The present invention relates to a steriliser and in particular a steam steriliser for sterilising baby feeding bottles, teats, soothers and the like.

Various known sterilising units exist all of which rely upon heating a reservoir of water in a covered chamber to produce the steam required for the sterilisation process. The water can be heated using an integral electrical heating element, or alternatively units exist that allow the water to be heated by placing the entire sterilising unit in a microwave oven. The items to be sterilised can be placed directly in the reservoir, or in a separate chamber which allows the ingress of steam. When the items have been subjected to steam for the required period of time, the user opens the unit and removes the sterilised items.

Various problems exist with known arrangements. Following sterilisation of the items, the user must remove the items by opening the lid of the unit. When the user has removed the sterilised items from the unit they must place them on, for example, a work surface so as to prepare the items prior to feeding. If the work surface has not previously been sterilised then the items may become contaminated therefore requiring re-sterilisation.

The invention is set out in the claims. The sterilising unit has a lid forming a work surface which will be inherently sterile after operation. Preferably, the lid has a double hinge, having two axes of rotation, allowing the lid to open so that it can be laid flat adjacent to the unit thereby providing the sterile work surface.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the following drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 shows a first perspective view of the sterilisation unit embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the sterilisation unit with the lid partially open, and

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the sterilisation unit with the lid completely open and functioning as a work top.

Referring now to Fig 1, the sterilising unit 10 according to the present invention includes a sterilising chamber 12 having a water reservoir 14. A perforated dividing floor 15, on which the articles to be sterilised are placed, divides the water reservoir 14 from the sterilising chamber 12. The sterilising unit 10 further includes a lid 13 which seals the sterilising chamber 12 when in use. The lid 13 is attached to the chamber 12 using a double hinge mechanism 16. The lid 13 portion may additionally include a clip type handle or handles to assist with opening the lid 13, which may also lock the lid 13 to prevent unwanted opening of the sterilising unit when in use. To relieve the build up of steam pressure in the chamber during use, the lid 13 may also include a safety valve (not shown) which opens at a predetermined pressure. Additionally, a rim 26 extends along the circumference of the inside face 24 of the lid.

The double hinge mechanism 16 comprises two hinges 18, 19, each hinge defining an axis of rotation. The first hinge 18, defining a first axis of rotation, allows the lid portion 13 to be placed and removed on the sterilising chamber 12, as indicated by the direction of arrow A in Fig. 2. That is, the lid portion 13 is free to move through at least 180 degrees about said first axis of rotation of the first hinge 18. The first hinge 18 is fixed on one side to the lid portion 13 at its extreme edge and a hinge connecting member 20 on its other side. The hinge connecting member 20 is further connected to a second hinge 19, which

is in turn fixed to the outside of the sterilisation chamber 12, approximately half way down its length. The second hinge 19, is parallel to the first hinge 18. The second hinge 19 is free to rotate about 180 degrees such that when this lid 13 is removed from the sterilising chamber 12, the lid 13 can be further rotated about the second hinge 19 so that it can be laid flat adjacent to the sterilising chamber 12, as shown in fig. 3. The first hinge 18 and connecting member 20 can further act as a locking mechanism by connecting with the a protruding rim 22 located on the side of sterilisation chamber.

In operation, the user fills the reservoir 14 with water and heats the sterilisation unit in the microwave so as to produce the steam required to complete the sterilisation process. When sterilisation is complete, usually several minutes after the water in the reservoir 14 has begun to boil, the sterilisation unit 10 is removed from the microwave using the handles. Referring to Fig.2, the lid 13 of the sterilisation unit 10 is then removed from the opening of the sterilisation chamber 12 by unclipping the handles upwards and rotating the lid 13, about the first hinge 18. In this way the lid 13 and handles act to shield the user from the escaping residual steam that has built up in the sterilisation chamber 12 during the sterilisation process. Moreover, by opening the lid 13 in this manner any condensed steam that has built up on the inside surface of the lid 13 will safely run away from the user along the rim into the sterilisation chamber 12.

As shown in Fig. 3, when the steam has safely escaped and the user wishes to remove the sterilised articles from the sterilisation chamber 12, the lid 13 is then lowered to the work surface by rotating the connecting member 20 through 180 degrees, about the second hinge 19, such that the lid 13 lies inside face 24 up adjacent to the sterilisation chamber 12. In this way, the internal surface of the lid 13, which has been subject to steam sterilisation, provides a sterile work surface on to which the sterilised articles can be placed.

In an alternative embodiment which does not require microwave heating of the water, the sterilisation unit 10 can include an electric heating element (not shown), similar to that used in a domestic kettle, placed in the reservoir 14. In use, the reservoir 14 is filled with water covering the heating element. The heating element, when connected to the electrical supply, heats the water which in turn provides the steam required to carry out sterilisation. An optional switch can be provided to turn the heating element on or off as required. An additional timer, or temperature sensor can be employed for switching the unit off automatically following sterilisation.

It will be appreciated that the sterilising unit can be formed of any appropriate material such as for example polypropylene PP or polycarbonate PC, and can be any appropriate shape, which allows placement of the bottles, teats etc. in the chamber. The sterilising unit can be formed by any appropriate process, such as injection moulding, compression moulding or two-shot moulding. The lid and hinges and chamber can be produced and assembled separately, or alternatively the can be moulded as a complete unit, providing thinned portions as "living" hinges to allow the necessary degree of rotation required to open, close and lower the lid.