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Title:
APPARATUS FOR FEEDING-BOTTLES
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2007/046751
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention relates to an apparatus (2) for storage, carriage and cleaning of feeding-bottles (12) and/or accessories to feeding-bottles, comprising a base portion (4) having a plurality of through openings (6) , that said base portion (4) has at least a recess (8) that is adapted for releasable engagement with a neck portion (10) of a feeding-bottle (12) and/or a holder (14) for supporting an accessory to a feeding-bottle.

Inventors:
BIOLCATI JONAS (SE)
Application Number:
PCT/SE2006/001189
Publication Date:
April 26, 2007
Filing Date:
October 19, 2006
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
BIOLCATI JONAS (SE)
International Classes:
A61J9/00; A47L15/50
Foreign References:
US20050178412A12005-08-18
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
GRIP, Joakim et al. (Box 17704, Stockholm, SE)
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Claims:

o

Claims

1. An apparatus (2) for storage, carriage and cleaning of feeding-bottles (12) and/or accessories to feeding-bottles, comprising a base portion (4) having a plurality of through openings (6), characterised in that said base portion (4) has at least a recess (8) that is adapted for releasable engagement with a neck portion (10) of a feeding-bottle (12) and/or a holder (14) for supporting an accessory to a feeding-bottle. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that said recess (8) comprise threads (26) adapted for threaded engagement with a threaded neck portion (10) of the feeding-bottle (12) or the holder (14) .

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterised in that said threads (26) in the recess (8) comprises a plurality of apertures such that channels are formed for drainage of liquid in the threads.

4. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said recess (8) is provided with a diverging cone-shaped member (30) that is arranged to protrude from the underside (28) of the base portion (4).

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterised in that the base portion (4) comprises supporting legs (32) intended to be placed in contact towards a ground.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterised in that the supporting legs (32) has a longitudinal extension (Ll) that is longer than the longitudinal extension (L2) of the cone-shaped members (30), such that a free outer end surface of the cone-shaped members are arranged with a gap and adjacent to a ground when the supporting legs (32) are resting in contact towards the ground.

7. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the holder (14) is formed as a longitudinal body (16) and comprises attachments (20) for releasable attachment of nipples and holders for nipples to feeding-bottles.

8. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the apparatus comprise substantially vertically arranged side surfaces (7, 36) extending around the base portion (4). 9. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterised in that a handle (13, 38) is arranged to the side surfaces (7, 36) .

10. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a lid (40).

Description:

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING-BOTTLES

Technical field

The present invention relates to an apparatus for storage, carriage and cleaning of feeding-bottles and/or accessories to feeding-bottles.

Background

A large number of parents of small children and children' s nurses have experienced that it is difficult to keep feeding-bottles and its accessories, such as nipples/teats and retainers for nipples, in order, and to always have a cleaned feeding-bottle available. Cleaning of feeding-bottles is a problem in itself. It can be difficult by hand-washing to attain required demands of disinfection, and consequently cleaning is usually carried out in dish-washer. In a dish washing machine, there is no obvious position for placement of the feeding-bottles or its accessories, so each one is obliged, to his/her best ability, to try to arrange the feeding-bottles and the accessories such that they hopefully becomes carefully rinsed on the inside and externally during the washing, and also that they are kept in place during the washing process . A further problem is storage and carriage of feeding-bottles and accessories. It is not unusual to have four to five feeding-bottles, or even more, in circulation for one child. Obviously, from a viewpoint of organisation, it becomes complicated and difficult to keep a satisfactory degree of purity for all parts, in particular on excursions and travelling away from home. Separate feeding-bottles and accessories, in e.g. a bag, may result in an increased risk for contamination. A lot of people choose to screw down a cleaned nipple and a

retainer for a nipple together on the feeding-bottle immediately after cleaning. If the parts are not completely dry, but some damp is still left, there is an increased risk for bactericide growth inside the bottle, since the interior of the bottle is closed from the ambient air. Moreover, it is irritating from a practical viewpoint to have a plurality of loose parts, in particular if feeding-bottles of different designs or products are used. By US 2004/0060837 Al is previously known a container for cleaning, storage and carriage of bottle- brushes that are used for cleaning of feeding-bottles and its associated nipples.

US-A-4, 830,200 describes a basket for a dish washing machine intended for cleaning of parts to feeding- bottles, where retainers for nipples and lids are placed loosely within the basket, and where nipples to the bottles are fastened between the longitudinal threads of the basket, in the basket's cover.

Description of the Invention One object with the present invention is to provide an apparatus that at least in part eliminates those drawbacks that are associated with apparatuses according to the state of the art. One object is further to achieve an apparatus that guarantees efficient cleaning of feeding-bottles and/or its accessories and that easily can be brought along during transportation and carriage, and at the same time reduces the risk for recontamination to a minimum. Yet an object is to provide an apparatus for storage, carriage and cleaning of feeding-bottles and/or accessories to feeding-bottles that requires little space, results in favourable ergonomics, that is adaptable, easy to use and that can be produced to a low cost.

This object is achieved with an apparatus for storage, carriage and cleaning of feeding-bottles and/or accessories to feeding-bottles according to the present invention as defined in claim 1, which comprises a base portion having a plurality of through openings . The apparatus is characterised in that said base portion has at least a recess that is adapted for releasable engagement with a neck portion of a feeding-bottle and/or a holder for supporting an accessory to a feeding-bottle. An advantage with this solution according to the present invention is that the feeding-bottles can be fixedly arranged up-and-down in the apparatus, which considerably improves the internal cleaning of the bottles during washing in machine. Yet an advantage that can be provided for, with the apparatus, is that accessories to the feeding-bottle, such as nipples and retainers for nipples, can be releasable hold on a holder designated for the accessories, which also can be fixed in said recess, such that these accessories can be effectively cleaned and held during washing in machine. Furthermore, the apparatus provides for that feeding-bottles and its accessories are not loosely placed in the apparatus during carriage and storage of the pieces of equipment, whereby the risk for recontamination is reduced to a minimum. Additionally, the risk for bactericidal growth, due to entrapped damp inside the feeding-bottles, is reduced with the apparatus.

Further advantages and features according to embodiments of the invention are evident from the claims, and also in the following description of the embodiments.

Description of the drawings

The present invention will now be described in embodiments in greater detail, with reference to the accompanying

drawings, without limiting the interpretation of the invention thereto, where

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 shows a feeding-bottle of a known kind and a holder according to an embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 3 shows the apparatus in a perspective view, in an oblique view from above, according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, with a feeding-bottle and a holder arranged therein,

Fig. 4 shows the apparatus according to fig. 3 in a view straight from the side, and

Fig. 5 shows the apparatus, provided with a cover, according to figs. 3-4, in a perspective view seen in an oblique view from above.

Detailed description of embodiments

Corresponding features between different embodiments shown in fig. 1 to fig. 5 are represented by the same reference numbers and therefore repeated description of such similar features is omitted.

Fig. 1 shows an apparatus for storage, carriage and cleaning of feeding-bottles and/or accessories to feeding-bottles according to an embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 2, that also can be designated as container, box, basket or the similar, comprises a substantially flat base portion 4, essentially extending in a horizontally propagation plane, that has a plurality of through openings 6, such as a grid or mesh-like layer, such that water or cleaning liquid should be able to circulate freely around the feeding-bottles and its accessories during cleaning in a machine, e.g. in a dishwasher or in a microwave oven. Side surfaces 7 can be

arranged in a vertical direction around the base portion 4, which has substantially a square shape in this embodiment. The base portion 4 according to the shown embodiment has four recesses 8 that each is adapted for releasable engagement with a neck portion of a feeding- bottle, suitably adapted for engagement with a neck portion 10 of a feeding-bottle 12 of commonly known kind as illustrated in fig. 2. A handle can be arranged to the side surfaces 7 or to the base portion 4. The recesses 8 are also adapted for releasable engagement of a particularly developed holder 14, according to the present invention, that is also illustrated in the fig. 2, for carrying and keeping an accessory such as a nipple or a retainer for a nipple (not shown) to a feeding-bottle. The holder 14 is formed as a longitudinal body 16 that is arranged to a base fastener 18 intended for releasable engagement with a recess 8 in the base portion 4. The longitudinal body 16 comprises attachments 20 for releasable attachment of nipples and holders for nipples to feeding-bottles. Said attachments 20 can suitably be formed as slits 22 in the longitudinal body 16. The body can be produced of a plastic material that is relatively rigid and firm, but nevertheless has such resilience that the body 16 at the slits 22 allows that an accessory, such as a nipple or a retainer for a nipple, can be introduced and fastened in the slit 22. As is evident in fig. 2, the feeding-bottle 12 at the neck portion 10 is provided with male threads 24. The base fastener 18 of the holder 14 is also provided with male threads 24. Said recesses 8 in the base portion on the apparatus may, as evident form fig. 1, comprise female threads 26 that are adapted for threaded engagement with the male threads 24 on the neck portion 10 the feeding- bottle 12 or the holder 14. However, other engagement

connections between feeding-bottles 12 and holders 10, respectively, to the recesses 8 in the base portion 4 are possible, such as for example bayonet coupling, clamp engagement or snap-fitting. In the case with the design of the recesses 8 having said threads 26 in the recesses, these can comprise a plurality of apertures (not shown) , also denoted draining hole, such that channels are formed for drainage of liquid and dirt that can be accumulated in the threads. In that respect, the recesses 8 can be provided with vertical slots (not shown) or alternatively through holes that extends in vertical direction through the windings of the threads 26.

In figs. 3-5 are shown an alternative embodiment of the apparatus 2, where the respective recesses on the underside 28 of the base portion 4 can be provided with a diverging, funnel-like, cone-shaped member 30 that is arranged to protrude from the underside 28 of the base portion in direction towards a ground. In contrast to the embodiment according to fig. 1, the base portion 4 shown in figs. 3-5 has rounded corners 31. The cone-shaped members 30 contribute to provide a maximal intake of water into the feeding-bottles during cleaning in machine. The base portion 4 may also comprise supporting legs 32, suitably rubber feet, intended to be placed in contact towards a ground, which results in that the apparatus can be arranged relatively steadily on a ground without sliding. The supporting legs 32 has suitably a longitudinal extension Ll that is longer than the longitudinal extension L2 of the cone-shaped members 30, such that a free outer end surface 34 of the cone-shaped members 30 is arranged with a gap and adjacent to a ground when the supporting legs 32 are resting in contact towards the ground, which above all facilitates the disinfection

of the feeding-bottles during cleaning in microwave oven when the apparatus is placed with the supporting legs on a plate with water or in a water-bath in e.g. a saucepan.

Furthermore, the apparatus 2 can comprise substantially vertical arranged side surfaces 36 extending around the base portion 4. A handle 38 can be arranged to the side surfaces 36. The apparatus may also comprise a lid 40, that suitably has a through excision 42 in the upper surface 44 for projection of the handle 38 through the lid 40.