Abstract:
A baby bottle feeding apparatus and method for assisting the feeding of a nursing infant by a bottle attached to an elongated feeding tube with pacifier end. The apparatus and method can include a pivotable connector such as a ball and socket connected between an elongated tube and the pacifier that can be rotated to selected positions without pinching off the tube for allowing ease of use by the nursing infant. The apparatus and methods can include additional assists such as allowing the liquid contents of the bottle to become more easily moveable by gravity flow. One embodiment can have a stand that orients the bottle up to approximately ninety degrees which can include forty five degrees when positioning the bottle on a support surface. Another embodiment allows for an interior wall inside the bottle to have a sloped portion so that laying the bottle on its side in a horizontal position still allows gravity to assist moving liquid contents within the bottle to the feeding infant.

Description:
This invention relates to nursing bottles, in particular to a novel baby bottle with an elongated feeding tube with pivotable pacifier where the contents of the bottle can be tilted for allowing gravity to assist a feeding infant. 
   BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART 
   Basic nursing bottles have generally required a cylindrical bottle full of a feeding fluid with a pacifier directly attached thereon. Nursing a baby from a bottle has included many problems. Unless a proper orientation of the bottle is maintained, the infant is not properly fed, and often the infant starts to cry aloud until a parent or other caregiver to hold the bottle up to the infant. 
   Alternatively, the bottle must be propped up by blankets or any other crib accessories such as stuffed toys and/or stuffed animals. More often than not the baby must maintain a proper orientation of the bottle in order for it to be used. 
   In order to maintain the proper orientation, parents and caregivers try to allow the infant to directly hold the bottle. However, most newborns do not have the strength to support the bottle itself. Even older infants can have trouble lifting a bottle full of feeding fluid and maintaining the bottle at a proper feeding orientation. 
   Even if the bottle is reoriented infants have been known to become so upset that they often refuse to begin nursing again, and instead continue to cry out loud. 
   Still furthermore, the current bottles do not allow for parents/caregivers to easily assist the feeding liquid that is being passed from the bottle to the infant. 
   Over the years many devices have been proposed for modifying infant feeding bottles. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 154,562 to Perkins; U.S. Pat. No. 2,558,195 to Pearl; U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,934 to Forestal; U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,628 to Anderson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,290 to Cueto; U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,076 to Guss; U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,756 to Via Cava; U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,496 to Korsinsky et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,685 to Crowe et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,367 to Goldfield; U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,566 to Bennett; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,044 to Clayton. 
   Pearl &#39;195, Crowe et al. &#39;685, Bennett &#39;044, and Clayton &#39;044 describe modifying pacifiers on nursing bottles but do not overcome any of the problems presented above. 
   Perkins &#39;562 describes using an elongated tube connected to a pacifier for creating a vent that does not solve the problems described above. Cueto &#39;290 and Guss &#39;076 each describe attaching elongated tubes to baby bottles that do not allow for any drainage of the bottle contents. Anderson &#39;628(FIG. 4), Forestal &#39;934, Via Cava &#39;756 and Korsinsky &#39;496( FIG. 3 ) each describe bottles with elongated tubes connected to bottles that require brackets attached to other supports so that the bottles be maintained in inverted upside down above the infant that is not an easy way of solving the above stated problems. While a bracket may help with some of the problems referenced above, the brackets and/or supports add further problems since the bottles and/or parts of the brackets/supports can fall onto and injure the infant below. 
   Still furthermore, all of these elongated tube devices would additionally require physically bending the tube in order for the pacifier to be used by an infant. A rigid tube would be difficult to bend, and even if bent can become pinched and further cut off feeding the contents to the feeding infant. 
   Goldfield &#39;367 describes an elaborate bottle nursing system using transducers/sensors and computers for nursing bottles that fails to provide a simple and easily attachable solution for solving the above stated problems with the prior art. 
   Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior art. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The first objective of the present invention is to provide an easily attachable and simple apparatus and method for bottles that allows their contents to naturally feed to a nursing infant. 
   The second objective of the present invention is to provide an easily attachable and simple apparatus and method that eliminates physically supporting the bottle for infant feeding. 
   The third objective of the present invention is to provide an easily attachable and simple apparatus and method for bottles that eliminates artificially propping up the bottle for infants. 
   The fourth objective of the present invention is to provide an easily attachable and simple apparatus and method for bottles that eliminates raising the bottle above a feeding infant. 
   The fifth objective of this invention is to provide an easily attachable and simple apparatus and method for bottles that eliminates using brackets/supports above a feeding infant. 
   The sixth objective of the present invention is to provide an easily attachable and simple apparatus and method for bottles that eliminates the infant having to support the bottle. 
   The seventh object of the present invention is to provide an easily attachable and simple apparatus and method for. 
   Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment which is illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first preferred nursing bottle embodiment with fluid bag having hand depressible end and elongated tube connector with swiveling pacifier end. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the swivable pacifier of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the swivable pacifier of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the swivable pacifier of  FIG. 3  along arrow  5 A. 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the swivable pacifier of  FIG. 5  along arrows  6 X. 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the first preferred embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of  FIG. 7  along arrows  8 X. 
       FIG. 8A  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the lid connected to the bottle. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an application of the first embodiment of the preceding figures with a nursing infant. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a second preferred nursing bottle embodiment with angled support stand and elongated tube connector with swiveling pacifier end. 
       FIG. 11  is an exploded view of the second preferred embodiment of  FIG. 10 . 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a third preferred nursing bottle embodiment with sloped funnel floor inside the bottle and elongated tube connector with swiveling pacifier end. 
       FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of the third preferred embodiment of  FIG. 12  along arrows  13 X. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applications to the details of the particular arrangements shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
   First Preferred Embodiment 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–2 , a pacifier  10  can be connected to an elongated flexible tube  30  by a swivable and/or pivotable joint member(s)  20 . The other end of the tube  30  can be connected through a lid  40  to liquid contents such as formula, and the like, within a flexible bag  50  that is inside a generally cylindrical bottle  60 . All of invention parts can be formed from injection molded plastic, and the like, with varying degrees of flexibility. The flexible tube  30  can be up to approximately 12 inches long or more, and be see-through so that the liquid contents can be inspected from outside. An opposite open end  68  of the bottle  60  can have flared side edges. 
   The pacifier  10  and the swivable and/or pivotable joint member(s)  20  will now be described. Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 ,  5  and  6 , the pacifier  10  can include a bulbous nipple portion  12  having a slit  11  for allowing the feeding baby to extract liquid therethrough. A raised ring portion  13  can be positioned on the other side of a center aperture opening  12  in the flange guard  14  to hold the nipple  12  in place to one side of the guard  14 . A ball and socket assembly  20  connects the pacifier  10  to one end of the elongated tube  30 , and can include a hub member  20 H having an upper raised ridge  21  of upper side walls  22  snugly and sealingly fit within the neck portion  12 N of the nipple portion  12 . A step-ledge portion  23  of the hub member  20 H can abut against a lower surface of ring portion  13  of the pacifier  10 . Within lower side walls  24  of hub member  20 H can be curved rounded interior walls  25  which function as a socket for allowing a ball member  26  to pivotally rotate therein. A stem portion  28  extends down from the ball member  26  having angled ribs  29  that catch and tightly seal within one end  32  of the elongated tube  30 . The pacifier  10  can rotate and pivot along various positions as depicted by double arrows R 1  and R 2 . Thus, a feeding baby and/or caregiver can easily move the pacifier  10  relative to the elongated tube  30  without causing the tube  10  to become bent and pinched cutting off the fluid flow through the tube  30 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  7 ,  8  and  8 A, the other end  38  of the flexible tube  30  can sealing and tightly fit about a raised ribbed hollow stem  42  of an upper surface portion  44  lid member  40 . The sides  46  of the lid member  40  can have interior surfaces  47  that snap about a lip ledge portion  62  of the main bottle  60 . Alternatively both the interior side wall surface portions  47  of the lid member  40  and the lip portion  62  of the bottle can have threads for allowing the lid member to screw onto the upper end  61  of the bottle  60 . Inside the bottle  60  can be a flexible bag  50  such as a thin plastic, and/or elastomeric material, and the like. Bag  50  can have an upper open mouth portion end  51  and a closed bottom end  58 . The upper end  51  of the bag can be folded outward  52  to overlap between the lid  40  and the upper outer edge  63  of the bottle so that connecting the lid  40  to the bottle  60  seals the mouth portion  51  of the bag therebetween. The bottom of the generally cylindrical bottle  60  can have an open end  68  which can have flared out side portions  66 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 9 , a caregiver such as a parent and the like, can press a portion of their hand  70  through the open end  68  of the bottle depressing a portion of liquid filled bag  50  so that the liquid contents can more easily flow through the elongated tube  30  to the feeding infant  80  that is holding onto the pacifier  10 . A side slit  65  in the bottle  60  can allow for the caregiver to see the amount of liquid contents within the bag  50  at anytime. Thus, the caregiver can provide for assisting the liquid content flow through the elongated tube  30 . While  FIG. 9  shows the upper end  32  of the elongated tube perpendicular to the flange guard  14  on the pacifier  10 , the pivotable/swivable connector  20  can allow for the tube end  32  to be at varying angles to the pacifier eliminating any chances of the tube  30  becoming bent and pinched. 
   Second Embodiment 
     FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a second preferred nursing bottle embodiment  100  with angled support stand  170  and elongated tube connector  30  with swiveling pacifier end  10 ,  20 . The support surface  180  can be a portion of a blanket on a mattress along side the feeding infant, a pillow, a table top, and the like.  FIG. 11  is an exploded view of the second preferred embodiment  100  of  FIG. 10 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 10–11 , second embodiment  100  can include identical pacifier  10 , pivotable/swivable components  20 , and elongated tube  30  that were used in the first embodiment. The lid  140  can be similar to the lid member  40  of the first embodiment, with the exception that the protruding hollow stem  142  is located along a lower surface portion of the outer lid surface  144 . The flexible bag  50  for holding liquid feeding contents can be attached to the lid member  140  and to the mouth  161  of bottle  160  similar to the first embodiment. The bottle  160  can be similar to the bottle  60  of the first embodiment and include a see-through side slit opening  165  for allowing one to visually see the flexible bag  50  inside the bottle  160 . The rear end  168  of the bottle can be closed. Alternatively, the rear end  168  can be open similar to that of the first embodiment for allowing one to press against the bag  50  for assisting the moving of the liquid from the bag  50  through the tube  30 . The bottle  160  can be generally cylindrical. Alternatively, the rear end  168  of the bottle  160  can have a flared out sides similar to that of the first embodiment. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 10–11 , a stand  170  can be formed from materials such as but not limited to injection molded plastic and the like, and have a curved upper surface  178  for allowing for the bottle  160  to rest thereon. The bottle  160  and stand  170  can be premolded together, or be separate components that attach to one another. For example, fasteners such as double sided tape, hook and loop fasteners can be used to attach the bottle  160  to the stand  170 . Stand  170  can have a back wall portion  172  having a greater height than a front wall portion  176  so that the bottle  160  can rest at an angle S of up to approximately ninety degrees, preferably 45 degrees. The sloped angle S of the bottle  160  and stand  170  resting on a generally horizontal support surface  180  allows for gravity to assist moving the liquid contents of the bag  50  through the tube  30  to a feeding infant. 
   Third Embodiment 
     FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a third preferred nursing bottle embodiment  200  with sloped funnel floor  269  inside the bottle  260  and elongated tube connector  30  with swiveling pacifier end  10 ,  20 .  FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of the third preferred embodiment  200  of  FIG. 12  along arrows  13 X. Referring to  FIGS. 12–13 , third embodiment  200  can have a generally cylindrical bottle  160  resting in a horizontal position on a stand  270 . Stand  270  can have back wall  272  and front wall  276  of similar heights so that the bottle  260  remains generally horizontal while the bottom of the stand  274  rests on a support surface  180 . The upper surfaces  278  of the stand  270  can have a curved surface for allowing the round contours of the bottle  260  to rest thereon. Stand  270  can be formed from injection molded plastic, and the like, and be pre-formed with bottle  260 . Alternatively, stand  270  can be attached to bottle  260  with fasteners such as but not limited to double sided tape, and hook and loop fasteners, and the like. The other components  240 ,  242 ,  265  can be identical to the similarly numbered components  140 ,  142 ,  165  in the second embodiment. 
   Inside the bottle  260  can be a sloped floor portion  269  that can have a funnel type shape. Floor  269  can slope downward at an angle S of up to approximately ninety degrees, and preferably forty five degrees. The sloped angle S of the floor surface  269  allows for gravity to assist moving the liquid contents inside the bottle  260  through the tube  30  to a feeding infant. 
   Additionally, a flexible bag  50  such as those shown and described in the previous embodiments can be used in this embodiment. The rear end  268  of the bottle  260  can be closed. Alternatively, the rear end  268  can be open similar to that of the first embodiment for allowing one to press against an inside bag  50  for assisting the moving of the liquid from the bag  50  through the tube  30 . The bottle  260  can be generally cylindrical. Alternatively, the rear end  268  of the bottle  260  can have a flared out sides similar to that of the first embodiment. 
   While the third embodiment shows one side wall area having a sloped portion, other interior walls within the bottle such as but not limited to all the interior side walls can be sloped. For example, shaping the interior walls like a funnel can be used to assist moving the liquid contents by gravity flow when the bottle is being laid on one side. Still furthermore, shaping the outside walls to be sloped such as but not limited to a triangular portion, a cone shaped portion, and the like can also be used to assist the fluid flow. 
   Although the preferred embodiments describe applications with a feeding infant the invention can be used with children of varying ages from newborns on up. 
   While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has presumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended.