FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an arrangement for mounting a teat on a feeding bottle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Teats are used together with bottles to provide liquid feed to infants. Typically, a teat is secured to a threaded upper end of a bottle using a screw ring that has a complimentary thread to engage the threaded upper end of the bottle. To attach the teat to the bottle, a torque is applied to the screw ring so that a flange on the teat is compressed between the upper end or lip of the bottle and a surface of the screw ring to provide a leak-proof seal. To remove the teat, a torque is applied to the screw ring in the opposite direction

In order to prevent leakage, a reasonably close fit is required between the screw ring and the upper end or lip of the bottle, so that the teat can provide a seal. However, the effectiveness of the seal can be diminished by variations in the dimensions of the screw ring and bottle due to manufacturing tolerances or from wear following repeated attaching and detaching of the teat to and from the bottle.

In addition, the provision of sealing between the screw ring and bottle may cause difficulties when using the bottle. For instance, if air can only enter the bottle through the teat, the volume of liquid discharged cannot be replaced during suction and a "vacuum" can build up. A user must then provide increasing suction, in order to continue drinking and/or interrupt suction, in order to allow air into the bottle to fill the volume previously occupied by discharged liquid. Moreover, if the bottle is used to feed a baby, the effects of vacuum might result in colic symptoms.

One solution to these problems is the provision of a teat having a skirt that provides a seal against the bottle that can flex when suction is applied in order to allow air to flow into the bottle and prevent vacuum build up. However, in order to provide both functions, the diameters of the teat and the bottle neck must be closely matched. For example, the tolerances should be within +/- 0.06mm. However, feeding bottles can be subjected to a wide variety of environmental conditions, as they may be heated or even boiled, placed in microwaves and so on. The tolerance requirement limits the materials from which such feeding bottles can be manufactured to those with high dimensional stability, such as polycarbonate (PC) or polyehtersulfone (PES). Many materials having appropriate dimensional stability may include constituents that consumers may consider undesirable, such as Bisphenol-A (BPA).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component for a feeding bottle comprising a ring-shaped portion configured to be positioned between a neck of the bottle and a skirt portion of a teat mounted on the bottle.

In this manner, the component can provide a seal between the neck and the teat and to protect the teat skirt from movement of liquid inside the bottle.

The component can be formed of a material having high dimensional stability for the conditions to which a feeding bottle is likely to be subjected. Therefore, as the teat can interface with the component, rather than the bottle neck, the component can retain the teat skirt in its required position and compensate for variations in the dimensions of the bottle neck. The provision of the component therefore increases the range of materials from which the bottle can be manufactured, as the dimensional stability requirements are less stringent than those for prior feeding bottles. The component may include a circumferential seal portion arranged to engage the neck of the bottle. For instance, in some embodiments, the ring-shaped portion may include formations for locating or retaining a sealing element.

The component may include a flange portion for mounting the teat.

In certain embodiments, the flange portion is arranged to provide an inlet for air to flow into the bottle when suction is applied to the teat. Such an arrangement may facilitate feeding by permitting air to flow into the bottle portion to reduce or prevent vacuum build up.

According to another aspect of the invention, a feeding bottle comprises a bottle having a neck, a teat and a component having a ring-shaped portion, wherein the ring- shaped portion is configured to be positioned between the neck and a skirt portion of the teat.

The component may include a circumferential seal arranged to engage the neck of the bottle.

The component may include a flange portion configured to co-operate with a channel formed in the skirt of the teat, for mounting the teat onto the bottle. The flange portion may be configured to provide an air inlet and channel may comprise a wall portion arranged to engage with the component when no suction is applied to the teat and to disengage with the component when suction is applied to the teat. For instance, the wall portion may be configured to disengage with the component by flexing resiliently when suction is applied. The disengagement can permit air to flow into the bottle during feeding, in order to reduce, or even avoid, problems associated with vacuum build-up.

The bottle may be formed from a BPA- free material, such as polypropylene.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 depicts a feeding bottle provided with a component according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the feeding bottle of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an exploded view of a component of the feeding bottle of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a neck portion of the feeding bottle of Fig. i;

Fig. 5 is another cross-sectional view of the neck portion of the feeding bottle of Figure 1; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the neck portion of a feeding bottle according to another embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a component of a feeding bottle according to yet another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1 and 2 depict a baby feeding bottle 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The baby feeding bottle 1 comprises a bottle portion 2, a teat 3, a screw ring 4 having an annular flange configured to fit over a skirt of the teat 3 and a cap 5.

The bottle 1 of Figure 1 also includes adaptor ring 6, which is configured to fit onto the neck of the bottle portion 2. In this particular embodiment, the ring portion includes a first circumferential portion 6a, which fits inside the neck of the bottle portion 2, and a second circumferential portion 6b, which provides a flange extending outwardly from the neck of the bottle portion 2 and fits into a channel formed by two walls 3 a, 3b in the skirt of the teat 3. The first and second circumferential portions are connected by a shoulder portion 6c.

The teat 3 is held between the screw ring 4 and the adaptor ring 6. The screw ring 4 includes a threaded portion that can co-operate with a threaded portion 2a of the neck of the bottle portion 2 to attach the screw ring 4 to the bottle portion 2, so that the teat 3 is removably retained on the bottle portion 2.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, in this particular embodiment, a resilient sealing element 7 is provided. The sealing element 7 has a circumferential section 7a and an annular flange 7b arranged to engage the neck and a rim of the bottle portion 2 respectively. When in place, the sealing element 7 is resiliently deformed to seal gaps between the adaptor ring 6 and the bottle neck. In this manner, the sealing element 7 can prevent leakage even if the diameters of one or more of the circumferential portion 6a, flange portion 6b and bottle neck vary. The sealing element 7 can also prevent a liquid inside the bottle 1 from reaching the wall 3 a of the teat skirt, for instance, when the bottle 1 is shaken or dropped. As the teat 3 interfaces with the adaptor ring 6, rather than the neck of the bottle 2, the effectiveness of the sealing provided in the feeding bottle 1 depends on maintaining the dimensions of the skirt of the teat 3 and the adaptor ring 6 within a given tolerance. Therefore, the dimensional stability requirements for the material used to form the bottle 2 are less stringent than in prior feeding bottles. Consequently, the provision of the adaptor ring 6 allows more freedom in the selection of the material used to form the bottle 2. For instance, the bottle can be formed from a material that is cheaper than the polycarbonate or PES materials previously used and/or from a material that has other advantages, such as being BP A- free. For instance, the bottle may be formed of polypropylene (PP).

In this embodiment, the adaptor ring 6 and sealing element 7 are formed separately, using different materials. For instance, the adaptor ring 6 may be formed from a hard plastic such as a glass filled polybutylene terephtalate (PBT), a polyamide such as Grilamid^™^ using, for example, an injection molding technique. Other examples of suitable materials for forming the adaptor ring 6 include polyarylamide (PAA, IXEF^™-*), polyethersulfone (PES), polyamide (PA) and polyphenylene oxide (PPO). The material of the adaptor ring 6 may be unfilled, glass-filled or mineral-filled. Meanwhile, the sealing element may be formed of a soft, deformable material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer or silicone. Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) is an example of a particular suitable material for the sealing element 7, as it has further advantages of good wear resistance, heat resistance, and does not take up colors from liquids easily. In addition, where the bottle 2 is formed from polypropylene, the use of a LSR sealing element 7 has the advantage of reduced sticking between the sealing element 7 and bottle neck, facilitating the insertion and removal of the adaptor ring 6 into and from the bottle 2. Other potentially suitable materials for the seal element 7 include TPU, PVC and rubber. The sealing element 7 can be over-molded on the adaptor ring 6, so the sealing element 7 and adaptor ring 6 are chemically or mechanically bonded together. Alternatively, the sealing element can be molded separately and then attached to the adaptor ring 6.

The adaptor ring 6 and the sealing element 7 include co-operating formations 6d, 7c for locating the sealing element 7 when mounted on the first circumferential portion 6a. In this example, the co-operating formations are lugs 6d provided on the first circumferential portion 6a of the adaptor ring 6 and corresponding recesses 7c provided on the circumferential section 7a of the sealing element 7. However, in other embodiments, lugs may be provided on the sealing element 7 for co-operation with recesses on the adaptor ring 6. Figure 5 depicts another cross-sectional view of the feeding bottle 1, showing a portion 2b of the neck of the bottle portion 2 in which the screw thread 2a is omitted and the teat 3 includes a protrusion, in the form of a ridge 3 c, which engages the flange of the adaptor ring 6, and one or more recesses 3d. For instance a teat 3 may comprise three recesses 3d at spaced locations around the circumference of the teat skirt. When suction is applied to the teat 3, the wall portion 3b flexes resiliently in the direction indicated by arrow A and disengages the shoulder portion 6c of the adaptor ring 6. As a result of this flexure, the ridge 3c moves away from the flange. The disengagement provides an airflow path as indicated by the dotted line, so that air can flow between the bottle portion 2 and screw ring 4, through the recess 3d and the gap created between the wall portion 3b and adaptor ring 6 and into the bottle portion 2. The volume of liquid discharged through the teat 3 is replaced by air entering the bottle portion 2 and vacuum build up can be avoided.

Figure 6 depicts a cross-sectional view of a feeding bottle 8 including an adaptor ring 9 according to another embodiment of the invention. In this particular embodiment, the ridge 3c covers an aperture 9a in the flange of an adaptor ring 9. When suction is applied to the teat 3, the wall portion 3b flexes and the ridge 3c moves away from the flange of the second circumferential portion 9b, allowing air to flow between the bottle portion 2 and screw ring 4, through the aperture 9a, in the gap created between the wall portion 3b and adaptor ring 9 and into the bottle portion 2. While Figure 6 depicts a ridge 3 c arranged to cover an aperture 9a, in other embodiments, the ridge 3 c may be provided elsewhere on the wall portion, for example, to engage the flange below the aperture 9a and to disengage the flange when suction is applied in order to allow the passage of air. Although the teats 3 shown in Figures 5 and 6 include a ridge portion 3 c, in other embodiments of the invention, the ridge 3 c may be omitted and an airflow path may be opened and closed by engagement and disengagement between all or part of the wall portion 3b and the flange of the adaptor ring 6, 9 and/or the shoulder portion 6c, 9c of the adaptor ring 6, 9. In yet another embodiment, one or more cut-out portions may be provided in the tip of the flange of the second circumferential portion of the adaptor ring, in place of an aperture. For example, Figure 7 depicts an adaptor ring 10 according to yet another embodiment of the invention, in which three such cut-out portions 10a, 10b, 10c are provided in the flange of its second circumferential portion 1Od. In such an arrangement, that the tip of the flange does not continuously engage the base of the channel in the teat skirt, thereby providing one or more air inlets for an airflow path into a bottle. The adaptor ring 10 can be used in the same manners as the adaptor ring 9 of Figure 6.

Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be made to the above exemplary embodiments that lie within the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.