Baby bottle caterer with separate refrigeration and heating units

A baby bottle caterer includes a manually transportable case with a refrigeration unit disposed in said case and sized for cooling a selected number of baby bottles in an upright orientation. A heating unit is provided and disposed in said case and sized for warming at most one baby bottle in an upright orientation, with the heating unit being in a spaced apart relationship with said refrigeration unit. In addition, a control system is included for running the heating unit for a sufficient time to warm said one bottle, and formula therein, to a selected temperature.

The present invention generally relates to heating and cooling devices and 
more particularly to a catering device having specific application for 
cold storage of formula-containing baby bottles in combination with 
heating apparatus for warming the bottles, with formula therein, prior to 
feeding. 
A feeding schedule for a baby typically includes feeding intervals between 
a minimum of about three hours and a maximum of about four hours. The 
majority of babies generally adapt to this schedule within a few weeks. 
Naturally, the schedule intervals may be shifted to those most convenient 
for the parents. However, no matter what the schedule, night-time feeding 
is mandated by the baby's needs. 
Most parents find it most convenient to prepare enough formula for a full 
day's feeding simply because it is easier at late night or early morning 
hours to simply heat a prepared bottle to avoid the late night/early 
morning steps of boiling the bottles for sterilization and thereafter 
filling the bottles with formula. 
However, even with a prepared formula, it can be very frustrating listening 
to a baby cry while waiting for the bottle to warm. Furthermore, the 
baby's room or crib is typically not conveniently located to the kitchen 
refrigerator and stove/microwave where the bottle is prepared for feeding. 
In addition, while the formula may be prepared in advance, the bottle and 
the formula contents may assume different temperatures within the 
refrigerator depending upon their residence time and position within the 
refrigerator. Thus, because the starting bottle and contents are not of 
uniform temperature, preselected settings of time for a microwave or 
immersion in hot water do not provide for a consistently uniform 
temperature. It is customary to test the temperature of the formula on a 
person's wrist, or the like, in order to assure that overheating does not 
occur. However, additional heating is many times desired by the parent, 
thus necessitating additional microwave or hot water exposure prior to 
feeding. All of these steps naturally lead to additional frustration of 
the parent, who is more desirous of sleep than meeting the baby's 
nutritional requirements. 
Further complicating the procedure is the fact, as hereinabove mentioned, 
that the baby's sleeping quarters are generally remote from the appliances 
necessary for storing and preparing the formula for use. 
The present invention provides a convenient baby bottle caterer, which 
enables the storage and preparation of formula at the baby's bedside. 
Thus, a parent responding to the baby's crying request for food can 
conveniently comfort and soothe the baby while simultaneously preparing 
the baby formula for use. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, a baby bottle carrier generally 
includes a manually transportable case and refrigeration unit disposed 
therein for cooling a plurality of bottles. In combination therewith, a 
heating unit is provided and disposed in the case, sized for warming at 
least one baby bottle. The heating unit is in a spaced apart relationship 
with the refrigeration unit, thereby allowing independent operation 
thereof and control means are provided for running the heating unit for a 
sufficient time to warm at least one baby bottle and formula therein to a 
selected temperature. 
More particularly, in order to enhance the portability of the caterer, the 
refrigeration unit may be sized for cooling at most three baby bottles in 
an upright orientation, and the heating unit may be sized for warming at 
most one baby bottle in an upright orientation. 
In one embodiment of the present invention, the heating unit may comprise a 
microwave oven and a temperature sensor disposed in the refrigeration unit 
to be used advantageously for enabling the control system to run the 
microwave oven for a sufficient time to warm the baby bottle and formula 
therein to the selected temperature. This feature provides an efficient 
system for heating formula to a preselected temperature despite the 
starting temperature of the baby bottle and formula. This feature will be 
particularly appreciated by drowsy parents by eliminating any estimation 
of heating time required for warming the bottle and formula to a selected 
temperature. Thus, this feature overcomes problems introduced by bottles 
of uneven temperature which may be caused by differences in residence time 
of the bottle in the refrigerator unit between preparation of the formula 
and actual use of the bottle at different times of the day. 
In this regard, the temperature sensor disposed in the refrigeration unit, 
at a position causing contact with the bottle disposed in the 
refrigeration unit. Further means are provided for preventing bottle 
movement within the refrigeration unit during manual transport of the 
caterer from a kitchen area to a bedside position. 
More particularly, the means for preventing bottle movement may include a 
spring-loaded bar disposed within the refrigerator and the temperature 
sensor may be incorporated in the bar. 
In addition, a sensor may be provided in the microwave for weighing of the 
baby bottle, with formula, with a control system response thereto for 
controlling the warming time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown a baby bottle caterer 10, in 
accordance with the present invention, which includes a case 12 having a 
handle 14 attached thereto for enabling convenience in manually 
transporting the case 12 from the baby formula preparation area, such as 
kitchen, to a baby's bedside location. 
The case 12 may be formed from any suitable material, such as plastic, with 
the handle 14 preferably molded as an integral part thereof. 
Alternatively, the handle 14 attachment may be made by way of any 
conventional system such as screws (not shown) or the like. 
Disposed within the case involved is a refrigeration unit 20 which may be 
of conventional compressor design, or preferably a thermoelectric module 
such as Kool Mate.RTM. available from UDO Corporation of Salem, N.H., and 
a heating unit 22 which is preferably of conventional microwave 
construction or other electrical heating elements. 
Details of the refrigeration unit 20 and heating unit 22 are not recited 
herein, as these units are of conventional construction, but are 
preferably sized so that refrigeration unit 20 is capable of cooling three 
baby bottles 28, 30 and 32 in an upright position, as shown, and the 
heating unit 22 is sized for warming at most one bottle 36 in an upright 
position. 
The bottles 28, 30 and 32 may be of any conventional construction but are 
preferably constructed with a rigid outer plastic shell 38 with a 
collapsible plastic bag 40 therein as are available from Playtex Family 
Products Co. 
The upright orientation of the bottles 28-36 enables a base 42 of the case 
12 to be of minimum dimensions to facilitate its positioning on a bedside 
stand or the like. Doors 44, 46 may be hinged 50, 52 mounted to a case 
front 58 in a conventional manner for closing respectively the 
refrigeration unit 20 and heating unit 22. Conventional spring-loaded 
hinges 50, 52 may be utilized to maintain the doors in a closed position, 
and in the case of a microwave heating unit, a conventional interlock 
system should be provided in a conventional manner for automatically 
turning off the power to the heating unit 22 when the door 46 is opened. 
Power to the refrigeration unit and the heating unit may be provided 
through a conventional 110 volt outlet via a power plug 64, or, if 
convenient, any other source of power may be utilized. This may be of 
particular importance if the caterer 10 is used for travel, in which case 
the control system 70 (see FIG. 2) may be adapted for receiving battery 
power, such as from an automobile cigarette lighter or the like. 
Turning now to FIG. 2, the control system 70 generally includes the 
controller/timer 74, a control panel 76, temperature sensors 80, 82, 84, 
disposed in the refrigerator unit 20, and a weight sensor 88 disposed in 
the heating unit 22. The weight sensor 88 may provide a signal to the 
controller/timer 74 as to the amount of formula in the bottle 36 for 
controlling the warming time thereof. 
The controller/timer 74 may be of any conventional circuitry commonly used 
in the control of heating units, such as a microwave oven. In view of the 
fact that any number of electrical circuits may be utilized to provide the 
functions described herein, the exact description of the circuitry is not 
presented herein for the sake of clarity. 
As also shown in FIG. 1, the weight sensor 88 provided within the microwave 
oven 22 and interconnected to the controller/timer 74 by means of a 
suitable connection 90 may also function prevent the microwave from being 
turned on if no bottle is present within the microwave unit 22. 
The control panel 76 may be of any conventional design and include a switch 
96 and a temperature selector control 100, conventionally utilized in the 
microwave oven industry. 
Importantly, as shown in FIG. 3, which is a cross-sectional view of the 
refrigeration unit 20 and bottles 28, 30, 32, a spring 104 loaded bar 106 
may be provided for preventing bottle 28, 30, 32 movement within the 
refrigeration unit 20. 
Contoured portions 110, 112, 114 respectively engage the bottles 28, 30, 32 
to ensure snug fit between the bar 106 and an inside wall 120 to prevent 
jiggling of the bottles 28, 30, 32 during manual transport of the caterer 
10. 
The springs 104 sufficiently bias the bar 106 against the bottles 28, 30, 
32 so that they may be moved in and out of the refrigeration unit 20, but 
when disposed within the refrigeration unit 20, each of the bottles 28, 
30, 32 are in an indexed position. In addition, because the bottles 28, 
30, 32 are in intimate contact with the refrigerator wall 22, more 
efficient heat transfer may be afforded. 
Importantly, there may be associated with each temperature sensor 80, 82, 
84 a microswitch 124, 126, 128 interconnected with the controller/timer 74 
by means of a line 130. 
In operation, the controller/timer 74 can sense the temperature of the 
bottle 80 nearest the door 44, which is next in line for heating within 
the microwave oven 22. 
If the bottle 28 has been removed, the controller/timer 74 does not receive 
an indication from the microswitch 124 that the bottle 28 is no longer in 
position and therefore utilizes the temperature sensor 82 to determine the 
temperature of the bottle next to be used in the microwave. 
As hereinabove noted, the controller/timer 74 may be of any conventional 
circuitry to perform the hereinabove-recited functions, and no claim is 
made to such circuitry. 
Although there has been hereinabove described a baby bottle caterer in 
accordance with the present invention, for the purpose of illustrating the 
manner in which the invention may be used to advantage, it should be 
appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, any 
and all modifications, variations, or equivalent arrangements which may 
occur to those skilled in the art, should be considered to be within the 
scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.