Abstract:
A sterilizer including a base and a lid. The base includes a bottom wall and a sidewall. There is an elastomeric covering over at least most of the outside of the sidewall. The lid is sized and shaped to close the base. The lid defines a vent that is adapted to vent the base.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    This disclosure relates to a sterilizer. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Some sterilizers for home use are used by adding water and then placing the sterilizer in a microwave oven such that the water boils, creating steam to thereby sterilize the contents. These sterilizers can be used to sterilize parts of baby bottles and the like. Such sterilizers should be designed such that the user can easily place and remove items to be sterilized. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    Featured in one example of the disclosure is a sterilizer comprising a base comprising a bottom wall and a sidewall, an elastomeric covering over at least most of the outside of the sidewall, and a lid sized and shaped to close the base, the lid defining a vent that is adapted to vent the base. The lid may comprise a handle. The vent may pass through the handle. The bottom wall may have an interior surface that defines a series of spaced raised areas. The raised areas may be arranged generally concentrically about a central axis. The raised areas may be generally arc-shaped. The raised areas may comprise a plurality of generally arc-shaped segments that are spaced from one another. The segments may be aligned along a series of generally circular axes. The raised areas may be arranged along a plurality of radially-spaced generally circular axes. The raised areas may be arranged such that there is a space between the segments that lie along a single generally circular axis, and wherein the spaces between segments that lie along the respective radially-spaced generally circular axes are generally radially aligned. The raised areas may be at least substantially topped by an elastomeric material. 
         [0004]    The base may further comprise a plurality of feet. The base may include a projection, and the elastomeric covering over at least most of the outside of the base may extend over this projection. The base may have one or more thin vertical structures extending upwardly and inwardly from an interior wall of the base, wherein each thin vertical structure has a top portion that is located slightly inwardly of the interior wall so as to define an upper gap between the structure and the interior wall. The gap may be constructed and arranged to act as a receptacle for a relatively thin structure that can be placed into the gap so as to hold the structure off of the bottom of the base. 
         [0005]    Another example comprises a sterilizer comprising a base comprising a bottom wall and a sidewall, and an elastomeric covering over at least most of the outside of the sidewall, wherein the bottom wall defines a series of raised areas that are at least substantially topped by an elastomeric material, wherein the raised areas are intermittently formed and oriented generally concentrically about a central axis, and a lid sized and shaped to close the open top of the inner basin, the lid defining a vent that is adapted to vent the base, where the lid comprises a handle and the vent passes through the handle. The base may include a projection, and the elastomeric covering over at least most of the outside of the base may extend over the projection of the base. The base may have one or more thin vertical structures extending upwardly and inwardly from an interior wall of the base, wherein each thin vertical structure has a top portion that is located slightly inwardly of the interior wall so as to define an upper gap between the structure and the interior wall. The gap may be constructed and arranged to act as a receptacle for a relatively thin structure that can be placed into the gap so as to hold the structure off of the bottom of the base. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a sterilizer according to one example of the present disclosure. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the sterilizer illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a right-side view of the sterilizer illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a left-side view of the sterilizer illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the sterilizer illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the sterilizer illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a top view with the lid of the sterilizer removed. 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is a cross section taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a partial view of one detail of  FIG. 8 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 10  is a partial view of another detail of  FIG. 8 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    A non-limiting example of a sterilizer is shown in  FIGS. 1-10 . Sterilizer  10  comprises two separate parts: an open-top base  12 , and a removable lid  14  having a handle  16 . The base  12  includes a bottom wall  19  and a sidewall  15  that define an interior cavity  21 . The sterilizer  10  can be formed using an injection-molding process. 
         [0017]    The base  12  includes an interior surface  11  and an exterior surface  13 . The base  12  also includes an inner core  52  that defines the interior surface  11  of the base, and an over-molded silicone shell  54  forming the exterior surface  13  of the base, at least along the sidewalls. Since the function of the silicone shell is primarily for purposes of handling/grip and also affects the appearance, the shell does not need to extend over the bottom wall  19  of the base  12 . The shell  54  can be colored, to present a desired appearance. The inner core  52  can be made from a plastic material such as polyurethane or polyethylene, or a similar thermoplastic material. The inner core could be made of other plastic materials or materials other than plastic that can withstand sterilization temperatures and conditions; one example is stainless steel. The base  12 , in this non-limiting example, has a rounded rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the sidewalls are curved at the bottom and slightly flared toward the bottom as best shown in  FIGS. 2-4 . Such flared sidewalls are optional, but contribute to the appearance and also offer a better grasping position for the user to place her hands during transportation of the sterilizer  10 . However, the base  12  can be made of other suitable materials or have a different shape such as rounded, or more rounded or less rounded than shown in the drawings. The base  12  can include feet  18  that maintain bottom surface  20  raised relative to a countertop or other flat surface on which sterilizer  10  is placed. The feet  18  can be but need not be integrally molded with the base  12 . 
         [0018]    The lid  14  is removably coupled to the base  12  and can be made from the same or similar plastic as is used for the inner core  52 . The lid  14  may also include one or more locking features that secure the lid  14  to the base  12 . The lid  14  is sized and shaped to fit on a shelf  59  (see  FIGS. 8 and 10 ). The shelf  59  is formed in the base  12  as an inwardly-directed radial projection from an upper portion of the shell  54 . The projection or shelf  59  can extend around the periphery of the base  12  or be intermittently formed in particular locations around the base  12 . The projection  59  is positioned above a top  53  of the inner core  52 . The silicone material of the over-molded silicone shell  54  forms the projection  59 . This construction allows the lid  14  to seal onto the silicone projection  59 . As silicone is a relatively soft elastomer with grip properties, this arrangement helps to hold the lid  14  in place and also may create a better seal to the steam generated by the sterilizer  10  as opposed to harder mating surfaces. The lid  14  includes a vent  17  (e.g., a through-hole) that is formed in an outer portion of the handle  16 , away from where the user would grasp the handle  16 . The vent  17  extends entirely through the handle  16  to vent the interior of the sterilizer  10 . 
         [0019]    The inside of the bottom wall  55  of the inner core  52  of the base  12  comprises a plurality of raised areas  32 , and valleys  34  between the raised areas  32 . The raised areas  32  and valleys  34  present rounded formations as opposed to more angular corners or edges. This arrangement makes the bottom of the base  12  and the intersections of the raised areas and the bottom easier to clean. The raised areas  32  are preferably topped by or fully covered by, or at least substantially covered on at least on their top surfaces, with a silicone material or another elastomer. The silicone is a thermoplastic elastomer, which provides grip properties that allow the user to grasp the sterilizer  10  with less chance of slippage, and also the silicone on the raised areas  32  presents a grip surface that helps to hold items placed onto the raised areas  32 . The valleys  34  provide a volume that accepts water that sits below items that are placed on the raised areas  32 . The sterilizer can have different constructions that accomplish raised features on which items can be placed above the water level in the bottom of the base  12 . For example, a series of spaced raised integral features such as shelves or plateaus can have desired shapes, sizes and heights. The features can, but need not be, topped or covered with silicone material or another soft material that helps to grip objects that are placed on top of the features. 
         [0020]    With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the raised areas  32  may be raised ridges such as shown in these drawings. Areas  32  may form a general pattern on the bottom wall  19  of the base  12 . The raised areas  32  can be arranged generally concentrically around a central vertical axis “C” in an intermittent fashion, and in a series of spaced generally circular rings that lie along generally circular ring axes. Each segment may be arc-shape, or at least generally arc-shaped. For example, the segments need not lie exactly along circular arcs, and they do not need to be uniform in width, length or height. In this particular example, the bottom wall  19  includes a first concentric “ring”  90  having a first (smallest) radius from the central axis C, and is formed of two distinct raised areas  32 . The first concentric ring  90  is closest to the central axis C. The bottom wall  19  includes a second concentric “ring”  91  having a second radius from the central axis C (greater than the first radius) and is formed of four distinct raised areas  32 . The bottom wall  19  includes a third concentric “ring”  92  having a third radius from the central axis C (greater than the second radius) and is formed of four distinct raised areas  32 . The bottom wall  19  includes a fourth concentric “ring”  93  having a fourth radius from the central axis C (greater than the third radius) and is formed of four distinct raised areas  32 . The bottom wall  19  includes a fifth concentric “ring”  94  having a fifth radius from the central axis C (greater than the fourth radius) and is formed of four distinct raised areas  32  (the four areas are numbered  70 ,  71 ,  72 , and  73 ). The bottom wall  19  includes a sixth concentric “ring”  95  having a sixth radius from the central axis C (greater than the fifth radius) and is formed of four distinct raised areas  32  (the four areas are numbered  60 ,  61 ,  62 , and  63 ). The bottom wall  19  includes a seventh concentric “ring”  96  having a seventh radius from the central axis C (greater than the sixth radius) and is formed of eight distinct raised areas  32 . The bottom wall  19  includes an eighth concentric “ring”  97  having an eighth radius from the central axis C (greater than the seventh radius) and is formed of eight distinct raised areas  32 . The bottom wall  19  includes a ninth concentric “ring”  98  having a ninth radius from the central axis C (greater than the eighth radius) and is formed of four distinct raised areas  32 , each of which lies very close to one of the four corners of the base  12 . 
         [0021]    The bottom wall  19  also defines a first axis  80  oriented perpendicularly to the central axis C and a second axis  81  oriented perpendicularly to both the first axis  80  and the central axis C. The first axis  80  and the second axis  81  generally divide the bottom wall  19  into quadrants, where all of the raised areas  32  are positioned within one of the defined quadrants except for the raised areas  32  in the ninth concentric “ring”  98 . Each of the raised areas  32  in the ninth concentric “ring”  98  lie in two of the quadrants. The bottom wall  19  also includes defined spaces or gaps that run along the axes  80  and  81 , which form parts of the valleys  34 . The valleys  34  are also formed between raised areas  32  in adjacent concentric “rings.” For example, a valley  34  exists between the raised areas  32  that form the fourth concentric “ring”  93  and the raised areas  32  that form the fifth concentric “ring”  94 . 
         [0022]    The valleys  34  between the raised areas  32  are interconnected so that water can be poured into the base  12  at any location and still disperse evenly across the bottom wall  19 . The water being evenly dispersed across the bottom wall  19  helps to ensure that the steam will evenly disperse throughout the sterilizer  10 . However, interconnection of the valleys  34  is not a requirement as the steam will tend to fill interior volume or cavity  21  even if the valleys are not interconnected. 
         [0023]    With further reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the inner core  52  includes a plurality of vertically-oriented projections  36 - 39  (e.g., hooks) that extend from an inner surface  57  of the inner core  52 . The projections  36 - 39  each define a portion  41  that is positioned inwardly of the inner surface  57  to define a gap  42  therebetween. Gap  42  forms a receptacle for receiving a relatively thin structure that can be placed into the gap  42 . The portions  41  can support items such as a bottle nipple, a bottle ring, or other similar structures off of the raised areas  32  that can in part fit into a gap  42 . This allows the item to hang above the surface of the boiling water. This arrangement can hold a nipple with the open side facing down toward the boiling water to help expose the inside of the nipple to steam. 
         [0024]    The sterilizer  10  can be used to sterilize articles that fit within its interior. Up to 200 milliliters of water is placed into the base  12  in one specific, non-limiting embodiment. Items such as bottles used to feed milk or formula to infants, nipples for such bottles, bottle accessories or other baby-related devices and appliances are placed into the interior, on the bottom and/or hung from the hook structures  36 - 39 . Other devices can include items such as pacifiers, teethers, and parts of breast pumps. The sterilizer lid  14  is positioned and the entire sterilizer is then placed into a microwave oven. Depending on the microwave wattage, the sterilizer can be heated from about two to about eight minutes. This causes the water to boil and the resulting steam will fill the interior and sterilize the parts placed into the sterilizer. The cooling time should be at least two minutes before the lid is removed. The vent  17  lets out steam so that interior pressure and temperature doesn&#39;t increase to a dangerous level. 
         [0025]    The silicone outer skin helps to protect the user from the plastic interior which can be heated by the steam. The inner material is a thermoplastic or equivalent and should be structurally solid. The silicone parts are over-molded onto the inner core. The lid  14  is preferably but not necessarily made from the same material as the inner core. 
         [0026]    The lid  14  can be made from two parts (the handle and the cover), which are connected together through ultrasonic welding, screws, or other fasteners or means of adhering the two parts together with the result being that the handle is integral with the cover. Or, the handle could be made in other ways, for example as an integral molded plastic part. 
         [0027]    An alternative not shown in the drawings is an electric version with a built-in hot plate with electrically-heated coils that heat up so as to heat the water. The hot plate would be located directly bottom wall  55 . 
         [0028]    A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that additional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the inventive concepts described herein, and, accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.