Patent Publication Number: US-2010126492-A1

Title: Portable baby bottle warmer

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to warming devices for baby bottles, specifically to those devices which are self-contained. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The baby bottle warmer is an intricate part of the daily routine in the care of the newborn infant. Where the mother usually has the convenience of the stove top, the technique of boiling water then warming the bottle in the warmed water is time consuming with an infant crying in the background. While the method of bottle warming in the microwave is not recommended by physicians, mothers usually turn to electrical devices such as was provided with “Baby Mike Warmer”—U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,031, issued Mar. 8, 1994. This device allows for the warming of the bottle and a sensor that detects when heat is no longer needed. Such devices can be conveniently placed anywhere in the home such as in the nursery or the parent&#39;s bedside. Because parents are typically more mobile today traveling with their children and working outside of the home, the need for a portable, non-electrical device has arisen. The Thermal baby bottle warmer—U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,337 and Disposable non-cyclic sorption . . . U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,720 are self-contained devices that appear sufficiently bulky to transport in a purse or baby bag. In the same vein, the Baby Bottle Warmer U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,165, Thermal baby bottle warmer U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,337, and Baby Bottle Warmer U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,863 are devices that are more lightweight, however, not pliable enough to fit into a purse or may need manual manipulation that a parent can not manage while holding an infant and bags on the go. There is also a baby bottle warmer to go sold commercially, however, they require heating prior to leaving home and are kept in an insulated bottle bag. 
     Self-contained heating devices that include a super-cooled salt solution such as Single-use encapsulated hot pack activator U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,139 and Heat pack using super-cooled aqueous salt solutions U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,359 have been used and found helpful in the medical profession. Another example is the Disposable infant heel warmer U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,048. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Integrating the idea of a portable baby bottle warmer with a lightweight, portable self-contained hearing element allows the cosmopolitan parent while traveling to quickly and easily heat a baby bottle. The inventive Portable Baby Bottle Warmer would be a self-contained heating element. This inventive heating element is a made of flexible, pliable material bonded as to avoid leakage. Inside the encapsulated pliable material is a “pouch” that contains a super-cooled salt solution. The “pouch” is surrounded by air. Once the pouch containing the salt solution is manually ruptured, an exothermic reaction occurs causing the release of heat. The pliable, self-contained heating element is wrapped around the bottle and attached with adhesive in turn transferring heat to the baby bottle. Without plugging-in a device and without adding water, this self-contained heating element that is stored in a purse or diaper bag is within seconds activated and the baby bottle is warmed. Because the heat dissipates quickly, the inventive heating element may be disposed into any residential or commercial receptacle. 
     It is an object of this invention to provide a non-electric, portable, disposable,_self-contained heating element for use as a portable baby bottle warmer comprising a pliable container with a first side panel and a second side panel bonded along outer edges of the panels to avoid leakage and of a size suited to wrap around a baby bottle with an adhesive element to hold the container in place on the baby bottle, and further comprising a pouch containing a super-cooled salt solution, said pouch being surrounded by air and encapsulated within the pliable container so that manual rupture of the pouch causes an exothermic reaction releasing heat to warm a baby bottle when the pliable container is wrapped around the baby bottle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective cross sectional view of the inventive heating element. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the inside of the inventive heating element showing the pouch. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the inventive heating element showing the adhesive element. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a baby bottle being wrapped with the inventive heating element. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  depicts a perspective cross sectional view of the inventive heating element showing a flexible container  1  with a first side panel  2 , and a second side panel  3  bonded with a leak resistant seal  4  at the edges  9  of the sides to form a compartment  5 . 
     In  FIG. 2 , the inside of the flexible container  1  is shown with one of the side panels  2  or  3  removed for clarity. The leak resistant seal  4  which bonds the first side panel  2  and the second side panel  3  is shown at the edges  9  of the side panels  2  and  3  defining a compartment  5  in which is placed a pouch  6  containing a super-cooled salt solution such as sodium thiosulfate or sodium acetate. As can be seen, the pouch  6  is smaller than the compartment  5  and there is air surrounding the pouch  6  when it is encapsulated between the side panels  2  and  3  by the seal  4 . 
     It is intended that the pouch be biased with perforations  8 , allowing it to rupture when manually squeezed, releasing the super-cooled salt solution into the compartment  5  and exposing it to the air in compartment  5  causing an exothermic reaction generating heat. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a side view of the flexible container  1  showing the first side panel  2 , with an adhesive element  7  attached along one edge of the flexible container  1 . Although shown on first side panel  2 , the adhesive element  7  could just as easily be attached along one edge of the second side panel  3 . As shown, the adhesive element has a peel-away strip  7   a  to be removed when the flexible container  1  is wrapped around a baby bottle, preferably after initiating the exothermic reaction by manually rupturing pouch  6 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a baby bottle  10  being wrapped with the flexible container  1 . The peel-away strip  7   a  is shown partially pulled away from the adhesive element  7  and it can be seen that the edge of the flexible container  1  with the adhesive element  7  will meet a joining edge  9  of the flexible container  1  and adhere to the second side panel  3  thereby holding the flexible container  1  in place on the baby bottle  10  while the heat from the exothermic reaction is transferred to the baby bottle  10 . While an adhesive element  7  with a peel away strip  7   a  is shown, it is understood that alternative fastening devices could be used. 
     The flexible container  1  would preferably be of a rectangular shape, of approximate dimensions of 5 inches by 6¾ inches for a standard 8 ounce baby bottle, 2½ inches by 6¾ inches for a standard 4 ounce baby bottle and 5 inches by 7¾ inches for an odd shaped 8 ounce baby bottle. 
     In use the flexible container  1  would be manually squeezed and then placed around a baby bottle and held in place by the adhesive element  7 , allowing the heat to transfer to the baby bottle. Because the exothermic reaction rapidly abates, the flexible container  1  would be immediately ready for disposal.