AID FOR CUP FEEDING

Abstract

Aid (1) for cup feeding of infants, which aid has a first liquid chamber and a second liquid chamber, wherein the first liquid chamber is provided for mounting on a feeding bottle (2), wherein the first liquid chamber (9) and the second liquid chamber (10) have a shared wall (12), wherein the second liquid chamber is open so that liquid in the second liquid chamber is accessible to an infant, whereby at least the shared wall is manufactured from an elastic material and is provided with an incision (13) with a minimum length of 3 mm such that a liquid flow through the incision from the first liquid chamber to the second liquid chamber is controllable by manipulating the wall.

Claims

1. Aid for cup feeding of infants, which aid has a first liquid chamber and a second liquid chamber, wherein the first liquid chamber is provided for mounting on a feeding bottle, wherein the first liquid chamber and the second liquid chamber have a shared wall, wherein the second liquid chamber is open so that liquid in the second liquid chamber is accessible to an infant, characterized in that at least the shared wall is manufactured from an elastic material and is provided with an incision with a minimum length of 3 mm such that a liquid flow through the incision from the first liquid chamber to the second liquid chamber is controllable by manipulating the wall.

2. Aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein the incision has a minimum length of 5 mm, preferably a minimum of 7 mm.

3. Aid as claimed in either of the foregoing claims, wherein the incision is continuous.

4. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the incision is formed in the elastic shared wall such that the incision is substantially closed when the elastic shared wall is in a rest position, and wherein the incision is provided so as to be opened gradually by manipulation of the elastic shared wall.

5. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the first liquid chamber preferably has a minimum volume of 1 cm.sup.3.

6. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the second liquid chamber has a partition which divides the liquid chamber into two segments.

7. Aid as claimed in claim 6, wherein the partition is placed substantially parallel to the wall.

8. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the first liquid chamber is provided with an opening which is adapted to connect to a bottle opening so that feeding bottle and first liquid chamber are provided so as to together form a closed entity.

9. Aid as claimed in claim 8, wherein the aid is provided with a flange at the position of the opening, which flange is pressed against an edge of the bottle opening using a mounting ring when the aid is mounted on a feeding bottle.

10. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the first liquid chamber is mountable on the feeding bottle such that the liquid can flow freely from the feeding bottle to the first liquid chamber and back.

11. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the first liquid chamber is substantially cylindrical, wherein the first end of the cylinder is provided for mounting on the feeding bottle and wherein the second end of the cylinder is provided with the wall.

12. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the aid is manufactured integrally from an elastic material by means of injection moulding.

13. Aid as claimed in claim 12, wherein the elastic material is a thermoplastic elastomer.

14. Aid as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the second liquid chamber is bowl-like so that the second liquid chamber can contain a predetermined quantity of liquid.

Description

[0020] In the drawing:

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of an aid according to a preferred embodiment of the invention and a feeding bottle;

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the shared wall of the aid according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0023] The same or similar elements are designated in the drawing with the same reference numerals.

[0024] FIG. 1 shows an aid 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. Aid 1 is provided for placing on a feeding bottle 2. The skilled person will appreciate that aid 1 can be placed on the feeding bottle in different ways and using different mounting techniques. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 aid 1 is provided with a flange 8 with a diameter substantially equal to a diameter of the neck of feeding bottle 2. Further provided is a mounting ring 5 which has screw thread complementary to screw thread 3 of feeding bottle 2 and which is provided with an inward directed flange 7 which presses the outward directed flange 8 of the aid against neck 4 of bottle 2. Aid 2 according to the invention is thus pressed against feeding bottle 2 according to the shown embodiment. The inward directed flange 7 is shaped here such that mounting ring 5 has an opening 6 through which at least a part of aid 1 according to the invention can extend. Aid 1 is hereby mounted on a feeding bottle 2 in the same way as a teat is connected to a feeding bottle 2. The skilled person will therefore be able to apply any mounting technique known for mounting of a teat on a feeding bottle 2 to mount aid 1 according to the invention on a feeding bottle 2. The skilled person will hereby understand that mounting ring and aid according to the invention can also be formed integrally. The mounting ring can alternatively be provided with a snap system which is compatible with the feeding bottle.

[0025] FIG. 1 shows an aid 1 with a first liquid chamber 9 and a second liquid chamber 10. First liquid chamber 9 is separated from second liquid chamber 10 by means of a shared wall 12. First liquid chamber 9 is substantially closed, at least when aid 1 is mounted on a feeding bottle 2 and when the elastic shared wall is at rest. Substantially closed is understood here to mean that, irrespective of the orientation of aid 1, a negligible amount of liquid escapes from the space defined by the first liquid chamber and the feeding bottle. Second liquid chamber 10 is open. This is understood to mean that liquid in the liquid chamber is readily accessible along at least one side of aid 1. Second liquid chamber 10 can also be described as a cup or bowl. Second liquid chamber 10 is formed such that an infant can draw liquid from the second liquid chamber and can thus be fed. An infant will typically move liquid from the second liquid chamber 10 to the mouth using its tongue. The aid of the invention is provided here so as to move liquid in an efficient and controllable manner out of feeding bottle 2 and into the second liquid chamber.

[0026] In order to move liquid out of feeding bottle 2 to second liquid chamber 10 in an efficient and controlled manner the aid according to the invention is provided with an incision 13. Incision 13 is provided in shared wall 12 which extends between first liquid chamber 9 and second liquid chamber 10. Shared wall 12 is manufactured from an elastic material. The whole aid 1 is preferably manufactured from an elastic material. The elastic material from which aid 1 according to the invention is manufactured is typically chosen from known materials for manufacturing teats. These materials are elastic, can be processed via injection moulding and can be sterilized. The elastic material is preferably a thermoplastic elastomer.

[0027] First liquid chamber 9 as shown in FIG. 1 is cylindrical. The cylinder has here a first end at the position of the outward directed flange 8 and a second end at the position of shared wall 12. At the first end the first liquid chamber is open so that liquid from the feeding bottle can run into the first liquid chamber and so that liquid from the first liquid chamber can run back into the feeding bottle. A non-return valve is not provided at the first opening, so that liquid can run freely into and out of the liquid chamber. At the second end the liquid chamber is provided with a wall 12. This wall 12 extends between first liquid chamber 9 and second liquid chamber 10. Provided in the wall is an incision 13 which is substantially closed when the wall is in a rest position. Because wall 12 is manufactured from an elastic material, wall 12 can be manipulated such that incision 13 opens, whereby liquid can flow out of first liquid chamber 9 into second liquid chamber 10. This is further elucidated below with reference to FIG. 2.

[0028] Second liquid chamber 10 is provided for the purpose of containing a predetermined quantity of liquid. Second liquid chamber 10 is preferably segmented by means of a partition 14. This partition 14 is preferably positioned in the second liquid chamber at a distance from and substantially parallel to shared wall 12. Partition 14 hereby forms a barrier for liquid flowing through the incision into the second liquid chamber. This barrier 14 hereby prevents an infant having to cope with a sudden wave of liquid as a result of a wrong movement by a user and thereby uncontrolled opening of incision 13. Owing to the partition it will be possible to fill a second segment 11 of second liquid chamber 10 with liquid in a controlled manner.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a plane section of shared wall 12. The left half of FIG. 2 here shows shared wall 12 in a rest position and the right half of FIG. 2 shows shared wall 12 in a manipulated position. Incision 13 is preferably made in shared wall 12 such that in a rest position of shared wall 12 the incision is substantially closed and thereby substantially forms an obstruction so that liquid cannot flow through the incision. In manipulated state of incision 13 the incision 13 spreads open such that an opening through which liquid can flow is created in shared wall 12. Incision 13 preferably takes a continuous form here. The skilled person will however appreciate that configurations wherein the incision consists of a plurality of segments can also have the intended effect. Incision 13 is preferably not angular, i.e. preferably takes a curved or most preferably straight form. Tests have shown that an incision which is not angular opens easily upon manipulation of shared wall 12. Incision 13 is most preferably linear and has a length of a minimum of 3 mm, preferably a minimum of 5 mm, more preferably a minimum of 7 mm.

[0030] Shared wall 12 is preferably manipulated by compressing the wall as illustrated with arrows 15 in the right half of FIG. 2. A force 15 is preferably applied to the wall, wherein the force 15 lies substantially in line with incision 13. Owing to the elasticity of shared wall 12 the force 15 lying in line with incision 13 will result in shared wall 12 deforming and the incision thus opening. The skilled person will appreciate that the size of the opening depends on the magnitude of the force and the elasticity of the material and the construction of the aid. Tests have shown that, when a feeding bottle with an aid is held in the hand, shared wall 12 can be taken between two fingers in simple manner, wherein the pressure force of the fingers determines the size of the opening of incision 13. A user can in this way control the liquid flow from first chamber 9 to second chamber 10 in very simple and intuitive manner. In FIG. 2 the opened incision is designated with reference numeral 13′.

[0031] In order to allow a user to manipulate shared wall 12, shared wall 12 preferably lies at least partially at a distance from the feeding bottle. This is because the feeding bottle is typically made from a plastic which is not, or at least not very, elastic such that compression of the feeding bottle is impossible or at least very difficult. When shared wall 12 lies at a distance from the feeding bottle, as is also the case in the embodiment of FIG. 1, a user has sufficient space on the outer side of the aid to place his/her fingers in line with incision 13. In the embodiment of FIG. 1 the distance between feeding bottle 2 and shared wall 12 is obtained as a result of the length of the cylindrical first liquid chamber 9. The skilled person will however appreciate that many embodiments can be envisaged wherein shared wall 12 lies at least partially at a distance from feeding bottle 2. A second liquid chamber can thus be provided with an opening on one side, which opening is mountable on feeding bottle 2. This opening then typically lies in line with the opening at the neck of the feeding bottle. When the first liquid chamber has a minimum volume of 1 cm.sup.2 and is provided with the shared wall on a second side, which is not necessarily the side opposite the side in which the opening is provided, the shared wall will always be accessible for compression. Shared wall 12 of the first liquid chamber however preferably lies opposite the opening which is connected to the bottle such that the liquid can flow from feeding bottle 2 in substantially one direction through the first liquid chamber and through the incision in the direction of the second liquid chamber.

[0032] A cylindrical first liquid chamber 9 has the advantage that the orientation between the aid according to the invention and mounting ring 5 is not predetermined. The aid can be used in any relative position in relation to the mounting ring and relative to feeding bottle 2. Second liquid chamber 11 more preferably takes a smaller form than first liquid chamber 9 in two of the three dimensional directions such that second liquid chamber 11 is movable through opening 6 of the mounting ring. This simplifies assembly and disassembly of an aid according to the invention on and from a feeding bottle 2. Such a form will further facilitate the production of an aid 1 according to the invention in that the aid can be ejected in simple manner from a mould.

[0033] A skilled person will understand the principles and different embodiments of the aid according to the invention on the basis of the above description. The figures and the description are not limitative for the invention, which is defined solely in the claims.