bottom (37) of which has
a first concavity (38) from above which in turn has a second
concavity (39) from below, wherein the second concavity (39) on the
inside encompasses the inwardly bulging peak region (40), and the
inwardly bulging sealing surface (41) surrounding the peak region
(40).
21. The cap according to claim 19, wherein the retaining element is
a latching projection (44) on the inside of the cap sidewall
(36).
22. The bottle teat according to claim 1, inserted in a fastening
ring (27) to be releasably held on the edge (51) of the mouth (50)
of a drinking bottle (30).
23. The bottle teat with a fastening ring according to claim 22,
wherein the fastening ring (27) has a latching groove (31) on the
top edge for snapping latching projections (44) on a cap (32).
24. The bottle teat with a fastening ring (27) according to claim
22, wherein the fastening ring (27) has a peripheral groove (35) in
the bottom surrounding a central through-hole (34) for the teat
sleeve (7) in which the upwardly projecting leg (4) of the T-bar
(6) of the teat flange (2) is inserted.
25. The bottle teat with a fastening ring (27) according to claim
22, wherein the fastening ring (27) is held on the mouth (50) of a
drinking bottle (30), and the teat flange (2) of the fastening ring
(27) is pressed against the edge (51) of the mouth (50).
26. The bottle teat with a fastening ring and drinking bottle
according to claim 25, wherein the drinking bottle (30) has an
outer step (52) surrounding the mouth (50) into which the
downwardly projecting legs (5) of the T-bar (6) of the teat flange
(2) engage.
27. The bottle teat with a fastening ring according to one of claim
22, wherein a cap (32) according to one of claims 19 to 21 is
releasably held on the fastening ring (27), and the sealing surface
(41) of the cap (27) lies sealingly against the elevated surface
(16) of the bottle teat (1).
28. The bottle teat with a fastening ring (27) and cap (32)
according to claim 27, wherein the cap (32) is latched with at
least one latching projection (44) in a latching groove (31) of the
fastening ring (27).
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a bottle teat and to a cap for a
drinking bottle, in particular for infants and small children. The
bottle teat can in particular be designed as a feeding teat or a
drinking aid (such as a feeding spout or drinking spout) according
to European standard EN14350-1, the entire contents of which is
incorporated by reference.
[0002] Bottle teats are used to administer milk and other liquid
nutrition, especially to infants and small children. They have a
hollow teat sleeve which is connected at its bottom end to a teat
flange. The teat sleeve is connected at the top end to a hollow
suction part which projects from the teat sleeve. The suction part
has at least one drinking hole which extends from the outside to
the inside of the suction part. The teat flange serves to be
fastened to the mouth of a container. The container in particular
is a drinking bottle (feeding bottle), drinking cup or feeding bag.
For fastening to a container, an attachment ring is used which has
a cylindrical cover with at least one fastening element for
fastening to at least one fastening element of the container. In an
embodiment as a threaded ring, the fastening elements are an inner
thread on the cover and an outer thread on the container.
Furthermore, the fastening ring has an inward-projecting,
annular-disc-shaped ring flange that overlaps the nipple flange and
presses against the front edge of the mouth of the container.
[0003] Feeding teats generally consist of soft elastic material.
Drinking aids and drinking spouts are often also made of soft
elastic material. When suction is exerted on the suction part, a
vacuum arises in the container which makes it difficult to withdraw
the liquid and can cause a soft elastic bottle teat to collapse. To
prevent this, bottle teats have a ventilation valve. The
ventilation valve opens to equalize pressure with the surroundings
when a certain vacuum predominates in the container.
[0004] Feeding bottles with a cover that is clamped on the
fastening ring and covers the bottle teat are known. To prevent
unintentional leakage, a sealing washer can be clamped in a sealing
manner between the fastening ring, or respectively teat flange, and
edge of the opening of the container. Such a feeding bottle is
described in DE 33 37 248 A1, the entire contents of which is
incorporated by reference.
[0005] CH 261 501 Ah, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,445 A and U.S. Pat. No.
2,579,184A (the entire contents of each of which is incorporated by
reference) describe feeding bottles with a bottle teat and cover
that, in a mounted position, is seated by the inside of its bottom
on the drinking hole in the center of the suction part. The bottom
of the cap is concavely curved on the inside, and the teat part
with the central drinking hole lies against this concave
curvature.
[0006] EP 0 527 094, the entire contents of which is incorporated
by reference, describes a feeding bottle with a cap that can be
snapped into a groove in the outside of a threaded ring. The cap
contains a flexible membrane that is securely connected to a sleeve
arranged on the bottom of the cap. The membrane deforms elastically
and seals the drinking hole of the bottle teat when the cap is
snapped onto the threaded ring. The cap is complex and difficult to
clean. With orthodontically shaped bottle teats in which the
drinking hole is arranged in a side surface in the head of the
suction part and is aligned at a sharp angle to the teat axis, the
membrane adapts to the drinking hole after a certain bulging and
provides a seal. The contact pressure of the membrane on the
opening edge of the bottle teat is consequently relatively slight,
and leaks can therefore occur.
[0007] EP 2 299 965 B1, the entire contents of which is
incorporated by reference, describes a drinking bottle with a
drinking hole in a side surface of the suction part, a fastening
ring for fastening a teat flange on a bottle opening, and a cap
that can be placed on the bottle teat, wherein the inside of the
side wall of the cap presses in a sealing manner against the
drinking hole in the side surface, and the inside of its bottom
presses against an opposing side surface of the suction part
aligned at a sharp angle to the midaxis of the teat flange. Sealing
is difficult because the suction part must be aligned at a sharp
angle to the midaxis.
[0008] Against this background, the object of the invention is to
create a bottle teat for a drinking bottle, in particular for
infants and small children, that enables a simple and reliable
seal. Furthermore, the object of the invention is to create a cap
for a drinking bottle, in particular for infants and small
children, that enables an easy and safe seal.
[0009] The object is achieved by a bottle teat with the
characteristics described below.
[0010] The bottle teat according to the invention consisting of a
soft elastic material for a drinking bottle, in particular for
infants and small children, has: [0011] a teat flange, [0012] a
hollow teat sleeve that projects upward from the teat flange and is
connected at its bottom end to the teat flange, [0013] a hollow
suction part that is connected at its bottom end to the top end of
the hollow teat sleeve and projects upward therefrom, [0014] a
dome-shaped palate-contacting region on a side of the suction part
facing the palate, [0015] at least one drinking hole in the
palate-contacting region that extends from the outside to the
inside of the suction part, characterized in that [0016] an
elevated surface that bulges to the outside is on the outside of
the palate-contacting region, and [0017] the at least one drinking
hole is arranged in the elevated surface so that the mouthpiece
with the elevated surface can be pressed in a sealing manner
against an inwardly bulging sealing surface on the inside of the
bottom of a cap to cover the bottle teat.
[0018] A simple and reliable seal is achieved by the bottle teat
according to the invention in that at least one drinking hole is
formed in an elevated surface that bulges to the outside on the
palate-contacting region of the suction part. Consequently, the cap
only slides over the elevated surface of the palate-contacting
region while being mounted so that only slight friction acts
between the cap and suction part, and the at least one drinking
hole reliably reaches the intended position on the sealing surface
of the cap. Furthermore, by pressing the elevated surface of the
suction part against the cap, elevated surface pressure and hence a
better seal of the drinking hole is achieved. The bottle teat
according to the invention can therefore be sealed more easily and
reliably than conventional bottle teats by mounting a cap.
[0019] According to one particular design of the invention, the
suction part has a flat, thin region that completely or partially
includes the palate-contacting region, wherein the suction part
outside of the thin region has a greater wall thickness than in the
thin region. The thin region completely encloses the
palate-contacting region, is designed to coincide with the
palate-contacting region, or is completely enclosed by the
palate-contacting region.
[0020] According to another embodiment, the suction part has a
greater wall thickness everywhere at the edge of the thin region
than within the thin region. According to another embodiment, the
suction part has a greater wall thickness everywhere outside of the
thin region than within the thin region. According to a preferred
embodiment, the bottle teat has a greater wall thickness everywhere
outside of the thin region than within the thin region. The suction
part also preferably has the same wall thickness everywhere within
the thin region.
[0021] During use, the bottle teat rests with the flat thin region
on the palate. The palate has very pressure-sensitive regions, in
particular in the area of the incisive papilla which is a small
elevation on the front end of the palate. The flat, thin area is
particularly soft and supple since it covers the surface of the
palate-contacting region. Consequently, the use of the bottle teat
is felt to be particularly pleasant by a child.
[0022] According to a preferred embodiment, the flat, thin region
is therefore located within a palate-contacting region that, during
use, comes into contact with the front region of the hard palate,
preferably in a palate-contacting region which comes into contact
with the incisive papilla during use. Additional advantageous
embodiments of the thin region are described in WO 2013/131660 A1,
the entire contents of which is incorporated by reference. The
corresponding parts of this document are incorporated in the
present application.
[0023] According to another embodiment, the bottle teat is designed
so that it has a preferred rotational position within the mouth.
This can be achieved in that the thin region is only on one side of
the suction part which rests against the palate in the preferred
rotational reposition. This enables a restriction of the thin area,
which only slightly reduces the firmness of the suction part.
[0024] Alternatively, the bottle teat according to the invention
has no preferred rotational position in the mouth. This occurs in
particular with a bottle teat with a rotationally symmetric shape.
In bottle teats with a rotationally symmetric shape, the thinning
area is also preferably designed in a rotationally symmetric manner
so that it comes to rest on the palate in any rotational
position.
[0025] According to another embodiment, the suction part has a
bevel for contacting the tongue on the side opposite the
palate-contacting region. This brings about a preferred rotary
position of the nipple teat in the mouth of the child and improves
the suction process. The region of the teat that is to contact the
tongue is also termed the "tongue contacting region".
[0026] According to another embodiment, the bottle teat has a waist
in the connecting region between the hollow suction part and hollow
teat sleeve. The waist serves to accommodate the teeth of the user
and also improves wearing comfort. The region of the bottle teat
against which the teeth of the user lies during use is also termed
the "teeth region".
[0027] According to another embodiment, the suction part has
greater dimensions in the direction of a main axis, at least in the
palate-contacting region and in the teeth region in each
cross-section than in the direction of a minor axis. The main axis
is the axis of the cross-section that lies in a midplane of the
suction part, on one side of which the palate-contacting region is
arranged, and on the other side of which the tongue-contacting
region is arranged. The minor axis is the axis of the cross-section
that is aligned perpendicular to the main axis. The teat is
preferably used in the described alignment due to this
cross-sectional shape. According to another design, the
cross-section is oval.
[0028] According to another embodiment, the elevated surface has a
contour in the shape of an ellipse whose main axis is aligned
perpendicular to the midaxis of the teat flange. This design is
particularly advantageous for easily finding a reliable sealing
position.
[0029] According to another embodiment, three, six or nine drinking
holes are arranged in the elevated surface. The embodiments with
three, six or nine drinking holes form different teat sizes which
permit different flow rates. The different teat sizes can be
selected depending on the age, or respectively size, of the child.
Other numbers than the aforementioned numbers of drinking holes are
also possible.
[0030] According to another embodiment, the at least one drinking
hole is lasered. The lasered drinking hole is cut by means of a
laser beam into the suction part. By cutting with the laser beam,
the drinking hole has a minuscule opening without suction on the
suction part, i.e., in the unstressed state of the bottle teat.
However, the opening width of the gap is small enough to achieve a
seal of the bottle teat from the capillary effect and surface
tension of the cut surfaces sufficient enough to prevent liquid
food from unintentionally exiting. The precise production of a
drinking hole with a sufficiently small opening width is possible
by means of a laser beam. For production, it is advantageous that
the drinking hole can be generated without contact by the laser
beam which permits high production speeds. It is additionally
advantageous that production by the laser beam enables any desired
drinking hole contours. The drinking hole can accordingly be a
circular drinking hole or an elongated drinking slit. European
application EP 15 150 663.1 presents further details of production
and the nature of drinking holes that are produced with laser
beams. The relevant statements are incorporated in this
application.
[0031] According to another embodiment, the thin region has a
circular contour. The contact of the circular thin region on the
palate is particularly pleasant.
[0032] According to another embodiment, the elevated surface is
arranged entirely within the thin region. According to another
embodiment, the elevated surface is arranged at the top edge of the
thin region. According to another embodiment, the top edge of the
elevated surface is designed to approximately coincide with a
section of the top edge of the thin region. According to another
embodiment, the elevated surface is approximately one third of the
thin region. These embodiments are advantageous for wearing comfort
and for the seal of the bottle teat on a cap.
[0033] Furthermore, the object of the invention is a bottle teat
consisting of soft elastic material for a drinking bottle, in
particular for infants and small children, comprising: [0034] a
teat flange, [0035] a hollow teat sleeve that projects upward from
the teat flange and is connected at its bottom end to the teat
flange, [0036] a hollow suction part that is connected at its
bottom end to the top end of the hollow teat sleeve and projects
upward therefrom, [0037] at least one drinking hole in the suction
part that extends from the outside to the inside of the suction
part, characterized in that [0038] on the inside, the teat sleeve
has a plurality of inwardly projecting, parallel ribs at a distance
from each other around the midaxis through the nipple flange.
[0039] Preferably, this invention is another embodiment of a bottle
teat from claim 1. This also applies to the special embodiments of
the present invention provided below.
[0040] An advantageous flexibility of the teat sleeve is achieved
by the ribs, and this facilitates an alignment of the teat sleeve
to the position of the child and an adaptation to the child's
mouth. At the same time, the ribs stabilize the teat sleeve which
can prevent the bottle teat from collapsing into the drinking
bottle under a vacuum.
[0041] According to another special embodiment of the present
invention, the ribs have an elliptical contour viewed from above,
wherein the main axes of the ellipses in a midplane pass through
the suction part, and the suction part has the palate-contacting
region on one side of the midplane, and the tongue-contacting
region on the other side of the midplane. In this design, the
mobility of the suction part is advantageous when the drinking
bottle teat is aligned in a preferred rotary position within the
mouth.
[0042] According to another embodiment, the ribs gradually flatten
at opposing ends toward the midplane through the suction part. This
is the midplane on the one side of which the palate-contacting
region is arranged, and on the opposite side of which the
tongue-contacting region of the mouthpiece is arranged. This
further promotes advantageous mobility of the suction part.
[0043] According to another embodiment, the bottle teat has a wavy
contour on the inside in the region of the ribs.
[0044] According to another embodiment of the present invention,
the teat sleeve has an inwardly projecting cone valve which has a
slit in its inner end. According to one preferred embodiment, the
cone is slit in the tip end. This embodiment of the vent valve has
the advantage of being sealed against shaking so that no liquid
exits the vent valve even while the drinking bottle is being
shaken.
[0045] Furthermore, the object of the invention is a bottle teat
consisting of soft elastic material for a drinking bottle, in
particular for infants and small children, comprising: [0046] a
teat flange, [0047] a hollow teat sleeve that projects upward from
the teat flange and is connected at its bottom end to the teat
flange, [0048] a hollow suction part that is connected at its
bottom end to the top end of the hollow teat sleeve and projects
upward therefrom, [0049] at least one drinking hole in the suction
part that extends from the outside to the inside of the suction
part, characterized in that [0050] the teat flange has a
cross-section in the shape of a T-profile, wherein the upright of
the T-profile is aligned horizontally, and the two legs of the
T-bar are arranged on the outer edge of the nipple flange and
project upward and downward.
[0051] Preferably, this invention is another embodiment of the
aforementioned inventions. This also applies to the special
embodiments of the present invention provided below. The above
invention enables particularly reliable and pull-out resistant
fixation of the bottle teat on the edge of the mouth of a drinking
bottle by means of a fastening ring.
[0052] Furthermore, the object of the invention is a bottle teat
family comprising a plurality of bottle teats according to one of
claims 1 to 15, wherein the bottle teats are designed such that the
teat flanges have the same geometries and dimensions such that the
bottle teats with differently designed drinking holes (bottle teats
of different sizes) can optionally be fastened to the same drinking
bottle. According to one preferred embodiment, the elevated
surfaces have the same arrangement with regard to the teat flange
in all bottle teats of the bottle teat family. According to another
preferred embodiment, the elevated surfaces of bottle teats of
different sizes of the bottle teat family have the same dimensions.
This makes it possible to sealingly cover bottle teats of different
sizes from the bottle teat family using the same caps.
[0053] In addition, the object is achieved by a cap for a drinking
bottle, in particular for infants and small children, having the
features of claim 19. Advantageous embodiments of the cap are
presented in the dependent claims.
[0054] The cap according to the invention for a drinking bottle, in
particular for infants and small children, has: [0055] a peripheral
cap side wall, [0056] at lease one retaining element on the bottom
edge of the side wall for releasably retaining the cap on a
drinking bottle, [0057] a cap bottom connected to the top edge of
the cap sidewall, characterized in that [0058] the cap bottom has
an inwardly bulging peak region in the center on the inside, and
[0059] an inwardly bulging sealing surface adjacent to the peak
region and surrounding it, [0060] wherein the radii of curvature in
the peak region are the same size or smaller than the radii of
curvature in the region of the sealing surface such that a bottle
teat with a suction part with an elevated surface bulging to the
outside and having at least one drinking hole can be positioned on
the sealing surface to seal a dome-shaped palate-contacting
region.
[0061] The cap according to the invention makes it possible to very
easily and reliably find the reliably sealing sealing position of
the elevated surface on the sealing surface of the cap. The correct
positioning of the elevated surface on the sealing surface is not
impaired by frictional contact between the suction part and peak
region. The inwardly bulging peak region and the inwardly bulging
sealing surface both bulge into the cap bottom.
[0062] According to the one design of the invention, the cap bottom
has a first concavity from above which in turn has a second
concavity from below, wherein the second concavity on the inside
encompasses the inwardly bulging peak region, and the inwardly
bulging sealing surface surrounding the peak region. This is
advantageous for easily finding the reliably sealing sealing
position. Contact is thereby largely avoided between the peak
region and the suction part.
[0063] According to another embodiment, the retaining element is a
latching projection on the inside of the cap sidewall. The at least
one latching projection makes it possible to lock the cap in
sealing position on the fastening ring.
[0064] According to another design, the bottle teat is inserted in
a fastening ring with at least one fastening element to be
releasably held on the edge of the mouth of a drinking bottle.
[0065] According to another design, the fastening ring has a
latching groove in the top edge for snapping latching projections
on a cap.
[0066] According to another design, the fascinating ring has a
peripheral inner thread on the inside for being screwed onto an
outer thread on the outside of the mouth of a drinking bottle.
[0067] According to another design, the fastening ring has a
peripheral groove in the bottom surrounding a central through-hole
for the teat sleeve of the bottle teat in which the upwardly
projecting leg of the T-bar of the teat flange is inserted.
[0068] According to another embodiment of the present invention,
the bottle teat has a peripheral, drawn-in region between the
hollow teat sleeve and teat flange. The drawn-in region makes it
possible to preinstall the bottle teat on the fastening ring. The
preinstalled assembly can be fastened very easily and reliably to
the edge of the mouth of a drinking bottle.
[0069] According to another design, the drawn-in region is bordered
at the top by an approximately horizontal, bottom sleeve edge of
the hollow teat sleeve. The teat sleeve can thereby be brought into
close contact with the top edge of a fastening ring.
[0070] Furthermore, the object of the invention is a drinking
bottle consisting of plastic, in particular for infants and small
children, comprising: [0071] a bottle body with a bottle bottom and
a bottle sidewall and a chamber surrounded thereby for receiving
liquid food [0072] a bottleneck at the top end of the bottle
sidewall, [0073] a bottle neck that surrounds a mouth of the
drinking bottle, [0074] an outer thread on the outside of the
bottle neck for screwing on a fastening ring, characterized in that
[0075] The bottle neck on the outside of the edge surrounding the
mouth has a peripheral outer step, wherein a bottle teat with a
teat flange with a downwardly projecting leg on the outer edge of
the teat flange can be inserted into the outer step and pressed
against the edge of the mouth by means of the fastening ring.
[0076] Preferably, this invention is another embodiment of the
aforementioned inventions. By arranging the downwardly projecting
leg in the mouth of the outer step and fixing the teat flange on
the edge of the mouth by means of the fastening ring, the teat
flange is secured in a particularly reliable manner between the
drinking bottle and fastening ring. According to one preferred
design, the downwardly projecting leg of the teat flange is the
downwardly projecting leg of a T-bar which, with an upwardly
projecting leg, engages in a groove in the fastening ring.
[0077] According to another design of the present invention, the
bottle teat is held on the mouth of a drinking bottle, wherein the
teat flange is pressed by the fastening ring against the edge of
the mouth of the feeding bottle.
[0078] According to another embodiment, a cap is releasably held on
the fastening ring, and the sealing surface of the cap lies
sealingly against the elevated surface of the bottle teat. This
yields a seal that is particularly easy to produce and reliable.
The cap is preferably held in a specific position on the fastening
ring dictated by retaining elements.
[0079] Therefore, according to a preferred design, the cap is
latched with at least one latching projection in a latching groove
of the fastening ring.
[0080] The invention is explained in greater detail below based on
the appended drawings of an exemplary embodiment. In the
drawings:
[0081] FIG. 1-7 show a bottle teat in a perspective view, front and
rear view, left and right side view, plan view and bottom view;
[0082] FIG. 8-11 show a fastening ring in a perspective view, side
view, plan view and bottom view;
[0083] FIG. 12-18 show a cap in a perspective view, front and rear
view, left and right side view, plan view and bottom view;
[0084] FIG. 19-25 show a drinking bottle with a bottle teat,
fastening ring and cap mounted thereupon in a perspective view,
front and rear view, left and right side view, plan view and bottom
view;
[0085] FIG. 26 shows a vertical section of the drinking bottle with
a bottle teat and fastening a ring mounted thereupon.
[0086] In the present application, the terms "top" and "bottom",
"horizontal" and "vertical" refer to the alignment of the bottle
teat, the cap, the fastening ring and the drinking bottle with the
teat flange in a horizontal plane and the suction part above the
teat flange.
[0087] According to FIGS. 1 to 7, the bottle teat 1 has a teat
flange 2 with a T-profile in cross section. The T-profile has a
horizontally aligned upright 3. The two legs 4, 5 of the T-bar 6
are arranged on the outer edge of the teat flange 2 and project
upward and downward.
[0088] Furthermore, the bottle teat 1 has a hollow teat sleeve 7
that is connected at its bottom end to the inner circumference of
the teat flange 2. The teat sleeve 7 projects upward from the teat
flange 7. Adjacent to the teat flange 2, the teat sleeve has a
peripheral drawn-in region 8. Above that, it has a drinking sleeve
edge 9 that projects outwardly approximately horizontally. On the
outer perimeter of the sleeve edge 9, the teat sleeve 7 has its
maximum outer diameter. Above that, the teat sleeve 7 has a shape
that gradually tapers upward.
[0089] At its top end, the teat sleeve 7 is connected to the bottom
end of a hollow suction part 10. The suction part 10 projects
upward from the teat sleeve 7.
[0090] At the connecting region between the teat sleeve 7 and
suction part 10, the bottle teat 1 has a waist 11. Above that, the
suction part 10 has a teat head 12. One side of the teat head 12
forms a dome-shaped palate-contacting region 13.
[0091] On the side opposite the palate-contacting region 13, the
suction part 10 has a tongue-contacting region 14 comprising a
bevel 15. The bevel 15 is mainly flat but dented inward slightly.
The bevel 15 has an approximately elliptical contour, wherein the
main axis of the ellipse is parallel to a midplane through the
suction part 10, and the minor axis is aligned perpendicular
thereto. This is the midplane on the one side of which the
palate-contacting region 13 is arranged, and on the other side of
which the tongue-contacting region 14 is arranged.
[0092] The cross section of the suction part 10 has larger
dimensions in the direction of the main axis than in the direction
of a minor axis perpendicular thereto. The main axis lies in the
mid-plane of the suction part 10. Preferably, the suction part also
has an oval cross section in the region of the waist 11.
[0093] An outwardly bulging, elevated surface 16 is on the outside
of the palate-contacting region 13. One or more drinking holes 17
are formed in the elevated surface 16 and extend from the outside
of the suction part 10 to the inside of the suction part 10.
Preferably, the drinking holes 17 are produced by means of a laser
beam.
[0094] The elevated surface 16 has a contour 18 in the shape of an
ellipse, the main axis of which is aligned perpendicular to the
mid-axis 19 of the teat 2. The elevated surface 16 is arranged
adjacent to the peak 20 of the suction part 10, i.e., adjacent to
the point of the suction part 10 that has the maximum distance from
a plane through the teat flange 2.
[0095] Moreover, the palate-contacting region 13 is configured as
the thin region 21. In the palate-contacting region 13, the suction
part 10 accordingly has a lesser wall thickness than in its other
regions. The thin region 21 has an approximately circular contour
22 that coincides with the contour of the palate-contacting region
13. The contour 22 extends from its highest point next to the peak
20 of the suction part 10 to its lowest point next to the waist
11.
[0096] The top edge of the elevated surface 16 touches a section of
the top edge of the thin region 21.
[0097] The radii of curvature of the elevated surface 16 are less
than the radii of curvature in the remaining palate-contacting
region 13.
[0098] On the inside, the teat sleeve 7 has a plurality of inwardly
projecting, parallel ribs 23 at a distance from each other around
the midaxis 19 through the nipple flange 2. In a plan view, the
ribs 23 each have an elliptical contour. The main axes coincide in
the midplane through the suction part 10, and the minor axes of the
ellipses are aligned perpendicular thereto.
[0099] The ribs 23 gradually flatten at opposing ends toward the
midplane through the suction part 10.
[0100] The teat sleeve 7 has an approximately wavy contour (see
FIG. 4, 5, 25) in a vertical section through the ribs 23 on the
inside.
[0101] Furthermore, the teat sleeve 7 has a vent valve 24. The vent
valve 24 is configured as an inwardly projecting cone valve 25. The
cone valve has a slit 26 in its end.
[0102] The bottle teat 1 is preferably provided with three, six, or
nine circular drinking holes 17. In addition or instead, elongated
drinking slits can be provided in a straight, angled or curved
shape.
[0103] The bottle teat 1 is made as a single part of silicone or
thermoplastic elastomer, in particular through injection-molding.
In a similar design, the bottle teat 1 can also be made of natural
rubber.
[0104] According to FIGS. 8 to 11, the fastening ring 27 has a
substantially cylindrical cover 28 with an inner thread 29 for
being screwed onto the corresponding outer thread of a drinking
bottle 30.
[0105] At the top on the outside of the cover 28, the fastening
ring 27 has a peripheral latching groove 31 for snapping on a cap
32.
[0106] At the top, the fastening ring has an annular ring flange 33
that extends inward from the cover 28. The ring flange 33 borders a
through-hole 34 for the bottle teat 1. At the bottom side of the
ring flange 33, a groove 35 runs around the through-hole 34.
[0107] The fastening ring 27 is for example made of polypropylene
or another hard elastic plastic.
[0108] The bottle teat 1 can be inserted into the fastening ring 27
by first guiding the suction part 10 and then the teat sleeve 7
through the through-hole 34 from below until the teat flange 2
engages in the drawn-in region 8, and the upstanding leg 4 of the
T-bar 6 engages in a groove 35 in the bottom side of the ring
flange 33. Then the bottle teat 1 lies against the top side of the
teat flange with the bottom side of the sleeve edge 9.
[0109] According to FIGS. 12 to 18, a cap 32 has a peripheral cap
sidewall 36 that narrows conically upward. Moreover, the cap 32 has
a cap bottom 37 connected to the top edge of the cap sidewall
36.
[0110] In the cap bottom 37, there is a first concavity 38 from
above that in turn has a second concavity 39 from below. On the
inside, the second concavity 39 has an inwardly bulging peak region
40. Furthermore, the second concavity 39 has an inwardly bulging
sealing surface 41 surrounding the peak region 40.
[0111] The radii of curvature of the peak region 40 are the same
size or smaller than the radii of curvature of the sealing surface
41.
[0112] In the cap sidewall 36, there are two diametrically opposed
emergency breathing holes 42, 43.
[0113] Latching projections 44 project inward from the inside at
the bottom edge of the cap sidewall 36.
[0114] The cap 32 is for example made of a hard elastic plastic, in
particularly transparent plastic.
[0115] According to FIGS. 19 to 26, a drinking bottle 30 has a
bottle body 45.
[0116] A bottle bottom 46 of the bottle body 45 has an upward bulge
47 in the center. In the example, the bottle body 45 is slightly
waisted.
[0117] At the top, the bottle body 45 has a bottle neck 48 with an
outer thread 49 on the outside.
[0118] The bottleneck 48 surrounds a mouth 50 with an edge 51 of
the drinking bottle 30.
[0119] Above the outer thread 49, the bottleneck 48 has an outer
step 52 surrounding the mouth 50 on the outside.
[0120] The bottle 30 is for example made of a hard elastic plastic,
in particularly transparent plastic.
[0121] The preassembled combination consisting of the fastening
ring 27 and bottle teat 1 can be screwed onto the outer thread 48
of the drinking bottle 30. The downward-projecting leg 5 of the
teat flange 2 engages in the outer step 52 and applies the bottom
side of the teat flange 2 on the top edge 51 of the mouth 50. By
screwing tight the fastening ring 27, the teat flange 2 is clamped
between the fastening ring 27 and the edge 51 of the mouth 50. In
so doing, the bottle teat 1 is additionally secured by the legs 4,
5 of the T-bar 6 captured in the groove 35 and the outer step
52.
[0122] The cap 32 can be placed on this arrangement. In so doing,
the contact between the suction part 10 and cap 32 can be limited
to the elevated surface 16 and the sealing surface 41. Accordingly,
the suction part 10 is introduced with little friction and
precisely reaches the sealing position intended for it. The sealing
position is reached when the latching projections 44 are snapped
into the latching groove 31. Overall, a drinking bottle is thereby
achieved that is very effectively protected against the
unintentional leakage of liquid.
* * * * *