This invention relates to teats for feeding infants and small animals, and in particular, but not exclusively to teats for feeding new born calves, lambs or goats.
It is common for artificial feeding teats to be made from elastomers. These artificial teats will typically have a slit or slits made in the end of the teat. The slit is often made by cutting through the elastomeric material of the end of the teat. The slit or slits allow milk, a milk substitute, or other fluid to flow in a relatively controlled manner from the teat and into the mouth of an infant or young animal being fed. The slit or slits preferably open when the teat is squeezed by the infant or young animal's suckling or biting action, allowing the fluid to flow as they suckle.
Some teats have a one way valve between the teat and the fluid container which allows fluid to flow into the teat but closes under back pressure from in infants suckling or biting action to prevent the fluid flowing back into the container, thus forcing the fluid through the slit or slits and into the infants mouth when the infants biting or sucking action squeezes the teat.
Some teats have an internal web to control the amount that the slit opens and ensure a regulated flow of milk is delivered. Such teats are described in New Zealand patents 244008/250873. Such teats with only one slit are unidirectional in use, i.e. they should preferably be used with the length of the slit in line with the infants bite for the slit to open to allow fluid to flow, unless a one way valve is fitted to force fluid out through the slit as the teat is squeezed by the infants sucking or biting action.
Other teats have two or more slits in an X pattern or a Y pattern. These teats may be used with the slits in any orientation, however using such a teat with one or more slits in line with the infant's bite puts greater opening stress on the ends of the slit than when the infants bite is at a lesser angle to slit or slits.
Other teats can have one or more slits in the side wall of the teat that are aligned relative to the axis of the body of the teat.
The one thing that all such teats have in common is that the repeated opening and closing of the slit or slits as the infant bites repeatedly on the teat, causes the ends of the slit or slits to migrate outwards, allowing a greater flow of feed over time with repeated use. The increased flow of feed can cause discomfort and health problems in infants that are feeding too fast. Similarly, the slit in the web of a unidirectional teat with a single web will migrate along the length of the web, thus reducing the closing force applied to the slit.
Manufacturers use different techniques in an effort to stop, or at least slow down slit migration. One method is to mould stress relieving cavities into the teat and cut the slit between said cavities as described in NZ Patent 244008. Another method is to make the teat wall thicker immediately adjacent to the ends of the slit as in Patents JP2016140474A and U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,285A. Both of these methods provide short term relief only, even with the use of high tear strength elastomers.
What is needed is a better method of manufacturing teats or a better teat design that will help to maintain the forces that keep the slit closed in between suckling actions, and a better method of manufacturing teats or a better teat design that will help slow down or prevent tearing at the edges of the teat slits.
In this specification unless the contrary is expressly stated, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge; or known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a teat design that will at least go some way towards overcoming one or more of the above mentioned problems, or at least provide the public with a useful choice.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention may broadly be said to consist in an artificial teat for infants or young animals, the artificial teat being made of an elastomeric material and having a base end and a nipple end, the base end being configured to mate with a container or liquid supply, and the nipple end having one or more slits through which a liquid is able to flow when an infant or young animal is suckling, and wherein the artificial teat includes a body member in which the or each slit is cut or formed, and at least one slit assist member, the or each slit assist member being formed or made separate to the body member and being integrated into the body member.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is bonded to the body member.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is situated within the nipple end of the artificial teat.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is positioned in such a manner within the artificial teat that a part of the or each slit assist member is situated adjacent to an edge of the or each slit in the artificial teat.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is positioned in such a manner within the artificial teat that a part of the or each slit assist member lies substantially at right angles to an adjacent edge of the or each slit in the artificial teat.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is in the form of an elongate member.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is substantially dogbone shaped.
Optionally one or more of the slit assist members are in the form of an o-ring.
Preferably the or each o-ring shaped slit assist member encircles a slit of the artificial teat.
Optionally one or more o-ring shaped slit assist member includes a cap portion.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is configured to assist in keeping the or each slit closed.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is configured to assist by acting as a tear stopping device to slow down or stop the or each slit from tearing and increasing in size when in use.
Preferably the artificial teat is formed by overmolding the body member over the or each slit assist member.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is made from the same, or a similar, elastomeric material as the body member.
Preferably the or each slit assist member is pre-tensioned during the time that the body member is overmolded about the or each slit assist member.
In a second aspect, the invention may broadly be said to consist in a feeding apparatus incorporating at least one artificial teat substantially as specified herein.
Preferably the feeding apparatus includes at least one bottle, trough or milk supply apparatus.
In a third aspect, the invention may broadly be said to consist in a method of manufacturing an artificial teat substantially as specified herein wherein the method includes the steps of;
Preferably the method includes pre tensioning the or each slit assist member when installing it into the molding tooling and during the overmolding step.
The invention may also broadly be said to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more of the parts, elements or features, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents, such equivalents are incorporated herein as if they were individually set forth.
Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
With reference to
The artificial teat (11) is made of an elastomeric material and has a base end (13) and a nipple end (15). The base end (13) is configured to mate with a container or liquid supply, for example a calf feeding trough as noted above, or a milk supply apparatus, for example a computerised or electronic mixing milk supply apparatus. In this example, the nipple end (15) has a slit (17) through which a liquid such as milk is able to flow when a young animal is suckling from it. It can also be seen that the nipple end (15) is inverted, or is concave as opposed to a rounded or convex shape of many other teats.
The artificial teat (11) is made up primarily of a body member (19) in which the slit (17) or slits are cut or formed. Importantly, the artificial teat (11) also includes a slit assist member (21) which is integrated into the body member (19) and is situated within the nipple end (15) of the artificial teat (11). In this example, the slit assist member (21) is a part of a web (23) which spans between a left side (25) and a right side (27) of the artificial teat (11).
This first example of an artificial teat (11) is designed to be used with the slit (17) aligned with a biting motion of a child or young animal. That is, as the child or young animal closes its jaw during a suckling action, the ends of the slit (17) will be pushed together causing the slit (17) to open and to allow milk to pass. In this way, the child or young animal applies pressure to an upper wall (29) and a lower wall (31) of the body member (19) to cause milk to flow. The web (23) which spans between the left side (25) and the right side (27) of the body member (19) resists this action and causes the body member (19) to return to a round shaped when the suckling action is stopped. In this way the slit (17) is caused to close again, preventing milk draining into the baby or young animal's mouth in between suckling actions, or to prevent leakage if the teat is released.
This is where the slit assist member (21) comes into play. The slit assist member (21) is positioned and configured in such a way that is assists in keeping the slit (17) closed in between suckling actions. The slit assist member (21) performs this function in two ways; firstly, it can be pre-tensioned during manufacture of the artificial teat (11) and therefore provides an increased slit closing force over the material of the remainder of the web (23), and secondly, it helps to stop tearing at the edges of the slit (17).
Tearing at the edges of the slit (17), or slit creep, is common in artificial teats and results in the slit (17) becoming larger and a weakening of the web (23). The combination of these effects results in milk leakage though the slit (17) in between the baby or young animal's suckling actions, and too much milk flow through the slit (17) during suckling actions.
To achieve these two objectives, it is necessary to manufacture or form the slit assist member (21) separately to the manufacture of the body member (19), and then to attach or bond the slit assist member (21) to the body member (19) during the manufacture of the artificial teat (11). It is important to note that the slit assist member (21) is cured or vulcanised before it is placed within a mold to produce the body member (19).
To achieve the bonding between the slit assist member (21) and the body member (19), the artificial teat (11) is formed by overmolding the body member (19) over, or onto, the slit assist member (21). The slit assist member (21) is ideally made from the same, or a similar, elastomeric material as the body member (19) to allow successful bonding. The slit assist member (21) is ideally made from any elastomeric material that will bond with the unvulcanised or uncured elastomer used to make the body member (19).
The slit assist member (21) is optionally pre-tensioned during the time that the body member (19) is overmolded about the slit assist member (21). For example the slit assist member (21) can be stretched by 10% to 20% to provide a pre-tension in the slit assist member (21) when the artificial teat (11) is manufactured. The pre-tension can assist in holding the slit (17) closed in between suckling actions. The pre-tension can also help to keep the nipple end (15) of the body member (19) round, as the artificial teat (11) is subject to continued use and it ages.
In
To achieve the second objective, that of minimising slit edge tearing, the slit assist member (21) is situated so that a middle section of the slit assist member (21) is positioned adjacent to an inside edge of the slit (17), as can be seen in
In this location and orientation, the slit assist member (21) assists the slit (17) by acting as a tear stopping device to slow down or stop the slit (17) from tearing and increasing in size when in use. The slit (17) will inevitably tear and enlarge through the elastomer that forms the body member (19) but when the tear reaches the junction with the slit assist member lies (21) the tear will stop, at least for a time. Testing has shown that the life of an artificial teat (11) can be increased by incorporating the slit assist member (21).
The method of manufacturing the artificial teat (11) can be described as follows;
The method can optionally include pre tensioning the slit assist member (21) when installed it into the molding tooling and during the overmolding step.
With reference to
In addition to a slit assist member (53) situated within a web (55) of the teat (51), the teat (51) also includes two slightly shorter slit assist members (57) that are situated within the concave part (61) of a nipple end (63) of the teat (51). The two slit assist members (57) are situate with one at each end of a slit (65) in the nipple end (63).
In this way, tearing of the slit (63) at both ends of the slit, and at the base of the slit can be stopped by the slit assist members (53) and (57). The slit assist members (53) and (57) also perform a function of helping to keep the slit (65) closed and help to further minimise milk leakage.
With reference to
The o-ring shaped slit assist member (83) encircles a slit (85) of the artificial teat (81). In this way, the o-ring shaped slit assist member (83) is positioned well to help by applying pressure to keep the slit (85) closed when the teat (81) is not being suckled. In addition, the o-ring shaped slit assist member (83) is well positioned to act as a tear stopping device to significantly slow down the rate at which the slits tears and increases in size over time.
With reference to
In this example, the teat (111) includes a single slit assist member (117) which is in the form of an o-ring. As with the third example of an artificial teat (81) described herein, the slit assist member (117) encircles the slit (115), and carries out the same function as the o-ring (83) in the teat (81). As an alternative to an o-ring shaped slit assist member (117), a cylindrical shaped slit assist member (117) could be used.
With reference to
The teat (141) includes two slit assist members. A first slit assist member (149) is situated adjacent to a base end (151) of the slits (145) and is in the form of an o-ring. A second slit assist member (153) is situated adjacent to a tip end (155) of the slits (145) and is in the form of a cap, the cap having a bulbous edge portion (157). The bulbous edge portion (157) resembles an o-ring. It is thought prudent to form the second slit assist member (153) in the form of a cap over an o-ring shape to help the second slit assist member (153) to stay in place during the manufacture of the body member (147). During manufacture of the body member (147) by injection molding, the elastomer is injected at high speed and can dislodge the slit assist members if they are not held securely onto the mandrel (159).
The two slit assist member perform a similar function to the slit assist members of the other teat examples described herein in that they both provide tension to help keep the slits (145) closed, and they both act as tear stoppers to help slow down the tearing that inevitably occurs at the edges of the slits (145).
With reference to
The sixth example of an artificial teat (171) is made of an elastomeric material and has a base end (173) and a nipple end (175). The base end (173) is configured to mate with a container or liquid supply, and the nipple end (175) has a cross shaped slit (177) through which a liquid is able to flow when an infant or young animal is suckling.
The artificial teat (171) can also be said to comprise a tubular shaped body member (179), one end of which is open and forms the base end (173), and the opposite end of which is closed and forms the nipple end (175). It is the nipple end (175) of the body member (179) in which the cross shaped slit (177) is formed. And, with reference to
The slit assist member (181) is a part of the artificial teat (171) that is made or formed separate to the manufacture of the body member (179), and which is later integrated into the body member (179) when the body member (179) is injection molded. The slit assist member (181) is ideally made from the same, or a similar, elastomeric material as the body member (179). And the entire artificial teat (171) is formed by overmolding the body member (179) over the slit assist member (181) in such a manner that the slit assist member (181) becomes bonded to the body member (179).
The slit assist member (181) is situated within the nipple end of the artificial teat adjacent to a deepest edge of the slit (177) in the artificial teat (171). The slit assist member (181) is positioned in such a manner within the artificial teat (171) that a part of the slit assist member (181) lies substantially at right angles to the adjacent edge of the slit (177).
As can be seen in
In
The slit assist member (181) acts in two ways. Firstly, it is configured to assist the cross shaped web (183) in keeping the slit (177) closed. And secondly, the slit assist member (181) is configured to assist the slit (177) by acting as a tear stopping device to slow down or stop the edges of the slit (177) in the cross shaped web (183) from tearing and increasing in size during repeated usage.
To help the slit assist member (181) to achieve these two objectives, the slit assist member (181) is pre-tensioned during the time that the body member (179) is overmolded about the slit assist member (181).
With reference to
The seventh example of an artificial teat (201) is made of an elastomeric material and has base end (203) and a nipple end (205). The base end (203) is configured to mate with a container or liquid supply, and the nipple end (205) has three short and straight slits (207) through which a liquid, such as milk, is able to flow when an infant or young animal is suckling. The slits (207) are equally spaced in a substantially circular arrangement centred about a tip of the nipple end (205).
The artificial teat (201) can also be said to comprise a tubular shaped body member (209), one end of which is open and forms the base end (203), and the opposite end of which is closed and forms the nipple end (205). It is the nipple end (205) of the body member (209) in which the three short and straight slits (207) are formed. And, with reference to
The slit assist member (211) is a part of the artificial teat (201) that is made or formed separate to the manufacture of the body member (209), and is later integrated into the body member (209) when the body member (209) is formed by injection molding. The slit assist member (211) is ideally made from the same, or a similar, elastomeric material as the body member (209). And the entire artificial teat (201) is formed by overmolding the body member (209) over the slit assist member (211) in such a manner that the slit assist member (211) becomes bonded to the body member (209) is becomes an integral part of the artificial teat (201).
The slit assist member (211) is situated within the nipple end of the artificial teat adjacent to a deepest edge of each of the slits (207) in the artificial teat (201). The slit assist member (211) is positioned in such a manner within the artificial teat (201) that a part of the slit assist member (211) lies substantially at right angles to the adjacent edge of each of the slits (207).
As can be seen in
As with the earlier examples, the slit assist member (211) acts in two ways. Firstly, it is configured to assist the three intersecting webs (213) in keeping their respective slits (207) closed. And secondly, the slit assist member (211) is configured to assist each of the slits (207) by acting as a tear stopping device to slow down or stop the edges of the slits (207) that are situated in the web (213) from tearing and increasing in size during repeated usage.
To help the slit assist member (211) to achieve these two objectives, the slit assist member (211) is pre-tensioned during the time that the body member (209) is overmolded about the slit assist member (211).
Variations
Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.
Within the specification the term molding is used often. Teats are commonly made using injection molding techniques, or using compression or transfer presses. It is envisaged that the teats described herein could be manufactured using either method.
In the examples described herein the slits are generally formed by cutting the rubber of the teats after the rubber has cured. It is envisaged that the slits can also be formed in the teats during the curing process, by modifying the tooling appropriately to include a fine former for forming the slit.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise” and variations of that word, such as “comprises” and “comprising”, are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.
Thus it can be seen that at least the preferred form of the invention provides artificial teats which have the following advantages over prior art artificial teats;
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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757655 | Sep 2019 | NZ | national |
767633 | Sep 2020 | NZ | national |
This application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/NZ2020/050110 filed Sep. 25, 2020 which designated the U.S. and claims priority to NZ 757655 filed Sep. 27, 2019 and NZ 767633 filed Sep. 2, 2020, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/NZ2020/050110 | 9/25/2020 | WO |