Training pacifier and container comprising the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a training teat comprising a teat portion (11) which is a thin-walled element made of a flexible material and which is internally formed with a cavity, a straw portion (12) which is a thin-walled element made of a flexible material and which is internally formed with a cavity, the straw element having an opening at the top which communicates with the outside environment, and an intermediate element (13) which is arranged between the teat portion and the straw portion and which is provided with an aperture and / or a slit on it for communicating the teat portion and the straw portion. The container comprises a container body for containing a liquid and a training teat according to the invention.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates generally to the field of infant and toddler products, and more specifically to a training nipple and a container containing the training nipple. Background Technology

[0002] Infants' methods of sucking milk or water evolve into two different patterns depending on the stage of oral development. In the early stages of oral development, infants primarily use a natural breastfeeding pattern. In this pattern, the infant wraps their tongue around the mother's nipple, bringing the indentation in their mouth, known as the nursing fossa, into contact with the tip of the nipple. The infant then stimulates the nipple with their tongue, prompting milk production. Simultaneously, to direct the milk towards the tip of the nipple, the infant's tongue bulges out from the front and moves continuously towards the base of the tongue; this movement is called peristaltic movement. Most artificial nipples on the market are designed to mimic this natural breastfeeding pattern, adapting to the peristaltic movements of the infant's tongue.

[0003] As the oral cavity develops, traditional pacifiers are no longer suitable as a way for babies to drink milk or water. One reason is that continuing to use traditional pacifiers carries the risk of causing oral defects such as tooth decay. At this time, it is more recommended to use a straw to drink milk or water.

[0004] However, in practice, many babies do not adapt well to switching directly from a pacifier to a straw, so there is an urgent need for a transitional adaptive product that allows babies to transition from a traditional pacifier to a straw. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to at least partially solve or improve the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a training nipple and a container containing the training nipple. The training nipple and the container can solve the adaptation problem of infants during the transition period of oral development, train the development of the infant's oral muscles, and enable the infant to smoothly and quickly transition from a nipple to a straw.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a training pacifier is provided, the training pacifier comprising:

[0007] The nipple portion is a thin-walled element made of a flexible material and has a cavity formed inside it;

[0008] The straw portion is located above the nipple portion. The straw portion is a thin-walled element with a cavity formed inside. The straw element has an opening at the top that communicates with the external environment.

[0009] An intermediate element is disposed between the nipple portion and the straw portion, and has an opening and / or a slit thereon to connect the nipple portion and the straw portion. The opening and / or slit can open and allow liquid to pass through when the intermediate element undergoes elastic deformation.

[0010] The training pacifier according to the present application is designed by adding a straw part and an intermediate element to a conventional pacifier structure, so that different parts of the training pacifier can correspond to different sucking modes of the baby, and the baby can be smoothly transitioned from the pacifier sucking mode to the straw sucking mode, thus being beneficial to the development of the baby's oral cavity and avoiding the risk of causing tooth decay.

[0011] In some embodiments, the outer diameter of the straw part is smaller than the outer diameter of the connection between the pacifier part and the straw part, so as to form a stepped structure at the connection. The advantage of such a design is that the baby's lips will have a distinct foreign body sensation when resting on the connection, so that the baby will instinctively avoid latching on the connection, thus guiding the baby to smoothly transition from the pacifier sucking mode to the straw sucking mode.

[0012] In some embodiments, the pacifier part comprises a pacifier body configured as a thin-walled member with an arched surface, and the diameter of the pacifier body gradually increases from top to bottom. By designing the outer surface of the pacifier body as a slightly arched conical surface, which is similar to the shape of a woman's breast and can cooperate with the shape of the baby's teat, the baby's sucking interest can be increased.

[0013] In some embodiments, the pacifier body comprises a pacifier upper part and a pacifier lower part, and the diameter of the pacifier body gradually increases from the pacifier upper part to the pacifier lower part. Preferably, the height of the pacifier upper part is 1 / 4 to 1 / 2 of the height of the pacifier body. When the baby's latching position is in the pacifier lower part area, i.e. the latching depth is deeper, the sucking mode is the pacifier sucking mode; when the latching position is in the pacifier upper part area, the latching depth is shallower than in the pacifier lower part area, and the sucking mode is the so-called transition sucking mode, which is an intermediate mode for guiding the baby to switch from the pacifier sucking mode to the straw sucking mode.

[0014] In some embodiments, it is desirable to achieve a harder latching feeling of the straw part than the pacifier part, especially the pacifier upper part, in other words, the rigidity of the straw part is greater than that of the pacifier part, thus being beneficial to the switching of the baby's sucking mode and the smooth closure of the lips. Here, this is achieved by designing the ratio of the thin-walled thickness to the diameter of the straw part to be greater than the ratio of the thin-walled thickness to the diameter of the pacifier part. Of course, this can also be achieved by selecting a material with greater hardness for the straw part or by a combination of the two methods.

[0015] In some embodiments, the straw part, the intermediate element and the pacifier part are integrally made of a flexible material.

[0016] In some embodiments, the intermediate element is configured as a flexible diaphragm, the thickness of which gradually increases from the center to the periphery in the radial direction. In this case, the cross section of the diaphragm is generally X-shaped, i.e. the thickness of the diaphragm is the smallest at the center point of the diaphragm and gradually increases as it extends to both sides. The advantage of this design is that no matter whether the pacifier is held in the upper pipe part or the lower nipple part, the opening and / or the slit in the diaphragm can be easily opened to facilitate the baby to suck the milk.

[0017] In some embodiments, the opening and / or the slit of the intermediate element are designed in the form of a central opening and a slit extending outward from the central opening. More preferably, the central opening is a circular hole and the slit extending outward from the central opening is a Y-shaped slit around the circular hole. The advantage of this design is that the central opening can ensure a stable flow rate, while the slit extending outward from the opening around the periphery can adjust the flow rate according to the holding position and the holding force of the pacifier.

[0018] In some embodiments, the training pacifier has a base arranged below the pacifier body. The base has an annular flange for connecting the training pacifier to the container. The base can be connected to the container that matches the training pacifier, or it can be connected to the corresponding connecting element for fixing the training pacifier to the container, which will be explained in detail later.

[0019] In some embodiments, the cavity inside the nipple part is divided into an upper first cavity and a lower second cavity, wherein the diameter of the first cavity is smaller than that of the second cavity. Preferably, a step is formed at the junction of the first cavity and the second cavity inside the nipple. Preferably, the junction of the first cavity and the second cavity corresponds to the junction of the upper part of the nipple and the lower part of the nipple in the height direction, i.e. the vertical direction. In a preferred embodiment, an annular protrusion is formed around the bottom of the first cavity, which is used to cooperate with the accessory such as the gravity pipe component.

[0020] According to a second aspect of the present application, a container is provided, the container comprising:

[0021] a container body for containing liquid and a training pacifier according to the present application.

[0022] In some embodiments, the container further comprises a connecting element for connecting the training pacifier to the container body. Preferably, the connecting element is configured in the form of an annular cover with openings on both the upper and lower surfaces, and the inside of the annular cover is provided with threads that can cooperate with the threads of the neck of the container body and be threadedly connected to the container body. By providing the connecting element, the training pacifier can be more easily fixed to the container body, and the components can be more conveniently disassembled and cleaned.

[0023] In some embodiments, the training pacifier is detachably connectable to the connecting element by means of an annular flange on the base of the training pacifier.

[0024] In some embodiments, the container further comprises a cap member which is fixable on the container body and forms a sealed connection with the straw portion of the training pacifier, thereby preventing leakage of the liquid when the container is tilted. Preferably, the cap member can comprise a limiting wall which cooperates with the shape of the straw portion and, in the mounted state, surrounds the straw portion of the training pacifier, thereby preventing the straw portion from wobbling.

[0025] In some embodiments, the container further comprises a handle having an opening and two handle elements for gripping and is capable of being fitted onto the neck of the container body through the opening.

[0026] In some embodiments, the container further comprises a gravity straw member comprising a hollow connecting tube having an annular connecting portion formed above it for connecting with the cavity of the pacifier portion of the training pacifier and a gravity member connected below it, which is located in the bottom region of the container in the vertical placement state of the container. The gravity member can always keep the bottom of the gravity straw at the bottom of the container body under the action of gravity, thereby facilitating the drawing of the liquid at the bottom of the container.

[0027] In some embodiments, the annular connecting portion and the annular protrusion on the periphery of the first cavity bottom can form a shape-fitting connection, such as a snap connection, so that the gravity straw member is not easily detached from the training pacifier. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] The above and other features, aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present application will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of the application.

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic view of a training pacifier according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0030] Figure 2 A schematic view of a container comprising a training pacifier according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of a training pacifier according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0031] Figure 3 A schematic view of a container comprising a training pacifier according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0032] Figure 4 A schematic cross-sectional view of a container according to an embodiment of the present application in an assembled state is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The exemplary embodiments of this application are described herein making reference to the accompanying drawings, which are presented for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the application, which is defined solely by the claims. Various details of the embodiments of the application are described herein in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. It will be appreciated, however, that the various embodiments of the application can be practiced in a variety of ways, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not intended to be limiting, as the specific details set forth are merely exemplary. As used herein, the term "include" and its variants are intended to be synonymous with "comprise" and its variants, unless otherwise stated. As used herein, the term "or" is intended to mean "and / or", unless otherwise stated. As used herein, the term "based on" means "based, at least in part, on", unless otherwise stated. As used herein, the term "one example embodiment" and "an embodiment" means "at least one example embodiment". As used herein, the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment".

[0034] As used herein, the terms "include", "includes" and "including", are used as the

[0035] In addition, the terms first, second, etc. are used herein only to describe various objects in a clear and concise way, and are not intended to denote or imply a specific size, quantity or other order of the objects described. Directional terms, such as top, bottom, side, etc., are intended to indicate the orientation or positional relationship of the objects based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the purpose of facilitating the description of the present application, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the objects referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0036] Figure 1 A schematic view of a training pacifier according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0037] As Figure 1 shown, the training pacifier 1 comprises a pacifier portion 11, a straw portion 12 above the pacifier portion, and an intermediate element 13 between the pacifier portion and the straw portion.

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional view of the training pacifier is shown. Figure 1

[0039] As Figure 2 can be seen, the straw portion 12 is a substantially cylindrical thin-walled element which forms a substantially cylindrical cavity inside and is provided with an opening above which communicates with the outside environment, the opening being substantially circular, but can also be of other shape, such as oval. The straw portion is preferably made of a flexible material, but other types of materials can also be envisaged for manufacturing the straw portion.

[0040] The pacifier portion 11 is a thin-walled element made of a flexible material, the shape and configuration of which substantially corresponds to the artificial pacifiers known in the art, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 ​As shown, the outer surface of the nipple body 110, which is above the base, is a slightly arched, cone-shaped surface, similar to the shape of a human female breast and conforming to the shape of an infant's nursing nest. The nipple portion has an internal cavity, which is connected to the cavity of the straw portion 12 via an intermediate element 13.

[0041] The nipple portion 11 includes a nipple body 110, wherein the nipple body 110 can be divided into an upper nipple portion 111 and a lower nipple portion 112, the dividing line of which can be referenced. Figure 2 The arrow on the left indicates the upper part of the nipple above and the lower part below. Preferably, the height of the upper part of the nipple (i.e., the vertical extension) is 1 / 4 to 1 / 2 of the height of the nipple body. The diameter of the nipple body gradually increases as it extends from the upper part to the lower part. When the baby's lips contact the lower part 112 of the nipple, the feeding method is nipple-style sucking, which is roughly the same as using a traditional artificial nipple, mainly relying on the peristaltic movement of the tongue combined with a small amount of sucking force. In the nipple-style sucking mode, the baby's latch is deeper, and the gradually increasing diameter of the lower part of the nipple helps the baby to better expand the mouth shape and facilitates the peristaltic movement of the tongue at this stage. When the baby's lips contact the upper part of the nipple, the feeding method is transitional sucking, where the baby's feeding method gradually transitions to relying mainly on sucking force, with the peristaltic movement of the tongue playing a secondary role. In the transitional sucking mode, the baby's latch is shallower than in the pacifier sucking mode, allowing the baby to transition more smoothly to straw sucking.

[0042] When the baby's lips come into contact with the straw 12, the baby drinks milk using a straw-like sucking method. The cylindrical structure of the straw prevents the baby from using the peristaltic movements of the tongue while sucking, allowing the baby to obtain milk solely through sucking force. In this straw-like sucking mode, the baby's latch is shallow, which helps the baby close their lips and does not affect their oral development.

[0043] Depend on Figure 1 , Figure 2 As can be seen, the diameter of the straw part 12 is significantly smaller than the diameter of the nipple part and its connection point, forming a stepped structure at the connection point. The advantage of this design is that the baby can clearly feel the abrupt step-like difference when using it, thus guiding the baby to transition directly from transitional sucking to straw-type sucking, and preventing the latch from stopping at the middle position where the intermediate element 13 is located. Because there is a significant difference at that position, the lips will feel a significant foreign object sensation when they stay there, and the baby will instinctively avoid latching on there.

[0044] Advantageously, for such a training pacifier, the inventors have aimed at achieving that the nipple portion has a harder mouthpiece feel than the nipple portion, in particular the upper nipple portion, in other words, the rigidity of the nipple portion is greater than the rigidity of the nipple portion, thereby facilitating the switching of the baby's sucking pattern and the smooth closing of the lips. Herein, this is achieved by designing the ratio of the thin-walled wall thickness to the diameter of the nipple portion to be greater than the ratio of the thin-walled wall thickness to the diameter of the nipple portion. Of course, this can also be achieved by choosing a material with a greater rigidity for the nipple portion or by a combination of both means.

[0045] In this embodiment, the intermediate element 13 is configured in the form of a flexible diaphragm, which is provided with an opening and / or a slit, which in the initial state, in which the pacifier is not deformed, is closed due to the elasticity of the material and does not allow the passage of liquid, such as a mixture of milk, and which opens and allows the passage of liquid when the baby sucks on the pacifier.

[0046] In this embodiment, the diaphragm has a substantially X-shaped cross-section, i.e. the thickness of the diaphragm is smallest at the position of the centre point of the diaphragm and increases gradually towards both sides. The advantage of this design is that the opening and / or slit in the diaphragm can easily be opened, regardless of whether the baby's mouth is positioned on the nipple portion above the diaphragm or on the nipple portion below the diaphragm, in order to facilitate the baby's intake of the liquid.

[0047] In one embodiment, the opening and / or slit in the diaphragm is designed in the form of a central opening plus a slit extending outwardly from the central opening, preferably in the form of a central circular opening plus a Y-shaped slit around the circular opening, the central circular opening ensuring a constant flow rate, while the Y-shaped slit allows the flow rate to be adjusted depending on the position of the mouth and the sucking force, for example, when the sucking force is small, the central circular opening provides a constant flow rate and the Y-shaped slit provides a smaller flow rate, while when the sucking force increases, the central circular opening still provides a constant flow rate and the Y-shaped slit provides a greater flow rate.

[0048] Referring to Figure 2 , the nipple portion 11 has a base 113 below the nipple body. The base can be connected to the container body or to a connecting element for connecting the training pacifier to the container body. In some embodiments, the base can be configured in the form of an annular flange, while the connecting element can be configured in the form of an annular cover provided with openings both above and below.

[0049] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the training pacifier according to the embodiments of the present application further comprises a nipple vent valve, which consists of two parts, the first part being a vent hole in the form of a circular cylindrical through hole in the lower part of the nipple, and the second part being a backflow valve structure on the base.

[0050] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a container 2 including a training nipple 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The container 2 includes a container body 21 for containing liquids such as milk and the training nipple 1.

[0051] In this embodiment, the container also includes a handle 22 for an infant to hold, the handle having an opening and two gripping elements, and being able to be fitted onto the neck of the container body through the opening.

[0052] In this embodiment, the container also includes a connecting element 23 for connecting the training nipple 1 to the container body 21. This connecting element is configured as an annular cap with openings at both the top and bottom. The annular cap has internal threads that engage with the threads on the neck of the container body, thus threading it onto the container body. Of course, besides this threaded engagement, other engagement methods such as snap-fit ​​can also be used between the annular cap and the container body, which will not be elaborated here. The base or annular flange below the training nipple 1 is fixed to the annular cap by the elasticity of its material and by the shape of the groove inside the annular cap (see...). Figure 4 The handle 22 is disposed between the connecting element 23 and the container body 21.

[0053] In this embodiment, the container further includes a lid component 24, which can be fixed to the container body or connecting element by means of snap-fit ​​or other methods, and can form a sealed connection with the straw portion, thereby preventing liquid leakage when the container is tilted. In another preferred embodiment, the lid component may include a limiting wall (not shown in the figure) that matches the shape of the straw portion. In the installed state, the limiting wall can surround the straw portion of the training nipple, thereby preventing the nipple portion from shaking.

[0054] Figure 4 A schematic cross-sectional view of container 2 in an assembled state, according to an embodiment of the present invention, is shown. Figure 4 The connection relationship between the training nipple 1, the container body 21, the handle 22, the connecting element 23, and the cover part 24 can be seen more clearly, and will not be described in detail here.

[0055] Combination Figure 2 As can be seen, in this embodiment, the cavity formed inside the nipple portion 11 can be divided into a first cavity 14 with a smaller upper diameter and a second cavity 15 located generally below the first cavity. Here, the diameter of the first cavity is smaller than the diameter of the second cavity. Preferably, a stepped portion is formed at the junction of the first cavity and the second cavity inside the nipple. Preferably, the junction of the first cavity and the second cavity corresponds in the height direction, i.e., the vertical direction, to the junction of the upper and lower parts of the nipple, i.e., the position of the stepped portion corresponds to... Figure 2The position of the middle arrow. It should be noted that the two-cavity structure is not essential to the present application, and in other embodiments, a single cavity or more cavities can be formed inside the nipple portion.

[0056] In Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the container 2 also comprises a gravity straw member 3, which comprises a connecting tube 31, above which is formed a ring-shaped connecting portion 32 of increased diameter, which can be connected, for example, by snap-fitting, to Figure 2 The ring-shaped protrusion 16, which can be clearly seen in the middle, is connected, for example, by snap-fitting, to the ring-shaped connecting portion 32 of the connecting tube 31, and thus makes it difficult for the gravity straw member 13 to fall off the training nipple. The ring-shaped protrusion is arranged on the periphery of the bottom of the first cavity. Below the connecting tube 31 is connected a gravity member 33, for example a gravity ball, which can keep the bottom of the gravity straw always at the bottom of the container body under the action of gravity, thus facilitating the drawing of liquid at the bottom of the container.

[0057] The present application has been described by means of the above-described embodiments, but it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are only for the purpose of example and illustration, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure to the scope of the described embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that more variations and modifications can be made according to the teachings of the present disclosure, and these variations and modifications all fall within the scope of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the features or combinations of features described above according to the present disclosure and mentioned and / or only shown in the drawings can not only be used in the combinations given, but also in other combinations or alone, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A training pacifier, characterized in that The training pacifier comprises: a pacifier portion (11) which is a thin-walled element made of flexible material and internally formed with a cavity; a straw portion (12) located above the pacifier portion, which is a thin-walled element and internally formed with a cavity, the straw portion having an opening at the top communicating with the external environment, the outer diameter of the straw portion being smaller than that of the connecting portion of the pacifier portion and the straw portion, and a stepped structure being formed at the connecting portion; an intermediate element (13) arranged between the pacifier portion and the straw portion, and provided with an opening and / or a slit for communicating the pacifier portion and the straw portion.

2. The training pacifier of claim 1, wherein The pacifier portion comprises a pacifier body (110) configured as a thin-walled member having an arc-shaped surface, and the outer diameter of the pacifier body gradually increases from top to bottom.

3. The training pacifier of claim 2, wherein, The pacifier body comprises a pacifier upper portion (111) and a pacifier lower portion (112).

4. The training pacifier of claim 3, wherein The height of the pacifier upper portion is 1 / 4 to 1 / 2 of the height of the pacifier body.

5. The training pacifier of claim 1, wherein, The rigidity of the straw portion is greater than that of the pacifier portion.

6. The training pacifier of claim 5, wherein The ratio of the wall thickness of the straw portion to its diameter is greater than that of the pacifier portion.

7. The training pacifier of claim 1, wherein The intermediate element is configured as a flexible diaphragm, and the thickness of the diaphragm gradually increases from the center to the periphery in the radial direction.

8. The training pacifier of claim 1, wherein, The opening and / or the slit of the intermediate element are designed in the form of a central opening plus a slit extending outwardly from the central opening.

9. The training pacifier of claim 8, wherein The central opening is a circular hole, and the slit extending outwardly from the central opening is a Y-shaped slit around the circular hole.

10. The training pacifier of claim 1, wherein The training pacifier has a base (113) arranged below the pacifier body, and the base has an annular flange for connecting the training pacifier to the container.

11. The training pacifier of claim 1, wherein The cavity inside the pacifier portion is divided into a first cavity (14) located at the top and a second cavity (15) located at the bottom, wherein the diameter of the first cavity is smaller than that of the second cavity, and a stepped portion is formed at the junction of the first cavity and the second cavity inside the pacifier.

12. The training pacifier of claim 11, wherein The junction of the first cavity and the second cavity corresponds to the junction of the pacifier upper portion and the pacifier lower portion in the height direction.

13. The training pacifier of claim 11, wherein An annular protrusion (16) is formed around the bottom of the first cavity.

14. A container (2) characterised in that The container comprises: a container body (21) for containing liquid; and a training pacifier as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. The container of claim 14, wherein The container further comprises a connecting element (23) for connecting the training pacifier to the container body.

16. The container of claim 15, wherein The connecting element is configured in the form of an annular cover having openings at the top and bottom, and the inside of the annular cover is provided with threads which can be matched with the threads of the neck portion of the container body and threadedly connected to the container body.

17. The container of claim 15, wherein The training pacifier can be detachably connected to the connecting element through the annular flange on the base thereof.

18. The container of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, The container further comprises a cover member (24) which can be fixed to the container body and sealingly connected to the straw portion of the training pacifier.

19. The container of claim 18, wherein The cover member further comprises a limiting wall which cooperates with the shape of the straw portion, and in the installed state, the limiting wall surrounds the straw portion of the training pacifier.

20. The container of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, The container further comprises a handle (22) having openings and two handle elements for gripping, and the handle can be sleeved onto the neck portion of the container body through the openings.

21. The container of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, The container further comprises a gravity straw component (3) comprising a hollow connection tube (31) on which an annular connection portion (32) is formed for connection with the cavity of the nipple portion of the training nipple, and a gravity member (33) is connected below the connection tube, which is located in the bottom region of the container in the vertical placement state of the container.

22. The container of claim 21, wherein The annular connection portion (32) can form a form-fitting connection with the annular protrusion (16) of the bottom periphery of the first cavity (14).

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