Infant Feeding Means

Abstract

A nurser includes a presterilized disposable bag of thin, flexible, elastic, waterproof material, such as polyethylene, supported inside a rigid, tubular holder having slotted sides or an open bottom or both. The holder converges slightly from one end to the other. Adjacent the latter end the holder is reentrant, forming an external annular channel, and forming a radially extending flange at the lip of the opening at that end. The open end of the bag is turned back over the lip and pulled over and beyond the annular channel and down tight around the tapered body of the holder. A sterilized nipple has a flange at its base and an elastic band integral with the outer periphery of the flange. The nipple flange is sealed to the bag at the lip of the holder and the nipple and bag are secured to the holder by snapping the elastic band around the holder into the annular channel adjacent the lip of the holder, the bag lying between and being gripped by the holder and the rubber band. The bag is formed from a continuous tube which, while flattened, has been transversely arcuately perforated and, adjacent and parallel to the perforations, transversely arcuately heat sealed, so that a bag torn from a roll of the tube will have an arcuate bottom which does not form ears when filled with liquid and an arcuate top which provides tabs facilitating folding the top back over the holder and pulling it tight upon its tapered body, thereby to effect sanitary assembly. The bag has an outer diameter closing fitting the inner periphery of the holder below the reentrant portion and only slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the lip and upper part of the holder adjacent the channel, whereby with the aid of the tabs it can easily be manually pulled down over the lip, channel, and upper part of te tapered holder, frictionally elastically engaging therewith. The extra length of the bag required to extend down beyond the channel provides sufficient length to permit use of the bag also in narrow mouth holders provided with screw cap type nipple and bag retention means.

Parent Case Text

This is a division of application Ser. No. 201723 filed 11-24-71 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,542.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to infant feeding and more particularly to a nurser to the type employing a disposable liquid container.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Nursers of the type including a flexible bag supported within a tubular holder open at one end, with a nipple secured to the holder and bag by a rubber band at the base of the nipple snapped over a lip bead around the open end of the holder, the bag top being turned back over the holer mouth and lying between and being gripped by the rubber band and holder, are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2826324, Hoag; 3061129, Fitzgerald; 3204855, Boynton.

The Hoag holder is open at the bottom whereas the holders of the Fitzgerald and Boynton patents have apertured or slotted sides. For convenience, nursers of this general construction may be referred to as type A.

There are type A nursers on sale in the Unites States wherein the holder tapers slightly toward the end at which is disposed the nipple. The nipple has a radially outwardly extending flange at its base which overlies and seals with the bag where it turns back over the holder lip.

Other nursers employing a bag, a holder, and a nipple, with slightly different retention means, e.g. a screw cap, for holding the parts assembled, are shown in U.S. Pats. to Boston Nos. 2624485 and 3161311, and in U.S. Pat. No. 2907485 to Lunden. In these nursers also the nipple has a flange at its base to seal with the bag over the bottle lip but instead of a rubber band integral with the nipple a screw cap is provided to hold the nipple and bag to the holder, the cap having a central opening through which the nipple extends. In the Lunden construction the bag has a preformed flange at its mouth which terminates at the outer periphery of the bottle lip, the bag flange and nipple flange both being clamped to the bottle lip by the screw cap. This of course requires a special bag construction. In the Boston nurser the bags do not have preformed flanges at their mouth but instead extend over the lip of the bottle and thence down between the screw cap and bottle threads.

In assembling a nurser employing a sterilized bag having its open end turned back over the end of a holder there exists the possibility of contaminating the interior of the bag. The fingers must not be placed inside the bag as far as the part that ultimately becomes the folded edge where the open end of the bag turns inside out. To this end, only the extreme edge of the end of the bag should be grasped and then this edge should be pulled down over the open end of the holder.

As shown in the Boston and Boynton patents, it is desirable to make the bags from a flattened tube of sheet plastic with transverse lines of perforations and heat seals defining the tops and bottoms of the several bags which are detachably connected together, the tube being rolled up for packaging and unrolled a little at a time for use. With the bags made from a continuous tube, their diameter is necessarily uniform from top to bottom.

The outer diameter of the bag should closely approximate the inner diameter of the holder so that the bag can open up completely and be supported by the holder when the bag is filled with liquid. If the outer diameter of the bag is much smaller than the inner diameter of the holder, the bag can flop around inside the holder and may tear or pull loose. If the bag is too large so that the bag cannot open up, the full capacity of the bag will not be utilized and there may be excessive bunching or folding of the bag where it turns back over the lip of the holder.

With a screw cap to hold the nipple to the bag, a certain amount of creasing of the bag where it turns back over the bottle lip is tolerable, since the screw cap enables the nipple flange to be drawn tightly to the bag, causing sufficient rubber flow to effect a seal. The screw cap construction therefore permits the holder to be necked down somewhat at its upper or nipple receiving end, thereby to facilitate folding over the holder lip a tubular bag whose outer diameter is such as to fit closely within the full diameter portion of the rest of the holder below the neck, such diameter being greater than that of the lip of the necked down part of the holder. When the bag can make a loose fit with the mouth of the holder, the assembly problem is not difficult. However the screw cap and narrow neck construction which makes possible the use of a loose fitting bag requires the use of one more nurser component, the screw cap.

If a rubber band integral with the base of the nipple is used to hold the nipple and bag to the holder, the bag must make a close fit with the holder lip to provide a smooth surface for engagement by the nipple or leakage is apt to occur. Therefore if the bag is also to make a close fit with the interior of the body of the holder, the holder must be of substantially the same diameter throughout its length although a slight taper to facilitate molding and to facilitate insertion of the bag is permissible. With the bag making a close fit with the holder lip, the asembly operation is sufficiently difficult that various attempts to reduce the difficulty have been adopted or proposed. The Hoag patent construction employs a bag having a flaring upper end. Fitzgerald teaches that the open end of the bag may be beaded. Boynton et al. shows that a tubular roll can be cut out at its sides to form two handling tabs at the upper end of each bag. It is to be noted that this cut out operation appears to result in some scrap residue in the process of a manufacture and unless an extra heat seal line is used, the bag is open to contamination through the edges of the cutouts.

In one type A nurser that is on the market, the inner diameter of the tapered holder is about 2.0 inches just below the inwardly extending portion of the top of the holder, the internal diameter of the latter being about 1.82 inches. The outer diameter of the inwardly extending portion, i.e., the external channel that receives the internal bead of the rubber band on the nipple skirt, is also about 2.0 inches. The bag provided with this nurser has an outer diameter which is very close to 2.0 inches, but appears to be slightly smaller, e.g. 1.975 inches, so that when the bag mouth is turned back over the bottle lip, whose outer diameter is about 2.13 inches, the bag not only makes an elastic fit with the lip but also fits tight against the bottom of the channel. Since the bag's outer diameter is almost exactly midway between the inner and outer diameters of the lip, the bag makes a close fit with the holder lip and lies flat on top thereof. However because of the tight fit a special assembly tool is furnished for use with the nurser.

Two type B nursers which are on the market employ bags in which one half of the bag mouth extends beyond the other half a short distance to facilitate opening of the initially flat bags. In one of the nursers the corners of the bag at the mouth of the bag are cut away to form a pair of tabs. The latter constructions do not appear too well adapted for packaging the bags as a sterilized roll of initially joined bags to be separated at a line of perforations. The bags of these nursers appear to have been formed by folding a plastic sheet and then heat sealing across the sheet in parallel lines to separate the sheet into a plurality of separate bags having heat sealed sides, as described in connection with one construction disclosed in the aforementioned Boynton et al patent.

Attention has also been given to the shape of the lower end of the bag. Hoag appears to show a bag with an arcuate bottom, considering the shape when the bag is in collapsed, flat condition. The sides of the Hoag holder are not slotted. The Fitzgerald bag is of similar shape at its lower end. The sides of the Fitzgerald patent are apertured but not slotted.

The Lunden patent appears to show a bag with a curved bottom when full but the bottom edge may be straight when flat. The sides of the Lunden holder are imperforate. Many nursers employ bags whose closed ends are straight when the bag is collapsed flat, e.g. as shown by the Boynton patent and the two Boston patents. Such a shape for the bottom of the bag tends to produce flaring ears when the bag is filled with liquid. This may be undesirable for a number of reasons, such as protrusion through the slots at the sides of the holder, reduced bag capacity, or increased uncertainty as to the capacity of the bag when filled to certain levels.

Tubular plastics material generally utility containers are used in a variety of situations and have been formed in a variety of ways. Examples are the disclosures of U.S. Pats. No. 2673495 (ear forming corners cut off closed end) 2880925 (arcuate closed end), 3357152 (ear corners cut off closed end, corners cut off open end leaving tabs for handling), 3478952 (arcuate bottom), 3441198 (ear corners cut off closed end of bag, ear corners cut off open end of bag forming handling tabs). It does not appear that these bags are intended to be used as disposable bags for nursers. See also U.S. Pat. No. 2876112.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention a presterilized, elastic, flexible, plastics material tube, while flattened, is transversely arcuately heat sealed and transversely arcuately perforated along a line parallel to the heat seal line to be separable manually to provide bags having arcuate closed ends to eliminate ears and arcuate open ends providing handling tabs, with no resultant scrap material. The outer diameter of the bag is about 2.05 inches, slightly larger than the type A prior art bag described above.

Further according to the invention there is provided a nurser including a tubular holder having vents, e.g. slotted sides, and open at one end and closed or open at the other end, the tube tapering down on its exterior from said closeable end to said open end and having an annular channel around the open end, the outer diameter of the channel being substantially the same as the inner diameter of the holder adjacent said channel, a presterilized tubular, flexible, elastic, plastics material bag disposed within the holder and having its open end turned back over the open end of the holder, the bag outer diameter being intermediate between the inner and outer diameters of the lip at the open end of the holder but nearer the outer diameter of the lip as to be only slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the holder lip and the part of the holder adjacent the channel, and a nipple secured to the holder over the open end of the bag by means of a rubber band at the base of the nipple, the portion of the bag turned back over the end of the holder lying between and being gripped by the holder and rubber band, the ends of the bag being formed to eliminate ear formation at the closed end of the bag and to provide tabs at the open end of the bag, the shapes of the open and closed ends of the bag being correlative to enable the bags to be packaged as connected units joined by perforations and formed without creation of a residue of scrap cutouts and without leaving openings to the interior presterilized part of the bag, the tabs and the large diameter of the bag enabling the bag to be manually turned back over the holder lip and pulled along the holder taper below the channel into tight engagement with the holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a detailed description of the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a nurser embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the nurser shown in FIG. 1, except that the bottom closure has been moved to the top of the nurser to serve as a nipple cover;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the nurser shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a stage in the assembly of the nurser;

FIG. 5 is a pictorial view of a roll of nurser bags;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a portion of the roll of FIG. 5 prior to rolling up thereof;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a single one of the nurser bags detached from the roll;

FIGS. 8 through 13 are views similar to FIG. 7 showing modifications;

FIGS. 14-17 are views similar to FIGS. 1-4 showing a modification.

The drawing is to scale so that it shows the relative proportions of the parts of the nurser in accordance with the invention. The cross hatching is indicative of the materials used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a nurser which except for the bag component is the same as Exhibit A. The nurser comprises an open ended tubular holder 20 made of some suitable rigid material such as plastics material, preferably a material that can not only be washed but sterilized in boiling water. A plurality, preferably two, diametrically opposed long upper slots 21 and long lower slots 19 are provided in the sides of the slightly tapered, upwardly converging, main body portion 22 of the holder. The slots extend from close to the bottom to close to the top of the holder to allow visual inspection of the level of the liquid in the container or tubular bag 23 disposed inside the holder. By comparing the liquid level with the fluid ounce graduations on the holder adjacent the slots one can determine how much liquid is in the bag. Preferably, the slots are narrow enough so that the user's fingers cannot pass through the slots, for if the bag is squeezed the fluid contents can be expelled in a jet through the nipple.

The bottom 27 of the holder is cylindrical and unslotted. The holder is provided with an inwardly extending radial flange 28. The upper end or neck 29 of the holder is generally cylindrical but of smaller inner diameter than the body of the holder. A flange 35 extends radially outward at the upper edge of the holder providing a wide lip 36 therefor. There is formed an annular channel or groove 37 around the neck between flanges 28 and 35. The outer diameter of channel 37 is substantially 2.0 inches. The outer diameter of lip 36 is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the holder just below the channel, e.g. 2.13 inches for the lip and 2.15 inches for the holder, conforming to the general taper of the holder. The inner diameter of neck 23 is about 1.82 inches.

The liquid container or bag 23 is made of elastic flexible material, such as a plastics material, e.g. polyethylene or a polyethylene base composition, which is not toxic, not reactive with liquid or solid foods such as milk, orange juice, or banana mash, for example, and which easily collapses under external air pressure when material is withdrawn from its interior. The bag may be of a thickness of a sheet of paper, e.g. 1 to 5 thousandths of an inch, more or less.

An arcuate portion 41 closes the lower end of the bag, which is disposed above the level of the bottom of the holder near the lower end of slots 19. The upper end 43 of the bag is open, and extends up over the lip 36 and turns back over holder neck 29 and the flange 35 and channel or groove therearound and extends down around the upper part of the full diameter body portion 22. The tips 44 of two diametrically opposed pointed tabs 45 at the mouth of the bag extend farther down over the slotted sides of the holder to the 51/2 ounce marking.

The bag 23 has an outer diameter of about 2.05 inches, which is only slightly smaller than the 2.13 inches outer diameter of the flange 35 and the upper end of the main body 22 of the holder, the latter tapering to larger diameters. This relatively large outer diameter of the bag facilitates turning the bag's open end or mouth back over the bottle neck during assembly as shown in FIG. 4, yet as the bag mouth is pulled down the tapering upper main body of the holder it is drawn into tight engagement therewith, the mouth of the bag being placed in hoop tension, tending to seal with the holder. The bag has sufficient elasticity so that it can be turned back over the holder neck without tearing. It is not desired to have too great a disparity between the diameter of the bag and that of the bottle neck for if the bag is too large, wrinkles will form when the bag is turned back over the bottle lip which may interfere with sealing engagement with the nipple 60 when placed thereon. The arcuate shape of the tabs 45 is such that they can be pulled on as required without tearing off the tabs or splitting the bag. The tabs enable the bag to be pulled along the taper of the holder to achieve the desired hoop tension. The shape of the tabs is such that they do not tend to stick out from the sides of the holder.

The nipple 60 includes a hemispherical body 62 and a tubular tip 64 with reentrant transition portion 66 therebetween. The tip is provided with a dished end 67 closed except for one or more small perforations 68.

At the open end of the nipple body is an outwardly extending radial flange 70 of the same outer diameter as the bottle neck. The underside of flange 70 is provided with a plurality of annular beads 72 (see FIG. 4) adapted to seal with the part of bag 23 that overlies lip 36 of the holder.

The nipple is provided with an elastic band depending from the outer periphery of flange 70 forming a skirt 82 (FIG. 4). The skirt is provided with an internal annular bead 86 adapted to engage with the annular groove or channel 37 of the holder neck with the bag 23 gripped therebetween (FIG. 1).

After bag 23 has been placed in holder 20 and the mouth of the bag turned back over the holder as shown in FIG. 4, the bag is filled with liquid or paste, e.g. to the level shown at 90 in FIG. 1, or such other level as is desired. The presterilized nipple 60 is stretched over the holder neck and pulled down until the bead 86 falls into channel 37, in which position the nipple flange 70 is pressed tightly down on the bag 23 and seals it to lip 35. The nipple is thus securely fastened and sealed to the bag and holder, as shown in FIG. 1.

If the nurser is to be used immediately, a retaining ring 91 having a plurality of circumferentially spaced internal vertical ribs 93 may be placed over the nipple skirt. If the nurser is to be stored however, the ring 91 will not be used and cover 92 can be removed from the lower end 27 of the holder and placed over the cap and nipple to prevent them from being contaminated (FIG. 2). The cover 92 includes an inverted cylindrical portion 94, a radial flange 96 adapted to overlie the top of nipple flange 70, and a cylindrical skirt 97 adapted to telescope over the nipple skirt 82. Ribs 98 on the interior of the skirt frictionally grip and indent the nipple skirt to releasably hold the cover on nipple 60.

The procedure for assembling the nurser and the construction thereof are such as to enable a sanitary condition to be maintained. The holder 20 can be washed and scrubbed, or sterilized by boiling as desired, since no food comes in contact therewith. The bag 23 is presterilized. The bag is folded one or more times with the line of the fold extending the length of the bag. The folded bag is inserted into the holder through the neck 29 until only enough extends thereabove to allow turning it back to where tab points 44 will be at the 51/2 ounce line. The tabs 45 are then grasped between the finger, one tab in each hand the mouth of the bag is opened and turned back over the neck of the bottle. The portion of the bag below holder lip 35 thus remains uncontaminated. The nipple is sterilized, e.g. by boiling in water, before it is assembled to the holder and bag. The cover 92 is likewise sterilized before placement over the nipple. The nipple flexes inwardly under the pressure of the cover so that the nipple tip is sealed to the cover at the juncture of the tip of the nipple and the dished end thereof, without contact with the area immediately adjacent the hole 67 (which contact might clog the hole). The nurser and contents may then be stored in a cold place until it is desired to use same. At that time the nurser is warmed to the desired temperature e.g. by placing in or under hot water. The cover is removed and the nurser inverted. The fingers may be placed through the open end at bottom 27 of the holder to grasp the bag and expel air therefrom. When fluid starts to emerge from the perforations 60 in nipple tip 64, the nurser is ready for feeding. Preferably the bottom of the nurser can be closed by inserting cover 92 thereon as shown in FIG. 1. After use, the nurser is disassembled, the bag 23 is thrown away, and the other parts are washed and sterilized.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, when it is again desired to use the nurser, a new bag 23 is torn off the roll 100 by tearing along the arcuate line of perforations 102, adjacent correlative (parallel) arcuate heat seal line 104. The bag is then folded and inserted in the holder 20 in the manner previously described.

The roll 100 is a roll of flattened tubing. The arcuate row of perforations 102 extending thereacross produces the tabs 45 that facilitate the sanitary assembly of the nurser without the necessity of a special assembly tool. The adjacent correlative arcuately curved heat seal line 104 provides a bag bottom that has no ears, thereby avoiding reduction or uncertainty in bag volume and the likelihood of protrusion of the bag through the slotted sides of the holder. There is no wasted material as would be the case if the line of perforations and the heat sela line were not correlative, e.g. as would be the case if sections were cut out of the tube. Since the junctures of the sides of the tabs with the main body of the bar are gently curved, there is little stress concentration thereat which might cause tearing or splitting. Preferably the arcs of lines 102 and 104 are arcs of circles and have a radius of about 2.75 inches. If the radius is too small, the tabs are too long. If the radius is too large, the tabs are too short. For a bag of the size suggested (2.05 inch outer diameter), the radius of the lines 102, 104 is preferably between 1.5 and 3.0 inches. Otherwise stated, the tabs are preferably between 0.5 and 1.5 inches in length, e.g. 0.6 inches.

FIGS. 8 through 12 show alternate configurations for the line of perforations P and the correlative heat seal line S. The shapes are best understood from the drawings. It will be observed that in each case however, tabs T are formed at the mouth of the bag and the ears are eliminated at the bottom of the bag.

Although the bag 23 is especially adapted for use as an element of the nurser combination shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, to eliminate various problems encountered with that type of nurser, it is also of advantage when used with nursers of the type shown in the aforementioned Boston patents, as will next be described.

Referring now to FIG. 14-17, there is shown a nurser which is the same as that of the prior art except for the bag. The nurser comprises an open ended tubular holder 120 made of some suitable rigid material such as plastics material, preferably a material that can not only be washed but sterilized in boiling water. A plurality, preferably two diametrically opposed slots 121 are provided in the sides of the main body portion 122 of the bottle. The slots extend from close to the bottom to close to the top of the holder to allow visual inspection of the level of the liquid in the container or tubular bag 23 disposed inside the holder. By comparing the liquid level with the fluid ounce graduations on the holder adjacent a slot one can determine how much liquid is in the bag. Preferably the slots are wide enough so that the user's fingers can pass through the slots to enable the bag to be squeezed to empty it of air.

The six panels 125 equally spaced apart around the sides of the holder, by the spacer strips 26, is a trademark and not a requisite to the invention, said trademark as applied to nursing bottles being the subject of U.S. trademark registration Ser. No. 727,833 registered Feb. 20, 1962. As far as the present invention is concerned, the 6-panel trademark could be omitted.

The bottom 127 of the holder is cylindrical. Near its upper end the holder is provided with an upwardly converging conical transition portion 128. The upper end or neck 129 of the holder is generally cylindrical but of smaller diameter than the body 122 and is provided with a screw thread 131 extending therearound. Below the thread is an annular bead or collar 133. A flange 135 extends radially inward at the upper edge of the bottle providing a wide lip therefor.

The liquid container or bag 23 is the same as that previously described. The arcuate portion 41 closing the lower end of the bag, is disposed above the level of the bottom 27 of the holder near the lower end of slots 121. The open upper end 43 of the bag extends up over the lip 135, and turns back over holder neck 129 and the threads 131 and collar 133 therearound. The two diametrically opposed pointed tabs 45 at the mouth of the bag extend down over the transition portion 128 of the holder.

An elastic bank 150, which may be made of soft rubber, secures the open end 43 of the bag to the neck of the bottle. The band is placed just below the collar 133. The band has a tab 153 to facilitate placement and removal thereof. The use of this band is optional.

The bag 23 is of a diameter which is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the holder neck and thread 131 and collar 133 which facilitates turning the bag's open end or mouth back over the bottle neck during assembly as shown in FIG. 17. Despite the slight disparity between the diameter of the bag and that of the bottle neck, which forms wrinkles where the bag is turned back over the bottle lip, sealing engagement with the nipple 160 is still satisfactorily accomplished by virtue of the pressure of the screw cap 176 described hereinafter.

The nipple 160 includes a tubular barrel 162 and a smaller diameter tubular tip 164 with flaring transition portion 166 therebetween. The tip is closed except for one or more small perforations or, preferably, a cross shaped slit 168 (FIG. 16), which closes the nipple except when a pressure differential exists thereacross.

At the open end of the nipple barrel is an outwardly extending radial flange 170 of the same outer diameter as the bottle neck. At the outer periphery of the flange 170, on the upper side thereof, is an annular bead 172 adapted to be displaced downwardly toward the annular rabbet 174 by screw cap 176, thereby to seal the nipple and bag to the bottle lip, as set forth in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3292809 -- Shomock et al.

An annular shoulder 178 extends around barrel 162 above the centrally apertured top 180 of the cap, thereby locking the top of the cap to the nipple between shoulder 174 and flange 170 to form a unit, shown in FIG. 17. A shoulder of this general type is described in an expired U.S. Pat. to Kurkjian, No. 2093730. See also U.S. Pat. to Kurkjian No. 2093130.

The cap 176 has a skirt 182 (FIG. 17) provided with internal threads 186 adapted to mesh with the threads 131 of the holder neck with the bag 23 gripped therebetween (FIG. 14). Underneath the top of the cap is an annular bead 186 adapted to indent the upper side of the nipple flange to interlock therewith and cause rubber flow, as described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3292809.

After bag 23 has been placed in holder 120 and the mouth of the bag turned back over the holder as shown in FIG. 17, the elastic band 150 is placed around the turned back mouth of the bag. The bag is then filled with liquid or paste, e.g. to the level shown at 190 in FIG. 14, or such other level as is desired. The nipple 160 has been assembled with screw cap 176 by pushing the nipple tip and barrel through the central aperture in top 180 until shoulder 178 has snapped out over top 180, as shown in FIG. 17. The cap is screwed onto the holder neck until the nipple flange is pressed tightly down on the bag 23 and seals it to lip 135. The bead 186 indents the top of the flange and rubber flows from the bottom of the flange into the space formed adjacent rabbet 174. The nipple is thus securely fastened and sealed to the bag and holder, as shown in FIG. 14. A cover 192, preferably of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2834496 (Boston), is then placed over the cap and nipple to prevent them from being contaminated. The cover 192 includes an inverted conical cup portion 194, a radial flange 196 adapted to overlie the top of the screw cap, and a cylindrical skirt 197 adapted to telescope over the cap skirt 182. Ribs 198 on the interior of the skirt 197 frictionally grip the cap skirt and provide fluid flow passages therebetween to allow the escape of condensing steam and the like from the space 198 between the cover 194 and nipple 160.

The procedure for assembling the nurser and the construction thereof are such as to enable a sanitary condition to be maintained. The holder 121 can be washed, scrubbed, or boiled and sterilized as desired, since no food comes in contact therewith. The bag 23 is presterilized. The bag is folded one or more times with the line of the fold extending the length of the bag. The folded bag is inserted into the holder through the neck 129 until only about an inch extends thereabove. The tabs 45 are then grasped between the finger, one tab in each hand, and the mouth of the bag is opened and turned back over the neck of the bottle. The portion of the bag below holder lip 135 thus remains uncontaminated. The nipple-cap unit is sterilized, e.g. by boiling in water, before it is assembled to the holder and bag. The cover 192 is likewise sterilized before placement over the nipple and cap. The nurser and contents may then be stored in a cold place until it is desired to use same. At that time the nurser is warmed to the desired temperature e.g. by placing in or under hot water. The cover is then removed and the nurser inverted. The fingers may be placed through the slots 121 to grasp the bag and expel air therefrom. When fluid starts to emerge from the perforations or slots 160 in nipple tip 164, the nurser is ready for feeding. After use, the nurser is disassembled, the bag 23 is thrown away, and the other parts are washed and sterilized.

It is to be noted that in the embodiment of FIGS. 14-17 the tabs 45 are not pulled down as far on the outside of the holder neck as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, whereby there is a greater length of the bag inside the holder. This compensates for the fact that the upper end of the bag is prevented from expanding to full diameter by the smaller diameter neck of the holder. The holder 120 is longer than holder 20 in order to accommodate the greater length of bag inside the holder. It is thus apparent that the bag embodying the invention has the advantage of being usable both with nursers having snap on nipples and nursers having nipples retained by screw caps.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention and several modifications thereof have been shown and described other modifications can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A nurser comprising

a tubuler holder open at one end, at least, forming a lip, slot means in the side of the holder providing a view interiorly of the holder, said holder having an annular channel therearound adjacent said one end of the holder, the outer diameter of said lip being substantially the same as the outer diameter of the portion of said holder adjacent said channel on the opposite side thereof from said lip, said holder tapering to a larger diameter progressing away from said portion toward the other end of said holder,

a sterilized, flexible, elastic, plastics material bag of generally tubular shape disposed in said holder with its mouth extending through said one end and turned back over said lip and said channel and the exterior of the holder beyond said channel, the bag extending along the interior of the holder adjacent said slot means in position to be visible through said slot,

a nipple including a body portion and a flange extending radially therefrom, said flange lying against said bag where it overlies the lip of the holder, said nipple including an elastic skirt fitting over said holder lip at the outer periphery thereof and having an internal bead fitting within and elastically pressing inwardly toward said channel, holding said bag in engagement with the exterior of the holder and holding the nipple flange against said bag at the lip of the holder in sealing engagement therewith,

the outer diameter of the bag prior to turning it back over the lip of the holder being intermediate between the inner and outer diameters of said lip but nearer the outer diameter thereof facilitating turning the bag back over the lip of the holder and thence over said channel and said portion of the holder adjacent said channel and along the tapered exterior of the holder therebeyond,

said mouth of the bag including at least one pair of oppositely disposed tabs extending from the mouth of the bag beyond said nipple skirt along the sides of the holder, to facilitate pulling the bag along said taper,

said bag being sufficiently flexible that it can be flattened and of a shape that when flattened said mouth is defined by an upwardly convex edge extending thereacross and the bottom of the bag is at the same time defined by an upwardly convex edge extending thereacross of the same shape as the first said edge and parallel thereto.

2. A nurser comprising

a tubular holder open at one end, at least, forming a lip, said holder having retention means therearound adjacent said one end of the holder,

a sterilized, flexible, elastic, plastics material bag of generally tubular shape disposed in said holder with its mouth extending through said one end and turned back over said lip,

a nipple including a body portion and a flange extending radially therefrom, said flange lying against said bag where it overlies the lip of the holder,

nipple securing means having a portion correlative to said retention means around the end of the holder and cooperating therewith to hold said bag in engagement with the exterior of the holder and holding the nipple flange against said bag at the lip of the holder in sealing engagement therewith,

said mouth of the bag including at least one pair of oppositely disposed tabs extending from the mouth of the bag beyond said nipple skirt along the sides of the holder to facilitate turning the bag back over said lip of the holder,

said bag being sufficiently flexible that it can be flattened and of a shape that when flattened said mouth is defined by an upwardly convex edge extending thereacross and the bottom of the bag is at the same time defined by an upwardly convex edge thereacross of the same shape as the first edge.

3. For use in a replaceable bag nurser comprising a tubular holder open at one end, at least, forming a lip, said holder having retention means therearound adjacent said one end of the holder,

a sterilized, flexible, elastic, plastics material bag of generally tubular shape,

said bag being adapted to be disposed in such holder with its mouth extending through said one end and turned back over said lip,

said bag being adapted to be retained on such holder by a nipple including a body portion and a flange extending radially therefrom to lie against said bag where it overlies the lip of such holder and by nipple securing means having a position correlative to said retention means around the end of the holder adapted to cooperate therewith to hold said bag in engagement with the exterior of the holder and hold the nipple flange against said bag at the lip of the holder in sealing engagement therewith,

said bag being distinguished as follows:

first, said mouth of the bag includes at least one pair of oppositely disposed tabs extending from the mouth of the bag and adapted when the bag is disposed in such holder to extend beyond said nipple skirt along the sides of the holder to facilitate turning the bag back over said lip of the holder,

second, said tabs have a length of between 0.50/2.05 and 1.50/2.05 the diameter of the bag,

third, said bag, being sufficiently flexible that it can be flattened, is of a shape that when flattened said mouth is defined by an upwardly convex edge extending thereacross and the bottom of the bag is at the same time defined by an upwardly convex edge thereacross of the same shape as the first said edge,

fourth, said bag is imperforate except for said mouth, and

fifth, the elasticity of the bag is sufficient that where the outer diameter of the bag prior to turning it back over the lip of such holder though being intermediate between the inner and outer diameters of said lip is nearer the outer diameter thereof the bag can be partly turned back over the lip of the holder and thence over said channel and said portion of the holder adjacent said channel and along the tapered exterior of the holder therebeyond,

sixth, the mouth of the bag and the bottom thereof are parallel when the bag is flattened, the bottom being formed by a heat seal line extending all the way across the bag.