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.

Claims

1-18. (canceled)

19. A cap for a drinking bottle, in particular for infants and small children, having: a peripheral cap sidewall, at least one retaining element on the bottom edge of the cap side wall for releasably retaining the cap on a drinking bottle, a cap bottom connected to the top edge of the cap sidewall, characterized in that the cap bottom has an inwardly bulging peak region in the center, and an inwardly bulging sealing surface adjacent to the peak region and surrounding it, wherein the radii of curvature in the peak region are smaller or the same size as 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.

20. The cap according to claim 19, the cap bottom of which 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.

21. The cap according to claim 19, wherein the retaining element is a latching projection on the inside of the cap sidewall.

22. The bottle teat according to claim 29, inserted in a fastening ring to be releasably held on the edge of the mouth of a drinking bottle.

23. The bottle teat according to claim 22, wherein the fastening ring has a latching groove on the top edge for snapping latching projections on a cap.

24. The bottle teat according to claim 22, wherein the fastening ring has a peripheral groove in the bottom surrounding a central through-hole for the teat sleeve in which the upwardly projecting leg of the T-bar of the teat flange is inserted.

25. The bottle teat according to claim 22, wherein the fastening ring is held on the mouth of a drinking bottle, and the teat flange of the fastening ring is pressed against the edge of the mouth.

26. The bottle teat according to claim 25, wherein the drinking bottle has an outer step surrounding the mouth into which the downwardly projecting legs of the T-bar of the teat flange engage.

27. The bottle teat according to claim 22, wherein 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.

28. The bottle teat according to claim 27, wherein the cap is latched with at least one latching projection in a latching groove of the fastening ring.

29. A bottle teat comprising a soft elastic material for a drinking bottle; the bottle teat further comprising: a teat flange; a hollow teat sleeve that projects upward from the teat flange and is connected at a sleeve bottom end to the teat flange; a hollow suction part that is connected at a suction part bottom end to a top end of the hollow teat sleeve and projects upward therefrom; a dome-shaped palate-contacting region on a palate-facing side of the suction part; at least one drinking hole in the palate-contacting region that extends from an outside to an inside of the suction part; an outwardly bulging, elevated surface disposed on an outside of the palate-contacting region; and wherein the at least one drinking hole is arranged on the elevated surface so that the suction part with the elevated surface is configured to be pressed in a sealing manner against a sealing surface that bulges inward on an inside of a cap bottom of a cap to cover the bottle teat.

Description

[0082] The invention is explained in greater detail below based on the appended drawings of an exemplary embodiment. In the drawings:

[0083] 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;

[0084] FIG. 8-11 show a fastening ring in a perspective view, side view, plan view and bottom view;

[0085] FIG. 12-18 show a cap in a perspective view, front and rear view, left and right side view, plan view and bottom view;

[0086] 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;

[0087] FIG. 26 shows a vertical section of the drinking bottle with a bottle teat and fastening a ring mounted thereupon.

[0088] FIG. 27 is a partial, cross-sectional view of the bottle teach.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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.

[0091] 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.

[0092] 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.

[0093] 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.

[0094] 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.

[0095] 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.

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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.

[0098] 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.

[0099] 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 W2 than the wall thickness W1 in its other regions, as shown in FIG. 27. 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.

[0100] The top edge of the elevated surface 16 touches a section of the top edge of the thin region 21.

[0101] The radii of curvature of the elevated surface 16 are less than the radii of curvature in the remaining palate-contacting region 13.

[0102] 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.

[0103] The ribs 23 gradually flatten at opposing ends toward the midplane through the suction part 10.

[0104] 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.

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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.

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] The fastening ring 27 is for example made of polypropylene or another hard elastic plastic.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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.

[0115] Furthermore, the second concavity 39 has an inwardly bulging sealing surface 41 surrounding the peak region 40.

[0116] 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.

[0117] In the cap sidewall 36, there are two diametrically opposed emergency breathing holes 42, 43.

[0118] Latching projections 44 project inward from the inside at the bottom edge of the cap sidewall 36.

[0119] The cap 32 is for example made of a hard elastic plastic, in particularly transparent plastic.

[0120] According to FIGS. 19 to 26, a drinking bottle 30 has a bottle body 45.

[0121] 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.

[0122] At the top, the bottle body 45 has a bottle neck 48 with an outer thread 49 on the outside.

[0123] The bottleneck 48 surrounds a mouth 50 with an edge 51 of the drinking bottle 30.

[0124] Above the outer thread 49, the bottleneck 48 has an outer step 52 surrounding the mouth 50 on the outside.

[0125] The bottle 30 is for example made of a hard elastic plastic, in particularly transparent plastic.

[0126] 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 5 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.

[0127] The cap 32 can be placed on this arrangement. In so doing, the contact between the 10 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 15 unintentional leakage of liquid.