Baby bottle

Abstract

Adapter ring (22) for a feeding bottle (10), wherein the adapter ring (22) is configured to be positioned around a neck portion (12a) of a silicone container (12) of the feeding bottle (10), wherein the adapter ring (22) is made of a stiffer material than the silicone of the silicone container, wherein the adapter ring (22) is configured to have a screw ring (16) mounted around and engaged with the adapter ring (22) to clamp a teat (14) of the feeding bottle (10) against the neck portion (12a) of the silicone container, the adapter ring (22) being upward-downward symmetrical.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to suction bottles for milk feeding infants or infants.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBaby feeding bottles are used by parents to feed infants breast milk or dairy food if silence is not possible or as an alternative or supplement to silence. Current baby bottles usually consist of three parts: a container (which may be referred to as a bottle per se) containing the milk, a teat made of silicone as a drinking part and a screw ring connecting the teat to the container. The silicone teat usually has an air valve through which air reaches the container when a baby drinks from the bottle. The design of the teat is intended to mimic the feel of the nipple of the mother.Silicone baby bottles (i.e., bottles with a silicone container) are becoming more and more popular on the market. One of the advantages of the silicone container is that the milk only comes into contact with the inert silicone parts and not with plastic parts which are less inert.In conventional baby bottles, a screw thread is used between the plastic container and the screw ring to mount the teat.However, the threads on these parts cannot be made of silicone, since silicone is too flexible. In order to use a silicone container, an additional part made of plastic is therefore required, which contains the thread and thus provides an interface to the screw ring for fastening the suction device.This additional part is referred to as an "adapter", for example. It is known that 2K and overmolding technology is used to fuse an adapter and the silicone container into one piece. However, this technique is known to be complex and expensive.It is also known that silicone containers can be equipped with a rigid adapter as a separate part which has to be mounted on the silicone container before use.One problem with a design in which the adapter and the container are two separate parts is that assembly may not be simple. For example, it must be prevented that the adapter slips over the silicone when the screw ring and the suction device are tightened on the container. This would result in a poorly mounted teat, which in turn would lead to leaks and other problems.A known solution to this problem in commercially available NANOBEBE™ baby bottles is to extend the adapter so that it partially overlaps the container. Thus, a user holds the screw ring with one hand and the edge of the adapter with the other. In this way, the two rigid parts are held to ensure that the screw connection can be reliably established. This solution, however, has a number of disadvantages.First, much plastic is used.Secondly, the amount of visible plastic optically decreases the advantages of silicone - it is not immediately apparent to the user that the milk only contacts silicone. Both during closure and during feeding, silicone is better in hand than plastic, so the amount of visible plastic should be reduced as much as possible.Large parts of plastic should also be avoided because they are more difficult to clean and offer more opportunities for dirt to stick between the parts so that they can more easily become unhygienic.Therefore, there is a need for an improved baby bottle design that allows the use of a silicone container.US 2013 / 0327737 discloses a suction bottle with a silicone container and with an adapter ring (a first coupling ring) and a screw ring (a second coupling ring), which are screwed together in order to clamp the suction device via the neck of the silicone container. The adapter ring has a vertical lip which is received in a vertical recess (a so-called locking portion) at the top of the container to hold the adapter ring in place.This makes the mounting of the container cumbersome for the user.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention is defined by the claims.According to examples in accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a teat bottle comprising: a silicone container having a neck portion and a base; a teat; an adapter ring for positioning around the neck portion and made of a stiffer material than the silicone of the container; and a nut for clipping onto the teat and around the adapter ring to clamp the teat against a top of the neck portion of the container, the nut being configured to engage the adapter ring; wherein the adapter ring can be positioned around the neck in either of the two possible up-down orientations.This suction bottle utilizes the friction between the adapter ring and the neck portion of the silicone container, so that the assembly merely involves attaching the nut to the container (once the adapter ring is attached). When the nut is screwed onto the adapter ring, the user holds the nut with one hand and holds the container with the other hand.The friction between the neck of the silicone container and the adapter ring can overcome the friction between the adapter ring and the screw ring. Therefore, the adapter ring can be constructed as a simple ring without mechanical features for anti-rotation. The friction within this mechanism is then sufficient to provide a self-locking system. As a result, the adapter can be very compact.The adapter ring can be used in any orientation (i.e., there is no orientation that is upside down). This facilitates assembly for the user. The adapter ring has a thread which engages the nut ring, and this thread extends completely to the top and bottom of the adapter ring so that it can be engaged by the nut ring in any desired orientation.The nut preferably completely covers the adapter ring when it is mounted. In this way, the adapter ring is not visible in the assembled bottle.The neck portion may have a textured outer surface that engages the inner surface of the adapter ring. This increases the friction between the adapter ring and the neck of the container. The structured outer surface can consist, for example, of ribs or a wavy surface.The adapter ring may have a textured inner surface that engages an outer surface of the neck portion. This is a further possibility of increasing the friction between the adapter ring and the container neck. The structured inner surface can have ribs or a wavy surface, for example.The neck portion may have a recess into which the adapter ring is inserted. As a result, the adapter ring can be easily attached to the container. The upper and lower edges of the recess and the bottom of the recess provide additional friction surfaces.The bottom of the recess may be flat and parallel to the up-down axis of the feeding bottle or curved.Various forms of engagement between the neck and the adapter may be used to increase friction and provide a mechanical locking function between the adapter ring and the neck portion.The recess has, for example, upper and lower edges which extend parallel to the plane of the neck opening of the container or obliquely to the plane of the neck opening of the container.The adapter ring may have a closed ring shape. As a result, the adapter ring becomes a strong, rigid component.The suction device preferably consists of silicone and the adapter ring and the screw ring preferably consist of plastic. The adapter ring can have an external thread and the screw ring can have an internal thread.In another aspect, the invention provides an adapter ring for a feeding bottle, the adapter ring being configured to be positioned around a neck portion of a silicone container of the feeding bottle, the adapter ring being made of a stiffer material than the silicone of the container, the adapter ring being configured to allow a nut ring to be mounted around the adapter ring and engaged with the adapter ring to clamp a teat of the feeding bottle against a top of the neck portion of the container, and the adapter ring being configured to be positioned around the neck portion in either of the two possible up-down orientations.These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and explained in conjunction with the embodiment(s) described below.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFor a better understanding of the invention and for a clearer explanation of its implementation, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a standard feeding bottle; FIG. 2 shows an example of a feeding bottle of the invention; FIG. 3 shows three possible forms in which the adapter ring engages in the neck portion; FIG. 4 shows the connecting region between the suction device, the screw ring, the adapter ring and the container more clearly; and Figure 5 more clearly shows that the adapter ring is a solid ring.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTSThe invention will be described with reference to the drawings.It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the apparatus, systems, and methods, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These and other features, aspects and advantages of the apparatus, systems and methods of the present invention will become more fully understood from the following description, appended claims and appended drawings. It is understood that the figures are schematic only and not to scale. It is also understood that the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts.The invention provides a teat bottle comprising a silicone container having a neck portion and a base, a teat, an adapter ring for positioning around the neck, and a nut ring for seating on the teat and around the adapter ring for clamping the teat against an upper surface of the neck portion of the container. The nut ring is configured to engage the adapter ring. The adapter ring may be positioned around the neck in either (i.e., any) of the two possible up-down orientations. This simplifies the assembly for the user.Assuming the feeding bottle is in a normal upright orientation with the teat at the top and the adapter ring has first and second opposing surfaces, then in one of the up-down orientations the first surface faces up and the second surface faces down. The second surface then faces the feeding bottle and overlaps the neck portion first when the adapter ring is attached. In the other up-down orientation, the second surface faces up and the first surface faces down. The first surface then faces the feeding bottle and overlaps the neck portion first when the adapter ring is attached.FIG. 1 shows a standard suction bottle 10 which consists of a container 12, a suction device 14 and a screw ring 16 for fastening the suction device to the container 12. The teat has one or more openings at the tip. The teat has a base flange which is sealed by the nut 16 against an open top of the container. A valve for supplying air can be integrated into the suction device.In a conventional suction bottle, the container and the screw ring consist of plastic and the suction means of silicone.Fig. 2 shows an example of a feeding bottle 20 of the invention as an exploded view.As with the conventional teat bottle of Figure 1, the bottle 10 comprises a container 12, a teat 14 (with valve) and a nut 16 for securing the teat 14 to the container 12.The container is made of silicone and has a neck portion 12a and a base 12b.In order to provide a more rigid thread in which the nut can engage, an adapter ring 22 is provided.The adapter ring has an external thread 22a for engaging an internal thread of the nut 16.In the example shown, the adapter ring 22 is small enough to be covered by the nut ring 16 when the bottle is assembled. Therefore, the user cannot hold the adapter ring when assembling the bottle. Instead, the friction between the adapter ring and the neck portion 12a is sufficient to resist rotational movement of the adapter ring, so that when the nut is installed, the threaded connection is established instead of the adapter ring being rotated about the neck portion by the threaded movement. The adapter ring can be constructed as a simple ring without mechanical features for anti-rotation. The friction within the mechanism is then sufficient to provide a self-locking system. As a result, the adapter ring can be very compact.Of course, the adapter ring does not have to be completely covered by the screw ring in all designs.The adapter ring is upwardly-downwardly symmetrical. Therefore, it can be placed on the neck of the container in any desired orientation. This simplifies the assembly for the user.Various design features may be used to ensure sufficient friction between the neck portion and the adapter ring. However, the adapter ring is preferably simply a sliding fit over the neck portion and does not require complex manipulation to place it in position. For example, it is seated in a recess (the recess has a radially inward direction) of the neck portion. Thus, by fitting the adapter ring over the neck portion, compression of the neck portion of the container is caused, and in a preferred arrangement, the subsequent return of the neck portion to its rest configuration is only sufficient for the adapter ring to engage the recess without additional manipulation by the user.Figure 3 shows three possible shapes in which the adapter ring 22 engages the neck portion 12a.In Figure 3A, the adapter ring 22 is seated in a recess having a flat base (parallel to the up-down axis of the bottle) and flat top and bottom surfaces (perpendicular to the up-down axis of the bottle).In Figure 3B, the adapter ring 22 is seated in a recess having a flat base (parallel to the up-down axis of the bottle) and having conical top and bottom surfaces. The conical top and bottom sides fulfil a mechanical holding function. In particular, the upper edge, but at least partially also the lower edge, mainly prevents the silicone of the container neck from protruding beyond the adapter under load.In FIG. 3C, the adapter ring 22 is seated in a recess with a curved bottom.FIG. 4 shows the connection area between the suction device, the screw ring, the adapter ring and the container more clearly. The teat 14 fits over the upper opening of the neck portion of the container. The milk in the container only comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the container 12 and the teat, as can be seen from FIG. 4.The frictional engagement between the adapter ring and the neck portion can be tuned, if desired, by modifying the surface structures of the cooperating surfaces to improve functionality. In particular, mechanical features may be added to improve friction on either the inside surface of the adapter ring or on the outside surface of the neck portion of the container (or both). This may be done on the vertical surface (the base of the recess) or on the upper or lower edge surface of the recess (if present) where the adapter is overlapped by the silicone container. The mechanical features may include wavy surfaces, ridges, etc.The upper surface of the adapter is aligned along the upper surface of the recess to increase friction. The friction increases as the nut ring is tightened (as the friction between the bottom and the bottom of the recess decreases). The teat and the top edge of the container are pressed against each other on opposite sides by the nut and adapter ring so that in addition to friction on vertical surfaces, a friction engagement surface in the horizontal plane (perpendicular to the up-down axis of the bottle) is desirable.The adapter ring is a solid ring as shown in FIG. 5.Variations of the disclosed embodiments may be understood and made by those skilled in the art through the practice of the claimed invention from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in claims dependent on each other does not mean that a combination of these measures cannot be used advantageously. When the term "adapted to" is used in the claims or the specification, it is to be noted that the term "adapted to" is intended to be equivalent to the term "configured for.". Any reference numerals in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.The following is a list of further aspects of the invention: 1. suction bottle (10) comprising:a silicone container (12) having a neck portion (12a) and a base (12b);a suction device (14);an adapter ring (22) for positioning about the neck portion formed of a stiffer material than the silicone of the container; anda nut (16) for engaging the nut and around the adapter ring to clamp the nut against a top of the neck portion of the container, the nut being configured to engage the adapter ring,wherein the adapter ring is positionable around the neck portion in each of the two possible up-down orientations.2. The feeding bottle according to Aspect 1, wherein the screw ring (16) completely covers the adapter ring (22). 3. the feeding bottle according to any one of aspects 1 to 2, wherein the neck portion (12a) has a structured outer surface for engaging an inner surface of the adapter ring (22). 4. the feeding bottle according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the adapter ring (22) has a structured inner surface for engaging an outer surface of the neck portion (12a). 5. the feeding bottle according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the neck portion (12a) includes a recess into which the adapter ring is fitted. 6.The feeding bottle according to the aspect 5, wherein the recess has a base that is flat and parallel to an up-down axis of the feeding bottle; or is curved. 7. the feeding bottle according to aspect 5 or 6, wherein the recess has top and bottom edges that are parallel to a plane of a neck opening of the container or are inclined to the plane of a neck opening of the container. 8. the suction bottle according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the adapter ring has a closed ring shape. 9. the suction bottle according to one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the suction device (14) consists of silicone. 10. the suction bottle according to one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the adapter ring (22) and the screw ring (16) are made of plastic. 11. the suction bottle of any one of aspects 1 to 10, wherein the adapter ring (22) has an external thread (22a) and the screw ring has an internal thread. 12.An adapter ring (22) for a feeding bottle, wherein the adapter ring is configured to be positioned around a neck portion of a silicone container (12) of the feeding bottle, wherein the adapter ring is made of a stiffer material than the silicone of the container, wherein the adapter ring is configured to have a nut ring attached around the adapter ring and engaging the adapter ring to clamp a teat of the feeding bottle against a top of the neck portion of the container, and wherein the adapter ring is configured to be positioned around the neck portion in either of the two possible up-down orientations. 13.The adapter ring of the suction bottle of one of aspects 1 to 11.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedUS 2013 / 0327737

[0014]

Claims

An adapter ring (22) for a feeding bottle (10), the adapter ring (22) being configured to be positioned around a neck portion (12a) of a silicone container (12) of the feeding bottle (10), the adapter ring (22) being made of a stiffer material than the silicone of the silicone container, the adapter ring (22) being configured to have a nut ring (16) attached around and engaging the adapter ring (22) to clamp a teat (14) of the feeding bottle (10) against the neck portion (12a) of the silicone container, the adapter ring (22) being upwardly-downwardly symmetric.The adapter ring (22) of claim 1, wherein the adapter ring (22) is configured to be positionable about the neck portion (12a) in each of two possible up-down orientations.The adapter ring (22) of any of claims 1 to 2, wherein the adapter ring (22) has a textured inner surface for engaging an outer surface of the neck portion (12a).The adapter ring (22) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the adapter ring (22) has a closed ring shape; and / or wherein the adapter ring (22) is made of plastic.The adapter ring (22) of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the adapter ring (22) includes an external thread (22a) that extends entirely between top and bottom surfaces of the adapter ring (22).A vial (10) comprising: a silicone container (12) having a neck portion (12a) and a base (12b); a teat (14); an adapter ring (22) configured to be positioned about the neck portion (12a) of the silicone container (12), the adapter ring (22) being made of a stiffer material than the silicone of the silicone container (12); and a nut (16) for mounting about the adapter ring (22) to clamp the teat (14) against the neck portion of the silicone container (12), the nut being configured to engage the adapter ring (22), the adapter ring (22) being upwardly-downwardly symmetric.The feeding bottle of claim 6, wherein the adapter ring (22) is configured to be positionable about the neck portion in each of two possible up-down orientations.The feeding bottle (10) according to any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein the screw ring (16) completely covers the adapter ring (22).The feeding bottle (10) of any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the neck portion (12a) has a textured outer surface for engaging an inner surface of the adapter ring (22).The feeding bottle (10) according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the neck portion (12a) comprises a recess into which the adapter ring (22) is fitted.The feeding bottle (10) of claim 10, wherein the recess has a base that is: flat and parallel to an up-down axis of the feeding bottle (10) or curved.The feeding bottle (10) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the recess has an upper and a lower edge which run parallel to a plane of a neck opening of the silicone container (12) or obliquely to the plane of a neck opening of the silicone container (12).The feeding bottle (10) according to any one of claims 6 to 12, wherein the suction means (14) consists of silicone.The feeding bottle (10) according to any one of claims 6 to 13, wherein the adapter ring (22) and the screw ring (16) consist of plastic.The feeding bottle (10) of any one of claims 6 to 14, wherein the adapter ring (22) has an external thread (22a) extending entirely between an upper and a lower end of the adapter ring (22).

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