BABY FEED BOTTLE

Abstract: A baby's feed bottle for hanging and/or tying to the feed­ er's body, thus leaving both hands free for holding and giving attention to the baby has a concave rear face, a convex front face at the lower end of which is an opening to the bottle, the opening being fitted in use with a screw cap carrying a teat projecting from the front face, a bottom face which slopes down from the back face to the front face, and strap eyes for attachment of a hang band and one or more tie bands.

Description: In feeding a baby from a bottle it is important to maintain the natural feeling of intimacy as between mother and child. This invention provides a baby feed bottle that can be hung on the baby feeder's back or chest so that the baby and the feeder may adopt a more natural baby feeding state, thereby promoting intimacy of feeling between them. US-A- 2,760,664 discloses a suspendible baby's feed bottle for dispensing fluid through a nipple connected to the lower portion of the bottle. The bottle is arranged to be suspended against the side of a cot, and the teat is connected to the bottle via a long flexible tube. The invention provides a suspendible baby's feed bottle for dispensing fluid through a nipple connected to the lower portion of the bottle, characterised in that, for use in suspension against the body of the feeder, the bottle has a concave rear face, a convex front face at the lower end of which is an opening to the bottle, the opening being fitted in use with a screw cap carrying a teat projecting from the front face, a bottom face which slopes down from the back face to the front face, and strap eyes for attachment of a hang band and one or more tie bands. In one embodiment the bottle itself is of a flat and think arcuate form and a convex arcuate surface is provided at its lower front perimeter surface. It is provided with a bottle mouth to receive the bottle lid and nipple, and two sets of strap eyes on the two sides of the bottle body respectively. On one set a hang band can be attached and on the other set two elastic tie bands can be attached so that the bottle may be suspended or tied in front of the feeder's chest, thus leaving both hands free to hold the baby sucking the milk, thereby maximising the intimacy between the feeder and the baby. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a bottle according to the invention; Figure 2 is a top view of the bottle of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the bottle of Figure 1. When using a conventional baby feed bottle, whilst feeding a baby, the feeder has to hold the baby with one of his (her) hands, while his(her) other hand grasps the bottle to do it. This is unlike the usual practice of the mother breast feeding by holding her baby with her two hands to feed the baby and to touch and cheer her at the same time, thereby achieving a deep intimacy between them. To feed a baby with a conventional bottle adversely affects the intimacy between the parent and her (his) baby. The structure of the baby feed bottle of this invention is to overcome the defects of the conventional feed bottles in this respect, and its main advantages lie in that the feeder can proceed with the feeding process by firmly hanging or tying the bottle of this invention on her (his) chest. The baby can embrace the feeder in a natural way, while the feeder may also hold the baby with her (his) hands and touch and cheer the baby, thereby achieving the effects as of the mother breast feeding. The following is a description of the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the baby feed bottle body 1 in the invention is in a thin and flat arcuate form. The front face is convex and the back face is concave, so providing an arcuate form in section. Further, the breadth of the bottle is greater than the thickness, i.e. it is thin and flat. Its bottom face slopes down from back to front. A convex arcuate projection 2 is provided at the bottom end of the front face. A screw-threaded bottle mouth is provided in the central part of the arcuate projection 2 and on this is screwed a bottle lid 3 which carries a teat or nipple 4. A graduated scale is provided along the vertical edge of the front surface of the bottle body 1 to give an indication of the amount of the milk contained in the bottle. A strap eye 5 is provided near the top edge of each of the two side surfaces of the bottle body 1 to provide points of attachment for the ends of a hang band 6. A set of two spaced-apart strap eyes 7 is provided near the front vertical edge of each of the two side surfaces to provide points of attachment for a pair of elastic tie bands 8, the ends of an upper band being attached to the two upper strap eyes and the ends of a lower band being attached to the two lower strap eyes. Each of the said hang bands 6 and tie bands 8 has a length-adjustable facility so that adjustments according to the actual needs of the feeder can be made to firmly hang or tie the bottle body at a proper position on his (her) chest to emulate breast feeding. The feed bottle body 1 in this invention is of a flat and thin arcuate design. Its back surface is in concave form so as to improve the fit against the feeder's body. The improvement in contact makes for improved comfort for the feeder and improved stability of the bottle. Also, since the bottle body 1 contacts the feeder's body more closely, the body heat will help keep the milk in the bottle warm and thus, during the baby's longer sucking time, reduce the loss in temperature which may lead to diarrhoea or a dislike of sucking milk. As shown in Figure 3, the bottom face of the feed bottle body 1 slopes down from back to front and the nipple is positioned at the lowest point on the front face so that there is little waste of the milk in the bottle body 1. As an alternative to the above-described form, the feed bottle may be in the form of an approximate flat and thin square, sphere, polygon, or any other geometric shape at the user's choise. Also, to maximise its applicability, the hang band and/or tie bands can be selectively used one at a time or in any combination, or more such bands may be provided, according to the needs of the user. Further, the feed bottle can be made of a flexible material that can be deformed by the baby to increase the pressure applied during the feeding process thereby changing the feeding volume according to the baby's own requirements in the same way as in the natural mother's breast feeding.

Claims: 1. A suspendible baby's feed bottle for dispensing fluid through a nipple connected to the lower portion of the bottle, characterised in that, for use in suspension against the body of the feeder, the bottle (1) has a concave rear face, a convex front face at the lower end of which is an opening to the bottle, the opening being fitted in use with a screw cap (3) carrying a teat (4) projecting from the front face, a bottom face which slopes down from the back face to the front face, and strap eyes (5, 7) for attachment of a hang band (6) and one or more tie bands (8). 2. A baby's feed bottle as claimed in claim 1 of which the breadth is greater than the thickness, the thickness of the bottle in its lower portion being larger than the thickness of the upper portion to provide a projection (2) on the front face in which projection the opening is situated. 3. A suspendible baby's feed bottle as claimed in claim 1 which comprises a body of flat and thin arcuate form, a convex arcuate surface (2) at the lower end of said convex front face, respective strap eyes (5) adjacent the top edge of each of the two side faces, a hang band (6) passed through the two strap eyes, a set of spaced strap eyes (7) on the edge of the two side faces close to the front face and a set of adjustable elastic tie bands (8) passed through the set of spaced strap eyes thus enabling the feeder to select the hang band or a tie band to fix the feed bottle body firmly on the feeder's chest. 4. A baby's feed bottle as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 having a scale along the length of the bottle to indicate the volume of the contents of the bottle. 5. A baby's feed bottle as claimed in any preceding claim made of flexible material.

Inventors: YANG, TAI-HER
Applicants: YANG, TAI-HER
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A61J9
IPC codes: A61J9