1432798 Nursing bottles A YAMAUCHI 5 June 1973 26837/73 Heading A5X A nipple 3, Fig. 1, for a nursing bottle 1 has a sucking end portion 7, Fig. 2, with a sucking hole 10 which acts as a non-return valve cut in a locally thickened region adjacent the nozzle extremity, a flange 15 formed for engaging the mouth portion 5 of the bottle, and at least one air valve 18, said valve including a stepped cavity, the outer portion of which is wider than the inner portion. The bottle 1 is generally cylindrical in shape and is made of transparent plastics. The mouth 5 is circular and slightly smaller in diameter than the body, and has an external thread 6. The nipple 3 is transparent and pliant, and the end 7 is bulbous. The nipple has a funnel-shaped intermediate portion 8, and a bottle-mouth-co-operating portion 9. In the centre of the nipple end 7 is located the sucking hole 10. Above the hole (11a) or (11b) Fig. 4 (not shown) is a dome-shaped membrane portion (12a) Fig. 4, cross-cut radially with respect to the direction of flow. The flange 15 co-operates with the bottle mouth 5, and a ring 4, inwardly flanged, co-operates with flange 15 so that when the ring is screwed on the bottle the nipple will be tightly sealed to the bottle. The air-valve 18 comprises a cavity 19 and a U-section memibrane portion (20) Fig. 5 (not shown) and is cut radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of hole 19. Both the nipple end and the air-vavle may have X- shaped, Y-shaped or linear cuts in their respective membranes. To protect the membrane (20) an annular rib 21 is formed beneath flange 15 extending beyond membrane (20). When the bottle is not in use, the nipple 3 is removed and reversed, with the nose 7 in the bottle, held in place by the ring 4, and covered by lid (23) Fig. 6 (not shown). For short periods the nipple cover 25 is placed over the nipple to keep it clean. In operation, the hole 10 opens in proportion to the suction applied. As the fluid is sucked out, air is drawn in through the air-valve 18, the amount of air matching the outflow of the fluid. When feeding stops, the hole 10 and the valve 18 close simultaneously.
展开▼
