Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6305562
-
Patent Number
6,305,562
-
Date Filed
Friday, August 9, 199628 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, October 23, 200122 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 215 111
- 215 114
- 215 115
- 215 384
-
International Classifications
-
-
Disclaimer
Terminal disclaimer
Abstract
Nursing bottle providing improved ease of gripping during use has a first depression in its front surface for receiving an infant's fingers and a second depression on its back surface for receiving an infant's thumbs. Preferably, the first and second depressions are displaced longitudinally with respect to one another.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a baby bottle from which an infant may drink a liquid such as milk, juice or water. More particularly, the present invention relates to a baby bottle which provides improved ease of gripping during use. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a baby bottle comprising a depression on the front side thereof for receiving an infant's fingers during use and a depression on the rear side thereof for receiving an infant's thumbs during use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional nursing bottles are usually of a substantially cylindrical configuration in which the bottle and the attached nipple have a common longitudinal axis. These types of bottles are generally referred to as straight nursing bottles and have deficiencies in that the base of the bottle must be tipped increasingly upwardly as the contents of the bottle are consumed in order to keep the nursing fluid available to the opening in the nipple. Tipping the bottle upward results in tipping the infant's head back or inclining the infant in a more supine position in order to facilitate feeding. Such positioning of the infant during feeding is not recommended by pediatricians due to the possibility of fluid entering the Eustachian tube and possibly contributing to inner ear infections.
Angled bottles were developed to facilitate feeding without the need to incline the infant or for the infant to tilt his or her head back. See, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,676,387 to Stephenson and 4,832,213 to Sharon. These bottle designs aid in keeping the nipple opening contiguous with the fluid inside the bottle while mitigating the need to tilt the bottle. These designs are deficient in instances where the infant holds the bottle for himself or herself since they lack a grippable area which is suitable for an infant's hands.
Grippability was incorporated in an angled bottle as shown in Dansfield, U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,325. This bottle is toroidal in shape with grippable sides. The design is intended to produce a highly stable bottle when placed on its side and also to provide a large surface area for rapidly warming the contents. This bottle is deficient in that the means of gripping is not ergonomically acceptable for a self-feeding infant (the wrists would be bent in an unnatural position) and cleaning of the bottle would be extremely difficult.
Straight bottles which are more easily gripped by self-feeding infants are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,570,808 to Campbell and 4,813,556 to Lawrence. The Campbell patent discloses a bottle which has a grippable area for the infant's hands; however, the bottle's straight design requires tipping of the bottle to fully deliver its contents. The Lawrence patent discloses a bottle which has a bellows-shaped top near the open end and a pair of opposing recesses which form portions of the body surface into a pair of handles to facilitate gripping during self-feeding. The purpose of the bellows is to remove air from the container since this section of the bottle is collapsible. This bottle is deficient in that the pair of recesses therein are not ergonomically positioned so as to allow the infant to place his or her thumbs in a natural position during feeding.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an infant's feeding bottle, which may be either of the “straight” type or the “angled” type, having a pair of indentations or depressions therein. The first of these indentations or depressions is located on the front of the bottle and is adapted to receive one or more of an infant's finger when the bottle is in use. The second indentation or depression is located on the back of the bottle generally opposite the location of the first indentation and is adapted to receive at least one of the infant's thumbs while the bottle is being used. The indentations are preferably located closer to the open end of the feeding bottle than to its closed end so as to make it easier for the infant to manipulate the bottle during use.
In addition to defining a first region in the bottle for receiving one or more of the infants fingers and a second region for receiving one or both of the infant's thumbs, the pair of opposed indentations or depressions reduce, in the vicinity of their location, the volume of the bottle available for containing fluids. The depressions accordingly aid in keeping small amounts of fluid available to the opening in the affixed nipple when the bottle is being used.
Preferably, the indentation which is adapted to receive one or more of the infant's fingers is of sufficient size so as to be able to receive several of the infant's fingers. More preferably, the finger receiving indentation is of a size sufficient to receive all eight of the infant's fingers. Similarly, the second, or thumb receiving, indentation is of a size sufficient to accommodate at least one of the infant's thumbs. Preferably, the second indentation is of a size sufficient to receive both of the infant's thumbs. It will be understood that each of the first and second indentations in the bottle of the invention may be sized for different ages or different age ranges. For example, the first and second indentations provided in a feeding bottle intended for use by an infant whose age is 6 months will be smaller than the respective indentations provided in a bottle intended for use by an infant whose age is one year.
In another aspect of the invention, the first and second indentations or depressions are displaced longitudinally with respect to each other. Preferably, the first indentation, i.e. the finger receiving indentation, is positioned further from the open end of the bottle than the second indentation, i.e. the thumb receiving indentation, so as to accommodate the anatomical configuration and positioning of the infant's hands during use of the bottle. This placement of the first and second indentations in the feeding bottle of the present invention allow the infant's arms and hands to assume a natural and comfortable position during use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of an embodiment of a nursing bottle according to the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of the nursing bottle of
FIG. 1
being used by an infant, the infant's right hand and mouth being shown in phantom;
FIG. 3
is a cross-sectional view of the bottle of
FIG. 1
taken along line
3
—
3
of
FIG. 2
, said bottle being illustrated in the fashion in which it might be held in the hands of an infant during use;
FIG. 4
is a front elevational view of the bottle of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4A
is a cross-sectional view taken along line
4
A—
4
A of
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 4B
is a cross-sectional view taken along line
4
B—
4
B of
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 5
is a rear elevational view of the bottle of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 5A
is a cross-sectional view taken along line
5
A—
5
A of
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 5B
is a cross-sectional view taken along line
5
B—
5
B of
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 6
is a left side elevational view of the bottle of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 7
is a right side elevational view of the bottle of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 7A
is a cross-sectional view taken along line
7
A—
7
A of
FIG. 7
;
FIG. 7B
is a cross-sectional view taken along line
7
B—
7
B of
FIG. 7
;
FIG. 8
is a cross-sectional view taken along line
8
—
8
of
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 9
is a longitudinal section taken along line
9
—
9
of
FIG. 6
;
FIG. 10
is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG.
8
and showing a unique plane ABCD passing through the intersecting longitudinal axes of the upper and lower portions of the bottle of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 11
is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG.
9
and showing a unique plane KLMN passing through the longitudinal axis of the body portion of the bottle and forming an angle of 90° with plane ABCD;
FIG. 12
is a perspective view showing the intersection of plane ABCD with plane KLMN to form an angle of 9°;
FIG. 12A
is a cross-section taken along line
12
A—
12
A of
FIG. 12
;
FIG. 13
is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein the bottle is in the form of a straight cylinder and has no angled portions;
FIG. 14
is a front elevational view of the bottle of
FIG. 13
;
FIG. 14A
is a cross-section taken along line
14
A—
14
A of
FIG. 14
;
FIG. 15
is a rear elevational view of the bottle of
FIG. 13
; and
FIG. 16
is a cross-section taken along line
16
—
16
of FIG.
14
.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to
FIGS. 1-12
of the appended drawings, there is shown one preferred embodiment of a feeding bottle in accordance with the present invention. Feeding bottle
20
, together with nipple
70
and retaining collar
80
, constitute, when the nipple/collar assembly
90
is secured to the open end of the bottle, a feeding bottle system
100
which can be used to feed liquids to an infant. It will be understood that retaining collar
80
includes interiorly located threads, which threads, however, are not illustrated in the drawings.
As seen in the drawings, bottle
20
is hollow and comprises a lower, or body, portion
30
; an intermediate, or neck, portion
40
; and an upper, or head, portion
50
.
Bottle
20
comprises a front surface
22
which is most clearly seen in
FIG. 4
of the drawings, and a rear or back surface
24
, which is most clearly seen in FIG.
5
. The bottle further includes a first, or left, side
26
which is seen in
FIG. 6 and a
second, or right, side
28
which is seen in FIG.
7
.
Body portion
30
has a closed end
32
which constitutes the lowermost, closed end of bottle
20
. As can be seen in
FIG. 8
, closed end
32
is slightly inwardly recessed.
Head portion
50
terminates at its upper end in a circular portion
53
which carries male threads
54
which are adapted to receive the aforementioned interiorly located threads of collar
80
in mating relationship. Head portion
50
further includes an open end
52
which constitutes the uppermost, open end of bottle
20
. Head portion
50
terminates at its lower end in a region
300
that is above and abuts the depressions
60
,
62
.
Referring particularly to
FIG. 8
, it will be understood that body portion
30
has a longitudinal axis
36
which can be extended beyond the outer surface of bottle
20
as indicated by dot-and-dash line
36
a
at the bottom of the bottle and by dot-and-dash line
36
b
at the top of the bottle. Similarly, head portion
50
has a longitudinal axis
56
which can be extended beyond the outer surface of the bottle as indicated by dot-and-dash line
56
a
(seen in the lower right hand portion of
FIG. 8
) and by dot-and-dash line
56
b
at open end
52
. The head region
300
in the head portion
50
, which is above and abuts the depressions
60
,
62
, has a longitudinal axis extending therethrough. The longitudinal axis of the head region
300
is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the head portion
50
, but is not coaxial with the longitudinal axis through the body portion
30
. Still referring to
FIG. 8
, it will be seen that axis
36
and axis
56
intersect at intersection point
92
located interiorly of neck portion
40
to form an angle α. In angled bottle
20
, angle α may suitably range from about 135° to about 175°. Preferably, angle α ranges from about 145° to about 165°. Even more preferably, angle α ranges from about 150° to about 155°.
Bottle
20
further comprises two indentations or depressions. As may be seen in
FIG. 4
, the first such indentation or depression, identified by numeral
60
, is located in the front surface
22
of bottle
20
. As may be seen in
FIG. 5
, the second such depression or indentation, identified by numeral
62
, is located in the rear, or back, surface
24
of bottle
20
. Preferably, first depression
60
is larger than second depression
62
. As can be seen in FIG.
2
and
FIG. 3
, depression
60
on the front of bottle
20
is adapted to receive the fingers of an infant while the bottle is being used. Although only the fingers of the infant's right hand are shown (in phantom) in
FIG. 2
, it will be understood that the infant may also place one or more fingers of his or her left hand in indentation
60
.
Similarly, depression
62
on the rear of bottle
20
is adapted to receive an infant's thumbs when the bottle is being used.
FIG. 2
shows the infant's right thumb (in phantom) in place in depression
62
. It will be understood that the infant may also place the thumb of his or her left hand into indentation
62
.
FIG. 3
illustrates both of the infant's thumbs positioned in depression
62
.
The shape of the bottle, as viewed along its cross-section through the two depressions as shown in
FIG. 3
, is comprised of a central region having a width and a pair of transverse end regions. The width of each of the transverse end regions is greater than the width of the central region, which is comprised of two continuous arcuate lateral sides. Each lateral side begins at a first transverse end region and terminates at a second transverse end region.
As mentioned, first depression
60
, which is adapted to receive the infant's fingers, is preferably larger in size than second depression
62
, which is adapted to receive the infant's thumbs. Since the infant's fingers occupy more space than the infant's thumbs, the infant will soon learn that it is easier to place the fingers in larger-sized depression
60
than in the smaller sized depression
62
. Though smaller in size than depression
60
, second depression
62
readily accepts the infant's thumbs. Thus, when first depression
60
is made larger than second depression
62
, the infant is encouraged and with use of the bottle soon learns to place the fingers in first depression
60
and the thumbs in second depression
62
. When this happens, the infant, during use of the bottle, holds the bottle in the desired position, shown in
FIG. 2
, in which the closed end
32
of the bottle is tilted upwardly from the infant's mouth
95
.
In the preferred embodiment under discussion, and as shown in
FIG. 7A
, the lower reach of body portion
30
is substantially circular in cross-section. As mentioned above, and as can be seen in
FIG. 7B
, portion
53
at the open end of bottle
20
is also substantially circular in cross-section. Portion
53
is thus adapted to receive, in well known fashion, nipple/collar assembly
90
for completing the feeding bottle system
100
.
As seen in
FIGS. 6 and 7
, first depression
60
is located between open end
52
and closed end
32
of bottle
20
. Second depression
62
is located closer to the open end of the bottle than first depression
60
. In other words, in the preferred embodiment, depressions
60
and
62
are longitudinally offset with respect to one another. As seen in
FIG. 7
, depression
60
has a geometric centerpoint
66
and depression
62
has a geometric centerpoint
68
. As seen in
FIGS. 7 and 8
, a line
69
which passes through centerpoints
66
and
68
forms an angle β with the longitudinal axis
36
of body portion
30
. It will be understood that depressions
60
and
62
will be longitudinally offset with respect to each other so long as angle β is less than
90
°. Angle β may suitably range from about 20° to about 60°. Preferably angle β ranges from about 30° to about 50°, more preferably from about 40° to about 45°.
The perimeter of depression
60
at front surface
22
of bottle
20
, when viewed in plan, and as shown in
FIG. 4
, is generally elliptical in shape. The walls of depression
60
taper in arcuate fashion and substantially uniformly to centerpoint
66
. A longitudinal section of depression
60
is shown in
FIG. 4A
; a cross-section of depression
60
is shown in FIG.
4
B. In one embodiment, depression
60
has a length, L
1
, on the order of 2⅜ inches, and a width, W
1
, on the order of 1.5 inches. It will be recognized that the foregoing dimensions may be varied depending on the specific size desired for depression 60.
The perimeter of depression
62
at front surface
22
of bottle
20
, when viewed in plan, and as shown in
FIG. 5
, is generally elliptical in shape, being longer than it is wide. Depression
62
has a pair of small, inwardly recessed regions
63
,
63
near its bottom, one on each side of longitudinal axis
36
. The walls of depression
62
taper in arcuate fashion and substantially uniformly to its centerpoint
68
. A longitudinal section of depression
62
is shown in
FIG. 5A
; a cross-section of depression
62
is shown in FIG.
5
B. In one embodiment, depression
62
has a length, L
2
, on the order of 2 inches, and a width, W
2
, on the order of 1.5 inches. It will be recognized that the foregoing dimensions may be varied depending on the specific size desired for depression
62
.
The depth, D
1
, of depression
60
and the depth, D
2
, of depression
62
may vary depending on the desired size of the depression. Typically D
1
may range from about 0.25 inch to about 0.75 inch and D
2
may range from about 0.125 inch to about 0.75 inch.
FIG. 9
is a cross-sectional view of bottle
20
taken along line
9
—
9
of FIG.
6
and shows axis
36
, axis
56
, the point
92
at which axis
36
and axis
56
intersect each other, depression
62
, centerpoint
66
of depression
62
, closed end
32
and open end
52
.
FIG. 10
shows unique plane ABCD passing through both longitudinal axis
36
of body portion
30
and longitudinal axis
56
of upper portion
50
. Plane ABCD divides first depression
60
into two parts
60
a,
60
b
and also divides second depression
62
into two parts
62
a,
62
b.
Part
60
a
and part
62
a
are seen in FIG.
10
. See also
FIGS. 4 and 5
. In the preferred embodiment of angled bottle
20
, plane ABCD divides first depression
60
into identical halves and also divides second depression
62
into identical halves, said identical halves being mirror images.
FIG. 11
shows a second unique plane KLMN which passes through longitudinal axis
36
of body portion
30
of bottle
20
and forms an angle of 90° with above-mentioned plane ABCD. It will be understood that depression
62
is located on one side of plane KLMN and depression
60
(not shown in
FIG. 11
) is located on the other side of plane KLMN.
FIG. 12
is a perspective view of bottle
20
showing the intersection of plane ABCD and plane KLMN to form an angle of 90°. As seen in
FIG. 12A
, first depression
60
lies on one side of plane KLMN, while second depression
62
lies in the opposite side thereof. Plane ABCD divides depression
60
and depression
62
into identical halves.
In an angled bottle according to the invention, the bottle includes a concave region on its front surface and a convex region on its back surface. The first indentation or depression—the one designed for receiving the infant's fingers—is located in the general vicinity of the concave region. The second indentation or depression—the one adapted to receive the infant's thumbs—is located in the general vicinity of the convex region. Preferably, the first indentation is larger than the second indentation.
A sequential monadic home use test was conducted to determine the ease with which an infant or young child is able to grasp angled bottle
20
of the invention compared to the ease of gripping a control bottle. The control bottle which was used was similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,387 to Stephenson and was substantially identical to inventive bottle
20
illustrated in
FIGS. 1-12
of the drawings except that it did not have depressions
60
and
62
. Parents of infants and young children were selected to form a test panel which was divided into two groups identified as Group A and Group B. Each of the two groups had an approximately equal number of panelists. The children of the parents constituting the test panel ranged in age from 4 months to 23 months in age. The Group A parents were given the inventive bottle of
FIGS. 1-12
and a supply of nipples and retaining collars. The Group A parents were asked to use the mentioned inventive bottle for one week. The Group B parents were given the mentioned control bottle, along with a supply of nipples and retaining collars, and asked to use the same for one week. At the end of the first week, the panelists were asked to rate the parameter “Ease for Child to Grip/Hold” according to the following standards:
|
Standard
Rating
|
|
Extremely easy to hold
5
|
Very easy to hold
4
|
Somewhat easy to hold
3
|
Slightly easy to hold
2
|
Not at all easy to hold
1
|
|
During the second week, the Group A parents used the control bottle, while the Group B parents used the inventive bottle. At the end of the second week, the parents completed the same questionnaire and rated the particular bottle which they used during the second week.
The results of this home use test comparing the two bottles are set forth in TABLE 1. As seen in the Column entitled “OVERALL SAMPLE” in TABLE 1, seventy-two percent (72%) of the panelists rated the inventive bottle as being “extremely easy” or “very easy” for the child to grip/hold. In contrast, only fifty percent (50%) of the panelists rated the control bottle as being “extremely easy” or “very easy” for the child to grip/hold. The 72% rating achieved by the inventive bottle versus the 50% rating achieved by the control bottle is significantly different at P≦0.01. These test results demonstrate that the bottle of the invention with its depressions
60
and
62
is significantly easier for the child to grip/hold than the control bottle which had no such depressions.
TABLE 1
|
|
OVERALL SAMPLE
AGES 4-10 MONTHS
AGES 10+ TO 23 MONTHS
|
Current
Prototype
Current
Prototype
Current
Prototype
|
n = 86
n = 88
n = 44
n = 45
n = 42
n = 43
|
|
Extremely easy (5)
19%
34%
20%
36%
17%
33%
|
Very easy (4)
31%
38%
27%
33%
36%
42%
|
Somewhat easy (3)
26%
13%
23%
16%
29%
9%
|
Slightly easy (2)
10%
8%
14%
7%
7%
9%
|
Not at all easy (1)
14%
8%
16%
9%
12%
7%
|
Mean/Significance
3.30
***
3.82
3.23
**
3.80
3.38
*
3.84
|
% Top 2 Box Significance
50%
***
72%
47%
**
69%
53%
**
75%
|
|
SIGNIFICANCE LEVELS:
|
* = Significant at p ≦ .10
|
** = Significantly different at p ≦ .05
|
*** = Significantly different at p ≦ .01
|
When the present invention is embodied in an angled bottle such as shown in
FIGS. 1-12
of the accompanying drawings, the nipple tends to be kept filled with fluid while minimizing the need to tilt the bottle. TABLE 2 sets forth the Maximum Volume, Deliverable Volume, Undeliverable Volume and Maximum Volume Delivered for several commercially available baby bottles as well as the inventive bottle shown in
FIGS. 1-12
. The bottles were classified as shown in the left hand column of TABLE 2. The data in TABLE 2 demonstrates, as expected, the advantage of angled bottles over straight bottles in efficiently delivering liquid to the nipple. In general, the straight bottles deliver only about half their capacity while the angled bottles generally deliver more than about 75% of their capacity. The inventive bottle of
FIGS. 1-12
delivers 85% of its capacity, a value which is higher than that of 3 of the angled bottles and less than 2 of those bottles.
Referring now to
FIGS. 13-16
, bottle
120
is shown in the form of a straight cylinder, i.e., it is not angled in the manner of bottle
20
of FIG.
1
. Bottle
120
has a front surface
122
and rear, or back, surface
124
. Bottle
120
is closed at its bottom end
132
and open at its top end
152
. Proximate to the top end
152
are male threads
154
which are adapted to receive the aforementioned interiorly located threads of collar
80
in mating relationship.
Referring particularly to
FIG. 13
, it will be understood that the bottle
120
has a longitudinal axis
136
which can be extended beyond the outer surface of bottle
120
as indicated by dot-and-dash line
136
a
at the bottom of the bottle and by dot-and-dash line
136
b
at the top of the bottle. Front surface
122
includes a first depression
160
while back surface
124
includes a second depression
162
, said depressions being analogous to depressions
60
and
62
, respectively, of bottle
20
. First depression
160
and second depression
162
are longitudinally offset one with respect to the other, second depression
162
being closer to open end
152
of the bottle. As seen in
FIG. 14A
, plane PQRS passing through the longitudinal axis
136
of bottle divides the bottle into a front half
176
and a back half
178
. Depression
160
has a geometrical centerpoint
166
and depression
162
has a geometrical centerpoint
168
. As seen in
FIG. 16
, a line
169
joining centerpoints
166
and
168
intersects longitudinal axis
136
to form an angle β which must be less than 90°. Preferably, in bottle
120
, angle β ranges from about 55° to about 85°. More preferably, angle β ranges from about 65° to about 75°. Most preferably, angle β is about 70°. It will be understood that bottle
120
has the same “easy grip/hold” features mentioned earlier herein for bottle
20
and it is also less expensive and less complex to manufacture.
The bottle of the invention may be provided with markings which indicate the volume of fluid therein. In bottle
20
, for example, “milliliter” volume markings are provided on one side (see
FIG. 6
) and “ounce” volume markings are provided on the opposite side (see FIG.
7
).
Baby feeding bottles in accordance with the present invention may be made from a variety of materials including, e.g., glass, and thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene, polystyrene and polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is preferred due to its clarity and durability. Various suitable polycarbonate resins are commercially available from General Electric under the tradename LEXAN.
Nursing bottles according to the present invention can be made most conveniently by extrusion blow molding techniques.
The wall thickness of bottles in accordance with the invention range from about 0.01 inch (0.254 mm) to about 0.04 inch (1.02 mm). The retaining collar, a well-known item for securing a nipple to the open end of a feeding bottle, may be suitably made from polypropylene.
Feeding nipples are also well known in the art; these can be made, e.g., from natural or silicone rubbers or the like materials.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the teachings of the present invention may be utilized with a variety of nursing bottles. For example, in addition to the embodiments specifically illustrated herein, it is contemplated that the present invention may be embodied in inter alia baby bottles having curved shapes like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,213; in baby bottles having a generally toroidal hollow chamber like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,325; in bottles of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,556; and in the nursing bottle illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 316,754.
TABLE 2
|
|
Maximum
|
Maximum
Deliverable
Undeliverable
Volume
|
Volume,
Volume,
Volume,
Delivered,
|
Classification
Brand
Ounces
Ounces
Ounces
(%)
|
|
|
Cylindrical
Evenflo
9.80
5.14
4.66
52%
|
Straight
Gerber
10.73
5.14
5.59
48%
|
Grippable
Ansa
10.08
4.67
5.41
46%
|
Straight
|
Cylindrical
Cherubs Comfortflow
10.11
7.72
2.39
76%
|
Angled
Control
9.81
7.21
2.60
74%
|
Non-cylindrical
Betta Baby Bottle
8.76
8.10
0.66
93%
|
angled
Evenflo Angled Nurser
9.90
9.41
0.49
95%
|
Inventive
Gerber NUK Angled Nurser
8.68
7.10
1.58
82%
|
Bottle
Bottle of
FIGS. 1-12
10.24
8.71
1.53
85%
|
|
NOTES:
|
Maximum Volume = volume in ounces, held by bottle in free standing position
|
Deliverable Volume = Maximum Volume-Undeliverable Volume
|
Undeliverable Volume = volume in ounces, which cannot be delivered from bottle when nipple is positioned horizontally
|
Maximum Volume Delivered, % = Deliverable Volume divided by Maximum Volume × 100
|
Claims
- 1. An infant's feeding bottle comprising a body portion having a closed end, a head portion having an open end, and a neck portion joining said head portion to said body portion, said neck portion having a cross-section, said cross section having a shape comprised of a central region having a width and a pair of transverse end regions, each of said transverse end regions having a width that is greater than the central region width, said central region comprised of two continuous arcuate lateral sides, said bottle comprising a front surface, a back surface, a first left side surface and a second side surface, said front and back surfaces being joined to each other by said first and second side surfaces, said front surface comprising a first depression and said rear surface comprising a second depression, wherein said first and second depressions are displaced longitudinally with respect to each other to form said shape.
- 2. An infant's feeding bottle comprising:a body portion having a closed end, a head portion having an open end, and a neck portion joining said head portion to said body portion, said body portion having a longitudinally extending axis and said head portion having a longitudinally extending axis, said axes intersecting to define an angle, said bottle including a first plane passing through the longitudinally extending axis of said body portion and the longitudinally extending axis of said head portion, said bottle including a second plane passing through said longitudinally extending axis of said body portion and forming an angle of 90° with said first plane, said bottle including a first depression on one side of said second plane and a second depression on the side of said second plane opposite said one side, wherein said first and second depressions are displaced longitudinally with respect to each other.
- 3. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 2 wherein said first depression is adapted to receive one or more of an infant's fingers during use.
- 4. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 2 wherein said second depression is adapted to receive one or both of an infant's thumbs during use.
- 5. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 2 wherein said bottle has an open end and a closed end, said first depression is located between said open end and said closed end, and said second depression is closer to said open end than is said first depression.
- 6. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 2 wherein said first plane divides said first depression into a first portion and a second portion.
- 7. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 6 wherein said first portion is a mirror image of said second portion.
- 8. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 2 wherein said first plane divides said second depression into a first portion and a second portion.
- 9. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 8 wherein said first portion is a mirror image of said second portion.
- 10. An infant's feeding bottle comprising a body portion having a closed end, a head portion having an open end, and a neck portion joining said head portion to said body portion, said bottle comprising a front surface, a back surface, a first left side surface and a second side surface, said front and back surfaces being joined to each other by said first and second side surfaces, said front surface comprising a first depression and said rear surface comprising a second depression, said first depression and said second depression are displaced longitudinally with respect to each other.
- 11. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 10 wherein said first depression is adapted to receive one or more of an infant's fingers during use.
- 12. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 10 wherein said second depression is adapted to receive one or both of an infant's thumbs during use.
- 13. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 10 wherein said bottle has an open end and a closed end, said first depression is located between said open end and said closed end, and said second depression is closer to said open end than is said first depression.
- 14. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 10 wherein said first plane divides said first depression into a first portion and a second portion.
- 15. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 14 wherein said first portion is a mirror image of said second portion.
- 16. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 10 wherein said first plane divides said second depression into a first portion and a second portion.
- 17. An infant's feeding bottle according to claim 16 wherein said first portion is a mirror image of said second portion.
- 18. An infant's feeding bottle comprising:a body portion having a closed end; a permanently fixed head portion having an open end, a longitudinally extending axis through said bottle, and a neck portion joining said head portion to said body portion and having a cross-section, said closed end having a thickness of about 0.01 inches to about 0.04 inches, said cross section having a shape comprised of a central region having a width and a pair of transverse end regions, each of said transverse end regions having a width that is greater than the central region width, said central region comprised of two continuous arcuate lateral sides that begin at a first transverse end region and terminate at a second transverse end region, said bottle including a first plane passing through the longitudinally extending axis of said bottle, said bottle including a second plane passing through said longitudinally extending axis of said bottle and forming an angle of 90° with said first plane, said second plane dividing said bottle into a front surface and a back surface, said bottle comprising a first left side surface and a second side surface, said front and back surfaces being joined to each other by said first and second side surfaces, said front surface comprising a first depression and said rear surface comprising a second depression, said first depression and said second depression are located at said neck portion and are displaced longitudinally with respect to each other.
US Referenced Citations (31)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
197802 |
Feb 1978 |
CH |
595835 |
Feb 1978 |
CH |
126921 |
Jul 1928 |
DE |
2 255 913A |
Nov 1992 |
GB |
2255913 |
Nov 1992 |
GB |