Oral motor development sipping spout

Abstract

A drinking cap for a bottle includes a screwable drinking section for mating with screw threads of a bottle and a covering cap, hinged to the drinking section. The drinking section is provided with a cylindrical shaped spout of about - inches in height and about - inch in outside diameter, all to enhance normal oral motor development and physiological development of a person's mouth. An air vent and air connecting air channel provided to the drinking section so that a drinker's lips, even if covering the opening of the air vent, will not block the passage of air into the cavity of the bottle to which the device is attached, ensuring no negative air pressure therein due to sucking. Mechanisms are provided for preventing leakage, ensuring free, easy flow of fluid when sucking is initiated, and ensuring safety to a child using or near the device.

Claims

1. A device for facilitating the natural drink/swallow pattern of a young child for liquid from a cup or bottle and for improving the oral motor developmental skills and the physiological development of a young child's mouth comprising: a drinking section in the form of a covering for a cup or bottle, said drinking section comprising a planar top surface and a spout secured to and projecting upwardly from said planar top surface, wherein said planar top surface defines a top surface of said drinking section; wherein said spout is cylindrical in shape with a central bore therethrough, said spout having a uniform spout length of only about to inches in length above said planar top surface and a uniform outside diameter of said spout in a range of about to inches; wherein said device further comprises an air vent extending downward through a thickness of said drinking section, and an air channel that extends across and ends at opposing edges of said top surface, wherein said air channel is in the form of a groove extending across and recessed into said top surface of said drinking section, wherein said groove is spaced apart from said spout, and wherein said air vent is positioned within said groove such that an opening of said air vent is recessed in said groove below said planar top surface, said groove thereby connecting ambient air to said air vent during use.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a closing cap, said closing cap including a sealing ring on its bottom to close off said spout when said closing cap is closed over said spout thus preventing accidental leakage of liquid from said cavity.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2 further comprising a living hinge connecting said closing cap to said drinking section.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a closing cap, said closing cap comprising a rod with a tip which is configured to poke into and close off a central bore of said air vent when said closing cap is closed over said air vent.

5. The device as claimed in claim 4 wherein said rod extends down from a bottom of said closing cap of said device.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spout is provided with a flexible membrane which only opens to allow flow of the liquid from the cup or bottle when sucking is provided to said spout.

7. A device for facilitating the natural drink/swallow pattern of a young child for liquid from a cup or bottle for improving the oral motor developmental skills and the physiological development of a young child's mouth comprising: a drinking section in the form of a covering for the cup or bottle, said drinking section comprising a planar top surface, and a spout secured to and projecting upwardly from said planar top surface, wherein said planar top surface defines a top surface of said drinking section; wherein said spout is cylindrical with a central bore therethrough, and has a uniform spout length; wherein said device further comprises an air vent positioned proximate said spout and extending downward through a thickness of said drinking section; and an air channel that extends across and ends at opposing edges of said top surface, wherein said air channel is in the form of a groove extending across and recessed into said top surface of said drinking section, wherein said groove is spaced apart from said spout, and wherein said air vent is positioned within said groove such that an opening of said air vent is recessed in said groove below said planar top surface, said groove thereby connecting ambient air to said air vent during use.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7 wherein a wall thickness of said spout is in the range of about 1/16 to inches.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein a width of said groove is from to inch.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein said groove is recessed about 1/16 to inch below said planar top surface.

11. The device of claim 7, wherein said groove extends along a chord of said planar top surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention, with the cap shown with the cover open (and showing the bottom of the cover) and the top of the lid, with open spout shown, too;

(2) FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the device turned over and thus showing the top of the cover and the bottom of the lid;

(3) FIG. 3 perspective view of the present invention shown on a bottle, with the outside wall of the lid having knurlings to facilitate the placement and removal of the device on a screw threaded bottle (shown in phantom);

(4) FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the bottle shown in FIG. 3 and the device shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, with the cover of the device over the lid;

(5) FIG. 5 is a view of the device similar to that shown in FIG. 4 but showing the bottle rotated about 90 degrees about its vertical axis to show the cap and lid, i.e., the device of the present invention, shown from another view and perspective;

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the invention on a bottle, as shown in FIG. 4;

(7) FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 6 but showing the cover of the device unhinged or opened from closing off the lid and spout of the invention;

(8) FIG. 8 is a side perspective view similar to that of FIG. 5 but showing the cover in its position (unhinged) when the cover does not close off the spout nor the air vent, i.e., in the orientation of the device when the liquid can flow by sucking and inverting the bottle so that the spout is below the level of the liquid drinking fluid in the bottle; and

(9) FIG. 9 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 8 with the cover closing the spout and air vent, in the orientation of the device when the bottle with device is desirably transported.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(10) It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular feature or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.

(11) The device 10, a drinking cap or spout device for a bottle is intended for use by a child but, of course it can be dimensioned for an adult too. The drinking section 12 of the device comprises a flat planar surface 30.sup.1 and a circumferential wall 32. The outside surface of the circumferential wall 32 can be provided with a set of knurled ridges 34 which facilitate the easy thumb and forefinger gripping of the device 10 to place the same onto and remove, as desired, the device from a bottle B (see FIG. 3) by the interior screw threads 40 of the underside of the device 10 matingly engaging exterior screw threads knot visible) of the bottle B.

(12) The planar surface 30.sup.1 of the device 10 connects the circumferential wall 32 to the top surface of the device 10.

(13) The planar surface 30 of the device 10 connects the outside circumferential wall 32 to the top surface of the device 10. Passing through the planar surface 30 are: a through-hole that forms an air vent 18; and a spout 16. Spout 16 is preferably cylindrical in shape, possibly frusto-conical. As a spout 16, it has a central bore 24 passing therethrough and an opening 22 at the end of the central bore 24. The opening 22 of the spout 16 is preferably about of an inch to of an inch in height above the planar surface 30. In the preferred embodiment, the outside diameter of the spout 16 is in the range of about to of an inch with the thickness of the wall of the spout 16 in the range of about 1/16 to of an inch.

(14) Passing through the planar surface 30 of the drinking section 12 is an air vent 18. It provides fluid communication between the inside cavity of the bottle B and the ambient air. An air channel 20 is provided to, to facilitate the free flow of air from outside the cap to the cavity of the bottle B so that no negative pressure builds up, hampering the free flow of liquid as desired.

(15) The air channel 20 crosses the opening 19 of the air vent 18 and is recessed below the planar surface 30 of the drinking section 12. Preferably the air channel 20 extends across a chord of the planar surface 30 but it can also extend to one side, alone. In the preferred embodiment, the air channel 20 extends from one indented edge 59 of the planar surface 30 to the other side and indented edge 59. The air channel 20 is recessed below the top or planar surface 30 and is in fluid communication with the air vent 18. The air vent 18 and the air channel 20 are spaced apart from the spout 16 so that the small lip or facial feature of the drinker sucking on and over the spout 16 will not cover and block the air vent 18 and air channel 20. However, even if the drinker extends their lips over the air vent 18, the recessed air channel 20 will still allow for the free flow of air from outside the bottle B to within the cavity of the bottle, so that no negative pressure is built up within, by the sucking of the drinker on the spout 16.

(16) Preferably the air channel 20 is about to inches in width and the amount of recess is about 1/16 to of an inch below the planar surface 30. Preferably the air vent 18 is about 1/16- inch, center of central bore 24 of spout 16 to center of bore 44 of the air vent 18, with a variation of about inch.

(17) The inside of the covering cap 14 is shown in FIG. 1. The covering cap 14 has a cylindrical wall 50 and a flat surface 52. The inside diameter of the cylindrical wall 50 closely matches the outside diameter of the indented edge 59 portion of the circumferential wall 32 of the drinking section 12. The drinking section 12 and the covering cap 14 are connected together by a small, flexible live hinge or plastic web element 60. The hinge 60 allows the cap 14 to be easily placed over and removed from the drinking section 12.

(18) The inside of the covering cap 14 is provided with a downwardly extending (when the cap is on the drinking section) rod element 70. It is meant for the end of the rod 70 to closely fit within the bore 44 of the air vent 18. The rod 70 extends from the flat surface 52 of the cap so that the closed tip or end 72 of the rod 70 fits within and closes off the air vent hole 18, when the cap 14 is hinged over and superimposed over the drinking section 12.

(19) Secured within the cap 14, on the inside surface thereof, i.e., on the inside of flat surface 52 is an aligned rubberlike sealing ring 80. The sealing ring 80 is resilient, like an O-ring, and when the cap 14 is placed over the drinking section, the sealing ring 80 will be thrust against and over the opening 22 of the spout 16. In this manner, if the bottle with the device 10 is inverted, with the cap closed, only a very, very small amount of fluid can leak from and through the opening of the spout into the small cavity defined within the sealing ring 80 and the flat surface 52 of the cap.

(20) If desired, the bottom of the air vent 18 and the bottom of the central bore 24 of the spout 16 can be provided with flexible x-slit membranes which allow for liquid flow (air and liquid) only if suction is on the spout 16. Alternatively, the membranes can be simply split along their diameters.

(21) The cap and drinking section can also be provided with a safety mechanism 90 having a resilient flange 92 with extension tab 91.sup.1 cooperating with a similarly shaped recess 96 around the circumferential wall 32 of drinking section 12. The recess 96 is superimposed by a removable protective surface tab 98 which extends away from the circumferential wall 32 by two opposed legs 100. Of course, many other mechanical safety interlocks can be used without departing from the present invention.

(22) In use, the device 10 is capable of being screwed onto a bottle from a supply of the same in one's home for re-use or the device can be initially bought from the store with a full integration of the device on a bottle. When purchased the cap is closed, i.e., the covering cap 14 is overlying and closes off the drinking section 12 and the spout 16, air vent 18 and air channel 20. When a drink or liquid L is desirably dispensed from the cavity C of the bottle B, the bottle B is first opened by removing the cap 14 from the drinking section 12 by flipping the cap 14 about the horizontal hinge axis of hinge 60 so that the bottle B and the device evidence the orientation shown in FIG. 3. Then, inverting the bottle B so that the liquid L is above the opening 22 of spout 16 (or the spout is below the liquid L in the bottle B) will cause liquid L to be capable of being sucked through the flexible membrane 102 on the bottom of the spout as the child sucks on the spout 16. This allows for easy fluid flow. If, however, the child's lips cover the air vent 18, the air channel 20 will still allow air from the environment to gain access to the cavity to prevent the build up of negative pressure within the cavity. The resiliency and ease of air flow through the channel and the air vent are greater than that of the flow of liquid through membrane 102 covering the inside of the central bore 24 of the spout 16 so that air passage into the bottle B occurs and builds air pressure inside the vessel which overcomes the friction of the membrane and ejects liquid out of the bottle B. The passage of fluid or liquid out of the bottle B will only occur when an actual sucking is provided on the spout.

(23) When the drink is completed, the cap 14 is rotated about the hinge 60 to block the spout by the sealing ring 80 and the air vent by the rod 70 (tip 72 covering the air vent).

(24) If the device is desirably removed for allowing the same to be installed onto another bottle B or for washing of the same, it is a simple matter to remove the same by grasping the knurled ridges 34 and rotating the device 10 with respect to the held bottle B.

(25) The child proofing safety mechanism 90 operates in a manner quite similar to others, namely, ensuring that opening of the fluid conduit only occurs by those with sufficient manual dexterity (and presumed understanding of the concepts of spilling) and closing of the same by hinging and rotating the cap about the hinge until the extension tab 91 of the flange 92 of the cap cover 14 is within the corresponding recess 96 of the drinking section 12, safely held beneath the covering piece 98.

(26) It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular feature or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.