FEEDING BOTTLE TEAT

Abstract

A feeding bottle teat includes a body having an interior cavity and an exterior surface, an inlet including a flange for engagement within an aperture of a feeding bottle cap in use, and a nipple including one or more outlet apertures wherein the flange, cavity, nipple and apertures form a passageway for delivery of milk from the bottle in use, wherein a transverse dimension of the interior surface of the body at the inlet is greater than a transverse dimension at the nipple, and wherein the interior surface includes a plurality of concentric strengthening formations extending inwardly from the inner surface between the inlet and the nipple, wherein the strengthening formations comprise coaxial concentric spirals which rotate about a common central axis, wherein each strengthening member comprises a spiral having two to four rotations about the central axis.

Claims

1. A feeding bottle teat comprising: a body having an interior cavity and an exterior surface; an inlet including a flange for engagement within an aperture of a feeding bottle cap in use; and a nipple including one or more outlet apertures wherein the flange, the cavity, the nipple, the aperture of the feeding bottle cap and the one or more outlet apertures of the nipple apertures form a passageway for delivery of milk from the bottle in use; wherein a transverse dimension of an interior surface of the body at the inlet is greater than a transverse dimension of the interior surface at the nipple; and wherein the interior surface includes a plurality of concentric strengthening formations extending inwardly from the inner surface between the inlet and the nipple; wherein the strengthening formations comprise coaxial concentric spirals which rotate about a common central axis; and wherein each strengthening member comprises a spiral having two to four rotations about the central axis.

2. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the common central axis extends through a center of the nipple and a center of the circular flange.

3. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein each strengthening member comprises a spiral having three rotations.

4. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pattern of strengthening members is denser in a region of the inner surface adjacent the nipple.

5. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strengthening formations are equidistantly located around the inner surface adjacent the inlet and/or nipple.

6. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strengthening formations are independently continuous or intermittent.

7. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein two to five formations are provided.

8. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 7, wherein three strengthening formations are provided.

9. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strengthening formations comprise spirals located symmetrically about the nipple.

10. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strengthening formations are equally spaced from each adjacent spiral.

11. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the separation between adjacent strengthening members decreases from a vicinity of the inlet towards a vicinity of the nipple.

12. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strengthening members comprise an odd number of spirals.

13. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 12, wherein the strengthening members comprise between three and five spirals.

14. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the exterior of the body is axially symmetrical and coaxial with the flange.

15. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nipple is offset from the axis of the flange.

16. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nipple comprises a plurality of outlet apertures.

17. The feeding bottle teat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strengthening formations extend into the interior of the nipple.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The invention is further described by means of example but not in any limitative sense with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0042] FIGS. 1(a, b, c and d) show front and side elevations, a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a first teat in accordance with this invention;

[0043] FIGS. 2(a and b) are a plan view and enlarged detail of the teat shown in FIG. 1;

[0044] FIGS. 3(a and b) are a cross-sectional view and enlarged detail of the teat shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0045] FIGS. 4(a, b, c and d) show front and side elevations, a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a second teat in accordance with this invention;

[0046] FIGS. 5(a and b) are a plan view and enlarged detail of the teat shown in FIG. 4;

[0047] FIGS. 6(a and b) are a cross-sectional view and enlarged detail of the teat shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

[0048] FIGS. 7(a, b, c and d) show front and side elevations, a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a first teat in accordance with this invention;

[0049] FIGS. 8(a and b) are a plan view and enlarged detail of the teat shown in FIG. 7;

[0050] FIGS. 9(a and b) are a cross-sectional view and enlarged detail of the teat shown in FIGS. 7 and 8; and

[0051] FIGS. 10(a and b) are a cross-sectional view of a further teat.

[0052] FIGS. 11(a and b) are a view from underneath and a cross sectional view of a further teat;

[0053] FIGS. 12(a and b) are a view from underneath and a cross sectional view of a further teat;

[0054] FIGS. 13(a and b) are a view from underneath and a cross sectional view of a further teat; and

[0055] FIGS. 14(a and b) are a view from underneath and a cross sectional view of a further teat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0056] FIGS. 1(a-d), FIGS. 2(a-b) and FIGS. 3(a-b) show a first teat in accordance with this invention. An annular flange (1) has upper (2) and lower (3) surfaces. A cylindrical outer surface (4) extends from the lower portion of a smaller diameter cylindrical formation (6) located on a lower part (7) of the teat body (5).

[0057] The lower part (7) of the body (5) has a greater diameter than the cylindrical formation (6), so that the upper surface (2), cylindrical formation (6) and lower part (7) of the body define a cylindrical annular channel configured to be received in the annular orifice of a cap of a baby's feeding bottle, with the edge of the orifice securely located in the cylindrical annular channel. The teat is composed of resilient elastomeric or polymeric material. This allows the teat to be deformed to fit into the aperture in a bottle cap, forming a liquid-tight seal and securely engaging the teat onto the bottle cap. The cap has a greater diameter than a conventional baby's feeding bottle to accommodate the larger diameter of the teat.

[0058] The body (5) has an axially-symmetrical, domed exterior surface configured to resemble the shape of a mother's breast.

[0059] A nipple (8) is located axially of the teat, centrally on top of the body (5).

[0060] A circular array of eight projections (10) are located around the nipple (8) and extend upwardly from the body (5) to mimic the Montgomery Glands of a natural breast.

[0061] The nipple comprises a generally cylindrical body (11) having a hollow interior (12) and a domed top (13). A plurality of outlet ducts (9) extend through the domed top (13). In the depicted embodiment three ducts are shown.

[0062] The interior (14) of the body (5) has a maximum diameter at the inlet defined by the lower part (7) of the body. The diameter decreases in an upward direction towards the nipple located at the upper part of the teat. The thickness of the wall of the body decreases from the inlet towards the nipple, allowing the softness and flexibility of the teat to increase towards the nipple region.

[0063] Three concentric strengthening members extend into the interior (14) in a spiral configuration from the inner surface of the body (5).

[0064] The arrangement of the strengthening members is shown in detail in FIGS. 2a and b which show a view from above. FIG. 2b is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2a. The strengthening members are also shown in FIGS. 3a and b. FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 3b shows an enlarged detail of FIG. 3a.

[0065] The three strengthening members comprise projections (16), (17) and (18) extending into the interior (14) of the teat from the inner surface of the body.

[0066] The projections (16), (17) and (18) each comprise elongate rounded ribs having a first lower end adjacent the lower part (7) of the body and a second upper end adjacent the nipple (8). The three projections are equidistantly spaced around the central axis of the teat, the central axis extending from the nipple (8) to the lower part (7) of the lower body (5). In this embodiment the central axis extends vertically orthogonal to the plane of the flange (1), (2), (4).

[0067] The separation between adjacent projections reduces as the distance of the projections from the nipple decreases, as shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3a and b.

[0068] This configuration enables the thickness of the body to be reduced towards the nipple while maintaining sufficient stiffness to prevent collapse of the teat in use.

[0069] FIGS. 4(a-d), FIGS. 5(a-b) and FIGS. 6(a-b) show a second teat in accordance with this invention. The construction of the teat is similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 with the exception that exterior surface (20) of the body has a rounded conical shape in comparison to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3. The walls have a greater radius in curvature in cross-section as shown in FIG. 4d. Alternatively, the walls may be conical or rectilinear in cross-section.

[0070] FIGS. 7(a-d), FIGS. 8(a-b) and FIGS. 9(a-b) have features which are generally similar to those of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The location of the nipple (30) is displaced from the axis toward the lower part of the body (31) and annular flange (3) when the bottle and teat are tilted (anticlockwise as shown) during use. The location of the nipple (30) is displaced from the axis of the lower part of the body (31) and annular flange (32). In use the lower side (33) of the body (left hand side as shown in FIG. 7(b)). has a greater curvature than the upper side (34) so that the teat more closely resembles the natural shape of a mother's breast.

[0071] As shown in detail in FIGS. 8 and 9, the projections (35), (36), (37) are arranged with the spacing between adjacent projections being reduced on the lower side. FIG. 10a and b shows a further teat in accordance with this invention. The nipple (40) has a similar construction to that of FIGS. 1 to 3, including a domed upper part (41) and outlet ducts (42).

[0072] Spiral projections (43), (44), (45) extend from the inner surface of the body (46) into the interior of nipple (40) to provide reinforcement of a lower part of the nipple but leaving a softer end (41).

[0073] FIGS. 11(a-b) are a view from underneath and a vertical cross section of a further teat in accordance with this invention. The configuration is generally similar to that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 except that the strengthening members (50), (51), (52) comprise overlapping sinusoidal ribs arranged to form an axially symmetrical pattern or array. The direction of each rib reverses at the upper, proximal end, e.g. (53). The density of the ribs decreases from the proximal end towards the lower, distal end as shown particularly in FIG. 11a.

[0074] FIGS. 12(a-b) are a view from underneath and a vertical cross section of a further teat in accordance with this invention. The arrangement is generally similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 except that an array of concentric, alternating or zig zag ribs (54), (55), (56) extend around the central axis of the teat to form a generally star shaped pattern with outwardly extending points (57), (58) and (59) alternating with inwardly extending points (60), (61), (62) to provide uniform strengthening of the teat.

[0075] FIGS. 13(a-b) show a further embodiment similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 3 but having intermittent ribs (63), (64), (65) extending in a plane parallel to the central axis.

[0076] FIGS. 14(a-b) show a further embodiment similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, wherein intermittent ribs (66), (67), (68) and (69) extend in circular formations, each at a constant distance from the nipple (70) to form an array of concentric part circular ribs.