Nursing bottle having air returning function

Abstract

A nursing bottle having an air returning function comprises a bottle body, a fixing cover, a nipple, a ventilation component, an air conduit, an elastic one-way valve set at a second opening of the air conduit and is located at the interior of the air conduit, a mounting part located on the second opening of the air conduit to secure the elastic one-way valve. The ventilation component, the air conduit, the elastic one-way valve and the mounting part form a gas returning device and are located on the interior of the bottle. The bottle reduces the contacting area between the air and the milk, lowering the amount of vitamin loss. The phenomenon of vomiting milk, choking and flatulence will be omitted since no air bubble is generated.

Claims

1. A nursing bottle having air returning function, comprising: a bottle body, a fixing cover, a nipple, wherein one end of the bottle body opens and another end of the bottle body closes; the fixing cover is used to fasten the nipple with the bottle body; and the nursing bottle further comprises: a ventilation component, wherein an interior of the bottle body exchanges air with an exterior of the bottle body through the ventilation component; an air conduit, wherein the air conduit has two open ends for venting, and a first opening of the air conduit is connected with the ventilation component; an elastic one-way valve set at a second opening of the air conduit and located in the interior of the air conduit, wherein the elastic one-way valve has at least one cut thereon; and a mounting part located on the second opening of the air conduit to secure the elastic one-way valve; wherein the ventilation component, the air conduit, the elastic one-way valve and the mounting part are separately manufactured and connected to one another in a fixed manner to form a gas returning device located in the interior of the bottle, and the nipple is provided with no hole for venting; the ventilation component comprises a circular element having at least one bar passing through a center of the circular element and connecting two points on the circular element, the circular element is located at an opening of the bottle body; an air passage runs through the bar and a sidewall of the circular element at the two points along a length direction of the bar, and at least one hole is formed on the circular element by the bar for passing liquid; the air passage is connected to the first opening of the air conduit, air from an exterior of the bottle body successively passes through the air passage, the air conduit, and the elastic one-way valve to exchange air with the interior of the bottle body, the liquid inside the bottle body flows to the nipple through the at least one hole formed on the circular element; and the at least one hole formed on the circular element is provided with a one-way valve, the one-way valve opens when an external force is applied on the nipple and closes when the nipple is in a normal status.

2. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 1, wherein the air conduit and the mounting part are made of a solid material or an elastic material with a high rigidity, and the elastic one-way valve is made of an elastic material.

3. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 1, wherein a back-up ring is located at the second opening of the air conduit; the back-up ring is used for the installation of the elastic one-way valve; the back-up ring and the air conduit are molded as a single piece without a joint.

4. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 3, wherein an edge of the back-up ring is connected between the back-up ring and the mounting part.

5. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 4, wherein the mounting part is used to fix the elastic one-way valve and keep the elastic one-way valve at a natural status.

6. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 1, wherein, the air passage has an interference fit with the first opening of the air conduit.

7. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 1, wherein a diameter of the circular element is no less than a diameter of the opening of the bottle body.

8. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 1, wherein a central bulge of a mouth of the nipple is set with a milk hole.

9. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 8, wherein the central bulge of the mouth of the nipple comprises a nipple incision.

10. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 1, the circular element is provided with a filter at the at least one hole.

11. A nursing bottle having air returning function, comprising: a bottle body, a fixing cover, a nipple, wherein one end of the bottle body opens and another end of the bottle body closes; the fixing cover is used to fasten the nipple with the bottle body; and the nursing bottle further comprises: a ventilation component, wherein an interior of the bottle body exchanges air with an exterior of the bottle body through the ventilation component; an air conduit, wherein the air conduit has two open ends for venting, and a first opening of the air conduit is connected with the ventilation component; an elastic one-way valve set at a second opening of the air conduit and located in the interior of the air conduit, wherein the elastic one-way valve has at least one cut thereon; and a mounting part located on the second opening of the air conduit to secure the elastic one-way valve; wherein the ventilation component, the air conduit, the elastic one-way valve and the mounting part are molded as a single piece without a joint and form a gas returning device located in the interior of the bottle, and the nipple is provided with no hole for venting; the ventilation component comprises a circular element having at least one bar passing through a center of the circular element and connecting two points on the circular element, the circular element is located at an opening of the bottle body; an air passage runs through the bar and a sidewall of the circular element at the two points along a length direction of the bar, and at least one hole is formed on the circular element by the bar for passing liquid; the air passage is connected to the first opening of the air conduit, air from an exterior of the bottle body successively passes through the air passage, the air conduit, and the elastic one-way valve to exchange air with the interior of the bottle body, the liquid inside the bottle body flows to the nipple through the at least one hole formed on the circular element; and the at least one hole formed on the circular element is provided with a one-way valve, the one-way valve opens when an external force is applied on the nipple and closes when the nipple is in a normal status.

12. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 11, wherein a back-up ring is located at a second opening of the air conduit; the back-up ring is used for the installation of the elastic one-way valve; the back-up ring and the air conduit are molded as a single piece without a joint.

13. The nursing bottle having air returning function of claim 11, the circular element is provided with a filter at the at least one hole.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The following embodiments and the technical solutions are described in detail with the accompanying drawings. Brief descriptions of the figures are introduced as follows. Obviously, the accompanying drawings are only some specific embodiments of the present invention. People having ordinary skill in the art can obtain other figures according to the accompany figures without doing creative work.

(2) FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section view of the nursing bottle having air returning function in one embodiment of the invention.

(3) FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing that the elastic one-way valve, the air conduit, and the mounting part being connected to one another in a fixed manner according to one embodiment of the invention.

(4) FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing that the elastic one-way valve, the air conduit, and the mounting part are molded as a single piece without a joint according to another embodiment of the invention.

(5) FIG. 2C is an exploded view showing the mounting part, the elastic one-way valve, and the fixing member.

(6) FIG. 2D is a diagram showing the normal state of the elements in FIG. 2C.

(7) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the circular element according to one embodiment of the invention showing the holes formed on the circular element.

(8) FIG. 4A is a schematic view showing the circular element provided with a filter according to one embodiment of the invention.

(9) FIG. 4B is a schematic view showing the circular element provided with one-way valves on the holes according to one embodiment of the invention.

(10) FIG. 4C is a schematic view showing the circular element provided with one-way valves on the holes and a filter according to one embodiment of the invention.

(11) FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the nipple according to one embodiment of the invention, where the central bulge of the nipple is a milk hole.

(12) FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the nipple according to one embodiment of the invention, where the central bulge of the nipple is a nipple incision.

(13) FIG. 7 is a connection diagram of another embodiment of the invention provided with a gas hole, the supporting component, the air conduit and the elastic one-way valve, the mounting part, where the central bulge of the nipple is a milk hole.

(14) FIG. 8 is a connection diagram of another embodiment of the invention provided with a gas hole, the supporting component, the air conduit and the elastic one-way valve, the mounting part, where the central bulge of the nipple is a nipple incision.

(15) FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of the air and milk as indicated by the arrows (large arrows indicate the flow of air and small arrows indicate the flow of the liquid/milk).

(16) FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the ventilation component and the air conduit of the invention.

(17) FIG. 11 is another perspective view of FIG. 10.

(18) The description of the labeled figures in the drawings: 1—nipple; 11—milk hole; 12—nipple incision; 13—supporting component; 14—gas import hole; 15—valve; 2—fixing cover; 3—circular element; 31—air passage; 32—milk channel; 33—one-way valve; 34—bar; 35—filter 4—air conduit; 41—first opening; 42—second opening; 43—back-up ring; 5—bottle body; 6—mounting part; 7—elastic one-way valve; 71—elastic one-way valve cut; 72—edges.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(19) The embodiments of the invention are described below to obtain a better understanding for one skilled in the art. This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments; any variations of the invention in the scope of the claims and within the spirit of the invention are obvious, and within the scope of protection of the invention.

(20) A nursing bottle having an air returning function, which comprises: bottle body 5, fixing cover 2, nipple 1, wherein one end of bottle body 5 opens and the other end of the bottle body 5 closes; fixing cover 2 is used to secure and nipple 1 with bottle body 5.

(21) The nursing bottle having an air returning function further comprises a ventilation component, wherein an interior of bottle body 5 exchanges air with an exterior of the bottle body through the ventilation component. In one preferred embodiment, circular element 3 or gas import hole 14 are used as the ventilation component. Circular element 3 or gas import hole 14 will be described below.

(22) Air conduit 4 is an air vent device with two ends open. First opening 41 of air conduit 4 is connected to the ventilation component. In one preferred embodiment, air conduit 4 is a cylindrical pipe. The length of air conduit 4 should not be too long or too short, the length of air conduit 4 should be matched with bottle body 5. Preferably, the length of air conduit 4 should be a bit/little less than the length of bottle body 5. Preferably, the length of air conduit 4 is about 1 cm higher than the bottom of bottle body 5. Elastic one-way valve 7 is set at second opening 42 of air conduit 4 and located in the interior of air conduit 4, wherein elastic one-way valve 7 has at least one elastic one-way valve cut 71 thereon. The shape of elastic one-way valve cut 71 is not specifically restricted. The shape may comprise cross type, Y type, a horizontal shape or other types, and the shape is not limited thereto. Preferably, a part of elastic one-way valve 7 is located outside air conduit 4, and at least one elastic one-way valve cut 71 is provided on a sidewall of elastic one-way valve 7. The elastic one-way valve 7 is made of elastic materials such as silicon rubber, natural rubber, synthetic rubber and plastic body or other suitable elastic material.

(23) Mounting part 6 is located on second opening 42 of the air conduit 4 to fasten elastic one-way valve 7. In one preferred embodiment, mounting part 6 is located inside air conduit 4. Mounting part 6 and air conduit 4 are interference fit with each other. Air conduit 4, elastic one-way valve 7, and the mounting part 6 are connected to one another in a fixed manner. Alternatively, air conduit 4, elastic one-way valve 7, and the mounting part 6 are molded as a single piece without a joint. Unless damaged, elastic one-way valve 7 cannot be taken out from air conduit 4 even under exogenous forces. The ventilation component, the air conduit 4, elastic one-way valve 7 and mounting part 6 forms a gas returning device and are located on the interior of bottle body 5. Air conduit 4 and mounting part 6 are made of solid material such as polypropylene (PP), polyphenylene sulfone resins (PPSU), silicone, etc.

(24) Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D, the mounting part 6 maybe integrally molded on the outer edge of the second opening 42 of the air conduit 4 to form a single piece without joint. Connection part 73 of elastic one-way valve 7 is sandwiched between the mounting part 6 and fixing member 74 to be fixed and secured. Further, the fixing member 74 matches with the shape of elastic one-way valve 7 and has inner protrusion edge 75 to tightly fasten connection part 73 of elastic one-way valve 7 against mounting part 6. Moreover, the outer edge of fixing member 74 is fixedly connected to the outer edge of mounting part 6 so unless the connection between mounting part 6 and fixing member 74 is damaged, elastic one-way valve 7 cannot be separated from air conduit 4 even under strong external forces. FIGS. 2C and 2D show an example of the structure, and the present invention, however, is not limited thereto.

(25) In a preferred embodiment, the ventilation component is circular element 3. Circular element 3 is located on an opening of bottle body 5. Air passage 31 and milk channels 32 are located on circular element 3.

(26) In a preferred embodiment, back-up ring 43 is located at the second opening of air conduit 4. Back-up ring 43 is used for the installation of elastic one-way valve 7. Back-up ring 43 and air conduit 4 are molded as a single piece without a joint.

(27) In a preferred embodiment, an edge of elastic one-way valve 7 is connected between back-up ring 43 and mounting part 6. Mounting part 6 is also connected to the edge of elastic one-way valve 7 to keep a natural status of elastic one-way-valve 7. In the case that air conduit 4, elastic one-way valve 7, and the mounting part 6 are connected to one another in a fixed manner, the edge of elastic one-way valve 7 is tightly placed between back-up ring 43 of air conduit 4 and mounting part 6, and back-up ring 43 and mounting part 6 are fixedly connected by a strong glue, or any other means that can make the user unable to separate them.

(28) In a preferred embodiment, the ventilation component is circular element 3 having at least one bar 34 passing through a center of circular element 3 and connecting two points on circular element 3. Circular element 3 is located on the opening of bottle body 5. Air passage 31 runs through bar 34 and the sidewall of circular element 3 at the two points along a length direction of bar 34. At least two holes 32 are formed on circular element 3 by bar 34 for passing liquid. Air passage 31 is connected with first opening 41 of air conduit 4. The air from the exterior of bottle body 5 successively passes through the air passage 31, air conduit 4, and elastic one-way valve 7 to exchange air with the interior of bottle body 5. The liquid in the interior of bottle body flows into nipple 1 through holes 32 formed on circular element 3. Air passage 31 is connected to the first opening 41 of air conduit 4.

(29) In one preferred embodiment, air passage 31 has an interference fit with first opening 41 of air conduit 4. This structure ensures a close contact between air passage 31 and the air conduit 4. Air passage 31 and air conduit 4 cannot separate from each other under natural conditions if there is no external force.

(30) In one preferred embodiment, the diameter of circular element 3 is greater than or equal to the diameter of the opening of the bottle body 5, which guarantees that circular element 3 will not fall into the inner chamber of bottle body 5.

(31) In one preferred embodiment, as is described in FIGS. 2A-2D. The milk inside bottle body 5 flows into nipple 1 through holes 32. At the same time, referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the holes 32 are each provided with one-way valve 33 or a filter 35, or both one-way valve 33 and filter 35, when there is an external force for sucking nipple 1, one-way valve 33 opens. Correspondingly, when nipple 1 is under normal condition, one-way valve 33 closes. One-way valve 33 may be an elastic membrane made of silicone, rubber, or other similar elastic materials, and one-way valve 33 is provided with at least one cut thereon. One-way valve 33 may also be other elements that can achieve the purpose of a one-way valve.

(32) In one preferred embodiment, the ventilation component is gas import hole 14. Gas import hole 14 is located at the side wall of nipple 1. The gas import hole 14 is connected with supporting component 13. Supporting component 13 is connected with first opening 41 of air conduit 4. The air in the inner ambiance passes through elastic one-way valve 7, air conduit 4, supporting component 13, gas import hole 14 and bottle body 5 in turn to exchange with the exterior air of bottle body 5. The gas import hole 14 is provided with the valve 15 to prevent foreign substances from entering the nursing bottle from the gas import hole 14. The valve 15 may be a one-way elastic valve, etc.

(33) In one preferred embodiment, supporting component 13 has an interference fit with first opening 41 of air conduit 4. That is, when there is no external force, supporting component 13 will not separate from air conduit 4. Supporting component 13 and air conduit 4 can be separated from each other under external force to clean supporting component 13 and air conduit 4 separately.

(34) In one preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, one form of nipple 1 can be set as following: milk hole 11 is located at a central bulge of the mouth of nipple 1. Another form of nipple 1 can be set as following: a nipple incision is located on a central bulge of the mouth of nipple 1.

The First Embodiment

(35) Referring to FIG. 1, a nursing bottle having air returning function, comprising: bottle body 5, fixing cover 2, nipple 1, ventilation component, air conduit 4, elastic one-way valve 7 and mounting part 6, The ventilation component is circular element 3. The holes 32 are set on circular element 3 for delivering milk. The connecting way between air conduit 4, elastic one-way valve 7 and mounting part 6 is described as above. A milk hole 11 is located at a central bulge of the mouth of nipple 1.

(36) First opening 41 of air conduit 4 is connected to air passage 31 of circular element 3. The air in the exterior of bottle body 5 passes through air passage 31, air conduit 4, and elastic one-way valve 7 to exchange with the interior air of bottle body 5, forming an air returning passage between the interior and the exterior of the bottle. When the nipple 1 is under a sucking condition, due to a pressure change, cut 71 on elastic one-way valve 7 slightly opens (cut 71 on elastic one-way valve 7 is in a close condition when there is no external force applied on it). The inner pressure and the external pressure of bottle body 5 are almost the same. The milk inside bottle body 5 flows into nipple 1 through holes 32. Obviously, in this embodiment, milk inside bottle body 5 can only flow out when nipple 1 is being sucked. There will be no air bubble generated in the milk, preventing the phenomenon of spitting up milk, choking and flatulence of the infant. At the same time, the number of nursing accessories are greatly reduced. The accessories of the present invention are easy to be taken apart and easy for installation, which brings in convenience for daily use, cleaning, sterilization and carrying. Since elastic one-way valve 7, air conduit 4, and mounting part 6 are connected to one another in a fixed manner or they are molded as a single piece without a joint, the user cannot separate these three parts during the use, which avoids the baby from accidentally eating the small-sized part. Further, this design can offset the gravity of the milk and automatically cutoff the outflow of milk when there is no sucking. Since the elastic one-way valve closes when there is no sucking, the milk will not enter and block the air conduit, so no frequent cleaning is required, and the normal outflow of the milk when the baby is sucking will not be affected. Further, since the milk will not flow into the air conduit, there is no need to use special tool to clean the interior of the air conduit, and the air conduit can be cleaned and sterilized under high temperature from the outside. When the baby starts to suck the nipple, the elastic one-way valve opens automatically to allow the air to flow into the bottle, so the milk can flow out smoothly. Further, with this design, no more venting hole is required on the nipple, so leakage of the milk due to damage to the venting hole on the nipple and nutrition loss will not happen. Moreover, the conventional nursing bottle with a venting hole on the nipple tends to block the venting path as the venting hole gets blocked easily, which will further cause collapse of the nipple. In this case, the baby is forced to open the mouth and thus inhale more air, thereby causing flatulence or abdominal distension. Also, with the air conduit, the one-way valve, and the mounting part molded as a single piece with a joint, the elastic one-way valve can be reduced to a very small size, so the elastic one-way valve will not become damaged easily during daily assembling, disassembling, washing, and cleaning, the production cost is reduced, and the structure is very simple. The one-way valve damaged during frequent washing and disassembling will make the one-way valve fail to open and close automatically when the baby sucks the nipple, so the milk will flow into and block the air conduit and the gravity of the liquid cannot be offset, and thus the milk cannot flow out smoothly and the baby is likely to suffer choking or suck air. Therefore, the manufacturing process is relatively simple, and thus mass production can be easily achieved.

The Second Embodiment

(37) This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the central bulge of the mouth of nipple 1 mouth comprises nipple incision 12. When the bottle is inverted, the milk inside bottle body 5 will not flow through nipple 1. Only when the baby sucks nipple 1 and the cut on it opens, the milk inside the bottle body 5 flows out. All the rest of the components are the same as described in the first embodiment.

The Third Embodiment

(38) This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that: holes 32 on circular element 3 are each provided with a one-way valve 33. When the bottle is inverted, due to the one-way valves 33 setting on holes 32, when there is no external force applied on the nipple 1, the one-way valves 33 close, and the milk inside bottle body 5 will not flow to nipple 1 or even to the external of bottle body 5 through holes 32. Only when the baby sucks the nipple 1, the one-way valves 33 open, then the milk flows out from the bottle body 5 through holes 32. All the rest of the components are the same as described in the first embodiment.

The Fourth Embodiment

(39) This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that: the central bulge of the mouth of nipple 1 comprises nipple incision 12. Under the application of one-way valves 33 of holes 32, an additional anti-leakage component is set on nipple 1. When the bottle is inverted, the milk inside bottle body 5 will not flow to nipple 1. Only when the baby sucks nipple 1, cut 12 on nipple 1 opens, one-way valves 33 on holes 32 open, then the milk flows out from bottle body 5. All the rest of the components are the same as described in the third embodiment.

The Fifth Embodiment

(40) Referring to FIGS. 7-8, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the ventilation component is gas import hole 14, supporting component 13 is connected with gas import hole 14. The connecting way of air conduit 4, elastic one-way valve 7 and mounting part 6 is as described above.

(41) First opening 41 of air conduit 4 is connected to the supporting component 13. The air in the inner ambiance orderly passes through elastic one-way valve 7, air conduit 4, supporting component 13, gas import hole 14 and bottle body 5 to exchange with the exterior air of bottle body 5. An air returning passage is formed between the inner ambiance and the exterior of the bottle. The working principle in this embodiment is the same as the first embodiment.

The Sixth Embodiment

(42) Referring to FIG. 8, this embodiment differs from the fifth embodiment in that the central bulge of nipple 1 mouth comprises nipple incision 12. When the bottle is inverted, the milk inside bottle body 5 will not flow through nipple 1. Only when the baby sucks the nipple 1 and the nipple incision on it opens, the milk inside bottle body 5 flows out. All the rest of the components are the same as described in the fifth embodiment.

The Seventh Embodiment

(43) As shown in FIGS. 10-11, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the ventilation component includes the circular element 3, the circular element 3 is provided with the air inlet 36 running through the sidewall of the circular element 3, and the exterior of the bottle communicates with the air conduit 4 via the air inlet 36. When in use, the circular element 3 is mounted on the opening of the bottle, and the liquid inside the bottle flows out through the opening 31 of the circular element 3. The configuration of the air conduit 4 and the elastic one-way valve 7 is the same as the above embodiments. A fastening element 37 is fixed on the inner sidewall of the circular element 3 at the position of the air inlet 36. The fastening element 37 communicates with the air inlet 36 to allow air inflow. The air conduit 4 is connected to the fastening element 37 in an interference fit.

(44) The first embodiment to the sixth embodiment can reduce the contacting area between the air and the milk, and this lowers the amount of loss of vitamin. The baby would not spit up milk due to sucking of air. The resistance for the flowing of the milk is reduced. The baby can suck milk without using too much strength. When the baby is not sucking, the milk inside the milk bottle is prevented from flowing out (decreasing the positive force to the lowest level when feeding). The milk flows out of the bottle only if the baby sucks the milk. The phenomenon of spitting up milk, choking and flatulence will be omitted since no air bubble is generated. The number of accessories for the bottle are greatly reduced, which brings in convenience for daily use, cleaning, sterilizing and carrying. The risk for the baby's swallowing of small accessories is reduced. The manufacturing process is relatively simple, the mass production is thus achieved. The air returning assembly of the present invention can be used in nursing bottles, but not limited thereto. It can also be used in other drinking containers which need the functions of air returning and conducting. The device can also be used in children's drinking cup, but not limited thereto.

(45) While only several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, many changes and modifications may be made relative thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.