The present invention is directed to a beverage bottle cap for child use.
Infants typically consume beverages from either baby bottles. Baby bottles are well known products and include a wide mouth bottle container and a nipple covering the mouth of the bottle which delivers a beverage to an infant nursing from the bottle. The nipple is secured to the mouth of the bottle by a baby bottle collar which is a rigid plastic piece that is threaded onto a mating threaded portion of the mouth of the bottle.
Small children, such as toddlers, typically use sipper cups when learning to drink beverages from normal cups. Sipper cups are also well known products and include a cup and a removable lid. The lid has a mouth portion with an opening for delivering a beverage to an infant nursing from the sipper cup. The lid is removed to fill the cup with a beverage. The cup and lid are made of rigid plastic material and are secured together by a snap fit.
The size of the lid of the sipper cup is specific to the size of the cup. The lid is therefore not interchangeable for use with other different sized cups. The nipple and collar of the baby bottle is specifically threaded for use with the bottle portion and is not interchangeable with other bottles.
It is known to adapt commercially available conventional beverage bottles, such as a spring water bottle shown in
A cap for a beverage bottle includes a passage through which beverage in the bottle may flow from the bottle. A first portion surrounds the passage and is engageable with the lips of a child adapted to consume the beverage that flows through the passage. A second portion clamping engages the beverage bottle to hold the cap on the bottle. The cap is made of an elastic material and the second portion stretches to clamping engage the beverage bottle. A manually engageable pull tab is for pulling the second portion onto the bottle while the second portion stretches.
The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
As representative of the present invention,
A first portion 24 of the cap 12 surrounds the passage 22 and is engageable with the lips of an infant who consumes the beverage that flows through the passage from the bottle 14. The first portion 24 of the cap 12 is a nipple-like structure.
The first portion 24 has a bulbous terminal end 26 with a small opening in the tip (not shown) and a frustum portion 28 adjacent the terminal end. A plurality of ribs 30 are located intermediate the terminal end 26 and the frustum portion 28. The ribs 30 define a region of smaller diameter than the terminal end 26 and the frustum portion 28 which helps to isolate the terminal end relative to the frustum portion. The ribs 30 provide an area for the infant's lips to engage to help the first portion 24 of the cap 12 conform to the shape of the infant's mouth.
The outer surface 32 of the first portion 24, on the terminal end 26 and the frustum portion 28, has a raspberry effect. The raspberry effect is a rough surface texture with bumps having a rounded end. The raspberry effect simulates the surface texture of a human nipple. Alternatively, in another embodiment (not shown) the outer surface 32 of the first portion 24 can be smooth.
The cap 12 includes a stretchable second portion 34 which clamping engages the beverage bottle 14 to hold the cap 12 on the bottle 14. The second portion 34 is circular in cross section and includes a stop shelf 36 on an inner surface 38 of the second portion 34 at a location immediately adjacent the frustum portion 28. The stop shelf 36 is a protrusion extending around the entire circumference of the second portion 34 in a direction perpendicularly away from the inner surface 38 of the second portion 34. At the location of the stop shelf 36, the diameter of the second portion 34 is abruptly reduced.
In operation, the second portion 34 of the cap 12 is stretched over a threaded portion (
The cap 12 includes two manually engageable pull tabs 40, 42 with rounded edges. The function of the pull tabs 40, 42 is to pull the second portion onto and off of the mouth of the beverage bottle 14 while the second portion 34 stretches. Alternatively, the cap 12 may have less than or more than two pull tabs in another embodiment (not shown). The pull tabs 40, 42 extend from the bottom edge 44 of the outer surface 46 of the second portion 34 in a downward diagonal direction when viewed in
The cap 12a is a preformed, one piece unitary structure constructed from a soft elastic material such as rubber, latex or silicone. No portion of the cap 12a is hard or rigid. The cap 12a is washable and reusable. The cap 12a includes an axially extending passage 22a (
The first portion 24a of the cap 12a has a oblong terminal end 26a (
The tip 56 of the terminal end 26a of the cap 12a has an approximately oval shape when viewed in
Although three apertures are shown in the opening 62 of the cap 12a, the number of apertures may be less than or more than three in another embodiment. In addition, although the tip 56 of the terminal end 26a of the cap 12a has been described as having an approximately oval shape when viewed in
The first portion 26a includes a bellows 48 region (
The cap 12 includes a stretchable second portion 34a which clamping engages the beverage bottle 14 to hold the cap 12a on the bottle 14 (
In operation, as illustrated in
The cap 12a includes two manually engageable pull tabs 40a, 42a with rounded edges (
The cap 12 and 12a advantageously adapts a conventional beverage bottle, such as a spring water bottle, regardless of specific brand name, for use by a infant/child. It should be understood that instead of a spring water bottle, the beverage bottle may be any other type of beverage suitable for infant/child consumption such as a juice bottle.
The cap 12, 12a eliminates the need for caregivers of children/infants to carry separate conventional sipper cups or conventional baby bottles in order to provide a beverage for the infant/child to consume. The cap 12 and 12a is convenient for caregivers of infants/children who purchase conventional bottled beverages while outside the home such as at an amusement park or shopping mall to adapt the bottled beverage for consumption by the infant/child.
From the above description of the invention, those skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and modifications. Such improvements, changes and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be covered by the appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050082301 A1 | Apr 2005 | US |