Infant container made of flexible material

Abstract

The present invention relates to an infant container, particularly a baby bottle, in which a container-shaped body is formed of a flexible material such as silicone to allow more hygienic maintenance, while airtightness is enhanced by a cap member made of a hard material, and the cap member can be easily attached through a one-touch attachment / detachment mechanism using a fastening protrusion and a catch, and, in particular, the container-shaped body and the cap member engage with each other through a wave-shaped locking surface such that the cap member does not easily loosen and remains locked, thereby ensuring safe use. The infant container comprises: a container-shaped body made of a flexible material including a shoulder portion connected inwardly from an upper portion of an outer surface of a side wall, and a neck portion connected upwardly from an inner end of the shoulder portion and having an upper opening; and a cap member made of a hard material and having a skirt portion fastened to an outer circumferential surface of the neck portion. The container-shaped body includes fastening protrusions that protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the neck portion and have a downward-inclined bottom surface; and insertion grooves formed between the fastening protrusions. The cap member includes catches that protrudes from an inner circumferential surface of the skirt portion, are fitted into the insertion grooves, and engage the downward-inclined surfaces. The shoulder portion and the lower end of the skirt portion are connected in a wave shape along the circumferential direction to form a wave-shaped locking surface that engages and seals tightly.

Description

Infant container made of flexible material

[0001] The present invention relates to a flexible container for infants, and more specifically, to a container for infants, particularly a baby bottle, in which a container-shaped body, such as a baby bottle or baby food container, is made of a flexible material such as silicone to enable more hygienic management, while increasing airtightness through a cap member made of a hard material, and the cap member is easily fastened using a one-touch detachment method using a fastening protrusion and a catch protrusion, and in particular, the container-shaped body and the cap member are interlocked with a wave-shaped locking surface so that the cap member does not easily come loose and remains in a locked state, enabling safe use.

[0002] Infant containers such as baby bottles, baby food containers, and drinking cups for straws are made by combining a flexible material stopper, such as silicone, similar to a nursing nipple, with a container-shaped body. Due to the nature of the soft material, the stopper cannot be directly combined with the container-shaped body.

[0003] Taking a baby bottle as an example, the structure is such that a nipple is fitted into a cap made of a hard material such as plastic, and the cap is connected to a container-shaped body.

[0004] That is, the user checks the joining position so that the screw threads formed on the outer surface of the spout of the container-shaped body and the Nana threads formed on the inner surface of the cap member are properly engaged and the connection is made, and then rotates the cap member in one direction based on the container-shaped body to connect the container-shaped body and the cap member for use.

[0005] At this time, in order to maintain airtightness when connecting the container body and the cap member, both the container body and the cap member are made of a hard material such as plastic. However, in the case of a container body made of a hard material, it is difficult to completely clean the inside due to its structure, so there is the inconvenience of having to go through a separate sterilization process after drying.

[0006] Also, in the case of baby bottles, the cap must be completely locked with strong force to prevent the contents from leaking through the gap in the nipple connection part, but the screw connection method has the disadvantage that the cap is often not completely locked.

[0007] In addition, the rotation of the cap member is achieved by the screw threads of the container body, and the entire process of screw threading is the process of fastening the cap member to the container body. Since the user must fasten the cap member to the container body while paying attention to the entire process of the cap member going up the screw threads, it takes a long time.

[0008] Meanwhile, the container body of infant containers such as baby bottles is sometimes made of hard materials such as PPSU or PP, and sometimes of flexible (soft) materials such as silicone.

[0009] When the container body is made of a flexible material, it is difficult to apply the general screw fastening method due to the characteristics of the flexible material. Therefore, various fastening methods that take into account the characteristics of the flexible material are being designed, but they have disadvantages such as being inconvenient to use or having poor airtightness.

[0010] For example, in the case of silicone baby bottles, the cap member cannot be directly screwed onto the spout of the bottle due to the characteristics of the silicone itself. Therefore, a method of screwing the cap member onto a separate adapter attached to the silicone baby bottle or inserting a molded screw thread into the silicone baby bottle to screw the cap member onto the adapter has been mainly used. However, this method has problems such as the manufacturing process becoming more complicated and the manufacturing cost increasing as separate accessories are added in addition to the silicone baby bottle.

[0011] For reference, prior art technologies regarding the method of fastening the cap of a baby bottle, which can be considered a representative infant container, include Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0043262, Patent Registration No. 10-1894739, Utility Model Registration No. 20-046826, and Patent Registration No. 10-1328519.

[0012] Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0013] The purpose of this invention is to provide a container for infants that can be attached and detached more easily and quickly by one-touch fastening rather than screw fastening on a flexible container body, while maintaining airtightness after fastening so that the contents do not leak, and in particular, the cap does not come off from the container body unless an external force is arbitrarily applied to the cap through the engagement of the wave-shaped locking surface, making it more convenient and safe to use.

[0014] In order to achieve the above purpose, the infant container according to the present invention,

[0015] A container-shaped body made of a flexible material, comprising a shoulder portion connected inwardly from the upper outer surface of the side wall portion, and a neck portion connected upwardly from the inner end of the shoulder portion and having an upper opening;

[0016] Including a hard material cap member having a skirt part fastened to the outer surface of the above neck part,

[0017] The above container-shaped body includes fastening protrusions that protrude from the outer surface of the neck portion and have a bottom surface that is a downward slope, and an insertion groove formed between the fastening protrusions.

[0018] The above cap member includes a hook that protrudes from the inner surface of the skirt portion and is inserted into the insertion groove to be caught on the downward slope.

[0019] The lower ends of the shoulder portion and the skirt portion are characterized by being connected in a wave shape along the circumferential direction and configured as wave-shaped locking surfaces that are interlocked and tightly fitted to each other.

[0020] And in the infant container according to the present invention,

[0021] The above-mentioned stumbling block is characterized by being a rectangular protrusion inclined at an angle corresponding to the downward slope.

[0022] Also, in the infant container according to the present invention,

[0023] The above-mentioned fastening projection is characterized in that it has an upper surface formed in a horizontal direction and the upper and lower thicknesses are formed to gradually increase toward the locking direction, thereby forming the downward inclined surface.

[0024] In addition, in the infant container according to the present invention,

[0025] The above neck portion includes a fitting groove formed along the circumference of the neck portion while being concavely connected inwardly from the upper end of the above fastening projection,

[0026] The above cap member is characterized by including a support ring portion that protrudes from the inner circumference of the skirt portion and is fitted into the fitting groove.

[0027] The infant container according to the present invention is:

[0028] The cap member is fastened to the container-shaped body by the engagement of the fastening projection having a downward slope formed on the container-shaped body and the catch projection formed on the cap member, and the shoulder portion of the container-shaped body and the skirt portion of the cap member are interlocked with each other as a wave-shaped locking surface to prevent the cap member from loosening, thereby more firmly connecting the cap member made of a hard material to the container-shaped body made of a flexible material, and the locking and loosening of the cap member is possible through a one-touch rotation method with a shorter distance than the screw-joining method, thereby increasing the convenience of use.

[0029] In particular, after the cap member is combined, the wave-shaped locking surfaces are interlocked vertically to prevent the cap member from rotating, so that the cap member can remain locked without being released from the container-shaped body unless an external force is arbitrarily applied to the cap member.

[0030] By increasing the contact area of ​​the catch on the downward slope of the fastening projection, the connection of the cap member is maintained more stably.

[0031] The structure in which the thickness of the fastening protrusion gradually increases prevents deformation of the fastening protrusion that may occur due to the characteristics of flexible materials.

[0032] When the cap member is fastened, the neck of the container-shaped body is held by the support ring, thereby preventing the gap from occurring due to deformation of the container-shaped body or separation of the cap member.

[0033] It is especially effective in maximizing its utility as a baby bottle.

[0034] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a baby bottle among the containers for infants according to the present invention.

[0035] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main body of Figure 1.

[0036] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the main part of Fig. 1 showing only the cap member according to the present invention in cross section.

[0037] Figure 4 is a front view of Figure 3.

[0038] *Description of the main parts of the drawing*

[0039] 10: Container-shaped body 11: Side wall

[0040] 12: Shoulder 13: Neck

[0041] 14: Fastening protrusion 15: Insertion groove

[0042] 16: Fitting groove 20: Cap member

[0043] 21: Skirt part 22: Hook

[0044] 23: Top flange 24: Support ring

[0045] 131: First wave locking surface 141: Downward slope surface

[0046] 211: Second waveform locking surface

[0047] The present invention is susceptible to various modifications and may take various forms. Therefore, embodiments (or examples) are described in detail herein. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific publication form, and it should be understood that all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

[0048] In each drawing, the same reference signs, especially the tens and units digits, or the tens, units digits, and alphabets, indicate parts having the same or similar functions, and unless otherwise specified, the parts indicated by each reference sign in the drawing are understood to be parts that comply with these standards.

[0049] In addition, in each drawing, the components are expressed in an exaggerated (or thick) or simplified (or thin) size or thickness for convenience of understanding, but the scope of protection of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by this.

[0050] The terminology used herein is merely used to describe specific implementations (modes, aspects) (or examples) and is not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0051] In this application, terms such as “include” or “consist of” are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but should be understood as not excluding in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0052] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

[0053] The terms "first", "second", etc. described in this specification are only used to distinguish between different components, and are not limited to the manufacturing order, and their names may not be consistent in the detailed description of the invention and the claims.

[0054] For the convenience of describing the infant container according to the present invention, a rough, non-strict direction standard is specified with reference to FIG. 1. The direction in which gravity acts is downward, and the up, down, left, and right are determined as shown in the direction shown. In the detailed description of the invention and claims related to other drawings, the direction is specified and described according to this standard unless otherwise specifically stated.

[0055] Hereinafter, a container for infants according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0056] The present invention relates to a container for infants that can be used as a baby bottle, a baby food storage container, a drinking cup for straws, etc., and as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a baby bottle is shown as a representative example of a container for infants in the drawings of the present specification, but is not limited thereto, and if it has a form that can be applied by combining a cap member (20) having a stopper member such as silicone, such as a nipple (N, nipple), to a container-shaped body (10), or if it can be combined using a fastening protrusion (14) of a container-shaped body (10) and a catch protrusion (22) of a cap member (20) without a stopper member, it should be interpreted as being included in the interpretation of the rights of the present invention.

[0057] Referring to the drawing, the infant container, particularly the baby bottle, according to the present invention largely includes a container-shaped body (10) made of a flexible material such as silicone, and a cap member (20) made of a hard material such as plastic.

[0058] Specifically, the present invention

[0059] A flexible container-shaped body (10) made of a flexible material, comprising a shoulder portion (12) connected inwardly from the upper outer surface of a side wall portion (11), and a neck portion (13) connected upwardly from the inner end of the shoulder portion (12) and having an upper surface opening (131).

[0060] Including a hard material cap member (20) having a skirt member (21) fastened to the outer surface of the above neck member (13),

[0061] The above container-shaped body (10) includes fastening protrusions (14) that protrude from the outer surface of the neck portion (13) and have a bottom surface formed as a downward slope (141), and an insertion groove (15) formed between the fastening protrusions (14).

[0062] The above cap member (20) includes a catch (22) that protrudes from the inner surface of the skirt part (21) and is inserted into the insertion groove (15) to be caught on the downward slope (141).

[0063] The lower ends of the shoulder portion (12) and the skirt portion (21) are characterized by being configured with wave-shaped locking surfaces (hereinafter, described separately as the first wave-shaped locking surface (121) of the shoulder portion (12) and the second wave-shaped locking surface (211) of the skirt portion (21)) that are connected in a wave shape along the circumferential direction and are interlocked and tightly fitted to each other.

[0064] First, the above-mentioned container-shaped body (10) is formed of a flexible material such as silicone, and the lower end of the neck portion (13) is connected to the upper end of the side wall portion (11) with a concave step inward, so that the connection portion between the side wall portion (11) and the neck portion (13) is formed as a shoulder portion (12), particularly a first wave-shaped locking surface (121).

[0065] The inner and outer widths of the first waveform locking surface (121) are formed to correspond to the thickness of the skirt portion (21) (more precisely, the thickness of the second waveform locking surface (211)).

[0066] And the above-mentioned fastening protrusion (14) is a pseudo-rectangular protrusion that is arranged radially in the circumferential direction along the outer surface of the neck portion (13) and whose left-right thickness is wider than its upper-lower thickness, and in particular, has an upper surface formed in a horizontal direction and is formed such that the upper-lower thickness gradually increases toward the locking direction, thereby forming a pseudo-right-angled trapezoidal shape in which the downward slope (141) is formed.

[0067] These fastening projections (14) are formed so that both edges of the downward slope (141) are rounded to a predetermined R value for smooth connection with the above-mentioned hooking projections (22).

[0068] In addition, the above-mentioned fastening projection (14) is formed in a tapered shape with the outer surface of the fastening projection (14) curved downwardly outward so that the protruding thickness gradually increases from the top to the bottom, so that when the cap member (20) is coupled to the neck member (13), the fastening projection (14) fits more smoothly into the inside of the cap member (20) along the inner surface of the skirt member (21).

[0069] In the drawing, an embodiment in which a total of four fastening protrusions (14) are radially arranged is representatively illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0070] In addition, the above neck portion (13) includes a fitting groove (16) formed along the circumference of the neck portion (13) while being concavely connected inwardly from the upper end of the above fastening projection (14).

[0071] The above fitting groove (16) is thinly connected so that the vertical width is narrow, and the support ring (24) of the cap member (20) described later is forcibly fitted into the fitting groove (16), and the cap member (20) made of a hard material holds the fastening protrusion (14) of the neck member (13) made of a flexible material and the lower flange of the nipple (N), thereby preventing the cap member (20) from being separated due to deformation of the body-shaped container (10).

[0072] At this time, the upper end of the neck portion (13) forming the upper portion of the above-mentioned fitting groove (16) is formed in a shape that is satisfactorily tapered upward inward so that the outer surface thereof gradually decreases in thickness toward the upper end, thereby allowing the support ring portion (24) to be smoothly fitted.

[0073] Next, the above cap member (20) is molded from a hard material such as PPSU or PP.

[0074] As explained above, the drawing shows an embodiment in which the upper flange (23) forming the mounting hole (231) at the upper end of the skirt portion (21) as the cap member (20) for the bottle is bent inward, but the specific type or shape of the cap member such as the nipple (N) may vary depending on the type of container, and in some cases, only the cap member (20) may be connected alone without the cap member.

[0075] The cap member (20) is formed with a second wave-shaped locking surface (211) having a shape corresponding to the first wave-shaped locking surface (121) at the lower end of the skirt portion (21).

[0076] And the above-mentioned hooking protrusion (22) is a protrusion protruding from the inner surface of the skirt portion (21) to correspond to the above-mentioned fastening protrusion (14), and is configured as a rectangular protrusion that is extended with a left-right thickness wider than a top-bottom thickness to ensure smooth coupling and stable hooking with respect to the downwardly inclined surface (141) of the above-mentioned fastening protrusion (14), and in particular, as a rectangular protrusion inclined at an angle corresponding to the downwardly inclined surface (141).

[0077] These stumbling blocks (22) are formed so that their left-right length is shorter than the left-right width of the insertion groove (15).

[0078] In addition, the cap member (20) includes a support ring member (24) that protrudes from the inner circumferential surface of the skirt member (21) and is fitted into the fitting groove (16).

[0079] The above support ring part (24) protrudes in a ring shape from the upper portion of the catch (22) and has a vertical thickness corresponding to the vertical width of the fitting groove (16), so that when the cap member (20) is coupled, the support ring part (24) is fitted into the fitting groove (16).

[0080] Here, the lower flange (not shown) of the nipple (N) and the upper end of the neck portion (13) are pressed and fitted between the upper flange (23) and the support ring portion (24), and the fastening projection (14) is pressed and fitted between the support ring portion (24) and the catch (22), thereby supporting the section from the flexible solder portion (12) to the upper end of the neck portion (13) at three points, thereby preventing deformation of the relevant section and preventing deformation of the body-shaped container (for example, the shape of the neck portion (13) is distorted due to excessive pressing of the side wall portion (11), and this prevents the cap portion (20) from being unintentionally separated from the body-shaped container (10).

[0081] Describing the fastening process of infant containers of this configuration, especially baby bottles,

[0082] First, when the nipple (N) is mounted on the upper flange (23) of the cap member (20), and the catch (22) is fitted into the insertion groove (15), the lowest point of the second wave-shaped locking surface (211) formed on the skirt portion (21) and the vicinity of the highest point of the first wave-shaped inclined surface (121) forming the shoulder portion (12) are aligned vertically.

[0083] In this state, when the cap member (20) is rotated in a locking direction as if pressing it toward the container-shaped body (10), the cap member (20) is lowered with respect to the container-shaped body (10) as the catch (22) moves along the downward slope (141) of the fastening protrusion (14).

[0084] In this process, the second wave locking surface (211) of the cap member (20) goes down the first wave slope (121) of the shoulder portion (12) and the rotation of the cap member (20) is stopped as the lowest point of the second wave locking surface (211) is aligned with the lowest point of the first wave slope (121).

[0085] At this time, the above-mentioned catch (22) is stopped at a position that has passed the front end of the downward slope (141), and as the catch (22) is pressed downward due to the slope of the downward slope (141), the cap member (20) is pressed and joined as if tightened to the neck portion (13).

[0086] In this state, the first waveform slope (121) and the second waveform locking surface (211) are interlocked with each other to prevent rotation of the cap member (20), so that the cap member (20) is not released from the neck portion (13) and is maintained in a locked state.

[0087] In particular, the present invention is such that after the cap member (20) is joined, the container-shaped body (10) maintains its circular shape and the cap member (20) is held so as not to rotate by the engagement of the wave-shaped locking surfaces (121) (211), so that the cap member (20) does not come loose and remains in a joined state, enabling safe and convenient use.

[0088] That is, the above-mentioned fastening projection (14) presses the above-mentioned catch projection (22) downward to ensure that the cap member (20) is in close contact with the neck portion (13), and the above-mentioned wave-shaped locking surface (121)(211) prevents the tightened cap member (20) from rotating left and right, thereby locking the cap member (20) so that it does not come loose easily, and when the cap member (20) is released, the wave-shaped locking surface (121)(211) induces upward rotational movement of the cap member so that the cap member (20) is separated.

[0089] In addition, during the process of joining the cap member (20), the support ring part (24) passes over the tapered surface formed on the upper end of the neck part (13), and due to the characteristics of the flexible material, the support ring part (24) passes over while deforming the tapered surface portion of the neck part (13) inward, and is forcibly fitted into the fitting groove (16) and joined.

[0090] This support ring (24) holds the middle part of the neck part (13) at the height of the upper end of the neck part (13) from the shoulder part (12) to prevent the neck part (13) from being deformed by an external force while the cap member (20) is combined, thereby preventing loss of airtightness or unintentional forcible removal of the cap member (20).

[0091] When the cap member (20) is joined in this way, the lower flange (not shown) of the nipple (N) is first compressed and sealed between the upper flange (23) of the cap member (20) and the upper end of the neck (13), thereby ensuring the airtightness of the bottle.

[0092] At the same time, as the sealing of the support ring (24) forcibly fitted into the above-mentioned fitting groove (16) ensures additional airtightness, the gap between the container-shaped body (10) and the cap member (20) is double sealed, preventing external leakage of the contents.

[0093] In describing the present invention above, the container for infants has been mainly described with reference to the attached drawings, but the present invention can be modified, changed and substituted in various ways by those skilled in the art, and such modifications, changes and substitutions should be interpreted as falling within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A container-shaped body made of a flexible material, comprising a shoulder portion connected inwardly from the upper outer surface of the side wall portion, and a neck portion connected upwardly from the inner end of the shoulder portion and having an upper opening; Including a hard material cap member having a skirt part fastened to the outer surface of the above neck part, The above container-shaped body includes fastening protrusions that protrude from the outer surface of the neck portion and have a bottom surface that is a downward slope, and an insertion groove formed between the fastening protrusions. The above cap member includes a hook that protrudes from the inner surface of the skirt portion and is inserted into the insertion groove to be caught on the downward slope. A container for infants characterized in that the lower ends of the shoulder portion and the skirt portion are connected in a wave shape along the circumference and are configured as wave-shaped locking surfaces that are interlocked and tightly fitted to each other.

2. In paragraph 1, A container for infants, characterized in that the above-mentioned stud is a rectangular protrusion inclined at an angle corresponding to the downward slope.

3. In paragraph 1, A container for infants characterized in that the above fastening projection has an upper surface formed in a horizontal direction and the upper and lower thicknesses are formed to gradually increase toward the locking direction, thereby forming the downwardly inclined surface.

4. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 3, The above neck portion includes a fitting groove formed along the circumference of the neck portion while being concavely connected inwardly from the upper end of the above fastening projection, A container for infants, characterized in that the cap member includes a support ring portion that protrudes from the inner circumference of the skirt portion and is fitted into the fitting groove.

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